COMM111 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking: Find Topics

The United Arab Emirates is set to become home to the largest artificial intelligence campus outside of the US. The deal was struck in a meeting Thursday between the US and the UAE. The 10-square-mile campus will be built in Abu Dhabi, requiring 5 gigawatts of power capacity. We look into the energy implications of the plan. Also, in Australia, a murder trial where the defendant is accused of serving poisonous mushrooms to dinner guests becomes a nationwide spectacle. And, the story of a Spanish dictator using Eurovision Song Contest to whitewash his regime's brutal image.

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Russian and Ukrainian officials are meeting on Thursday in Istanbul to discuss a potential end to the war for the first time in more than three years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed up for the meeting in-person; Russian President Vladimir Putin did not. We have the latest updates and analysis from those talks. Also, the mental health crisis caused by climate change, and the emerging ways people are addressing it. And, new insights into the love life of William Shakespeare.

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President Trump's announcement that US sanctions on Syria would be lifted was met with elation by Syrians, but the country still has a long way to go to recover from years of civil war and brutal dictatorship. Also, the German government banned an extremist group known as the Kingdom of Germany, which believes Germany is a monarchy. And, a look back at the life of José Mujica, Uruguay's former president who lived staunchly below his means. Plus, the Swiss Moroccan musician who found his home in the underground art scene. 

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As President Donald Trump heads to the Middle East, a look at how the countries he plans to visit are trying to position themselves. Also, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has announced it will disarm and disband. That marks the potential end of the group's four decadelong insurgency against the Turkish military. And, the former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has won a mayoral election despite his detention by the International Criminal Court.

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Hamas has confirmed it's started a new round of ceasefire talks with Israel, as the IDF continues its new offensive in Gaza. Newshour hears from Gaza City itself.

Also in the programme: Voyager 1 reactivates its thrusters; and Eurovision gets underway in Switzerland.

(Picture: A Palestinian makes his way with belongings as he flees his home, after Israeli air strikes, in the northern Gaza Strip. Credit: Reuters)

The IDF (Israeli Defence Force) has announced they have mobilised troops to defeat Hamas and secure the freedom of the remaining hostages. Bombardment has intensified and troops are gathering near the borders. We get an on-the-ground update and speak to a father whose son is being held hostage in Gaza.

Also on the programme: Romanians return to the polls tomorrow for a defining Presidential election which will shape the country's future, and, we speak to the producer of a Taiwanese TV show which depicts a fictional Chinese invasion on the controversy surrounding the programme.

(Photo: Israeli tanks stand near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel May 17, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

The UN's human rights chief Volker Turk has condemned Israel for its escalating bombardments of Gaza, saying it's apparently seeking to permanently displace the population and that this amounts to ethnic cleansing. We speak to a young mother and aid worker in Gaza and a politician from Israel's ruling party.

Also in the programme: A breakthrough in gene editing therapy, after a promising treatment of a baby in the US; and how just appearing on the Eurovision Song Contest can be enough to help new talent taste success.

(Photo: Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee their homes, after Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip May 16, 2025. Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)

The civil defence agency in Gaza says the Israeli military has killed almost one-hundred people in the past twelve hours in another intense wave of strikes in the north. The Israeli military said it had hit scores of "terror targets" and was trying to dismantle their infrastructure. We will hear why the medical charity MSF rejects a new plan to deliver some aid to Gaza by the US-backed organisation the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Also in the programme: the first direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in more than three years have led to an agreement to swap 1,000 prisoners of war, and the American composer, Charles Strouse, who wrote the hit Broadway musical Annie has died aged 96.

(Picture: Displaced Palestinians flee their homes in the town of Beit Lahia, north of Gaza City. Credit: HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)