Trump, Putin and the new global order

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kate Adie presents stories from Russia, the occupied West Bank, Bangladesh, South Africa and India

US relations with its Western allies have been upended recently amid a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow. The BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg reveals how the warming of relations has been feted in the pro-Putin press, while ordinary Russians are seemingly more cautious.

As the first stage of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel comes to an end, Israel's defence forces are in the midst of another major operation against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank. Paul Adams visited one of the region's refugee camps to see what impact Israel’s military action is having on the thousands of people forced to leave their homes.

Bangladesh remains politically unstable six months after the violent student-led uprising which brought down long-term leader, Sheikh Hasina. In the absence of political certainty, fundamentalist Islamic groups – previously side-lined in politics – have found fresh impetus, says David Loyn.

Johannesburg in South Africa is often framed as one of the world's most dangerous cities - but there are signs of improvement, with both locals and tourists returning to explore areas once regarded as no-go zones. Ed Habershon met the Joburgers trying to change their city’s image.

Each year, in the south Indian state of Kerala, ancient folk rituals, known as theyyams, are held in family estates and around temples. Sara Wheeler went to watch the dramatic spectacles, where performers become living embodiments of Hindu deities.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, today we're in the Occupied West Bank,
0:08.3	where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from camps as Israel continues its iron wall operation.
0:16.8	Johannesburg has a grim reputation for its high crime rates.
0:20.8	We hear how local tour guides are working to restore its reputation.
0:25.3	In Bangladesh, we hear of the political manoeuvres taking place as parties jostle for power,
0:31.9	following the downfall of PM Sheikh Hasina.
0:35.0	And finally, we're in the Indian coastal state of Kerala to witness an ancient
0:40.3	folk ritual where humans become gods. But first, hope for consensus on how to end the war in Ukraine
0:48.3	took a turn for the worse yesterday, after a highly combative meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
0:58.2	Following the showdown, a number of Ukraine's key European allies were quick to confirm their
1:03.6	continued support for Ukraine, while Mr. Trump was praised by the former Russian President
1:10.1	Dimitri Medvedev, who said it was good to see
1:13.9	Mr Zelensky get a proper slapdown in the Oval Office. This comes after Donald Trump had
1:21.7	previously referred to Velodomir Zelensky as a dictator, something which also went down particularly well in Moscow.
1:30.9	The BBC's Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, has been trying to make sense of this shifting
1:36.6	geopolitical landscape.
1:39.2	Well, where do I start?
1:41.7	I could begin by talking about the new global order that is taking shape,
1:46.7	by describing the geopolitical earthquake that is shaking the world to its core and ripping apart
1:52.9	old alliances. But no. Instead, let me begin by telling you about six yellow radishes.
2:00.7	That was the picture on a seed packet that came
2:03.5	free this week with one of the Russian newspapers I subscribed to. It was attached to the front page.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.