Al Jazeera Correspondent

When the US government was partially shut down, migrants and asylum seekers along the Mexican border continued trying to enter the country. Efforts by President Donald Trump to force the Democratic Party, which controls the House of Representatives, to fund a border wall had reached an impasse, meaning there was no agreement on a budget. The government shutdown impacted the normal functioning of unrelated operations of the US government. The crisis also affected people in Mexico who live along the trail the migrants take to get from Central America to the United States. And at the centre of the crisis were the migrants seeking a better future in the US. Some simply jump over the wall; others, especially men, seek the help of smugglers to cross the border. Javier has smuggled people across the border for more than 25 years, since he was 14. He says it's all "changed a lot (since he started smuggling). It first used to take us two to four hours. Then, the way became six to eight hours, and 10 years later, we needed 15 to 20 hours. Nowadays, it takes us 40 to 45 hours to cross the border." Since Trump has deployed soldiers and helicopters and installed sensors along the border "it's more complicated. We now have to go around to stay away from the border patrol and it costs more." However "there's always another way," says Javier, who believes that Trump's wall cannot stop people from crossing the border. It may be "very high. But we will overcome it." Bibian is a Guatemalan migrant who has made her way to Mexico. She and her family suffered the damage caused by tropical storm Agatha, so she wanted to seek a better life for her family. "I dreamed of going to the US because it seemed very easy," Bibian says. "That's why many people came along. I thought we could overcome the barriers and move forward without any problem. I didn't know what we would suffer." She realised that "it's not going to be easy. There are a lot of racist people who say we're bringing diseases. There are also good people ... those who crossed as migrants and eventually became US citizens. They are supporting us." "It's an adventure for me. It's not humiliating or below me. It really is an adventure." But opposition against migrants does not just come from the American side of the border. In Tijuana, Alfredo, a restaurant owner and accountant, says he feels his town has been hijacked. But he also blames the Mexican government for not handling the situation in a better way. "The very first day we had 500 people here, many of them asked me for power for their cellphones; many of them, children, they asked me for soda, for a pizza. I gladly gave them to them ... but was disappointed," he recalls. "People are afraid of Central American people because on Facebook a lot of people say that they are ... people that are coming to damage the society." "We need to get our city back, because right now it feels like it's been kidnapped." Hector from Honduras made the journey to the US as a teenager, but he "returned from America because I became an alcoholic and things didn't go well. I thought it was better to leave and return at another time ... Now that I am an adult, I want to return to the US," says Hector. "My [pregnant] wife made it to the US. She wasn't hurt or injured." Asked about anti-immigrant prejudice on the rise, Hector says: "We are migrant workers. If they could only see the place we came from they would understand." "It's easy to conclude that migrants are criminals or that we come to pollute the place ... It's very tough what we've endured to get here, but it doesn't matter, the most important thing for us is getting to the US. It hurts, but what can we do against such stereotypes? "There are some of us who may not behave well when they're in other countries. If I'm here in Mexico, I need to be good. And no matter where I go to, I will be good." Talk to Al Jazeera In the Field meets the people at the centre of the crisis along Mexico's northern border: smugglers, migrants, asylum seekers and locals. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Filmmaker: Bouchra Ijork High in the Atlas Mountains in central Morocco are remote villages almost entirely dominated by Amazigh women, a result of the geographical divide between the urban and rural poor, the volatility of Moroccan agriculture and lack of regional development. Their menfolk migrate for long periods to do agricultural or city work in other parts of the country. While the absentee men send money back home, the women are left to care for the children, tend to crops and farm animals without any outside support. "Wives can't accompany their husbands," says Fatma Kadjik, from Tiklit village, so married women have to learn to survive on their own. In 2005, Morocco began its National Human Development Initiative Support Project with a million dollar budget aimed at improving people's living conditions and reducing poverty. By 2014, the overall poverty rate had been cut by about half, but there's still a large gap between urban and rural poverty. Literacy is also low, especially among girls, who are often unable to continue their education beyond primary school. While life expectancy is not much lower than in Europe, harsh living conditions and poor access to healthcare affect longevity. It's a tough life for these resilient women, especially if as young girls they've been married off early. "Imagine a girl married at the age of 13 or 14 having three or four children. At 19, she