The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim

Communism, cigars and Cadillac cars.
A beautiful island that has been the thorn in the side of the U.S government for 67 years.
But what is it about this small island of approximately 10 million people and 90 miles off the coast of Florida that makes president after president so frustrated?
Yalda has just been in Havana, interviewing the president who rarely gives interviews to foreign press. He told her he was ready to give his blood to defend Cuba, if Trump decides on military action.
But will he? And what about the people of Cuba? What is life actually like under a blockade, with blackouts and a growing humanitarian crisis.
This week, Yalda is joined by Dr Christopher Sabatini, director of the Latin America programme at Chatham House. He has spent a lot of time in Cuba and talks to Yalda about the state of the nation at this pivotal time.
You can email your questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk
You can also watch our podcasts on our YouTube channel here.

America has lost the war with Iran and suffered their biggest strategic defeat in history.
That is according to Robert Kagan, a prominent foreign policy analyst and historian. He joins Richard on the podcast in this extra episode to talk about America’s position in the world following the start of the war in the Gulf.
Why did Trump get involved? What next for Israel? Can the Gulf States still count on America to defend them? The two get into all of these questions and debate whether this actually was America’s biggest global loss.
You can email your questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk
You can also watch our podcasts on our YouTube channel here.

Do all roads in the Middle East lead to Lebanon?
Journalist and historian Kim Ghattas thinks so. She argues that it is often the fate of small nations to be playgrounds rather than players.
Iran, America and Israel all have interest in the country. It is also now central to the Memorandum of Understanding that exists between Iran and America.
After months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and a bombing campaign by the Netanyahu government that has left over 4,000 people dead, a shaky ceasefire is now in place. So what does the future hold for this country?
Richard and Kim discuss all of this on this week’s episode of The World podcast.
You can email your questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk
You can also watch our podcasts on our YouTube channel here.

The US and Iran have agreed a framework for peace talks, but Israel is deeply unhappy with the direction of travel.
With mixed messages from Donald Trump, growing scepticism in Israel and no guarantees the deal will hold, how fragile is this peace process?
Yalda Hakim and Richard Engel unpack the deal, why Vice President JD Vance has become its public face and whether he is being set up to take the blame if it fails.
Plus, Yalda reflects on her interview with US conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and what his growing influence says about the changing debate around Israel in America.
Send your questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk.
Also, you can watch The World on our YouTube channel here.

Four months of fighting between America and Iran has led to this: a one-and-a-half-page agreement. But what does it actually mean?
The details are sparse, but the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened, the US blockade will end and in the next 60 days there will be negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump says Iran can never have a nuclear weapon - will Iran agree?
This week, Yalda is joined by Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group. He was involved in the negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear deal and is a nuclear scientist.
He talks to Yalda about what the next 60 days could bring and why he thinks this war may have actually encouraged Iran to develop its nuclear programme quicker.
You can email your questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk
You can also watch our podcasts on our YouTube channel here.