The Inside Story Podcast

Tsai Ing-Wen’s emphatic re-election win sent a clear message that Taiwan rejects China’s plan for reunification with the island.

It’s a remarkable turnaround for the president, whose party suffered major losses in local elections just a year ago.

However, months of anti-government protests in nearby Hong Kong boosted her campaign. Scenes of police cracking down on demonstrators appear to have galvanised younger voters.

Tsai warned that Taiwan's democratic rights must be preserved. The island has its own military, currency and a passport accepted in most countries. But, crucially, it does not have a seat at the United Nations.

Only 15 countries officially recognise Taiwan’s democratic government...and the United States is not one of them. But Washington is the island's most important ally and trading partner.

So how might Beijing respond to Tsai Ing-Wen’s win, which gives her a second term in office?

And how far is the U.S. prepared to go to defend Taiwan?

Presenter:

Martine Dennis

Guests:

Joseph Cheng, retired professor of political science at City University of Hong Kong.

Andy Mok, senior research fellow with the Centre for China and Globalisation.

Drew Thompson, visiting senior research fellow with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and a former U.S. Defense Department official.

- 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 #TaiwanUS

Oman is mourning the death of a man who transformed the nation.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said was 79 and had been ill for some time.

Over the course of 50 years, he turned a poor country on the Arabian Peninsula into a modern state, which stayed diplomatically neutral in a region divided by conflict.

Sultan Qaboos' successor was sworn in just a few hours after the death was announced.

How will Haitham bin Tariq build on his cousin's legacy?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests:

Houchang Hassan-Yari - Professor of international relations and security issues at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman

Luciano Zaccara - Assistant professor of Gulf politics at Qatar University's Gulf Studies Center

Guy Burton - Adjunct professor of international affairs at Vesalius College

- 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 #Oman

Oman is mourning the death of a man who transformed the nation.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said was 79 and had been ill for some time.

Over the course of 50 years, he turned a poor country on the Arabian Peninsula into a modern state, which stayed diplomatically neutral in a region divided by conflict.

Sultan Qaboos' successor was sworn in just a few hours after the death was announced.

How will Haitham bin Tariq build on his cousin's legacy?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests:

Houchang Hassan-Yari - Professor of international relations and security issues at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman

Luciano Zaccara - Assistant professor of Gulf politics at Qatar University's Gulf Studies Center

Guy Burton - Adjunct professor of international affairs at Vesalius College

- 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 #Oman

There've been claims, counter-claims and outright denials. The head of Iran's Civil Aviation body insists the Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran this week was not shot down by Iranian missiles.

But Canada says it has intelligence and evidence indicating the plane was downed by Iran.

Just four hours before the plane crashed killing all 176 on board, Iran had fired a volley of missiles towards Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops.

U.S. President Donald Trump says there is "no question" Tehran is involved . But many are questioning whether America is partly responsible for raising tensions in the region.

Iran has dismissed allegations that it was involved as 'psychological warfare' and has invited the U.S. plane maker, Boeing to join the investigation.

So, will the truth behind this crash be revealed?

And could that spill into wider political conflict?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests

David Learmount, Consulting Editor at Flightglobal and a Former Royal Air Force Pilot.

Justin Bronk, Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

Jarrett Blanc, former State Department Official.

- 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/

There've been claims, counter-claims and outright denials. The head of Iran's Civil Aviation body insists the Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran this week was not shot down by Iranian missiles.

But Canada says it has intelligence and evidence indicating the plane was downed by Iran.

Just four hours before the plane crashed killing all 176 on board, Iran had fired a volley of missiles towards Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops.

U.S. President Donald Trump says there is "no question" Tehran is involved . But many are questioning whether America is partly responsible for raising tensions in the region.

Iran has dismissed allegations that it was involved as 'psychological warfare' and has invited the U.S. plane maker, Boeing to join the investigation.

So, will the truth behind this crash be revealed?

And could that spill into wider political conflict?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests

David Learmount, Consulting Editor at Flightglobal and a Former Royal Air Force Pilot.

Justin Bronk, Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

Jarrett Blanc, former State Department Official.

- 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/

President Donald Trump says the U.S. doesn't need Middle East oil.

So what about his country's role in the region?

Well, the President is calling on NATO allies to step up their involvement there.

That seems to contradict his previous questioning of the alliance's relevance.