already looks 50. She's no longer beautiful and healthy," points out Saida Oukhali, from Oum Rabia. She and her friend Aicha Jadda were both married at 16 but have since divorced, carrying a stigma in this conservative Amazigh society. "We weren't mature enough for the responsibility of marriage," says Saida. "Divorce is a big problem. You're exploited and no longer respected." Ignoring village gossip, these young women now express themselves through music and song, where separation, hardship and women's suffering are recurring themes. Village women with children have a heavier burden to bear. "We never rest. We keep running all day until night falls," says Fatima Kadjik, who lives with her sister-in-law, Hafida. She describes a typical day: "Hafida and I wake up at 6am to make bread and get the girls ready for school. After, I take the cow to the field to graze. Then we wash the wheat, lay it to dry and prepare lunch. By then the kids are back from school. I give the cow water and take it to graze." Her husband, Abdellah Hasbi, acknowledges that this is difficult existence and hopes things will change for the next generation. "I'm worried about the younger generation ... Projects should be launched in this region, to create jobs for young people." Men like Abdellah get seasonal work in farming but Moroccan agriculture is volatile and only 18 percent of the country is arable, adding to these people's vulnerability and insecurity. While NGOs have stepped in to try and up-skill young people in of these communities - and this is the key to breaking the cycle that locks these women into such an unforgiving way of life. It might ultimately affect traditional Amazigh culture but it would more of the people of the Atlas the chance of becoming more valued members of Moroccan society as a whole. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to AJE on YouTube - http://aje.io/YTsubscribe - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

The first notable, historical mention of the Kurds is widely thought to be the Sharafnama, or The Book of Honour, by the medieval Kurdish poet Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi in 1597. Written by a Kurd about his own people, Sharafnama arguably put Kurdish culture and history on the map. A people who saw themselves on a par with Persians and Arabs had announced themselves to the world. The Kurds originate from the mountain regions of the northern Middle East and currently number between 25 million and 35 million and occupy an area spanning the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They are the fourth largest ethnic group in the region - outnumbered by both Arabs and North Africans - and have a difficult relationship with other ethnic groups and countries in the region. The Kurds have anticipated, negotiated, warred and waited to establish their own permanent state since the First World War and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. But they have been constantly disappointed, not least when Asia Minor was given to the new state of Turkey in 1923. In Iraq, a series of conflicts with different political regimes led to the announcement of autonomy after the First Gulf War in 1991, followed by the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 1992. Their continued desire for independence from Baghdad led to a referendum in the Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq in September 2017. The result was overwhelmingly in favour of separation but the Iraqi government rejected the vote as unconstitutional. More recently, the Kurd-dominated state, the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, faces upheaval in the face of President Donald Trump's call for the withdrawal of American troops from their mission to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). There is a widespread concern for the tens of thousands of Kurds who have fought alongside the Americans and who would be extremely vulnerable without continued US support. As a result, Trump has threated to "devastate Turkey economically" if any harm should come to Syria's Kurds, post-withdrawal. This threat comes in the light of Turkey's aggression towards Turkish Kurds, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan branding the Kurdish militias involved in the fight against ISIL as part of so-called "terrorist" group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). But the question remains as to whether the Kurds spread across the whole of the northern Middle East, in regions where they make up the ethnic majority in Iraq, Iran and Turkey, can realistically ever attain their own permanent, independent state or states. How could Kurdish Peshmerga forces join the Iraqi army in the fight against ISIL in western and northern Iraq but have their independence referendum declared unconstitutional and the subject of an economic and social backlash from the Baghdad government? In this film, we speak to key players and witnesses in the KRG independence referendum in 2017, to find out why they disagreed about the timing and continue to be so fragmented across their semi-autonomous region. The film tracks the history of the Kurds from their disappointment at the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, to the Iraqi Kurdish revolution of 1958 and the first Iraq-Kurdish war of 1961, Iranian revolution, the Anfal Genocide against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein's regime, the rise of ISIL and the fraught KRG-Baghdad relationship of today.

