The Frontline Club

Political tensions are rising in Pakistan following the the Supreme Court's decision to charge Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government has also been under pressure as a result of what's become known as "memogate" after an unsigned memo emerged asking for US help to avert a coup by the Pakistani army. With the outlook for the Pakistani government so uncertain, there is concern that the country's many and complex problems, including its dire economic situation, dealings with its domestic Taliban, drone attacks, as well as the aftermath of floods and other natural catastrophes will be overlooked. We will be bringing together a panel of experts to discuss the deepening political crisis in Pakistan and what lies ahead. Chaired by the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones, he was BBC Pakistan correspondent between 1998 and 2001 and is author of Pakistan: Eye Of The Storm. With: Omar Waraich, he has been covering Pakistan for TIME Magazine and The Independent since 2007. He regularly appears as a commentator on Al-Jazeera English, CNN and NPR. Twitter: @OmarWaraich Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan Director, Asia Division at Human Rights Watch. Previously he was a senior editor at Pakistan's premier independent, political news monthly magazine, Herald. Professor Anatol Lieven, of King's College London, he has travelled extensively for research in Pakistan and is author of Pakistan: A Hard Country. Dr Farzana Shaikh, is an associate fellow and convenor of the Pakistan study group at Chatham House. Born and brought up in Pakistan, she has written widely on the country's history, culture and politics. She has most recently published, Making Sense of Pakistan.

“Never has the power of the people appeared so humane, so inspiring, so personal, so determined as in Tunisia, so daring as in Syria, so diverse as in Yemen, so humble as in Bahrain, so courageous as in Libya, or so humorous as in Egypt. If, as one keen observer noted, every joke is a tiny revolution, the Arabs, and most notably the Egyptians, are revolutionaries par excellence. Marwan Bishara, The Invisible Arab: The promise and peril of the Arab revolution. The uprisings across the Arab world have often been portrayed by the media as spontaneous acts that were sparked by the death of Tunisian street seller Mohamed Bouazizi after he set fire to himself in late 2010. In his new book Marwan Bishara of Al Jazeera English challenges this perception, exploring the history and deep-rooted feelings behind the apparently spontaneous takeover of Tunisia’s November 7 Square, Egypt’s Tahrir Square, and Bahrain’s Pearl Square. These events and others in the region, Bishara explains, were the culmination of a long social and political struggle: countless sit-ins, strikes, pickets and demonstrations by people who risked and suffered intimidation, torture and imprisonment. Marwan Bishara will be joining senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet to discuss the roots of the uprisings, how they have evolved from country to country, the shifts they have created in the region and asking what lies ahead as people continue to battle for freedom and justice? Marwan Bishara is Al Jazeera English’s senior political analyst and editor and host of its flagship show Empirewas previously a lecturer in International Relations at the American University of Paris, and a fellow at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Le Monde, and The Nation amongst other titles.

“Never has the power of the people appeared so humane, so inspiring, so personal, so determined as in Tunisia, so daring as in Syria, so diverse as in Yemen, so humble as in Bahrain, so courageous as in Libya, or so humorous as in Egypt. If, as one keen observer noted, every joke is a tiny revolution, the Arabs, and most notably the Egyptians, are revolutionaries par excellence."Marwan Bishara, The Invisible Arab: The promise and peril of the Arab revolution.The uprisings across the Arab world have often been portrayed by the media as spontaneous acts that were sparked by the death of Tunisian street seller Mohamed Bouazizi after he set fire to himself in late 2010.In his new book Marwan Bishara of Al Jazeera English challenges this perception, exploring the history and deep-rooted feelings behind the apparently spontaneous takeover of Tunisia’s November 7 Square, Egypt’s Tahrir Square, and Bahrain’s Pearl Square.These events and others in the region, Bishara explains, were the culmination of a long social and political struggle: countless sit-ins, strikes, pickets and demonstrations by people who risked and suffered intimidation, torture and imprisonment.Marwan Bishara will be joining senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet to discuss the roots of the uprisings, how they have evolved from country to country, the shifts they have created in the region and asking what lies ahead as people continue to battle for freedom and justice?Marwan Bishara is Al Jazeera English’s senior political analyst and editor and host of its flagship show Empire was previously a lecturer in International Relations at the American University of Paris, and a fellow at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Le Monde, and The Nation amongst other titles.

