Inside Story

Nearly five years and a quarter of a million lives have bled away over the course of the Syrian war, but now a resolution may, at last, be in view. The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to back a resolution, which outlines the framework for a political transition over the next year and a half. But it leaves some major questions unanswered - including what happens to Syria's president. On Inside Story, a discussion on how the resolution will be implemented. Presenter: Nick Clark Guests: Ahmed Alibrahim - Saudi affairs specialist and security analyst Sergey Strokan - political commentator for Kommersant newspaper Samir al-Taqi - General Director at the Orient Research Center 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 2015 has been a difficult year to be a refugee or a migrant. The UN says by the end of the year, war in Syria and elsewhere will have forced more than 60 million people from their homes. The unprecedented movement of people is putting huge pressures on host nations in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. It is also creating an increasingly toxic debate around the migration issue, which critics say is based more on rhetoric than reality. And which focuses on the perceived threats to security and the burdens on social services. So why is the debate surrounding migration becoming so politicised? And is the rhetoric obscuring the benefits? Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Jonathan Portes - Principal Research Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research Michelle Leighton - Chief of the Migration Branch at the International Labour Organization Alan Mendoza - Founder & Director of the Henry Jackson Society 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 not often that the actions of one man can set in motion events that affect millions of people. But so it was for Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire five years ago. His actions triggered a revolution that ended with the downfall of President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali and the end of decades of authoritarian rule. Tunisia's uprising inspired millions of people across the Middle East and North Africa to rise up, armed with a belief that change was possible. But five years on, many Tunisians wonder if it was all for nothing. Has the country that became a model for the Arab Spring, failed to deliver on the promise of real change? And what has the rest of the region learnt from Tunisia? Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Rafik Abdessalem - Tunisian politician and head of external affairs for the Ennahda party. Nadia Marzouki - author and political scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Nicholas Noe - Middle East analyst and co-director of The Tunis Exchange - 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/

Colombia's government has reached a deal with FARC rebels to end its decades-long civil war. The agreement, reached after years of negotiations in Havana, sets the terms of reparations. It will also include the establishment of a special tribunal. Earlier in September, the FARC rebels and the Colombian government said they had come to an agreement to hold special courts in order to try former fighters, which included guerrillas, government soldiers and members of right-wing paramilitary groups. The two sides have set March 2016 as a deadline to reach a final deal. So, is that now possible? And how is it different from previous attempts to make peace in Colombia Presenter: Hazem Sika Guests Paloma Valencia - Senator from Colombia's Democratic Center party Ana Maria Ibanez - Professor of Economics, University of the Andes, Bogota, Colombia Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli - Human rights advocate at the Washington Office on Latin America 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 people of South Sudan have not had it easy since they won independence four years ago. A dispute that began between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar two years ago, has turned into a full-blown conflict. And Human Rights Watch is now calling on all sides to stop using child soldiers. It has documented the recruitment, trauma and abuse of child soldiers in the conflict and named 15 commanders and officials, from both sides, who are said to have recruited children as fighters. But it's not just in South Sudan, kids are fighting in conflicts around the world. So, what can be done to stop it? Presenter: Hazem Sika Guests: Jo Becker - Advocacy Director of the Children's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. Ateny Wek Ateny - Spokesman for the President of South Sudan. Casie Copeland - South Sudan Analyst 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 out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Just a week earlier, the party leader, Marine Le Pen, had been celebrating a stunning victory in the first round of the vote. The National Front had emerged as the front-runner in almost half of the country's 13 regions. But in Sunday's second round all that vanished. The right-wing party failed to secure control of any single region. Le Pen herself did not manage to keep her seat. Yet Le Pen was defiant, pointing out that the National Front is now the main opposition force in most regions. So will the far-right group bounce back from this disappointment? And what happened last week to cause such a poor showing? Presenter: Hazem Sika Guests: Bruno Cautres - researcher at the Centre for Political Sciences Research from Sciences Po David Lees - a researcher on French studies at University of Warwick and a specialist on French right-wing policy Christian Makarian - editor of l'Express magazine and French foreign policy analyst - 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 US, Italy and their allies are trying to press rival Libyan factions into signing a UN-brokered peace deal. The two rival groups have been vying for control of the country since August. This has left a vacuum that has been filled by an increasingly powerful local branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). That development has western powers extremely worried, with some suggesting that ISIL will need to be fought in Libya, just as it is being fought in Iraq and Syria. The problem is that not everyone is on board with the UN-brokered deal. And some analysts warn that pushing it through could strengthen resistance, among Libyans, to outside involvement. So, is this deal being rushed through by the international community? And are all sides being represented? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Claudia Gauzzini, Senior Libya Analyst at the International Crisis Group. Youssef Cherif, political analyst specialising in North Africa. Heba Alshibani, Libyan journalist and political commentator. - 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/

