Indonesia has high speed rail. How come Australia can't get there?

Indonesia has high speed rail. How come Australia can't get there?

Indonesia's 'WHOOSH' train does exactly that.  The high speed link from Jakarta to Bandung used to take three to four hours, now it's a 35 minute journey, peaking at speeds of 350 km/hour. It's a remarkable piece of high tech infrastructure, but it's also been the subject of corruption investigations and questions over debt to China.

Australia's Delta advances, but who's missing from this Eurovision?

Challenging, thoughtful and fun — a user's guide to what the world is talking about.

Enter the "dealmaker": Donald Trump in Beijing

Going into the summit in Beijing between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the narrative from China is that President Trump is weak and distracted.  Beijing sees the Iran war, and mid term elections on the horizon as weaknesses for President Trump, who last month postponed his planned meeting with President Xi on account of the war.  President Trump arrives with his own agenda, with trade, tech and Taiwan high on the list.

What the world needs now: a Trump-Xi summit free of fireworks

In this over-stimulated moment in international affairs, observers have set a low bar for success for the summit this week scheduled between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. A lack of fireworks would be nice, they say.   In the Asia Pacific, there's hope for a summit where President Trump doesn't rile Beijing's emotions, and that instead ushers in a period of stability. What are the chances? Guest: Kirsty Needham, Australia and Pacific correspondent, AFP and former SMH Beijing correspondent

Populist Britain: Is two-party politics over in the UK?

The UK's local council elections last week saw Labor lose Wales for the first time in 100 years. Reform UK and the Greens also made big strides in traditional Tory and Labor heartland. Old loyalties are breaking down, and with it Britain's traditional political system. What does this mean for the UK's first-past-the-post electoral system? What foundation does this lay for Scottish and Welsh independence? And if the UK isn't safe from populism, is Australia? Guest: Krishnan Guru-Murthy, British journalist and Channel 4 News presenter. ------- Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au Find all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.