He's urged its member countries to increase their military spending, yet criticised NATO as obsolete

and split with some of its leaders over his decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

Now NATO's secretary general says he agrees with Trump that the alliance should contribute more to the stability of the region.

But given the ongoing tension between Tehran and Washington, what's NATO able to offer?

Presenter: Julie McDonald

Guests

Karen Joy Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University.

Fabrice Pothier, Chief Strategy Office at Rasmussen Global and a former Director of Policy Planning at NATO.

Tallha Abdulrazaq, researcher at the University of Exeter specialising in Iran, Iraq and Middle Eastern politics.

- 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/

President Donald Trump says the U.S. doesn't need Middle East oil.

So what about his country's role in the region?

Well, the President is calling on NATO allies to step up their involvement there.

That seems to contradict his previous questioning of the alliance's relevance.

He's urged its member countries to increase their military spending, yet criticised NATO as obsolete

and split with some of its leaders over his decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

Now NATO's secretary general says he agrees with Trump that the alliance should contribute more to the stability of the region.

But given the ongoing tension between Tehran and Washington, what's NATO able to offer?

Presenter: Julie McDonald

Guests

Karen Joy Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University.

Fabrice Pothier, Chief Strategy Office at Rasmussen Global and a former Director of Policy Planning at NATO.

Tallha Abdulrazaq, researcher at the University of Exeter specialising in Iran, Iraq and Middle Eastern politics.

- 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/

There's been much speculation about the scale and target of Iran's retaliation to the assasination of its top military commander, Qassem Soleimani.

And there's also speculation about whether the killing of the head of Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force could bring all-out war to the Middle East.

Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two air bases hosting American forces in Iraq early on Wednesday.

It's the most direct attack on the U.S. by Iran in decades. Initial statements by both countries seem to say they don't want further escalation.

The Iranian foreign minister's exact words were Iran 'took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence'.

Tehran's made it clear it will strike again IF Washington responds.

As for U.S. President Donald Trump, he tweeted 'All is well!' after Iran struck.

Well, is all really well?

And will this 'revenge operation' stop there?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests

Ali Al Nashmi, professor at Mustansiriya University.

Ali Akbar Dareini, Researcher at the Center For Strategic Studies, an Iranian government affiliated think-tank.

Douglas Ollivant, Director for Iraq at the U.S. National Security Council under both President George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

- 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/

There's been much speculation about the scale and target of Iran's retaliation to the assasination of its top military commander, Qassem Soleimani.

And there's also speculation about whether the killing of the head of Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force could bring all-out war to the Middle East.

Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two air bases hosting American forces in Iraq early on Wednesday.

It's the most direct attack on the U.S. by Iran in decades. Initial statements by both countries seem to say they don't want further escalation.

The Iranian foreign minister's exact words were Iran 'took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence'.

Tehran's made it clear it will strike again IF Washington responds.

As for U.S. President Donald Trump, he tweeted 'All is well!' after Iran struck.

Well, is all really well?

And will this 'revenge operation' stop there?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests

Ali Al Nashmi, professor at Mustansiriya University.

Ali Akbar Dareini, Researcher at the Center For Strategic Studies, an Iranian government affiliated think-tank.

Douglas Ollivant, Director for Iraq at the U.S. National Security Council under both President George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

- 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/

Libya's warlord Khalifa Haftar is pushing on with his efforts to capture the capital Tripoli.

It’s in the west, where the UN-recognised government of Prime Minister Fayez Al-Serraj is based, while Haftar has the support of a rival government in the east.

Libya’s been divided like this since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

It’s more than eight months since Haftar launched his offensive against Tripoli and his forces have now reached the centre of Sirte 450 kilometres away.

The strategically important city lies close to Libya's so-called oil crescent where several key export terminals are located.

The advance on Tripoli comes as Turkey has begun deploying troops to support Al-Serraj's government, which also the backing of Qatar, Italy and most Western countries.

Haftar gets help from Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and France, and private security forces from Russia are also reportedly fighting alongside him.

On Inside Story, an in-depth discussion on the consequences of outside intervention in war-torn Libya.

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests

Youcef Bouandel, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Qatar University

Naim Ghariani, Member of the Tripoli-Based House of Representatives and a former Minister of Higher Education in the first transitional government of Libya from 2011 to 2012.

Claudia Gazzini, senior Libya Analyst at the International Crisis

- 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 #Libya