Travelling together on assignments across four continents, photographer Tom Craig and writer A. A. Gill have worked alongside each other on stories from Albanian capitalism to Madagascan Baobabs over the past eight years. In a new exhibition opening in March, Flaere Gallery have brought together 20 unseen photographs by Tom Craig with accompanying text by A. A. Gill. The pair will speak at the Frontline Club about their close collaboration and the explorations they have embarked upon together. As journalists are increasingly expected to multi-task and provide the text, photography, video and tweets for their stories, Gill and Craig will mount a defence of their increasingly rare form of partnership and the insights and enrichment two sides on each story can bring. The event will be moderated by reader in photography at Westminster University David Campany. “The one thing words and pictures have in common is that their craft is all in the editing. Out of the streaming confusion of information and images, we have to sift and select the things that make a cogent, coherent, engaging plot... What is happening just outside the picture are the words. And when we get it right, the image and the writing, when they come together, they make something that is greater than their binary parts. They’re not illustrations or captions, but a tandem, complimentary work, without repetition or duplication.” A. A. Gill The exhibition will run from 5-10 March at The Gallery in Cork Street in association with Quintessentially and sponsored by Boucheron. The production of the artworks in the exhibit is sponsored by Spectrum Photographic.

In association with BBC College of Journalism From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the handover of Hong Kong to China, Matt Frei has spent over two decades reporting across the globe. Newly-appointed to Channel 4 News as Washington correspondent, Matt Frei, will be in conversation with former BBC executive Vin Ray to look back over nearly two decades at the BBC before his move was announced in May last year. The author of Only in America, Frei has covered numerous high profile stories and reported from Asia, Europe, America and Africa. He has been awarded, amongst others, the Prix Bayeux award for War Reporting for his coverage of the conflict in East Timor. He presented the BBC World News America broadcast and a weekly Radio 4 show, Americana. Image Credit: Channel 4 News

In association with BBC College of JournalismFrom the fall of the Berlin Wall to the handover of Hong Kong to China, Matt Frei has spent over two decades reporting across the globe.Newly-appointed to Channel 4 News as Washington correspondent, Matt Frei, will be in conversation with former BBC executive Vin Ray to look back over nearly two decades at the BBC before his move was announced in May last year.The author of Only in America, Frei has covered numerous high profile stories and reported from Asia, Europe, America and Africa. He has been awarded, amongst others, the Prix Bayeux award for War Reporting for his coverage of the conflict in East Timor. He presented the BBC World News America broadcast and a weekly Radio 4 show, Americana.

The response of President Bashar Assad to the protests in Syria has been to launch a brutal crack down on his opponents that has reportedly led to the deaths of an estimated 6,000 people. As the violence intensifies in the wake of the veto by Russia and China of the U.N. Security Council's resolution condemning the violence, we will be discussing what options are now available to the people of Syria, the Free Syrian Army and President Bashar al-Assad and his regime. What role should the international community play in the face this deepening crisis? Should the Arab League put more pressure on President Assad to cease the bombardment of rebel-held areas? What of the rest of the people of Syria, where does their support lie? Chaired by BBC Arabic presenter Rasha Qandeel. With: Dr Mouna Ghanem, a Syrian politician and vice president of the Syrian political movement "building the Syrian state". She is also a senior gender advisor with an extensive experience in the Arab region, mainly on women issues and reproductive health. Ammar Waqqaf, member of the Syrian Social Club (a group of British Syrians and Syrians living in the UK, who prefer regime reform, rather than regime change.) Ramita Navai, British-Iranian journalist and reporter for Channel 4's foreign affairs series, Unreported World. Late last year she spent two weeks living undercover in Syria with members of the opposition movement. Malik Al-Abdeh, chief editor of Barada TV a London-based Syrian opposition satellite channel and former BBC journalist.

