Inside Story

The streets of Damascus have seen the heaviest fighting since the begining of the Syrian uprising 17 months ago. Since Friday, the capital has seen gunfights and shelling. And according to reports, mortars and helicopter gunships have been used. The fiercest fighting yet has been reported in various parts of the capital between rebel forces and government troops. These are significant developments - but does it mean the conflict is reaching its final decisive phase?

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv after a protester set himself on fire during a rally on Saturday night over what he described as long-standing injustices of the state. The incident has mobilised Israel's social movement that is demanding immediate action to lower the cost of living, raise wages and tackle poverty. How deep is the socio-economic divide in Israeli society? Guests: Yoaz Hendel , Akiva Eldar, Haggai Matar.

Security issues have overshadowed the London 2012 Olympic Games preparations. The British government has been forced to deploy additional military personnel after the main private security contractor said it cannot provide enough guards on time. Will this compromise the security at one of the world's biggest sporting events? Guests: Steve Park, Martin Bentham, Jeremy Corbyn.

Russia's parliament, known as the Duma, has passed the third reading of a bill that would label NGOs accepting international funding as “foreign agents”. Opposition groups say the law is just the latest attempt by Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, to stifle opponents. Earlier this week, Russia’s parliament approved a controversial information law that empowers the government to unilaterally block websites. Some say it is a step forward in the fight against pornography, but opponents fear it is just another restriction on civil society. They say once the technology is in place to block certain sites there is nothing to stop it being used to block and censor others. After Putin's inauguration in May, a host of controversial laws have passed through parliament. In early June, the Duma passed a law drastically raising fines from 50 to 9,000 US dollars for participation in unsanctioned rallies. As for the organisers of illegal protests they will be fined around $30,000. The Duma is now considering another bill re-introduncing drastic penalties for libel: five years in jail and a fine of $15,000. Defamation was decriminalised under Dimitry Medvedev, the former Russian president. The decriminalisation of speech offenses is not the only Medvedev initiative that has come under re-examination following Putin’s return to power. Is the traditional opposition being marginalised in the political struggles of the new Putin era? Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, is joined by guests: Vyacheslav Nikonov, the Russian State Duma deputy, and a member of the United Russia party; Oleg Kozlovsky, the director of a pro-democracy NGO, the Vision of Tomorrow Foundation; and Julia Pettengill, the co-chair of the Russia Studies Centre, at the Henry Jackson Society.

Humanitarian groups warn the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo is about to explode while the UN accuses Rwanda of backing rebels. Congolese rebels known as M23 said they have no plan to attack the main city of Goma, in eastern DR Congo. But the group has been fighting the Congolese army in the east of DR Congo for weeks now and they have already swept away defences in several strategic towns. The army appears to be struggling to contain the fighters. The UN has positioned most of its artillery to help defend Goma. The peacekeeper's mandate has always been to protect civilians but until now they have tried to avoid a fight.

Libya's first free election has taken place in six decades and counting is under way. Although it will be days before final results are known but some interesting early trends have emerged. There is every indication that Mahmoud Jibril's National Forces Alliance has established an early lead. The alliance is viewed as centrist and non-religious. Members reject the term secular as virtually the entire Libyan population is Muslim. And the parties that expressly define themselves as religious appear to be lagging far behind at this stage-

Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's newly elected president, reopened a parliament that the military rulers had dissolved. But the country's top judges insist their ruling that led to the military action remains valid. And now there is a political, legal and social storm in the wake of the president's action. The country is divided over the legality of and the reasons for Morsi's decision. His supporters insist the president is returning legislative power to the people while opponents maintain he is undermining the rule of law. Last month Egypt's constitutional court ruled that part of the electoral process was unconstitutional, finding that one-third of seats supposed to be filled by independents had in fact been occupied by party representatives, and recommended that the whole of parliament be dissolved. As executive authority at that stage, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), then decreed the closure of parliament and barred MPs from even entering the premises. By reversing that decree the newly elected president is essentially beginning to define the degree of executive authority he believes has been ceded by SCAF. And he is also denying SCAF's insistence that it will continue to hold full legislative power until a new constitution is drawn up and a parliament is re-elected. In immediately holding a formal session, the parliament is signalling its backing for the president. But by adjourning within minutes and referring the matter of its legal status to the courts, the parliament has also signalled its willingness to uphold the rule of law. So, is it a constitutional crisis, a political showdown or both? Inside Story, with presenter Mike Hanna, discusses with guests: Hisham Kassem, a veteran journalist and publisher; Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo Univeristy and an author of several books on Egyptian foreign policy; and Sameh Fawzy, a political analyst.

