Talk to Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera's Joie Chen sat down with the real life Willy Wonka, Angus Kennedy, who is Britain's chief chocolate taster.

Lea Tsemel discusses the deportation and detention of Palestinians, torture, and discriminatory laws in Israel. The Israeli parliament has passed a new law legalising the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strikes. For Palestinians in Israeli jails, hunger strikes are a strong mode of protesting detention and occupation. The United Nations, the Palestinian Prisoners Commission and the Israeli Medical Association have all condemned the new law. The country's medical association are urging doctors to not partake in force-feeding, saying it is effectively torture and violates medical ethics. But Israel has said that Palestinian hunger strikes could lead to deaths and set off protests across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. It is a move that highlights the treatment of Palestinian prisoners and how those defending them face difficult odds. One of these defenders is lawyer Lea Tsemel, who has had a career spanning more than four decades and is a rarity in Israel - almost all her clients have been exclusively Palestinian. Tsemel has rarely ever turned a case down and has defended men, women, and increasingly children who are tried in Israeli courts for alleged crimes ranging from stone throwing to attempted suicide bombings. In her view, as Israel continues to occupy Palestinian land, any reaction - violent or otherwise - is a direct result of the occupation. "I believe that people who are under occupation have the right to fight it," she says. Born in Haifa in 1945 to pro-Zionist parents, Tsemel worked as a volunteer for the Israeli army during the 1967 war. It was an experience that she says drove her into political activism and a career in law. Tsemel's legal career has been marked, in her own words, by "major failures," but also important successes. Her defense of Palestinians remains deeply controversial in Israel and she has even received death threats. As she talks to Al Jazeera, Lea Tsemel says she is determined th

The AK party has been ruling Turkey for 13 years, but then a stunning defeat came in June. The movement President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped create, the Justice and Development Party, also known as the AK party, lost its majority in Parliament, throwing the political system into uncertainty.This was even more remarkable given what supporters say was a long list of accomplishments:When Erdogan took over as Prime Minister in 2003, the country carried billions of dollars of debt to the International Monetary Fund. Since then, it has paid off the loans.The country's infrastructure needed major improvements. Since then, bridges, roads, tunnels and airports have been constructed all across the country.And, symbolically, Muslim women wearing headscarves no longer have to hide.When he left his job as prime minister due to his party's term limits, he campaigned for the presidency last year. Erdogan got 52 percent of the vote and became the first popularly elected president of Turkey.Not satisfied with playing the symbolic role set out in the constitution, he immediately pushed for changes to make the job more powerful.All of those constitutional changes would have been debated by Parliament around now. But that did not happen - the people voted his party out of power.After failing to construct a coalition government, Erdogan's former foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who succeeded him as prime minister, was forced to admit defeat. So President Erdogan responded by calling for new parliamentary elections in November.At the same time, there are major security challenges. Attacks by ISIL and the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, on Turkish soil and a Turkish bombing campaign against PKK and ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq, are already having political effects domestically.So how will all this play out Why, exactly, did his party suffer Will Erdogan pull off a victory in November And either way, how is all this affecting this country so strategically important to the larger Mid

It has been a remarkable week of rapid change in Guatemala.The people in the Central American republic witnessed the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina, only to see him appear in court facing corruption charges before being taken into custody.In the following presidential election, TV comedian Jimmy Morales faced off against several candidates also accused of corruption.All this was accompanied by cheers from the protest movement that has finally pushed this country to face up to years of government mismanagement. Tens of thousands od people had for the past five months taken to the streets in peaceful demonstrations and now they have got what they were calling for.Former President Otto Perez Molina is in court over his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal, dubbed 'La Linea' or 'The Line', in which importers gave bribes to avoid paying customs charges.The inquiry continues until the judge decides whether a full trial should go ahead. Perez claims to be innocent.The new interim President, Alejandro Maldonado also backs the charges. He was the vice president who took office only in May when his predecessor resigned after accusations that she too was involved in 'La Linea'.He will hold office for 133 days until a new president is chosen in run-off elections later this fall.Corruption charges are certainly not new in Guatemala, nor in Central and Latin America as a whole. But because the popular uprising had such a dramatic effect, leaders and people in many countries in the region are paying attention.Maldonado called on protesters to remain vigilant and not to stop. 'This is an opportunity,' he said. 'They cannot relax.'Talk to Al Jazeera sat down with the interim president of Guatemala to discuss politics, protests, corruption and impunity in Guatemala.We also talk to one of the leaders of the protest movement, Gabriel Wer from 'Justice Now', about the impact of the peaceful protests and his hopes for the future of Guatemala.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UN high commissioner for human rights, discusses the Balkan wars, Syria, and the refugee crisis.

