Inside Story

It's been more than 160 years since the US had a president who was not a Republican or a Democrat. Many different parties field candidates at each election, few attract any real support. But this time, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are among the most unpopular presidential nominees in US history. That is why as many as 10 percent of voters say they will choose a third candidate in November. Inside Story looks at the two most well known: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party. Host: Jane Dutton Guests: Joe Watkins - Republican political strategist and former White House aide to President George H.W. Bush Jeanne Zaino - Professor in politics at Iona College Cliston Brown - Political analyst and columnist for the New York Observer. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Oxford University researchers predict almost half of US jobs will be done by machines in the next 20 years. Presenter: Jane Dutton Guests: Guang-Zhong Yang - director of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery Noel Sharkey - professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield Cyrus Hodes - director and co-founder of the artificial intelligence initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Chinese authorities are cracking down on activists they say are undermining the government. Several lawyers and professors are in court this week - facing charges like 'damaging national security' and 'harming social stability'. And the government says some of them have been trained and supported by Western governments, a charge to which a few defendants have confessed. But critics say those confessions were likely forced. And that trials this week have been unfairly closed to the public. Activists say it's a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Are they right? Presenter: Jane Dutton Einar Tangen - Political Affairs Analyst. Roseann Rife - East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International. Samantha Hoffman - Independent China Analyst and Research Consultant. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

For the past few months, Libyan forces have been engaged in battle to push fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) out of Sirte. But progress has been slow. Now, the United States military has entered the fight. At the request of Libya's UN-backed unity goverment, US forces have begun air strikes against ISIL targets in the coastal city. And on Tuesday, government forces said they had taken control of Sirte's central district. ISIL took control of Libya's port city in May last year. At one point, its self-declared caliphate stretched approximately 200km on either side of Sirte along the Mediterranean coastline. So, what will US air strikes accomplish? And is there a shift in American policy towards ISIL? Presenter: Sohail Rahman Guests: Salah Elbakush - Libyan Political Analyst. Mohamed Eljarh - Non-Resident Fellow with the Atlantic Council based in Libya. Christopher Chivvis - Associate Director of the International Security and Defence Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Malaysia's controversial new security law comes into effect, giving Prime Minister Najib Razak sweeping powers. Presenter: Sohail Rahman Guests: Eric Paulsen - Executive Director of Lawyers for Liberty. Clare Rewcastle Brown - Editor of the Sarawak Report. Azrul Mohd Khalib - Manager of External Relations at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Humanitarian passages out of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo are causing controversy. Presenter: Sohail Rahman Guests: Marwan Kabalan - Syrian Academic and Associate Analyst at the Doha Institute. Vyascheslav Matuzov - Former Russian Diplomat. Rami Khouri - Senior Fellow at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy at the American University of Beirut. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

For nearly two weeks, Armenian police officers and opposition supporters have been stuck in a cycle of violence. Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Serzh Sarkisian. Can the ongoing tension spiral out of control? Presenter: Sohail Rahman Guests: Richard Giragosian - Director of the Armenian think tank Regional Studies Center Lilit Gevorgyan - Russia and Caucasus Analyst at IHS Markit Maria Titizian - Journalist covering Armenia - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Al-Nusra Front is one of the largest and most effective rebel groups in Syria. It controls territory in the north, west and south of the country. The group has always said it prioritizes getting rid of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It was, until now, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, making it a target of both Russia and more recently the US. Now the group has decided to cut ties with al-Qaeda in what appears to be an amicable split. This move has many implications for the armed opposition in Syria and the way al-Nusra fighters are viewed abroad. Inside Story looks at whether the split is just a name change or a substantive change of stategy. And asks, how will it affect the situation on the ground? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Hassan Abu Haniyeh - expert of Islamic movements. Haid Haid - Syrian researcher who focuses on conflict studies and Islamic movements. Monzer Akbik - Syrian opposition figure and former member of the Syrian National Coalition. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Though they've been accused of widespread human rights abuses, the Popular Mobilisation Units or Shia militias, have become a crucial part of the Iraqi government's anti-ISIL staratgey. Now Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to integrate them into the national armed forces. But can the state control them? And where do their loyalties lie? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Sabah Al-Mukhtar - President of the Arab Lawyers Association Kenneth Katzman - Senior Analyst at the Congressional Research Service. Ali Al-Dabbagh - Former Spokesman of the Iraqi Government - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

This year has seen a series of so-called lone-wolf attacks that have killed hundreds of people around the world. Some have been linked to the kind of violent ideology promoted by ISIL. Others have not. From Orlando to Nice to Munich, relatives of some of the attackers have come forward and talked about a history of mental illness. But the role of mental health is often missing in the discussion about the possible motives for these mass killings. So, is there a link between violence and mental health? And what are governments doing to deal with it? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Raj Persaud - Consultant Psychiatrist and a Professor at London’s Gresham College Peter Yaro - Executive Director of Basic Needs Ghana - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The US and Russia say they agree on a potential military and intelligence cooperation deal in Syria. Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria Guests: Oubai Shahbandar - Senior Strategic Communications Adviser, Qorvis MSL Group Fawaz Gerges - Chair of Contemporary Middle East Studies at the London School of Economics. Thanassis Cambanis - Fellow at the Think Tank Century Foundation. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The International Olympic Committee has rejected recommendations to ban Russia from Rio Olympics. Presenter: Dareen Abughaida Guests: Vladimir Mikheev - Independent Analyst with the Troika Report Project. John Goodbody - Freelance Sports Reporter for the Sunday Times. Aurel Braun - Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the University of Toronto. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Doubts over a plan that was supposed to end the civil war following the replacement of Vice President Riek Machar. Presenter: Dareen Abughaida Guests: Ateny Wek Ateny, spokesman for President Salvia Kiir. Peter Adwok Nyaba, South Sudan's minister of higher education and speaks on behalf of Riek Machar. Peter Biar Ajak, founder of the Centre for Strategic Analyses and Research and was a former adviser to the government. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Police report no links between ISIL and a gunman's 'night of horror' in a Munich shopping mall. Presenter: Dareen Abughaida Guests: Philipp Rotmann, Associate Director of the Global Public Policy Institute. Habib Battah, Editor-in-Chief of the Beirut Report - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The GOP's Ted Cruz refused to endorse former rival Donald Trump at the party's convention in Cleveland. Presenter: Jane Dutton Guests: Ian Bremmer - political scientist and president of the Eurasia group. Lenny McAllister - Republican strategist and candidate for Congress. Charlie Wolf - political commentator and former communications director of Republicans Abroad UK. - 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: http://www.aljazeera.com/