Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

World Service,21 Jun 2019,53 mins

US Senate votes to block Trump's $8bn Saudi arms sale

Big Boss Interview

Available for over a year

In a rare bipartisan act the Republican-led Senate passed three resolutions to prevent the sale. The president has promised to veto the action, leaving the deal in limbo. Meantime, in the UK the Court of Appeal ruled that the British government must review the way it grants export licences for arms sales to Saudi Arabia - after ruling that current procedures were unlawful. We unpick the political and financial fallout. We are also looking at Hong Kong - will there be more protests? The campaigners who've been arguing so vociferously, and in such numbers, against a proposed law allowing extradition to mainland China have given the Hong Kong legislature a deadline to scrap it completely. Next week in Bahrain, the first piece of the Trump administration's much-vaunted Middle East peace plan is due to fall into place, at a workshop on the Palestinian economy. But the Palestinian Authority - despite being on the verge of financial collapse - has cut ties with the White House and won't be there. We look at the reasons why. We are taking a closer look at Canadian environmental policies and we are travelling to Africa where the bi-annual Africa Cup of Nations tournament is about to kick off. Organisers hope it will provide a significant boost to the Egyptian economy - but a shadow that often lingers over major sporting events like the Olympic Games is once again stalking this tournament - is the economic benefit of hosting such events over-hyped? Presenter Fegus Nicoll is joined Mike Bird in Hong Kong and Alexander Kaufmann in New York.

Programme Website
More episodes