At 66 years old Jeremy Corbyn isn't exactly the youngest politician in Britain. But his election as leader of the Labour Party and head of the opposition has injected a huge amount of energy into UK politics.As he campaigned for his party leadership, thousands of people turned up to hear him across the country.Massive lines of supporters queuing up to listen to the veteran left-wing politician became a symbol of the new movement he has built.But Corbyn isn't without critics, his opponents bill him as an activist who's policies are impossible to implement. He believes in re-nationalising Britain's rails, is a fervant campaigner against Nuclear weapons and wants to introduce new taxes on big businesses and the country's rich.Corbyn has also stirred controversy with his perceived anti-monarchy beliefs. and his past support for Irish resistance groups.On this week's Talk to Al Jazeera, he explains what he would do to solve the current refugee crisis facing Europe, his view on ending the war in Syria, and the truth behind his relationship with Palestinian Resistance group Hamas.You can talk to Al Jazeera too. Join our Twitter conversation as we talk to world leaders and alternative voices shaping our times. You can also share your views and keep up to date with our latest interviews on Facebook .

As the refugee crisis in Europe worsens, new political divisions have emerged across the continent with several member states trading blame on how to cope with the swelling numbers of people arriving from war-torn countries.We have hard divisions within Europe on internal policies, and I have warned not only interior ministers but leaders of European member states that this is weakening our unity and our credibility in our external actionsFederica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chiefGermany, which hosts the largest number of refugees, has been hailed as a model for the rest of Europe after offering to take in 800,000 asylum seekers.Cheering crowds have greeted refugees in cities and towns, as buses teeming with tired men, women and children have been welcomed by locals.In other countries of the 28-member EU bloc, however, refugees have been subject to degrading and inhumane treatment at detention camps likened to concentration camps during the Holocaust.Earlier this month, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius criticised Hungary for its decision to erect a 175km razor-wire fence on its border, saying the move was not in line with 'European values'.As thousands continue to embark on the perilous, dangerous and costly journey to reach safety in Europe; on this week's Talk to Al Jazeera we speak to Federica Mogherini, the woman in charge of the European Union's foreign policy on how the region plans to address the current crisis.In the interview, Mogherini talks about the refugee crisis, how it is the result of the war in Syria, and what the EU plans to do to end the conflict.You can talk to Al Jazeera too. Join our Twitter conversation as we talk to world leaders and alternative voices shaping our times. You can also share your views and keep up to date with our latest interviews on Facebook.

As Europe's refugee crisis continues to intensify, EU member states remain divided over how to respond to the growing number of people arriving from war-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan. Hungary's right-wing government has faced international criticism over recent clashes between Hungarian riot police and refugees trying to enter the country from Serbia.Sweden has been one of the few European countries to take the opposite approach. Swedish immigration officials were deployed to train stations, meeting and greeting arriving refugees. Despite the fact that more than 10,000 people have been denied asylum in Sweden, many are still in the country, escaping deportation.This is creating the picture of an open-door policy, and the numbers seem to back that up. No country in Europe is taking in more immigrants per capita than Sweden, not even Germany.'It's a moral principle and we are also obliged by international conventions and we stick to that. Every individual has the right to seek asylum in Sweden.... We cannot prevent people from getting a chance to seek asylum if they need it. We are not closing our borders for refugees ... but we have to have control over our borders,' says Sweden's prime minister.But the policy has a downside: Many new arrivals are languishing in temporary housing, beggars and homeless live in the streets, and some neighbourhoods have seen an uptick in violent demonstrations - this is not the picture of Sweden that existed just a few years ago.At the same time, there is another issue preoccupying the Swedes. Russia's takeover of Crimea has reverberated in the region. Many people here now so worried about the Russians they are advocating giving up Sweden's traditional non-alignment policy and instead joining NATO.As many changes are sweeping across this part of northern Europe, Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven talks to Al Jazeera about refugees, immigration policies, and other challenges facing his country and Europe.