The response of President Bashar Assad to the protests in Syria has been to launch a brutal crack down on his opponents that has reportedly led to the deaths of an estimated 6,000 people.As the violence intensifies in the wake of the veto by Russia and China of the U.N. Security Council’s resolution condemning the violence, we will be discussing what options are now available to the people of Syria, the Free Syrian Army and President Bashar al-Assad and his regime.What role should the international community play in the face this deepening crisis? Should the Arab League put more pressure on President Assad to cease the bombardment of rebel-held areas? What of the rest of the people of Syria, where does their support lie?Chaired by BBC Arabic presenter Rasha Qandeel.With:Dr Mouna Ghanem, a Syrian politician and vice president of the Syrian political movement “building the Syrian state”. She is also a senior gender advisor with an extensive experience in the Arab region, mainly on women issues and reproductive health.Ammar Waqqaf, member of the Syrian Social Club (a group of British Syrians and Syrians living in the UK, who prefer regime reform, rather than regime change.)Ramita Navai, British-Iranian journalist and reporter for Channel 4′s foreign affairs series, Unreported World. Late last year she spent two weeks living undercover in Syria with members of the opposition movement.Malik Al-Abdeh, chief editor of Barada TV a London-based Syrian opposition satellite channel and former BBC journalist.

Over 40 journalists were killed during a tumultuous year of political unrest last year. Hundreds more remain imprisoned, censored, suppressed and exiled around the world. Increasingly pressured into self-censorship through intimidation, fear and legislation, journalists are facing increasingly dangerous times. Such danger are compounded by repressive governments and violent criminal groups. Join us at the Frontline Club for the first in a series of events, screenings and workshops examining the challenges to safety faced by journalists around the world. We will be discussing the dangers faced by journalists today and the impact on journalism of a world more and more people are demanding their rights to equality and justice. What more can be done to protect journalists in their work? The event will also mark the launch of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Attacks on the Press report which will be presented by CPJ executive director Joel Simon. Chaired by Award-winning journalist and reporter, Jenny Kleeman, has been working with Channel 4'sUnreported World since 2007, reporting from locations as diverse as the Amazon rainforest, the slums of Liberia and most recently Afghanistan. She writes regularly for the Guardian, Sunday Times and Independent. With: Joel Simon, executive director of the CPJ, under which they launched the 'Global Campaign Against Impunity' and established the 'Journalist Assistance program' which provides help to journalists in distress. Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who was detained in Iran during the uprising following the 2009 disputed election. He is author of Then They Came for Me: A story of injustice and survival in Iran's most notorious prison. (via Skype) Libyan contractor turned fixer, Suliman Ali Zway who was recently awarded the Martin Adler prize alongside Osama Alfitory for their dedication and bravery in reporting the conflict in Libya. They are known to international journalists as 'The A-Team.' Colin Pereira, head of safety and security at ITN, he is responsible for the security of ITN operations in high risk environments. Previously he was deputy head of the BBC High Risk Team. He has advised on thousands of deployments around the world, ranging from the London riots to deploying crews to downtown Mogadishu. He is also head of high risk for 1st Option Safety, specialising in production and freelance safety. In association with CPJ

Left in the sun to die as a baby because she was a girl, Fawzia Koofi has lived a life defined by struggle.The 19th of 23 children born to a member of the Soviet backed parliament who was killed when she was four years old by the Mujahedeen, she has lost brothers and her husband to the country's successive wars.Elected as Member of Parliament for the Badakshan province in 2005, Fawzia Koofi has spent her life fighting prejudice and injusticeShe was the first woman to be elected as Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament in the history of Afghanistan.Despite receiving regular death threats and assassination attempts she continues her struggle to improve human rights in Afghanistan, especially for women and children and plans to run for President of Afghanistan in 2014.Join us at the Frontline Club with Fawzia Koofi and Nadene Ghouri, the co-author of the book that tells her story The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future.insightfawziakoofiafghanistan

Over 40 journalists were killed during a tumultuous year of political unrest last year. Hundreds more remain imprisoned, censored, suppressed and exiled around the world.Increasingly pressured into self-censorship through intimidation, fear and legislation, journalists are facing increasingly dangerous times. Such danger are compounded by repressive governments and violent criminal groups.Join us at the Frontline Club for the first in a series of events, screenings and workshops examining the challenges to safety faced by journalists around the world.We will be discussing the dangers faced by journalists today and the impact on journalism of a world more and more people are demanding their rights to equality and justice. What more can be done to protect journalists in their work?The event will also mark the launch of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Attacks on the Press report which will be presented by CPJ executive director Joel Simon.Chaired by Award-winning journalist and reporter, Jenny Kleeman, has been working with Channel 4′sUnreported World since 2007, reporting from locations as diverse as the Amazon rainforest, the slums of Liberia and most recently Afghanistan. She writes regularly for the Guardian, Sunday Times and Independent.With:Joel Simon, executive director of the CPJ, under which they launched the ‘Global Campaign Against Impunity’ and established the ‘Journalist Assistance program’ which provides help to journalists in distress.Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who was detained in Iran during the uprising following the 2009 disputed election. He is author of Then They Came for Me: A story of injustice and survival in Iran’s most notorious prison.(via Skype) Libyan contractor turned fixer, Suliman Ali Zway who was recently awarded the Martin Adler prize alongside Osama Alfitory for their dedication and bravery in reporting the conflict in Libya. They are known to international journalists as ‘The A-Team.’Colin Pereira, head of safety and security at ITN, he is responsible for the security of ITN operations in high risk environments. Previously he was deputy head of the BBC High Risk Team. He has advised on thousands of deployments around the world, ranging from the London riots to deploying crews to downtown Mogadishu. He is also head of high risk for 1st Option Safety, specialising in production and freelance safety.In association with CPJnewsColinPereiraSulimanAliZwayMaziarBahariJoelSimonJennyKleemanCPJFrontline Club

