The US is seeing a surge of asylum-seekers attempting to cross the US-Mexico Border, even though the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas has said the southern border is ‘closed’. Bigger Than Five travels to El Zonte, El Salvador to speak with Marvin Alvarado who tried to cross into the US after being deported. He recounts his experience and tells us why he is willing to make the dangerous trip, once again. The old global order is being shaken up and Bigger Than Five is here to make sense of it all - with tough questions for those in power and sharp analysis about the people and politics that are changing our world. ?http://trt.world/13qv​​ Follow us: ?https://twitter.com/_biggerthanfive ?https://twitter.com/ghida_fakhry Subscribe: ? Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pYJ2m7​

Bigger Than Five

A Migrant's Journey | Bigger Than Five

President Joe Biden is facing a growing crisis at the US-Mexico border, with the influx of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America—a surge that is on pace to become the ‘largest in the last 20 years’ according to the Department of Homeland Security. Over 15,000 unaccompanied children are reportedly being kept at overcrowded facilities along the border, with the Administration facing criticism and pressure to address the situation. President Biden has appointed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to lead the White House’s efforts to stem the flow of migrants from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. On his first day in office, President Biden rescinded a number of Trump’s immigration policies and initiated the reform of the immigration system by sending to Congress draft legislation to provide a pathway to US citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented aliens living in the United States. He also eased restrictions for asylum seekers and terminated a policy that required migrants to remain in Mexico while petitioning to enter the US. Last month, nearly 19,000 family members and 9,400 unaccompanied minors entered the country and were taken into custody by U.S. border officials. Over the last three weeks, US government data shows that on average, more than 500 unaccompanied minors have been crossing into the United States every day. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, himself a refugee from Cuba, said the southern border is now ‘closed’. But is the Administration sending the wrong signals to those seeking asylum by promising ‘a fair and humane’ policy? Guests: Meg Galas- International Rescue Committee’s Country Director for El Salvador David Leopold- former Advisor to President Biden’s transitional team and former President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Ali Noorani- President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum The old global order is being shaken up and Bigger Than Five is here to make sense of it all - with tough questions for those in power and sharp analysis about the people and politics that are changing our world. ?http://trt.world/13qv​​ Follow us: ?https://twitter.com/_biggerthanfive ?https://twitter.com/ghida_fakhry Subscribe: ? Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pYJ2m7​

Crisis at the US-Mexico Border | Bigger Than Five

Min Zaw Oo, the Executive Director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, tells us that Myanmar has reached its 'lowest point of public relations between the military and general public.’

Myanmar’s Breakdown of Trust

Anti-coup protesters have taken to the streets of Myanmar calling for the reinstatement of the elected government. Some demonstrators are also calling to abolish the 2008 Constitution, which some viewed as a pathway to democracy, but others believed left too much political power in the hands of the military. Bigger Than Five went to Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, to hear from protesters there.

Uprising in Myanmar | Bigger Than Five

Protests in Myanmar continue as a military coup challenges the country’s path towards democracy. Will outside pressure bring an end to human rights violations or will impunity —once again— prevail? Guests: Tom Andrews- the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Joanne Lin- Amnesty International’s National Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs The old global order is being shaken up and Bigger Than Five is here to make sense of it all - with tough questions for those in power and sharp analysis about the people and politics that are changing our world. ?http://trt.world/13qv​ Follow us: ?@_BiggerThanFive ?@Ghida_Fakhry Subscribe: ? Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pYJ2m7

Myanmar’s Military Takeover | Bigger Than Five

Some of the 11th-hour foreign policy decisions by the outgoing administration include: re-listing Cuba as a State-sponsor of terrorism; imposing more sanctions against Iran; and recognizing Moroccan claimed sovereignty over Western Sahara in defiance of long-standing US policy and international law, in a quid pro quo that led to the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel. The move reverses the US’ three-decade long support for a United Nations referendum on the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. For more on the fate of Sahrawi refugees, we visited the Smara refugee camp in the South- Western Algerian desert and spoke with a refugee.

