Al Jazeera Correspondent

In the coming years, Chile is expected to host 70 percent of global astronomical infrastructure. In the Atacama Desert, the world's two largest telescopes - the ELT and the Giant Magellan - are under construction. When complete, they will provide direct views of planets in other solar systems. This will be an astronomical first. Celestial objects have been observed and studied since the beginning of time. The planets and stars have helped human beings understand the cosmos, the way it functions, and its impact on our lives. Since Galileo Galilei became the first astronomer to use a telescope for his observations in the 17th century, humanity has devised newer and better ways to study the universe. But what will these new facilities help us to discover? How will they change the way we look at our universe? And will they help answer the one question many are curious about: Is there extraterrestrial life? "Life is there, potentially, in the whole universe. And when it arrives in a place where you know it's comfortable and can be developed, it does," says Chilean astrophysicist Dr Maria Teresa Ruiz. "Although we have no evidence, I would find it very, extremely strange that we would be the only ones in the universe. There are so many, so many stars, so many planets around them. I'm sure there could be life in many of them." Ruiz is known for discovering the brown dwarf star system named Kelu-1, a sub star located in constellation Hydra, approximately 61 light-years away from earth. She is a pioneer, the first woman to have received a doctorate from Princeton University, and the first woman to receive Chile's national prize for exact sciences. She says the advanced telescopes will help study the atmospheres of distant planets, to search for traces of oxygen or other indicators of life. "When you see the universe through these big eyes, you are going to see something nobody else has seen before ... Often the case is what you see, the unknown, is the most interesting thing; something you cannot predict. It's like opening a window to the unknown," she says. Dr Jose Maza Sancho also believes in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, even if not necessarily always intelligent life. "There are eight million forms of life on earth. Most of them are bacteria, but bacteria is a form of life," he says. "My suspicion is that at the very least there are 100 billion places in the universe with life." However, he adds: "But from one galaxy to the next, [for example] a big galaxy like the Andromeda galaxy, the distance is more than two million light-years. If you say 'hello, are you there?' in two million years your message will reach Andromeda. And if they say 'yes, we're here, what do you want?' another two million years for the message to return." Sancho is a bold exponent of a number of extraordinary theories, including humanity landing on Mars and developing into a multi-planetary society as soon as possible. "The next challenge, the next intellectual challenge, is to go to Mars," he says, "because it is possible". "When we went to the moon, all technology got an improvement, enormously. Our life - you or mine, and everybody's life - changed forever because of the dream to go to the moon. The only way to survive in Mars is to have another technology. And if we develop the technology for a few of us to live on Mars, that technology is going to change our life on earth forever." "It's a big challenge, but if we are able to develop the atmosphere in Mars, we will be able to clean our atmosphere. If we develop big machines like that to survive in Mars, those machines applied massively on earth, we could be taking out of the atmosphere as much carbon dioxide as we are putting in." This week two of Chile's top astronomers, Dr Maria Teresa Ruiz and Dr Jose Maza Sancho, talk 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/

Peter Mutharika has governed the small African nation of Malawi since 2014. He is a lawyer and professor who ran for a second five-year term in elections earlier this year. But opposition parties said there were irregularities in the vote - and the high court temporarily prevented the results from being released. The electoral commission has since declared the 79-year-old Mutharika the winner of that vote leading to thousands of Malawians to protest against that decision. Police fired tear gas at protesters as the government accused the opposition of attempting to overthrow Mutharika by force. Now, as he begins his new term, Mutharika faces several issues - including corruption, poverty and healthcare. We will ask him what he intends to do to tackle these challenges. Malawi's president Peter Mutharika, 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/

