Editor's Pick

Secret journeys of Ethiopian Jews to Israel

Tuesday, January 28, 2025
The secret transportation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel in the 1980s by the Mossad and the CIA.

Isolated from much of Judaism for centuries and now discriminated against in Israel today. This is the story of an ancient Jewish community commonly known as Falasha Jews - primarily from Ethiopia - and the secret, politically controversial smuggling operations that brought them from Sudan to Israel in the 1980s. In the late 20th century, the Falasha Jews (also known as Beta Israel) faced persecution and famine, prompting significant emigration to Israel.

However, Israel was not recognised by Arab and many African states - so countries like Ethiopia and Sudan couldn’t be seen openly to help Israel boost its population. So the Mossad and the CIA conducted the secret Operation Moses to transport thousands of Ethiopian Jews from refugee camps in the Sudanese desert. When these missions were discovered, they caused huge political fallout in Sudan. Furthermore, the Falasha Jews who did arrive in Israel have found themselves marginalised and still face challenges integrating into Israeli society today.

Does US-Colombia deportation row have wider implications?

Monday, January 27, 2025  
An explosive diplomatic row between the US and Colombia over the deportation of unauthorised immigrants on military planes.

It has been quickly defused for now, but threats of further action are being made.

What does this signal about the new Donald Trump presidency?

Presenter:

Elizabeth Puranam

Guests:

Niall Stanage - Political analyst and White House columnist for The Hill newspaper in Washington, DC.

Sergio Guzman - Director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a political consultancy in Bogota.

Rachel Schmidtke - Senior advocate for Latin America at Refugees International in the US.

Trump’s ethnic cleansing idea unlikely to come to fruition: Analysis

Monday, January 27, 2025  
US President Trump’s idea of the mass expulsion of Palestinians in Gaza to Jordan and Egypt is unlikely to ever happen, says Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani.

"Even if he applies pressure on Jordan and Egypt, I think their leaderships will recognise the price of going along with Trump is going to be much greater than the price of resisting him – in terms of the survival of their leaderships for participating in something like this," Rabbani told Al Jazeera, referring to Trump’s plan as "ethnic cleansing".

"This isn’t going to happen because Israel is not going to succeed in ethnically cleansing the Gaza Strip after a war, after having failed to do so during a war."

When former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken went on a tour of Arab states to promote this idea late last year, he was met with a "blanket refusal", Rabbani added.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu is feeling the heat from his coalition partners over the ceasefire deal who view the Israeli leader as succumbing to US demands, the analyst said.
“I think there’s a kind of a mix of personal, political and ideological factors at play. But ultimately, I think the key relationship to look at here is not that between Netanyahu and his coalition partners, or between Israelis and Palestinians, but between Washington and Israel – because Washington is the one calling the shots, and Israel has no choice but to comply.”

Trump’s inauguration: Key takeaways as Trump sworn in as 47th US president

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, returning to the White House four years after his defeat.

In his inaugural speech on Monday, January 20, 2025 the 78-year-old took an aggressive stance, using his platform in the Capitol Rotunda to criticise outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump vowed a "revolution of common sense" and condemned Biden’s presidency.

He signed multiple executive orders to reverse key Biden policies and pardoned around 1,500 individuals charged over the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from Washington, DC.

Trump’s Panama Canal threat would breach UN Charter: Analysis

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor James Bays says:
Trump is the president of the United States and he says he is going to take the Panama Canal back. Now, if he did that, that would be a breach of the UN Charter, that’s the governing document that has framed international relations since World War II. Not just a matter of history though, this sets a precedent.

Golden age: Donald Trump is sworn in as 47th president of the US

Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, marking a historic return to the White House.

He's taken the oath of office, ushering in a new administration and an end to Joe Biden's presidency.
 
His inauguration took place in the Capitol Rotunda -- moved indoors for the first time in 40 years because of intense cold weather.

Trump's the first president to have invited foreign leaders to his inauguration.

He's returning to the Oval Office backed by a House and Senate under Republican control.

And has promised sweeping executive orders on day one to undo Biden policies and push forward his promises.

Greenland: Why does the US want it?

Monday, January 20, 2025
 
Donald Trump likes a deal, but Greenland?  Why does the US want this semi-autonomous territory of Denmark?  

Pinch Point explores Greenland's crucial minerals and strategic position in the Arctic.

ICC sanctions bill sends message of support to Israel from US Congress: Al Jazeera

Friday, Jan 10, 2025  
Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports live from Washington, DC, providing updates on the proposed legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials.

Patty Culhane notes that the bill is expected to pass into law, attributing this development to the ICC's charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Oxfam’s Mahmoud al-Saqqa warns of critical food shortage, limited aid amid Israeli strikes on Gaza

Sunday, October 27, 2024
Oxfam's Gaza food security and livelihood leader, Mahmoud al-Saqqa, joined Al Jazeera from Deir el-Bala, discussing the escalating humanitarian crisis. Al-Saqqa outlined severe shortages of food, medicine, and essentials, worsened by Israeli bombardments and border closures.

He highlighted that more than 90% of Gaza's population now faces acute food insecurity, and children are increasingly malnourished. Aid entry has been minimal, particularly into northern Gaza, where severe restrictions leave residents with few options but displacement.

Al-Saqqa emphasised that humanitarian workers are risking their lives daily, calling for international action against the use of food as a weapon.

Iran’s Khamenei says wrong to downplay Israel’s attack

Sunday, October 27, 2024
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first comments about the ''malignant" Israeli attack on Iran early Saturday in a meeting with the families of the four members of the armed forces who were killed.

The Israelis try to make the impact of the strikes appear larger than reality, but any move inside Iran to make them appear smaller would also be "wrong", he said.

“It would be wrong for us to say that it was nothing and it did not matter,” Khamenei said.

"The calculation error of the Zionist regime must be disrupted. They do not know Iran, its youth, its nation. They have not yet been able to fully comprehend the power, capabilities, initiative and will of the Iranian nation, we must make them understand it."

Khamenei also opened a Hebrew account on X after the Israeli strikes.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar reports from Tehran, Iran.
To discuss this further, we are joined by Menachem Klein, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University, speaking from West Jerusalem.