The blaze that engulfed seven high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district was the deadliest the city has seen in over 70 years. At least 156 people have died, 30 are still missing, while 15 have been arrested for alleged manslaughter. Grief has overwhelmed the city and fuelled an uncontrollable anger towards those in power.Today - almost a week after the fire - we ask how the tragedy unfolded, why Hong Kong is still enraged and what it tells us about the city that once prided itself on transparency and democracy.Joining Matt Frei from Hong Kong are Tom Grundy, founder and editor of the local media Hong Kong Free Press, and Selina Cheng, chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
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Booming or breaking? The truth about Russia’s war economy
For months after Vladimir Putin’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders predicted Russia’s economy was on the brink of collapse under sanctions - and yet it didn’t.It transformed into a wartime economy, fuelled by military production, redirected trade routes, and deeper ties with China and India.But now there are signs this may be changing - with industrial output slowing, inflation rising, and severe labour shortages as hundreds of thousands of working-age men have either died, emigrated or been mobilised.And Western leaders are once again questioning how long Putin can bankroll his war machine.So is Russia’s economy finally starting to buckle - or is this still wishful thinking from Ukraine’s allies?On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia editor at The Economist, and Elina Ribakova, one of the world’s leading experts on sanctions and Russian macro-economics.
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Polanski v Farage: Is the political centre in Britain dead?
As Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the budget on Wednesday, she faces the political nightmare of having to come back for more tax, having said she wouldn't and she's already made it clear that whatever she does the burden will fall on all of us, not just the rich minority - but the left and the Greens are demanding a wealth tax, while the right and Reform are demanding welfare cuts and tax cuts.Voters are disillusioned, inflation is stubborn, services are still struggling and faith in the political centre is evaporating.So how does the chancellor land her budget without causing a political crisis for Labour or a financial crisis on the bond markets?On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan-Guru-Murthy was joined by Green Party leader Zack Polanski, Labour MP Rosie Wrighting, one of the new intake last year, and Rupert Harrison, a former advisor to George Osborne in the treasury and now at the US investment managers PIMCO.
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Wealth tax vs tax cuts: how to fix the UK economy?
With the budget just days away, Rachel Reeves is facing yet another black hole in the public finances - after ditching plans to raise income tax, it’s been widely reported that the government will go for a “smorgasboard” of tax rises and spending cuts to plug the gap, but critics on the left and right say it won’t address the deeper structural rot in Britain’s economy. So on this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by two economists with radically different visions for how to turn the country around. James Meadway, host of the Macrodose podcast and former economic adviser to John McDonnell, argues inequality is choking growth and that only a major reset of wealth, investment and a green industrial strategy can revive the UK. Catherine McBride served on the last government’s Trade and Agricultural Commission and she thinks the real problem is over-regulation, high taxes and net-zero. And Channel 4 News’ economics correspondent Helia Ebrahimi also joined the pod to cut through the political noise - and test whether any of their ideas actually add up.
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Trump's peace plan is to 'surrender' - Ukrainian filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov
US and Russian officials have drafted new proposals to end the Ukraine war but they would appear to require major concessions from President Zelenskyy over territory and weapons. Will they be acceptable to the Ukrainian President, and what about his forces fighting on the frontline? On this episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei speaks to the award-winning filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov who has a new film just out that follows a brigade of soldiers as they attempt to liberate the village of Andriivka in the east of the country, the sort of place that would be included in the new Russian-controlled territory.
A podcast from Channel 4 News taking an in-depth look at the biggest stories from Westminster, Washington and around the world. From global conflicts to the corridors of power, we expose, examine and interrogate what's really going on with the people who really know.
Watch the episodes here:
https://www.channel4.com/news/the-fourcast
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