Podcasts by Beyond the Headlines

Is corruption in Iraq impossible to beat? from 2021-03-25T09:55

Iraq is listed as the 20th most corrupt country in the world in the latest ranking by anti-corruption organisation Transparency International. Venality is rampant in a country still emerging from t...

Raqqa after ten years of war and revolution in Syria from 2021-03-18T19:15

March 2013, Raqqa. The Syrian revolution is in full swing. A crowd gathers around a statue of Hafez Al Assad in the centre of the city. The statue is of President Bashar Al Assad’s father, and much...

The legacy of the Pope's Iraq visit from 2021-03-08T22:26

It's hard to overstate just how significant Pope Francis's visit to Iraq really was. Nor how remarkable it is that it actually went ahead. Iraq, despite the best efforts of the security forces, is ...

Tunisians numb to the horror of public self-immolation from 2021-03-04T18:07

It was beyond our capacity of understanding ten years ago when a young man in Tunisia decided to take his own life by setting himself on fire. This act was enough to start large-scale protests in w...

Why have Indian farmers been protesting for months? from 2021-02-25T17:40

On February 21 about 120,000 Indian farmers gathered at a grain market in Punjab to protest against the government. The crowds of men and women arrived early, making their way to the market in trac...

How the UAE moved an entire coral reef from 2021-02-18T17:54

At the beginning of 2020 the UAE faced a conundrum. Abu Dhabi Ports was seeking to boost its cargo-handling capacity, which meant more construction above and below water. A new project with Etihad ...

How UAE’s Hope probe made history from 2021-02-10T19:49

On February 9, 2021, after seven months in space and six years since the mission's inception, a room full of Emirati engineers watched anxiously as their attempt to put a satellite into orbit aroun...

How the repeal of the “Muslim Ban” will affect Muslim refugees from 2021-02-04T20:24

During his 2015 presidential primary race, a day after the San Bernadino shootings in which a married Islamist couple shot and killed 14 people, Donald Trump said he wanted “a total and complete sh...

Can Lebanon survive the coronavirus pandemic? from 2021-01-28T17:57

In December 2019, two months after the start of the popular protests across Lebanon, Human Rights Watch warned of an impending health crisis in the country.  The government was failing to fund pu...

Biden inauguration - The unprecedented presidential handover from 2021-01-21T17:50

On 20 January, 2021, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. President Biden has come into power breaking records and making history. He received more votes than any o...

Egypt’s #MeToo movement and how it is changing the country from 2021-01-17T09:45

In December 2011 in Cairo, during a protest in Tahrir Square, a woman was captured on video being dragged along the ground. During the attack, her abaya, the name for the long, loose cloak worn by ...

Will the promise of the Covid-19 vaccines help us return to normal in 2021? from 2021-01-07T17:49

2020 ended with some relief that we now have vaccines for Covid-19. But the pandemic is not over yet and new strains of coronavirus have spread. Now we have to work out how to distribute the vaccin...

Stories from 2020: the year of Covid-19 and beyond from 2020-12-25T10:50

As we look back on the year 2020 it is undeniable that there is one story that has defined the year. But beyond the coronavirus, what have been the defining stories from The National’s newsroom?  ...

Will Azerbaijan's victory in Nagorno-Karabakh lead to lasting peace? from 2020-12-18T09:30

On December 10, Azerbaijan held a triumphant military parade in its capital, Baku. Two-and-a-half months after the start of a conflict over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region in the west of the ...

Memories of Mosul three years after ISIS from 2020-12-10T19:18

It is three years since then Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi declared the gruelling battle against the most feared terror group in history was over. ISIS had been defeated. The conflict itse...

How new tech is helping the UAE farm the deserts from 2020-12-01T22:19

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit - global trade ground to a halt. Around the world people were scrambling to buy essentials as supermarket shelves emptied. But the UAE, a country that relies on impor...

Iran's secret affair with Al Qaeda from 2020-11-26T17:27

On August 7, Habib Daoud, a Lebanese professor of history in Iran, was gunned down on a street in northern Tehran. Killed alongside him was his 27-year-old daughter Maryam. The assassin was riding ...

Why are people fleeing Ethiopia's Tigray region? from 2020-11-19T21:19

In 2019, Abiy Ahmed was riding high. For a year he had been Ethiopia’s prime minister, having emerged from byzantine internal jockeying at a time of deep unease and anger. He had ushered in a serie...

The changes in the Middle East after Joe Biden takes office from 2020-11-12T23:20

For nearly four years, US President Donald Trump has torn up America’s foreign policy handbook. The implications, both at home and abroad, have been significant. Most recently, Trump’s administrati...

Why superstorms are the new normal from 2020-11-05T18:00

The Philippines is no stranger to storms. The country's group of islands weather around 20 storms and typhoons a year. But when news of supertyphoon Goni was announced, it took action, preparing it...

US election special: Who will be the next US President? from 2020-10-28T19:58

In this special edition of Beyond the Headlines, Michael Goldfarb, author, journalist and host of the FRDH podcast based in the UK, talks to Joyce Karam, The National's correspondent in Washington,...

Arab Americans vote in divisive presidential election from 2020-10-22T18:15

Arab-Americans make up a tiny fraction of America’s 300 plus million people. But in three key swing states: Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania they are a significant enough voting block that...

A year of revolution in Lebanon between fires, crisis and blast from 2020-10-15T22:09

The fires didn’t start the revolution, but you could say it was the kindling. The country suffers fires every year, but these were different. In this week's Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-...

The challenges of finding a Covid-19 vaccine from 2020-10-08T19:01

News update: Since publishing this podcast China announced on October 9 that it has joined Covax, the global scheme for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine backed by the World Health Organisation....

Iraq's year of protests, assassinations and foreign interference from 2020-09-30T21:24

On October the 1st 2019, protestors took to the streets of Iraq demonstrating against unemployment, government corruption and poor public services, such as electricity and clean water. As Iraqis ma...