To some, they are heroes, while others called them outlaws. Even their name - the Fellagha - had different meanings for different people. While the word literally translates to "bandits", in 20th century Tunisia, they were known as those who resisted the French presence in North Africa's smallest country. In Tunisia, they were the resistance fighters who launched a campaign against French colonial rule which, together with political negotiations, culminated in independence in 1956. Drawn mainly from the mountainous rural south of the country, the Fellagha drew inspiration from their ancestors - rebels who had opposed the French immediately after colonial rule began in the 1880s. By the 1920s, resistance to the French presence was growing, and by World War Two the Fellagha were launching regular attacks on French military installations in the country. In 1952, the armed resistance was officially launched and by 1954, Fellagha ranks had swollen to several thousand fighters. Although the Fellagha faced a military opposition that was better equipped, better funded, more experienced, and had much greater numbers, they were determined. While on paper, the French army was a far superior force than the Fellagha, the Tunisians had local knowledge and public support on their side. Like other North African independence movements, Tunisia's decades-long fight against colonial rule also began as a mainly political one - but was not ultimately achieved without a violent struggle. In this two-part documentary, we take a look at the Fellagha mainly through the eyes of its old fighters: men who fought the French, and then continued to take issue with the country's new government even after independence. PT 2: By 1955, France and Tunisian nationalists, led by Habib Bourguiba, reached a political compromise which gave Tunisia partial self-rule. But this deal divided the country, with Bourguiba supporting it but the more hard-line Salah Ben Youssef refusing anything less than full independence. Both sought support from the Fellagha fighters who were divided as to whether to settle for peace or continue to attack the French. Tunisia finally gained independence in 1956 but as new divisions opened up, the country found itself on the brink of civil war. - 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/

To some, they are heroes, while others called them outlaws. Even their name - the Fellagha - had different meanings for different people. While the word literally translates to "bandits", in 20th century Tunisia, they were known as those who resisted the French presence in North Africa's smallest country. In Tunisia, they were the separatist resistance fighters who launched a campaign against French colonial rule which, together with political negotiations, culminated in independence in 1956. Drawn mainly from the mountainous rural south of the country, the Fellagha drew inspiration from their ancestors - rebels who had opposed the French immediately after colonial rule began in the 1880s. By the 1920s, resistance to the French presence was growing, and by World War Two the Fellagha were launching regular attacks on French military installations in the country. In 1952, the armed resistance was officially launched and by 1954, Fellagha ranks had swollen to several thousand fighters. Although the Fellagha faced a military opposition that was better equipped, better funded, more experienced, and had much greater numbers, they were determined. While on paper, the French army was a far superior force than the Fellagha, the Tunisians had local knowledge and public support on their side. Like other North African independence movements, Tunisia's decades-long fight against colonial rule also began as a mainly political one - but was not ultimately achieved without a violent struggle. In this two-part documentary, we take a look at the Fellagha mainly through the eyes of its old fighters: men who fought the French, and then continued to take issue with the country's new government even after independence. In Episode 1, Rebels: When the French colonised Tunisia in the late 19th century they cemented their rule, but also triggered the founding of an armed rebel movement. As the independence movement grew, so did their armed struggle. This episode is built around the first-hand testimony of these Fellagha fighters, now old men but still vividly recalling how they were recruited, farmers by day and fighters by night; the details of their anti-French paramilitary activity and the toll the conflict took on their communities. Episode Two will be available from October 2, 2019. - 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/

Isaac Hernandez has an ambitious dream: He hopes to help change his country through the medium of dance. As the first Mexican to hold the prestigious role of lead principal dancer at the English National Ballet, the 29-year-old has already achieved a great deal. Two years ago he was named Best Male Dancer at ballet's equivalent of the Oscars. "I consider [dance] a human right," he tells Al Jazeera, "something that is an instinct that we all have." Along with his 10 brothers and sisters, Hernandez was taught dance at an early age in the back yard of their home in Guadalajara by parents who were also dancers. "Ballet has been so exciting at different points in my life," he says. "Because when I was just starting to dance it was purely recreational. But when I started to understand the mechanics and the techniques behind it, and started realising how that was pushing my physical ability to the limit and to discover new limits, that was just pure excitement. And the moment that I felt that on stage, then I understood what