The Pentagon once said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could succeed in three days. So, as the war rages on, more than four years later, what else have world leaders got wrong?

For one thing, what a nation’s most important source of power is.

Today international and political editor Peter Hartcher on the underestimated power that Ukraine holds, and what it would take for us to acquire it.

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Jamal Rifi is the Sydney doctor at the centre of a controversial mission to repatriate the so-called ISIS brides – 34 Australian women and children who are living in a camp in Syria.

He also wants to bring back a young man who was taken to Syria as a boy who is now in an adult men’s prison. 

The women travelled to Syria and were married to jihadists, who are now dead or in jail. When Islamic State's so-called caliphate fell, they were put in detention camps. For seven years they have lived in no man’s land, trying to return home to Australia. 

Dr Rifi, a medical doctor and friend of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, speaks to senior writer Michael Bachelard for this special episode of The Morning Edition.

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A scream in the night, glass smashing, and dogs barking - these were the first signs that something terrible had happened in a suburban Sydney street.

Since then, police have revealed this was a highly unusual case of mistaken identity that resulted in the kidnapping of an innocent 85-year-old grandfather.

And on Tuesday morning, the worst fears of his Sydney family were realised: police announced they believed they had found the body of the widower, almost two weeks after he was taken.

Today, crime reporter Riley Walter on a case that has gripped Sydney.

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When Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was taken into police custody on his 66th birthday last week, it was the first time in nearly 400 years a British royal had been arrested.

So what will the former Prince Andrew’s fate be?

Today, Europe correspondent David Crowe on what it means for the monarchy that Mountbatten-Windsor was finally arrested, and why he has not been charged.

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Every parent has the same fiercely held wish for their unborn child: that they're born healthy, and continue to thrive. But how far would you go to achieve your goal?
There is a growing movement overseas - and a controversial genetic test - that offers prospective parents the chance to choose embryos that have a probability for all kinds of traits, such as being tall, or intelligent.
Today, science reporter Angus Dalton on the Australians wanting to access this technology and the ethical implications of creating designer babies.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia's ISIS brides - the women trying to return home with their children from Syria - are not getting help from the government, but it seems there is more to the story.

Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is senior writer Michael Bachelard, who has followed the story for years, and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.

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Tony Wright, the associate editor of The Age, has been writing for 50 years. He is the master of what we call the political sketch. Sketches are akin to a verbal cartoon, and when done well, capture a moment in politics.
Today, we bring you Wright's latest sketch, titled: 'Nation’s worst government? Jane Hume’s hyperbolic historical claim'.

Read Wright's columns, and sketches, by clicking here.

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We are in a dangerous new nuclear age, according to a growing number of world leaders. The signs are not just in Russia’s threats to use its nuclear arsenal, or China’s steady build-up of its nuclear capabilities.

The signs are also plain to see in a single sentence, buried in an otherwise dull strategic document, released last month by the Trump administration.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on Donald Trump’s nuclear ambitions. And why Australia must begin thinking about acquiring its own nuclear weapons.

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It should have been a time of celebration for a Sydney woman, who had bought a new home for herself and her daughter.

But as settlement loomed, her application for a mortgage unravelled in shocking fashion. And it was all over $44.11.

Kishor Napier-Raman appraises what led a judge to demand that the head of one of the big four banks be hauled before a court this week.

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“Our character is essentially Anglo-Celtic and Judaeo-Christian. That's what has made our country attractive to migrants, and we should keep it that way.’’

That was former prime minister Tony Abbott on the position he would like the newly minted Coalition leader Angus Taylor to adopt, saying that for the Coalition to win voters back from One Nation, it needed to take a harder line on immigration and move away from diversity.

Today, political analyst Sean Kelly, on how far Angus Taylor will go, in cracking down on immigration.  And his connection to Tony Abbott.

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