Saudi Arabia at 90, an evolution from Bedouin culture to leading power from 2020-09-23T18:38

Nadia Abdulwahab, Lecturer in English Literature at Umm Al Qura University, and Marcel Kupershoek, author and senior humanities research fellow at NYU Abu Dhabi takes us through the evolution of Sa...

The Abraham Accord between Israel and the UAE from 2020-09-16T01:33

On the 15th of September, the UAE signed the historic Abraham Accord with Israel at a ceremony in Washington DC, in the first such agreement between an Arab country and Israel in over a quarter of ...

Social media and the freedom of speech from 2020-09-10T18:08

Free speech is part of the US bill of rights, which was ratified in 1791. It grants the freedom to express any opinion, without any restrictions or penalty from the government. However, there are r...

How gas exploration in the Mediterranean is pitting Turkey against Europe from 2020-09-03T17:57

News update. Since publishing this podcast Greece and Turkey have agreed to talks to avoid military escalation and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sa...

How do people become radicalised online and can we stop it? from 2020-08-26T20:26

This week on Beyond the Headlines, we ask Athina Tzemprin from Moonshot CVE, an organisation that works to prevent radicalisation of people online, and Jesse Morton a former recruiter for Al Qaeda,...

What is long-haul Covid and is it real? from 2020-08-20T13:02

‘Long haulers’ or ‘Long-termers’ are people who have recovered from the coronavirus but weeks or even months later, are still experiencing symptoms. Diana Berrent, founder of Survivor Corps - a F...

Lebanon explosion: What will Lebanon do now? from 2020-08-14T01:08

In this episode, we talk to Bassam ZaaZaa, a reporter with The National, and Zina Malas, a student at the American University of Beirut about their experience of the explosion. We also talk to Mari...

What happened when Beirut exploded? from 2020-08-06T22:29

James Haines Young pieces together the explosion and the immediate aftermath. He talks to The National’s Sunniva Rose and Lina Mokadden, a resident in Lebanon, who explain what the explosion fel...

How Hajj will be different during the coronavirus pandemic from 2020-07-29T23:05

In this episode, we talk to Mohammed Mushfiq Uddin, a lead guide and scholar for a UK Hajj and Umrah operator, and Balquees Basalom, a social media journalist at The National, who is in Makkah abou...

The global sand trade: Are we running out of sand? from 2020-07-23T21:45

This week, we talk to Vince Beiser, author of the book The World in a Grain of Sand and Arora Torres, fellow at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) & Michigan State University about the ...

The Hope Probe: UAE's mission to Mars from 2020-07-16T19:25

In July 2020, UAE’s Hope Probe will blast off from Japan to study Mars. This week, Mohsen Al Alwahdi, the Mission Systems Engineer at Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre tells host Suhail Ra...

USA: The world's epicentre of the coronavirus from 2020-07-09T22:47

The United States of America is setting grim records. The number of daily cases of the coronavirus in the US are ahead of every other country in the world. It took the US over 3 months to reach 1 m...

How do you solve the great Nile Dam dispute? from 2020-07-02T17:21

The Nile is Egypt and Egypt, for many, is the Nile. For over 8,000 years, this historic River has nurtured civilization. But now, Cairo says that’s under threat. Hundreds of kilometres upstream, Et...

Should internet access be declared a human right? from 2020-06-25T06:00

On the 1st of October 2019 mass protests spread through Iraq. People demanded an end to widespread corruption and access to basic services, like water and electricity and access to jobs. Within day...

Who will help the abandoned Ethiopian workers in Lebanon? from 2020-06-18T20:55

In Beirut, a white saloon car comes to a swift halt outside the Ethiopian Embassy in the south west of the city. A woman climbs out, and the car speeds off. The Ethiopian woman is one of many domes...

George Floyd and how social media is changing social justice from 2020-06-11T21:43

On the evening of May 25th, George Floyd Jr walked into a shop in Minneapolis and tried to use a $20 note. Within half an hour, his limp body was loaded into an ambulance. What happened in between ...

Will coronavirus wipe out refugee camps? from 2020-06-04T18:55

The Coronavirus has spread around the world … infecting millions of people in nearly every country. As doctors and scientists race to discover a vaccine, prevention measures are promoted. It’s agre...

Man vs Mosquito: The global battle against Malaria from 2020-05-28T06:00

There are 228 million cases worldwide every year. Many of them are fatal. It's for this reason, governments, international organisations and the UN spend billions trying to stop a disease that has ...

India: The biggest Covid-19 lockdown from 2020-05-21T20:38

 A group of Indian workers, walking back to their villages after losing their jobs, were so tired from walking all night, they lay down on an empty railway track and fell asleep. India was under lo...

The places with no coronovirus from 2020-05-14T21:16

From Island paradises to mountainous kingdoms… A few countries and territories sprinkled around the world have somehow remained COVID free. Or have they?  This week, we talk to Martin Mckee, a p...

Coronavirus: How close are we to a Covid-19 vaccine? from 2020-05-07T18:17

Top scientists across the world are putting their best foot forward to produce a vaccine for Covid-19 as soon as possible. There are more than 90 vaccines for the virus at different stages of devel...

Ramadan 2020: How muslims are coping during coronavirus from 2020-04-30T19:24

This year the holy month of Ramadan comes at an unprecedented time. Covid-19 has impacted just about everything and Ramadan is no different. The usual scenes of mosques buzzing with worshippers and...

What is cloud seeding and cloud brightening? from 2020-04-23T21:40

This week, host Willy Lowry looks at how the UAE harnesses the rain with cloud seeding and Australia's effort to save the Great Barrier Reef through cloud brightening. We hear from Dr Deon Terbla...

