The Real Story

What should we make of the growing influence of Iran in the politics of the region? Along with Russia, Iran has been a key ally to President Assad in turning the tide the Syrian conflict. So is it right to cast this as the growing dominance of Shia powers and their allies over their Sunni rivals, or is this an over-simplistic interpretation of a complex regional power struggle? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his guests as they discuss the changing fortunes in Syria and the prospects for a better 2017 for the region.

The delicate balancing act over Taiwan has been a cornerstone of US-China relations for decades, but it appears that Donald Trump wants to shake it up. In early December he broke decades of diplomatic protocol by talking on the phone with the president of Taiwan. It was the first publicly-reported contact between a Taiwanese leader and a US President or president-elect in forty years, and China responded immediately, saying it had "serious concerns". On this week's Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his international panel of experts consider the future of the US-China relationship, and what any changes could mean for the rest of the region and the world.

Opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo are warning that the country faces civil war if the current president, Joseph Kabila, refuses to step down at the end of his term of office. That term was due to end this month but elections will not now be held until April 2018, and his opponents have accused him of trying to cling on to power. The DRC is not only a key source of minerals required in modern technology, it also has the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world. As tensions rise, can the negotiations overseen by the DRC’s Catholic bishops find a compromise? On this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his expert guests discuss the future of the DRC, and whether further violence can be prevented.

On just his second day in office, President Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison within a year. It’s now approaching the end of his second term and prisoners are still being held there. Why has it been so difficult to close? And what will happen under President Trump, who made campaign promises to expand it? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his guests on this week’s Newshour Extra as they discuss what the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has achieved and what its future will look like.

(Picture: razor wire and an American flag around the perimeter of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has promised to tear up the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal – or TPP – on his first day in office. The massive trade deal agreed in 2015 would have lowered tariffs and deepened economic ties between twelve countries, which together cover 40% of the world’s economy. The demise of the TPP comes as other global trade deals, such as the TTIP between the US and EU, face calls to be dropped or renegotiated. On this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss why there is now such a backlash against multi-country trade deals, and whether this marks an end to the steady progress of globalisation.

(Photo: People hold signs as they demonstrate against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Credit: Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images)

This week, a special programme recorded in Damascus and Beirut looking at the Syrian conflict and its possible solutions. It’s a highly complex struggle. But is it right to characterise it as a civil war, a home-grown uprising to Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime – as many in the Syrian opposition view it? Or is the conflict a war against Syria, conducted by militant jihadi groups supported by Syria’s enemies – as the Assad government would like it to be seen? In Damascus, Owen Bennett Jones talks to supporters of President Assad, and in Beirut he considers the same issues with a panel of Syrian government critics.

(Photo: bereaved woman crying outside Aleppo hospital. Credit: Dan Isaacs, BBC)

What might American foreign policy look like under a Donald Trump presidency? Based on his rhetoric during the campaign, the scale of the departure from the status quo will be profound. He promises to upend long-standing relationships with both America's traditional allies and its foes; he says Europe and Asia should pay more for their own security; and his plans to defeat so-called Islamic State are bellicose but unfocussed. On this week's Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests take Trump's campaign promises and hold them up to scrutiny. How much of what he's said does he really intend to implement - and will he be able to put policy into practice?

Photo: Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Credit: Getty Images

Across the world we’re seeing the rise of a new kind of popular politics. The old established order is under threat and voters are turning to politicians who offer bold promises for a fresh start. Should we embrace these politicians as charismatic visionaries or deceitful populists manipulating truth in their desire for personal power? Owen Bennett Jones is joined by an expert panel for this special edition of the programme recorded at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.

(Picture credit: a Tea Party protestor holds two microphones)

Donald Trump says the US presidential election is rigged. To what extent are his complaints justified and just how do politicians and their supporters manipulate the results of elections in their favour? In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests consider the ways elections around the world can be tampered with and the means by which this these manipulations can be minimised.

Photo: Polling station in British General Election Credit: Getty Images

South Africa’s universities are being rocked by increasingly violent student protests over tuition fees. The issue has become a flashpoint for a country struggling to provide education, jobs and housing, amid growing political divisions within the ruling ANC party. The president, Jacob Zuma, is facing strong criticism that his government is rife with corruption and mismanagement. Has South Africa failed to live up its promise as the “rainbow nation”? Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss South Africa’s growing economic and political crises.

Photo: Student protests in Johannesburg. Credit: Getty Images