Al Jazeera Correspondent

The global coronavirus pandemic has changed the world as we know it. It has been particularly devastating for the aviation sector. Airports have been shut, thousands of aeroplanes grounded, businesses have ceased operations, and the long-term financial cost may not be known for years to come. According to the International Air Transport Association, this year's loss of revenue has cost airlines more than $300bn. Thousands in the air travel industry have been left jobless. Qatar Airways, one of the world's biggest carriers, is no exception. The Doha-based airline was already dealing with restrictions imposed by four Gulf Arab nations as part of their blockade of Qatar. Without access to the airspace of its neighbours, it had to find new routes and new destinations. And now, as it navigates the turbulent skies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, how will the airline recover from both the health and political crises? And what is in store for the future of global air travel after the pandemic ends? The chief executive officer of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, talks to Al Jazeera. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, newly independent states emerged. These new borders meant that all of a sudden people found themselves on the wrong side - foreigners in a country they called their home, but were unable to prove or formally claim as such. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that at least 280 million people lost their citizenship during the formation of post-Soviet republics, including in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Nearly 30 years later, thousands across the region live without any legal trace - many of them having inherited their statelessness from their parents. Azizbek Ashurov is a Kyrgyz lawyer, and founder of the Ferghana Lawyers Without Borders association. He has spent more than a decade fighting for the rights of thousands of stateless people in his country. To access those in need, Ashurov and his team first had to figure out how many people lacked legal identity, and find ways to help them. With an estimated two-thirds of Kyrgyzstan's six million people living in rural areas, the team spent much of their time in the hills and villages of the Ferghana valley which spreads across parts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The work has had an effect. The NGO has helped more than 10,000 stateless people in Kyrgyzstan gain citizenship, and some 2,000 children now have access to education, health and a more promising future. Kyrgyzstan is now a leading example of how statelessness can be eradicated - there are no more known cases of people living there without a legal identity. Talk to Al Jazeera travelled to Kyrgyzstan to meet Ashurov and some of the people he has helped. - - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Egypt's cinema was prolific from the 1940s to the 1960s, a time when the stars of the silver screen captivated a generation of movie-goers. But the films' soundtracks were just as much a part of the appeal of these Arab cinema classics, and the man behind the vibrant rhythms of more than 350 movies was the legendary composer, Ali Ismael. It was through playing the saxophone in the nightclubs of downtown Cairo that Ismael found his niche, and where he met the Greek film composer, Andre Ryder, who got him into movies. An ardent supporter of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ismael also wrote many patriotic songs. Leave My Sky flew the flag during the Suez Crisis in the 1950s, and his music filled the airwaves during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Flags of Victory also inspired Egyptian forces when they reclaimed Sinai in 1973, and the song, Fida'i' or 'Warrior, also composed by Ismael, later became the Palestinian national anthem. Ismael's life and career were cut short in 1974 when he suffered a sudden, fatal heart-attack aged only 51. His military funeral was widely covered by the press and also shown in cinemas. Until today, his legacy remains as a prolific composer who brought joy to millions and whose songs became Arab classics. In this rich and colourful documentary, Al Jazeera World tells the multi-layered story of the musician's relatively short but successful life and career. Combining high-quality performances with incisive interviews, the film pays tribute to an Egyptian musical icon, whose popularity and cultural influence were felt by an entire generation across the Arab world.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live. Nearly every country in the world has been affected. There have already been millions of infections, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. And while scientists work on developing a vaccine, governments are focusing on reducing the number of infections through social distancing and other preventive measures. But these restrictions have brought with them countless financial losses across the globe. The coronavirus recession is considered to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1929. As COVID-19 measures halt international trade, shut down airports and leave businesses bankrupt, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. And for many, being unemployed in the middle of a pandemic means not only losing their income but also losing access to healthcare. So, how can governments protect their workers and rebuild their economies? The director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, talks to Al Jazeera. - - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Palestinian protest against Israeli occupation has taken many forms in the past seven decades - from all-out Arab-Israeli war, to the Intifadas and the Great March of Return. On a global level, Palestinian leaders continue to lobby for increased international recognition of the State of Palestine. Meanwhile, on a smaller scale, other forms of self-determination are emerging. In his own form of dissent, artist Khaled Jarrar designs postage and passport stamps for the State of Palestine, using the Palestine sunbird as the motif. His stamps have been officially recognised by the postal services in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and the Czech Republic. Jarrar’s is a protest in an artistic context, one that began in his home town of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. There, he designed a Palestinian visa stamp saying 'State of Palestine' which he began offering to international visitors, including a Jewish American woman with dual US-Israeli nationality. He stamped both her passports with the Palestine sunbird, but when she later went through Israeli immigration, officials interrogated her and cancelled her passport. In this Al Jazeera World film, we watch as Jarrar achieves a major breakthrough when Germany’s Deutsche Post accepts his design. An initial print run of 4,000 postage stamps quickly sells out, and he soon sells more than 28,000 German Palestine sunbird stamps, while also stamping hundreds of passports of tourists on the streets of Berlin. This is one man’s story of a peaceful Palestinian protest - but with a difference. It is the journey of a charismatic artist’s creative yet provocative way of promoting the Palestinian cause across the world.

