FT News

How is the Chinese premier facing up to the country's economic slowdown? What's the big fiscal difference between the main parties in the British election? And can robots really cook like humans? Henry Mance considers these and other questions in his review of the best of the FT podcasts.

Iraqi forces suffered reverses this week in their battles against Islamic State militants in the province of Anbar, west of the capital Baghdad. Fiona Symon talks to FT Middle East correspondent Borzou Daragahi about what went wrong.

Twelve years ago, Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon, gave the green light for an experimental business that would rent out computing power by the hour. Amazon Web Services now dominates a multibillion dollar and growing market. Murad Ahmed talks to Leslie Hook about the group's decision to disclose details of its cloud service.

The global economy is recovering, but how sustainable is the modest upturn? Ferdinando Giugliano talks to Eswar Prasad, economist at Cornell University and senior fellow at Brookings, about the findings from the latest FT/Brookings Tiger Index report.

The founder of France's far right National Front party Jean-Marie Le Pen has bowed out of politics after a public row with his daughter and party leader Marine Le Pen over his remarks that he considered the Nazi gas chambers a mere "a detail of history". Fiona Symon talks to Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, FT Paris bureau chief about the family feud.

The rebels trying to topple Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad have made gains in the north and south of the country. But an unexpected attack by Isis, the jihadi group, inside the capital Damascus has reminded the world that this is a three-way conflict. Erika Solomon tells Fiona Symon about the latest developments.

Kenyans are in mourning after Islamist militants shot their way into a university in the remote northeast, leaving 148 dead. It was the worst terrorist atrocity in the country for nearly two decades and appears to have been carried out by home-grown militants. Fiona Symon talks to Katrina Manson, FT correspondent in Nairobi, about who was behind the attack.

The death of a prominent Istanbul prosecutor after he was held hostage by two leftist extremists has raised tensions ahead of Turkey's election in June. Fiona Symon talks to Istanbul correspondent Dan Dombey about the incident and how the government has reacted.

General Muhammadu Buhari looks set to win Nigeria’s presidential election and unseat the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan after a closely fought contest. Fiona Symon talks to William Wallis about the significance of what would be the country’s first democratic transferrence of power.

Github, the online forum for software developers, has been hit by a powerful cyber attack that security experts believe originated in China. FT technology editor Ravi Mattu discusses the attack with Hannah Kuchler, the FT's correspondent in San Francisco and Charles Clover, the FT's correspondent in Beijing.

Is healthcare about to feel the full force of tech disruption? Google is partnering with Johnson & Johnson on surgical robotics. FT tech editor Ravi Mattu asks pharmaceutical correspondent Andrew Ward whether pharma companies would see Silicon Valley as friend or foe

Battles with rebel movements in Iraq and Yemen seem to be increasingly drawing in the region's powers Saudi Arabia and Iran, raising the spectre of regional conflict. Fiona Symon talks to Borzou Daragahi, FT Middle East correspondent, about the risks.

Nearly 25 per cent of Britain’s biggest companies now have women on their boards but some argue that voluntary targets for increasing womens' representation are not enough. Should Britain follow Germany and move to mandated quotas? Carola Hoyos debates the issue with economist Vicky Pryce and former trade minister Mervyn Davies.

You might not have heard of Hanergy Thin Film before, but this Hong Kong listed solar energy company is worth more than $35bn. Its share price has enjoyed a startling rate of growth in the last two years. But an FT investigation into trading in the company's stock has uncovered some curious patterns. Robin Kwong talks to Miles Johnson, FT hedge fund correspondent, about the findings.

Yemen is sliding towards a civil war that threatens to embroil regional powers after a Shia rebel movement took control of the capital and the country’s third largest city in a bid to unseat the elected Sunni president Abd-Rabbu Hadi. Fiona Symon talks to FT Gulf correspondent Simeon Kerr about the conflict.