It has taken many years to get to this point and two weeks of often round-the-clock hard bargaining at the COP21 summit in Paris. At last, delegates have now come up with a plan on how to curb climate change, aiming to cut emissions and phase out fossil fuels. The goal is to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The deal, which French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said is "legally binding", also includes a five-year review of how countries are doing with their climate plans. Some experts, however, are not convinced the agreement goes far enough. So can it hold? Is it fair? And crucially, will it usher in changes radical enough to save the planet from catastrophic temperature rise? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Monica Araya - founder and executive director of the Costa Rican non-governmental organisation 'Nivela' Vahakn Kabakian - COP21 negotiator and head of the Lebanese delegation to the conference Graciela Chichilnisky - author of the Kyoto Protocol Carbon Market - 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/

About 100 delegates from a spectrum of armed and political opposition groups have agreed on how they want to end the civil war in Syria. Following talks in Saudi Arabia, they'll be negotiating with the Syrian government next month - but insist President Bashar al-Assad must leave before a transition starts. Some of the biggest groups controlling territory in Syria - al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and the Kurds - will not be included in next month's talks. Not all the groups who will be involved make natural allies with world powers. So, can this opposition agreement succeed after previous failures? And what hope is there for January's talks with the Syrian government? Presenter: Martine Dennis Guests: Marwan Kabalan - Associate analyst at the Doha Institute Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies Oubai Shahbandar - Managing director of Orient Media James Denselow - Research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre. 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 potential Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is remaining defiant about his anti-Muslim statement which has provoked criticism and condemnation. The White House says he has disqualified himself from becoming president. And the Pentagon says his call to ban Muslims from the US endangers security. But Trump has the support of various conservative commentators and at least part of the US public. So, how has Trump been able to set the tone in the Republican presidential race? And why do his comments resonate with some Americans? Presenter: Jane Dutton Guests: Linda Sarsour - Executive director of the Arab American Association of New York Matthew Del Carlo - Republican strategist and chairman of the California Young Republican Federation James Boys - author of the upcoming book 'Hillary Rising' and political historian - 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 latest remarks by United States Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump have caused condemnation inside and outside America. Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the US. In the US and across the Atlantic in Europe, the inter-linked issues of race, identity and immigration have always been deeply controversial. On Tuesday, Britain marked the 50th anniversay of its Race Relations Act. It's legislation that outlawed discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origin. On Inside Story, we discuss how and why racism is gaining ground in some countries. Presenter: Jane Dutton Guests: Lee Jasper - Co-chair of the BARAC National Executive Movement Against Xenophobia Omar Khan - Director of Runnymede, an independent race equality think-tank in the UK Charlie Wolf - Political commentator and former communications director for Republicans Abroad UK - 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/

France's far-right National Front party is re-shaping the political landscape after a significant breakthrough in the opening round of regional elections.   Condemned as racist and anti-semetic by the opposition, the anti-immigrant party is set to break the grip of socialists and conservatives who have long dominated French politics.       But will the second round of voting cement the party's grassroots rise across France?   Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault   Guests:   Jean-Yves Camus - Research Fellow at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs. He's also the author of the book "Les Droites Extremes en Europe" or "The Far-Right in Europe".   Patrice De Beer - Political Analyst and former Editor of Le Monde newspaper.   Christian Makarian - Editor of L'Express magazine. - 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/

Warring sides agree to hold vote within two years and to form committee to help choose government, but will it work? Presenter: Martine Dennis Guests: Anas El Gomati - director of Libya's first think-tank, Sadeq Institute Fatima Hamroush - former minister of health in the Libyan Transitional Government George Joffe - deputy director and professorial research fellow at the Global Policy 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/

The US special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes region says Burundi is a the risk of descending into total chaos. Thomas Perriello is calling for urgent regional mediation to establish a peace process between the government and opposition groups to prevent further bloodshed. The crisis began earlier this year when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a controversial third term in office and won. That led to months of protests and violence, including an attempted coup. The United Nations says at least 240 people have been killed since April. So, is Burundi on the brink of civil war? Or, can violence be contained? Presenter: Martine Dennis Guests: Padraic MacOireachtaigh - Photojournalist and Film-maker who has lived in Burundi for more than two years. Patricia Daley - Associate Professor of Human Geography at Oxford University. Has written a book on Burundi. Jonathon Offei-Ansah - Founder and Publisher of AfricaBriefing Magazine. 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/

Is 60 billion dollars enough to convince African leaders that China is their most reliable partner?   President Xi Jingping is in South Africa reassuring leaders from across the continent with hard cash.   Which will be welcome, after the economic downturn forced China to slash investment in Africa by more than 40 percent earlier this year.   The theme for the summit in Johannesburg is “Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development.”   But it's a partnership that hasn't always been described as equal - with China accused of plundering Africa's rich resources. Presenter: Martine Dennis   Guests:   Xhanti Payi, economist and director of Nascence Advisory and Research.   Einar Tangen, political and economic affairs analyst.   Joseph Ochieno, contributor for the New African Magazine. 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/