Births, marriages and death in the time of coronavirus from 2020-04-16T19:00

Everyone has been affected in some way by the coronavirus pandemic. But some have had the most significant moments of their lives dramatically altered by the times. In a special edition of Beyon...

Coronavirus: Lessons from Wuhan China from 2020-04-09T20:36

The unprecedented lockdown in Wuhan, China lifted at the stroke of midnight on April 8th. The city of Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic began, has re-opened to the world. In this is a hope, not ju...

Chris Hadfield: An astronaut's guide to self-isolation from 2020-04-01T12:30

In this week's Beyond the Headlines podcast host Willy Lowry speaks to fellow Canadian Chris Hadfield. The astronaut has been into space three times and worked as an astronaut, training in extreme ...

How Iran became the epicentre of coronavirus in the Middle East from 2020-03-26T18:42

This week James Haines-Young, foreign editor at The National, talks about how a slow response and official denials turned Iran’s Covid-19 outbreak into a national emergency. We also speak to Ali Al...

Coronavirus: What is it, how does it spread and how to stay safe? from 2020-03-19T20:24

It’s the word on everyone’s lips, and has been for months now -coronavirus. We haven’t seen an international response to a crisis on this scale before. One in which every single one of the world’s ...

Are we on the precipice of another refugee crisis in Europe? from 2020-03-12T18:08

The dull thud of bullets smacking into water, followed by the panicked cries of desperate people trying to get to Europe. That was the scene off the coast of Bodrum, Turkey when the Greek Coast Gua...

The new Taliban deal: Will it bring peace in Afghanistan? from 2020-03-02T21:43

The United States has just signed a deal with the Taliban that it hopes will end nearly two decades of fighting in Afghanistan. The US government has spent $2 trillion on the conflict. At least a h...

Coronavirus: The race for a vaccine from 2020-02-27T18:43

The new coronavirus has spread far and wide - shutting schools, businesses and impacting international travel. The new coronavirus, COVID-19, has already spread to nearly 40 countries after it was ...

A year of protests in Algeria from 2020-02-20T20:09

Every Friday, tens of thousands of Algerians pour on to the streets of their hometowns to protest. They protest against the government, which they see as corrupt. They protest for their future, whi...

Beyond the Headlines Trailer from 2020-02-20T17:48

Will Hassan Diab fix Lebanon? from 2020-02-12T20:31

Black range rovers and luxury vehicles slowly navigated through Beirut’s protest filled streets. Angry mobs hurled rocks and other debris at the occupants and Lebanon’s political leaders trying to ...

The coronavirus: Unnecessary panic or grave concern? from 2020-02-06T19:36

On December 31st, 2019 China reported 27 cases of pneumonia from an unknown cause in the city of Wuhan, in central China. The majority of people affected were workers from a local seafood and live ...

The Middle East peace plan. Explained from 2020-01-30T17:00

Two and a half years after US administration began drafting a plan for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians, it is finally here. Long delayed and often described as dead on arrival, th...

Tear gas, fireworks and a new government in Lebanon from 2020-01-23T20:18

After more than three months of protests, Lebanon's politicians agreed on a new government. But this has done little to ease anger on the streets after three months of mass uprisings. Hassan Diab a...

Sultan Qaboos: what comes next for Oman? from 2020-01-13T18:53

The first signs that something big was happening came a little after noon on Friday when the army and police deployed across Oman. The tensions between the United States and Iran lead many to assum...

Will Iran and America go to war? from 2020-01-09T18:59

The United States has killed Iran’s Qassim Suleimani sparking the most serious situation in the Middle East since ISIS took over huge areas of Iraq in 2014. The late head of Iran’s Revolutionary Gu...

A decade in the Middle East, stories that changed the region from 2019-12-26T17:56

The Arab uprisings, the brutal Syrian war, the rise of ISIS, the slide into chaos in Libya and Yemen, the counter revolutions, the crackdowns on protesters in Iraq and Iran, the displacement of mil...

Stranded seafarers to return home after years from 2019-12-19T16:55

In March 2017 the ship Tamim Aldar found itself, along with its crew, abandoned at sea 25 nautical miles off the coast of the UAE. It was one of seven ships owned by Elite Way Marine Services, a co...

Journey through the ISIS badlands from 2019-12-10T08:00

ISIS has dominated headlines for nearly a decade. Even as the groups power has waned the fear it instils has remained. In 2019 ISIS saw its last pocket of territory wiped from the map, ripped from ...

Is overpopulation our biggest climate challenge? from 2019-12-05T19:10

In the last century, the global population has exploded. Today, there are 7.7 billion people on the planet and that number is rising at the pace of another billion every 12 to 15 years. Scientists ...

A look at national service on National Day from 2019-11-28T14:36

Every year on December 2nd, millions across the seven emirates mark the day the UAE became a country. This week, we are doing something a bit different.  Regular listeners will know that on Beyo...

Who’s really running Iraq? from 2019-11-21T19:04

The true extent of Iranian infiltration of Iraq has been revealed. 700 pages from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security were released to western outlets, The New York Times and The Intercept...

India's fight against death by breath from 2019-11-14T20:06

For the past two weeks, air pollution in the Indian capital of Delhi has been off the scale. A toxic mix of dust, soot from farmers burning paddy field stubble, car fumes and construction all combi...

Is Iraq ready for the new Syrian refugees? from 2019-11-07T19:35

On October 9 after months of warning, Turkey launched an offensive across their southeast border into Syria. The move came after US President Donald Trump pulled his forces back from the border, ef...

Noura Al Kaabi on UAE's effort to re-build Al Nuri Mosque from 2019-10-31T12:12

The Iraqi city of Mosul lays in ruins. A three year campaign by the Iraqi army and international forces managed to push ISIS out of the country they tried to take over in 2014. But it came at a hug...

Songs of Revolution from 2019-10-25T06:00

A Beyond the Headlines extra. The Lebanese people have joined together with a single message, to stand against the government that they see as corrupt, inept and self serving. The clashes gave way ...

