Inside Story

The International Energy Agency said prices are likely to come under further pressure, as it cut its outlook for growth in demand next year. And some analysts expect prices to fall to as low as $55 a barrel in the short term. In its meeting last month, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to keep its production levels unchanged. What is making the situation even worse is a boom in US shale oil production. So while consumers enjoy an extra jingle in their pockets this festive season, cash-hungry oil exporters are left with sleepless nights. But are there other reasons behind the free fall in oil prices? And who stands to gain or lose?

Thousands of angry Palestinians took part in the funeral a Ziab Abu Ein, who died on Wednesday after being grabbed by the neck by an Israeli policeman at a West Bank protest. The incident has raised more tension with Israel. Some Palestinian officials indicated that cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli security forces in the West Bank could be suspended as a result of Abu Ein's death. So-called security coordination with Israel arose out of the Oslo accords, requiring Palestinian and Israeli security forces to 'coordinate' in the occupied territories. Critics say in practice, Palestinian security forces help enforce the occupation on Israel's behalf. But can the Palestinian Authority really stop this coordination? And what would the consequences be? Presenter: Hazem Sika Guests: Akiva Eldar-Senior Columnist with Al Monitor. Ghassan Khatib-Vice President of Birzeit University. And in Washington, Matthew Duss-President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. 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 United Nations is heading rights groups calling for CIA and other U.S. government officials to be prosecuted for their role in the ‘enhanced interrogation’ of suspects at secret prisons around the world. A long awaited-report into CIA detention and interrogation tactics has painted a bleak picture of U.S. torture and abuse. It talks of brutalising scores of so-called terror suspects under President George W. Bush. The Senate Intelligence Committee spent five years analysing more than six million pages of CIA documents, detailing tactics used after the September 11 attacks in 2001. A 525-page summary paints a picture of the CIA as an agency gone rogue. It accuses the CIA of subjecting suspects to beatings, simulated drowning, sleep deprivation, and threatening to harm, kill or sexually abuse their families. The report said the CIA misled the White House, Congress and other agencies to main a programme that had little oversight, and information obtained from suspects failed to provide any useful intelligence. So where does the buck stop? And who should be held responsible? Presenter Hazem Sika Guests Robert Grenier - former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. Moazzam Begg - outreach director of the rights group Cage Prisoners and a former Guantanamo detainee. Clare Algar - executuve director of the human rights NGO, Reprieve.

Kenya's information minister has denied the existence of "death squads" within the country’s police force. Counter-terrorism officers told Al Jazeera’s investigative unit that extrajudicial killings were sanctioned by the Kenyan government, and the chain of command reached all the way to the president’s office. Officers confessed to being behind hundreds of extrajudicial killings a year, targeting what they referred to as "Muslim radicals", and planting evidence to make victims appear like terror suspects. Live Box 2014128173443347543 But speaking to Inside Story, Kenya’s Information Minister Fred Matiangi said: "The accusations of the police being involved in the killing of Muslim clerics and so on is just gossip, rumour and innuendo, pedalled by people who have a different kind of agenda." He blamed criminals for carrying out killings in the country, but added that if police were found to be involved they would face "the full force of the law". Al Jazeera was also told Britain and Israel knew of the elimination programmes, and provided training, support and intelligence. So what role is Kenya playing in the so-called "war on terror"? And are suspects being executed on government orders? Presenter: Hazem Sika Guests: Fred Matiangi - Kenyan minister of information. Simon Boazman - Al Jazeera investigative journalist and reporter on "Inside Kenya’s Death Squads". David Anderson - professor of African History and Politics at Warwick University. 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/

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will meet in the Qatari capital on Tuesday for a summit being held after months of tension between its members. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha last year, accusing Qatar of interfering in their domestic affairs and supporting so-called Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. A summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh last month managed to overcome the crisis that seriously threatened to breakl up the GCC itself. As a result the three ambassadors returned to Doha, paving the way for the summit. But can the Doha summit end the deep divisions among the GCC countries? And is the bloc itslef serving any purpose?

"There's your new spacecraft, America". Those were the words NASA's mission control commentator used as the Orion capsule came safely back to earth. It was a declaration that spoke of politics and prestige. The United States, demonstrating its superpower status to the world. But what of the reality? At the height of the Cold War, the US devoted over four percent of its total federal budget to space exploration. Today, NASA gets less than a tenth of that. The US space agency is a shadow of its former self. The Orion won't fly again until 2018 at the earliest. But the new space race is not with the Soviet Union, it's with private enterprise. One crowdfunded private consortium, Mars One, is aiming to put humans on the red planet a decade earlier than NASA. Another company, Planetary Resources, is planning to mine asteroids for rare metals. And for the super-rich, there's the promise of space tourism from Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. So what is the future of space travel?

Egypt plans to double the size of a buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip. The government says the measure is intended to put an end to the movement of armed fighters and weapons from Gaza to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The first phase of the operation began in October, days after 30 Egyptian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a checkpoint close to the Gaza border. Thousands of people in northern Sinai were ordered to move out. Their homes were then bulldozed and bombed. The buffer zone runs for about 13 kilometres along Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip. The first phase cleared an area 500 metres wide, destroying homes - and tunnels used for smuggling. The security buffer is now being extended, to one kilometre. But is Egypt's overriding justification one of national security? Or are there regional and international pressures at play?

