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International Desk

On International Desk, the 95bFM News Team explores breaking and under-reported news from around the globe.

International Desk: The escalation of violence in Kashmir and the political context surrounding this w/ video essayist Rohan Davis: 8 May, 2025

International Desk: The escalation of violence in Kashmir and the political context surrounding this w/ video essayist Rohan Davis: 8 May, 2025 International Desk: The escalation of violence in Kashmir and the political context surrounding this w/ video essayist Rohan Davis: 8 May, 2025, 19.83 MB
Thu 8 May 2025

International relations experts are fearing a major conflict between India and Pakistan after sharp, escalating tensions, following a deadly terrorist attack in militarised Kashmir that killed 26 people.

Kashmiris have a long history of oppression. In modern times, this has been as India and Pakistan fight over the region while Kashmiris fight for independence. 

Human Rights Watch reports on Kashmir reveal examples of forced displacement, sexual violence, disappearances and allegations of torture and death in custody.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Rohan Davis about the recent terrorist attack and ongoing military escalation, as well as the historical and political context of the Kashmir crisis.

Davis is a video essayist on YouTube from Kerala, India, who covers Indian history and politics.

International Desk: What the Canadian election results say about strategic voting, Trump, and young people w/ Vote16 Canada’s Aleksi Toiviainen: 1 May, 2025

International Desk: What the Canadian election results say about strategic voting, Trump, and young people w/ Vote16 Canada’s Aleksi Toiviainen: 1 May, 2025 International Desk: What the Canadian election results say about strategic voting, Trump, and young people w/ Vote16 Canada’s Aleksi Toiviainen: 1 May, 2025, 23.97 MB
Thu 1 May 2025

The Canadian election has been won by Mark Carney’s Liberal Party.

Despite losing the election, the Conservatives made significant gains in their levels of support, particularly with young people. 

United States President Donald Trump also loomed large in the election, following his comments earlier this year that he would make Canada the “51st state” and the trade war he has started with Canada. 

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Aleksi Toiviainen, co-organiser for Vote16 Canada and democracy advocate, about the results of the election.

International Desk: The backlash to the UK Supreme Court excluding trans women from its definition of “woman” w/ TransActual’s Jane Fae: 24 April, 2025.

International Desk: The backlash to the UK Supreme Court excluding trans women from its definition of “woman” w/ TransActual’s Jane Fae: 24 April, 2025. , 18.98 MB
Thu 24 Apr 2025

The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled that trans women do not meet the definition of women under UK equality laws.

The decision means services for women, such as refuges, hospital wards, and toilets, can exclude trans women.

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jane Fae, a director at TransActual UK, about this decision and its backlash.

International Desk: The impact of Kilmar Ábrego García’s deportation on the rule of law in the United States w/ the University of Southern California’s Jean Lantz Reisz: 17 April, 2025

International Desk: The impact of Kilmar Ábrego García’s deportation on the rule of law in the United States w/ the University of Southern California’s Jean Lantz Reisz: 17 April, 2025 International Desk: The impact of Kilmar Ábrego García’s deportation on the rule of law in the United States w/ the University of Southern California’s Jean Lantz Reisz: 17 April, 2025, 14.85 MB
Thu 17 Apr 2025

Kilmar Ábrego García, a man legally in the United States, was wrongly deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador earlier this month. 

The Trump administration refuses to bring Ábrego García back to the United States despite a Supreme Court ruling stating that Trump must “facilitate” this process.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Associate Professor Jean Lantz Reisz from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California about Ábrego García's removal from the US and what this means for the rule of law.

International Desk: Cory Booker's 25-hour filibuster w/ Charles Hunt from Boise State University: 10 April, 2025

International Desk: Cory Booker's 25-hour filibuster w/ Charles Hunt from Boise State University: 10 April, 2025 International Desk: Cory Booker's 25-hour filibuster w/ Charles Hunt from Boise State University: 10 April, 2025, 22.97 MB
Thu 10 Apr 2025

Last week United States Senator Cory Booker gave a marathon 25-hour speech, or “filibuster”, in the Senate. 