Politics, protests and partying in the streets of Lebanon from 2019-10-23T21:20

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Lebanon from the north to the south. The demonstrations have gone viral across social media platforms with videos of raves through the e...

Where are Iraq's protests going? from 2019-10-17T14:52

On October 1st, young Iraqis took to the streets in Iraq’s southern provinces to demand basic services like clean water and electricity, job creation and an end to widespread corruption. The govern...

Why Turkey is invading Northern Syria from 2019-10-09T21:35

On the afternoon of October 6, US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the more than 8 year Syrian civil war. That one phone call upended nearly five years ...

As Hazza Al Mansouri returns, the UAE looks to Mars, the Moon and beyond from 2019-10-03T16:48

At 2.59pm UAE time on Thursday the 3rd of October 2019 Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space touched down on Earth after spending 8 days at the international space station.   For the last e...

Hazza Al Mansouri and the UAE’s space ambitions from 2019-09-26T18:00

On the 27th of September 2019, Hazza Al Mansouri became the first Emirati to go to space. He did it from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, from the same spot that Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, started ...

UNGA special: Greta Thunberg and Donald Trump from 2019-09-25T15:36

The United Nations General Assembly is the pinnacle of global diplomacy. For one week every year more than 190 world leaders gather in New York City.   Some of the big news stories from the UN Gene...

Is the Israeli election Netanyahu’s final chapter? from 2019-09-19T18:12

What does Israel’s second election in 2019 mean for Netanyahu, the Jewish population and the Arabs and Palestinians? Deputy foreign editor, Jack Moore, takes a look at the results of the vote and s...

Bye bye, Bolton from 2019-09-12T18:53

US National Security Advisor John Bolton has been fired. Or perhaps he resigned. On Twitter Donald Trump says he fired him whilst Bolton claims he quit. The hawkish security advisor has been on...

The Amazon is still burning. Can we save it? from 2019-09-05T13:03

In the first 26 days of August alone, 1,114 square kilometres of Brazil's Amazon rainforest, an area equivalent to the size of Hong Kong was on fire.  Tens of thousands of fires, far more than la...

Drones above Beirut: Israel's battle against Hezbollah from 2019-08-30T06:00

This week, we ask if Israel is stepping up its campaign against Iran and will it spark a war with Hezbollah. We talk to Sunniva Rose, the National's Beirut correspondent and Joseph Haboush, the n...

Sudan: Can democracy work? from 2019-08-21T06:00

On this week's episode, we catch up with The National’s Hamza Hendawi to talk about the historic move to democracy in Sudan and what he sees as the challenges ahead. We also speak to Sara Abdulja...

What sparked the Hong Kong protests? from 2019-08-15T11:44

Hong Kong is facing one of the biggest crisis since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.  For 10 weeks, protesters have shut down the city, stormed the legislature, and even shut down t...

Hajj for my brother who was killed at Christchurch from 2019-08-08T14:16

On this week's episode we talk to Aya Al-Umari, the sister of Hussein Al-Umari, one of the victims who was gunned down in the Christchurch massacre earlier this year.  King Salman of Saudi Arabia...

Future-proofing our cities against record-breaking temperatures from 2019-08-01T14:08

This summer has beaten temperature records. Throughout July, Europe sweltered in baking heat. Paris hit 42 degrees centigrade, Berlin 40 and London 39. It is projected that at current rates of cl...

Can Oman's carbon capturing rocks help save the Earth? from 2019-07-25T06:00

Around the world, many governments are starting to take action about carbon emissions, looking at ways to cut greenhouse gases produced each year that are warming up our planet. But action is slow,...

Ghost ships: how Iran avoids US oil sanctions from 2019-07-17T18:25

At around 2 am on July 4, the Panamanian flagged Iranian tanker Grace 1 was boarded by British Royal Marines off the coast of Gibraltar at the mouth of the Mediterranean. The Marines from 42 Comm...

The Minnesota model for fighting ISIS in the US from 2019-07-11T18:01

In Northern Syria tens of thousands of women and children are now living in squalid, overcrowded camps. Thousands more military aged men have been corralled into Kurdish jails. Hundreds of them had...

Locusts: battling the great plague from 2019-07-04T15:00

The first written records of locust swarms are over 3 millennia old. Today, international organisations work to prevent the formation of these swarms that devour their own body weight in food every...

Iraq could face another summer of bloodshed from 2019-06-27T15:57

Hundreds of protesters converged on the streets of the southern Iraqi city of Basra last week. Demonstrators across the province are calling for structural change to fix rampant corruption, a sta...

Tanker attacks straight from Iran’s playbook from 2019-06-21T06:00

On June 13th, two more tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, just over a month after four vessels off the coast of the Emirate port at Fujairah. The USA blames Iran for the attacks and has sen...

Life in Afghanistan during America's longest war from 2019-06-13T10:46

On October 7, 2001 US forces invaded Afghanistan in response to the devastating 9/11 attacks by Al Qaeda from bases in the Afghan mountains. Although this drove the Taliban from power in a matter o...

Exporting ISIS justice from 2019-06-07T06:00

This week on Beyond the Headlines, we look into the growing number of European ISIS fighters captured in Syria and ask what should Europe do with them?  France has agreed to allow eleven ISIS fig...

A queue in Everest's death zone from 2019-05-31T09:39

After a photograph of a queue of climbers waiting to summit Mount Everest went viral, we explore what risks this poses for climbers and sherpas. Eleven deaths have been recorded on the mountain s...

What’s next for America and Iran? from 2019-05-23T15:32

The US has upped the pressure on Iran and since the start of May, tensions across the Middle East have risen. Officials on both sides are from 2019-05-17T06:00

Moored off Yemen’s Red Sea Coast is a rusting oil tanker, with a million barrels of crude aboard. 