South Sudan is celebrating its first year of independence from Sudan, but the euphoria of last year has given way to a harsh reality: Border wars with the north, internal violence and a shutdown of oil production are serious economic and security challenges. Without the income from oil production, South Sudan has no money to improve the lives of its people - instead it is cutting services and investment in the name of austerity. According to the UN half of the people in South Sudan do not have enough to eat. Sudan is also facing a series of problems: The country lost 75 per cent of its oil revenues after its seperation with the South and Juba's decision last January to shut down its oil pipelines. As a consequence, the economy is struggling with soaring inflation and depreciation of the Sudanese pound. President Omar al-Bashir has made a series of deep cuts and the austerity measures have prompted a rise in transport costs and a doubling of fuel and food prices. This economic meltdown has sparked angry street protests and some Sudanese are now calling for Bashir to step down. So, has the split brought progress or regression for the two countries? How will the worsening situation shape interaction between Juba and Khartoum? Is there an alternative to interdependence? Can the two neighbours live without each other eventually? Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, discusses with guests: El Samani El Wasila, a member of parliament and former minister of state for the Sudanese government; Paul Moorcraft, the director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis; and Atem Yaak Atem, South Sudan's deputy minister of Information.

Donors at a conference on Afghanistan have pledged to give it $16bn in civilian aid over four years, in an attempt to safeguard its future after foreign forces leave in 2014. The pledge came as Afghanistan agreed to new conditions to deal with endemic corruption. The Afghan economy relies heavily on international development and military assistance, becoming particularly dependent on foreign donations since the US invasion in 2001.

Nine months after the end of Libya's uprising, Libyans head to the polls for the first free elections in decades. They will elect a 200-member assembly that will be called the General National Congress. This body will appoint a prime minister and draft a new constitution. The road to democracy has been a tumultuous one for the people of Libya - the National Transition Council which has run the country since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled, has struggled to maintain security or deal with competing claims for regional autonomy. Many Libyans hope that the elections mark a step forward in a country that has been crippled by uncertainty and insecurity, but the new government will have to confront a series of major issues: - The transitional government has failed to break the stranglehold of the militias that helped to remove Gaddafi. Many now use their firepower for political advantage. A new government will have to find a way to disband them and integrate into a regular, unified army. -Since Gaddafi's overthrow, tribal, regional and ethnic divisions have paralysed Libya. A new government will have to manage renewed claims for autonomy in the country's eastern province as well as in the south. -A lack of security is also leading to armed clashes. Libya's new rulers will have to work swiftly to establish the rule of law and build a justice system that will serve as Libyans' only recourse for settling disputes. -As the world's fifth largest producer of oil, many Libyans hoped their country would become a magnet for investment. But the collapse of authority has left the country's economy in tatters. So, what are the hurdles in Libya's process of transition? And will the people's representatives be able to bridge the many divisions in the post-Gaddafi era? Inside Story, with presenter Mike Hanna, discusses with guests: Abdulmuneim Sbeta, a civil society activist and chairman of Libya's leading NGO, the national support group; Mohamed Eljarh, an academic and specialist on Libyan affairs; and Anas El Gomati, the director of governance and security at a Tripoli based think-tank, Sadeq Institute.

This week saw a three-day Iranian military exercise in the Gulf, in which the country's long and short range missile technology was on display. The show of force came at the same time as a new European Union (EU) ban on the import of Iranian crude came into effect. Sanctions are being intensified as the EU together with the US continue to press demands that Iran give total international access to its nuclear technology programme - demands that Tehran sees as a direct attack on the country's national sovereignty.

For decades, scientists have searched for an elusive particle, something that would help explain how the universe began, and how it carries on. The main development is that scientists working at the CERN facility in Switzerland say they have now discovered evidence of this new subatomic particle which is sometimes called the 'god particle'. It took scientists more than 15 years to build a massive detector underground, which captures images of what happens when protons collide. They have found proof of the existence of what looks like the Higgs boson: a crucial particle which helps explain how the universe came to be – and therefore the stars, planets and human life.

In the wake of the bank rate-rigging scandal, Bob Diamond, Barclays chief executive, announced his resignation from the post with immediate effect, on Tuesday. In a statement, Diamond, who faced mounting calls to step down, said he made the decision as the external pressure on the bank has reached a level that risks "damaging the franchise". Barclays Bank was fined a record $450m last week, for attempting to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, Libor, during the financial crisis between 2005 and 2009. Libor is a measure of how much banks have to pay to borrow from their rival and is worked out every day from estimates submitted by the major banks of their own interbank lending costs.

Tensions rise in northern Mali after al-Qaeda-linked fighters seized control of the area where the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) recently declared an independent state. Just what does this mean for the region? Will the conflict spill over to the neighbouring countries? Is a military intervention by regional powers an option?

On July 1, 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the only permanent criminal tribunal set up to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes came into force. A decade later, it has been ratified by 121 states with another 32 intending to join. The US and China, however, have opted not to. In its 10 years, the ICC has only made one conviction - Thomas Lubanga - a Congolese warlord found guilty of recruiting child soldiers. Critics say the ICC has made slow progress, with much, if not all of its focus on Africa.