New Water Push Renews Saudi Wheat Circles

Arduous Task Awaiting Six-party Alliance in Turkey

German Coach Leading Positive Change for Women in KSA

A Weekly Political News Magazine

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Issue 1901- April- 22/04/2022

Yasser Galal: President Sisi in “El Ekhteyar 3 “ A Weekly Political News Magazine

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Issue 1901- April- 22/04/2022

New Water Push Renews Saudi Wheat Circles

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Editorial With the Russian military operation against Ukraine getting more complicated, concerns are rising over wheat grain and wheat-based food supplies. Saudi Arabia is turning to increase its wheat production in order to satisfy domestic needs.

In the cover story, Motasem Al Felou delves into how the same same success story of wheat production in the 1980’s in Saudi Arabia can be repeated using renewable water resources, rain-fed agriculture and dams. With a huge network of dams, Saudi is planning to benefit from each and every drop of rainwater, Al Felou writes.

On the expectation of local wheat production from renewable resources, it is possible to increase the production from 16 percent currently to 25 percent or 30 percent in just 3 or 4 years.

The Russian forces have clearly failed to conquer Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, but they continue to be far more powerful, although their intentions continue to be uncertain, according to major American media channels and sources.

In the politics section, Jiwan Soz interviews Turkish academic and professor of political science at Hacettepe Üniversitesi (University) Mete Kaan Kaynar. The interview covers how the Turkish political circles and with them the voters who will vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections that the country will witness next year, are waiting to know the name of the candidate to be determined by the «six-party» coalition that was established on February 12 and which will compete in it and face the current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or his candidate.

In the sports section, Sara Gamal interviews German coach Monika Staab who is something of a pioneer in women›s soccer. The well-traveled -63year-old spoke to Majalla about her role as coach of Saudi Arabia›s women›s national team — and building from the ground up.

In the culture section, Salma Adham writes about the Table of Mercy «Ma›edat Al Rahman» which is one of the most important manifestations that Egypt witnesses in the holy month of Ramadan to reflect the generosity and social cohesion among Egyptians.

There was a controversy over whether or not it will be held this year, as it was cancelled over the two last years due to the spread of the COVID19, but recently the Supreme Committee for Crisis management in the Council of Ministers in Egypt approved its organization.

Read these articles and more on our website eng.majalla.com. As always, we welcome and value our readers’ feedback and we invite you to take the opportunity to leave your comments on our website.

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A Weekly Political News Magazine

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Editor-in-Chief

Ghassan Charbel The Editor Mostafa El-Dessouki HH Saudi Research and Marketing (UK) Ltd 10th Floor Building 7 Chiswick Business Park 566 Chiswick High Road London W4 5YG Tel : +44 207 831 8181 Fax: +44 207 831 2310

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A Weekly Political News Magazine

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A Weekly Political News Magazine

36 Dangerous Conflagration for Africa

Issue 1901- April- 22/04/2022

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Exodus of Celebrities from Russia: From Past to Present

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Pakistani Gov’t’s Dilemma: Existing challenges, A Necessary Approach

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Ramadan Mercy Tables: An Inherited Muslim Custom

56 The Information Age is Starting

to Transform Fishing Worldwide

‘Memoria’ is One of the Greatest Movies 46 You’ll See - or Hear - This Year 5

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A Healthier Way to Look at Body Fat

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Tunisian Music Tunisian members of the group El Hadhra Chants Soufis perform in the City of Culture center in Tunis, Tunisia, 17 April 2022. EPA

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Traditional Dance on Easter in Hungary Dressed in folk costumes, members of the Nyirseg Dance Ensemble perform a traditional dance on Easter Monday at the Sosto village museum in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, 18 April 2022. According to an old Hungarian tradition, on Easter Monday young men pour water on young women, who in exchange present their sprinklers with hand-decorated coloured eggs. EPA

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ISRA

LEBANON

EGYPT Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone signed an agreement worth $3 billion to produce up to 350,000 tonnes of green energy for fueling ships in Ain Sokhna with a consortium that includes EDF Renewables (EDF.PA) and the Egyptian sovereign wealth fund, the cabinet said on Wednesday.

