Beyond the Headlines

In September, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood in front of world leaders at the UN General Assembly and displayed two maps: one showing Israel’s isolation at the time of its creation in 1948, and another showing the Arab countries that have normalised relations with it. He referred to a “new Middle East”.
 
That came amid US-led talks aimed at Israel and Saudi Arabia establishing formal ties.
 
But today, as we record on October 18, we’re in a different reality. The Israel-Gaza war has created a dangerous potential turning point for the region - and the world - putting peace on the back burner.
 
On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Sulaiman Hakemy asks whether the Israel-Gaza war is the start of something much bigger – and even worse.

The world is now witnessing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Thousands of residents have been killed or injured by 10 days of airstrikes. Hospitals and medical facilities are struggling to operate, and the enclave has no access to food, fuel, electricity or a clean water supply.

Ambulances and lorries full of humanitarian supplies are currently queuing on the Egyptian border with Gaza, waiting for a ceasefire to allow them in.

This is happening while hundreds of thousands of families have been internally displaced from northern Gaza to the south of the strip after an Israeli evacuation order. They are still struggling with the continued bombardment of airstrikes and often have nowhere to stay.

In this episode of Beyond The Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza. 

Israel was taken by surprise a week ago when Hamas stormed across its border. The surprise attack has had huge ramifications in the Middle East and for the world.

Leaders in western countries have backed Israel and said that the country has ‘’the right to defend itself’’ as it goes after Hamas with a bombing campaign in densely populated Gaza.

This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Ismaeel Naar speaks to officials and analysts about the Israeli response and what have been described as “failures” of the government ahead of the Hamas attack. They also discuss the subsequent diplomatic efforts since the attack on the morning of October 7 – and what could come next.

At 6.30am on Saturday, October 7, Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel as more than 5,000 rockets were fired by the militants from the enclave into towns and cities. The group called the attack Operation Al Aqsa Flood.

In the hours and days that followed, more than 1,000 people have been killed on both sides as fighters opened fire at a music festival and then staged running battles with residents and armed forces. In response to the unprecedented breach in its security, Israel fired a barrage of rockets into Gaza and has threatened to destroy Hamas.

Israeli officials are calling the attacks "their 9/11" and have declared a total blockade of Gaza.

In this episode of Beyond The Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at what is happening in Israel and Gaza, how the people of both sides are dealing with the escalation of violence and what’s next, as the fighting, at the time of recording, shows no immediate signs of ending.

The next UK election may be more than a year away but the race for No 10 Downing Street has already begun.

Take this week Conservative conference in Manchester, with the governing party presenting themselves as agents of change – despite having been in power for 13 years and counting. Expect more salesmanship next week when pretenders Labour, who are well ahead in the polls, gather in Liverpool.  

 

In this week’s episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Damien McElroy explores whether Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can turn his party’s fortunes around, examines how the Conservatives are facing the issues of the world - and discusses the policies anticipated towards the Middle East.

A landmark agreement to open diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel seems to be approaching. In a recent interview with Fox News, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country is moving closer to establishing relations with Israel.

 

Such a deal would mean the expansion of the Abraham Accords, which were signed three years ago with the US as a broker, and normalised relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain. Morocco and Sudan have since joined.

 

The past few weeks have witnessed high-level visits to Riyadh by members of the Biden administration to discuss the matter; Saudi Arabia’sappointment of its first envoy to Palestine; and Israel's tourism minister landing in Saudi Arabia for a UN event, becoming the first Israeli minister to lead an official delegation there.

 

In this week’s Beyond The Headlines, host Ismaeel Naar looks at the recent moves towards the normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and asks what could this mean for the region and the Palestinians?

 

From the flash floods in Libya and the earthquakes in Morocco, Turkey and Syria, to the raging wildfires that scorched Maui and the hurricanes and typhoons that left devastation in their wake in the US: it's impossible to ignore the growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

2023 has been marked by a series of apparently natural disasters. But just how natural were they? And how much did humanity contribute to them – via climate change?

On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Phil Green explores the influence of climate change on a year of catastrophes, how the Middle East is directly affected - and what can be done?

You can’t control a storm. Especially one as bad as Storm Daniel. 

But when two dams which hadn’t been maintained since 2002 break; when authorities tell thousands of people to stay at home instead of evacuating them the night that Derna was swept into the sea; then you start to wonder, how much more could have been done to prevent the deaths of 11,000 people?

Entire neighbourhoods gone. Families killed in their own homes. Bodies turning up after the waves had brought them back to land. Search and rescue teams telling whomever has remained alive to quiet down so they can try and listen for a faint sound coming from under the rubble.

The scene was apocalyptic.

On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher talks about Storm Daniel, its impacts on the city of Derna and the gigantic task ahead for authorities and rescue workers to sort through the rubble and identify the dead.

Thousands have died, families have been separated and homes reduced to rubble by the sudden devastation that struck Morocco on the night of September 8.

 

As rescue crews search for the missing, the nation is grappling with the aftermath of the biggest natural disaster to hit the country in 120 years.

 

This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Phil Green looks at what happened when the earthquake struck Morocco and the longer-term impact it will have on the North African country.

Sultan Al Neyadi is the first Arab to serve on the International Space Station for a six-month mission, the first Arab to perform a spacewalk and one of the first two astronauts from the UAE, along with Hazza Al Mansouri.

Dr Al Neyadi has joined a very select group of people, becoming one of only 270 people from 21 different countries to have visited the International Space Station.

His stint in orbit was a milestone for the UAE and a symbol of the country’s ambitions in the realm of science and exploration. So what does this mission mean for the UAE’s future astronauts? And what’s next for Arab space exploration?

On this episode, host Sarwat Nasir dissects just what such missions mean for the UAE and what kind of legacy Dr Al-Neyadi will have.