Inside Story

The twists and turns of Brazil's political drama have been compared to the TV series, House of Cards. Deeply unpopular leader Dilma Rousseff has been suspended from office and taking her place as interim president is a man perhaps even more polarising than her. Michel Temer is seen as serving the interests of Brazil's business elite and despite calling for unity, he's appointed a cabinet made up entirely of white men. President Dilma Rousseff has called her suspension from office a "coup" and has vowed to fight back. But is Michel Temer the right leader to lift Brazil out of its political crisis? And was Rousseff's impeachment a democratic move or a coup? Presenter: Fauziah Ibrahim Guests: Rodrigo Nunes - Political Analyst and Lecturer at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Shannon Sims - Journalist who focuses on Brazilian politics and the Olympics. Claudio Couto - Political Scientist and Associate Professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

As the war in Syria enters its fifth year, and with no signs of the fighting coming to an end - millions are struggling to survive. This week, a series of strong storms blanketed much of the country in snow. Syrians living in towns and villages, besieged by government forces and their allies, are facing starvation. The blockade of the town of Madaya in particular - near the Lebanese border - has become a focal issue for Syrian opposition leaders. They told the UN envoy this week that they won't take part in talks with the government until the siege there and in other areas are lifted. So, what can be done to help the millions of desperate Syrians? Presenter: Richelle Carey Guests: Melissa Flemming - Spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Thom Brooks - Law Professor at Durham University in the UK, specialising in Immigration. Dibeh Fakhr - Public Relations Officer and Spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Near and Middle-east division. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Barack Obama starts his final year in office focusing on gun control. His efforts to press Congress to address the controversial issue have failed. Republicans are sharply critical of Obama's proposed restrictions following more mass shootings across the US. The powerful National Rifle Association is also gunning for Obama's plan. The president says his plan won't prevent mass shootings but will save many lives. On Inside Story, an in-depth discussion on whether the new gun control measures can curb gun-related violence. Presenter: Richelle Carey Guests: Jerry Henry, a gun lobbyist and Executive Director of Georgia Carry dot org, an organization aimed at protecting the rights of people in Georgia to own and carry firearms. John Rosenthal, founder and Chairman of Stop Handgun Violence. Nils Duquet, researcher at the Flemish Peace Institute. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Fighting from within, bombed from above, and now starvation. Syria's struggling population continues to dwindle, as lives are lost to both war and hunger. More than half of all Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance. The United Nations says it is unable to help around two million children because they're blocked by fighting or siege. In some areas the price of food has skyrocketed so that a kilo of rice now costs $100. While civilians are starving in Syrian towns, the international community is stalled on a political solution. Opposition groups are meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh this week. They are trying to determine who will be included in negotiations scheduled for later this month - talks aimed at preventing Syria's civil war from going into a sixth year. Inside Story takes a look at the besieged towns of Zabadani and Madaya, once popular resorts which are now in ruins. And asks, who will ease the suffering of civilians still trapped in Syria? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Fadi Al-Qadi - Human rights advocate and commentator Wael Aleji - Spokesman for the Syrian Network for Human Rights Mouin Rabbani - Middle East analyst and former Head of Political Affairs for the UN special envoy for Syria - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Saudi Arabia has executed 47 people on terrorism charges in a day, prompting condemnations by human rights groups and Iran. Those executed include Fares al-Shuwail, al-Qaeda's "top religious leader" in the kindgom, and Nimr, al-Nimr, a Shia religious figure. Iran says Saudi Arabia will pay a high price for the execution of Nimr. What message is the kingdom sending? And will an iron fist succeed? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Ahmed al-Ibrahim, Saudi affairs specialist and security analyst. Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch. Joseph Kechichian, Senior Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research & Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The government of Ethiopia is spending billions of its own money to build the Grand Renaissance dam. Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Bart Hilhorst, Water Resource specialist and former chief technical adviser for the FAO Nile Program. Wondwosen Seide, water consultant and hydro-politics specialist. Mohamed Khairat, Founder and Editor in Chief of Egyptian Streets. - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Kamahl Santamaria discusses whether Saudi Arabia can withstand the effect of falling oil prices. Guests: Abdullah Baabood - Director, Gulf Studies Center, Qatar University. John Sfakianakis - Economist and former adviser to the Saudi government. Jaafar Altaie - Founder and managing director of Manaar Energy Group. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Just a few months ago, Turkish Kurds had hope for a political solution to their ongoing disagreements with the government. They had won seats in parliament and later this week, the pro-Kurdish party the HDP was to meet with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. That meeting was then cancelled. The ongoing operations against Kurdish rebels leaves no sign of a likely return to what many have described as a peace process. The political engagement has turned into a military one. Why the about-face? And will the Turkish government and the Kurds ever find a way to interact without violence? Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria Guests: Galip Dalay - Research director at the Al Sharq Forum Ertugrul Kurkcu - MP and Honorary President of the People's Democratic Party Berkay Mandiraci - Researcher on Turkey at the International Crisis Group - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