In September 2016, nearly two months before the then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's election, United States President Barack Obama spoke at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). "As I address this hall as president for the final time, let me recount the progress that we've made," he said, "A quarter-century after the end of the Cold War, the world is by many measures less violent and more prosperous than ever before …" But with millions displaced worldwide, unresolved conflicts from Yemen to Syria, Iraq to Afghanistan, and armed groups like ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda launching attacks against civilians, was Obama's speech too optimistic? And in the years since, how has US foreign policy changed under President Trump? And what should have been done differently? Samantha Power served at the US ambassador to the UN from 2013 to 2017. As Obama's top UN diplomat at the time, she was responsible for securing international consensus on a variety of pressing issues at the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the UNGA. To discuss the Trump presidency, the difference between Trump and Obama's responses to global health crises, and China's increasing influence on international organisations, she talks to Al Jazeera. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

It has been nearly two months since Qatar implemented a series of measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The government has since closed schools, issued stay-at-home orders and imposed travel bans on travellers from many countries. But while the number of deaths here remains low, infection rates continue to rise. On Talk to Al Jazeera, we speak to Qatar's minister of public health, Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, about the government's efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. - - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

When it comes to weddings, Somalia has many approaches. Some couples stick with tradition while others go for more modern marriage ceremonies. This film tells the story of two weddings, one in a small desert village and the other in a busy city, while highlighting everyday life in different parts of the country. It also contrasts traditional ways of life with modern ideas that come from younger Somalis and social media. In the remote rural village of Toon, herder Jamalli Muhammad Ahmed can only marry a local woman called Hoda after first getting permission from her family. In a tradition going back generations, they all gather in the shade of a large tree to decide whether they are a suitable match. Only then can Jamalli and Hoda start planning their lives together. Abdullatif Deeq Omar in Hargeisa city, however, first met his future wife Najma on Facebook. They eloped but eventually returned to their families who accepted their marriage plans. Both weddings have the same pressures: buying outfits, inviting guests, finding a venue and arranging feasts - but each tells a unique story of family, community and tradition. In Somali culture, many people also believe that getting married in the run-up to Ramadan ensures additional blessings on the couple, making the happy occasion even more special. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to AJE on YouTube - http://aje.io/YTsubscribe

The Arab Muslim world has a long tradition of songs and chants for the holy month of Ramadan. This film tells the fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of four popular pieces. The song Ramadan Gana, or Here Comes Ramadan, is often played on TV to coincide with the start of Ramadan. Its simplicity, familiar lyrics and the singer’s warm voice make it hugely popular in the Arab world. Wahawi Ya Wahawi, or Welcome Ramadan Moon, was first performed by an Egyptian singer in the 1930s and later in a 1953 Egyptian movie by a five-year-old Lebanese girl, Hayam Younis, who still clearly remembers singing it. Decades on, she describes filming the song which became a timeless classic. Mawlay, or My Lord God, is a religious chant derived from a prayer. Former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat encouraged the Sufi figure Sayed Naqshband to work with the famous Egyptian composer, Baligh Hamdi, whose speciality was love songs. Despite early misgivings they found common ground, and the result was a deeply spiritual chant. Allou El Bayarek, or Hang Out Ramadan Flags, dates back to the Lebanese Civil War and was written for a children's choir at a Beirut orphanage. Composer Ahmed Kaboor had a vision of colourful flags, lights and lanterns hanging from every building. This film is a rich mix of music, theology and social and cultural history, weaving together interviews and rare video archive to offer a different take on Ramadan. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to AJE on YouTube - http://aje.io/YTsubscribe

As the second world war was ending in June 1945, representatives of 50 countries signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in the US state of California. The UN officially came into existence in October of the same year, when the Charter was ratified by China, France, the then-Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and by a majority of other signatories. Almost 75 years later, the UN comprises 193 member states, all represented in one of its six main organs - the UN General Assembly. The UNGA's first session with representatives from 51 nations was in London on January 10, 1946. The next few annual sessions were held in different cities, then moved to the UN's permanent headquarters in New York in 1952. The annual UNGA in September is chaired by a president voted for by member states. But what power does the Assembly have to enforce its resolutions or to compel countries to act? We find out as the President of 2019's 74th session of the UNGA, Nigeria's Ambassador to the UN Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, talks to Al Jazeera. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

