Around 170,000 people fled northern Mali when the Islamist insurgents took over in April 2012. Many are now saying they don’t want to go back, despite many areas being liberated by French forces in recent weeks. To discuss the refugee problem, Annette Young speaks to William Spindler, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who has just returned from Mali.
The president of Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, denies the country is going through a political crisis. He believes a new constitution will be adopted next month and elections will be held before the end of this year. He also says the investigation into the assassination of Chokri Belaid is making progress, and believes the education minister was wrong to launch a probe into students who danced the "Harlem Shake".
Senegal's president, Macky Sall, tells Marc Perelman that his country is ready to send soldiers to the front in northern Mali to fight the Islamists. However, he says the elections in Mali will no doubt have to be postponed. Macky Sall discusses the danger of terrorism in Senegal and promises that the "ill-gotten gains" probe is nearing its end - and that it is not a witch hunt.
To discuss the issue of the patriarchal system that continues to dominate in the Arab world and beyond, Sean Rose speaks to Joumana Haddad, a Lebanese poet and journalist. She is also the author of 'Superman is an Arab'.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah party is making headlines as the EU mulls whether to add the group to its list of terrorist entities. This comes after Bulgaria pointed the finger at Hezbollah for a bombing that killed 5 Israelis there last summer. For more on this issue, Marc Perelman speaks to Matthew Levitt, a former counterterrorism official with the FBI and US Treasury Department and an expert on Hezbollah.
React to the article
(1) Reaction
Moreno-Ocampo Interview posted 10/19/10
Where is the video for this interview, please?