The United States of America is setting grim records. The number of daily cases of the coronavirus in the US are ahead of every other country in the world. It took the US over 3 months to reach 1 million Covid-19 cases on April 28, another 44 days until June 11 to reach to 2 million. Just 26 days after that, to pass 3 million on July 8. We talk to Amish Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center, and Ethan Fosse, an assistant professor in Sociology at The University of Toronto about why the ...
Jul 09, 2020•22 min
The Nile is Egypt and Egypt, for many, is the Nile. For over 8,000 years, this historic River has nurtured civilization. But now, Cairo says that’s under threat. Hundreds of kilometres upstream, Ethiopia has built a mega dam. It stands over 155 metres tall and nearly 1800 meters long. Host James Haines-Young talks to Hamza Hendawi, The National’s Cairo correspondent, and William Davison, a senior analyst based in Ethiopia for Crisis Group. We also speak to Hafsa Halawa, a non resident scholar at...
Jul 02, 2020•24 min
On the 1st of October 2019 mass protests spread through Iraq. People demanded an end to widespread corruption and access to basic services, like water and electricity and access to jobs. Within days hundreds of protesters were injured and there were dozens of fatalities… Then the information halted - the Iraqi government had imposed a near blackout of the internet. Iraq is not alone. Some 33 countries have tried to shut down or throttle the internet in 2019 alone. India was a leader in the pract...
Jun 25, 2020•19 min
In Beirut, a white saloon car comes to a swift halt outside the Ethiopian Embassy in the south west of the city. A woman climbs out, and the car speeds off. The Ethiopian woman is one of many domestic workers being abandoned by their employers. Lebanon is in an economic crisis. There are over 250,000 foreign domestic workers in Lebanon with Ethiopians being by far the largest nationality. Employers say they can no longer afford to pay their domestic help, nor can they afford to buy the women a f...
Jun 18, 2020•16 min
On the evening of May 25th, George Floyd Jr walked into a shop in Minneapolis and tried to use a $20 note. Within half an hour, his limp body was loaded into an ambulance. What happened in between has been viewed across social media platforms, and news channels around the world, millions of times. On this week's Beyond the Headlines, Archer Hill, social media journalist at The National looks at how phone cameras, and social media, have affected racial progress in the US, and globally. We speak t...
Jun 11, 2020•24 min
The Coronavirus has spread around the world … infecting millions of people in nearly every country. As doctors and scientists race to discover a vaccine, prevention measures are promoted. It’s agreed that wearing face masks, social distancing, washing hands frequently and good hygiene are the best defence against coronavirus. But in the world’s refugee camps these measures are nearly impossible to enforce. This week, host Willy Lowry talks to Athena Rayburn, Save the Children's head of advocacy,...
Jun 04, 2020•16 min
There are 228 million cases worldwide every year. Many of them are fatal. It's for this reason, governments, international organisations and the UN spend billions trying to stop a disease that has plagued mankind since the dawn of time. This week on Beyond the headlines, host James Haines-Young speaks to Timothy Winegard, author of The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, and Jerremy Herren, lead researcher at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi a...
May 28, 2020•17 min
A group of Indian workers, walking back to their villages after losing their jobs, were so tired from walking all night, they lay down on an empty railway track and fell asleep. India was under lockdown and no public transport was running. At about 5 in the morning on May 8, a freight train crashed into them, killing 16 people. It was not the coronavirus that killed them but what this virus has brought with it for many of the world’s poor – job losses, their inability to pay their rents, and a s...
May 21, 2020•19 min
From Island paradises to mountainous kingdoms… A few countries and territories sprinkled around the world have somehow remained COVID free. Or have they? This week, we talk to Martin Mckee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and David Watchorn, manager at Extra Divers Christmas Island. We also speak to Emmanuel Samoglou, a journalist and former multimedia editor at The National, about visiting the Cook Islands in the pacific when borders ...
May 14, 2020•21 min
Top scientists across the world are putting their best foot forward to produce a vaccine for Covid-19 as soon as possible. There are more than 90 vaccines for the virus at different stages of development. At least six of these are already being tested for safety in people. What remains to be seen is which of these vaccines will be ready first and which one will be the most effective. We talk to a senior lecturer in virology at the University of Kent, Dr Jeremy Rossman, and a visiting professor o...
