Michael Pena (centre) in Narcos: Mexico
Michael Pena (centre) in Narcos: Mexico
Michael Pena (centre) in Narcos: Mexico
Michael Pena (centre) in Narcos: Mexico

Action in the fourth season of 'Narcos' moves to Mexico


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Cocaine trade drama Narcos returns to Netflix for its fourth season this weekend, though it may not be quite how you remember it. With notorious Colombian kingpin Pablo Escabar already dead at the end of season two, and his successors in the Cali Cartel having decided to go legitimate at the end of season three, season four finds the action transplanted to Mexico, with a host of new characters and locations now central to the lucrative trade into the US.

Executive producer, showrunner and co-creator Eric Newman insists this is not simply a case of resetting the action to keep wringing profits out of a successful franchise, but rather the logical continuation of the previous three seasons: “The plan was always to go to Mexico – it's just a case of following the flow of cocaine, and in the 1990s the ground zero of the cocaine trade shifted from Colombia to Mexico,” he explains. “Colombia is a minor player now. They still grow it as the coca leaf doesn't grow in Mexico, but the Mexican cartels have far surpassed anything the Colombian ones did in terms of reach, size and violence.”

Michael Pena in Narcos: Mexico
Michael Pena in Narcos: Mexico

In fact, much of the action in season four overlaps with the previous three seasons as Newman and his team seek to explain how the Mexican cartels shifted from “junior partners” in the cocaine trade to top dogs, with one specific geographical factor crucial to their rise: “You can't accurately tell the story of the development of the Mexican cartels without going back to the time when the Colombians were very much running things and the Mexicans were junior partners,” he explains.

“Things changed when American law enforcement successfully shut down the Miami corridor where the Colombians would smuggle drugs in. That's when the Mexicans thought 'hang on, they're smuggling everything through this tiny corridor in the Caribbean – we've got 1,900 miles of border we've been smuggling stuff over for decades.' They basically re-purposed the existing routes that had been used for alcohol and Marijuana, and quickly became very successful.”

Joaquín Cosío, Diego Luna, Horacio Garcia Rojas in Narcos: Mexico
Joaquín Cosío, Diego Luna, Horacio Garcia Rojas in Narcos: Mexico

Newman has become something of an expert on the cocaine trade in four seasons of the show, and one lesson he has learned in particular is that US law enforcement is not winning the war on drugs. Nor, does he feels it is likely to: “What seems most clear from the history we're telling, and it's a subtle message, is that there is no victory in the drug war,” he says. “If you just attack supply, which is all we ever seem to do, you don't stand a chance. If we treated it as the healthcare crisis that it is, and successfully remove demand, that's the only way to win. The current tactics of locking up users and attacking supply lines in other countries is just a really ugly, cynical exercise in my opinion.”

And Newman doesn't sense any desire for a change of approach in the current political climate: “We now live in a time where we've been reduced to winners and losers, addicts and not, and there's no sympathy or empathy in it and that's going to continue for the foreseeable future. That horrible human quality of thinking that we're better than others has taken hold in the situation.”

Tessa la in Narcos: Mexico
Tessa la in Narcos: Mexico

That refusal to paint the drugs war and its combatants in black-and-white terms has been a defining feature of Narcos, and the show has even attracted criticisms in some quarters for portraying the likes of Escobar as semi-likeable characters, but this nuance is vital to the stories Newman and co are telling: "I originally developed the concept of Narcos as a movie in the 90s and started researching then," he explains.

“I realised that it's impossible to tell the story of a truly bad man, but actually humanise him too, in the space of a two-hour movie, and that's essential to me. These characters, are still people, and we live in a world now where everything is black and white. In a two-hour movie, if someone blows up an airplane and kills a bunch of people, he's a bad guy. That's all there's room for, but our goal is to show that there are things about these people that you can relate to. You might even like them in spite of everything they've done. I always say that monsters don't just scream from the womb, they're created by environment and situations and politics.”

Newman is keen to point out that while he may defend some seemingly indefensible characters, he is not in any way pro-cocaine, he simply has a slightly more in-depth understanding of the situation than the usual “drug-dealing baddie” school of thought: “I think if coca leaf grew in Virginia, it would be legal, or at least would have been for a long time,” he says.

“A lot of this is driven purely by money, and in these classist societies of Latin America it's impossible to break out of your place in society. In that situation, it's seriously difficult not to think about taking advantage of this incredible financial opportunity in the US. That's not to say I support the cocaine trade, but I also understand the people who choose this path and why they might do that.”

Narcos season 4 is on Netflix from November 16

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GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

The%20pillars%20of%20the%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Strategy
%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

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Fixtures and results:

Wed, Aug 29:

  • Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
  • Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
  • UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs

Thu, Aug 30: 

  • UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
  • Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
  • Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets

Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal

Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore

Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong

Thu, Sep 6: Final

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries

• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.

• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.

• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.

• For more information visit the library network's website.

THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS

AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas

DevisionX – manufacturing

Event Gates – security and manufacturing

Farmdar – agriculture

Farmin – smart cities

Greener Crop – agriculture

Ipera.ai – space digitisation

Lune Technologies – fibre-optics

Monak – delivery

NutzenTech – environment

Nybl – machine learning

Occicor – shelf management

Olymon Solutions – smart automation

Pivony – user-generated data

PowerDev – energy big data

Sav – finance

Searover – renewables

Swftbox – delivery

Trade Capital Partners – FinTech

Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment

Workfam – employee engagement

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059