The Fourcast

In Israel, a constitutional crisis has seen thousands take to the streets, fearing that their rights could be eroded, as the government plans to weaken the powers of the highest court in the land.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu’s far-right coalition argues the Supreme Court is too powerful and they’re simply righting the wrongs of the system.

Protesters say the overhaul would erode Israel’s proud democracy and lead them towards a dictatorship.

After weeks of protests and pressure from all sides, Netanyahu finally backed down - but only slightly. He’s now paused the reforms ahead of the next session of parliament in a few weeks.

In this episode, editor in chief of Haaretz Esther Solomon unpicks Israel’s biggest protests in decades - and wonders whether Netayanhu’s pause is a chance for his side to regroup of yet more battles to come.

 

Rishi Sunak came into Downing Street back in October with a huge mess to clear up after the disaster of Liz Truss and her mini budget.

After a week that has seen him secure his own Brexit Deal as, Boris Johnson struggled in front of a privileges committee over partygate, has he started to turn it around - can Rishi Sunak have what it takes to win the next election?

In today's episode, Kiran Moodley speaks to our policy correspondent, Paul McNamara, about what Mr Sunak needs to do to win over the Red Wall - those Labour turned Tory voters from the last election - following an exclusive poll carried out by Channel 4 News and the polling company JL partners. 

Sunak may have made Conservatives feel a bit more positive, but there’s still a long way to go before the next election, and is time on his side?

Producer: Freya Pickford

 

Three years ago this week, Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus. But three years on, Covid and the impact of lockdowns continue to dominate our headlines. 

This week, Boris Johnson faced a Commons inquiry on whether he misled parliament over the notorious lockdown parties, and just a few weeks ago, WhatsApp messages sent by Matt Hancock and others during the pandemic were leaked, with some claiming that they threw into question whether the government took the right path to control the pandemic. And there is still ongoing debate about whether this deadly virus began after a lab leak in China. 

In today’s episode, Kiran Moodley speaks to Health and Social Care Editor Victoria Macdonald, as well Edinburgh University’s professor of Global Public Health Devi Sridhar, about whether the ongoing fallout and discussions around the pandemic have actually altered their views on what happened at the peak of the virus. 

Sources: ITN, CNN

 

Gary Linker and the BBC have been dominating the headlines after the Match of the Day host was asked to step back from presenting after tweeting out criticism of the government’s language around refugees.

But what does this whole row mean for the BBC, and what does it say about the state of our media and its relationship to impartiality?

In today’s podcast, we speak with Adam Boulton, formerly editor-at-large of Sky News, whether he thinks the BBC has an issue over impartiality.

 

We were told to prepare for a “Winter of Discontent”, of strikes, rising prices, a coming recession with our economy set this year to shrink unlike all the rest. Even Russia was going to fare better than the UK.

But it has not been as bad as once feared - so what is going on?

In today’s episode, Business Reporter Neil Macdonald discusses the state of our economy ahead of next week’s budget and whether a slightly improved outlook means energy prices can remain low and strikes could even come to an end.

Producer: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe 

China wants to be the superpower of the 21st century, but does it want to provoke war or play peacemaker?

This week the country announced it was increasing military spending, and its newly installed foreign minister warned that if the US did not change course soon, there would be conflict.

But China also recently published a 12-point plan for ending the conflict in Ukraine, despite not condemning Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian president Volodmyr Zelenskyy even said he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss the plans.

So is this the moment where Beijing asserts itself on the world stage after being locked away during Zero Covid for so long? 

In today’s episode, Kiran Moodley speaks to Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford, about China’s growing frustration with Moscow and the likelihood of a new Cold War.

Producers: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe

This week, Rishi Sunak agreed a new Brexit deal with the European Union: the Windsor framework.    Seven years after Britain voted in the referendum, is this the end of protocol conversation, trade deals, backstops, and late night votes? Does this mean we can finally all stop talking about Brexit? What exactly does the Windsor framework do? How is it different from before? And is this really the end of the Conservatives’ decades-long battle over its relationship with Europe?   In today's Fourcast, our political editor Gary Gibbon delves into the details, ponders what Sunak did that others could not, and whether the DUP’s official silence means this may not be over yet. Oh and also - what about Boris Johnson?   Producer: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe

Today marks one year since Russia began its latest invasion of Ukraine: one year since tanks rolled across the border, one year since missiles struck the capital and beyond, one year since the post Cold War world changed forever.

Now, the expected defeat of Ukraine is clearly a long way off, but any sense of how this war might end feels equally far from reality - with Joe Biden this week reaffirming the West’s commitment to Ukraine’s fight for as long as it takes - while Vladimir Putin used his state of the nation speech to double down on his worldview.

In today's Fourcast, our Europe editor Matt Frei speaks to us from Kyiv, the capital where he was last year when the first bombs fell, and where he was again this week to take in the latest, historic events in this 21st century conflict.

Sources: AP 

Producer: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe

 

On Monday last week, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria. The WHO has called this the "worst natural disaster" in 100 years in its European region, and the death toll has now surpassed 35,000. 

But that first quake was followed by a 6.7 magnitude aftershock 11 minutes later, while a 7.5 magnitude quake hit after 1pm. Three devastating earthquakes in nine hours.

There are countless tales of remarkable survival, but many, many more of terrible loss, families torn apart or gone entirely.

In today’s Fourcast, we speak to our two reporters on the scene, Emily Wither, and chief correspondent Alex Thomson, as they detail what they have seen, the stories they have told, and how on earth Turkey and war-torn Syria recover.

Sources: AP

Producer: Freya Pickford

 

2022 was the deadliest year for the Israel-Palestine conflict in nearly two decades, and just a month after Israel’s most conservative, right-wing government was formed - fronted by Benjamin Netanyahu - violence between Palestinians and Israel has flared up once again. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu has set out a raft of measures to crack down on Palestinians who attack Israelis, including making it easier for Israeli citizens to carry guns.

In today’s episode we're joined by foreign correspondent, Secunder Kermani, who very recently returned from a trip to Israel and Palestine, where he spoke to people from both sides of this age-old conflict. 

Secunder talks about what makes this new Israeli government ultra-conservative, how the conflict might develop and whether this might be the start of a third intifada. 

Sources: AP

Producer: Alice Wagstaffe and Freya Pickford