The Inside Story Podcast

The African Union is a symbol of the continent's unity.

It aims to empower Africans to solve their own problems, and has an ambitious plan to transform African states and establish security.

But for many Africans, peace and prosperity are far from being a reality.

The 55 leaders of the bloc are now discussing how to tackle just that.

They are gathered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for their annual summit.

The two-day meeting is being held under the theme 'Silencing the Guns'.

But has the bloc been fulfilling its mandate up to now?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Afyare Elmi, Professor of International Relations at Qatar University.

Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue, a South African think-tank.

Aliyu Musa, an Independent Researcher on Conflict Studies in Africa.

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #AfricanUnion #AfricaPeace

Ireland's governments have long been dominated by two centre-right parties.

Fine Gael - that's the party of current Prime Minister Leo Varadkar - and Fianna Fail.

But this appears to be changing.

Opinion polls show Sinn Fein is now the most popular party and Varadkar's is in third place.

This means he might not be able to secure a third successive term.

And Saturday's general election could produce a parliament where neither of the main parties have a majority.

That opens the door to Sinn Fein playing a major role in any future government.

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Eoin O Malley, an associate professor in political science at Dublin City University's School of Law and Government.

Deaglan de Breadun, a political columnist and author of Power Play: The Rise of Modern Sinn Fein.

Connal Parr, a lecturer in history at Northumbria University and an expert in Irish affairs.

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China controls the internet more than just about anywhere in the world.

However, the censors are struggling to contain the outrage at the coronavirus outbreak.

There's widespread anger that the disease has killed Li Wenliang, one of the first doctors to sound the alarm over the new virus.

He was arrested by police and forced to confess to "spreading rumours".

Users of China's social media network Weibo described his death as a national humiliation.

Even state media is backing public calls for government leaders to say sorry for silencing him.

Can China's leaders contain the online anger about the cover-up?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Joseph Cheng - Political activist with the Hong Kong pro-democracy group Alliance for True Democracy

Einar Tangen - China analyst and adviser to China's government on economic and development issues

Elliott Zaagman - Co-host of the China Tech Investor Podcast

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Coronavirus #OnlineAnger

'Victory on the impeachment hoax' - the reaction of Donald Trump at the end of his trial in the U.S. Senate.

The president was charged with abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate rival Joe Biden, then obstructing a Congressional investigation into what happened.

Neither articles of impeachment received enough votes to remove Trump from office.

Stock markets in Asia and Europe rose after Trump's acquittal.

And his approval rating is at a record high of 49 percent.

So what does a strengthened Trump mean for America and the rest of the world?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Sahar Aziz - Professor of Law at Rutgers University

Theresa Fallon - Director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels

Jason Stanley - Professor of Philosophy, Yale University & author of 'How Fascism Works

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Sudan and Israel have historically had frosty relations.

They have no formal ties, and Sudan is one of the strongest supporters of a Palestinian state.

However on Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Sudanese General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan in Uganda, and announced plans to normalise ties between the two countries.

The decision appears to have caught Sudan's transitional government by surprise.

Burhan defended the talks, and also reiterated Sudan's commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Are the once hostile nations moving closer together?

And what can be achieved?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Waleed Madibo - President of the Sudan Policy Forum, and an expert on governance and development

Hajooj Kuka - Sudanese filmmaker and activist

Alon Liel - Former Director General of the Foreign Ministry of Israel

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Israel #Sudan

Most of us probably know someone affected by cancer.

However, your chance of beating the disease depends greatly on where you live.

The World Health Organization is marking World Cancer Day by highlighting what it calls 'unacceptable inequalities' between rich and poor nations.

It says cancer services are available in the public health systems of nine out of 10 wealthy countries.

Compare that to less than 15 percent - or one in seven - low income countries.

Poorer people are less likely to know about cancer risks, and can't afford the high costs of treatment.

So what can be done to bridge the gap?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Andre Ilbawi - Technical Officer of Cancer Control at the World Health Organization

Nitesh Rohatgi - Oncologist and Associate Director of Medical Oncology at Max Healthcare Delhi.

Cary Adams - Chief Executive of the Union for International Cancer Control

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Syria's government is stepping up its campaign to retake the last rebel-held province.

On Monday, five Turkish soldiers and a military officer were killed by shelling on Idlib in the northwest.

Ankara backs opposition groups and had sent reinforcements to counter President Bashar Al Assad's offensive.

Turkey and Syria's biggest ally, Russia, negotiated a ceasefire over Idlib in January.

However that truce is not holding and the UN says nearly 400,000 people have been forced to flee.

Are hopes now fading for a peaceful end to nearly nine years of war?

Presenter: Darren Jordon

Guests:

Marwan Kabalan - Head of Policy Analysis at Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.

Matthew Bryza - Former White House Official and U.S. Diplomat.

Glenn Diesen - Professor of International Relations at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

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The coronavirus has so far killed more than 300 people - with at least 14,000 infected in over 20 countries.

It's been just over a month since the disease was first detected in China's Wuhan city.

A global health emergency has since been declared, and countries are racing to stop it spreading.

But the ability of poorer countries to handle any outbreak is causing concern.

So, how difficult is it to control the virus?

Presenter: Darren Jordon

Guests

Nicholas Thomas, associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong.

Sanjaya Senanayake, professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University.

Mark Parrish, regional medical director for Northern Europe at International SOS.

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The third impeachment trial of a sitting U-S president will likely come to an end on Wednesday, after the Senate voted to block any witnesses from testifying.

This puts Donald Trump a step closer to being acquitted, given the Republican majority in the upper house of the U.S. Congress.

The trial resumes for closing arguments on Monday, but the vote has been pushed to Wednesday, the day AFTER Trump's annual state-or-the-union address.

He is accused of abuse of power and obstruction of congress - for threatening to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his political rival Joe Biden.

So as this trial nears its end, will Democrats still pursue Trump's removal?

And what does it all mean for his re-election bid?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests

Jack Kingston, former Republican Congressman.

Lara Brown, Director of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University.

Alan Baron, former Special Impeachment Counsel to the House of Representatives and a former Minority Chief Counsel to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Trump

After more than three years of political wrangling, two general elections and angry protests across the United Kingdom - Brexit is here.

23-hundred GMT on Friday, the time that goes down in history. The hour the UK became the first country to leave the European Union, ending its 47-year membership of the bloc.

Britain has until the end of the year to reach a deal with the EU on their future relationship.

But many fear it will take much longer to reach a comprehensive agreement.

What does the UK stand to gain, or lose, from quitting the bloc?

And does it signal the beginning of the break-up of the UK itself?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests

David Phinnemore, professor of European Politics at Queen’s University Belfast

Catherine McBride, Senior Economist at the International Trade and Competition Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Carl Bildt, Former Swedish Prime Minister and is now a co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations

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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Brexit