Magazine

Psychological terrorism: The war against reproductive rights in the US

Friday, Apr 18, 2025
As Donald Trump begins his second term as president, headlines focus on immigration, trade and free speech. But advocates warn of another front, a quieter campaign targeting reproductive rights and abortion.

Just years after the fall of Roe v Wade, critics say new policies signal a renewed push to erode reproductive freedom, especially for women of colour.

Is the Trump administration waging a quiet war on reproductive rights in the United States?

This week on UpFront, Redi Tlhabi speaks with Michele Goodwin, professor of constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown University and author of Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood.

Why is evidence of Israel's war crimes in Gaza disappearing?

Friday, Apr 11, 2025
Many of the images that have been seen from Israel’s war in Gaza have already been seen for the last time. With Gaza under siege from the Israeli military and tech companies censoring and taking down material, the responsibility falls on the people of Gaza to document and archive their own evidence of war crimes and genocide. How will it survive?

In this episode:

    Lila Hassan, Investigative Journalist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Melanie Marich and Sonia Bhagat, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Chloe K. Li, Kisaa Zehra, Remas Alhawari, Sarí el-Khallili, and Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

What is behind escalating US air attacks in Yemen?

Friday, Apr 11, 2025
The Trump administration has escalated US air attacks in Yemen against the Houthis. According to Yemen’s Health Ministry, these near-daily raids have killed dozens, including civilians in residential areas. While the Biden administration had already carried out a series of attacks, the Trump administration is significantly ramping up its military response.

The Houthis had launched multiple attacks on shipping in the Red Sea since November 23, 2023. They claim their actions are a way to express solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel’s war on Gaza.

Humanitarian conditions in Yemen had already deteriorated due to its 10-year civil war between the Iran-allied Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition. This conflict has reached an impasse in recent years.

So could Trump’s escalating attacks enflame regional tensions?

This week on UpFront, Redi Tlhabi speaks with senior policy analyst at the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies, Fatima Abo Alasrar, and political analyst Hussain al-Bukhaiti.

Gaza is a post-apocalyptic killing zone: UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini

Apr 11, 2025
It’s been almost a month since Israel broke the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, launching daily strikes across Gaza that have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians. Humanitarian aid has also been blocked from entering the area by Israel for more than a month, deepening the crisis.

Humanitarian workers have also been directly targeted. Since October 7, 2023, more than 400 aid workers have been killed - nearly 300 of them were staff members with the United Nations' Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA.

So, what’s needed to ensure justice and accountability for the victims of war crimes? And what is the situation on the ground in Gaza?

This week on UpFront, Redi Tlhabi speaks with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

Ralph Wilde on the ICJ & why Israeli occupation must end?

Friday , Apr 11, 2025
International lawyer Ralph Wilde joins Centre Stage to talk about the 2024 landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice that deems Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal - and why it must cease immediately. Wilde provides detailed analysis, which he presented to the court, and tells Al Jazeera principal presenter Cyril Vanier what Israel and the international community must do to comply with the ICJ ruling and the UN resolution that endorsed the court’s decision.

Can Europeans alone change the course of Russia's war in Ukraine?

Thursday, Apr 10, 2025  
European defence ministers from the so-called 'coalition of the willing' have been meeting in Brussels to discuss boosting military support for Ukraine.

It includes the possible deployment of peacekeepers if a ceasefire is agreed.

The talks are part of a renewed push by Europe to arm Ukraine against Russia's invasion after the US made military support a condition of Kyiv's participation in peace talks.

Meanwhile, the EU's latest effort to rally funding for Ukraine has only exposed disunity in the bloc.

So, does Europe have the means and the will to keep Ukraine in the fight as Washington looks for a way out?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:
Pieter Cleppe - Editor-in-Chief of BrusselsReport.eu

Marina Miron- researcher in the War Studies Department of King’s College London

Anatol Lieven- Director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

What will shape Syria's future?

Friday, January 31, 2025
Ahmed Al Sharaa is Syria's new President and we're getting hints of what his government might look like. He's promised a temporary legislative council will pass laws for the time being - and that it will be inclusive of Syria's various groups and factions. The international community is applying pressure to make sure he keeps his promises. But can president Sharaa bring his country together? And will his government be able to improve the lives of the Syrian people - who've been battered by more than a decade of war?

Presenter: Cyril Vanier
Guests
Danny Al Baaj - Vice President of the Syrian Forum for Advocacy and Public Relations. He also led the Cabinet of Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister in the late 2000s.
Joshua Landis - Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Mohammad Al Abdallah - Executive Director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre.

Mearsheimer: The Israelis lost in Gaza

Friday, January 31, 2025
Despite the rhetoric, US President Donald Trump will not be able to ethnically cleanse Gaza nor resolve the Ukraine war, argues University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer.

Mearsheimer tells host Steve Clemons that Arab governments fear “the risk of being overthrown by their populations” should they bend to Trump’s desire to “clean out” the Palestinian people in Gaza.

On Ukraine, Mearsheimer predicts a “frozen conflict” without a peace treaty, and warns that Trump should stop “slapping around” US allies if he wants their cooperation in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Democracy doesn’t exist in the United States: Chris Hedges

Friday, January 31, 2025
As Donald Trump returns to the White House, many are raising concerns about the possible decline of liberal democracy.

What then would a second Trump term mean for the next four years for the United States? And what impact will the president's foreign policy have on the Middle East?

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill discusses these issues with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and former war correspondent Chris Hedges.

Marwan Bishara on meaning of the prison in Palestinian life, literally and metaphorically

Friday, January 31, 2025
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara highlights how Israeli prisons have served as both places of education and sites of immense suffering for Palestinians.

He emphasizes that while many detainees pursued higher education and even learned Hebrew through distance learning, they also endured torture, which profoundly affected their lives and their families.

Bishara suggests that these prisons are not just physical confinement spaces but part of a broader metaphorical prison that has encompassed Palestine for the past 75 years. Whether locked inside Gaza and the West Bank or locked out as refugees forbidden from returning home, Palestinians live in a state of perpetual confinement.

He underscores that, for all Palestinians—whether imprisoned or under occupation—their ultimate aspiration remains freedom.