Egypt also signed an agreement with AMEA Power of the United Arab Emirates to produce up to 390,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year in Ain Sokhna, the cabinet statement added.

The number of women in Lebanon dying from pregnancy-related complications has nearly tripled amid a crushing three-year economic crisis that has seen doctors and midwives leave the country, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said Wednesday.

The crisis is also affecting children, especially among Syrian refugees who have fled over the border into Lebanon.

UNICEF said a third of children could not access healthcare by October 2021, and the number of children who die within the first four weeks after birth "increased dramatically among refugees in four provinces assessed, from 65 neonatal deaths in the first quarter of 2020 to 137 in the third quarter".

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Israel shot down a ro Strip on Monday, the first such attack in m flashpoint Jerusalem pro-Palestinian rheto mediation efforts.

No Gaza faction claim launch, which follow dominant Hamas Isla conduct around Jeru compound.

Within hours, Israeli a Hamas and another G sources said. The mili an arms manufacturi

AEL

ocket fired from the Gaza e Israeli military said, the months as tensions over a m shrine drew angry oric from Jordan and U.S.

med responsibility for the wed warnings by the amists of reprisals for Israeli usalem's Al Aqsa mosque

airstrikes hit camps used by Gaza faction, Palestinian itary said one target was ing site. No one was hurt.

UAE The United Arab Emirates has summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest against clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, the Gulf state's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, stressed the need "to immediately stop these events (and) provide full protection for worshippers", the ministry said in a statement.

YEMEN Yemen’s internationally recognized presidential council was sworn in Tuesday in the southern port city of Aden, state-run media reported.

The swearing-in took place before the parliament in a ceremony attended by foreign ambassadors and the U.S. and U.N. envoys to Yemen, SABA news agency said.

Aden serves as the interim seat of the internationally recognized government since the Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa in 2014, setting off Yemen’s long-running civil war.

IRAN Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Monday warned that Israel will be targeted by his country’s armed forces if it makes “the tiniest move” against Iran.

He spoke as talks stalled in Vienna over a deal to rein in Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which Tehran says are used for peaceful purposes. Israel opposes a deal, saying it does not do enough to curb Iran’s nuclear program or its military activities across the region. Israeli officials have said they will unilaterally do what’s necessary to protect their country.

Raisi addressed Israel directly during a speech at an annual parade of Iran’s armed forces.

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A WEEK ACROS MEXICO.

U.S. The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change.

A certification and bidding process opened Tuesday for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy told The Associated Press exclusively, shortly before the official announcement. It’s the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s efforts to reshape Mexico’s electricity sector to favor the state-owned power company have spurred hundreds of lawsuits and sown a level of uncertainty that businesspeople say is costing jobs and private investment.

The level of uncertainty is such that a solar panel company had to agree to a clause in a contract requiring it to buy back some 3,000 panels from a client if laws changed affecting their viability.

Manuel Vegara, whose company Pireos Power installs solar panels for everything from homes to major commercial projects, hasn’t had to buy back the panels — the law change last year didn’t affect his client. But he says he lost projects last year with two other clients worth a combined $3 million because they were unsure where things were headed. He has had to cut his workforce from 90 to 35.

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,

FRANCE.

French President Emmanuel Macro on Wednesday accused his far-righ rival Marine Le Pen of being in thra Russian President Vladimir Putin ov a years-old Russian bank loan to he party during a fiery TV debate ahea of Sunday's election.

While he also charged Le Pen with harboring an undiminished desire pull France out of the European Un (EU), she struck back with a pledge put money back in the pockets of millions of French made poorer du his five-year presidency.

SS THE WORLD

on ht all to ver er ad

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to nion e to

uring

UKRAINE. CHINA.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said any peace talks over Ukraine are likely to fail, as he compared holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiating with a crocodile.

Johnson said dealing with Putin was like "a crocodile when it's got your leg in its jaws" and said it was vital that the West continues arming Ukraine.

