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Conflict Zone is a TV programme broadcast by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Its host is Tim Sebastian, and its format is of a twenty-minute long interview with one guest per episode.
In November 2015 Sebastian caused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko some grief. [1]
In December 2015 Afghani president Ashraf Ghani revealed in a conversation with Sebastian that "I don’t trust anyone." [2]
In March 2016 Sebastian interviewed Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah over his refusal to condemn the stabbing attacks on Jews. [3]
In April 2017 Congress Party of India MP Shashi Tharoor talked about corruption and Kashmir, amongst other subjects with Sebastian. [4]
In May 2017 Sebastian interviewed Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel. [5]
In April 2018, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern walked out of an interview with Sebastian over the Mahon Tribunal questions posed by the latter. [6] [7] [8] [9]
In March 2019, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell walked out on an interview when he took issue with Sebastian, who had accused him of lying. [10] [11]
In October 2020 while the country was in an uproar, Sebastian had Denitsa Sacheva, Bulgaria's Labor and Social Policy minister on his show to discuss protests over a corruption scandal. [12]
On 26 June 2021, Carlos Ghosn walked out of a Conflict Zone interview. [13]
In February 2022, Sebastian interviewed Democratic Unionist Party of Ireland MP Sammy Wilson, who maintained that "The EU has used and abused Northern Ireland". [14]
Albert Martin Reynolds was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. He held cabinet positions between 1979 and 1991, including as Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Longford–Roscommon from 1977 to 1992 and for Longford–Westmeath from 1992 to 2002.
Ehud Barak is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party between 1997 and 2001 and between 2007 and 2011.
Brian Patrick Lenihan was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 1987 to 1990, Minister for Defence from 1989 to 1990, Minister for Agriculture from March 1982 to December 1982, Minister for Fisheries from 1977 to 1979, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1989, 1979 to 1981 and January 1973 to March 1973, Minister for Transport and Power from 1969 to 1973, Minister for Education from 1968 to 1969, Minister for Justice from 1964 to 1969, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Justice and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands from 1961 to 1964. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1961 to 1973 and from 1977 to 1995. He served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 1957 to 1961 and 1973 to 1977. He also served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Oireachtas from 1973 to 1977.
Pádraig Flynn is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as European Commissioner for Social Affairs from 1993 to 1999, Minister for Industry and Commerce and Minister for Justice from 1992 to 1993, Minister for the Environment from 1987 to 1991, Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism from October 1982 to December 1982, Minister for the Gaeltacht from March 1982 to October 1982 and Minister of State at the Department of Transport from 1980 to 1981. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo West constituency from 1977 to 1994.
Dermot Christopher Ahern is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice and Law Reform from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources from 2002 to 2004, Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs from 1997 to 2002 and Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence from 1991 to 1992. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Louth constituency from 1987 to 2011.
Tim Sebastian is an English television journalist and novelist. He is the moderator of Conflict Zone and New Arab Debates on Deutsche Welle. He previously worked for the BBC, where he hosted Doha Debates and was the first presenter of HARDtalk. Sebastian also presented Bloomberg TV's The Outsider, an India-focused debating programme.
Events from the year 1997 in Ireland.
Events from the year 2005 in Ireland.
Martin George Southcote Mansergh is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2008 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary South constituency from 2007 to 2011. He was a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 2002 to 2007.
The 2007 Irish general election took place on Thursday, 24 May after the dissolution of the 29th Dáil by the President on 30 April, at the request of the Taoiseach. The general election took place in 43 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of parliament, with a revision of constituencies since the last election under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005. The outgoing Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrat administration was returned, joined by the Green Party and supported by some independents, giving a government majority of 9.
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served as Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997. He was also Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1986 to 1987, Tánaiste from November to December 1994, and Minister for Finance from 1991 to 1994.
Brendan O'Connor is an Irish media personality and former comedian. He presents the Current Affairs panel show Cutting Edge on RTÉ. He presented The Saturday Night Show on RTÉ from 2010 to 2015, he is also known for his columns in the Sunday Independent newspaper. He is also editor of the newspaper's Life Magazine.
The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of corrupt payments to politicians regarding political decisions. It mostly investigated planning permissions and land rezoning issues in the 1990s in the Dublin County Council area. Judge Alan Mahon was the final chair of the tribunal and its other members were Judge Mary Faherty and Judge Gerald Keys. The original chairman, who was the sole member until just before his retirement, was Judge Feargus Flood, giving rise to the original common name of the Flood Tribunal.
The State of Us is a four-part mockumentary which was broadcast on Irish television channel RTÉ One on Sunday nights at 21:40. It stars Risteárd Cooper, well known in Ireland for his part in the Après Match sketches. It was created and written by Cooper and Gerard Stembridge and focuses on the clash between politicians and the media. It is filmed mostly in and around RTÉ Television Centre in Montrose. The first episode was broadcast on Sunday 22 April 2007.
The Centre for Public Inquiry was established in February 2005 as a non-governmental body to "...investigate matters of public importance in Irish political, public and corporate life". Its board was made up of Mr Justice Feargus Flood the former chairman of the Planning and Payments (corruption) Tribunal and former High Court Judge, Enda McDonagh the chairman of the board of University College, Cork, broadcaster and former editor of the Sunday Business Post Damien Kiberd and solicitor, writer and human rights campaigner Greg O'Neill. Investigative journalist Frank Connolly was named executive director. His investigations into payments to former government minister Ray Burke, contributed to the establishment of the Planning and Payments tribunal and the Morris Tribunal. It was to have been funded by Atlantic Philanthropies to the amount of €4 million over five years. It closed in April 2006 following the withdrawal of this funding and a critical article by the then Minister for Justice Michael McDowell in the Sunday Independent newspaper.
Fianna Fáil was founded on 23 March 1926 when a group of Dáil deputies led by Éamon de Valera split from the original Sinn Féin. This happened because de Valera's motion calling for elected members be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil, if and when the controversial Oath of Allegiance was removed, failed to pass at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis. The new party adopted its name on 2 April of the same year. From the formation of the first Fianna Fáil government on 9 March 1932 until the 2011 general election, the party was in power for 61 of 79 years. Its longest continuous period in office was 15 years and 11 months. Its single longest period out of office, in that time, has been four years and four months. All eight of its party's leaders have served as Taoiseach. It was the largest party in Dáil Éireann at every general election from the 1932 general election until the 2011 general election, when it suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state.
Bertie is a four-part miniseries documenting the life of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, which began airing on Irish television channel RTÉ One on 3 November 2008. Featuring interviews interwoven with archive footage, the series examined how he led the country and what drove him through his political career.
Since at least the 1970s, many Irish political scandals relating to miscarriage of justice, dereliction of duty and corruption by public officials have resulted in the establishment of extra-judicial Tribunals of Enquiry, which are typically chaired by retired High-Court judges and cannot make judgements against any of the parties. Since 2004 many such scandals have been investigated by the less costly but less transparent Commissions of Investigation. Many Irish scandals, however, have not resulted in trials or public enquiries.
Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index scored Ireland at 77 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Ireland ranked 11th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 65 and the lowest score was 42.
Tom Gilmartin was an Irish businessman, whistleblower and pivotal Mahon Tribunal witness whose testimony concerning planning and political corruption "rocked Ireland". He played a crucial role in ending the political career of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
