The Inside Story Podcast

More people will die this year from hunger caused by the pandemic, than from Covid-19.

That's according to the charity Oxfam which says an estimated 122 million more people could face starvation because of reducions in aid, mass unemployment and the disruption of food production and supplies.

It also describes middle-income countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa as 'emerging epicentres of hunger' with millions of people facing being 'tipped over the edge' by the social and economic effects of the crisis.

Oxfam says some of the world's poorest countries could see 12,000 extra deaths per day due to hunger before the end of 2020.

The charity says this is more than the peak global coronavirus death rate of 10,000 per day in April.

The 10 extreme hunger hotspots the report highlights include Afghanistan, Syria and South Sudan - where the charity says the situation is most severe - and getting worse.

So, can a disaster be avoided?

Presenter: Laura Kyle

Guests

Chema Vera, Oxfam International Executive Director.

Waleed Althujiry, Member of Yemeni society for Emergency and Disaster Medicine.

Reem Nada, World Food Programme Regional Communications Officer.

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #Coronavirus #InsideStory

Brazil's president spent months downplaying the coronavirus pandemic.

Now Jair Bolsonaro is one of the 1.6 million Brazilians infected in the world's second-biggest COVID-19 outbreak.

He had dismissed the virus as 'a little flu', refused to impose lockdowns, and ignored social distancing measures.

As the death toll rose, Bolsonaro remained defiant and ordered states to reopen their economies.

How will the president deal with the consequences of his decisions?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Dr Robert Nemer - President of the Brazilian Lebanese Medical Association

Natalia Pasternak - Research fellow at the Biomedical Institute of the University of Sao Paulo

Kleber Carrilho - Professor of Political Strategy and Communication, University of Sao Paulo

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #Coronavirus #Brazil #InsideStory

It's a crackdown on despots and dictators.

Britain's government has announced its first sanctions since leaving the European Union.

They punish the perpetrators of what it calls 'the gravest human rights offenders'.

The targets include suspects linked to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Russians connected to the killing of tax fraud whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

The Kremlin is promising retaliation.

But will sanctions change anything?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Bill Browder - Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice campaign

David Haigh - Human Rights Lawyer, and Founder of the campaign group Detained International

Anastasia Gafarova - Political Writer and Deputy Director of the Centre for Political Information

Yasin Aktay - Chief Adviser to the Chairman of the AK Party, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #InsideStory #Khashoggi

EFKJF

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #InsideStory #Khashoggi

It's known as one of the pillars of global security after the end of the Cold War.

The Open Skies treaty allows the U.S., Russia, Canada and European countries to fly over each other's territories and monitor military activity.

But earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced Washington wants to withdraw from the pact.

U.S. officials say Russia is violating the agreement by blocking flights over military facilities, and using planes to map out American infrastructure for possible attack.The Kremlin rejects the allegations.

The world's largest military alliance NATO is urging Russia to comply with the agreement.

So, could the treaty collapse? And has it become outdated in today's world?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Mark Fitzpatrick - Senior U.S. Diplomat and Associate Fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Kristina Berzina - Senior Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Vasily Kashin - Senior Fellow, Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #InsideStory #UnitedStates #Russia

Iran is expressing frustration at attempts to save the 2015 nuclear deal.

It's triggered a mechanism to resolve issues with Britain, France and Germany.

The Iranian foreign minister sent a letter to European leaders on Friday - accusing them of not living up to their side of the agreement.

Javad Zarif says Tehran has now triggered the dispute mechanism of the agreement six times.

The Europeans, Russia and China have been trying to salvage the deal after the U.S. pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Since then, Tehran has been rolling back its commitments.

But with the U.S. determined to keep isolating Iran, is the agreement still worth saving?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Abas Aslani - Senior Research Fellow, Center for Middle East Strategic Studies.

Gunter Mulack - Executive Director, German Orient Institute, and a former German Diplomat.

Thomas Countryman - Chairman, Arms Control Association in U.S., and a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation.

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#Iran #AlJazeeraEnglish #InsideStory

Ethiopia has suffered days of unrest since the killing of a prominent musician and activist.

More than 90 people were killed in protests following the death of the ethnic Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa.

The 34-year-old was shot dead in Addis Ababa on Monday night.

Large crowds gathered for his funeral in his hometown of Ambo on Thursday.

Hachalu's songs focus on the rights of the Oromo people.

They became anthems in the wave of anti-government protests between 2015 and 2018.

On Friday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held an emergency meeting over Hachalu's killing.

He says the assailants want to trigger civil unrest and de-rail Ethiopia's democratic reforms.

So, how will Ethiopia face this crisis?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Laetitia Bader - Horn of Africa Director at Human Rights Watch.

Awol Allo - Senior Lecturer in Law at Keele University in the UK.

David Shinn - A former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia.

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

On the afternoon of October 2nd, 2018, Journalist Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

And he was never seen alive again. Now, 20 Saudi nationals are on trial in Turkey - accused of involvement in his murder.

Turkish prosecutors charged the suspects in March, but none of them are present in court and are being tried in their absence.

They're accused of killing Khashoggi and dismembering his body.

His remains have never been found.

The case drew international condemnation, including from the UN Special Rapporteur who spent months investigating the killing.

But, will this proceeding shed light on how Khashoggi died?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Bill law - Editor of Arab Digest

Ismail Numan Telci - Vice-President at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

Mehmet Celik - Managing Editor at the Daily Sabah.

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #JamalKhashoggi #Turkey

It is an ancient monument revered by different ideologies for centuries.

Hagia Sofia in Turkey - one of the world's most contested buildings - is creating controversy once again.

It was the largest Christian cathedral in the Eastern Roman Empire for a thousand years.

Now, one of the busiest tourist attractions in Istanbul is a museum.

But not for much longer, if Turkey's government gets the go ahead to convert it back into a mosque as it was during the Ottoman Empire.

The proposal's opposed by some secular groups as well as the head of the Eastern orthodox church, the Greek government and the U.S.

Turkey's highest consultative body met on Thursday and say it'll announce its ruling within fifteen days.

But why now?

What purpose would it serve?

And how political is the decision?

Presenter: Laura Kyle

Guests;

Yusuf Albarada - Political Writer and Professor at the University of Halic in Istanbul

Yannis Koutsomitis - Managing Editor at Kappa News in Greece and European affairs expert

Cengiz Tomar - President of Ahmet Yassawi University in Kazakhstan and Professor of History

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #Turkey #InsideStory

The West Bank and East Jerusalem are at the heart of any future Palestinian state.

But, occupied by Israeli forces since 1967 and now threatened by annexation, Palestinian dreams of their own homeland look increasingly impossible.

Israel's Prime Minister wants to declare sovereignty over illegal settlements, both in the west bank and the Jordan valley.

Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to begin annexation now, at the beginning of July.

But his coalition government partner Benny Gantz says combatting the coronavirus should come first.

The Palestinian leadership, major EU countries and Arab states all object to annexation.

But the seizure of more Palestinian land is seen to be in line with Donald Trump's proposals for peace in the region.

So, what does it all mean for the Middle East?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests;

Mustafa Barghouti - Leader of the Palestinian National Initiative and Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council

Said Arikat - Political Writer and Analyst

Amichai Stein - Political Writer and Diplomatic Correspondent

- 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: https://www.aljazeera.com/

#AlJazeeraEnglish #Israel #Palestine