Despite international diplomatic and military efforts to find solutions, the war in Syria enters its eighth year and the war in Yemen is in its fourth. At the Doha Forum held in December, many of those involved in efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflicts gathered and reflected on the lack of progress so far. One of them was Wolfgang Ischinger, a German diplomat and chairman of the annual Munich Security Conference. Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said that European powers, in particular, have failed to play an influential role. "I think our Syria policy has been a disaster," he said, arguing that Europe did not have the strategy or methods to influence decisions on the ground. "What we are now seeing is the outcome of efforts by Russia, by Turkey, I guess by Iran, and to a certain extent by the United States with Europe having been on the sidelines throughout this process. That is extremely regrettable." More than one million Syrian refugees and asylum seekers had travelled to Europe since the beginning of the conflict, with more than 500,000 applying for asylum in Germany alone between 2011 and 2017, according to a 2018 Pew Research Centre report, which sourced Eurostat and UNHCR data. "These events of the last three years have changed European and German politics in a major way, almost dramatic changes, [for example] the migration pressure, the refugee problem. So, this is our issue," Ischinger said. For him, this makes the war a distinctly European issue, saying that the EU should have called for a peace process years ago. "We should have played ... a much stronger diplomatic role." Recent diplomatic successes in Yemen, however, offer some positive signs according to Mark Lowcock, UN undersecretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. In mid-December Houthi rebels and government forces agreed to a ceasefire in the port of Hodeidah after seven days of UN-mediated peace talks in Sweden. "Parties have agreed initial steps to de-escalate the conflict or to try to move things forward but that now needs to be translated into a real change on the ground because people I've listened to - parents of starving children, people who have fled from their homes, sometimes multiple times - they're not seeing yet any tangible benefit," Lowcock said. The ceasefire still remains fragile with several violations in the weeks following the agreement. According to Lowcock, the most recent report from his organisation shows that 250,000 people in Yemen are living in "the highest level of food insecurity, the catastrophe level". "No one has won from this war in Yemen, it's absolutely clear who the losers are and they are the starving millions of children and innocent civilians whose pictures we increasingly see in our newspapers and on our TV screens." The war in Yemen has left 11.3 million children in need of humanitarian assistance, according to an October 2018 UNICEF report. The wars in Syria and Yemen have lasted so long that an entire generation of children is missing basic education and nourishment. This is a key concern for Henrietta Fore, the CEO of UNICEF. Her organisation provides education and humanitarian services in Yemen and other countries, some of which focus on mitigating the psychological trauma of war. Getting aid to people is not easy, she said, as both sides of Yemen's conflict target humanitarian workers. "Access in Yemen is always a problem," she said. "If we are not protected when we go in ... it makes it very difficult to reach ... isolated populations." According to Fore, wars are impacting children globally more now than ever before. "Conflicts ... there are more than we've ever had, they are longer lasting, and they are more severe," she said. "That takes an enormous toll on children, so none of us are protecting children well enough." - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Filmmaker: Bilal Yousef Eeking out a living as a taxi driver in the Middle East is not for the faint-hearted, especially for Palestinian cabbies in Jerusalem. "It's exhausting, kind of humiliating," says Salah Najib, a former civil engineer-turned cabbie. "You try to please your passengers as much as possible so they continue riding with you." At one point, he successfully built up a fleet of cars but his business was destroyed in 2000 due to the deteriorating security situation resulting from the Palestinian second Intifada. Like drivers everywhere, Jerusalem's Palestinian cabbies can face unruly passengers - but they face hardships simply because they're Palestinian. Jerusalem is one of the most heavily disputed places in the world, not least because it is sacred to Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Divided into occupied East and West Jerusalem since the first Arab-Israeli war and the founding of Israel in 1948, the East has been under Israeli occupation since the further conflict in the June 5, 1967 six-day war. Throughout its 70-year existence, Israel has almost always been able to rely on the support of the United States, despite UN and international condemnation of its policy of expanding illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Under President Donald Trump, the US recognised Israeli control over Jerusalem in December 