The bombing of Syria's last rebel province from 2019-05-10T06:00

For months, the headlines have revolved around the winding down of the Syrian war and what the next phase looks like. 

In April, US backed and Kurdish led forces retook the once sprawli...

Sudan moves on from Omar Al Bashir from 2019-05-03T06:00

For three decades, Omar Al Bashir ruled over Sudan. But in April, in the face of growing protests, he was removed from office and the future of the country was suddenly up in the air. In this wee...

Sri Lanka reels after Easter Day massacre from 2019-04-26T06:00

Suicide bombs, 359 dead and an ISIS claim of responsibility. On Sunday, Sri Lanka was hit by the single largest terror attack in its history. Hundreds attending Easter Sunday mass or at high-end...

The many issues at play in India's election from 2019-04-19T06:00

The scale of India’s ongoing election is staggering – nearly 900 million people are registered to cast their ballots.

And there are many issues at stake, with India's economy on pace to...

Israel’s Arab population and the Palestinians fear for the future as Benjamin Netanyahu clinches victory in a general election. from 2019-04-11T20:49

Benjamin Netanyahu has won a fifth term in office and looks set to be Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister, after a campaign which saw him pledge to annex the occupied West Bank.

Beyond the Headlines podcast: Bouteflika bids goodbye to power in Algeria from 2019-04-04T19:12

After weeks of mounting protest, Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has stepped down, ending 20 years as the country’s ruler.  

While the moment is historic, protesters – many of...

Former UK PM Tony Blair says Brexit is a mess from 2019-03-25T12:32

The Untied Kingdom’s march towards Brexit has been postponed but questions about the fate of the country’s place in the world continue to swirl.

Prime Minister Theresa May has been give...

New Zealanders shaken but unbowed by terrorist attacks from 2019-03-22T04:00

It's been one week since the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand. The mass shooting was the worst peacetime attack in New Zealand’s history, and has shaken the country to...

The last stand of ISIS in Syria from 2019-03-13T06:00

Syrian Democratic Forces are slowly extinguishing what’s left of the Islamic State. The US-backed SDF has the grouped trapped in a tiny sliver of land along the Euphrates River.

Baghouz...

National Geographic's Enric Sala on saving the planet, one kilometre at a time from 2019-03-05T06:00

Enric Sala has a plan to save the planet. National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence is in Abu Dhabi for the World Ocean Summit. His one message — that we need to protect 30 per cent of our pla...

The curious case of the runaway ISIS bride from 2019-02-20T06:00

This week, The National spoke to Alistair Burt, the British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa. The chance to speak to the top British official was timely. 

Shemima ...

How digital transformation will change the jobs we have from 2019-02-12T13:40

The World Economic Forum says that the digital transformation of economies and businesses will displace 75 million jobs as the division of labour shifts between humans, machines and algorithms. ...

The Pope's visit to Abu Dhabi from 2019-02-06T06:00

Pope Francis's visit to the UAE was the first time a Catholic pontiff stepped foot in the Arabian Peninsula.

During his Mass, he prayed for his devotees at Sports Zayed City Stadium and...

A week after Davos, did the WEF solve anything? from 2019-01-30T06:00

The richest and most powerful people met at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. 

The range of topics was as wide spanning as the challenges the world faces today. 

Althou...

The UAE-Saudi Arabia co-operation plan, explained from 2019-01-23T06:00

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are entering a new phase of co-operation.

The two countries announced a seven-point co-operation plan this week on money management for children, natural...

The great Arab rivers are under threat from 2019-01-17T06:00

For thousands of years, the great Arab rivers sustained some of the world’s most important ancient civilizations.

The Nile River fuelled the development of 10 thousand years of Pharaoni...

Pompeo's timely tour of the Middle East from 2019-01-08T18:20

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on an expansive tour of the Gulf and wider Middle East this week. His task is to clarify President Donald Trump's often-confusing interests in the region. Listen

In Central African Republic, poaching thrives in the chaos from 2019-01-02T06:00

In the middle of Africa lies one of the world's most neglected crises. In the Central African Republic — an environmentally diverse but politically fraught state — the illegal hunting of endange...

Reasons for cheer from an often dour year from 2018-12-25T06:00

The Middle East is not known for its good news, and 2018 was no exception. But in between the usual stories of war and political turmoil, The National's journalists found reasons for hope. We sh...

What more can we do to curb global warming? from 2018-12-19T06:00

The GCC has welcomed the rule book laid out as part of a COP24 deal struck in Poland, but scientists say the world is running out of time to avoid the catastrophic events brought about by unmiti...

Yemenis continue to suffer as warring sides negotiate from 2018-12-12T06:00

Millions are on the brink of famine in Yemen. But for the first time in two years, the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels are negotiating a resolution.

Last week, the UN Envoy to Y...

How Kuwait and Iraq were shaped by George H.W. Bush from 2018-12-06T06:00

In August 1990 the Iraqi military invaded neighbouring Kuwait, bombing its capital city and sparking a war that would last six months and result in thousands of deaths. Not long after the invasi...

Land as a weapon against Palestinians from 2018-11-28T06:00

Palestinian Adeeb Joudeh is a member of one of two families safeguarding the keys to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is a respected figure among all factions of the city. But recen...

How UNICEF is helping children in the Middle East and North Africa from 2018-11-21T06:00

Children in the Middle East face more challenges than almost anywhere else in the world. One in four children in the region are affected by poverty, and in 2017, more than 1,823 children were ki...

What shape will US-Middle East affairs take post-midterm elections? from 2018-11-14T06:00

US President Donald Trump’s Republican party can no longer claim complete control of a two-branch Congress, after his rival Democratic party last week won control of the House of Representatives...

A tale of two prime ministers in Sri Lanka  from 2018-11-07T06:00

There's been political trouble in Sri Lanka over the past two weeks after President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Mahinda Raja...

