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China and Russia vow to cooperate to create a new multipolar world order, accusing the West of undermining global stability —as both countries push back against the United States’ hegemony. Following its major diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and Saudi Arabia, could Beijing be cast in a new role as global mediator —and power broker?

As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its second year with no end in sight and NATO countries continue to pledge more heavy weapons, what are the prospects for a negotiated settlement and peace? Can either side prevail militarily, as the war rages on? And how will the expected delays in deploying US and western battle tanks to Ukraine affect the course of the war? Ghida Fakhry asks a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander on this month’s Bigger than Five.

As leaders from Latin American and Caribbean countries met for a summit in Buenos Aires, Brazil and Argentina announced plans for a new common currency that would promote regional cooperation. With left-leaning governments coming to power in Brazil and across the region, could this be a new era for Latin America? We speak with the Coordinator of the regional summit that brought together leaders from the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States —CELAC —and that saw the return of Brazil to the regional bloc.

As the world faces a deepening energy crisis and Europe braces for a cold winter, how will the hardest-hit oil-importing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America cope with soaring energy costs and widespread blackouts? Guests: Mauricio Cárdenas, Former Minister of Mines and Energy of Colombia and Director of the MPA in Global Leadership and Global Senior Research Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University; Anne McLellan, Former Minister of Natural Resources and former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

Even as floodwaters begin to recede in Pakistan, outbreaks of diseases such as malaria and typhoid threaten to compound the misery of the more than 7.5 million who are already displaced. Bigger Than Five speaks with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about this and other issues on the sidelines of UNGA 77.

With just four months until the next annual UN meeting on climate change, and with record breaking temperatures and heatwaves sweeping across Europe, the US and other parts of the world, the UN says it is further proof that the world is ‘on a fast track to disaster’ warning that it is ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Guests: Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President of Mauritius; Kishan Kumarsingh, Lead Climate Negotiator for Trinidad and Tobago; Daniel Kammen, Senior Advisor at USAID

As the war in Ukraine continues and the risk of global food shortages grows, the UN Secretary General warns of an “unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution” if the crisis is not addressed. But can a looming food catastrophe be averted? Guests: Karuti Kanyinga, Director of the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi Ertharin Cousin, Former Executive Director of United Nations World Food Programme and CEO & Founder of Food Systems for the future

The old global order is being shaken up and Bigger Than Five is here to make sense of it all — with tough questions for those in power and sharp analysis about the people and politics that are changing our world. Bigger Than Five airs at 20:30 GMT on the last Saturday of each month, and also at 03:30 & 16:30 GMT on Sunday.

Full interview with former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo (2003-2012) from Bigger Than Five episode “Israel, Palestine and the ICC”

Amid mounting evidence that Israeli soldiers shot and killed a prominent Palestinian-American journalist earlier this month, and the Israeli government’s refusal to conduct a criminal investigation, will the International Criminal Court step in? Guests: Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territories Luis Moreno Ocampo, ICC Prosecutor 2003-2012

The conflict in Ukraine has exacerbated the global refugee crisis and exposed its deep inequalities. With the UN warning that over 8.5 million Ukrainians will become refugees this year, twice its initial estimate, can European countries cope? And how will it affect the tens of millions of refugees who have fled other wars and conflicts —and are still waiting to be resettled?

As the United States and other Western countries impose severe new sanctions on Russia, following its military escalation in Ukraine, sanctions in Afghanistan continue to have a devastating humanitarian impact. So why have sanctions become such a standard feature of US foreign policy? Guests: Martin Griffiths United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Adam Smith Former OFAC Director