2017. The city's Arab taxi drivers are used to discrimination and sometimes harassment. Innate Palestinian resilience is what motivates Bassem Idris to work as a cabbie in Jerusalem. "I feel like a stranger in my own homeland," he says. "I sometimes meet foreigners who think Arabs don't exist here. Such matters make us want to stay here even more. This is my homeland and I want to stay here." Used to wrangling with those of opposing political views, he enjoys educating tourists on the plight of Palestinians. Similarly, 61-year-old cabbie Rasheed Rishq also takes pride in his work, seeing himself as "the country's ambassador". He's been doing that for 40 years. "A taxi driver is the keeper of the town's secrets. If you want to announce any news, just pass it to a cab driver. An hour later, everyone will know the news. He knows the country's economic and social affairs. He spends all day listening to the radio." Rasheed has diabetes and cholesterol problems, partly because of work stress - but considers himself lucky to live close to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: "I personally will not leave this house till I die. My children will be responsible for it after my death." Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a law in March 2018 granting the interior minister full power to revoke the Jerusalem residencies of Palestinians over allegations of "breaching allegiance" or "loyalty" to the Israeli state, as reported by Al Jazeera. Human rights groups have raised serious concerns over the new law, finding the legislation a clear breach of international law and challenging the basic rights of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, since Israeli can revoke Jerusalem residency ID cards at any time. In 2017, Israel has revoked the residency of 35 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including 17 women and four minors, according to the Israeli rights group, Hamoked. Since 1967, almost 15,000 Palestinians have had their Jerusalem IDs revoked, mostly for failing to prove to Israeli authorities that Jerusalem or Israel was the centre of their life. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Development is a challenge for many countries facing crises. More than 135 million people worldwide are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, and at least $25bn is required to meet those challenges. According to the United Nations (UN), conflict is the main driver of humanitarian needs, followed by natural disasters. Achim Steiner was appointed the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in June 2017. The organisation was established in 1965 and works alongside UN member states to find solutions to the world's pressing problems. This includes the conflict in Yemen, which has left 22 million people in need of humanitarian aid as of March 2018. "What we are witnessing there is a catastrophe, first and above all for the people of Yemen, but it is also a catastrophe in developmental terms," Steiner tells Al Jazeera. "This country is losing decades of the advancements that it had made on top of which we have the humanitarian emergencies." The UNDP warned the international community about Yemen years ago; it had shown typical predictors of crisis, including citizens' loss of confidence in the government or in the ability to trust other interest groups in the country. "And into that void ... then come geographical, geopolitical interests from outside." Asked about Libya, the oil-rich nation that's been mired in conflict since the 2011 Arab uprisings and the subsequent overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Steiner says: "Libya post-Gaddafi was a political vacuum ... The government system of Libya has imploded. Unfortunately, some people are making a lot of money in that vacuum and therefore have little interest in allowing a national governance structure and a democratic process to be established." "We cannot force a nation or its conflicting parties at gunpoint to exercise good governance and the rule of law," Steiner says. "What we are left with is a situation that I think all of us consider fairly disastrous. And into that void, or into that chaotic situation, very often the UN is then asked to step in and perform miracles. It cannot do these miracles, it needs the international community and it needs the domestic parties to be willing to come to the table." Steiner also commented on the war in Syria, which is now entering its eighth year. While UNDP is operating out of Damascus and working with aid agencies to provide emergency programmes for current and returning residents, he says work is constrained by political tensions that make it impossible to operate throughout the country. He sees a dilemma; countries are less willing to finance reconstruction before a political solution is found, but they also recognise the need to immediately help people in rebuilding their towns and livelihoods. "We are trying to help ... but until we have a political settlement, the work that UNDP would do in Syria is essentially very constrained," Steiner says. Despite global challenges - which also include low development in Burundi, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Niger, and worsening living conditions in Gaza - Steiner looks