Left in the sun to die as a baby because she was a girl, Fawzia Koofi has lived a life defined by struggle. The 19th of 23 children born to a member of the Soviet backed parliament who was killed when she was four years old by the Mujahedeen, she has lost brothers and her husband to the country’s successive wars. Elected as Member of Parliament for the Badakshan province in 2005, Fawzia Koofi has spent her life fighting prejudice and injustice She was the first woman to be elected as Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament in the history of Afghanistan. Despite receiving regular death threats and assassination attempts she continues her struggle to improve human rights in Afghanistan, especially for women and children and plans to run for President of Afghanistan in 2014. Join us at the Frontline Club with Fawzia Koofi and Nadene Ghouri, the co-author of the book that tells her story The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future.

On 25 February, ENO stages the London premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams. A powerful and arresting opera from one of the world’s greatest living composers, directed by Warhorse’s Tom Morris. Based on the hijacking of the cruise liner Achille Lauro, and resulting in the death of Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American passenger, The Death of Klinghoffer is a theatrical presentation of an event that dominated the world's headlines and became a defining moment in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The opera is a captivating response to the 1985 hijack, it even-handedly explores religious tolerance, displacement and exile. It does this through poignant lyrical choruses interspersed with dramatically etched moments of fear and fury as the hijack reaches an increasingly violent and tragic conclusion. This debate explores the complex role of the arts in illuminating contemporary events touching on the relevance of opera today and ENO’s role in bringing fresh, modern work to the London stage and extending the boundaries of theatre. Chaired by Christopher Cook, a broadcaster and journalist. His work can be found in places such as the Guardian and the New Statesman, as well as on BBC radio. His current academic work includes positions at Syracuse University, London Centre and American University (London Programme). With: Will Self, commentator and author. His many books include The Quantity Theory of Insanity, Grey Area, Cock Bull, My Idea of Fun, Junk Mail, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis, Great Apes, Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys, Dorian, How the Dead Live, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel of the Year 2002, The Book of Dave, Psychogeography, Psycho Too, and The Butt. Dimi Reider, an Israeli journalist and blogger. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post. He's also contributing editor and co-founder at +972 Magazine, a publication by prominent Israeli and Palestinian bloggers. Ghada Karmi, a leading British-Palestinian academic and writer. Currently she is co-director of the European Centre of Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. She is a frequent media commentator on Middle Eastern issues. She is the author of a memoir, In Search of Fatima; a Palestinian story. Her most recent book is Married to another man: Israel’s dilemma in Palestine. Baldur Brönnimann, regularly conducts the major orchestras and new music ensembles around the world and is now increasingly sought after in the opera house. Renowned for his mastery of complex contemporary scores, he is held in the highest regard by many of today’s foremost composers. In 2008 he was appointed Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, and in 2011 he was announced as the new Artistic Director of Norway’s BIT20 Ensemble. In December 2010 he caught the headlines across the world when he travelled to the Middle East to conduct the newly-formed Palestine National Orchestra in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Haifa. Brönnimann is conducting the London premiere of John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer at English National Opera, directed by Tom Morris.

