The Inside Story Podcast

Prime minister Alexis Tsipras led his left-wing Syriza party to power in 2015, with promises that offered much hope to the Greek people.

But fixing a country facing it's gravest economic crisis in recent history, proved to be a challenge.

Rather than end the austerity measures that he'd campaigned against, Tsipras imposed more taxes.

Giving in to creditors' demands, Greece exited its final bailout last year and the economy is expected to expand.

But its unemployment rate is the highest in Europe, and people are struggling to make ends meet.

This has upset many voters, who say they're now in favour of the conservative New Democracy party.

Polls showed the party was tipped to win the snap general election on Sunday.

So, will a new leadership emerge in Greece?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests

Dimitris Rapidis, political adviser to the Syriza Party.

Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Yannis Koutsomitis, European Affairs Analyst

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There's an intense debate in Washington about how to deal with Tehran following the downing of a U.S. drone.

A tense standoff between the U.S. and Iran, following the downing of an American surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state television has been showing what it says is drone wreckage retrieved at sea.

American media say President Donald Trump ordered air strikes against military targets in Iran - but then later changed his mind.

Congressional leaders were briefed on the incident and called for a robust response, but they also told the president to act with caution.

So what does this mean for an already tense region?

Presenter: Peter Dobbie

Guests

Mohammad Marandi, Head of American Studies at the University of Tehran

Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO of the political risk consultancy Stratega and a former U.S. State Department official

Sahil Shah, Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #USIranTensions #InsideStory

Will pressuring Sudan make a difference?: With more than 100 protesters killed in the past week, international pressure is growing on Sudan's military faction to compromise with its opponents.

Ethiopia is leading mediation efforts to end the standoff. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is in Khartoum, where he's due to meet both sides.

The goal is for the military to hand over power to civilians- but after this week's violent crackdown, the protest leaders see little reason to trust the army.

They've refused further talks and say they'll continue their demonstrations.

The African Union has suspended Sudan over its crackdown. It won't be allowed to take part in the regional bloc unless civilians are put in charge.

The AU says this is the only way out of the crisis. But the military's been sending mixed messages.

On Wednesday it said it was open to negotiations with the protesters.

So, how much power is the military ready to give up?

Presenter: Halla Mohieddeen

Guests

Adama Gaye, author of 'Tomorrow the New Africa' and former information director for ECOWAS.

Mehari Taddele Maru, Robert Schuman Fellow and former African Union official commission.

John Ryle, professor of anthropology at Bard College, New York state, and founder of the Rift Valley Institute

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #SudanMilitary #InsideStory

When you look at a country that's had 12 coups since 1932, along with another seven attempted ones, well, there's clearly something of a love-hate relationship with democracy.

And so it is in Thailand, which had an election in March, the first since the 2014 coup, and now has a newly-confirmed Prime Minister.

Only this Prime Minister was the same army general who led that coup, leading to a whole lot of questions about the true state of democracy in Thailand.

On Inside Story, an in-depth discussion on the relationship between state, military, monarchy, and the people, and why that mixture proves so unstable, time and time again.

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria

Guests

Michael Montesano, coordinator for the Thailand Studies Programme at the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

Sunai Phasuk, senior researcher for Asia at Human Rights Watch, and a former adviser to the Thai Senate.

Anthony Nelson, Director of the East Asia and Pacific Practice at the advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group.

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #TheStream #ThailandDemocracy

A record-number of voters across Europe have dealt a blow to traditional centrist politics, with far-right and far-left parties making significant gains in the European Parliament elections.

A surge in support for liberal and green parties means pro-EU politicians will maintain their majority in the 751-seat parliament.

But far-right and nationalist wins in Italy, France, Britain and Poland gives eurosceptic parties control of a quarter of the seats for the first time.

Far-right gains were less than expected and won't dramatically change the balance of power.

But the EU parliament now finds itself more fragmented than ever.

As pro-EU parties retain their majority, what do the results mean for nationalists in the divided parliament?

Presenter: Barbara Serra

Guests: Nina Schick - Author & Political Commentator

Tony Travers - Professor, School of Public Policy, London School of Economics

Thorsten Benner - Co-founder & Director, Global Public Policy Institute

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UK leadership contest begins after Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation.

Brexit brought UK prime minister Teresa May to power, and it was ultimately the issue that forced her out.

Debate on Britain's departure from the European Union exposed deep divisions in the country.

May faced intense pressure to step down, after parliament repeatedly rejected her withdrawal deal with the EU.

She will resign on June 7th, and her governing Conservative party is now looking for a new leader.

But can her successor unite parliament and the United Kingdom?

And what will a change of UK leadership mean for Brexit?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Mark Garnett - Senior Lecturer in Politics at Lancaster University.

Jonathan Lis - Deputy Director at British Influence, a pro-European Think Tank.

Matthew Goodwin - Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent.

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Brexit #TheresaMay

Saudi Arabia has jailed many activists and dissidents since Mohammed Bin Salman became the Crown Prince two years ago.

Now media reports suggest three religious scholars may be sentenced to death after the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Salman Al-Odah, Awad Al-Qarni and Ali Al-Omari were arrested in September 2017 on what Saudi Arabia described as terror charges.

They are seen as reformists who've spoken about human rights.

The United Nations and rights groups have been calling for their release.

Why are they targeted? And what message will this send about human rights in the Kingdom?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Sami Hamdi - Editor-in-Chief of The International Interest, a current affairs magazine

Bessma Momani - Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo

Ali Al-Ahmed - Director of the Gulf Affairs Institute and a former Saudi political prisoner

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Major technology companies are considering their next steps after the US president blacklists Chinese firm Huawei over national security concerns.

American suppliers have three months to keep supporting Huawei users before they have to cut ties.

Google says it'll carry on updating its software on existing Huawei devices, but new handsets won't have access to its operating system and applications.

That's raising questions about how the world's second-largest mobile phone maker will adapt.

How will consumers and the industry be affected? And could this change the course of the ongoing US-China trade war?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Robert Scott - senior international economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

Pauline Loong - veteran China Policy Risk analyst and managing director of Asia-Analytica, a research consultancy.

Max Eiza - lecturer in computer and network security at the University of Central Lancashire.

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Elections for the European Parliament get underway on Thursday. Immigration and the economy are dominating the political agenda, and the rise of the far-right is dominating the headlines.

On Saturday, right-wing leaders from nearly a dozen EU countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands gathered for a rally in Milan to show their unity.

The gathering was led by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, who wants to form a far-right block within the EU Parliament.

Some analysts believe that the future identity of European politics- and the EU itself- is at stake.

So, how will voting shape the continent?

Presenter: Barbara Serra

Guests

Theofanis Exadaktylos, senior lecturer in European politics at the University of Surrey

Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative and a former special adviser to the House of Lords EU committee

Stefano Vergine, he is an Italian journalist who focuses on economics and foreign affairs

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It's often said that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

But that's not how the Philippines sees dozens of shipping containers filled with waste from Canada.

The case has sparked a diplomatic dispute, and is just one example of a global problem with managing our rubbish.

Who should pick up the task of treating our trash?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests: Beau Bakon-gis, Break Free From Plastics

Ziad Abi-shaker, Founder, Cedar Environment industrial engineering organisation

Edward Kosior - Nextek recycling consultancy

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#WasteManagment #Canada_PhilippinesWasteDispute #InsideStory