to the future "with hope". According to him, rates of extreme poverty have dropped significantly across the globe, while factors like literacy, life expectancy, and nutrition have improved, so "the story of development over the past 100 years is a story of phenomenal progress and success". "We are today a generation that is actually in a position to eliminate extreme poverty. It's the first time we can say that in history. Now, will it happen? A lot depends on what a lot of people will do." He believes that successful development is directly linked to governments investing smartly. "It is … a matter of political priorities," he says, "and perhaps of asking ourselves how much more money are we going to invest in the illusive notion that militaries guarantee our national security when poverty and destitution and the sense of unfairness have actually been at the heart of virtually every civil strife, conflict, in the last 20 years." - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

One year ago Martin Fayulu was barely known beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital Kinshasa - until the 62-year-old was nominated as the presidential candidate of a coalition called Lamuka. The opposition candidate is supported by two political heavyweights: former DRC Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, who has been barred from standing in the long-delayed election, and self-exiled ex-provincial governor Moise Katumbi, who says he was prevented from returning to Kinshasa to submit his candidacy. Fayulu's campaigns have been marred by violence with security forces using teargas and live ammunition to disrupt his political rallies and stop him from accessing some parts of the country. Some opinion polls say he is the biggest threat to President Joseph Kabila's preferred candidate, ex-Minister of the Interior Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. But can he win the election? "People of Congo are asking for the truth and justice," Fayulu told Al Jazeera who said that the long delayed December 30 elections were "deliberately disorganised". "I cannot see how Mr Shadary can win. I doubt anyone will have the courage to proclaim Shadary as the winner. It will be a provocation ... Please no provocation ... They tried any other strategy ... The country has lost time to develop itself. And today we are ready. This is the new era. The era of dignity of Congolese and prosperity of Congolese," said Fayulu. "If I am elected there will not be revenge. But we'll sanitise the country. We'll have that rule: Zero tolerance for corruption." With election results still pending, the DRC opposition's presidential candidate Martin Fayulu spoke to Al Jazeera about the elections, DRC corruption and the future of his country post-Kabila.

Ecuador, like other Latin American countries, faces many challenges including poverty, migration and corruption. Ecuadorians trusted Lenin Moreno to be the man who would meet those challenges and make their country a better place. He became President in 2017 after Rafael Correa had governed for 10 years. Correa, along with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia, was a self-declared revolutionary; aiming to spread a populist rhetoric in the continent and beyond. But he was accused of authoritarianism, media censorship, and corruption… And eventually Ecuadorians voted for change. Lenin Moreno promised more centrist policies, “giving the right hand to all honest businessmen” willing to help boost the country’s economy and “the left hand to the people” who need better social welfare. But with almost a quarter of all Ecuadorians classified as poor, and almost one in 10 living in extreme poverty on less than 50 Dollars a month…Is Moreno managing to make a difference? We’ll find out more as President Moreno discusses his hopes for Ecuador and the region. We will also discuss the controversial case of Julian Assange - the WikiLeaks founder who has spent the past five years living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Is he a criminal or hero? Lenin Moreno, President of Ecuador, talks to Al Jazeera.

Pakistan plays an increasingly important role in the world's geopolitical dynamics, as the only predominantly Muslim country with nuclear weapons. But with a new government faced with an economy in crisis - can the nuclear powered state overcome its internal challenges. The relations with its neighbour India are at yet another low… but after four wars in seven decades, they've taken some confidence building measures But are they ready to settle their differences? Pakistan is closer than ever to its other neighbour, China. Islamabad and Beijing have started a $62 billion [≈ all real estate in Bronx, NYC, 2010] bilateral agreement as part of China's global belt and road initiative. Both countries deny any military aspect to their flourishing ties pact but how is this relationship impacting Pakistan's other important relationship - that’s with the United States? President Trump first blasted Islamabad but then asked Pakistan for help to find peace in Afghanistan. But after decades of US failure and an imminent troop withdrawal can and will Pakistan take over regional security? Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, talks to Al Jazeera.