freedom meant." Despite living and performing around the world since he was 13, his heart remains in Mexico. "There are realities about Mexico that, no matter how high I jump and how many turns I do, we cannot ignore; really there are real issues in my country that need to be addressed. For a very long time now, it's been very violent, it's been very corrupt," he says. "But I have always been hopeful for my country because I recognise an essence in its people that gives me hope, that made me go back and say there's people here that are worth working for. And we need to be able to do it well." Hernandez emphasises the need to do things without a political agenda, and for the wellbeing of individuals and the future of the country. He set up a project to bring world-class dancers to Mexico to perform, teach in workshops, and inspire young dancers there. But government funding for the project has faced hurdles. "One of the most popular sayings in Mexico is, if you are an artist you are going to starve, and the other one is that boys don't do ballet, and that ballet is a hobby, not a serious profession. So based on those three main issues that get passed through generations, I understood that the first thing that needs to happen is to change the mind of the parents for them to feel like their kids' passion could be a profession." He believes that promoting the value of the arts could also be a way to help build Mexico's economy. "I saw a huge potential in Mexico that was not being considered in that sense," he says. "So I started to promote a different way of seeing arts; not only as a tool for education, but as a tool for social mobility, so that a kid who starts dancing in a backyard can make a living, can improve his life, and by consequence improve a whole country." On Talk to Al Jazeera, Hernandez discusses the joy of dance, why the arts urgently need government support in Mexico, and how young people should have the chance to realise their dreams. - 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/

Over decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons. They have settled in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa. But media coverage tends to focus on refugees fleeing war, poverty and persecution, often at the start of their treacherous journeys. These stories can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete. In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants long after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth. In ‘The Businesswoman and the Councillor’ we meet two remarkable women of Middle Eastern descent who are thriving in Europe : Dr Nada al-Rubaiee, a Dutch-Iraqi pharmacist and businesswoman, and Sumaya Abdel Qader, a Palestinian-Italian who is also Milan's first Muslim female councillor. Read more: https://aje.io/cdxmk - - 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/

It has been a year since the former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan became Pakistan's Prime Minister. Khan's campaign slogan was "Naya Pakistan" or "New Pakistan", a reflection of his promises to turn the county's economy around and end corruption. But the first year of his premiership has not gone as smoothly as he may have hoped or even expected, especially in terms of the economy. The Pakistani rupee has lost 35 percent of its value during his time in office. Khan's critics call him the prime minister of the U-turns, as he has been forced to go back on many of his campaign pledges in an attempt to rescue the situation. "I'm glad they say I'm a prime minister of U-turns. Only an idiot doesn't do any u-turns," Khan tells Al Jazeera. "Only a moron, when he's on a course and he comes across a brick wall, only that stupid idiot keeps banging his head against a brick wall. An intelligent person immediately revises his strategy and goes around it." But have any of these 'U-turns' had a positive impact on the country? In terms of foreign affairs, Pakistan is closer than ever to its neighbour, China. But relations with its other neighbour, India, are at a new low. Asked whether these two nuclear countries are at risk of another major conflict, or even war, Khan tells Al Jazeera he "absolutely" believes war with India could be a possibility. "Eight million Muslims in Kashmir are under siege for almost now six weeks. And why this can become a flashpoint between India and Pakistan is because what we already know India is trying to do is divert attention from their illegal annexation and their impending genocide on Kashmir," he says. "They are taking the attention away by blaming Pakistan for terrorism." "Pakistan would never start a war, and I am clear: I am a pacifist, I am anti-war, I believe that wars do not solve any problems," he clarifies. But, he adds: "When two nuclear armed countries fight, if they fight a conventional war, there is every possibility that it is going to end up into nuclear war. The unthinkable." "If say Pakistan, God forbid, we are fighting a conventional war, we are losing, and if a country is stuck between the choice: either you surrender or you fight til death for your freedom, I know Pakistanis will fight to death for their freedom. So when a nuclear armed country fights