World Today

Are Russia and U.S. relations "on the brink of collapse"?

What’s behind a stronger China-Islamic world tie?

Will the US-led Quad continue to oppress India to choose sides over Russia-Ukraine crisis?

Who is Biden Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson?

What is China’s role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

What does Russia-Ukraine crisis mean for global food supply?

Japan fails to press India to take a tough stance against Russia, why?

China has been battling a new surge in COVID cases mainly in Jilin and Shandong, and a few other provinces. At the same time, Chinese authorities have modified the Covid-19 playbook with major changes made in quarantine requirements, hospital discharge criteria, choices of treatment pills, and more. What caused the recent wave of new cases in the country? How will the modification of the country's COVID treatment playbook help contain the surge? Host Liu Kun is joined by Professor Jaya Dantas, Dean International in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University; Shane Thomas, Professor of Health Promotion at Federation University Australia; Yao Shujie, Chueng Kong Professor of Economics, Chongqing University.

Biden calls Putin "a war criminal". How does that escalate diplomatic tensions? American astronaut will return to Earth on Russian spacecraft. We look at whether the geopolitical tensions will affect scientific collaboration between the two countries. India explores "rupee-rouble" exchange scheme to beat Russia sanctions. What does that tell us about India’s position in the Ukraine crisis? US plans to remove Iranian Revolutionary Guards from terrorist list. Is Washington rethinking its foreign policy, reaching out to longtime adversaries to replace oil supplies from Russia?

Russia quits the Council of Europe. We take a look at the consequences of the Russian departure. US arms export increased by 14% over the last four years. What's behind the numbers? China updates diagnosis and treatment protocol for COVID-19. What are the major changes?

①US-China Rome talks: Ukraine crisis, Taiwan and other issues. ②Germany will buy US F-35 jets. What does this mean to the security of Germany and Europe? ③We talk to Stephen Ellison, British Consul-General in China's Chongqing, about 50 years of China-UK diplomatic ties. ④Turkey and Greece agree to improve ties following a top leaders' meeting. What will be mutual and regional benefits? ⑤Why have China's latest retail sales and industrial data soundly beaten expectations?

EU imposes more sanctions on Russia to ban imports of key goods in iron and steel sectors. But will sanctions work to help restore peace in Ukraine? Iran nuclear talks stumble as US rebuffs Russian demands. What happens next? As more cases emerge in some areas of China, will the country adjust its anti-Covid strategy?

U.S. President Joe Biden imposed a ban on Russian oil and gas this week. The U.K. said it too will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

Critics of Russia said that sanctioning its energy exports would be the best, and perhaps only way to stop the war in Ukraine. But can it really work? And with oil prices having jumped more than 30% since February 24th, what could the sanction mean for the rest of the world?

Host Zhao Ying is joined by Wang Dan, chief economist of Hang Seng Bank (China), Michael Bradshaw, professor of global energy at University of Warwick, Prof. Kostas Lavdas from Panteion University, Athens, and Dr. Zhao Hai from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

①Latest on Ukraine-Russia conflict: a meeting of the two sides’ foreign ministers hasn’t yielded breakthrough. ②In Sweden and Finland, discussion is going on regarding whether to apply for NATO membership. ③Yoon Suk Yeol, a former top prosecutor, has been elected South Korea’s new president. What can we expect in his domestic and foreign policies? ④We talk to Matteo Marchisio, an official with International Fund for Agricultural Development, about food security in China.

①In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Xi Jinping called for maximum restraint in Ukraine. We look at China’s position on Ukraine crisis. ②US and UK ban Russian oil and gas imports over Ukraine crisis. How disruptive is it to the global energy markets? ③US approaches Nicolas Maduro in a possible policy shift on Venezuela. Can the two sides normalize ties? ④We talk to Professor Lin Yifu, a leading Chinese economist, on China's Covid policy and other issues.