Global Dispatches -- World News That Matter‪s‬ Mark Leon Goldberg

On February 1st, the Burmese military mounted a coup, deposing and detaining the civilian leadership of the country.

This coup is a major setback for Myanmar's transition to democracy and a key foreign policy challenge for the new Biden administration. 

Why was there a coup in Myanmar and what happens next? 

Guest:  John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director Human Rights Watch.

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On February 24 the very first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX arrived in Ghana. COVAX is the international cooperative effort around the development and distribution safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. Ghana became the first country to receive COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX when 600,000 doses landed at the airport in Accra. 

On hand to receive these doses was an old friend of mine, Owusu Akoto. He is the founder and CEO of a Ghanian cold chain logistics company called Freezelink. 

The conflict in Yemen is entering a new phase. The Houthi rebel group that controls much of the country is launching a new offensive in an oil rich region of the country. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has breathed new life into international diplomatic efforts to end the war by ending US support to the Saudi Arabia lead military campaign. 

Guest: Gregory D. Johnsen, Brookings Institute and former member of the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts on  Yemen.

We know that countries around the world sometimes favor coal because it is cheaper. But new research from my guest today Jan Steckel aims to pinpoint some of the political forces that drive investment in coal. 

Steckel along with his research collaborator Michael Jacob are coordinating a series of global case studies to understand the non-economic factors associated with investment in coal-fired power.

President Biden must soon make a key decision about American troop levels in Afghanistan. There are currently about 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan, but under a deal negotiated last year between the US and the Taliban all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by May 2021. 

Guest: Jessica Donati of the Wall Street Journal, author of Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War.    

2021 will be a consequential year for multilateral diplomacy on climate change. The geo-politics of this moment in climate diplomacy are complex and the new administration must skillfully navigate a path forward in order to make good on its promise to treat climate change like the priority it is. 

Guest: Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University.