Afghanistan was supposed to get a new start one year ago. After 13 years in power, President Hamid Karzai, who had led the country since the Taliban government was defeated after the 9/11 attacks, finally stood down.After a contentious election in 2014, with widespread claims of ballot rigging, the two main candidates were persuaded to share power. Dr Ashraf Ghani became president and his opponent, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive.All this happened to coinicide with the departure of many of the international forces in the country, leaving the Afghan army and police in charge of security.At the peak of the US-led Afghanistan combat mission there had been about 130,000 US and NATO troops in the country. Now there are about 16,000.This has led to an increase in insecurity and a very negative effect on the country's economy. Corruption is rife and jobs are few and far between. Civilian casualties have soared to a record high in the first half of 2015 according to a UN report, and many Afghans are leaving the country to escape increasing violence. Afghans are the second-largest group of refugees seeking asylum in Europe.'The current security situation is challenging. Perhaps people don't have confidence in the future of security.That is the main issue [why people are leaving Afghanistan] and it is something we have to address.... It has turned into a crisis for Europe,' says Abdullah Abdullah.So how are the two rivals managing working together How will they cope with the country's deteriorating security situation How do they deal with the Taliban And what is Pakistan's role in AfghanistanAbdullah Abdullah joins Talk to Al Jazeera to discuss the political and economic challenges facing Afghanistan; the threat of ISIL and the Taliban; and why so many Afghans are fleeing to Europe.Editor's note: The conversation was conducted just before the recent Taliban takeover in the city of Kunduz.

After four-and-a-half years of deadly conflict and many failed Western-backed efforts to remove the Assad regime from power, millions of people are fleeing the violence in Syria.And just as world leaders were assembling at the United Nations last week, the battleground in the Middle East shifted - suddenly and deliberately.In a dramatic move, Russia increased its military presence in the country and then launched a fierce bombing campaign against groups opposed to the Syrian regime. On top of it, there is speculation of a ground assault.It all happened so swiftly that many are wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin is outmaneovering those who are trying to push the Syrian president out of power.When Russian warplanes then entered Turkey's airspace, which is bordering Syria, tension increased further, especially as the American Secretary of Defense said he did not believe it was a simple Russian mistake.It demonstrated clearly the potential for a big power confrontation inherent in the Syrian conflict.'What we are trying now is have a legitimate transition in order to save Syria and to have a unified, secular, whole Syria going forward. But if the Russians insist on fighting against that, there could be very serious consequences. The most serious of which would be that... Russia itself will become a target... So if they are not there to actually fight Daesh, it's very dangerous for the longterm,' US Secretary of State John Kerry told Al Jazeera.Behind the scenes there is intense work now underway to break some sort of political deal. There is even talk of a transition that would allow Syria's President Assad to stay on just a little longer.British Prime Minister David Cameron believes that Assad 'can't be part of Syria's future. Of course it requires a sustained diplomatic push in terms of reconstruction and transition in Syria ... we support a Syria without Assad and a Syria without ISIL.' From the American and European side, the efforts to end the Syrian cri

After more than 20 years in the limelight, former US President Bill Clinton is still in the public arena. But his main focus now is his foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, which is trying to tackle the most pressing challenges facing the developing world.He says he is 'out of politics' but that is hard to believe, given that his wife is running for president.When Hillary Clinton put on a strong performance at the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas, it seemed to reignite her campaign, which had suffered earlier this summer, when criticism of her private email use as secretary of state saw many supporters flock to her main Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders instead.It has been the sort of back-and-forth political campaign her husband is familiar with as well.Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the war in Syria has taken a dramatic turn with Russia's military campaign in support of Bashar al-Assad's regime.Despite increasing tension over Russia's bombing campaign, Bill Clinton believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama will work out some sort of understanding.The volatile situation in Israeli occupied territories is leading to fears of a total meltdown between the Palestinians and the Israelis.But Clinton, who dealt extensively with both sides as president, is surprisingly optimistic. He thinks there is potential for a Palestinian deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:'If you just looked at what just happened you wouldn't be very hopeful [that a two-state solution can be achieved].... but I would not give up on it - for a simple reason that Israel is still worried about Iran.... [After the last election in Israel] Netanyahu is now in a better position than he has been in a long time to make some sorts of more comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians, if - but only if - he can sell it as part of a rapprochement with people who will help them be secure against terror and Iran. So it might happen, I wouldn't write it off

Hundreds of thousands of refugees are making their way to Europe.Although this number is smaller than the millions pouring into Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, it is a crisis dividing Europe.Many Europeans are uneasy and concerned about what they feel is a lack of control and wonder who is coming and whether their societies can cope.So what are the refugees seeking in Europe And what do they have to say to Europeans who do not want them to come to their countries

