Ft World Weekly

The War in Ukraine, the rising tensions between Russia and the West, Vladimir Putin's objectives, and how ordinary Russians and Russia's other neighbouring states see the conflict. Neil Buckley, the FT's eastern Europe editor and Jack Farchy, Moscow correspondent, join Gideon Rachman.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Parts of Western Africa are gripped by the Ebola virus, with more than 670 dead in the current outbreak. Gideon Rachman is joined by Clive Cookson, science editor, and Javier Blas, Africa editor, to discuss how serious a threat the virus poses to the region and to the wider world, and what the international community can do to thwart its progress  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Russia and the west have been increasingly at odds following the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines flight over Ukraine, an atrocity that has been widely blamed on pro-Russian separatists. What are Vladimir Putin's options, and what diplomatic accommodation be can be found to make the situation less volatile? Katherine Hille, Moscow bureau chief, and Neil Buckley, east Europe editor, join Gideon Rachman.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As bombing reaches its ninth consecutive day, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is facing criticism abroad for causing unnecessary bloodshed, and at home for not sending troops into Gaza. Gideon Rachman is joined by Siona Jenkins, Middle east news editor, and from Gaza by John Reed, Jerusalem bureau chief to look deeper at the broader Israeli/Palestinian conflict and how Hamas has been able to use the current crisis to drum up support as chaos in the middle east reaches levels unparalleled in recent decades  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Germany has summoned the US envoy following allegations that an agent working for Germany’s intelligence agency was spying for the US. Gideon Rachman is joined by James Blitz, former security correspondent, and Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin correspondent, to discuss what this means for already troubled relations between the Obama and Merkel governments, and how the two nations can resolve their differences in order to tackle the numerous shared geopolitical challenges they face.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced he will run in the country's first every directly elected presidential contest next month. Ben Hall is joined by Istanbul correspondent Daniel Dombey and FT columnist David Gardner to discuss how is the turmoil across the border in Syria and Iraq is changing the political dynamics ahead of the election, and whether an Erdogan victory would mean breaking the grip of Turkey's old elite, or just another step towards authoritarian rule.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Jean-Claude Juncker increasingly likely to be appointed as the next president of the European Commission, Gideon Rachman is joined by Tony Barber, Europe editor, and Peter Spiegel, Brussels bureau chief, for an in-depth look at what this would mean for the UK and for Europe as a whole. Also on the agenda are the growing dominance of Germany in the EU decision-making process and this week's European Council meeting in Ypres  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Isis’ lightning offensive has pushed Iraq to the brink of outright civil war and a return to the murderous sectarian bloodshed that nearly tore it apart in 2006. President Obama is considering limited military intervention to take on the terrorists but only if there are signs that Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Shia prime minister does more to reach out to moderate Sunnis and Kurds. Geoff Dyer, US diplomatic correspondent, Roula Khalaf, foreign editor, and Guy Chazan, energy editor, join Ben Hall  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

