After two rounds of voting in Turkey, President Erdogan is back as the president. Going into the first round of voting there were high hopes that the opposition had a real chance of dislodging the Turkish strongman; however these hopes failed to materialise at the ballot boxes. Back in office, Erdogan will have a long list of urgent matters that will need his attention, including a failing economy, foreign policy, growing anger over refugees, and domestic issues. This week on The New Arab Voice ...
Jun 02, 2023•27 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was returned to the Arab League this month. Twelve years after Syria was suspended, in response to their brutal crackdown against civilians protesters, the group of nations, led by Saudi Arabia welcomed back the Assad regime. The move signalled a major shift in diplomacy in the region, and simultaneously a continuation of other diplomatic moves in the region, and in particular by Saudi Arabia. Along with Syria, Saudi Arabia sets to be a big winner from the deal. ...
May 26, 2023•32 min•Season 7Ep. 6
A year and a day have passed since the killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank. Forensic Investigations, as well as investigations from multiple media organisations and the Palestinian Authority, have concluded that the Palestinian-American was shot by an Israeli sniper while covering a raid in Jenin. Video evidence, eyewitness testimony, spatial analysis, autopsy reports and other sources, have been used to confirm this conclusion. But in spite of th...
May 12, 2023•23 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Turkish citizen will be voting in a highly anticipated and consequential election on 14 May. The two frontrunners for the office of president, are incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the main opposition candidate Kemel Kilicdaroglu. They have both been holding rallies, attempting to reach as many voters as possible. Opposition candidate Kemel Kilicdaroglu did cause a stir at a campaign event, when he questioned the private nature of Turkey's drone manufacturers, and asked whether there should be ...
May 05, 2023•21 min•Season 7Ep. 4
The past few weeks in Sudan have been exceptionally violent. Two feuding generals, in charge of the biggest armed groups in the country, have launched their own personal war in Sudan. Nearly 500 people have died, and thousands have been forced to flee. The culprits are Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s armed forces, and Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo - popularly known as Hemedti - who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Both Burhan and Hemedti rose under the rule of autocratic President Om...
Apr 28, 2023•20 min•Season 7Ep. 3
During his most recent campaign to become Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu promised that he would overhaul the judiciary. When the elections came around, the fourth in five years, his Likud Party, with the help of some far-right allies, were able to command a majority in the Israeli Knesset. Netanyahu quickly started his plans to reform the judiciary, and almost as quickly Israelis took to the street to protest against the planned changes. Week after week, and month after month, the ...
Apr 21, 2023•41 min•Season 7Ep. 2
With the start of Spring we also saw the start of new diplomatic relationships being born. After years of intense rivalry, and to the surprise of many, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they had normalised relations. The two countries hadn't been on speaking turns since the Saudis executed a Shia cleric in 2016, and Iranian protesters had responded by burning down the embassy. With the restorations of relations, a new future awaits the two countries, which is likely to have a big impact on th...
Apr 14, 2023•25 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Three years into President Kais Saied’s rule and Tunisia is on the brink of an economic meltdown and widespread social collapse. Hundreds of thousands of Tunisians are barely surviving as standards of living plummet. Amid this climate of hopelessness, Saied has taken aim at opposition figures and other scapegoats, such as black African migrants. Arrests and attacks are becoming commonplace in the north African country, which slips ever further towards autocracy. This week, The New Arab Voice loo...
Mar 24, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 10
The settler attacks in the Palestinian town of Huwara were as shocking as they were brutal. Homes and businesses were set a blaze in a series of attacks that were described as a pogrom, and were the latest in a long list of Israeli violations of human rights and international law. The attacks in Huwara drew intense condemnation for government around the world, including in the US. The US is a long standing and traditional partner of the Israel and has consistently defended, ignored, or excused a...
Mar 17, 2023•30 min•Season 6Ep. 9
This week on The New Arab Voice we're joined by journalist Ali Abbas Ahmadi to examine the deadly floods that hit Pakistan six months ago. The rains started to fall in June and would not stop until August, during which time, the might Indus River would flood, spreading devastation ; particularly in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. The floods killed 1,700 people and left tens of millions of Pakistanis homeless. The flood waters would also wash aways the livelihoods of millions; laying wast...