It has been over a month since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. More than 120,000 people have died, and a cumulative total of nearly 2 million have been infected worldwide. The health emergency has also affected diplomacy and the global economy. One of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic is Spain. It has had more than 18,000 deaths, despite a weeks-long government-imposed lockdown. Its already weak economy has declined further. And, despite concerns by the World Health Organization, workers' unions and opposition leaders, the Spanish government has announced a partial lifting of the lockdown restrictions. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has asked the European Union for help to tackle the economic fallout. Spain, along with Italy, France and other EU nations, wants to share the cost of the crisis through Eurobonds that all EU nations will have to pay off. But some countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, oppose that plan, saying it will be a burden on their taxpayers. In an article published by newspapers across Europe, Prime Minister Sanchez warned that failing to respond with unwavering solidarity could push the EU to fall apart. So, how will Spain overcome the challenges ahead? And will it succeed in its effort to unify the EU's response? Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha Gonzalez Laya, talks to Al Jazeera. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

Khalil al-Wazir, better known in the Arab world as Abu Jihad, was a key figure in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), helping found Fatah in the late 1950s. For years, he was the effective deputy to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. He was shot dead by Israeli agents in an audacious commando raid in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, in 1988. Israel denied responsibility for nearly 25 years until 2012, when an Israeli newspaper published an interview with Israeli soldier Nahum Lev, who killed Abu Jihad, eventually revealing the truth. This film, Assassination in Tunis, hears from both sides of the story and traces the assassination in detail: How Israeli commandos made a beach landing in Tunis under direction from Mossad, Israeli national intelligence, and overran the villa where Abu Jihad was staying. Moments later, Abu Jihad was killed in multiple rounds of gunfire. His widow, Intisar al-Wazir, offers witness testimony to these final moments of Abu Jihad's life. The Tunis raid that finally ended Abu Jihad's life was a high-risk venture for the Israeli special forces. They sent a hit squad to a foreign country to kill a prominent Arab figure and escaped undetected. However, Nahum Lev's interview, published after his death, raised almost as many questions as it answered, including whether Israel had acted alone or had help from inside Tunisia.

The attack on October 17, 2019, shocked Mexico. The Sinaloa drug cartel - one of the country's largest and most powerful criminal organisations - took over the streets of the northern city of Culiacan with a devastating array of high powered weaponry. From machine guns to AK-47 assault rifles, the rival gangs were armed to the teeth, despite strict gun controls, the weapons smuggled across the border from the United States. About 70 percent of the guns seized in Mexico are traced back to the US. Successive Mexican governments have asked the US to do more to stop the weapons flow. And those calls for action have grown louder because of the rising murder rate - already one of the highest worldwide. But how is Mexico policing its border? And how is it dealing with those weapons once they are in the country? Talk to Al Jazeera met an arms trafficker, a hitman, and the wife of a victim of gun violence, to get insight into the weapons crisis facing Mexico. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/

These are the inspiring stories of four men - two refugees from Iran and Afghanistan, and two from Senegal - who have carved out careers for themselves at the sharp end of art, photography and human rights in their adopted European countries. Reza Deghati is an award-winning photographer whose work has been featured in many prestigious international publications, including Time and Newsweek. He made his journey as a refugee from post-revolutionary Iran to France nearly 40 years ago. Photographer Abdul Saboor fled Afghanistan in 2015 and began photographing refugees after arriving in Serbia. Several years on, he sets out to visit a refugee camp outside Calais in northern France to document the plight of eastern Europeans, Syrians and north Africans seeking a new life far from their home countries. Mammadou Dia and Malk Gueye, refugees from Senegal, champion the rights of new arrivals in Spain. For 10 years, Dia spoke out on behalf of undocumented Africans in Europe and wrote a best-selling book about them, before founding a community charity in West Africa. Gueye campaigns for undocumented African street traders selling goods on Spanish streets, his work intensifying after the death of an immigrant street trader in Madrid, who witnesses claim was chased down by police before dying of a heart attack. A Hard Road from Home: Photographers and Activists follows the four men's journeys as they overcome their own struggles to dedicate their lives both to their art and to the plight of others less fortunate than themselves. YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to AJE on YouTube - http://aje.io/YTsubscribe

Coronavirus has upended lives and workplaces around the world, with more than a third of the globe under lockdown. At the United Nations headquarters in New York, where about 10,000 people usually work, a skeleton staff of a few hundred is on site, ensuring the world body's vital operations continue - such as peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads fast, the UN is critically concerned about those most vulnerable - especially refugees and people trapped in conflict situations. The UN has launched a $2bn global humanitarian appeal to assist fragile states and those most vulnerable. It says prevention and suppression of the virus must be a priority for leaders of all countries. Leading UN officials have also called for all conflicts to cease and warring parties to focus their efforts on tackling the coronavirus. To discuss the global efforts against COVID-19 and the risks facing the world's most vulnerable populations, Talk to Al Jazeera speaks to Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general; Mark Lowcock, the under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs; and Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/