About half the world's population is expected to watch the World Cup in Brazil, but the run up to the tournament has been troubled by demonstrations in Brazil and all-too-familiar allegations of corruption at the heart of Fifa, world football's governing body. Joe Leahy, Brazil correspondent, Roger Blitz, leisure industries correspondent, and JP Rathbone, Latin American editor, join Gideon Rachman to discuss the state of the World Cup.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gideon Rachman is joined by Pilita Clark, environment correspondent, and Richard McGregor, Washington bureau chief, to discuss renewed efforts to tackle climate change. The Obama administration appears to have succeeded in making climate change a public health issue, and has set a target of reducing US power plant emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. Meanwhile rumours abound that China could include strict targets in its next five year plan, although sustaining economic growth remains its priority.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The recent European Parliament elections have transformed the continent’s political landscape. Anti-establishment parties have scored remarkable victories in countries such as France, Greece and the UK while mainstream forces have done less well. But good results for Angela Merkel’s CDU in Germany and Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party in Italy show voters have not completely turned their backs on the EU. In this week’s podcast, Ferdinando Giugliano is joined by Tony Barber, Europe editor, Hugh Carnegy, Paris bureau chief, and Guy Dinmore, Rome correspondent, to discuss the fallout from the elections  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Beijing took on added significance because of the deep divisions between Russia and the west, caused by the Ukrainian crisis. The two countries signed a landmark deal on gas supplies, as well as other agreements covering trade and arms sales. So is a new Russia-China axis emerging? Gideon Rachman is joined by James Blitz and James Kynge to discuss.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's podcast explores the rise of Europe's populist parties, and internal ructions over the election process for José Manuel Barroso's successor as EU President. Peter Spiegel, Brussels bureau chief, and Tony Barber, Europe editor, join Gideon Rachman to ask whether strong polling for populist parties should be seen more as a threat to their domestic rivals or to the result of next week's European elections. Also on the agenda is the fear that the disagreement between the European Parliament and heads of state over the process by which the next EU President will be chosen, is exactly the kind of internal standoff that gives eurosceptics justification for disengaging with EU politics  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nigeria’s status as the new economic powerhouse of Africa was supposed to be the talking point of a meeting of African leaders and top executives in Abuja this week. Instead, the world is in uproar over the government’s slow response to the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the Boko Haram terrorist group last month. In this week’s podcast, Ben Hall, world news editor, is joined by William Wallace, the FT’s Africa affairs writer and Javier Blas, Africa editor, to discuss western governments’ increasing concern at the upsurge in attacks and the Nigerian state’s apparent inability to deal with the militant threat.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Washington for talks with President Barack Obama, and Ukraine will top the agenda. Washington has led the way on sanctions, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on dozens of senior Russians and scores of companies, in an attempt to show Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that his interference in Ukraine will bring rising economic costs. The EU on the other hand, seems deeply resistant to tougher economic sanctions, given the much more important ties between Europe and Russia. In this week’s podcast, Ben Hall, world news editor, is joined by Geoff Dyer, Washington correspondent, and Stefan Wagstyl, Berlin bureau chief, to discuss how the two leaders should handle the escalating situation  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we look at Japan, where President Barack Obama is concluding a state visit. The US leader and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have vital business to discuss, from Japan’s delicate and rather dangerous relationship with China, to the state of the Japanese economy and hopes for a major new trade deal. David Pilling, Asia editor, and Lindsay Whipp, former Tokyo correspondent, join Gideon Rachman to discuss  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Decades of rapid growth have created a new middle class in the developing world, prompting multinational companies to invest heavily in emerging markets as they attempt to serve millions of new consumers. But rising inequality and slowing growth has presented a risk to this new middle class and is forcing companies to rethink their strategy. In this week's podcast, Ferdinando Giugliano is joined by Shawn Donnan, world trade editor and James Kynge, emerging markets editor to discuss this nascent middle class and its prospects in the face of slowing growth  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

India, the world’s largest democracy, is in the midst of conducting its general election. Voting has started and is set to go on for several weeks, with the result declared in mid-May. That result could be dramatic, with polls and pundits predicting the end of a long period of rule by the Congress party, and that a new government could be headed by Narendra Modi, the controversial leader of the BJP. To discuss what we can expect from these elections, Gideon Rachman is joined by Victor Mallet, Delhi bureau chief, and James Crabtree, Mumbai correspondent  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

President François Hollande's socialist party took a serious drubbing in Sunday's local elections. He responded by swiftly sacking his prime minister and replacing him with Manuel Valls, a tough interior minister and economic reformer from the party's right wing. So does this appointment signal a modernisng direction for France? Gideon Rachman is joined by Hugh Carnegy, Paris bureau chief, and Ben Hall, world news editor and former Paris correspondent, to discuss.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gideon Rachman is joined by Daniel Dombey, Turkey correspondent, and Leyla Boulton, head of special reports and former Turkey correspondent, to discuss Prime Minister Erdogan's ban on Twitter and what the year ahead holds for the country and its divisive leader. The Twitter ban adds to a growing cloud of controversy, with allegations of corruption and a blackmail ring also engulfing Turkey's political system, but Erdogan has retained much of his support from coservative groups and is still polling broadly above 40 per cent as this weekend's local elections approach  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.