He is known as 'El Bronco' - the man who cannot be tamed. And he says he is launching a new Mexican revolution. Against all odds, Governor Jaime Rodriguez Calderon has challenged the establishment to become Mexico's first independent governor - in a country where three parties have monopolised power for seven decades.And he has done so by vowing to wipe out widespread corruption and impunity in his prosperous state of Nuevo Leon, a major economic hub that borders Texas. As mayor of his district, the rags-to-riches farmer and politician survived two assassination attempts when he took on the feared Zeta drug cartel. Now as governor, he is warning the establishment and organised crime that the 'party is over for the bandits'.Jaime Rodriguez grew up on a farm, the fourth of 10 children raised by an illiterate mother and a father who toiled the land to give him an education. His heroes are the Lone Ranger and Zorro, the fictional masked rider who battled injustice in Mexico - 'because he fought for justice to free people from evil.'An eccentric with an oversized ego to some, a hero to others, Jaime Rodriguez is without a doubt one of a kind in Mexico, where corruption and rampant violence go largely unpunished.But El Bronco was not always such a rebel. For 33 years he belonged to the nation's most powerful political party, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a party Rodriguez now accuses of abuse of power and worse.When he resigned last year to run for governor as an independent candidate, he was widely dubbed naive, even insane. But he captured the imagination of young and old Mexicans by going from town to down on horseback - literally passing the hat to finance his campaign and using social media networks to bypass the pro-establishment mass media that had shut him out.So what drives El Bronco And what is his vision for the future of MexicoOn this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, we talk to the man who claims to be on a mission to save his people from evil - Gover

For years, Brazil's future looked very bright. A rapidly growing economy was moving millions of poor people into Brazil's middle class.Like Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the country seemed destined to become a new and important player in the global marketplace.And then, suddenly and surprisingly, it all came to an end. Rising unemployment and high inflation has descended across the country with a rapid slowdown in economic growth.The country's economic growth, tied to the oil industry and the state oil company Petrobras, Brazil's largest corporation, has slumped as oil prices have fallen by almost 50 percent in the past 12 months.Millions of people are now afraid that they will become poor once again.Adding fuel to the fire was a corruption scandal bigger than anything anybody has ever seen - it was revealed that billions and billions of dollars were secretly transferred from Petrobras to senior politicians - and the oil giant lost half its value.Before she became president, Dilma Rousseff was chairman of the board of Petrobras. She denies any involvement - and she has not been charged with any wrongdoing - but her connection to the company has not served her well. She has become the symbol of what has gone wrong in the country.The reaction among the people in Brazil was severe. Thousands demanded the impeachment of the country's president.Others are more quiet but just as angry, as they look ahead at a future more uncertain than they thought just a few months ago.'They say that the dictatorship was bad, but name me one president from the dictatorship period who died rich or who got rich from politics or by being the president. You won't be able to name even one. The dictatorship was bad, but not that bad, I think that things now are worse, far worse,' says Junior, a barber.So what went wrong in Brazil How are Brazilians coping And how do they feel about the economic and political future of their countryAl Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid meets Adriana, a taxi d

Global oil prices have dropped sharply over the past year, leading to significant revenue shortfalls in many energy exporting nations - and according to experts there is no end in sight.Oil and gas producing countries in the Gulf region are struggling to keep their income and expenses in balance.If they do not adapt to the oil price drop and seek alternatives, countries like Saudi Arabia could run out of buffers in just five years, warns the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a recent report.'The price of oil has sharply declined in the last 12 months and... we do not see a significant improvement in the near term. So as a result of the new reality, we believe that finance ministers and authorities should take steps in the spending site of their budget, in the revenue site of their budget, and they should also welcome private sector operators in order to create growth from alternative sources,' said Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF.Lagarde travelled to the Gulf countries to deliver this message in person, meeting both, leaders and the younger generation in order to raise awareness and to offer solutions.One of them involves the imposition of what might have been difficult to imagine just a few months ago: taxes.'When you are running out of money, you don't have many options. You need to cut expenses or look for other income - or both,' Lagarde said.But aside from the issue of oil prices, there are many other critical issues facing the global economy and thereby the IMF.Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, talks to Al Jazeera about the future of the GCC economies, Europe's refugee crisis, the continuing financial problems in Greece, and the rising power of China. She also talks about inspiring women across the globe and her career - will she run for president in France's next presidential elections