As US-led coalition continues air strikes on ISIL targets in Syria, end game still remains unclear. Presenter: Mike Hanna Guests: Emad Abshenass - political analyst and editor-in-chief of the Iran Diplomat Fawaz Gerges - chair of contemporary middle eastern politics and International relations at the London School of Economics Ryan Evans - founder and editor-in-chief of the online debate and analysis platform War on the Rocks - 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 threat of fighters returning from Syria is raising fears of radicalization across Europe. Presenter: Mike Hanna. Guests: Mathieu Guidere, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Toulouse and a specialist on religious extremism. Francesco Ragazzi, co-author of the report ‘Preventing and countering youth radicalisation in the EU'. Mansouria Mokhefi, special adviser on the Middle East and North Africa at the French Institute for International Relations. ubscribe 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/

Decision not to charge white police officer over death of unarmed black teenager prompts protests across US. Jane Dutton speaks to Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author and political analyst; Brittany Packnett; Executive director of Teach for America; and Hubert Williams, former President of the Police Foundation. 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/

Six world powers want Iran to curb its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Tehran says it is not seeking nuclear weapons, but wants atomic energy. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said a deal was close but US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that several points of disagreement remained. (Kerry) "Given how far we have come over the last year and particularly in the last few days this is not certainly the time to get up and walk away. These issues are enormously complex.They require a lot of tough political decisions, and they require rigorous technical analysis of concepts". (ROUHANI) "In these negotiations we have not yet reached a final agreement. But I can say that we have taken steps forward. Today looks very different to three months ago; it's even more different to six months ago. The negotiating positions have come closer together and many of the points of disagreement have gone away. But of course there are other steps to take and other paths to follow.” But what are the real reasons for the impasse? Could it be that the West wants Iran to help solve wider regional issues than just nuclear proliferation? Presenter: Mike Hanna Guests: Emad Abshenass - political analyst and editor in chief of the Iran Diplomat. Vyacheslav Matuzov- former diplomat and executive chairman of the Russian Friendship Society with Arab Countries. Patrick Clawson - director of the Iran Security Initiative at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 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 proposed law that defines Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people is stirring fierce debate in the country, and among politicians. Rights groups have condemned the draft legislation as 'racist' and say it discriminates against Israel's minorities, which make up 20 per cent of the population. The Cabinet vote, which comes at a time of heightened tensions with Palestinians, was passed by a majority of 14 votes to 6. The wording of the bill has yet to be finalised, and requires approval by the Knesset. It is intended to become part of Israel's basic laws, and would recognise Israel's Jewish character, institutionalise Jewish law as an inspiration for legislation, and drop Arabic as a second official language. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the bill is necessary because people were challenging the notion of Israel as a Jewish homeland. Addressing the cabinet, Netanyahu said: "The state of Israel is the nation state of the Jewish People. It has equal individual rights for every citizen and we insist on this. "But only the Jewish People have national rights: A flag, anthem, the right of every Jew to immigrate to the country, and other national symbols. These are granted only to our people, in its one and only state." So are the edges being blurred in Israel between politics and religion, the state and democracy? And how much is religion and nationalism playing into the broader issues in the Middle East? Presenter : Mike Hanna Guests Jeremy Saltan - former Knesset candidate and supporter of the right wing party 'The Jewish Home'. Ahmad Tibi - Palestinian member and deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset. Jeff Haynes - associate dean and professor of politics at London Metropolitan University. 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 more than three years, the US resisted any kind of military intervention in Syria, opting instead to support opposition groups in the uprising against President Bashar al Assad. But the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant saw a reversal in policy, as the group seized large parts of Syria and Iraq. The US president summoned a “coalition of the willing” to carry out air strikes, contending that ISIL posed a significant global threat and branding it a 'network of death'. And while military officials say the air campaign has stalled offensives in some areas, ISIL appears to be growing stronger in others. Kurdish Peshmerga forces on the ground have also told Al-Jazeera they are critical of the strategy behind the air strikes, and say they are not getting the support they need. So more than three months into the joint military operation what is going wrong? Presenter: Mike Hanna Guests James Denselow - research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre think-tank. Ilter Turan - professor of political science at Istanbul Bilgi University. Elias Hanna - military and security analyst and retired Lebanese Army General. 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/

Thousands mark the one year anniversary of protests that toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president. Mike Hanna spekks to Pavel Felgenhauer, foreign policy and political analyst; James Sherr, associate fellow for the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House; and Mychailo Wynnyckyj, associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. 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/

Shia opposition groups refuse to take part in parliamentary polls in Sunni-ruled island kingdom. Jane Dutton speaks to Ali al Aswad,a member of the Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, and a former opposition member of parliament; Mansoor Arayedh, chairman of the Gulf Council for Foreign Relations, and a former member of Bahrain's Shura Council; and Joseph Kechichian, columnist for the Gulf News and a specialist on Middle East affairs. 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/