to the end, to the death, it has consequences." "So that's why we have approached the United Nations, we are approaching every international forum, that they must act right now, because this is a potential disaster that would go way beyond the Indian subcontinent." Until recently, Pakistan had made attempts to open dialogue with India "to live as civilised neighbours, to resolve our difference [over Kashmir] ... through a political settlement", but according to Khan, this is no longer the case. "We discovered that while we were trying to have dialogue, they were trying to push us in the black list in FATF ... If Pakistan is pushed into the black list of FATF that means there will be sanctions on Pakistan. So they were trying to bankrupt us economically, so that's when we pulled back. And that's when we realised that this government is on an agenda. The agenda is to push Pakistan to disaster," says Khan. "There is no question of talking to the Indian government right now after they revoked this article 370 of their own constitution and they annexed Kashmir illegally against the UN security council resolution which had guaranteed the people that they would be able to hold a referendum, a plebiscite, to decide their destiny. So they have unilaterally not only broken international laws, but also their own constitution." Asked about his government's achievements after the first year in office, Khan says: "We are already in a new Pakistan ... This government has done things which no government has done before. But, as they say, Rome was not built in a day. When you start making these massive changes, reforms, it takes time. The time to judge a government is five years ... The first year was the most difficult period, but from now onwards people will start seeing the difference ... the direction of the country is now right." - 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/

Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban began last October in Qatar, with the aim of ending the almost 18-year-old war in Afghanistan. On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that negotiations were over. "They are dead. They are dead. As far as I’m concerned, they are dead," Trump told reporters, blaming a Taliban attack last week in which an American soldier was among the 12 people killed. "They thought that they had to kill people in order to put themselves in a little better negotiating position ... You can't do that with me, so they [the talks] are dead as far as I'm concerned," Trump said. The president's move surprised the Taliban's leaders. "It was astonishing for us because we had already concluded the peace agreement with the American negotiating team," Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban spokesperson in Qatar's capital Doha, told Al Jazeera. After nine rounds of negotiations in Doha, it seemed that most of the differences between the US and the Taliban had been resolved. The US special representative for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, also said a peace agreement was finalised in principle. Since talks began, discussions focused on four key issues: a Taliban guarantee it will not allow foreign armed groups and fighters to use Afghanistan as a launchpad to conduct attacks outside the country; the complete withdrawal of US and NATO forces; an intra-Afghan dialogue; and a permanent ceasefire. Shaheen said a ceasefire inside the country was never part of the negotiations but rather an intra-Afghan matter that would form part of future discussions with the country's government - but only after foreign forces withdraw. "About the other Afghans, we are ready to talk with them. If there is a ceasefire with them, there will be no attack [on] them. But this is another aspect of the Afghan issue. We want to end the occupation of Afghanistan first," he said. He said the Taliban's agreement with the US was to offer them safe passage in the withdrawal of troops - something they would stand by if a deal is signed. "If we sign an agreement with them, we have the obligation not to attack them and provide them a safe passage. If they withdraw without any peace agreement signing with us, it is up to our consent or willing[ness] whether to attack or not to attack them," Shaheen said. "It is then up to us, because there is no agreement. So we will attack them if we see it is in our interest, our national interest, our Islamic interest. If we see it in our interest not to attack, we will not attack them." "If the Americans want to not attack us, and they want to withdraw, and they sign the agreement, yes we will not attack them ... But if they attack us, they continue their bombardment, their night raids, [then] that will continue from our side what has been continuing for the last 18 years." So with the US quitting the negotiating table, can peace be achieved in Afghanistan? And if so, what would it take? - 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/

