Today, we look at Birmingham’s bin crisis, with new threats it could spread to other cities.

Why are striking workers threatening further action? And, could the strike inspire copy-cat action across the nation? Adam and Alex speak to the BBC’s Midlands political correspondent Rob Mayor.

Also, US Vice-President JD Vance has said there was a “good chance” a trade deal could be reached with the UK. Meanwhile, President Xi has been visiting neighbouring countries with the hope of strengthening ties. Adam is joined by Faisal Islam BBC economic editor and the BBC’s China correspondent Laura Bicker who has been speaking to factory workers in China.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren and Julia Webster and Bella Saltiel. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.