Lack of governance for migrants to be ratified by UN in Morocco from 2018-10-31T06:00

More than 10 per cent of the world’s migrant population live in the GCC, making it the highest citizen-to-migrant region in the world. A look at the demographics of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and O...

Taliban bombings in Afghanistan's election from 2018-10-24T06:00

For the first time in ten years, Afghans took to the polling stations to elect candidates to National Assembly and take part in the future of their country. But a series of violent attacks have ...

Syria-Jordan border restoration opens up many opportunities from 2018-10-17T06:00

This week, Jordan and Syria opened their border for the first time in three years. The move promises to restore the possibility for movement of both goods and people between the two countries. Listen

Scientists warn: Act now on climate change or it will be too late from 2018-10-10T06:00

The world’s leading climate change scientists warned governments to act on climate change today or face a catastrophic future. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is seen as the...

Refugees trapped in Libya ask for mercy from 2018-10-03T06:00

Hundreds of men, women and children are being held in detention centres in Libya, just a stone’s throw away from clashes between rival militias,

It started off when he showed up late to his speech at the general debate, then 20 minu...

A summer of reform in the UAE from 2018-09-19T11:26

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, announced the Tomorrow 2021 plan this week. It includes 50 initiatives to spur growth in ar...

The cultural importance of rebuilding Mosul; Child mortality rates in Afghanistan on the rise from 2018-09-12T06:00

Iraq needs two billion dollars to revive its cultural heritage and renovate areas destroyed by ISIS. But the country says it does not have the capacity to rebuild without support from the intern...

Iraq's parliament starts off on wrong foot; the US-Palestine relationship from 2018-09-05T10:41

The first day of Iraq's new parliament was a chaotic one. Where does the new government go from here? Also, the US administration is proposing a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, but it...

How does Caspian Sea demarcation affect Iran? from 2018-08-29T06:00

The Caspian Sea is the biggest enclosed body of water on earth, but depending who you ask, it’s either the largest lake in the world or a small inland sea.

Either way, it has been a sou...

The view from Hajj; Rohingya refugee update from 2018-08-22T06:00

This week Beyond the Headlines hosts two interviews from two different corners of the Muslim world — celebration at Hajj, and an update on the ongoing Rohingya crisis. 

In Makkah, where...

Why the Strait of Hormuz is so important from 2018-08-15T06:00

Maritime oil trade from the Arabian Peninsula relies exclusively on two strategic chokepoints: The Strait of Hormuz, to the UAE’s north, and Bab Al Mandeb to the south.

Despite efforts ...

The importance of the Bab Al Mandeb strait from 2018-08-08T06:00

The Bab-el-Mandeb strait is just 18 miles wide, but a large slice of global trade passes through its vital waters every day. To its north is a war zone in Yemen, and to its south sits Djibouti, ...

Fake news in the Middle East with the BBC's Jamie Angus from 2018-08-02T14:04

Today we’re bringing you an interview with Jamie Angus, director of the BBC World Service Group. He spoke to The National’s Nick Webster in our Abu Dhabi studio about the BBC’s efforts to curb t...

Who is Imran Khan? from 2018-08-01T06:00

The newly elected prime minister in Pakistan is not a new name in the country. Imran Khan has led he country to cricket glory and been a longtime politician and philanthropist, and last week won...

Iraq protests threaten long-sought stability from 2018-07-25T11:22

It was looking like Iraq was turning the corner last year, after defeating ISIS and garnering more confidence from its Arab neighbors. But recent protests that have left more than 800 wounded an...

The China-UAE bond strengthens from 2018-07-18T06:00

In a week-long series of events, the UAE will host Chinese President Xi Jinping for his first trip to the country. The tour will look to further develop bilateral relations between the two count...

If ISIS returns, is Iraq ready? from 2018-07-11T06:00

In Fallujah, where four years ago ISIS first gained significant ground in Iraq, life tentatively goes on. But though the territorial rule of ISIS has for now been erased in Iraq, the group still...

UN envoy seeks peace talks in Yemen from 2018-07-03T06:00

The Arab Coalition has paused its offensive in Hodeidah, as announced on Sunday by UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash. This is in the hopes of giving UN special envoy Mar...

Turkey's future under an empowered Erdogan from 2018-06-27T06:00

With a decisive — however manufactured — election result, incumbent Turkish president Recep Tayipp Erdoğan now moves forward with a mandate to form a new government in Turkey.

Though th...

Is Afghanistan's fight against the Taliban almost over? from 2018-06-20T06:00

Afghanistan has become a byword for conflict. But the past weeks saw extraordinary scenes of Taliban fighters and their usual foe  —government security forces — embracing in the streets in a his...

Dr Anwar Gargash on Iran, Yemen, Trump and more from 2018-06-13T06:00

Last week, The National spoke to Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. We bring you the second part of that interview in this edition of Beyond the Headlines. Listen t...

The Qatar crisis from the perspective of Dr Anwar Gargash from 2018-06-07T06:00

This week, The National spoke to Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He talked about how the Arab world has changed significantly a year since the UAE, Saudi Arabia,...

Hodeidah's importance to victory in Yemen from 2018-05-30T06:00

Yemen's military is within striking distance of one of their biggest victories since civil war began in 2015. The forces, backed by the Arab coalition, was last reported to be within 10km of Yem...

Iraq's future following Moqtada Al Sadr's resounding victory from 2018-05-23T06:00

Shia cleric Moqtada Al Sadr wants a government that is inclusive of all Iraqis. His coalition won the largest number of seats in Iraq’s latest parliamentary elections. But Mr Al Sadr didn’t win ...

Massacre in Gaza from 2018-05-16T06:00

As Israeli and American officials celebrated the controversial move of the United States' embassy to Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers were murdering peaceful Palestinian protestors.

This wee...