Over decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons. They have settled in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa. But media coverage tends to focus on refugees fleeing war, poverty and persecution, often at the start of their treacherous journeys. These stories can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete. In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants long after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth. In ‘The Politician and The Inventor’ we meet two remarkable success stories from Arab immigrants to Germany and Canada: one is a designer of textiles machinery, the other a member of Canada’s parliament. Read more: https://aje.io/t4e8h - 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/

More and more young people are addicted to online video games. In a controversial decision last year the World Health Organization classified it as a disease. The WHO defines gaming disorder as "impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences". Although it's spreading all over the world and only affects a small number of people who play video games, one of the first countries dealing with the disorder has been Japan. "I wake up in the afternoon and then turn my computer on. Then I'm gaming until around noon the next day and then go to sleep," says Shintaro Sakurai, who has been gaming since kindergarten. He plays every day, for between three and 20 hours a day, and seldom has time for much else. But he also does not believe he is addicted. Excessive gaming also has an impact on gamers' friends and family. "I wake up at around 8-9am. The first thing I do is open my computer," says schoolboy Taito Kobayashi, who lives with his parents outside Tokyo. They are increasingly worried about their son, and fear he may be addicted. "He only sleeps a little and is up all night," says Taito's mother Remi Kobayashi. "Online games are the most important thing to him," adds his father Hiroyuki Kobayashi. "As parents we need to consider what we can do to help." Taito admits that he plays too much, but says "I don't want to quit." Dr Susumu Higuchi, an addiction specialist who works at the first clinic in Japan devoted to treating this disorder, is concerned about the neurological impact excessive gaming has on young people. "There are at least several papers reporting the brain damage caused by gaming disorder, meaning the neural cells were destroyed or damaged by excessive gaming, and this is probably the most important or significant findings," he says. For those who are addicted, is there a way to successfully treat this disease? Higuchi says research into success rates is still being done . "When we see a patient with gaming disorder, we strongly recommend him or her to give up playing games... If they agree to do that, usually their outcome is quite good," he says. "But if they do not want to stop gaming completely ... their outcome is not so good." He also highlights the difference between sufferers of gaming disorder vs other forms of addiction. "In the case of gambling, or in the case of alcohol dependence, the majority of patients are adults. They can understand the situation they are put in and they can understand why they have to stop drinking or stop gambling and so forth," Higuchi explains. "But in the case of schoolboys and girls [addicted to gaming], they cannot understand that. So if we push too much, they will drop out from treatment. And this is a very big issue for us. So we have to think about the balance between how hard we push, and at the same time we have to avoid the patient dropping out." - 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/

Over the decades, millions of people from the Arab world have emigrated - some driven by conflict and persecution, others for economic and family reasons. They settle in Europe, Australia, the Americas and Africa. But media coverage usually only shows them at the start of their often treacherous journeys, and the stories that get told can sometimes be stereotyped and incomplete. In the Arabs Abroad series, Al Jazeera World profiles the lives of migrants after their initial journey. We meet people who have built successful lives away from their Arab homelands, while remaining connected to their roots - each in their own way giving something back to the region of their birth. In ‘The Surgeons’ we meet two Arab doctors: Dr Munjed al Muderis, an orthopaedic surgeon who fled Iraq for Australia, and Dr Mohammad Hajjiri, a heart specialist who left Jordan for the US. Read more: https://aje.io/9ehxk - 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 question of land is a contentious political issue in South Africa, and one of the most divisive in the country. Historically, black land ownership was undermined through decades of colonial dispossession and discriminatory apartheid legislation - measures which for many years prevented the majority of the population from owning property based solely on their race. With the end of white minority rule in 1994, the democratic government made a promise of land restitution and a programme was put in place. It followed a "willing seller, willing buyer" model through which the government bought white-owned farms for redistribution. However, despite this, progress has been slow and most of the country's farmland is still owned by white farmers. It is estimated that white South Africans - who make up approximately nine percent of the country's population - own more