Beyond the Headlines

Ballots and bullets - How elections and war will shape the West in 2024

2024 will be a big year in global politics. A slew of important general elections will be held across the developing world – in India, Pakistan and Indonesia, to name but three.

Wars may continue to rage in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere, driving millions of people deeper into poverty and displacement. Though there is some hope that in at least some of these conflicts, there remains space in which to find political solutions.

But 2024 is set to be a year of high stakes in the West, too. Next summer will see parliamentary elections in the EU, and by the year’s end the US presidential election and a British general election. In fact, it could be the first time in more than 30 years that citizens of the English-speaking world’s two nuclear powers – Britain and America – pick their leaders in the same calendar year.

On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Sulaiman Hakemy discusses what elections and war will mean for the western world’s political outlook in 2024.

Why is it so difficult to get aid into Gaza?

For the past 11 weeks, life has been brutally disrupted in Gaza. 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority women and children, and over 50,000 wounded.

 

The ongoing humanitarian crisis has left more than a quarter of the population starving, according to the UN. The flow of aid into Gaza is far from sufficient, and the distribution process poses its own set of challenges, leaving those in need struggling for survival.

 

In this week’s episode of Beyond The Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks into the complexities of aid delivery in Gaza, and the obstacles faced in getting essential aid from trucks into the hands of those who need it the most, speaking to representatives of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and the Norwegian Refugee Council, whose teams are on the ground in the strip.

How will the historic Cop28 climate deal affect our future?

The global stocktake, or what is now known as the UAE Consensus, is the first-ever climate deal to transition away from fossil fuel - and it has been unanimously approved by almost 200 nations in Dubai. This is significant, as no previous Cop text has mentioned moving away from oil and gas.
 
It took over two weeks of negotiations that intensified in the last days of the summit as several key players and countries were pushing for tougher language in the Cop28 agreement, to “phase-out” fossil fuels, not just transition away or phase down, as a choice of words.
 
Countries were locked in a series of meetings to break the deadlock on the issue of fossil fuels, and the heated negotiations pushed the summit to extend for one more day until all countries could agree on the language used in the agreement.
 
In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Sarah Forster unpacks the key outcomes of the conference and examines the areas where the international community agreed or disagreed.

What are the main climate action and pledges announced so far at Cop28?

It has been a week of big announcements at the Cop28 in Dubai – from action on the loss and damage fund to pledges to reduce methane gas emissions.

But as the UN climate summit in Dubai enters in final days, much work is still to be done to help keep global temperature rises to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Heads of state and government, ministers, captains of industry, decision makers, experts, and advocates from more than 190 countries make up some of the 90,000 participants at Expo City Dubai.

Every corner of the site is full of energy, discussions and panels on diverse topics, from policy commitments and climate finance to innovations and global. 

On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Sarah Forster delves into the latest developments in climate action and global initiatives at Cop28.

Cop28, Union Day, and the future of sustainability in the UAE

The UAE’s 52nd Union Day, which falls on the 2nd of December, is special this year. It coincides with Cop28, the international climate summit taking place at Expo City in Dubai.
 
2023 is also the UAE’s Year of Sustainability – demonstrating the country’s commitment to support action and innovation in the field. This year has witnessed many initiatives, activities, collective action and events that drew upon the UAE's deep-rooted values of sustainability.
 
On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Suhail Akram reflects on a special Union Day, the Cop28 conference – and the future of sustainability in the UAE.

The Israel-Gaza conflict and the US’s position in the Middle East

For decades, the relationship between the United States and Arab countries has been complex and multifaceted, and defined by a combination of geopolitical interests, economic ties and regional conflicts.

This often-fraught relationship has been affected by many factors, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, regional power dynamics and US military interventions.

With the current war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, US President Joe Biden faces domestic and global calls to pressure one of its most important allies to agree to a ceasefire with the militant group.  Mr Biden's administration has not been open to the option - despite the growing civilian death toll - something governments in the Middle East have repeatedly called for.

This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Ismaeel Naar is joined by Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute, to explain how Israel’s war on Gaza affected the US’s position in the region.

Hamas, Israel, and where the war goes from here

We’re almost six weeks into the Israel-Gaza war and few believe it will end any time soon. Calls for ceasefires from the international community have fallen on deaf ears and hostage release negotiations are proving fruitless. But end at some point, it must.
 
And when it does, what will peace look like – for Gaza, for Hamas, for Israel?
 
This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher is joined by Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute and a US affairs columnist for The National, to talk about the current conflict - and what lies ahead.

How is the Israel-Gaza war seen from a US viewpoint?

The US is feeling the pressure of the war in Gaza because of the way President Joe Biden is deemed to be handling the conflict.

In the days after the October 7 Hamas attacks, Mr Biden visited Israel and expressed his staunch support for the country.

But as civilian casualties rise in Gaza, the Biden administration has begun to call for temporary pauses in hostilities and for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into the enclave, although it has, so far, rejected calls for a ceasefire.

Thousands of protesters held a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza earlier this week amid a background of rising public anger towards policymakers.

In this episode of Beyond The Headlines, host Thomas Watkins, The National’s Washington bureau chief, examines the Gaza conflict from the US perspective.

A month into the Israel-Gaza war, what happened so far?

A month ago, the military wing of Hamas attacked the Israeli border on October 7th, killing more than 1,400 Israelis and igniting a brutal war.

Israel retaliated through a relentless bombing of Gaza and its people, saying Hamas militants were its only targets. However, the civilian death toll has passed 10,000.

A mass attack by Israeli armoured divisions was predicted as a response. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government appears to be preparing for a long war. Officials say it could last from four to six months, but analysts say it could stretch for a year.

On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Thomas Harding looks at how effective the Israeli offensive has been against Hamas so far.

Gaza’s human battle and what is expected from Hamas

Life in Gaza has been nothing but harrowing for a month now.
Fighting between Hamas and the Israeli military has intensified, with Israel saying the war has now entered its second phase, as its army surrounds Gaza.

But civilians are still paying the highest cost of this war. More than 9,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including more than 3,600 children, since October 7, which has seen an attack from Hamas that killed more than 1,400 in Israel.

People in Gaza are facing non-stop bombardment. Those who have lived through war after war are saying this is the worst they’ve ever seen.

This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher takes a closer look at the condition of hospitals in Gaza by speaking to one of the doctors on the front line. We also explore how Gaza reached this point and what is expected of Hamas with the war entering its second phase.