May 07, 2020•20 min
This year the holy month of Ramadan comes at an unprecedented time. Covid-19 has impacted just about everything and Ramadan is no different. The usual scenes of mosques buzzing with worshippers and bazaar’s bustling with shoppers are missing. This Ramadan, those fasting are indoors like everybody else. While the fear of the virus lurks in the streets, inside their houses, most of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims are seeking help and peace in their solitary prayers. Host Suhail Akram talks to Khol...
Apr 30, 2020•17 min
This week, host Willy Lowry looks at how the UAE harnesses the rain with cloud seeding and Australia's effort to save the Great Barrier Reef through cloud brightening. We hear from Dr Deon Terblanche, a consultant in weather and climate at the World Bank, and Omar Al Yazeedi from the National Centre for Meteorology. We also speak to Daniel Harrison at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. SFX provided by: test_sound : https://freesound.org/people/test_sound/sounds/464259/ Sandermotions : https...
Apr 23, 2020•12 min
Everyone has been affected in some way by the coronavirus pandemic. But some have had the most significant moments of their lives dramatically altered by the times. In a special edition of Beyond the Headlines, we look at births, marriages and deaths with three special stories. Host Willy Lowry talks to his sister, Alexis, who gave birth to her first child on March 26 just outside New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic in America. Izbel Mengel was supposed to get married on Easter day but ...
Apr 16, 2020•14 min
The unprecedented lockdown in Wuhan, China lifted at the stroke of midnight on April 8th. The city of Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic began, has re-opened to the world. In this is a hope, not just for China but for the entire world battling the coronavirus outbreak. With its widespread testing, severe restrictions on movement, social distancing and the use of technology, China managed to flatten the curve and significantly slow the spread of the coronavirus. This week on Beyond The Headlines,...
Apr 09, 2020•21 min
In this week's Beyond the Headlines podcast host Willy Lowry speaks to fellow Canadian Chris Hadfield. The astronaut has been into space three times and worked as an astronaut, training in extreme conditions and preparing physically and mentally to be cooped up in the International Space Station. What does he have to say about our current state of self isolation, the fear of the pandemic and the break from our normal life patterns?
Apr 01, 2020•19 min
This week James Haines-Young, foreign editor at The National, talks about how a slow response and official denials turned Iran’s Covid-19 outbreak into a national emergency. We also speak to Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
Mar 26, 2020•16 min
It’s the word on everyone’s lips, and has been for months now -coronavirus. We haven’t seen an international response to a crisis on this scale before. One in which every single one of the world’s 195 countries are at risk. Nations are closing their borders, halting flights, limiting social interaction and closing workplaces... except for the most essential. The world's stock market has tumbled and shows no signs of stability. These are unprecedented times, when fake news and panic travel faster...
Mar 19, 2020•20 min
The dull thud of bullets smacking into water, followed by the panicked cries of desperate people trying to get to Europe. That was the scene off the coast of Bodrum, Turkey when the Greek Coast Guard confronted refugees and migrants. It’s an extreme example of scenes that have been playing out daily on land and sea. Host Willy Lowry looks at the latest wave of refugees and migrants trying to get into Europe and why Turkey is encouraging them. We talk to Fadi Hakura, an analyst at Chatham House, ...
Mar 12, 2020•14 min
The United States has just signed a deal with the Taliban that it hopes will end nearly two decades of fighting in Afghanistan. The US government has spent $2 trillion on the conflict. At least a hundred thousand Afghans have been killed or wounded in the last ten years of the war. At least 3,500 American and NATO coalition troops have lost their lives since the US invasion. To understand how long the United States has been in Afghanistan, consider this: the youngest American troops being sent t...
Mar 02, 2020•15 min
The new coronavirus has spread far and wide - shutting schools, businesses and impacting international travel. The new coronavirus, COVID-19, has already spread to nearly 40 countries after it was first reported in Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019. Experts say the disease could be a potential pandemic if it’s not stopped. But there are many crucial pieces to this puzzle that need to be solved. This week on Beyond the Headlines, host Suhail Akram, video journalist at The National talks to Dr Ang...