than 70 percent of the commercial agricultural land. Property rights are protected by South Africa's constitution, but to propel the stalled land reform process, the government is now considering a constitutional change that would allow it to expropriate land from white farmers without paying for it. The move is controversial and has found criticism in some quarters. Others argue that a radical approach is needed to redress past racial injustices that still manifest in the high levels of poverty among black communities. There are also supporters on all sides, who agree that land reform is essential for the future of the country. But many argue that the government needs to do more in order for it to succeed. "I support land expropriation, but on specific issues or on specific land," Shimi Jonas Makoka, a black farmer, tells Al Jazeera. He emphasises that the issue is "not a blanket cover that every [white] farmer's farm is subject to expropriation". "That fear must be diminished and clarity must be given to all farmers - commercial and upcoming farmers - that the government is not aiming at taking farms and grabbing the farms," he says. Makoka is concerned that uncertainty around the government's land expropriation plan is causing a "stir" among white commercial farmers, which could threaten food security in the country - especially if upcoming black farmers are not supported to effectively utilise the land. "We need thorough, continuous support until a farmer is established," he says. "You cannot take a farmer halfway, or just introduce him into this wilderness and then leave him out. We need support." Leon Borcherds, a white farmer whose family has been in the industry since 1948, says land reform is "definitely" needed. "The white farming community is ageing rapidly ... so we need new entrants into this market. We need entrance obviously of black farmers, we have never disputed that, and I think it's very important," he says. But he adds that a major problem is the government's approach. "I think the government has not made it such a priority in their plans, and there has also been a lot of corruption. A lot of the money has disappeared that was supposed to get to the farmer on the ground." "Farms are being expropriated, but the title deed does not get to the black man at the end of the day," Borcherds feels, saying this prevents upcoming black farmers from getting the necessary financing to help their farms succeed. "People don't know how to farm; train them, help us," he says to South Africa's government. "The white commercial farmer is more than happy to help the government in this, but [government must] create the platforms. There are a lot of plans, but politics is involved every time and we never get anywhere." Borcherds says what is needed is a model whereby white commercial farmers can transfer knowledge to new upcoming black farmers and the two can work collaboratively. Makoka agrees. "We are prepared as Africans to take over the land and work on it. Nevertheless, we are expecting some assistance, like the skills that they [white farmers] have got; the experience in farming," he says. "This is the time when white commercial farmers must come on board. They shouldn't be like a species that is endangered. They must be part of the whole land reform, and the mindset needs to change. This is our country, we are living here; all of us must pull together and then find the solution to the whole thing." - 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/

Deep in central Mali, what was supposed to be harvest season for villagers has become a season of starvation, death and destruction. Mali's health ministry says so far hundreds of people have died from what it describes as a man-made famine, as farmers and herders fight over land. It is an ancestral conflict that takes place at the height of the dry season between the Dogon, who are traditional farmers and hunters, and the Fulani, the semi-nomadic herders of the Sahel. The Dogon accuse the Fulani of overstepping on their farmland to feed their animals, while the Fulani accuse the Dogon of killing and stealing their cattle. And now they are killing each other. In one of the worst attacks, 160 Fulani villagers were killed in Ogossagou in March. Mamadou Togo, the chief representative of Mali's Dogon people, tells Al Jazeera the attack was not perpetrated by Dogon hunters. He says the Dogon have not attacked any Fulani villages, despite there being tensions between the two communities. However, he admits that "when other people come and attack the Dogon, they retaliate". "We cannot sit and watch people come and kill us and go back without anything. We said no, this is intolerable," he says. "When you come to kill me and I'm not dead, for instance, if I can I will kill you." The two sides both accuse the other of being the aggressor. Mahmoud Dicko, a Fulani and a powerful leader of the High Islamic Council, blames the mutual mistrust on outside interference. "I am convinced that there are other invisible, obscure forces that are planning to destabilise the entire subregion. And to succeed in this destabilisation, it is necessary to create a war between the different ethnic groups," he says. The violence is