The Fourcast

Keir Starmer is in Beijing meeting Xi Jinping, as Britain looks to reset ties with China. Is this a glimpse of a new world order - one where America’s traditional allies start to look elsewhere?  For some, it’s an inevitable response to the breakdown of the US-led order that could usher in a more balanced world that reflects growing power outside of the West. For others, it’s a dangerous shift acc...

Keir Starmer has blocked Andy Burnham’s bid to run in the Gorton and Denton by-election, but has he just delayed the leadership challenge many in Westminster believe is inevitable? If there is a challenge, does the Labour Party risk descending into the same internal conflicts that helped bring down the Conservatives? Starmer's latest foreign destination is China for a meeting with President Xi...

The government is weighing up whether or not to follow in Australia’s footsteps and ban social media for under-16s. Supporters argue that online safety efforts have failed and that children are being exposed to increasingly harmful content. Critics warn that a ban would isolate young people, let tech companies off the hook, and create a dangerous cliff-edge at 16. Companies across the Big Tech sec...

It was hoped the fall of Syria's former dictator Bashar al-Assad would usher in a period of stability, unity and perhaps - eventually - democracy. But now the country enters a new and unpredictable phase as President Ahmed Al-Sharaa tightens his grip on power. In the north-east of the country the Kurds were the West’s key ally against Islamic State. Now their control in the region is collapsin...

As Donald Trump marks a year back in office, his threats against Europe and hard-line trade policies are pushing his allies to the edge - while China and Russia, once considered America’s enemies, watch on with apparent glee. And if the UK once thought flattery was the best form of defence, the president has put paid to that with potentially crushing tariffs and a swipe at Keir Starmer’s Chagos Is...

Donald Trump wants Greenland - and he’s willing to use tariffs to get it. If European allies refuse to sell, the US president has threatened to escalate trade penalties, weaponising economic pressure rather than military force. The proposal has sparked alarm across Europe, with some leaders calling for the EU to deploy its so-called “trade bazooka” in response. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has w...

It’s been quite the week in Westminster. A sacking, a defection, and a deepening crisis on the right. Robert Jenrick’s move to Reform has capped off a dramatic few days for the Conservatives. While Nigel Farage has celebrated the moment, calling it a historic realignment of centre-right politics in the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister has described the Conservative Party as a "sinking ship&...

Donald Trump is once again threatening to annex Greenland, but is it different this time? What once sounded like a joke, now feels like a genuine test of how far Europe is willing to stand up to its most powerful ally. So is President Trump actually a bigger threat to Nato than President Putin? And if so, what should Europe do about it? On this episode of The Fourcast, Jackie Long is joined by Cha...

The Iranian regime is facing its most serious unrest in years - with protests sweeping Iran despite a near-total internet blackout and a deadly response from security forces. Donald Trump is threatening new tariffs, Western governments are debating whether to escalate sanctions and blacklist the IRGC and the German Chancellor says he believes the embattled Iranian government is in its "final...

Iran’s foreign minister insists the situation is “under total control.” But reports inside Iran tell a different story, with human rights groups warning of hundreds killed and thousands arrested as the regime tries to crush a new wave of nationwide protests. Internet blackouts make verification difficult, yet glimpses of the streets show anger not just at the authorities but at the symbols of stat...

A fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis has ignited a battle over the truth. Federal officials say Renee Nicole Good tried to run over an immigration agent. City leaders say she was wrongly killed. And the videos circulating online raise more questions than answers This confrontation unfolds as President Trump launches one of the largest immigration crackdowns in years, flooding Minneapolis with thous...

Iran is in the grip of its most intense unrest in years with protests spreading across the country and Donald Trump vowing that the US will defend Iranian protesters - prompting Tehran to accuse him of psychological warfare.  What began in Tehran’s bazaar over soaring prices and a collapsing currency has spread across 27 provinces, with inflation above 50% and a government struggling to contain an...

Venezuela has long been a country of contradictions, sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves while its economy collapsed around it. Now Donald Trump’s removal of Nicolás Maduro and Washington’s effective control of the country has pushed Venezuela back to the centre of global politics. At stake is not only a vast energy prize but a bigger shift in how nations compete for resources,, from crude...

What will 2026 look like around the globe? Will the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza ever happen, will Ukraine and Russia agree to Donald Trump's peace deal, and what about the World Cup? To explore what and who will shape the world in 2026, on this final Fourcast episode of 2025, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by two of Channel 4 News' most experienced international journalists who have seen...

Phase one of Donald Trump’s ceasefire in Gaza appears to be holding, but it's precarious as hundreds of Gazans have been killed since it began and hundreds of thousands remain homeless and displaced. The Israeli defence force still occupies much of the territory and Hamas have re-established themselves in some areas. So is phase two - with its transitional authority and international peace for...

As Ukraine prepares to present a revised peace proposal to Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is prepared to hold elections in months - a long-standing demand from Moscow. Meanwhile European leaders appear to be edging closer to seizing frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine. So is the peace process entering a decisive phase - or is this just another round of political theatre? On this e...

China is in an age of rapid technology development with AI, robots and drones - and many fear this relentless progress, and Xi Jinping’s desire to reabsorb Taiwan, will bring it into direct conflict with the United States. But is China’s rise as inevitable and smooth as its leaders want it to be? Our International Editor Lindsey Hilsum has returned from a trip to China where she was Channel 4 News...

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 t...

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 ris...

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 t...

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 F...

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 fil...

The NHS is facing one of its deepest crises - a string of maternity scandals, from Shrewsbury to Nottingham, Oxford to Leeds. Hundreds of babies have died or been left severely injured in hospitals meant to keep them safe. So why does this keep happening? Is it about funding, training, or a system that protects itself instead of patients? On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru Murthy is jo...

Labour is facing an extraordinary rift at the top of government. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has strongly denied claims that he is plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying that attacks are a sign of a toxic culture at Number 10.  The story erupted after an anonymous briefing suggested Streeting could be preparing a leadership bid - a claim he has strongly rejected. But the row...

The BBC is in meltdown: both the Director General Tim Davie and the Head of News Deborah Turness have quit in the same weekend after a leaked memo accused the corporation of systemic political bias - an edit of Donald Trump’s speech ahead of the January 6th riots at heart of the memo.  The President has now piled in, threatening a billion dollar lawsuit. So what is really going on? Was this a righ...