Beyond the Headlines

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-director Mishaal Al Gergawi (@algergawi) and Mina Al-Oraibi (@AlOraibi), editor of the UAE's leading English-language newspaper The National, discuss the challenges facing Saudi Arabia, what western media are missing, and the future of the regional order.

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 demonstrations. Of all the countries in the Middle East, historically, none other than Iran has been more defined by the spark within a person or group that drives them to take to the streets and fight for change. Host Naser Al Wasmi is joined by Golnaz Esfandiari, political analyst for Freedom House and a journalist, to shed light into why the demonstrations are happening in the first place across the country. Later in the show, Nazenin Ansari, a journalist and managing editor of Kayhan London draws comparisons from this protest to demonstrations past. The Green Revolution, or the Persian Awakening as it was being called during its height in 2009, was calling for the removal of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The grievances were clear then and the Iranian government’s reaction was equally clear: widespread arrests and a clampdown on the protests. This time, however, the main takeaway of the protests is not clear, and neither is the outcome.

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 ever shifting political reality, with coups, civil wars and millions of people displaced from conflict in the last ten years. Despite all of this, the Arabian Gulf typically remains quite peaceful as the leaders have a policy of prioritizing stability.  However, this year was different. The three of the biggest stories of 2017 came out of the Arabian Peninsula with the reform policies of Saudi Arabia, the GCC crisis and the change within Iraq.  Naser Al Wasmi is joined by his colleagues on The National's foreign desk, Dana Moukhallati and Mina Al Droubi, to look into what might be in stock for the region in 2018.

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, which sent waves of protest around the world. We spoke to Joseph Dana, a writer for the National, to explain what it means on the ground. The move is likely to create unrest, but we look to understand how it will change regional dynamics. Also, as part of World Arabic Language Day, assistant foreign editor Laura Mackenzie interviews an Arabic language teacher in the UAE on the importance of learning the language, and how Arabic serves as an identity, religious signifier and a cultural unifier for the more than 420 million people that speak it.

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 preservation and education among Arab youths, and more on this special edition of Beyond the Headlines.

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 continued to rumble across the West Bank and Gaza and Washington has been condemned by both regional leaders and politicians across the world. But although demonstrations by Palestinians against the decision have been relatively muted so far, the ramifications of the US announcement are sure to be felt for years to come. Ben Lynfield, who has been covering the Palestinian and Israeli response from Jerusalem for The National, talks to us about what the atmosphere has been like on the ground and where this leaves the two sides. In the Swiss city of Geneva, meanwhile, UN-brokered peace talks on Syria are ongoing. But so far no progress has been made and there is little hope that any agreements between the opposition and regime delegations will be reached before discussions wrap up on December 15. The National's Mina Al Droubi, who was in Geneva for the start of the talks, updates us on where the two sides currently stand and where things are likely to go from here. Lastly, we hear from Salem Al Marri, assistant director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai. Mr Al Marri, who is managing the UAE’s astronaut programme, speaks to our reporter James Langton about the recruitment process for the country’s first ever astronauts and what the Emirates’ space ambitions look like.

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 there was by no means a real resolution to the six-month-long dispute reached, the fact that the annual gathering took place at all was seen as a positive step. And, as our reporter Naser Al Wasmi explains from Kuwait City, body language between the officials gathered suggested that tensions may be easing. Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti emir's call for a committee to be formed to look at changing the GCC's statute was a sign that officials are keen to ensure the body's continuing relevance. Elsewhere in the Middle East, leaders are concerned about Washington's expected recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. James Langton talks to Stephen Hadley, who served as national security adviser to former US president George W Bush, about this, as well as other major issues currently affecting the United States and the Middle East.

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 talk. However, with Russia, regional powerhouses and others getting involved, the peace talks in Geneva taking place this week might have a chance of ending this brutal war. Mina Al Droubi comes to us with the story as she reports from the UN headquarters in the Swiss city. Mount Agung in Bali is threatening the lives of tens of thousands as it could be on the brink of eruption. Theodora Sutcliffe, a reporter based in Bali explains the likelihood of a natural disaster and what it means for the tens of thousands stranded on the Indonesian Island. Paul Peachey, a reporter from the National's London bureau, produced and reported on how the Muslim community in Manchester, UK is dealing with the 500 per cent increase in hate crime six months after the suicide attacks at the Ariana Grande concert.

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 control Syrians demanded the resignation of their heavy-handed ruler, Bashar Al Assad, during the Arab Spring in 2011. Mina Al Droubi, a reporter on the foreign desk, tells us how the meetings could be another chance at a peace. In Lebanon, the resignation of Saad Al Hariri has sparked rumours to run rampant in the media, but Dana Moukhlallati, an editor on the foreign desk, explains the regional implications of the move that shocked Beirut last week. Finally, after 47 years in operation, the iconic El Dorado Cinema shuttered its doors in downtown Abu Dhabi. We have the origin story of the theatre told by one of the people who helped build the cinema older than the country itself.

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 Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the accord has been a shock to the rest of the world as it comes to grips with how to fill the gap. We record live from COP 23 in Bonn, Germany where the other 195 countries have gathered to figure out how to save the world. Lou Leonard from the World Wildlife Fund explains that not all hope is lost. A campaign launched by over 2,500 American entities, ranging from state governments to individual universities, have signed the “We are still in” declaration to make sure that their organizations still represent US commitments to the Paris Agreement independently from the federal government’s decision. Niranjali Amerasinghe from the World Resources Institute tells us how the burden-sharing and finance, a hotly debated and intricate aspect of the Paris Agreement, will be influenced by Washington's decision to pull out.