not limited to Mali, either. In neighbouring Sahelian countries, Fulanis have been in conflict with other tribes as well. Fuelling this conflict are armed groups - including al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates - who are stepping in and taking sides. Some have been fighting in the war in Libya. "This crisis in the centre of Mali started from the occupation of northern Mali by terrorist groups [in 2012]," says Tiebile Drame, the Malian minister of foreign affairs. "The Malian crisis is directly linked to the situation in Libya, to the collapse of Libya in 2011." Since 2013, the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA has been operating in Mali. There are currently 14,000 UN troops - among them British, Canadian and German soldiers - as well as 4,000 French combat troops and regional G5 Sahel forces in the country. Despite this, the violence is spreading, and spiralling out of control. Insurgent and rebel groups also directly target security forces, launching suicide attacks and car bombings. MINUSMA is now the deadliest UN peacekeeping mission, with more UN troops dying in Mali than anywhere else, or at any time before. This also adds to the feeling shared by many Malians that the security forces are not a source of protection but a source of danger. Nevertheless, the $1bn a year MINUSMA mission has been renewed for another year, while Mali's government is calling for the creation of a coalition force like the ones seen in Iraq and Afghanistan to intervene in Mali. But the Dogon and Fulani leaders we spoke to are both sceptical about outside actors. Dogon leader Togo believes France profits from the instability in the country, saying Mali's former colonial master "wants to recolonise again this country because of the wealth underground". Meanwhile, Fulani leader Dicko says the UN mission and international community are failing Mali, spending billions of dollars "for their own comfort". "I say to leave us alone, to leave the Sahelians between us," he says. "We are brothers, we have lived together for millennia. We have a mechanism to settle things between us. If we are left alone, we ourselves will find a solution to this problem." To examine who profits from Mali's state of instability, and how the violence can be brought to an end, Talk to Al Jazeera In The Field meets Dogon and Fulani leaders to try to understand this complex conflict. - 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/

There is brewing conflict between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, once again at loggerheads over the territory that lies between them: Kashmir. The neighbours have fought two out of their three wars over Kashmir and the latest crisis has once again highlighted 72 years of failure to find a solution. After the two countries gained independence from British rule in 1947, the Maharaja of Muslim-majority Kashmir decided to join India. That did not sit well with the population in Pakistan, and the two countries had their first war over Kashmir. A 1948 United Nations resolution, and later mutual agreements, formed a ceasefire line along what is now called the Line of Control. On August 5 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government made a dramatic decision to revoke the partial autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir. To stem anticipated protests, India locked down the region with additional troop reinforcements and imposed a full communications blackout. "India has committed aggression in the recent weeks against the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Masood Khan, president of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, tells Al Jazeera. "Everybody knows that Indian-occupied Kashmir has been under occupation for the past 72 years and India has made this fresh move to colonise the territory of Kashmir." The move also caused an expected uproar in Pakistan, with Islamabad strongly disagreeing with New Delhi's insistence that the constitutional changes are an internal matter. In response, Pakistan's parliament decided to cut trade with India, downgrade diplomatic ties and suspend bus and train services. On the possibility of tensions escalating into conflict, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister, tells Al Jazeera: "There are two nuclear-armed states and we think war is not a solution, it is mutual suicide and has never been our option." "We are going to articulate our case diplomatically, politically and we will look at the legal options," he says. However, India's move in Kashmir has also revealed internal divisions inside Pakistan's political system as to how to respond. "We see that the government of Pakistan is following, not leading," says Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party and a vocal critic of both the Indian and Pakistani government. "I think that the people of Kashmir are looking to leadership. And they are looking for the Prime Minister of Pakistan to speak to their emotions and to speak to the crisis and take concrete actions, not react, not five days later decide to take any reciprocal action with India - which is unfortunately what we saw in this situation." However, he adds: "As far as domestic politics