The prime minister was speaking as he headed to India, where he will encourage his counterpart Narendra Modi to end its neutrality over the war in Ukraine. He played down the likelihood that India would end its longstanding ties with Russia.

INDIA. New Delhi authorities on Wednesday made the wearing of masks compulsory again after COVID-19 infections rose in the Indian capital in recent days.

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China's aviation authority said on Wednesday the black boxes of a China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) Boeing 737-800 jet that crashed last month were badly damaged and it was still recovering and analysing the data to help determine the cause.

The crash, China's first deadly air accident since 2010, killed 132 people when the flight from Kunming to Guangzhou suddenly plunged from cruising altitude and crashed into the mountains of Guangxi on March 21.

In a statement on its preliminary crash report, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) did not make public any information from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder that were sent to Washington for analysis.

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New Water Push Renews Saudi Wheat Circles New Renewable Water Policies Put Kingdom in Shape for Fresh Agri Push

By Motasem Al Felou – Jeddah In the early 1980’s, Saudi King Fahad bin Abdul Aziz, who ruled between 1982 and 2005, believed in agriculture as a pillar of self-dependence. He worked hard to achieve wheat self-

sufficiency relying on the “wheat circles” model, which are irrigated by deep underground water in the Middle of the Arabian Peninsula.

The idea was revolutionary in the sense that it made the desert Kingdom one of the major producers of wheat with one third of the crops ready

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for exports. Individual farmers and companies got generous government subsidies and the government also bought the wheat crops from producers at four to six times more than the international prices.

In just a few years, Saudi Arabia surpassed self-sufficiency to exportation. The total production of wheat surged from around 150,000 tons in the late 1970’s and early 1980s to 4 million tons in the early 1990s.

Wheat agriculture expanded horizontally and vertically across the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia used wheat as soft power. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (Aug 2, 1990), Saudi Arabia rallied the nations of the world for the cause of Kuwait liberation. To attract the Soviet Union to Saudi side, the Kingdom sent a couple of wheat shipments in addition to buying arms and financial aid. The total production continued to decline with in consideration of the attrition of underground water until it reached between 2.4-2.8 million tons by the middle of 2000’s.

SAGO aims to market the products of the organization inside Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

Concerns over water shortages for future post-oil generations raised the flag and alarmed top policy makers. What happened next?

FROM RATIONALIZATION TO RESTRICTIONS The wheat production declined after a series of restrictions until the Saudi government, led by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, suspended the wheat agriculture subsidies with few exceptions in 2009. The plan was to keep the underground water reservoir for future generations, and empower Saudi agricultural investments in Argentine, the US, Sudan, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Ukraine, and other nations.

The wheat production stands now at around 560,000 tons. The total consumption is estimated at 3 million tons annually.

SALIC, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock

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The wheat production declined after a series of restrictions until the Saudi government, led

by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, suspended the wheat agriculture subsidies with few exceptions in 2009.

Investment Company, a PIF-owned subsidiary (public Investment Fund), was founded in 2009 to be active in bringing food security to the Kingdom through buying land and stakes, takeovers, and establishing new companies in water-rich, stable countries.

“It is a strategic shift. While reserving our national wealth of underground water and wells, the government wanted to make sure the wheat supplies are sold at a stable consumer price without growing wheat locally”, said Gurmalla Said, a Taif-based retired geographic researcher and long-time teacher, told Majalla English.

“With huge financial capabilities directed towards agricultural investments, the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), a USD 5.3 billion fund continues to finance Saudi investors in the field. The Saudi private sector got motivated to invest abroad. Al Marai, a Saudi diary and food manufacturing, a stock market-listed company, bought more land in Argentine. Other private companies invested in Sudan, such as Al Rajhi International Investment Co., to produce wheat.

FOOD SECURITY & RUSSIAUKRAINIAN CONFLICT After the fall of the Soviet Empire, Russia had serious food security issues. The Putin Administration launched a huge national wheat production campaign. Russia joined the world’s top producers: China and India

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with 11% of the global production.