President Joseph Kabila came to power in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001, taking over from his father, Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated by one of his own child soldier bodyguards. Joseph Kabila was initially credited with bringing relative peace and reviving the mining of the country's vast mineral reserves. But conflicts persist and millions of Congolese remain trapped in extreme poverty amid widespread allegations of corruption. His second and final constitutional mandate ended two years ago, but he stayed in power, amid growing protests and calls for him to step aside. Congolese are finally due to head to the polls on Sunday to choose a new leader. Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, talks to Al Jazeera. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

In February, heads of state, top-ranking government and military officials and leaders of international organisations traditionally gather in Munich, Germany to debate global events and foreign policy issues. "Munich is the place to go to hear bold policies announced, new ideas and approaches tested, old partnerships reaffirmed and new ones formed," then-US vice president Joe Biden said in 2013. With changing political dynamics among world leaders, the Munich Security Conference and similar meetings are now taking on extra importance. "We are facing various intrusion attempts in our cyberspace and into our democratic life ... We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States," said French President Emmanuel Macron in November 2018. But how bad are the prospects for managing global tensions and trouble spots? What risks and opportunities lie ahead in 2019? And what's the state of NATO under President Donald Trump? "I can't think of a decade when the Transatlantic Alliance didn't have a problem," Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, tells Al Jazeera. "There is a clear commitment by the United States in the military field. The US has not deserted Europe, but ... at the political level, some of the words spoken, some of the tweets tweeted [by President Trump] have created uncertainties in the minds of many Europeans. That's bad," says Ischinger. But "since there is no alternative, we have to do our best in order to make sure it (the Alliance) will continue to exist and will continue to work". He states that due to the rise of European nationalism, "we are having a pretty tough fight about whether we in Western Europe can maintain a position ... as a pillar of the liberal international order, which is under rather dramatic threat today". Ischinger believes that a more common European defence policy and the creation of a European army is inevitable. "It's necessary ... if there is a question mark about the reliability of our American partner (and) if we have a huge question mark about Russian intentions. Look what's going on in the Russian neighbourhood. There are Russian troops in Ukraine; there are Russian troops in parts of what used to be Georgia; there are Russian troops still in Moldova. There is still the unresolved conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. All around this zone surrounding Russia, we have military issues." As a result, Ischinger says, "We as Europeans need to hedge against the possibility that there might be yet another, a military issue coming our way. That is unfortunately the case." "All our welfare, all our social expenditures, all our accumulated wealth, all our employment is worth nothing if we don't have security," stresses Ischinger. "Just imagine another war. We are as we speak, having a war in the heart of Europe. Let's call a spade a spade. What's going on in Ukraine is a war. We have 10,000 people dead now since 2014. And please, don't tell me that this is not something that we, Europeans, we in the Transatlantic community, need to worry about." "The European Union should be far more capable than it is today, to speak with one voice and to defend and represent the interests of 500 million people. That's the European Union." - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

The peace treaty signed by government leaders and separatist rebels in Mali in 2015 was meant to usher in a new era of peace and stability in the northwest African country. But progress in implementing the agreement has been slow and insecurity has grown. The violence that began with the uprising and seizure of territory in the North has now spread into previously stable central Mali. Armed groups have taken advantage of inter-ethnic grievances and local resentment towards the government to spread fear and chaos, forcing thousands to flee. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has ruled since 2013, was re-elected in August 2018 for a second term. He announced a government reshuffle aimed at restoring peace, stability and foreign investment - all important to boost the economy and reduce poverty. As part of the reshuffle, Kamissa Camara was appointed Mali's new foreign minister of foreign affairs. Is the 35-year-old's appointment the beginning of comprehensive institutional reforms? And with armed groups reorganising and extending violence from the northern to the central regions of the country, how can peace be achieved in the foreseeable future? "There is a terrorist issue in the Sahel region and also in the world," Camara tells Al Jazeera. "It's really difficult, or I would say even inaccurate, to take the significant issues of Mali out of the issues of the Sahel region. The terrorist issue is not a Malian issue. We have been experiencing it all over the world." While she confirms that there's intercommunal violence, Camara says the situation "cannot be simply described as a terrorist situation ... It's a pastoralist issue between Fulani herders that are against Bozo herders ... It's a complex security situation that has been exacerbated by terrorist groups, that has been utilised by terrorist groups so now it is being perceived as an ethnic conflict, which is not necessarily the root of it." In 2017, five Sahel countries, including Mali, joined forces to establish a multinational security force with the aim of defeating armed groups in the region. More than a year after it was set up, this G5 Sahel force has yet to fully become operational. Among other factors, Camara says, "there's definitely a lack of funding for the joint force to be fully operational. We currently have need of over 400 million euros per year [roughly $458m]. For now it's our job to make sure that the international community understands that this joint force is the only sustainable solution we currently have in order to curtail the fragile security situation that we have in the Sahel region. "We are trying to find solutions to our own problems, and this is what the international community has been pushing African countries to do ... What we are trying to do is for five Sahel countries that are facing the same security issues, to work together in order to curtail a growing terrorist threat." Mali's increasing security challenges have also affected the human rights situation in the country. In October 2018, UN human rights expert, Alioune Tine, stated that "the Malian state has not fulfilled its sovereign role in protecting property and people, and bringing perpetrators of criminal acts to justice." Asked about a new Al Jazeera report from the Mali-Mauritania border in which some Malians who had left accuse Malian soldiers of going through their villages, pillaging, and harassing them, Camara says: "I have never heard of such a thing. Never." But, she says, "we are definitely always willing to investigate." "Human rights violations are alleged violations until they're proven right. And the Malian government does take this issue very seriously. We do have teams on the ground. We do investigate. We also work with local society organisations to make sure that any accusations that we are hearing about are accurate. Again, we take this issue very seriously, and measures are being taken." Despite regional security challenges, Mali's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is stable at around six percent and there's been a rise in agricultural productivity. The IMF and World Bank continue to support Mali financially. "Mali is a very resilient country," says Camara. "Mali has gone through a lot since 2011. We have ... gone through a military coup, an insurgency, but we also have had a lot of successes. We organised two peaceful presidential elections. We have a peace process that is ongoing. We have the DDR [disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme] that just started. We have a full ministry in charge of the peace process. We have a six percent growth rate ..." - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Germany's former foreign minister discusses the GCC crisis, the Khashoggi crisis and Europe's role in a changing world. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

The United Nations has long faced criticism over its efficacy, particularly with regards to its means of enforcing its resolutions. As nationalism rises in Europe, conflicts continue to cause hardship for millions of people in Yemen and elsewhere, and the international community continue to grapple with the fallout from the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, some - including the body's most powerful member, the United States - are questioning the role of the UN. In June, Maria Fernanda Espinosa became only the fourth woman to be appointed as President of the United Nations’ General Assembly in the seven decades since its founding. The Ecuadorian diplomat - who also serves as the country's foreign minister - says multilateralism is still crucial in tackling the raft of global challenges. “We need a stronger United Nations, we need a stronger General Assembly. We need to undertake this very profound structural reform process that we are undergoing," she tells Al Jazeera in a lively and wide-ranging interview. “It’s not an issue that is done by magic [...] Multilateralism is more needed than ever because we are facing so many global challenges and the only response to global challenges is through global leadership," says Espinosa. However, when considering disputes in the Middle East, including the ongoing Gulf Crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Espinosa strongly advocated a regional response. “Dialogue is the only weapon, really, truly, efficient weapon to end any kind of conflict [...] The call would be to look from a regional perspective, how to address the difficulties Gulf countries are facing and how they come together because they have more issues that unite them than issues that separate them," she says adding that dialogue would be to the benefit of the people in the region. A resolution was “long due” on Palestine, according to Espinosa who acknowledged that the UN