Booker’s speech included a broad range of criticisms of President Donald Trump, including his widespread cuts with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and his threat to annex Greenland and Canada.

Booker had over 1,000 pages of prepared material, including stories from 200 Americans who had written to Booker about Trump’s actions. 

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Charles Hunt from Boise State University in Idaho about Booker’s speech, its historical basis, and its impact on a growing anti-Trump movement in the United States.

They started by asking if he could explain what a filibuster is.

International Desk: The impact of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court w/ Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria: 3 April, 2025

International Desk: The impact of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court w/ Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria: 3 April, 2025 International Desk: The impact of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court w/ Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria: 3 April, 2025, 14.4 MB
Thu 3 Apr 2025

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by the International Criminal Court and will be tried in the Hague for crimes against humanity.

This comes as the ICC faces criticism for other, more controversial current arrest warrants, including those against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria from Curtin University in Perth about Duterte’s arrest and broader issues facing the ICC.

International Desk: The Atlantic editor-in-chief was accidentally texted war plans by top US security officials w/ Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso: 27 March, 2025

International Desk: The Atlantic editor-in-chief was accidentally texted war plans by top US security officials w/ Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso: 27 March, 2025 International Desk: The Atlantic editor-in-chief was accidentally texted war plans by top US security officials w/ Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso: 27 March, 2025, 11.23 MB
Thu 27 Mar 2025

Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal group chat with top United States security officials who were discussing military plans for strikes on Yemen.

The group chat discussed operational details, and officials, including the Vice President JD Vance, seemed unaware of Goldberg’s presence. 

Jeffrey Goldberg initially left out some of these sensitive details in his article on the group chat but has released more specific information after the Trump administration downplayed the situation and said no classified information was shared.

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about this issue.

International Desk: The catastrophic end to the ceasefire in Gaza and the impact on children w/ UNICEF Aotearoa Tania Sawicki Mead: 20 March, 2025

International Desk: The catastrophic end to the ceasefire in Gaza and the impact on children w/ UNICEF Aotearoa Tania Sawicki Mead: 20 March, 2025 International Desk: The catastrophic end to the ceasefire in Gaza and the impact on children w/ UNICEF Aotearoa Tania Sawicki Mead: 20 March, 2025, 9.67 MB
Thu 20 Mar 2025

Military violence in Gaza has resumed after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed.

Israeli ground troops have advanced into Gaza, and earlier this week Israeli airstrikes killed more than 400 people, including 183 children.

Wire host Caeden spoke to UNICEF Aotearoa Communications Director Tania Sawicki Mead about the situation in Gaza, particularly the impact on children.

International Desk: The building opposition to the Trump administration w/ University of Waikato’s Garritt Van Dyk and Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso: 13 March, 2025

International Desk: The building opposition to the Trump administration w/ University of Waikato’s Garritt Van Dyk and Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso: 13 March, 2025. , 24.32 MB
Thu 13 Mar 2025

The United States is seeing a surge in backlash to the Trump administration's policies, particularly those focused on undermining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion domestically and the administration’s foreign policy position on Palestine.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to University of Waikato Senior Lecturer in history Garritt Van Dyk about the history of boycotts and the resurgence of this protest tactic against Trump.

They then spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News for his perspective from the ground on these growing opposition movements, particularly the impact of these movements within Universities.

International Desk: The instability of United States foreign policy and what this means for global security w/ University of Otago’s Professor Richard Jackson: 6 March, 2025

International Desk: The instability of United States foreign policy and what this means for global security w/ University of Otago’s Professor Richard Jackson: 6 March, 2025 International Desk: The instability of United States foreign policy and what this means for global security w/ University of Otago’s Professor Richard Jackson: 6 March, 2025, 14.41 MB
Thu 6 Mar 2025

The United States has frequently been in the news cycle recently for the Trump administration’s unstable foreign policy decisions.

This includes their decisions to cut 90% of USAID foreign contracts and to pause military aid to Ukraine following a fiery meeting between the leaders of both countries.

University of Otago’s Professor Richard Jackson describes President Trump’s behaviours as a threat to global order and security.

For International Desk this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to him about the instability of United States foreign policy and the global ramifications of this.