Latest update: 14/11/2009 

- Bashar al-Assad - Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Middle East - peace - Syria


Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

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In an exclusive interview with France 2 television while in Paris, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad discusses his relations with French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the stalled Middle East peace process, and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

THE INTERVIEW
Sophie Heine, lecturer at Queen Mary University of London
02/05/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Sophie Heine, lecturer at Queen Mary University of London

Nearly a year after his election, many people who voted for French President François Hollande are disappointed. And, increasingly, the radical left led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon seems an attractive alternative. Sean Rose speaks to Sophie Heine, lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, about current left-wing ideology.
Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, Italian Jesuit priest
01/05/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, Italian Jesuit priest

Before he was expelled from Syria last June by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, Father Paolo Dall'Oglio spent three decades promoting inter-faith dialogue from an ancient desert monastery north of Damascus. From exile, he's been urging the international community to protect the Syrian people and bring an end to the bloodshed. Douglas Herbert asks him whether it’s too late.
Noëlle Lenoir, Ethics compliance officer at the French National Assembly
30/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Noëlle Lenoir, Ethics compliance officer at the French National Assembly

Since the tax fraud scandal involving former Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac, France’s Socialist government is all about transparency and ethics. Our guest today, Noëlle Lenoir, is in charge of preventing MPs’ conflicts of interest at the National Assembly. She tells Douglas Herbert whether or not President Hollande’s proposed law goes far enough.
Claudia Senik, author of 'The French Unhappiness Puzzle'
29/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Claudia Senik, author of 'The French Unhappiness Puzzle'

Why are the French, with their high quality of life and relative wealth, so unhappy - 20% more unhappy, in fact, than other Western Europeans? Douglas Herbert talks to French economist Claudia Senik about the causes of Gallic gloom and doom. Is it a cultural thing?
Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, Syrian philosopher and writer
25/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, Syrian philosopher and writer

Douglas Herbert meets Syrian philosopher and writer Sadiq Jalal al-Azm to discuss the explosive mix of religion and politics in the Arab world. His guest has first-hand knowledge of how touchy the subject is. He himself was briefly jailed in 1970 after writing a groundbreaking book on the Six-Day War. He argued back then that the Arab defeat was due, in part, to their leaders' failure to rethink the role of religion in society.

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