Ukraine war four years on: Is an end in sight?

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year, day-to-day life has become wearyingly normal.Having endured one of the coldest winters on record – mostly without electricity because of Russia’s bombing of power plants – the grinding misery of trying to survive for Ukranians goes on.The devastation in the cities targeted by Russia is clear to see and cost in lives immense. Civilians are paying a massive price: official figures note that 55,000 Ukranians have been killed on the battlefield and the total death toll could be as high as 200,000 people. It is thought that 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed – though the Kremlin has not released figures.Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian MP from the opposition Holos party, explains what life is like for her in the war, how successive peace talks have been weighted in Russia’s favour, and how her job as a legislator still goes on with, for her, the added worry that her partner is fighting on the front line.Her resilience and determination that Russia cannot win, is she says, shared by her compatriots.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have been relentless and growing in ferocity since the US and Israel launched its war against Iran on February 28th.Saying it is targeting Hizbullah, the Iran-backed militia that essentially functions as a state-within-a state in Lebanon, Israel issues evacuation orders to residents in advance of its missile attacks. That has prompted a mass displacement of people seeking safety.On Wednesday night, air strikes hit the Beirut seafront killing eight people and injuring more than 30 displaced people; families who had fled their homes on Israeli instructions and who were living in tents near the beach.Sally Hayden, who reports from the region for The Irish Times, lives in Beirut.To understand how the attacks are impacting Beirut residents, she visited churches, halls and even a football stadium where displaced people, including thousands of children, are seeking safety in very basic conditions.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News that Kinahan cartel founder Christy Kinahan snr and his sons, Daniel and Christopher jnr, have not left the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for four years offers real insight into how small their world has become.Garda sources say that finding the Kinahans has never been the problem for the teams of detectives investigating them. What has proved difficult is building a case against the men who are the reported leaders of one of the biggest drugs cartels in the world.According to crime and security editor Conor Lally they are literally too scared to leave the UAE for fear of losing control of their lives and their liberty. Why? And why have they not been brought to justice given that a Garda file on the Kinahan leadership was submitted to the DPP in 2023.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first wave of attacks on Iran, a primary school was hit, with a reported death toll of 175, most of them young girls.It is the deadliest known episode of civilian casualties since the US and Israel launched its war in the region on February 28th.In the immediate aftermath, no side took responsibility and who is to blame has become a question that the Trump administration is being called upon to answer.And its answers are confusing and evasive, including the president’s claim that the school was hit by Iran.While both Israel and the US say they are investigating, and with outside reporters unable to reach the scene, Malachy Browne and the Visual Investigations Team at the New York Times began to piece together what happened. So how did the team do it and what does this mean for the US strategy of “precision strikes”? Browne explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the conflict in Iran continues and spreads, global markets are down and oil prices are soaring. So what impact could the conflict have on the global economy and on energy costs here in Ireland? Irish Times economics columnist Cliff Taylor explains what we know. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his new documentary Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars, director Mike Sheridan explores the profound influence of toxic discourse in the United States on the rest of the world – and in particular, Ireland.Through interviews and examples he shows how, with the amplification of social media, legitimate grievance can bloom into conspiracist, and how easily performance, paranoia, and power intertwine.As Irish Times reviewer Tara Brady notes, the film which “begins as a study of toxic discourse in the United States expands into a sobering excavation of recent unrest in Dublin. The riots of November 2023, along with the persistence of aggressive anti-immigrant demonstrations, are presented as symptoms of a transnational malaise”.Sheridan explains to In the News how he made the documentary, how imported misinformation can gain such a powerful hold, and why high-profile US commentators including Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes became so invested in the Dublin riots without any apparent factual knowledge of what occurred.Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars is available to rent on Apple TV and other digital platformsPresented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI is turning the recruitment process upside down and leading to a jobs market which can be frustrating and difficult to navigate.So while it is easy to apply for a job online – multiple jobs even, in one go – it’s a harsh reality particularly for business or tech graduates looking for their first job that their achievement-filled CV won’t be read by a person.Instead it will be put through an AI-powered predictive hiring tool designed to evaluate CVs.In a blink it will find keywords related to many categories such as education and experience, and weight them according to the company’s requirements.And there is a strong possibility it won’t just be looking at the CV; it will also scrape the web for a candidate’s social media posts and any other web mention.And then if the candidate does get through that process, a video interview, with AI, might follow. Meeting an actual human is a long way off.So how does it all work and why are recent graduates having such a hard time finding suitable employment?Peter Cosgrove, managing director of Futurewise explains what AI does in the recruitment process, and why not getting the job might not be entirely the algorithm’s fault.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Within minutes of the war beginning on Saturday, allies Israel and the US had achieved a stated goal: Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed alongside his powerful inner circle. His death would, according to both US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, pave the way for regime change, allowing opposition forces in Tehran to rise up and take control. Iran retaliated with attacks on Israel, while Iranian drones have also hit countries across the Middle East. Hizbullah, an Iranian-backed militia, fired missiles into Israel in the early days of the war, and by Wednesday Israeli forces entered Lebanon. The death toll – notably in Iran – is mounting. And the rest of the world is feeling the impact with threats of economic instability, oil shortages and travel and trade chaos. But are the US and Israel on the same page when it comes to the war’s objectives? And are they equal partners in this or is this Israel’s war with the US providing military support? Irish Times contributor Mark Weiss in Jerusalem explains how the US and Israel are looking for different outcomes from this war. And Shashank Joshi, defence editor with The Economist Magazine, explores how the war might end – and when – and why the Kurds might be drawn in to war. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In late January, the Spanish government announced a mass legalisation scheme which will provide migrants with a one-year, renewable residency permit, allowing them to be hired legally.Opening for applications next month, it will benefit about half a million people.For socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez, the move is about the Spanish values of dignity, community and justice. It also makes the country an outlier in Europe.So who are the migrants likely to benefit from the amnesty and why, at a time when its European neighbours are tightening the rules around undocumented arrivals, has Spain offered such a sweeping amnesty. How will it work and how have Sanchez’s political opponents reacted? And will any other country in the bloc be encouraged to copy the Sanchez plan.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Dublin man who admitted killing a young American nurse in Budapest in November 2024 will face trial in April. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, insisting her death was the result of an accident during consensual sex.The 38-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, previously admitted to killing Mackenzie Michalski (31) during a sexual encounter and hiding her body.At a preliminary hearing in February, the man’s lawyer made an application to have his client released with an electronic tag until the end of his trial. The court heard that his parents had purchased a flat in the Hungarian capital for this purpose and were willing to put up more than €50,000 for bail. The application was rejected.Hungarian journalist Bálint Dömötör details the case.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.