This week on The New Arab Voice podcast we look at the escalating conflict in Lebanon. In recent months Israeli airstrikes have ramped up, targeting Hezbollah's military stores, infrastructure, and its leadership. Additionally, Israeli troops have crossed the border and are confronting Hezbollah on the ground.  Efforts are now ramping up to bring about a ceasefire, but nothing has been agreed yet, and it is still unclear what the terms of the deal would be. Also up for discussion is the state...

Women in Afghanistan continue to be suppressed and marginalised by the Taliban government, with a steady stream of new laws and edicts, dictating what they can and can't do. This has alarmed and shocked human rights defenders in Afghanistan, and across the world. Also expressing their outrage are governments around the world. And yet, many are still trying to find a way through that would allow them to do business with the Taliban, and condemn human rights violations. This week on The New...

It has been one year since the start of the war in Gaza. What started with an appalling crime was repaid with further crimes and relentless tragedy. This week on The New Arab Voice podcast, on the anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza, we look at three aspects: health, justice, and future. What is state of healthcare in Gaza? How much aid is getting in? What disease are spreading? What toll has 12 months of brutal conflict had on people's mental health? What is the state of the...

This week on The New Arab Voice podcast, we look at the potential for a normalisation deal between Syria and Turkey.  In recent years, Syria has been welcomed back into the regional fold, and yet Damascus has still not normalised with Ankara, and Turkish troops remain on Syrian soil.  We look at the possibility of Turkish forces leaving Syria, what it means for the Syrian opposition supported by Turkey, what it means for Kurdish areas in Syria's north east, and what a possible deal for the...

This week on The New Arab Voice podcast we're looking at the recent troubles surrounding the Central Bank of Libya.  In August, gunman surrounded the Central Bank in Tripoli, forcing the bank's governor, Sadiq al-Kabir, to flee the country, fearing for his safety. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh was seen as the architect of the efforts to remove the governor. In response to the events at the Central Bank, eastern forces shut down the country's lucrative oil fields, sending output...

The New Arab Voice podcast is back. This week we're looking at the fallout from the recent killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Since the killings, tensions have increased, prompting a number of asking if the war will spread and engulf Lebanon and even Iran.  Will violence increase and spread across the region? Will Iran and Hezbollah retaliate? Will Israel launch an attack? Who are the people trying to pull the region back from a wider conflict? And can...

While The New Arab Voice is on a break, we giving you the latest episode of The New Arab Weekly podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to get notified when a new episode drops. The New Arab Weekly on Apple The New Arab Weekly on Spotify The New Arab Weekly on Google and everywhere else... This week on The New Arab Weekly podcast, we discuss the recent massacre in Rafah and Israel's ongoing assault of the south Gaza, the fresh call by the International Court of Justice for a ceasefire, the...

While The New Arab Voice is on holiday, we bring you another episode of The New Arab Weekly podcast. You can find all the links you'll need to subscribe to The New Arab Weekly here. This week on The New Arab Weekly podcast, we look at the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and what it means for Iran, the news that the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and finally, the recent deadly Israeli...

The New Arab Voice is on a break at the moment. While you wait, why not check out the latest episode of The New Arab Weekly. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. This week on The New Arab Weekly podcast, we look at the fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese government forces in Darfur, a spat between Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the 'day after' plan in Gaza, and...

Tensions across the Middle East, recently rose to worrying highs.  It started on 1 April, when Israel launched an attack on Iran's consulate building in the Syria capital of Damascus. Iran responded to this by firing hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. In turn, Israel conducted strikes in Iran.  Voices from abroad, desperately called for calm, as fears grew that the region was about to be plunged into a regional conflict.  This week on The New Arab Voice, we look at the recent Iranian...

The recent local elections in Turkey did not go to plan for President Erdogan.  The voters sent a clear message to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party and the strongman president, when they voted in unprecedented numbers for the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).  The CHP took control of Turkey's biggest cities and also managed to make significant headway into provinces that had been traditional AKP territory.  Additionally, the AKP also lost out to the New Welfare...

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has a new government and a new Prime Minister. An exciting and yet highly challenging time for them; but for the Palestinian people, optimism for real change is low.  The Palestinian Authority has been in place since the 1990's, but satisfaction is low. There are systemic governance problems across Palestine, and the PA is no longer seen as the leaders of the liberation movement.  This week on The New Arab Voice, we look at the Palestinian Authority and the...

At the start of March polling stations for Iran's legislative elections opened, and yet, very few Iranians turned up.  It was a record low turnout, with just 40.64 percent of eligible voters casting their ballot. The low turnout reflected the discontent in the country, and the poor quality of candidates on offer.  This week on The New Arab Voice, we look at the Iranian elections. Why was the turnout so low, and what does it mean for the regime’s legitimacy. How did the Iranian regime seek to...

Welcome to the first episode of The New Arab Weekly.  Each week, we take a look at some of the biggest stories of the week and examine what happened and why is it important.  This week we look at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the looming prospect for an invasion of Rafah, and the recently announced definition of extremism, as laid out by the UK government.  We're joined this week by The New Arab's Opinions Editor, Nadine Talaat (@nadine_talaat), and New Arab journalist and reporter Oliver...

This week, we’ll be launching The New Arab Weekly, a brand new podcast, that will bring you a collection of biggest stories of the week.  With help from the editorial and reporting teams at The New Arab in London, we’ll break down the stories for you and answer the questions: what happened and why does it matter? The first episode will be released on Friday March 15th, and will be finding its way to your feeds every Friday after that.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, so you can get...

The humanitarian crisis is older than the war in Gaza.  For years, Palestinians inside the besieged enclave have struggled to secure some of the basic needs for life. The war, which has now entered its four month, has turned crisis into catastrophe. All 2.2 million residents of Gaza are now suffering from acute food insecurity, and Israel are continuing the bombardments, day after day.  The humanitarian situation in Gaza was recently dealt a deadly blow when major donors of the UN aid and...

The International Court of Justice returned a verdict on 26 January.  Not a complete verdict on whether genocide is being committed by Israel in Gaza, but the court did agree that there was a case to be heard, and it did recognise that there was a sense of urgency.  Because of this urgency, they issued a series of provisional measures; these include an order to end the killing of civilians, end the mental and physical harm of civilians, immediately allow the distribution of aid, to name a...

Since the start of the war in Gaza, protests around the world have called on the Israeli government to end their slaughter and protect civilian life.  Thousands have turned out to protest in London, New York, Paris, Berlin, and Washington DC.  Also, protests have been seen in Israel, however the civil space in Israel is shrinking. This week, we look at the shrinking civil space in Israel, and the shrinking rights of Israelis to protest against the government and the war in Gaza. We also...

With the start of war in Gaza, the Houthi movement in Yemen decided that it would also do what it can to provide support to the people of Palestine.  It decided the best thing that it could do was to attack commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea, of the coast of Yemen. They have fired missiles, launched drone attacks, attacked ships by sea, boarded ships and taken people hostage.  On 11 January, the UK and US decided that they should do something and launched a flurry of airstrikes against...

A new year and a new season of The New Arab Voice podcast.  This week, we continue with the story that has dominated the Middle since October: the war in Gaza.  While we were away the violence did not cease nor slow down. The death toll has now passed 23,000, the vast majority women and children. Additionally, over 60,000 have been injured.  There have been developments related to the war in Gaza that have occurred beyond Gaza's borders. The first is the killing of Hamas deputy Saleh...

Last week we looked back at the first six months of 2023, and this week, we're completing the year with refresher on the last six months of the year.  We remember the arguments at the UN Security Council over Syrian aid delivery, the release of Patrick Zaki, the deadly wedding fire in Iraq, the COP28 in Dubai, and of course, the deadly Hamas attack of 7 October and the following war in Gaza.  As well as looking back, we look forward to the next 12 months in the Middle East and North Africa,...

2023 is drawing to a close and we’re spending our last two episodes of the year to look back over the past twelve months and the stories that have shaped the Middle East.  For our first episode of our review, we look at the months from January to June, with help from some of The New Arab’s journalists, correspondents, and editors.  We remember the earthquake in Turkey, the normalisation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the protests in Israel, Erdogan’s victory, and much more.  This podcast is...

The Hamas attack of 7 October shook Israel to its core.  It was a horrifying day that left at least 1,200 people dead, saw hundreds taken hostage, and a country deeply traumatised.  Israel responded with a deadly barrage of airstrikes and bombardment. This assault continues to this day, and has so far killed over 17,000 people, and turned huge areas of Gaza into desolate wasteland.  The stated aims of Israel is to destroy Hamas, remove them from power in Gaza, and secure the release of the...

The ceasefire in Gaza didn’t last, but seven days without experiencing intense Israeli bombardments is certainly welcome.  During the seven days when the worst of the violence was stopped, aid was able to get to the desperate people of Gaza, but additionally it allowed for the release of hostages, held by Hamas. In exchange, Palestinians held by Israel would also be released from Israeli prisons.  During the ceasefire 110 hostages were released by Hamas, and 240 Palestinians have been...