It had been almost twelve years since an Indian Prime Minister last set foot on Pakistani soil. And when it finally happened, we're told the meeting wasn't meticulously planned: it was an off-the-cuff stopover. India and Pakistan's mutual history has been punctuated with talks and tensions for the past seven decades. But this visit to Lahore by India's head of government, Narendra Modi, has raised hopes that something might be changing. Could this herald a breakthrough in the usually tense relations between the two neighbours? And what would that mean for this volatile region? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Naveed Ahmad - Investigative journalist and consultant Sreeram Chaulia - Professor and Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs Sandipto Dasgupta - Newton Fellow at the India Institute, King's College in London - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

It's sometimes said the Middle East, with its overlapping rivalries and conflicts, is like a three dimensional game of chess. But even that metaphor fell short of describing just how complex the region was in 2015. Syria provided perhaps the best example. The war there entered its fourth year in 2015. And became a theatre for some of the world's biggest powers, chief among them Russia and the US. Two countries with very different visions of how to end the conflict. 2015 was also the year ISIL was described as going 'global.' Under increasing international military pressure, its territory decreased in Iraq and Syria. But ISIL-led or inspired attacks were carried out in Beirut, Paris and elsewhere. In Yemen and Libya, as in Iraq and Syria, the region's states were disintegrating in 2015. On this end of the year review, we look at where things stand and where the Middle East is headed in 2016. Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria Guests: Yezid Sayigh - Senior Associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center Shibley Telhami - Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland Anthony Dworkin - Senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

For months, the Iraqi government has promised a major offensive to retake cities held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. And in the last week it has begun to deliver on that pledge by moving to win back the city of Ramadi. As the capital of Iraq's Anbar province, Ramadi lies in the heartland of the country's Sunni population. It is less than 100km west of Baghdad. On Tuesday Iraqi forces engaged ISIL fighters in the centre of the city for the first time since it fell last May. And Iraq says hundreds of ISIL fighters have been killed in the last two weeks, with the help of US air strikes. The forces on the ground include soldiers and Sunni tribal fighters. However, they do not include the Shia militias who have dominated much of the fight against ISIL this year. So, has this offensive put ISIL on the retreat? And has the Iraqi government learnt lessons from its previous failures? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Rahman Aljebouri - Senior Program Officer for Middle East and North Africa, National Endowment for Democracy Matthew Glanville - former special adviser to the Iraqi government Sabah Al-Mukhtar - President of the Arab Lawyers Association - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Smog levels in Beijing this year were almost seven times the maximum exposure recommended by the World Health Organization. That makes the smog a matter of life and death. In the first quarter of this year more than 90 percent of Chinese cities failed to meet the government's own air-quality standards. Air pollution contributes to 17 percent of all deaths in China. As many as 1.6 million people died this year as a result of air pollution, the Berkeley Research Group estimates. That's about 4,400 people dying every day. But what is the government doing to tackle the issue? And why has it failed to strike a balance between economic growth and public health? Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria Guests: Einar Tangen - Political and economic affairs analyst advising the Chinese government. Steve Tsang - Senior fellow at the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham in the UK. Tamara Savelyeva - Professor at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The Taliban says it killed six U.S. troops in a suicide attack on a military base on Sunday. The attack underlines the group's ability to hit high-profile targets linked to the American-backed government, which wants to restart the peace process and end 14 years of conflict. The Afghan army is fighting to regain control of parts of Helmand province in the south. The UN has raised its threat level for about half the country to "high or "extreme," for the first time since the American invasion in 2001. And last week, a Pentagon report warned the security situation in Afghanistan would continue to deteriorate in the face of Taliban resistance. So, how powerful is the Taliban? And can it be defeated? Presenter: Dareen Abu Ghaida Guests: Orzala Ashraf Nemat, governance and civil society specialist at Afghanistan Research and Evalutation Unit. David Sedney, senior associate at the center for strategic and international studies. Habibullah Fawzi, a member of Afghanistan's high peace council. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Two new parties are shaking up the political scene. The left-leaning Podemos is part of an anti-austerity movement created during Spain's financial crisis. It defines itself as a party of ordinary people, different from Spain's out-of-touch political class. Nick Clark is joined by Antonio Barroso, Berta Barbet Protam and Cristobal Herrera. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

A showdown is looming between Burundi and African Union (AU) leaders. The AU is giving Burundi until Tuesday to agree to accept a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force - or it will send the soldiers anyway. Burundian government leaders are warning they would not accept foreign soldiers. Its the first time the African Union is invoking its rule to send peacekeeping troops to protect civilians - with the consent of the country. The controversy and crisis is over the re-election of President Pierre Nkurunziza for a third term. An estimated 220,000 people have fled the country in the past eight months. At least 400 people have also been reportedly killed, and extrajudicial killings and torture are being regularly reported. But would African Union forces be able to stop the bloodshed? Presenter: Nick Clark Guests: Jean-Claude Karerwa - Deputy Spokesman for President Nkurunziza Devon Curtis - Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge David Zounmenou - Senior Researcher for West Africa in the Africa Conflict Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies. - Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/