Lebanon's first elections in nearly a decade will have regional ramifications from 2018-05-08T18:58

For the first time since 2009, Lebanon voted to elect 128 members to parliament. Saad Hariri, the current Prime Minister of Lebanon and his Sunni-dominated party fared better than expected. But ...

Israel puts Iran's nuclear ambitions into question ahead of Trump's decision from 2018-05-02T06:00

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday claimed Iran was developing a "secret" nuclear weapons programme in breach of the 2015 deal agreed with world powers. Iran responded by sayin...

Inside Syria's propaganda machine from 2018-04-25T06:00

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has always held a tight grip on media in his country. After seven years of a vicious war, the strongman maintains strict control over all news coming out of his ...

Assad crosses Washington's red line again from 2018-04-17T16:00

The US launched airstrikes on Syria this week, sparking a wide range of reactions from the international community. The US-led airstrikes targeted a factory believed to be the source of a Syrian...

In Syria, no civilian or child is safe from the trappings of war from 2018-04-11T06:00

Extremist groups in Syria are planting landmines and booby traps all over the country with the intention of killing civilians. Even children aren't safe from bombs that are often disguised as to...

Saddam Hussein's fall, 15 years on from 2018-04-04T06:00

In 2002, a 12-metre statue of Saddam Hussein was erected in Baghdad's Firdos Square, right in the middle of one of the Iraqi capital’s many roundabouts. It depicted the Iraqi dictator standing h...

Houthis strike Saudi Arabia while Yemen continues to suffer from 2018-03-28T05:52

This week, Saudi Arabia witnessed the most aggressive attack on its own soil since their intervention in the Yemen civil war three years ago.

The Houthis launched seven missiles at Riya...

The US welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from 2018-03-21T16:35

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in the United States on an official visit this week. The already strong relationship between the two countries is being reinforced during meetings ...

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's US visit; ISIL's resurgence from 2018-03-14T17:11

This week, we discuss Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's international outreach. The 32-year-old heir to the Kingdom made stops in Cairo and London and is next heading to Washington for a ...

Syria's humanitarian crisis and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the UK from 2018-03-08T13:37

The Syrian conflict is now entering its eighth year. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, clashes are fierce in rebel-held areas and the regime of President Bashar Al Assad has again been acc...

The Rohingya crisis, six months on; and saving animals caught up in the war against ISIL from 2018-03-01T06:00

It has been six months since Myanmar military operations sparked a mass exodus of the country's Rohingya Muslim minority to neighbouring Bangladesh.

But although the crisis has now fa...

A conversation with the UAE's ambassadors to Germany, India and China from 2018-02-22T06:00

On this special edition of Beyond the Headlines, host Naser Al Wasmi is joined by the Emirati Ambassadors to three very important countries in the UAE’s global diplomatic network: Ali Al Ahmed, ...

The war of words between Iran and Israel from 2018-02-21T11:05

Iran and Israel were on the brink of war. Tensions arose when Israel shot down an Iranian drone on February 10, after it entered the country from Syria. Then one of the Israel’s F-16 fighters wa...

Iraq's reconstruction and the challenges ahead from 2018-02-14T06:32

An international donor conference opened in Kuwait on Monday with hopes of rebuilding Iraq following its devastating war against ISIL. We discuss Iraq's reconstruction efforts in this week's edi...

Tackling food scarcity in the Middle East from 2018-02-07T06:00

All six Arabian Gulf countries import between 80 to 97 per cent of their food. Due to water scarcity and poor soil, it typically costs less to import food than to grow it here. According to the ...

In Yemen, a violent week complicates a nuanced war from 2018-01-31T06:57

Clashes broke out in Aden over the weekend when the Southern Transitional Council called to its constituents to demonstrate. The Yemen government banned protests on the streets and prompted the ...

Turkey's military offensive against Kurdish Syria, explained from 2018-01-24T06:00

Turkey launched this week a military offensive into Afrin, a heavily Kurdish enclave of Syria. Ankara is calling it an 'anti-terror campaign,' targeting the US-backed Kurdish group, the People’s...

World Future Energy Summit rewards world's most energy conscious from 2018-01-17T06:08

Reporting from The World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, taking place during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, host Naser Al Wasmi talks to two Paraguayan girls who have been honoured for their ...

Palestine-activist groups respond to being banned from Israel from 2018-01-10T06:00

This week, Israel banned twenty activist organisations over their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel or BDS for short.

The movement, whose co-foun...

Saudi Arabia and the Future of the Regional Order from emerge85 from 2018-01-05T07:00

From our friends on the 85% podcast, we consider the changes unfolding in Saudi Arabia from a regional perspective. In conversation with emerge85 Lab editor-in-chief Joseph Dana, emerge85 co-dir...

Iran has a long history of protest and civil unrest from 2018-01-03T06:00

In Iran, this week a small demonstration that started in Mashhad turned into nationwide protests, with some calling for regime change. Iran has a long history of coups, protests and demonstratio...

Saudi Arabia's greatest change, the GCC crisis in 2018 and Iraq finally changing for the better from 2017-12-28T06:00

The Middle East in 2017 could look like relatively tame year in a region that has become so characteristic of extreme often dramatic changes. 

The Arab world has become a stage for an e...

Donald Trump's Jerusalem move and what it means to the region from 2017-12-20T06:00

Jerusalem serves as one of the holiest sites in the world, and as the scene of some of the most dramatic political events. Donald Trump last week recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, w...

World Arabic Language Day: Is the language being lost? from 2017-12-18T13:23

As dozens of Arabic-speaking nations celebrate their language this week, The National's Mina Aldroubi, Naser Alwasmi and Saeed Saeed discuss whether the language is being lost, the importance of...

Anger in Jerusalem, Syria's future and the UAE's outer space ambitions from 2017-12-13T06:00

The United States is now the only country in the world that recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Since president Donald Trump announced the move in a speech last week, protests have co...