Saudi bought some wheat shipments from Russia starting 2017. In the same year, the Saudi government eased some of the restrictions to allow more wheat production in small land holdings under 50 hectares. With the Russian military operation against Ukraine getting more complicated, concerns are rising over wheat grain and wheat-based food supplies. Ukraine is a significant wheat supplier; however, nobody can expect what would happen if the

While reserving our national wealth of underground water and wells, the government wanted to make sure the wheat supplies are sold at a stable consumer price without growing wheat locally.

world missed the Ukrainian wheat harvest season in June.

There are other safe suppliers, but with a higher cost. “Can we say goodbye to the cheap food age?”, wondered Mohammed Tawfeeq, an Arab agricultural engineer, who worked in Saudi Arabian farms and pesticides distribution.

China, India, France, Argentina and the US can compensate the shortage of wheat, considering that the prices inflated by 50% or more. The question to be asked: What is the Saudi response to the food security and wheat supplies?

RENEWABLE WATER SOURCES Saudi Arabia has built 525 dams over the past 60 years. 86 dams are located South of the Kingdom, which is famous for its mountains and plains with thousands of countryside famers who have smaller farms.

“The same success story of wheat production in the 1980’s can be repeated using renewable water resources, rain-fed agriculture and dams. With a huge network of

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Wheat fields in Tabuk City, northwest of Saudi Arabia. (AFP)

A farmer carries a box containing freshly harvested corns on a farm in Al-Kharj, 77 km south of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

(File photo: Reuters)

Farmers harvest corns on a farm in Al-Kharj, 77 km (48 miles) south of Riyadh December 20, 2013. (Photo )Credit: Faisal Al Nasser

dams, Saudi is planning to benefit from each and every drop of rainwater”, commented Eng. Tawfeeq.

“Unlike organizational investments, individual farmers don’t have major capabilities. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has launched a variety of programs to empower individual farmers.

Self-sufficiency is not impossible if more investments are introduced in smart farm-

Saudi Arabia has built 525 dams over the past 60 years. 86 dams are located South of the Kingdom, which is famous for its mountains and plains with thousands of countryside famers who have smaller farms. ing and irrigation technologies, financial subsidies, and technical support”, he added.

“On the expectation of local wheat production from renewable resources, it is possible to increase the production from 16% currently to 25% or 30% in just 3 or 4 years.

This relies on the rain quantities and water reserved in dams. It is a step forward and more steps are expected to be taken to ensure food security is at its highest levels at affordable prices. This is the bottom line”, Tawfeeq concluded.

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olitics

Why Russia’s Failure

Ukraine’s Secret Weapon Is Its Superior Military Culture, Not Guns and Tanks

By Mohammad Ali Saleh - Washington

people are a real people, why do you want to learn about them? ….

Russian forces have clearly failed to conquer Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, but they continue to be far more powerful, although their intentions continue to be uncertain, according to major American media channels and sources.

In opinion polls, Russians say they have a more negative attitude towards Ukraine than vice versa. This Russian attitude has been shown as related to the following issues:

But the failure to conquer Kyiv, after months-long Russian warnings and photos of hundreds of tanks moving towards Kyiv, then stopped, then withdrawn, led many American historians, political and military commentators to argue that this exposed basic defects in the Russian narrative, whether militarily, politically or culturally.

Following are two American opinions’ excerpts taken from their respective authors’ tweets, websites or statements to the media.

First, “The Russians don’t know the Ukrainians, not only the Ukrainians’ currently-shown strong patriotism and will to defend their homeland, but, also, throughout history, the Russian didn’t know the Ukrainians because they looked down at them,” argued Roman Solchanyk, a political scientist with RAND Corporation, in California. He is the author of two books, “Ukraine: From Chernobyl to Sovereignty” and “Ukraine and Russia: The Post-Soviet Transition” Second, “The Russian military aren’t only conducting a misplanned and mis-executed operation, but, have been known, throughout their history, for dysfunctional military culture,” said Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of a book, “The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam.” He is, also, a columnist at “The Washington Post.”

First, possible Ukraine’s NATO membership Second, accusations that the “Holodomor” (starvation that killed millions) in Ukraine during the 1930’s was done by the Russians.