On 25 February, ENO stages the London premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams. A powerful and arresting opera from one of the world's greatest living composers, directed by Warhorse's Tom Morris. Based on the hijacking of the cruise liner Achille Lauro, and resulting in the death of Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American passenger, The Death of Klinghoffer is a theatrical presentation of an event that dominated the world's headlines and became a defining moment in the Arab-Israeli conflict.The opera is a captivating response to the 1985 hijack, it even-handedly explores religious tolerance, displacement and exile. It does this through poignant lyrical choruses interspersed with dramatically etched moments of fear and fury as the hijack reaches an increasingly violent and tragic conclusion.This debate explores the complex role of the arts in illuminating contemporary events touching on the relevance of opera today and ENO's role in bringing fresh, modern work to the London stage and extending the boundaries of theatre.Chaired by Christopher Cook, a broadcaster and journalist. His work can be found in places such as the Guardian and the New Statesman, as well as on BBC radio. His current academic work includes positions at Syracuse University, London Centre and American University (London Programme).With:Will Self, commentator and author. His many books include The Quantity Theory of Insanity, Grey Area, Cock Bull, My Idea of Fun, Junk Mail, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis, Great Apes, Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys, Dorian, How the Dead Live, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel of the Year 2002, The Book of Dave, Psychogeography, Psycho Too, and The Butt.Dimi Reider, an Israeli journalist and blogger. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post. He's also contributing editor and co-founder at +972 Magazine, a publication by prominent Israeli and Palestinian bloggers.Ghada Karmi, a leading British-Palestinian academic and writer. Currently she is co-director of the European Centre of Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. She is a frequent media commentator on Middle Eastern issues. She is the author of a memoir, In Search of Fatima; a Palestinian story. Her most recent book is Married to another man: Israel's dilemma in Palestine.Baldur Brönnimann, regularly conducts the major orchestras and new music ensembles around the world and is now increasingly sought after in the opera house. Renowned for his mastery of complex contemporary scores, he is held in the highest regard by many of today's foremost composers. In 2008 he was appointed Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, and in 2011 he was announced as the new Artistic Director of Norway's BIT20 Ensemble. In December 2010 he caught the headlines across the world when he travelled to the Middle East to conduct the newly-formed Palestine National Orchestra in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Haifa. Brönnimann is conducting the London premiere of John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer at English National Opera, directed by Tom Morris.

On 25 February, ENO stages the London premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams. A powerful and arresting opera from one of the world's greatest living composers, directed by Warhorse's Tom Morris. Based on the hijacking of the cruise liner Achille Lauro, and resulting in the death of Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American passenger, The Death of Klinghoffer is a theatrical presentation of an event that dominated the world's headlines and became a defining moment in the Arab-Israeli conflict.The opera is a captivating response to the 1985 hijack, it even-handedly explores religious tolerance, displacement and exile. It does this through poignant lyrical choruses interspersed with dramatically etched moments of fear and fury as the hijack reaches an increasingly violent and tragic conclusion.This debate explores the complex role of the arts in illuminating contemporary events touching on the relevance of opera today and ENO's role in bringing fresh, modern work to the London stage and extending the boundaries of theatre.Chaired by Christopher Cook, a broadcaster and journalist. His work can be found in places such as the Guardian and the New Statesman, as well as on BBC radio. His current academic work includes positions at Syracuse University, London Centre and American University (London Programme).With:Will Self, commentator and author. His many books include The Quantity Theory of Insanity, Grey Area, Cock Bull, My Idea of Fun, Junk Mail, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis, Great Apes, Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys, Dorian, How the Dead Live, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel of the Year 2002, The Book of Dave, Psychogeography, Psycho Too, and The Butt.Dimi Reider, an Israeli journalist and blogger. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post. He's also contributing editor and co-founder at +972 Magazine, a publication by prominent Israeli and Palestinian bloggers.Ghada Karmi, a leading British-Palestinian academic and writer. Currently she is co-director of the European Centre of Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. She is a frequent media commentator on Middle Eastern issues. She is the author of a memoir, In Search of Fatima; a Palestinian story. Her most recent book is Married to another man: Israel's dilemma in Palestine.Baldur Brönnimann, regularly conducts the major orchestras and new music ensembles around the world and is now increasingly sought after in the opera house. Renowned for his mastery of complex contemporary scores, he is held in the highest regard by many of today's foremost composers. In 2008 he was appointed Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, and in 2011 he was announced as the new Artistic Director of Norway's BIT20 Ensemble. In December 2010 he caught the headlines across the world when he travelled to the Middle East to conduct the newly-formed Palestine National Orchestra in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Haifa. Brönnimann is conducting the London premiere of John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer at English National Opera, directed by Tom Morris.