In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Baleka Mbete on whether, in the 25 years since apartheid, her party has betrayed Nelson Mandela’s legacy and the dreams of South Africa’s rainbow nation. Over the past quarter century, access to education has significantly improved and the rights of all South Africans to free basic healthcare has been guaranteed. But the ANC’s successes have been overshadowed by rising youth unemployment, recent xenophobic attacks on African immigrants and ongoing allegations of systemic corruption, with former President Jacob Zuma currently facing trial. From fighting apartheid, Mbete rose to become one of South Africa’s most powerful women, […]
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Charles Liu, Senior Fellow at Peking University, seasoned Chinese entrepreneur and informal adviser to the Chinese government, on Xi Jinping’s record in power so far, the government’s crackdown on the Uighur Muslim minority, and what role for China if it becomes the 21st century’s military and economic superpower. With the presidential term limit abolished in 2018, critics say that Chinese President Xi Jinping appears to be paving the way to being able to stay in power for life, but Charles Liu, founder of Hao Capital, disputes this. Separately, despite lower-than-predicted growth, China is still growing substantially and is set to […]
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater, on his security firm’s performance during the Iraq w ar, the “exit strategy” he’s proposing for the w ar in Afghanistan, and his support for US President Donald Trump. During the early years of the Bush administration’s so-called ‘War on Terror’, Blackwater grew into one of the most profitable private military contractors in the US. – Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe – Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish – Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera – Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/ #AlJazeeraEnglish #HeadtoHead #Blackwater
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Danny Ayalon on whether Israel is responsible for the recent killings of Palestinians following months of protests along the Gaza fence. Formerly a deputy foreign minister to Israel and ambassador to the United States, Ayalon has been a key player and trusted adviser in Israel’s foreign policy for more than two decades. He has been a political adviser to three prime ministers – Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak and, most recently, Bejamin Netanyahu. As the region marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel, which led to the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in what is referred to […]
“Prospects have never been better for settling the Israel-Palestine conflict,” argues Norman Finkelstein, the controversial scholar and author of The Holocaust Industry and Method and Madness. But after more violence, yet another round of failed talks and 20 years of Israeli land annexation, is the two-state solution really still an option? In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Norman Finkelstein on his proposal for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, and explores whether he has changed his tone on some of his more incendiary criticism of Israel. Once described as an ‘American Radical’, Finkelstein has also been branded by some a liberal Zionist, for his opposition to the one-state […]