A Sahrawi voice on US foreign policy | Bigger Than Five

President Joe Biden vowed to undo the Trump-era “withdrawal doctrine” which saw the United States pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Iran nuclear agreement, the World Health Organization and other other treatise and institutions. On his first day in office, Biden re-joined the Paris Agreement, the most significant global climate pact to date. Biden also rejoined the World Health Organization Trump had withdrawn the US from in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden, who has repeatedly emphasized the critical importance of working with allies to tackle major global challenges, also promised to rebuild the damaged relationships with traditional US allies and restore American diplomacy and international leadership. But what will it take to rebuild the broken trust in US foreign policy? Guests: Tawakkol Karman 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Medea Benjamin Co-Founder of Code Pink

Biden's Foreign Policy Reset | Bigger Than Five

Equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine is proving to be a challenge as wealthy nations preemptively secure millions of doses of experimental vaccines. Bigger Than Five visits Peru and India to hear how residents view the prospects of a vaccine as they experience the reality of the global pandemic.

A Dose of Reality | Bigger Than Five with Ghida Fakhry

Recent breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccine trials in the US, UK, Russia and China have raised hopes that the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has already killed almost 1.4 million people worldwide, could soon be contained, and eventually ended. But these breakthroughs have also raised concerns about the access and availability of vaccines for developing nations, with high-income countries claiming a disproportionate share of vaccine doses, often in significantly higher numbers than the size of their populations. So what are the prospects for the rest of the world? Guests: Luiz Henrique Mandetta Former Minister for Health of Brazil Mustaqeem De Gama Counsellor at the South African Permanent Mission to the WTO​

Vaccine Nationalism | Bigger Than Five

Voters in America are choosing their next president, as people and governments around the world anxiously await the outcome of the US election which could have a consequential impact on their own lives. One country that is looking on with a particularly keen interest is Iran. President Trump has led a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran by imposing unprecedented sanctions after pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. His rival Joe Biden has called that policy “reckless” and said his administration would change course. So just how different will US-Iran relations be under a Trump or Biden presidency? Guests: Mohammad Javad Zarif Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs John Bolton Former National Security Advisor to US President Donald Trump

Reviving the Iran Deal | Bigger Than Five

One of the key architects of the Iran nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif. He joins TRT World's Ghida Fakhry to discuss the fate of the Iran nuclear agreement after the US election.

Iran's FM Zarif on the Future of US-Iran Relations | Bigger Than Five

One of the most vocal critics of Iran, John Bolton, who was President Trump’s National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019. His recently published book, “The Room Where it Happened”, offers a highly critical insider account of the Trump administration. He joins TRT World's Ghida Fakhry on Bigger Than Five to discuss his book and US-Iran relations.

John Bolton on US-Iran Relations | Bigger Than Five

From Tehran, hear what Iranians hope to see from the next US president.

How Iranians are watching the US Elections | Bigger Than Five

The so-called Abraham Accords, which were described by the US President as a “significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous Middle East”, reinforce the anti-Iran axis in the Gulf region. They also pave the way for the UAE to purchase F-35 stealth fighter jets, drones and other advanced weaponry from the United States. While Israel already flies 20 F-35s, the UAE would be the first Arab country to receive the American-made fighter jets. Some Israeli intelligence officials have voiced their concerns about the US commitment, enshrined in a 2008 law, to ensure that Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge” in the Middle East. Others warn that it will spark a regional arms race. So what would the US move to supply more sophisticated weapons to Gulf states mean for the stability of the wider region? One country that knows far too well the devastating impact of these weapons on its civilian population is Yemen, where the world’s largest arms importer, Saudi Arabia, has been leading a bombing campaign since 2015. The International Rescue Committee calls it the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. We went to Sanaa, the largest city in Yemen, and spoke with one man who lost his four children in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Al-Raqqas, last year during the month of Ramadan.

The Cost of an Arms Race in the Gulf | Bigger Than Five

One of the stated conditions for normalizing relations with Bahrain and the UAE was that Israel would suspend its plans to annex parts of Palestine. Yet, the US-brokered accords simply called for “a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, making no mention of the ongoing Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine. The Palestinian Government condemned the move by Bahrain and the UAE as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people.” We went to the streets of al-Khalil in occupied Palestine to hear directly from Palestinian residents about how they view the agreement.

Palestinians Reject Normalisation | Bigger Than Five

The old global order is being shaken up and Bigger Than Five is here to make sense of it all - with tough questions for those in power and sharp analysis about the people and politics that are changing our world.