After three years of sanctions, women's lives in Afghanistan are highly restricted and hunger is widespread. So if sanctions have failed, is it time for the outside world to change its approach and re-engage with the country's Taliban rulers? Gideon discusses this question with Saad Mohseni, chair of Afghanistan’s largest television station and co-author of a new book Radio Free Afghanistan, and Afghan women's rights activist Fatima Gailani. Clip: CBS News

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Leaving Kabul: what happened when the Taliban returned

Taliban’s closer ties with UAE signal global divide over Afghan regime

How the Taliban’s return made Afghanistan a hub for global jihadis

Singer Elaha Soroor on her anthem for Afghan women

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Norbert Röttgen, a CDU member of the foreign affairs committee of the German parliament and author of a new book called Democracy and War. Röttgen criticises Chancellor Olaf Scholz for failing to live up to his early pledges of support for Ukraine. He laments the country's 'deplorable' divide on the Ukraine war, but says he is convinced that most Germans recognise that a victory for Russia would be disastrous for Europe. Clips: SPD; Info fur die Welt

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Germany, political extremism and the risks to Ukraine

Victory for the AfD raises difficult questions about east Germany

Germany to launch limited military service in push to be ‘war ready’

Ukraine’s shifting war aims

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East programme at Chatham House in London, about what Israel and Iran may be planning for their next move as the region slides towards all-out war. Clips: The Telegraph; BBC

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Middle East at war: 12 key moments

Oil prices climb as Iran missile attack prompts supply fears

Israel steps up offensive against Hizbollah as region braces for retaliation

How Israeli spies penetrated Hizbollah

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Kim Ghattas, an FT contributing editor based in Beirut, about Israel’s decision to step up its war against Lebanon’s Hizbollah. How will the militant group and its allies respond, and can the war be contained? Clips: Sky News; The Guardian

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Israel tells troops to prepare for possible ground offensive in Lebanon

Military briefing: Israeli intelligence and air force use ‘victory doctrine’ against Hizbollah

‘Leave your homes now’: Lebanon endures bloodiest day in decades

Its strategy may lie in ruins, but Hizbollah will not admit defeat

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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As world leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly, Gideon Rachman speaks to António Guterres, secretary-general of the UN. Guterres explains why he thinks the organisation remains indispensable - as the world struggles to get to grips with an array of daunting global challenges - including war and climate change.

Clip: The Guardian

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World must exit ‘highway to climate hell’, UN boss warns, as records are again broken

China and US push each other on priorities for UN COP29 climate talks

‘Enfeebled’ UN fights for relevance in divided world

Alarm raised on sea level rise and ocean warming as Pacific Islands leaders meet

Nobel winners hit out at removal of fossil fuels from draft UN pact

China and US push each other on priorities for UN COP29 climate talks

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Simon Panayi.

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Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region of Russia represented another sign that Vladimir Putin’s invasion is not going to plan. But numerous setbacks, and the sanctions regime imposed by the west, have so far failed to loosen the Russian leader’s grip on power. Gideon discusses why Russians are still backing Putin with Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Clip: Deutsche Welle

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Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia despite international arrest warrant

US accuses China of directly supporting Russia’s ‘war machine’

The Kremlin princelings cementing Putin’s rule

Ukraine’s battle against Russia in maps: latest updates

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Gabriel Gatehouse about his new book, The Coming Storm: A Journey into the Heart of the Conspiracy Machine. They discuss the US Republican party’s embrace of far-fetched conspiracy theories, and how these are being deployed in the upcoming presidential election. Clip: CNN

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Conspiracy theories are being baked into American politics

A mind-infecting virus: the dark dreams of QAnon

Misinformed about misinformation

America’s election year battle over who polices online disinformation

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner.

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Gideon talks to Takako Hikotani of the Asia Society Policy Institute about how Japanese attitudes towards security have changed in light of the war in Ukraine and China’s more aggressive stance in the South China Sea. Clips: CNA

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Japan says China’s airspace incursion ‘totally unacceptable’

Never a zealot, Fumio Kishida showed a surprising fearlessness

China rejects Nato accusations of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine

US and Japan announce ‘most significant’ upgrade to military alliance

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Simon Panayi.

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