Nothing is Foreign

If you're a sports fan, you may have noticed Saudi Arabia making billions of dollars of investments in everything from Formula 1 to professional tennis. In two high profile moves, the Saudis backed the merger of LIV Golf with the PGA tour earlier this month, and recruited soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Professional League for a reported $200 million a year in January. Critics say the reason for this investment in sports is "sportswashing": an intentional move to build international prestige and distract from the actions of Saudi Arabia's repressive regime, which has been known for torture, mass executions, and suppressing civil liberties. Saudi officials argue this investment, which largely comes from the country's over $600 billion sovereign wealth fund, is meant to diversify its oil-dependent economy. This week, we talk about Saudi Arabia's big bet on sports, what it means for its economy, and what Saudi nationals think about it. Featuring: Ahmed Al Omran, Saudi journalist and former correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

About two weeks ago, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni approved one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, despite the U.S. government and the United Nations calling the legislation a violation of universal human rights. Advocates on the ground have called it state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia. Same-sex relations have been criminalized in Uganda for years, and a similar law from 2014 was struck down. This new law goes much further. For example, the death penalty would be imposed for the transmission of HIV/AIDS through gay sex. A 20-year sentence would be recommended if a Ugandan was found guilty of "promoting" homosexuality. This week on Nothing is Foreign, we look at the impact of this new anti-LGBTQ+ law, the roots of homophobia within the country and the role that disinformation and religion play. Featuring: Frank Mugisha, LGBTQ advocate and executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, which was shut down in August 2022. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/nothing-is-foreign-transcripts-listen-1.6732059

The BRICS nations, a group of growing economies including: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are reasserting themselves on the global stage. The alliance is not new, but it has gained more attention in the last year because none of the countries have taken part in sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Supporters of the BRICS alliance say a multipolar world is what's needed right now given rising geopolitical tensions, insecurity, and inequality. They are calling for power to be decentralized from Western countries like the U.S. and the U.K. Foreign ministers from each of those nations met last week to discuss their priorities: the possible creation of an alternative currency to the U.S dollar, the growth of their alternative to the World Bank, called the New Development Bank, and the likelihood of more nations joining the group. South Africa is set to hold a summit of BRICS heads of state in August. This week, we explore what the group stands for, why a non-Western power bloc is appealing to many countries in the Global South, and the skepticism around the alliance. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/nothing-is-foreign-transcripts-listen-1.6732059

Two back-to-back shootings near Belgrade, Serbia, have shocked the country. One of those was carried out by a 13-year-old student and left 10 people dead. While gun ownership is common in the country, events like this are rare. Tens of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets in protest, demanding an end to what they describe as a culture of violence in the country encouraged by both the media and far-right government officials. Analysts have also pointed to the lack of recognition around the country's war-scarred history as part of the problem. They say that the country has never fully come to terms with its role in the ethnic conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and the war crimes overseen by Serbian president Slobadan Milosevic in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. This week, we look at the historical roots of this culture of violence that protesters say they want addressed, the role of the media and politics in it, and how the grief brought on by two mass shootings might fuel change in Serbia. Featuring: Aleksandra Krstic, associate professor of journalism and media at the University of Belgrade. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/nothing-is-foreign-transcripts-listen-1.6732059

Whether it's ChatGPT, image generators like Dall-E or celebrity deepfakes, artificial intelligence technology has grown exponentially in the last few months. That has spurred a global race to be on the leading edge of those developments. While some of the best known AI chatbots and programs are coming out of the U.S. a parallel world of products has been popping up in China. Some experts say it's all happening too fast and that regulation needs to catch up but few governments have actually proposed in-depth rules on the issue. Currently, China and the European Union are at the forefront of creating a regulatory framework for AI technologies. This week, we're digging into why there is growing alarm about the global AI race, China's role in it, and what can be learned by attempts at regulating the technology so far. Featuring: Rishi Iyengar, Global technology reporter, Foreign Policy. Zeyi Yang, China reporter, MIT Technology Review. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/nothing-is-foreign-transcripts-listen-1.6732059