is concerned, the various political parties obviously have their differences. But when it comes to the issue of Kashmir, we all stand united." Although some Kashmiris feel Islamabad should do more, Khan expresses thanks to Pakistan for its response thus far. "It is natural that the people in the street should expect more," he says, "but I've heard from other government officials that Pakistan firmly believes that there should be a diplomatic and political solution. We do not go down the path of war-mongering, we do not want to stoke war hysteria as India has done. So Pakistan has shown restraint and responsibility." The UN has urged all sides to refrain from changing the status of Kashmir. Pakistan plans to take the issue to the UN Security Council with the help of its ally China, which also has a claim on a different part of the disputed Himalayan region. "They [China] completely understand and endorse our point of view," says Qureshi. "They have considered the Indian action as unilateral, unlawful, and they feel the matter should be resolved under the UN charter and according to the applicable Security Council resolutions." "What matters is what is right," Zardari says. "And what is right is that for 70 years the people of Kashmir have been promised that they will be able to decide their own destiny. It's for 70 years we have been told that the people of Kashmir will have a referendum and they will choose. We are saying allow for people to exercise their democratic rights. If the world believes in democracy, if the world believes in the freedom of choice, then the world should support the people of Kashmir." As the tough political talk on Kashmir has a direct impact on the lives of millions of people on both sides of the line of control, we sit down with three important people on the Pakistani side and ask: Will Pakistan be able to neutralise the Indian move; can diplomacy diffuse tensions; and will other powers like China get involved, and if so, what could this mean for Kashmiris? - - 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/

Note: This is part two of a two-part documentary. Watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/AGEnhSHo2P0 Sudan has a troubled history and has been in almost constant turmoil since the 1950s. Regime change, coups, street protests, famine, war, political division - and in April 2019, the toppling of President Omar al-Bashir. The history of modern Sudan is punctuated by several coups, including in 1989, the seizing of power by al-Bashir, whose regime would last for three decades. In the background was Hassan al-Turabi, the power behind the leadership, and the man many call the architect of modern Sudan. "Al-Turabi was a successful politician, not in the sense of political achievements on the ground but in his capacity for mass mobilisation, creating an organisational structure and ensuring continuity," says Dr Al Nour Ahmed, a researcher, academic and Sudanese opposition member. "No politician had ever created a cohesive organisational body in Sudan as al-Turabi did." Al-Turabi was enigmatic, a learned Islamic scholar, the founder of Sudan's religious political party and an arch-politician. His followers revered him as a scholar, diplomat, spiritual leader and strategic thinker, with an uncanny knack of backing winners. "Thanks to his quite diverse experience, he combined traditional Islamic culture with modern European thinking," says political analyst Dr Mohamed Mokhtar al-Shanqity. But to his many enemies, he was Machiavellian, ruthlessly ambitious and sought power on his own terms. "Al-Turabi was known for his intellectual and political flexibility. Political shrewdness is one of his greatest strengths and at the same time one of his major weaknesses," al-Shanqity says. As al-Bashir's attorney-general, al-Turabi was at the heart of power and also at the centre of Sudan's religious ideologues who controlled the executive, the military and the judiciary. When al-Turabi set up a General Assembly to discuss a worldwide Islamic revolution, he attracted people like Osama bin Laden who, as a then-Saudi entrepreneur, set up businesses in Sudan. However, relations with the West deteriorated and Sudan's exiled community, antagonistic to al-Bashir's authoritarian rule, grew. In the 1990s, al-Turabi came under increasing pressure. Soon a rift developed with al-Bashir who dismissed al-Turabi in 1999. He spent the rest of his career in opposition, and spent many years in prison. His loyal following gave him continued support until his death in 2016. Throughout al-Bashir's regime, al-Turabi was a key background figure. His political sway and his avowed mission to establish a religious state in Sudan, both formed and later challenged al-Bashir - even from his prison cell - and hold weight even in events unfolding today. In the current power struggle enveloping the country, al-Turabi's influence is still felt - not least among some of the protesters vying with the army for civilian rule in the post al-Bashir era. In this two-part series, we trace the rise and fall of Hassan al-Turabi, and explore the vast influence he had over five decades of Sudanese politics. - 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/