The Debate

• International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women: How is AI reinventing misogyny?

  Every 10 minutes last year, a woman somewhere in the world was killed by a person close to her, while some 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members in 2024. These figures have been released by the UN as we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls. But how do we get the message across that violence against women and girls is a men's issue; particularly as the rise of AI has intensified digital abuse directed at women? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Lila Paulou, Ilayda Habip, Annette Young and Charles Wente.

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• US-backed Ukraine peace plan: What's at stake?

  This Monday, the US and Ukraine pressed on with talks in Switzerland to come up with a mutually acceptable peace plan. This after agreeing to modify a US proposal that Kyiv and its European allies saw as a Kremlin wish list. The 28-point draft plan includes several long-standing Russian demands, crossing Kyiv’s established red lines and overlooking key European security concerns. Is this plan the basis for a genuine peace deal or destined for failure? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Lila Paulou, Ilayda Habip, Annette Young and Charles Wente.

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• US-Russia framework to end Ukraine war: Plan for peace or capitulation?

  Ukraine is facing yet another major challenge in its fight to preserve its borders, its land and its people. The military battle continues as it has since 2014, intensifying sharply in 2022. The latest challenge is the emergence of a new US-Russia framework to end the war – a proposal that has left observers perplexed and many Ukrainians stunned. The plan appears to pressure Ukraine into giving up territory, surrendering arms and downsize its armed forces to placate Vladimir Putin's Russia. It would also reportedly impose cultural concessions, including the suppression of the Ukrainian language in favour of Russian. Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s close adviser on global affairs, met with Putin aide Kiril Dmitriev in Miami last month to discuss the plan. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

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• ‘Trump’s Achilles heel’: US president under fire over handling of Epstein files

  Ever since he first ran for president in 2015, Donald Trump has claimed that to “drain the swamp”, America needs a leader who knows where “the bodies are buried” in the corrupt circles of Wall Street and Washington.  So why has the MAGA base turned against him over the Epstein files? Why is it so difficult for Trump – who has already survived allegations of inciting an insurrection, undermining the Constitution and facing multiple criminal charges – to make this story go away? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Juliette Brown.

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• The prince and the president: What drives US-Saudi relations?

  As the Middle East undergoes a once-in-a-generation shift in political fault lines, great power diplomacy could make the difference for millions between peace and stability or turbulence and endless conflict. So what's driving that diplomacy? Between the US and Saudi Arabia, it's a confusing mix of bilateral security ties, regional reach-outs to the likes of Syria and Israel and personal enrichment. We ask about the Trump family's longstanding ties to the kingdom, as well as reports that the US president is about to get a lot richer. That blurring of lines between affairs of state and private investment is just one of the talking points as the Saudi crown prince is welcomed with honours to the White House for the first time since the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The same Mohammed bin Salman who back then threw his weight around domestically and on the world stage has mended fences with Iran, wound down his country's involvement in Yemen’s brutal civil war and more recently brokered a breaking of the ice with Syria’s new masters. How all-in is Saudi Arabia, a nation whose role is key in guaranteeing that US efforts to end the fighting in Gaza ensure a better future for Palestinians, as agreed in Monday's UN vote which endorsed the Trump plan? For a US president who campaigned against forever wars, will this visit by MBS help him keep that pledge – or keep the United States militarily committed to the region for a long, long time? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.

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