The Inside Story Podcast

The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting higher education world wide.

Lockdowns have closed university and college campuses.

Classes have moved online.

The University of Cambridge in the UK is the latest to make all lectures online until next year.

But can virtual classes provide the same learning experience?

And should students continue to pay high tuition fees so they can sit their exams?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Jeffrey Seglin - Senior lecturer in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School

Aanya Wig - student at Lady Shri Ram College at the University of Delhi

Ryan Carson - Founder of the online tech school Treehouse

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The coronavirus pandemic is one of the biggest challenges the World Health Organization has ever faced.

It's also receiving both praise and criticism for how it's dealing with the crisis.

Critics say the WHO acted too slow to declare a pandemic.

Its 194 member states have voted unanimously for an independent inquiry into the the global response to COVID-19, and the UN body's role.

The WHO's biggest donor, the US, is also its loudest critic.

President Donald Trump has accused the WHO of being a 'puppet' of China, even though Trump himself praised the organisation and the Chinese government at the start of the outbreak.

So what lessons should the WHO learn to prepare for the next pandemic?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Kelley Lee - Professor of Global Health Policy at Simon Fraser University who also co-founded the W.H.O. Collaborating Centre on Global Change and Health

Jeremy Youde - Specialist in global health politics and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota

Regina Osih - medical doctor and infectious disease specialist at the Aurum Institute

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Khalifa Haftar told the world he's the only man who can bring stability back to Libya.

The warlord launched a military offensive last year to take control of the capital from the UN-recognised government in Tripoli.

But his forces have suffered a series of setbacks in the past month.

In the latest, Haftar's forces lost control of the headquarters of his offensive: Al Watiya air base southwest of Tripoli.

Troops backing the government in Tripoli say they've destroyed weapons provided by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

While Prime Minister Fayez Serraj hailed victory, he warned the battle is far from over.

Haftar's spokesman downplayed the loss.

How will this shape the course of Libya's civil war, now in its seventh year?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Peter Millett, - Former British Ambassador to Libya. (2015-2018)

Mansour El-Kikhia - Professor of Politics at the University of Texas in San Antonio.

Jason Pack - Founder of Libya-Analysis, a Libyan affairs think tank.

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Africa's wildlife is one of the continent's biggest attractions.

Game reserves and national parks welcome millions of visitors every year, who want to experience wild animals up close.

They rely on that revenue to pay for conservation projects.

But now, revenue flow has stopped entirely because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

And many rangers who protect the animals from poachers have lost their incomes.

Conservationists are worried the economic toll could push more people into the illegal wildlife trade.

Will decades of work to protect animals be lost?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Daniel Sopia - Chief Executive Officer of Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association

Craig Millar - Head of Security of Big Life Foundation who leads anti-poaching operations and manages 300 rangers across East Africa

Kaddu Sebunya - Chief Executive Officer of the African Wildlife Foundation

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He's seen as an unparalleled political survivor, and once again, he's got what he wants.

Benjamin Netanyahu will lead a fifth government in Israel. But for the first time, he won't be governing alone.

Netanyahu will be rotating the prime minister's job with his former rival Benny Gantz - 18 months each.

That power-sharing deal was agreed last month, ending a year of political deadlock in which three inconclusive elections were held.

The unity government - now sworn in - is a rarity in Israel's politics.

Gantz says it's needed to tackle the coronavirus during 'not normal times'.

But what about Netanyahu and his own battles? He's facing a corruption trial this month - the first sitting Prime Minister to do so.

He's also pressing ahead with a controversial plan to annex part of the occupied West Bank.

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria

Guests

Mitchell Barak, CEO of the political consultancy Keevon Global Research.

Dahlia Scheidlin, columnist at +972 Magazine, a public opinion analyst and political strategist.

Akiva Eldar, former columnist at Al-Monitor and a contributor to Ha'aretz newspaper.

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Health officials and tech companies around the world have been racing to develop smart-phone apps to control the spread of coronavirus.

Some governments maybe weighing rights violations and mass surveillance, but others have adpoted the technology.

Singapore is one of the first countries to launch a non-mandatory, contact-tracing app using bluetooth signals.

Australia, Malaysia and the UK have followed suit.

There have also been apps that go beyond contact tracing - notably in China, where a system has been built to collect people's health data and travel history.

India and South Korea launched similar apps.

But how effective are they?

And do they endanger other human rights?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests

Nishanth Sastry, senior lecturer in the department of informatics at King's College London.

Ali Fenwick, a behaviourial pyschologist and professor of organisational behaviour at Hult Business School.

Dr Patrick Tang is the division chief of pathology sciences at Sidra Medicine.

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Hundreds of millions of people around the world have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

But the UN's work agency warns the global outlook could be much worse, as current figures exclude workers in the so-called 'informal economy'.

That includes migrant and shift labourers in the developing world - to freelance and service industry staff taking unprotected jobs in wealthier economies.

The International Labour Organization says 1.6 billion of them could suffer 'massive damage' to their livelihoods.

This means half of the global workforce are not sure if their jobs will re-appear once the crisis is over.

So, will the job market recover?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests

Song Seng Wun, director at CIMB Private Banking

Michelle leighton, director of ILO Migration Branch

Bruno Verstraete, chief economist at Lakefieldpartners

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Pyjamas, a laptop and a comfortable couch at home. That's today's work environment for millions of people around the world.

It was a far-fetched dream until the pandemic made it a reality. Companies have been forced to embrace remote working to limit the spread of covid-19.

But that's if the job doesn't require you to be there in person. For those who can - working from home could become permanent.

Twitter is going to give that option to workers who wish to do so.

Other firms are working out how to reopen offices while maintaining social distancing.

The way we work is being revisualised - even into the future.

And post-pandemic offices might look radically different than those of today.

So, will employees ever return to the pre-pandemic office environment, or has a new era dawned?

And what would it take to adopt remote working for the long term?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests

Marc Einstein, IT strategy adviser

Hilary Jacobs, Psychotherapist and author of "It's Not Always Depression"

Ali Fenwick, behavioural psychologist

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From the cradle to the grave, it seems no one is safe from Afghanistan's endless war.

Newborn babies, mothers and nurses were among 24 people killed when gunmen opened fire inside a Kabul maternity hospital on Tuesday.

While 21 mourners at a funeral in Nangahar province were killed by an ISIL suicide bomber.

President Ashraf Ghani responded by ordering the army to resume offensive operations against the Taliban.

The armed group denies involvement, and its leaders say Ghani's announcement is a declaration of war.

Has this dampened the prospect of direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Popal Habibi - Academic Researcher on Peacebuilding in Afghanistan

Sultan Barakat - Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Doha Institute

Kate Clark - Co-Director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network

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The coronavirus pandemic is putting enormous strain on health systems worldwide.

In some countries that means resources are being diverted from other treatments.

Patients with illnesses such as HIV, tuberculosis or malaria risk having their treatment interrupted.

A joint study by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS says deaths from HIV-related illnesses could double in Sub-Sahara Africa if therapies are disrupted for six months.

What should be done to ensure health services don't neglect other critical diseases?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Shannon Hader - Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme UNAIDS

Regina Osih - Senior Technical Expert in Tuberculosis and HIV at The Aurum Institute

Anna Marriott - Health Policy Leader for Oxfam International.

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