Comedian Omid Djalili talks to Krishnan Guru-Murthy about Syria, Israel, Gaza and the Iranian regime, and why the West should care about the Middle East, in this episode of Ways to Change the World.
Comedian Bassem Youssef talks about his view that Israel should be held accountable for the war in Gaza, how the Egyptian revolution was a turning point in his life, and why he feels disillusioned with the West’s “lecturing” on human rights and international law, in this episode of Ways to Change the World.
Chef and former refugee Imad Al Arnab joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy to talk about fleeing Syria and his journey from losing everything in the war to rebuilding a life in the UK, in this week’s episode of Ways to Change the World.
President Trump has claimed that Iran is the world’s “leading state sponsor of terror”. But is that fair? Before he became president, Trump said the “world’s biggest funder of terrorism” was Saudi Arabia – not Iran. So is his latest claim is just political rhetoric?
Even before President Trump made his announcement, there were angry denouncements of his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.
In Northern Syria, Kurdish and Arab forces have made major gains against the Islamic State in Raqqa, the capital of their purported Caliphate. The most significant Arab contingent fighting Isis comes from one of the largest tribes in the Middle East – the Shammar.
Two explosions have killed at least 28 in a busy market in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The so-called Islamic state say their combatants targeted shoppers in the Shia district with a car bomb followed by a suicide bomber.
Jonathan Miller
With its report into last summer’s Gaza conflict expected shortly, Israel repeats its claim that the UN inquiry into whether war crimes were committed in there is a “kangaroo court”.
Lindsey Hilsum
For the Saudis, Iran – not Islamic State – is the greatest danger in the Middle East. So nuclear détente between Iran and the US will not be cost-free.
Lindsey Hilsum
Graffiti sprayed last year on the ruins of Cyrene, in Libya, reads: “Destroy the Idols”. Islamists, including Islamic State militants, see such pre-Islamic structures as sacrilege.
Jonathan Rugman
If Tony Blair was ever considered an honest broker as Middle East envoy, it is a title he may well have lost – even if most of what has gone wrong is not his fault.
In Britain, 2014 was the year of the floods, Ukraine saw a revolution, Scotland almost went indy and the deadly Ebola struck west Africa.
Jonathan Rugman
As RAF Tornados carry out their first strikes against Islamic State militants, I report on what this means on the ground from Dohuk, northern Iraq.
Kylie Morris
The expansion of the US-led air war to Syria is a powerful display of America’s bona fides to the allies it says it needs for the fight against Islamic State.
Kylie Morris
When the leader of the free world declares his country is going to war you’d hope his international partners might be reliable. At least for 24 hours. Just to be polite.