The Fourcast Channel 4 News

Three years ago this week, Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus. But three years on, Covid and the impact of lockdowns continue to dominate our headlines. 
This week, Boris Johnson faced a Commons inquiry on whether he misled parliament over the notorious lockdown parties, and just a few weeks ago, WhatsApp messages sent by Matt Hancock and others during the pandemic were leaked, with some claiming that they threw into question whether the government took the right path to control the pandemic. And there is still ongoing debate about whether this deadly virus began after a lab leak in China. 
In today’s episode, Kiran Moodley speaks to Health and Social Care Editor Victoria Macdonald, as well Edinburgh University’s professor of Global Public Health Devi Sridhar, about whether the ongoing fallout and discussions around the pandemic have actually altered their views on what happened at the peak of the virus. 
Sources: ITN, CNN
 

Gary Linker and the BBC have been dominating the headlines after the Match of the Day host was asked to step back from presenting after tweeting out criticism of the government’s language around refugees.
But what does this whole row mean for the BBC, and what does it say about the state of our media and its relationship to impartiality?
In today’s podcast, we speak with Adam Boulton, formerly editor-at-large of Sky News, whether he thinks the BBC has an issue over impartiality.
 

We were told to prepare for a “Winter of Discontent”, of strikes, rising prices, a coming recession with our economy set this year to shrink unlike all the rest. Even Russia was going to fare better than the UK.
But it has not been as bad as once feared - so what is going on?
In today’s episode, Business Reporter Neil Macdonald discusses the state of our economy ahead of next week’s budget and whether a slightly improved outlook means energy prices can remain low and strikes could even come to an end.
Producer: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe 

China wants to be the superpower of the 21st century, but does it want to provoke war or play peacemaker?
This week the country announced it was increasing military spending, and its newly installed foreign minister warned that if the US did not change course soon, there would be conflict.
But China also recently published a 12-point plan for ending the conflict in Ukraine, despite not condemning Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian president Volodmyr Zelenskyy even said he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss the plans.
So is this the moment where Beijing asserts itself on the world stage after being locked away during Zero Covid for so long? 
In today’s episode, Kiran Moodley speaks to Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford, about China’s growing frustration with Moscow and the likelihood of a new Cold War.
Producers: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe

This week, Rishi Sunak agreed a new Brexit deal with the European Union: the Windsor framework. 
 
Seven years after Britain voted in the referendum, is this the end of protocol conversation, trade deals, backstops, and late night votes? Does this mean we can finally all stop talking about Brexit? What exactly does the Windsor framework do? How is it different from before? And is this really the end of the Conservatives’ decades-long battle over its relationship with Europe?
 
In today's Fourcast, our political editor Gary Gibbon delves into the details, ponders what Sunak did that others could not, and whether the DUP’s official silence means this may not be over yet. Oh and also - what about Boris Johnson?
 
Producer: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe

Today marks one year since Russia began its latest invasion of Ukraine: one year since tanks rolled across the border, one year since missiles struck the capital and beyond, one year since the post Cold War world changed forever.
Now, the expected defeat of Ukraine is clearly a long way off, but any sense of how this war might end feels equally far from reality - with Joe Biden this week reaffirming the West’s commitment to Ukraine’s fight for as long as it takes - while Vladimir Putin used his state of the nation speech to double down on his worldview.
In today's Fourcast, our Europe editor Matt Frei speaks to us from Kyiv, the capital where he was last year when the first bombs fell, and where he was again this week to take in the latest, historic events in this 21st century conflict.
Sources: AP 
Producer: Freya Pickford and Alice Wagstaffe