Beyond the Headlines

How the Saudi-Iran reconciliation could transform the Middle East

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.

How rising living costs are affecting Arab households in Ramadan

Nothing says Ramadan more than joyous gatherings of family and friends, dining tables heaving with delicacies as the sun sets.
 
But this Ramadan, many people are struggling to make ends meet, with the cost of living having soared globally.
 
For months, The National has been tracking the prices of food staples in supermarkets across the Middle East and North Africa – and seen how shoppers have adopted new strategies, routinely searching for discounts and reining in other spending, as higher prices influence their purchasing patterns.
 
This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Enas Refaei takes us to Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan - where our correspondents explore the new strategies of shopping.

Why Netanyahu’s judicial reforms brought Israel to a halt

On March 27, Israel ground to a halt in protest at a set of judicial reforms put forward by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right wing coalition.
 
Demonstrations had been rumbling for weeks against the proposals, but then on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu fired defense minister Yoav Gallant for speaking out against the bill. It was like he had lit a match. Within hours, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history took place.
 
This week on Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines Young looks at Mr Netanyahu’s controversial reforms and asks why they have provoked such anger.

The plight of the black community in Tunisia

On February 21 Tunisia’s president Kais Saied declared that “a criminal plan has been set up since the beginning of this century to alter the demographic structure of Tunisia”.
 
Civil rights groups and activists considered the statement dangerous and warned that it could encourage hate crimes against the sub-Saharan minority, who already face tough conditions. 
 
The Tunisian president's comments coincided with an unprecedented crackdown targeting hundreds of sub-Saharan Africans. Lawyers Without Borders said they estimate around 300 people have been detained and placed in an irregular migrant detention facility in just one wave of arrests. Tunisia's ministry of interior said they were only applying the law and the migrants being detained were in the country illegally.
 
In this week’s Beyond the Headlines, host Ghaya Ben Mbarek looks at the plight of migrants and black people in an increasingly unwelcoming Tunisia.

How did children survive the Turkey-Syria earthquake?

Thousands died and millions were displaced in a matter of moments following the violent earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey. While survivors are now trying to rebuild their lives, there is one group for whom recovering from the earthquake is an even harder challenge: the children who lost their parents.
 
Some have lost their parents and even a month on at least 160 infants and children remain unidentified. Horror, devastation and heartbreak is what the majority of children in Syria and Turkey have endured as a result of the disaster that violently shook the region in the early hours of February 6.
 
This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Mina Aldroubi looks at the child survivors of the February 6 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, what happened to them after they were found under the rubble and how humanitarian agencies have protected them.

The new wave of misery crashing over the Rohingya

First they were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar after the military regime launched a campaign of ethnic cleansing against them. Then they faced more horrors in the Bangladeshi refugee camps where they had sought sanctuary.

Now, Anjana Sankar reports on the perilous sea crossings many Rohingya are embarking on – in another desperate attempt finally to find a safe home.

Ukraine War anniversary: Uncertainty, coping and bedtime stories

Since the start of the Russia- Ukraine war, more than 12 million people have fled their homes. Military casualties on both sides are believed to have topped 200,000 while civilian casualties in Ukraine are at nearly 7000, according to the latest UN figures.
 
A year on, and there are still no signs of returning to a normal way of life.
 
This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Enas Refaei looks at the human toll of the war and the lives that were changed in the blink of an eye. She also talks to people caught in the crossfire who tell us how they find small ways to cope with the suffering.

Are we heading for another Intifada?

The UN says that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians since systematic records began in 2005. Israeli security forces killed 151 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank territories and east Jerusalem last year, while 24 Israelis were killed by Palestinians.
 
This year there is no sign of a decline in the volume of violence. Tensions are high in Israel and the occupied territories after a spate of attacks against Israeli citizens, raids on Palestinian communities by the Israeli military and a return to power of longtime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this time leading the most right-wing government in the country’s history. The situation looks dire, UN and international officials are calling for urgent action to ease anger, calm tensions and stop the rumbling violence.
 
This week on Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-Young focuses on Israel and Palestine to understand what’s driving the latest rounds of violence and ask if we’re heading towards a new intifada.

Why did so many buildings collapse in Turkey’s earthquake?

Most people were tucked up in bed when the first quake hit. The ground shook violently as a fault roughly 200 km long and 25km wide slipped, causing a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

The force of the quake in the early hours of February 6 caused death and destruction across hundreds of kilometres of eastern Turkey and northern Syria.

The UN estimated that 23 million people were affected; the death toll jumped by hundreds, hour after hour.  

But as a number of experts told us in the wake of the tragedy, it’s not earthquakes that kill – it’s collapsing buildings.

This week on Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-Young takes a closer look at the catastrophe and asks: could more have been done to make the buildings quake-proof?

Are we prepared for another pandemic?

We all know exactly what happened three years ago. The winter we didn’t expect was coming, and it stayed with us for years.

This time of the year now comes with memories of the world’s first Covid lockdown in China, and later when almost 3.9 billion people around the world followed suit. But still, more than 6 million people lost their lives due to coronavirus.

So what have we learnt from the pandemic?

On this week’s episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Enas Refaei takes a look at the legacy of Covid-19 and our preparedness for another pandemic.