Feb 27, 2020•14 min
Every Friday, tens of thousands of Algerians pour on to the streets of their hometowns to protest. They protest against the government, which they see as corrupt. They protest for their future, which they see as in peril. They protest a political system they say doesn’t represent them. The scale and size of the protests vary from week to week, but without fail, they happen and they’ve been happening for exactly one year. On this edition of Beyond the Headlines, host Willy Lowry delves into Alger...
Feb 20, 2020•15 min
Feb 20, 2020•4 min
Black range rovers and luxury vehicles slowly navigated through Beirut’s protest filled streets. Angry mobs hurled rocks and other debris at the occupants and Lebanon’s political leaders trying to block them from entering the now heavily fortified parliament. On February 11, twelve weeks after Hassan Diab was tasked with forming a new government, MPs gave his administration the vote of confidence. For nearly five months, mass protests have paralysed the country as people demand a new type of gov...
Feb 12, 2020•14 min
On December 31st, 2019 China reported 27 cases of pneumonia from an unknown cause in the city of Wuhan, in central China. The majority of people affected were workers from a local seafood and live animal market. As the virus spread and more cases were announced, talk of a deadly pandemic began circulating. This week's host Juman Jarallah, deputy national editor, talks to Dr. Amr Mahmoud El Naggar, Head of ER at Medcare Hospital Dubai and Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organis...
Feb 06, 2020•10 min
Two and a half years after US administration began drafting a plan for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians, it is finally here. Long delayed and often described as dead on arrival, the proposal was roundly rejected by Palestinian officials even before it was released. The announcement on January 28 was met with anger on the streets of the West Bank. Countries around the world have reacted. While many have welcomed the effort to restart long dead talks the praise isn’t effusive. But w...
Jan 30, 2020•17 min
After more than three months of protests, Lebanon's politicians agreed on a new government. But this has done little to ease anger on the streets after three months of mass uprisings. Hassan Diab announced the formation of his 20-member government on Tuesday and vowed to get to work on fixing the country's mounting problems. Lebanon faces a huge economic crisis – debt has topped $85 billion, growth is flat, unemployment is rising and the currency has lost nearly 40 per cent of its value in the p...
Jan 23, 2020•16 min
The first signs that something big was happening came a little after noon on Friday when the army and police deployed across Oman. The tensions between the United States and Iran lead many to assume the sudden deployment was related. When regular overnight programming stopped and the television stations started broadcasting excerpts from the Quran, it was obvious. Sultan Qaboos, the longest serving monarch in the Middle East, had passed away. Host James Haines-Young looks at the life of Sultan Q...
Jan 13, 2020•17 min
The United States has killed Iran’s Qassim Suleimani sparking the most serious situation in the Middle East since ISIS took over huge areas of Iraq in 2014. The late head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard overseas Quds force has spent decades building up Tehran’s army of proxy militia and allies from Beirit to Sana’a. The response from Tehran came just four days later when they fired 22 rockets at US troop locations on Iraqi bases. This week on Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-Young looks at ...
Jan 09, 2020•25 min
The Arab uprisings, the brutal Syrian war, the rise of ISIS, the slide into chaos in Libya and Yemen, the counter revolutions, the crackdowns on protesters in Iraq and Iran, the displacement of millions of Syrians and Iraqis. This week on Beyond the Headlines, were going to travel across the region, speaking to The National’s writers and reporters who have been covering the biggest stories in the Middle East and around the world this decade.
Dec 26, 2019•29 min
In March 2017 the ship Tamim Aldar found itself, along with its crew, abandoned at sea 25 nautical miles off the coast of the UAE. It was one of seven ships owned by Elite Way Marine Services, a company that was facing financial difficulties and found itself unable to pay crew salaries or maintenance for its fleet. It has been over two and half years but four crew members, two from India and two from Eritrea, had been awaiting payment and to travel home. On December 19th, 33 months after they we...
Dec 19, 2019•13 min
