The Far East and the Middle East (E376)

There was a Quad summit last week (for the unaware, the Quad Group is a defence collaboration between the US, Australia, Japan, and India) at which, among other items on the agenda, members discussed the effects of the coronavirus in the east – though China was conspicuous by its absence and not asked to contribute. North Korea was also absent from the agenda, an issue which has been a major priority for the Group and US administrations in the past. So, we invited journalist and political analyst Tom Fowdy onto Sputnik to find out just what was on the agenda, and to discuss what appear to be hardening attitudes towards China.

18 years after the invasion of Iraq by US and British forces, the country is still in a terrible mess. So much so, that the papal visit last week was possibly one of the bravest things he has ever done. It was something which must have been approached with some trepidation by the Vatican, with so many armed groups still active in the country. However, he was welcomed with warmth and he appears to have brought some hope to the war-ravaged country. We invited academic and writer Sami Ramadani onto Sputnik to tell us more about this historic visit, as well as the state of Iraq today.

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Podcast https://soundcloud.com/rttv/sets/sputnik-orbiting-the-world-1