Beyond the Headlines

On June 14, Lebanon's parliament failed again to agree on a new president. The position has been vacant for eight months, since the end of Michel Aoun’s term. Neither of the two candidates made it through the voting process. Former finance minister Jihad Azour, who is backed by most of the country's Christian parties, received 59 votes. Suleiman Frangieh, supported by the Iran-backed Hezbollah party and its allies, got 51. Both fell below the required threshold. This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Nada Homsi in Beirut explores the reasons behind the country’s political impasse.

At least 288 people were killed and hundreds injured in the deadly crash that happened in Odisha. It jolted India. News crews rushed to the accident spot in Balasore to find mangled train coaches rammed on top of each other. So far, at least 80 bodies remain unclaimed. But this is not the first such tragedy. India has seen many deadly train accidents before. The country’s rail network is huge, spanning more than 100,000km, but it is also old and overburdened. It carries more than 25 million passengers every day, and there is even more demand it cannot meet. This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Suhail Akram considers what may have led to the Odisha train crash, why train derailments are such a huge problem in India, and asks what Indian railways could do to cater more safely for its millions of commuters each day.

Nato, Sweden, F16s, inflation and refugees. What do they all have in common? Erdogan and Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the run-off election on May 28, defeating Kemal Kilicdaroglu. On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher unpacks everything that happened over the past few weeks and asks: what comes next?

On May 14, Cyclone Mocha unleashed its fury upon the port town of Sittwe in the Rakhine state. The devastation was catastrophic, particularly for the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. Even a week after the disaster, the survivors are left with no shelter, food or clean water to drink. Human rights activists describe their suffering as an ongoing silent genocide by Myanmar’s military junta. This week on Beyond The Headlines, host Anjana Sankar looks at one of the most distressing stories of despair and survival coming out of Myanmar in the aftermath of the cyclone.

Hope, disappointment, joy and confusion are some of the emotions Turks felt after a rollercoaster election day.   In the vote on May 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan scored 49.51 per cent, just shy of the 50 per cent need for an outright victory, but 4.63 per cent ahead of his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.   Now they’re heading for a decisive run-off vote on May 28. This week on Beyond the Headlines, Nada AlTaher talks about what’s at stake.

Syria’s devastating civil war has raged for more than 12 years. In that time, Half a million people have been killed, by some estimates. Three million have been left with a disability. And half of the country have been forced from their homes, including many now living in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. The economy has collapsed and the infrastructure has been shattered - 70 per cent of the electricity system is damaged, one in three schools is in ruins and only half of hospitals are working fully. A decade of war has cost the country over a trillion dollars. Twelve years ago, the Arab League expelled Syria. President Bashar Al Assad was accused of starting the war with a bloody crackdown on opponents of his dynastic family rule. But now, the regional body has voted to allow Syria to return. This week on Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines Young hears from the head of the Arab League about the decision to allow Assad to return – and looks at what this means for the region and the conflict itself.

Millions of people in the UK and around the whole world are preparing for a rare weekend indeed, with a new king to be crowned. On May 6, the coronation of King Charles III will be held at Westminster Abbey, marking the high point of his accession to the throne. Huge crowds, parades and shows in the street are planned. From around the world, people are heading to London to get a live view of this historic moment.   The new King served the longest apprenticeship of anyone waiting in the wings to become British ruler.  At 74, King Charles III will embark on the new reign hoping to connect with people and provide a unifying force for the public after some bitter divisions that have rocked British politics.   In this week’s Beyond the Headlines, host Damien McElroy looks at the coronation of King Charles and what we should we expect from the event - and the king himself.

Life for many in Sudan has become intolerable. People have been trapped in their own homes by two weeks of fighting and failed ceasefires. Disruptions to power, the internet, water supplies and food have been widely reported.   Little wonder then that, since the violence broke out on April 15 between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group and the army, many have chosen to flee. Some have been part of the mass evacuations of diplomats and foreigners. But many Sudanese have also fled their homes and escaped to neighbouring Chad and Egypt. The UN Refugee Agency expects the outflow to continue.   On this week’s episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher explores the refugee crisis created by the violence that has erupted in Sudan.

Khartoum has been hit by days of fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force. As the death toll rises, people have been forced to shelter from the violence, and food, water and medicine supplies are running short. The US UK, EU, UAE and Saudi Arabia are among those who have called for calm.   This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher is joined by correspondent Hamza Hendawi to discuss what is happening in Sudan - and how the dire situation could resolve itself.

Can a handshake transform a region?   After long years of tension, Saudi Arabia and Iran decided in March to normalise diplomatic relations. Weeks later, the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers met face-to-face - and the handshake took place.   The landmark agreement entails patching up the rift by reviving a security cooperation pact, reopening embassies within two months and resuming trade, investment and cultural accords. The China-brokered deal could lead to a major realignment in the Middle East. And, while it is a coup for Beijing, it represents a geopolitical challenge for the United States.   This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Ismaeel Naar looks at how Saudi Arabia and Iran were able to finally reach the negotiating table - and asks what the thawing of ties means for the wider region.