Ghida Fakhry is Host and Executive Producer of the monthly global affairs program Bigger than Five on TRT World. In a rapidly changing world, the traditional influence of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council is being challenged by new emerging forces. Through original reports, news-making interviews, and expert analysis, Bigger Than Five offers a critical look at the issues that matter. As calls for a change in the global world order intensify, veteran broadcaster Ghida Fakhry poses tough questions to those in power and offers a sharp analysis of the people and politics that shape our world. Bigger Than Five airs twice a month, on Thursdays at 20:30GMT.
Stoltenberg's Legacy: More NATO Allies
June 27, 2024
As NATO turns 75, its confrontational stance with Russia is under scrutiny. With a modernized military arsenal and nuclear deterrent, is NATO provoking unnecessary tensions? Could the Western alliance’s strategy lead to a wider war? With 500,000 troops at ‘high readiness’, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insists ‘it is not to wage war but to preserve peace’, but is this hardline approach justified?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tells Ghida Fakhry about the alliance’s long-term strategy for Ukraine and how its core responsibility is to prevent an armed attack on member states.
Edi Rama’s Albania: A Pivot to Europe
June 14, 2024
The Western Balkan nation of Albania is an increasingly strategic partner for the West. On key issues including Europe's immigration challenges and NATO's military alliance, the small country is drawing big power interest whilst it navigates the hurdles of becoming an EU member state. We travel to Tirana where Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama tells Ghida Fakhry of his country's 'blind love' for Europe and warns of the rising nationalism on the continent.
Campus Revolt: Palestine’s Global Movement
May 23, 2024
From the US and Asia to Europe, student protesters are condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and calling out their universities for their silence and complicity. In London, a group of students tell Ghida Fakhry it’s time to dismantle the colonial legacies of the past and fight for the liberation of the Palestinian people, as one faculty member says freedom of speech on UK university campuses is under attack.
Student Power: Freedoms under threat in the U.S
May 9, 2024
As well as calling for a ceasefire, students across America are demanding their universities cut all ties with Israel over its actions in Gaza. But their peaceful protests have been met with a brutal crackdown leading to hundreds of arrests. U.S. presidential candidate Jill Stein tells Ghida Fakhry the pro-Israel lobby’s grip on American politicians is a challenge to democracy. While economist and Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs denounces the “authoritarian” approach that violates the norms of university life and goes against the will of the American people.
Arms to Israel: Is the U.S. breaking its own laws?
April 25, 2024
A spiraling death toll in Gaza fuels calls for weapons supplies to Israel to be disrupted. As pressure mounts on the U.S. - Israel’s main supplier of arms - Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Patrick Ryder tells Ghida Fakhry that Washington’s support for Israel is ‘iron clad’. And former State Department official Annelle Sheline explains why, faced with mounting evidence of war crimes and atrocities in Gaza, she ultimately made the decision to resign and go public.
Gaza: Human Rights Under Attack
April 13, 2024
Dozens of conflicts are now raging across the world, including Israel's brutal war on Gaza. With atrocities and human rights violations happening daily, Ghida Fakhry sits down with Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to find out whether the human rights framework which emerged from the Second World War, is fit for purpose and able to hold Israel to account?
Gaza: Can South Africa Hold Israel To Account?
March 22, 2024
In the first episode of Bigger than Five filmed in our new studio space in London, we speak with South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor. She explains why her country decided to take Israel to the International Court of Justice and why ‘the real test will be will the most powerful join or do more?’ She tells Ghida Fakhry why she believes this should be a ‘turning point’.