Mar 10, 2023•27 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Last week on The New Arab Voice we looked at the aftermath of the recent immense earthquake in Syria. This week, we're over the border in Turkey, which experience some of the worst devastation and the highest number of casualties. Immediately following the earthquake, the state's response was slow. The agency responsible for disasters, AFAD, missed the crucial window when the most number of people can be saved. It quickly became apparent to observers that there was a serious problem, and that th...
Mar 03, 2023•26 min•Season 6Ep. 7
After a short break The New Arab Voice is back and we're picking up where we left off. The 6 February earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria remains the most pressing humanitarian issue in the region. The death toll rises everyday, and simultaneously the need for aid also increases. This week on The New Arab Voice , we're focusing in on the northwestern region of Syria, which bore the brunt of the damage and deaths in Syria. Before the earthquake hit the region, a catastrophic humanitarian cris...
Feb 24, 2023•25 min•Season 6Ep. 6
This week on The New Arab Voice, we're looking back on a week that has changed Turkey and Syria forever. On Monday morning, as people slept in their beds, a massive earthquake erupted in southern Turkey. It was felt as far off as Iraq, but at the epicentre and the surrounding area, the devastation was almost immediate. The New Arab's Levant Correspondent Will Christou ( @will_christou ) rushed to the scene, where he witnessed widespread destruction, brief moments of joy as survivors where pulled...
Feb 10, 2023•26 min•Season 6Ep. 5
This week on The New Arab Voice , we're casting a look over the Egyptian economy and its recent fiscal troubles. Earlier in January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed off on a $3 billion loan for Egypt; the fourth loan the country had received since 2016. The loan was granted following continued anaemic growth and a dramatic fall for the Egyptian pound, which lost over half its value. The economic problems have severely impacted the people of Egypt, with a third of the country's popul...
Feb 03, 2023•26 min•Season 6Ep. 4
This week on The New Arab Voice , we’re looking at the Afghan economy under the Taliban. We examine the economic trade between the hardline group and the Chinese, who this month signed a major oil extraction deal to start tapping into Afghanistan’s vast natural reserves. The Taliban have welcomed this foreign investment, claiming new injections of cash will help revitalise the faltering, crisis-riddled economy. Beijing, it would seem, is strengthening its control over the regional trade of rare ...
Jan 27, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 3
This week on The New Arab Voice , we're looking at the trial of the volunteers who helped migrants on the Greek island of Lesvos. Last week, a group of volunteers appeared in court, facing numerous charges related to voluntary work they undertook to help migrants that were arriving on the island by boat. Despite the long history of cooperation between the organisations and the Greek authorities, they were arrested, charged, and many were detained for long periods of time. One of those arrested a...
Jan 20, 2023•33 min•Season 6Ep. 2
The New Arab Voice is back for a brand new season! For our first episode, we examining the troubling news that unfolded at the start of the new year. When Israel's new National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, went to the Al-Aqsa compound on 3 January, it was seen as a provocation by a far-right religious nationalist, intended to anger the Palestinians, muslims, and incite resentment and tensions. The Al-Aqsa compound has a lengthy history, that some believe dates back to the time of the earl...
Jan 13, 2023•27 min•Season 6Ep. 1
We're coming to the end of 2022 and so is this season of The New Arab Voice . On this episode, we're looking back at some of the biggest events that hit the region over the past 12 months. Do you remember the currency crisis in Turkey? The Taliban's talks in Oslo? The murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh? Efforts to revive the JCPOA? Egypt's imprisonment of political activist Alaa Abdel Fatah? The political crisis in Iraq? The war crimes trial of a Syrian colonel in Germany? If you've forgotte...
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 9
This week on The New Arab Voice we're examining MENA representation in TV, film and gaming. Communities from the region have historically been demonised on screen, condemned to either silence or sterotypes. However, the past year has brought major release that have diversified who we see on screen and the stories that are shared on global platform. We explore a number of these releases include Netflix comedy series Mo and the film Farha about Palestine during the 1948 Nakba. We also delve into t...
Dec 16, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 8
This week on The New Arab Voice we’re looking at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Middle Eastern and North African teams have made history during the tournament, causing major sporting upsets like Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina and Morocco's victory against Belgium. While Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia didn’t progress to the knock-out stages, Morocco remains in the running for the coveted trophy - just three games away from footballing glory. During the tournament, we’ve witnessed a tidal wave o...
Dec 09, 2022•20 min•Season 5Ep. 7
This week on The New Arab Voice were examining the ongoing protests in Iran and how they have developed, 77 days on from when they began. Since Iranians took to the streets, following the tragic murder of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran's morality police, protesters have demanded change and an end to the Islamic Republic. Their peaceful protesters have been met with bloody repression. The Iranian regime's security services have repeatedly beaten and opened fire on unarmed Iranians. Over 400 hun...
Dec 02, 2022•28 min•Season 5Ep. 6
This week on The New Arab Voice , we're examining the takeover of Twitter by tech billionaire Elon Musk, and the implications that it will have on human rights. Elon Musk officially took control of Twitter on 27 October, and immediately started implementing changes. The biggest changes were related to staffing, that saw around half the company's employees sacked or resign. The changes alarmed human rights defenders, who witnessed a spike in hate speech on the platform and raised concerns, that i...
Nov 25, 2022•25 min•Season 5Ep. 5
This week on The New Arab Voice, we have a special audio version of an investigation from The New Arab. In March 2022, a group of wild Namibian elephants landed in the UAE. The New Arab's investigation reveals that the sale serves only to simulate an African safari experience in Emirati zoos with no benefit for the animals and Namibian locals. This investigation tracked the elephants, from the initial auction and sale, to their removal, and ultimate transfer to facilitates in the UAE, whose suit...
Nov 18, 2022•26 min•Season 5Ep. 4
This week, on The New Arab Voice we’re exploring what’s happening at Egypt’s COP27 and what this means for climate justice in the Middle East and North Africa. With the world’s attention on Sharm el-Sheikh, the episode unpicks the main points of discussion among delegates and activists; namely, climate financing and civic participation. It looks at the solutions presented to help developing nations tackle climate change and whether these solutions can be effective given systematic restrictions o...
Nov 11, 2022•20 min•Season 5Ep. 3
This week on The New Arab Voice, we examining the fallout from the latest Israeli elections and the settler violence that blighted Palestinian communities in the West Bank over October. Israelis went to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new parliament, following the collapse of the Naftali Bennett government. Once the votes had been cast and countered, the country emerged to find that Benjamin Netanyahu had managed to pull himself back from political obscurity and secure another electoral win. His...
Nov 04, 2022•27 min•Season 5Ep. 2
The New Arab Voice is back! For our fifth season, we're starting with a look at the recent upheaval witnessed in US-Saudi relations. Saudi Arabia sparked the ire of the US earlier in October, when it was announced that OPEC+ would be cutting oil production by 2 million barrels a day. Such a move is sure to keep prices at the pumps high, and threaten the electoral chances of Democratic candidates at the upcoming midterm elections. In Washington there is also concern that the decision signals a Sa...
Oct 28, 2022•27 min•Season 5Ep. 1
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini has sparked mass protests across Iran. In at least 86 towns and cities, people - from different classes, backgrounds, and genders - have taken to the streets. Demands for accountability after Mahsa’s brutal death, which occurred while she was in the custody of the so-called morality police, have morphed into a wider challenge to the Iranian state. Despite the use of disproportionate force and live ammunition by authorities, the protesters are not backing down...
Sep 30, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Last week, the Palestinian group Hamas announced that they would reconcile with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. The announcement marks a change in the policy of the Palestinian group, who in 2012 offered support to the Syrian rebels that were seeking to throw Assad from office. Since then, Assad has re-established, with Russian and Iranian help, some sort of control over Syria, and secured his future. To reach this point, approximately half a million Syrian died, and tens of thousands were...
Sep 23, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Last week, Google workers took to the streets to protest against their own company. In New York City, San Francisco, Durham, and Seattle they protested against Google, the tech giant's collaboration with Israel, and Project Nimbus. Project Nimbus is part of $1.2 billion contract between Israel, Amazon, and Google, to provide cloud computing services to the Israeli government, and it's feared that with this technology, Israel's intense surveillance and persecution of the Palestinian people will b...
Sep 16, 2022•29 min•Season 4Ep. 11
After a long selection process, Liz Truss was chosen by members of the UK Conservative Party to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the party and Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister will have a heavy workload, and a raft of urgent decision that need to be made. Truss will also have to decide how her new government approaches and engages with the Middle East and North Africa. On this week's episode of The New Arab Voice , we explore the UK's relationship and engagement with the Middle East. Has...
Sep 09, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 10