A former religious advisor to Osama bin Laden, Abu Hafs al-Mauritani has joined a chorus of Muslims in condemning the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, denouncing its recent attacks in Paris as going against the tenets of Islam.In his first interview to an English-TV audience, Mauritani tells Al Jazeera's Sami Zeidan that ISIL has 'misunderstood' Islam, just as people in the West might 'misunderstand Christianity'.'Islam forbids the killing of innocent people, regardless of whether they are Muslims or non Muslims,' he says. 'Killing civilians and innocent people ... is unacceptable and has nothing to do with jihad.'A former al-Qaeda ideologue who served on the group's Shura Council, Mauritani left al-Qaeda in August 2001 after disagreeing with bin Laden's decision to target civilians.After the September 11 attacks, he fled to Iran where he spent 10 years in prison before being extradited to Mauritania.Speaking from the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, he accuses ISIL's recruitment methods, citing political and not religious grievances for the group's rise.He blames the West's support for Israel, 'corrupt Arab regimes' and 'counter revolutions after the Arab Spring' for the spread of the armed group.'Why else would they have hit France and not hit the Vatican' he says. 'The Vatican represents western Christianity, why didn’t they attack a church'France has been bombing ISIL targets in Syria since late September, and since the Paris attacks has carried out a wave of air strikes on the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the 'Islamic State'.Mauritani, who rejects Baghdadi's claim to be the leader of all Muslims, says ISIL fails to meet the conditions and requirements of a caliphate and is a 'fruit' of the US-led occuptaion of Iraq.Mauritani also talks to Al Jazeera about why he joined - and left - al-Qaeda and what drives people to join the ranks of ISIL and other armed groups.You can talk to Al Jazeera too. Join our Twitter conversation as

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita discusses the Bamako hotel attack, what his government plans to do next and the volatile north.

For several weeks, tensions and street violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories have taken such a serious turn that many wonder where it will all end.More than 100 people have been killed and thousands have been wounded - the overwhelming majority Palestinians. The question many are now asking is whether there's any room left for the two communities to peacefully negotiate their differences. Is Israeli society becoming more right wing and less in favour of peace And will there ever be a time when the two people will live together in peaceIn this edition of Talk to Al Jazeera in the Field, Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab meets people on both sides of the conflict.You can talk to Al Jazeera, too. Join our Twitter conversation as we talk to world leaders and alternative voices shaping our times. You can also share your views and keep up-to-date with our latest interviews on Facebook.

South Sudan's peace agreement signed in August was meant to end a 21-month-old civil war that has left thousands dead and many more displaced in the wake of the country's historic declaration of independence in 2011.Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes after experiencing horrible crimes. Last month, a previously secret report by the African Union was finally made public. It contains shocking details of human rights abuses in South Sudan, committed not only by government troops but by opposition militia as well.It paints a grim picture of what is happening in the country.Talk to Al Jazeera In The Field goes deep inside the country to find out the truth about a failed state, a country letting its people slip into despair. We meet South Sudanese women and listen to their stories of broken dreams and a stolen future.

Football's world governing body, FIFA, will elect a new president in February 2016, but the successful candidate will inherit an organisation in crisis, engulfed by claims of widespread corruption.Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter was in power for 17 years before wrongdoing was finally exposed.The dramatic dawn arrests of FIFA executives in Zurich before the FIFA Congress in May was the beginning of the end for the old corrupt regime.Bahraini royal Salman Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa is one of the new faces on the FIFA executive committee. For two years he has also served as head of the powerful Asian Football Confederation.Sheikh Salman is considered the favourite to ascend to the governing body's top role. He is drawing support from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, so there is a high chance for him to become FIFA's first Asian president in the February election.But his own background has been questioned - with allegations of being complicit on the detaining and torture of Bahraini athletes after the country's anti-government protests in 2011.In February 2011, one of Bahrain's most well-known football players, Alaa Hubail, joined anti-government protesters at a rally in which he expressed his unhappiness with the country's security forces.In April that year he and his brother were arrested and, they allege, subsequently interrogated and beaten up. Around the same time, the government announced the formation of a committee to investigate the activities of athletes who broke the law. The head of the committee was allegedly Sheikh Salman.So, what is behind these allegations Will Sheikh Salman become FIFA's new president And what does this mean for the future of the organisation and footballOn Talk to Al Jazeera, Sheikh Salman responds to torture allegations, discusses the challenges facing the FIFA, and tells us why he thinks he is the only man able to clean up FIFA.