Beyond the Headlines

The National News•thenationalnewsbeyondtheheadlines.podbean.com

Dive deeper into the week’s biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National’s foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Headlines by bringing together the voices of experts and those living the news to provide a clearer picture of the region’s shifting political and social landscape.

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Episodes

Peace efforts, economic leverage and spoilers: prospects for UN solutions in Libya, Yemen and Syria

Another session of the United Nations General Assembly has come and gone. Fiery speeches, discussions of nuclear war and celebrity appearances made the headlines. But beyond the headlines, there were developments that are poised to impact lives all over the world, including millions in the Middle East. In this podcast, Editor in Chief Mina Al-Oraibi, London Bureau Chief Damien McElroy and Washington DC correspondent Joyce Karam take an in-depth look at Libya, Syria and Yemen -- three countries t...

Sep 27, 2017•31 min

President Trump's address to the world: The big three takeaways from his speech at the UN

President Trump has addressed world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York City for the first time since taking office, and he didn’t mince words. He took direct aim at the regimes in Pyongyang and Tehran, while highlighting key policy approaches including military engagements 'without arbitrary timetables' and promoting the 'sovereignty' of nations. In this podcast, Editor in Chief Mina Al-Oraibi is joined by London Bureau Chief Damien McElroy and correspondent Joyce Karam to di...

Sep 20, 2017•28 min

United Nations preview: How much does the General Assembly matter?

The United Nations general assembly kicks off in earnest next week. We analyse what might happen in some of the highlights expected from the meeting, including American President Donald Trump’s first real address to the international community and UN Secretary General António Guterres presiding over his first General Assembly debate since assuming his new role. Mina Al Oraibi, Editor in Chief of The National and a journalist with more than 10 years experience covering the event in New York, give...

Sep 13, 2017•34 min

"Begging for war": North Korea, Lebanon and Charlie Hebdo

Despite two potential wars on the horizon, people are still finding it in them to get angry at cartoons. This week, nuclear war might break out between the US and North Korea in an unpredictable game of attrition and reporter Rob Crilly explains to us how tensions are rising between the two. With nuclear weapons involved a war between the two would involve the entire region, if not the entire world. How likely is that to happen? In the Middle East, Israel and Lebanon might be going at it again. ...

Sep 06, 2017•32 min

Hajj: The spiritual side the media rarely shows

This week, more than 2 million people will go to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, Islam’s holiest event on the calendar. What draws so many to go through what is not an easy journey, one that is often marred in media coverage that seldom highlights the significance the pilgrimage has with every practicing Muslim. We speak to Islamic scholar who works for Awqaf in the UAE, Yusuf Jha, who explains the spirituality of Hajj, often overlooked in Western media. Our reporter Haneen Al Dajani, who...

Aug 30, 2017•26 min

Understanding the war in Yemen; ISIL's last stronghold; Pioneering pilot

This week, Yemen might be approaching the first step towards a peace agreement in the three-year war. We use poetry to understand what that means. Oxford University academic Elisabeth Kendall gives us an idea of how Yemen could be understood through tribal lines. Host Naser Alwasmi speaks to Mina Al Droubi to get an understanding of how ISIL exists in Iraq and how the battle against the caliphate is being used as a political tool for Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi to guarantee success in the upc...

Aug 23, 2017•29 min

Why do white supremacists support Bashar al-Assad? Plus, An Emirati girl's space dream comes true, and Pakistan turns 70.

This week, half a million kilograms of rocket fuel launch an Emirati high school student’s experiment into space, as part of the Genes in Space competition. The show features a clip from Alia Al Mansoori during the launch of the shuttle from the Kennedy Space Centre. Also, Joyce Karam tells host, Naser Al Wasmi, how the alt-right and neo-nazis in the United States have found a champion in Syrian dictator Bashaar Al Assad. Finally, Taimur Khan, our Gulf Correspondent, draws from both history and ...

Aug 16, 2017•28 min

What does it mean to be young and Arab?

For International Youth Day, Editor in chief Mina Al Oraibi is joined by a few of The National's resident youngsters -- Mina Al Droubi, Juman Jarallah and Naser Alwasmi -- to discuss what it means to be young and Arab in the UAE. What are the unique challenges? How can the region do more to create opportunity and harnessing potential. They also discuss their hopes for the future and what International Youth Day means to them. A special edition of Beyond the Headlines.

Aug 10, 2017•25 min

The Torch Part 2: How can the UAE avoid more tower fires?

Episode 6: The Torch tower in Dubai erupted in flames this week, the second time one of the world's tallest residential buildings has done so in little over a year. The National's Ramola Talwar tells Naser Al Wasmi how new UAE building standards might help avoid fires like the one that happened in one of the world’s largest residential buildings last week. On Qatar, Mishaal Al Gergawi, the founder of Delma Institute, talks about the irreparable damage the crisis might be causing to the idea and ...

Aug 09, 2017•26 min

Mosul after liberation; Brexit; sand golf

Beyond the Headlines Episode 5: This week, Naser Al Wasmi, is joined by Florian Neuhof to discuss the other side of what life is like in Mosul since its liberation. London Bureau Chief Damien MCelroy visits the Abu Dhabi newsroom and talks about where he thinks the UK is going. And John Dennehy joins the show to shed light on one of the last places to play the rare sport, Sand Golf.

Aug 02, 2017•27 min

Turkey takes turn as Qatar-crisis mediator: Beyond the Headlines Ep 4

The National's current affairs podcast, where this week host Naser Alwasmi is joined by experts on Turkey and Kuwait as the Middle East nations each had their share of headlines. In Abu Dhabi, Eman Abd el Aty - once known as the world's heaviest woman - is on the road to recovery. Nick Webster has the story.

Jul 26, 2017•27 min

G20 body language, Qatar latest, hot fish: Episode 2

Actions speak louder than words sometimes. So what can be gleaned from the actions at this week's G20 summit? In Qatar, the Riyadh leaks have enforced the GCC region's diplomatic boycott. And how does the hot weather affect local fishermen in the UAE? Naser Alwasmi, Anna Pukas, Joyca Karam and Anna Zacharias discuss. #g20 #news #politics #germany #trump #putin #merkel #environment #qatar #uae

Jul 12, 2017•25 min

Beyond the Headlines, Episode 1

Welcome to Beyond the Headlines, a new weekly podcast from The National. This week join Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi as she talks through some of the big stories of the week with Assistant Editor-in-Chief Mustafa Alrawi and Naser Al Wasmi from our Foreign Desk.

Jul 10, 2017•35 min

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