Battle Lines

Within the space of 10 days, opposition forces have toppled the Assad regime, ending five decades of the family’s authoritarian rule. In the streets of Damascus, Hama, Homs and Aleppo, Syrians are celebrating, saying this is a new dawn for their country. Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss how we got here, and what happens next. Plus: renowned war photographer Paul Conroy shares his reflections on the fall of Assad, nearly 13 years after the Syrian regime injured him and killed his colleague veteran reporter Marie Colvin.

How has a Syrian rebel lightning offensive managed to seize Aleppo from Bashar al-Assad's regime? Who are the leaders, Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And could it reignite the civil war? Venetia Rainey is joined by Dr Haid Haid, Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at Chatham House, to answer all those questions and more.Plus: an Israeli conscientious objector tells her story of why she spent three months in prison for refusing to serve her compulsory military service.

In today’s episode we get two rare insides from the ground. Our team of reporters just returned from the frontline in Kharkiv and Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council witnessed the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Sudan as a result of the ongoing war. Venetia Rainey catches up with both of them. 

Lebanon and Hezbollah have struck a ceasefire deal - but how will it work and is Gaza next? For this emergency podcast, Venetia Rainey is joined by Maya Gebeily, Reuters Beirut Bureau Chief, and Jotam Confino, The Telegraph’s correspondent in Israel, to take the temperature on the ground. Plus, as thousands of displaced people in both Lebanon and Israel return home to survey the damage of 14 months of war, we look at why the deal is being treated with caution on both sides.

One year on from the last Gaza hostage deal, Venetia Rainey speaks with Sharone Lifschitz, whose father was kidnapped on October 7th and is still being held hostage by Hamas. We also hear from Amani Ahmed, a Palestinian academic from Gaza, who was at the University of Edinburgh when the war began and after a long ordeal managed to be reunited with her family. Plus: an update of the last week's big news stories from the Middle East, including the ICC arrest warrants, Israel's attempt to assassinate another senior Hezbollah official, and Lebanon ceasefire talks.

Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph’s Sarah Newey to talk about her interview with one of the international combatants fighting in Myanmar’s brutal civil war. Plus: as violence escalates in Haiti, MSF are suspending activities in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince until further notice. We hear from their head of mission about the decision and what the mood is like on the ground. ContributorsRoland Oliphant (Host)Sarah Newey (Global Health Security Correspondent)Christophe Garnier (MSF’s Head of Mission in Haiti)

Con Coughlin, the Telegraph’s defence and foreign affairs editor, joins Venetia Rainey to discuss Israel’s strike on Hezbollah’s spokesman Mohammad Afif, the pope’s calls for an investigation into potential genocide in Gaza and how the geopolitical landscape might shift under Donald Trump’s new cabinet. Plus: Sir Keir Starmer’s upcoming meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.ContributorsVenetia RaineyCon Coughlin

This week, President-elect Donald Trump made key appointments to his diplomatic and security cabinet. What do his picks for Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Director of National Intelligence reveal about the direction of his foreign policy? In this episode, we take a closer look at the backgrounds and ideologies of these key figures and explore the potential impact on global issues, from the war in Ukraine to the conflict in Gaza and the US-China relationship. Plus: who might the British government choose to send as its next ambassador to Washington?ContributorsRoland OliphantTony Diver