On Friday’s programme, we started off in Venezuela, where tensions are escalating after Washington carried out several strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats in recent weeks, killing dozens. UN-appointed human rights experts have described the raids as "extrajudicial executions."
US President Donald Trump admitted to giving the CIA the green light to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, with US officials reportedly saying they aim to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Mr Maduro, for his part, accused Washington of plotting regime change, and said he is mobilising the military, police and a civilian militia to defend Venezuela's "mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories and markets." We talked to leading geo-political analysts about the latest developments.
After the break, we found out more about an upcoming arts and musical festival in Hong Kong.
And to wrap up the show, we heard from medical experts from the Chinese University - one with research findings on pregnancy, and the other to brief us on a medical breakthrough that may pave the way to treating arthritis.

9:05am-9:30am: CIA "covert operations" in Venezuela

Speakers:

Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Government Innovation and Chairman of Asia Narratives

Prof Jeffrey Sachs, Economist and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University 

9:34am-9:44am:  LCSD's "Cheers!" series

Speaker: 

Kit Tung, Manager (Multi-Arts), Cultural Presentations Section, Leisure and Cultural Services Department

9:44am-9:49am:  Pregnancy and blood sugar level study

Speaker: 

Prof Ronald Ma, Head at the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

9:49am-10:00am:  Leading study on arthritis 

Speaker:

James Griffith, Chair of the Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong