Six years on from the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 is back in the headlines – and so are questions about how newsrooms covered it.
The Listening Post’s Nicholas Muirhead on how the pandemic broke trust in the US.
Featuring:
Amesh Adalja – Infectious Disease Physician, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Frances E Lee – Co-author, In COVID’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us
Jeanne Lenzer – Investigative Medical Journalist
Ten years after becoming the first American athlete to compete in a hijab at the Olympics, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad has visited Doha to inspire the next generation of young women in sport. The New Jersey-born bronze medallist recalled facing discrimination during her career, including accusations of slacking while fasting during Ramadan. Muhammad, the only American Muslim woman to win an Olympic medal, says she draws inspiration from Muhammad Ali's activism and hopes to encourage young athletes to believe they belong in spaces traditionally closed to them.
Al Jazeera’s Sohail Malik reports from Doha, Qatar.
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Families displaced by fighting in Sudan’s Blue Nile region describe losing homes, loved ones and belongings after fleeing the city of Kurmuk, recently captured by RSF fighters. Drone strikes destroyed entire neighbourhoods, forcing survivors into makeshift camps in Damazin, where shelter, water and safety remain scarce. As clashes continue in the region’s southeast, the number of displaced people keeps rising, straining already overwhelmed camps.
Al Jazeera’s AlMigdad Alruhaid reports from Damazin, Sudan
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Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is taking his refinery and petrochemicals business public in what could become Africa’s largest-ever stock-market listing, with the company valued at about $47bn. The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company is offering 4.1 billion new shares on the Nigerian Exchange, seeking to raise about $1.6bn, with Nigerians able to buy as few as 10 shares. Dangote has described the sale as a way to spread prosperity by bringing millions of new shareholders into the business rather than simply raising money for the company. The listing could increase the Nigerian Exchange’s total market capitalisation from about $120bn to $165bn and double the number of shareholders to around 10 million. But the scale of the company also raises concerns about concentration, as Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals could account for nearly a third of the exchange and leave the wider market more exposed to the fortunes of one business empire. Stockbrokers say the company's fundamentals are strong, while Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission has promised strict oversight of the offering. With investors required to buy a minimum of 10 shares in naira and dividends to be paid in US dollars, the listing is being presented as an opportunity for Nigerians to share in a major national business success story, although its longer-term impact on the market will become clearer once trading begins.
Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris reports from Lagos.
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Gulf states are preparing to meet with Iran in Oman on Monday, as the war between the US and Iran continues to reshape regional alliances and force countries in the region to rethink their reliance on Washington. Iran is expected to outline its expectations at the meeting, with most Gulf states planning to attend, though Bahrain is not. Against that backdrop, Mohamed Elmasry, professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that it remains unclear whether the Oman meeting will resemble an “Iranian lecture” or a genuine give-and-take dialogue where Gulf states can express their concerns and find middle ground. He said the more important question is what happens if the Gulf states and Iran do reach an understanding, and how Donald Trump and the United States would react. Elmasry cited a Wall Street Journal report that Trump’s top advisers, including Marco Rubio and JD Vance, have told him the war could last through the midterms and possibly the rest of his term, suggesting Gulf states may realise they have to take matters into their own hands. On Trump’s claim that the Houthis called him asking America not to intervene in Yemen, Elmasry said it signals the US will not get involved and that Trump has no interest in opening a new front. He said there appears to be an implicit understanding that if others stay out, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait will remain open to everyone except the Saudis, which could be catastrophic for the global economy. Elmasry added that Gulf countries are frustrated and rethinking their relationship with the US after warning Trump of the consequences before the war, and are now engaging directly with Iran, which he described as “stunning”.
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This week: 347 days into a ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,369 Palestinians in Gaza. Yemen's Houthi movement gained significant ground. Israel continued to violate the ceasefire in Gaza. School began in the occupied West Bank. Israel has killed at least 73,783 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
In this episode:
- Hassan Ahmadian, Tehran University
- Hind Khoudary, Al Jazeera Correspondent
- Nida Ibrahim, Al Jazeera Correspondent
Episode credits:
This episode was produced and mixed by David Enders. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Andrew Greiner and Munera AlDosari is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
Two people were injured after an incoming projectile struck a residential area in the Saudi city of Jizan, with a mosque, vehicles and buildings damaged. Saudi Arabia accused the Ansar Allah Houthis of carrying out the attack, but the group has not claimed responsibility. The incident comes as Saudi Arabia and Yemen's internationally recognised government forces intensify attacks against the Houthis, with more strikes reported in recent hours. The fighting spans a broad stretch of Yemen's Red Sea coast but is centred on the battle for control of the critical Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime choke point for global shipping. Government forces said they carried out more than 20 raids on Houthi sites, rocket launch platforms and vehicles, seeking to retake the strategic port of Mocha, which was seized by Houthi fighters on Thursday. The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching more than 100 air strikes on Yemen within the past 48 hours and claimed they launched a missile and drone attack on a Saudi military base in the Sharurah region, warning that continued Saudi attacks would provoke larger strikes deeper inside Saudi territory.
Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry reports from Sanaa.
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Saudi Arabia has released video showing the damage caused by a projectile it says was fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. A mosque and several buildings sustained damage, although the Houthis say they were targeting a Saudi military base.
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The Olympic flame arrived in Senegal as the country begins a countdown to the first ever Olympic event held in Africa - the Youth Olympic Games in October.
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Kyrgyzstan's 10,000 glaciers, known as central Asia's "water tower," are retreating rapidly, with some losing up to 16 metres annually. The country has recorded nearly 1,000 flood and mudflow emergencies since 2015, while 368 glacial lakes are now considered at risk of dangerous outburst floods. Scientists warn that mining, infrastructure expansion and global warming are accelerating the crisis, threatening water supplies for farming, hydropower and downstream nations including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid reports from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
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Croatian authorities have issued an emergency alert as a wildfire rages on Brac Island, off the Dalmatian coast. Strong winds have hampered efforts to stop the blaze near the island village of Milna.
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The Muslim-majority Bangsamoro region in the southern Philippines is holding its first parliamentary election, the final step in its transition to self-governance. The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a peace deal with the government in 2014, ending decades of conflict, and has run the region under an interim government since 2019. Now it is contesting 80 seats in the new parliament.
Peace has remained fragile: in 2016, ISIL-linked fighters briefly seized one town, and in August, Bangsamoro's chief minister survived an ambush, prompting checkpoints across the region. Poverty has halved under MILF's interim rule, but Bangsamoro remains one of the Philippines' poorest regions. Political dynasties that governed before 2019 are also contesting seats, arguing they can better serve their communities. Voters say lasting peace remains the only path to progress.
Al Jazeera's Barnaby Lo reports from Butig, Lanao del Sur, in the southern Philippines.
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Two years ago this week, the betrayal and kidnapping of Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada by rival Joaquin Guzman, who flew him to the US as a bargaining chip, ignited a civil war within the cartel that has convulsed the state ever since.
Since then, thousands have been killed or disappeared, with searchers like the volunteer group Sabuesos Guerreras digging through the countryside using little more than metal ground drills, often without government support. Criminals here have a saying: "If there's no body, there's no crime."
Al Jazeera's John Holman reports from Culiacan.
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