Israel has voted, Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his parliamentary majority — and he may still remain prime minister.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks back at Netanyahu’s thirty-year career: Yitzhak Rabin and the 1996 election, coalition deals, corruption charges, far-right allies, the October 7 security failure, Gaza, and an opposition that may now need Arab parties if it actually wants to remove him.

Netanyahu’s great political talent isn’t necessarily winning elections. It’s surviving the space between losing one and actually leaving office.

News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saudi Arabia has executed two Bangladeshi nationals for an unspecified “immoral act” inside a mosque in Mecca. Bangladesh says it wasn’t warned, the families are still seeking answers, and the viral story that they were newlyweds executed for kissing doesn’t appear to be true.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what we actually know about the executions, Saudi Arabia’s treatment of South Asian migrant workers, the monarchy’s expensive effort to rebrand itself through sport and tourism, and why Muslims should consider using pilgrimage spending as political leverage.

If boycotts are supposed to be an ethical tool, why should Saudi Arabia be exempt just because the booking is religious?

News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do people with perfectly good reasons to distrust governments sometimes end up distrusting the victim instead?

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah starts with the strange hostility towards Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, then follows the same logic through Gaza, Trump’s “alternative facts”, Flydubai false-flag conspiracies and the rise of One Nation.

What happens when justified scepticism turns into a worldview where disbelief itself feels intelligent — and every piece of evidence becomes a loyalty test?

News Weakly is independent, ad-free and listener-supported through Patreon.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.