Talk to Al Jazeera

Niger is one of the world’s poorest nations. The country has struggled for decades with instability, military coups, drought and ethnic conflicts.

But during the last few years, Niger has faced a far bigger challenge - the rise of armed groups that are expanding their influence in the Sahel region.

In this episode, we travel to Niamey to meet the president of Niger and discuss France’s recent decision to end its military operation in the Sahel.

Will Niger become the new focal point in the fight against ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda? Mohamed Bazoum, president of Niger, talks to Al Jazeera.

Namibia is a nation that rose from the world's oldest desert, where vast red dunes in Southern Africa meet the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the World Bank, progress towards reducing inequality has been slow and the country is considered one of the world's most unequal. Yet that could change, given the recent discovery of an estimated at one billion barrels of oil off its coast.

But could oil prove more of a curse than a blessing? We find out, as Namibia's President Hage Geingob talks to Al Jazeera.

In August 2020, soldiers in Mali, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. In response, Mali’s former colonial ruler France suspended its joint military operations.

As relations with France worsened, Mali appeared to boost ties with Russia, saying it was a diplomatic effort to diversify foreign policy. Mali expelled the French ambassador before France announced the withdrawal of military forces after nearly 10 years of confrontation in the Sahel.

So, what is next for relations between Paris and Bamako? And is Colonel Goita aiming to stay in power?

Mali’s foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, talks to Al Jazeera.

As the Taliban swept through Afghanistan in August 2021, many of the former government’s top officials, including then-President Ashraf Ghani, fled the country, causing chaos and uncertainty among Afghans.

But not everyone in the government had the opportunity or the will to leave Kabul.

Ghani’s deputy minister of finance, Nazir Kabiri, stayed home. The US-educated technocrat anticipated the financial challenges such a political change could bring to Afghanistan.

The Taliban kept Kabiri at his post. But will he succeed in his efforts to prevent a complete economic collapse?

Nazir Kabiri, Afghanistan’s deputy finance minister, talks to Al Jazeera.

“To make a film is easy; to make a good film is war,” Oscar-winning director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu once said. And for filmmakers in a country like Burkina Faso, mired by years of conflict and stability, the challenges are even greater.

But despite the continuing violence, a pan-African film festival in the capital Ouagadougou gathered filmmakers - resilient in the face of conflict - to bring hope through art.

There, we caught up with one of the top Burkinabe filmmakers and explored the art of cinema in Africa; what is on the screen and what is left out. Apolline Traore talks to Al Jazeera.

Norway and the United States have long been close allies and NATO partners, but a growing crisis between Washington and Moscow is testing that relationship.

As NATO puts its forces on alert for potential trouble in Eastern Europe, Norway is also having to ready its armed forces.

With thousands of Russian troops amassed at Ukraine’s eastern border, are the parts heading into a full-scale war?

The Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, talks to Al Jazeera.

As we begin a new year, the United Nations forecasts a lower global economic growth.

For Argentina, this will pose an even bigger challenge. The South American nation is weeks away from a deadline to restructure its debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The debt dates back to 2018, when then-President Mauricio Macri signed on to a $57bn loan. His successor, President Alberto Fernandez, rejected the terms of the agreement and sent his economy minister to renegotiate.

Will he succeed? And will the country ever resolve its years-long financial crisis? Argentina’s economy minister, Martin Guzman, talks to Al Jazeera.

According to the United Nations, last year brought "a spate of grave violations" against children in conflict zones, despite decades of advocacy by NGOs.

One of the institutions working to improve the lives of children is Save the Children. Its chief executive officer, Inger Ashing, recently travelled to Burkina Faso as many minors living in the Central Sahel region risk illegal recruitment by armed groups.

But to many in need, NGOs have failed to successfully make a difference in their lives.

So are we failing to protect vulnerable children? Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children, talks to Al Jazeera.

Throughout the years, fashion designers have reflected social change.

As many collections have pushed creative boundaries, they have also caused controversy.

On this edition of Talk to Al Jazeera, Christian Dior’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, shares her views on the role the fashion industry plays in today's world.

Europe's worst conflict since World War II started in Croatia in 1991 and had spilled over into Bosnia and Herzegovina by 1992.

The bloodshed ended in 1995, after the Dayton Accords were signed. Part of the agreement was the establishment of The Office of the High Representative. Another outcome of the accords: an extremely complex system of government.

The country is led by a presidency consisting of three parts, each representing the main ethnic groups. But how effectively is the nation being governed?

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, talks to Al Jazeera.