resolutions were not having the desired effect. “We have passed I don’t know how many resolutions, both in Security Council and in the General Assembly, and the call I had made as President of the General Assembly is for the compliance of the agreements we have made on the Palestinian issue. “When we get organised and act on this issue there are so many hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering humanitarian issue in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip. We know that it’s painful and we need a collective response”. While avoiding criticising the Saudi investigation into Khashoggi’s killing, Espinosa called for a thorough and independent probe, but said this would have to be requested by concerned UN member states and considered by the Secretariat. “What is important is that there is no impunity on this issue,” she said, adding that Khashoggi’s murder stands in contrast to UN values. “Journalists should be protected and live in safe environments to deliver on their work. The United Nations as an organisation is in favour of the right to free press and safe working environments for journalists”. More from Talk To Al Jazeera on: YouTube - http://aje.io/ttajYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/talktoaj Twitter - http://twitter.com/talktoaljazeera Website - http://www.aljazeera.com/talktojazeera/ - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Filmmaker: Ashraf Mashharawi On December 15, 2016, a 49-year-old Tunisian man was shot dead outside his home in Sfax, 270 kilometres south-east of Tunis. Mohammed al-Zawari had been known locally as an aviation engineer interested in drone technology, but in fact, he had led a double life, leading a drone development project for the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades. According to Al Jazeera Arabic's investigation by Tamer Almisshal, several parties were involved in a coordinated plot against al-Zawari, who up until his death was called 'Mourad' by many of those who knew him, including his wife. Almisshal believes it has all the hallmarks of an extrajudicial killing by Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, but these cases are notoriously difficult to prove and must for the moment remain speculation. Al-Zawari first left Tunisia in 1991 as a dissident against the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He managed to travel using a fake passport and worked in a military manufacturing installation in Sudan. He only returned home after the 2011 revolution that forced Ben Ali out of the country. Shortly after his death, Hamas announced that the drone expert had worked for the Qassam Brigades for a decade. They credited him with developing the Ababeel drones used against Israel in Gaza in the summer of 2014. "By the 2008 Israeli aggression against Gaza, the team had manufactured 30 drones in an Iranian military factory," according to a Qassam Brigades member going by the name of 'Abu Mohamed'. Another Brigades member, Abu Mujahid, says drones were important to them because "we can conduct it with precision against military targets and avoid civilians." Al-Zawari is credited with developing Hamas' Ababeel drones used against Israel in Gaza in the summer of 2014 [screengrab/Al Jazeera] As well as building drones, al-Zawari did innovative research into remote-controlled submarines, as potential combat devices for the Qassam Brigades. Israeli journalist Moav Vardi went to Tunisia to investigate the Zawari case. "It's not a criminal assassination by a gang, or a neighbour's quarrel," he says. "From what it seems, Israel has the interest and the ability to carry out such an operation." Almisshal reveals that the assassination took months to plan and involved several people in different teams. The two men who carried out the killing allegedly had Bosnian and Croatian passports. Another went by the name of Chris Smith who'd contacted Sfax University where al-Zawari was doing postgraduate research. In another team was a Tunisian journalist tasked with surveilling Zawari. How the assassins arrived in and left the country is a confidential part of the Tunisian investigation, as the police case is still ongoing. There have been other alleged Mossad assassinations outside Israeli territory. For instance, Israel admitted responsibility for the 1988 killing of a senior Palestinian commander Abu Jihad, whose real name was Khalil al-Wazir, at his home in Tunis, Tunisia. Wazir was a friend and deputy to then Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat, who headed the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Mossad is also alleged to have been behind the 2010 murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel. He was the Hamas logistics commander for the Qassam Brigades; and of the Black September founder Ali Hassan Salameh, or The Red Prince, using a car loaded with heavy explosives in Beirut in 1979. In March 2018, two men were arrested in connection with Zawari's murder, Croatian Alen Camdzic and Bosnian Elvir Sarac. In May, Croatia's highest court blocked Camdzic's extradition to Tunisia and Sarac was released after a Bosnian court refused to hand him over to Tunisia, saying there was no extradition deal between the countries. Until the Tunisian authorities manage to extradite the two men, the case of the murder of Mohamed al-Zawari cannot begin to be resolved - whoever was behind it. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/