GCC leaders meet in Kuwait, plus Stephen Hadley talks Trump and Jerusalem from 2017-12-06T06:00

This week's GCC summit may have closed a day early but there were some signs that progress had been made on the row between members states the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Qatar. Though th...

Syrian peace talks, evacuation in Bali and life goes on in Manchester from 2017-11-28T16:09

Peace talks sometimes fail before they even begin. A complete political breakdown has been the case with Syria the last 7 times Bashar Al Assad's government and the opposition have gathered to t...

End to Syrian civil war could be in sight, while confusion circulates around Lebanon from 2017-11-22T06:00

Talks in Sochi, Riyadh and in Geneva could finally spell an end to the Syrian civil war, where millions have been displaced and hundreds of thousands killed. The country has been spinning out of...

In spite of Trump, the world rallies around Paris Agreement from 2017-11-15T06:00

Less than two years into the Paris Agreement, where 196 countries agreed to curb climate change to less than two degrees this century, the goal is beginning to slip out of reach. President Donal...

Saudi anti-corruption efforts gather pace from 2017-11-08T11:31

In this episode, we look back at a night that will have deep implications for the future of Saudi Arabia. The foreign press dubbed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's anti-corruption drive ...

Cholera on the decline in Yemen, the 100th anniversary of the Balfour declaration, and political drama in Kuwait. from 2017-10-31T21:35

Cholera, as it looked to threaten and plunge Yemen into the worst pandemic since Ebola, is on the decline. The drop coincides with the end of the rainy season but could be back for another bout ...

Rohingya refugees, the neglected humanitarian crisis from 2017-10-25T16:23

One of the most heinous humanitarian disasters is taking place today, and the world has never been so slow to react. The Rohingya refugee crisis has seen more than 600,000 members of the Muslim ...

Death and destruction in Somalia; conflict in Iraq; astronomical wonder in Abu Dhabi from 2017-10-18T06:00

The most deadly attack in Somalia’s war-torn history has rocked the country and claimed hundreds of lives. We look to find out why the two bombs have gone unclaimed by any terrorist organization...

A growing ISIL influence in the Philippines from 2017-10-11T06:00

The Philippines are experiencing an ISIL-influenced insurgency from 8,000 KM away. We analyse what might happen if hard-line President Rodrigo Duterte decides to crack down on the Islamist surge...

Separatists in Iraq and Spain vote for independence from 2017-10-04T06:00

The right to self-determination is not only the core upon which we gauge human rights but it’s considered one of the fundamental freedoms the United Nations outlines as necessary to all mankind....

Peace efforts, economic leverage and spoilers: prospects for UN solutions in Libya, Yemen and Syria from 2017-09-27T06:00

Another session of the United Nations General Assembly has come and gone. Fiery speeches, discussions of nuclear war and celebrity appearances made the headlines. But beyond the headlines, there...

President Trump's address to the world: The big three takeaways from his speech at the UN from 2017-09-20T09:19

President Trump has addressed world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York City for the first time since taking office, and he didn’t mince words. He took direct aim at the regim...

United Nations preview: How much does the General Assembly matter? from 2017-09-13T06:00

The United Nations general assembly kicks off in earnest next week. We analyse what might happen in some of the highlights expected from the meeting, including American President Donald Trump’s ...

"Begging for war": North Korea, Lebanon and Charlie Hebdo from 2017-09-06T06:00

Despite two potential wars on the horizon, people are still finding it in them to get angry at cartoons. This week, nuclear war might break out between the US and North Korea in an unpredictable...

Hajj: The spiritual side the media rarely shows from 2017-08-30T06:00

This week, more than 2 million people will go to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, Islam’s holiest event on the calendar. What draws so many to go through what is not an easy journey, one t...

Understanding the war in Yemen; ISIL's last stronghold; Pioneering pilot from 2017-08-23T06:01

This week, Yemen might be approaching the first step towards a peace agreement in the three-year war. We use poetry to understand what that means. Oxford University academic Elisabeth Kendall gi...

Why do white supremacists support Bashar al-Assad? Plus, An Emirati girl's space dream comes true, and Pakistan turns 70. from 2017-08-16T06:00

This week, half a million kilograms of rocket fuel launch an Emirati high school student’s experiment into space, as part of the Genes in Space competition. The show features a clip from Alia Al...

What does it mean to be young and Arab? from 2017-08-10T12:00

For International Youth Day, Editor in chief Mina Al Oraibi is joined by a few of The National's resident youngsters -- Mina Al Droubi, Juman Jarallah and Naser Alwasmi -- to discuss what it mea...

The Torch Part 2: How can the UAE avoid more tower fires? from 2017-08-09T06:00

Episode 6: The Torch tower in Dubai erupted in flames this week, the second time one of the world's tallest residential buildings has done so in little over a year. The National's Ramola Talwar ...

Mosul after liberation; Brexit; sand golf from 2017-08-02T06:00

Beyond the Headlines Episode 5: This week, Naser Al Wasmi, is joined by Florian Neuhof to discuss the other side of what life is like in Mosul since its liberation. London Bureau Chief Damien MC...

Turkey takes turn as Qatar-crisis mediator: Beyond the Headlines Ep 4 from 2017-07-26T06:05

The National's current affairs podcast, where this week host Naser Alwasmi is joined by experts on Turkey and Kuwait as the Middle East nations each had their share of headlines. In Abu Dhabi, E...

G20 body language, Qatar latest, hot fish: Episode 2 from 2017-07-12T07:24

Actions speak louder than words sometimes. So what can be gleaned from the actions at this week's G20 summit? In Qatar, the Riyadh leaks have enforced the GCC region's diplomatic boycott. And ho...

Beyond the Headlines, Episode 1 from 2017-07-10T13:30

Welcome to Beyond the Headlines, a new weekly podcast from The National. This week join Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi as she talks through some of the big stories of the week with Assistant Edi...