Beyond the Headlines

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 Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

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 195 countries are at risk. Nations are closing their borders, halting flights, limiting social interaction and closing workplaces... except for the most essential. The world's stock market has tumbled and shows no signs of stability. These are unprecedented times, when fake news and panic travel faster than the virus. Host Suhail Akram talks to Dr Tarik Jasarevic of World Health Organisation and science historian Simon Ings about the Coronavirus. We also hear from Dr Thoraiya Kanafani, a clinical psychologist, and Ali Khawaja, a self-proclaimed prepper based in the UAE.

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 Guard confronted refugees and migrants. It’s an extreme example of scenes that have been playing out daily on land and sea. Host Willy Lowry looks at the latest wave of refugees and migrants trying to get into Europe and why Turkey is encouraging them. We talk to Fadi Hakura, an analyst at Chatham House, Kareem Shaheen, a journalist based in Canada, and Rami Jarrah, a Syrian-British journalist. We also hear from Tony Rigopoulos, who works for the Athens-based newspaper Documento, Andreas Mountzourlias and Pål Nesse from the Norwegian Council for Refugees.

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 hundred thousand Afghans have been killed or wounded in the last ten years of the war. At least 3,500 American and NATO coalition troops have lost their lives since the US invasion. To understand how long the United States has been in Afghanistan, consider this: the youngest American troops being sent to Afghanistan these days were born after the 9/11 attacks. Many of the Taliban fighters they’re battling don’t know a time before the US invasion. Will the new deal with the Taliban bring peace to the country? Host Suhail Akram speaks to Jasmine Bhatia, research fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies London, and Stefanie Glinksi, reporting for The National in Afghanistan. We also hear from Afghan-American Sulaiman Hakemy, the Deputy Comment Editor at The National.

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 first reported in Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019. Experts say the disease could be a potential pandemic if it’s not stopped. But there are many crucial pieces to this puzzle that need to be solved. This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Suhail Akram, video journalist at The National talks to Dr Angela Rasmussen, virologist at Columbia University and Dr Kamran Khan, founder of Bluedot, about how close we are to a vaccine for the new coronavirus.

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, which they see as in peril. They protest a political system they say doesn’t represent them. The scale and size of the protests vary from week to week, but without fail, they happen and they’ve been happening for exactly one year. On this edition of Beyond the Headlines, host Willy Lowry delves into Algeria’s year of change. One in which the country’s longtime president, Abdulaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign and a leaderless protest movement morphed into a serious player in Algeria’s politics.

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 block them from entering the now heavily fortified parliament. On February 11, twelve weeks after Hassan Diab was tasked with forming a new government, MPs gave his administration the vote of confidence. For nearly five months, mass protests have paralysed the country as people demand a new type of government that can work to fix the worst economic crisis in Lebanon’s history. Host Willy Lowry talks to The National’s Beirut correspondent Sunniva Rose and Ghassan Moukhaiber, a lawyer and former Member of Parliament about the protests and how the newly formed government can move forward. We also hear from Imad Salamey, a professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Lebanese American University and Sami Nadr, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs.

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 animal market. As the virus spread and more cases were announced, talk of a deadly pandemic began circulating.  This week's host Juman Jarallah, deputy national editor, talks to Dr. Amr Mahmoud El Naggar, Head of ER at Medcare Hospital Dubai and Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organisation about the Coronavirus and why we should we worried.

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, the proposal was roundly rejected by Palestinian officials even before it was released. The announcement on January 28 was met with anger on the streets of the West Bank. Countries around the world have reacted. While many have welcomed the effort to restart long dead talks the praise isn’t effusive. But what has Trump proposed, why has it been rejected and what happens now? On this week's Beyond the Headlines host James Haines Young, The National’s foreign editor, is taking a loo at what does the Trump plan mean for the Palestine and Israel?