Third, re-emergence of the UPA (rightist militia that fought the Communist rule) …

Although a large majority of Ukrainians voted for independence in 1991, the Russian media called them “nationalists” who “twisted” the “correct” instincts of the Ukrainians’ “eagerness to unite with Russia.”

In Russian culture, particularly in school curriculums, first, the Ukrainian language is described as a Russian dialect; second, Ukraine (and Belarus) were parts of Russia (and should return); and third, Ukrainian history was part of the history of Russia …

In 2010, the Russian ambassador to Ukraine said: “Russians and Ukrainians are a single nation with some nuances and peculiarities” After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Communist Party, in 1991, Russia presented an image of Ukraine as the enemy …

In 2011, in a poll, 20 years after that collapse, 66% of the Russians regretted it, and 48% expressed a wish to unify with Ukraine …

Solchanyk: “Ignorance of Ukrainians”:

Clearly that was not a strong popular support for the unification, and, actually, 55% said, in a poll in 2009, that there should be a friendship between “two independent states”.

“Historically, there just hasn’t been expertise on Ukraine in Russia at all. When you don’t believe a country is a real country, and a

In 2014, a survey by the University of Oslo, in Norway, found that

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Max Boot

Roman Solchanyk (L(

most Russians viewed Ukraine as not a legitimate state and that when asked “What should be Russia’s primary goals in its relations with Ukraine?”, the most common answers were: Restoring good neighborly relations (40%), retaining Crimea (26%), developing economic cooperation (21%), preventing Ukraine from joining NATO (20%), making gas prices for Ukraine the same as for other European countries (19%), and ousting the current Ukrainian leadership (16%).

As late as 2019, 82% of the Russians had a positive attitude towards Ukrainians, but only 34% towards Ukraine, showing an implicit objection towards an independent Ukraine; actually, only 7% had a positive attitude towards the newly-elected president Zelensky, who is now leading the war against Russia …”

Max Boot: “Dysfunctional Military Culture”: “Russia keeps losing wars because of its dysfunctional military culture. This war in Ukraine is far from over, but Ukraine’s triumph over Russian forces in the Battle of Kyiv was an epic victory for the ages.

It will be remembered as an example of smaller powers defeating more powerful adversaries. Like the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada (by the British); the 1781 Battle of Yorktown (defeat of British colonizers by the Americans); and the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu (Vietnamese defeat of the French colonizers) …

The Ukrainians’ real advantage lies in the realm of military culture — which, of course, is a reflection of society writ large. On the other hand, all of the Russian military’s deficiencies have been brutally exposed during its invasion of Ukraine.

These are not new problems, and they will not be fixed any time soon.

Indeed, an 1854 article in British “The Economist” described “inadequacy of despotic power”; “cheating, bribery, speculation

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Historically, there just hasn’t been expertise on Ukraine in Russia at all. When you don’t believe a country is a real country, and a people are a real people, why do you want to learn about them? pervade the whole tribe of officials”; and that “there seems to be no conscience, and not much concealment, about it.”

These shortcomings help to explain Russia’s dismal performance in conflict after conflict.

Russia lost not only the Crimean War (1853-1856) but also the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), World War I (1914-1918), the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989) and the First Chechen War (1994-1996).

Russia’s major military victories — in the Napoleonic Wars and World War II — came only after an invader was foolish enough to dissipate his forces in the vast Russian landscape -- and only when Russia was greatly assisted by Western allies.

The Russians may eventually be able to assemble fresh forces to fight in the Donbas region — although it will take some time — but they will not be able to change their stultifying military culture. That is why I expect the Ukrainians to continue winning the war, providing they continue to receive the weapons and ammunition they need from the West.

A superior military culture (not a dysfunctional one) is Ukraine’s secret weapon …”

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olitics

Exodus of Celebrities from Russia From Past to Present What Does History Says About Individual Immigration Cases from Russia?

By: Samy Amara The current individual immigration cases coming from Russia, whether they were for cultural, political, or sportsrelated reasons, do not fall under any of the scientific or academic concepts for such a global phenomenon. The individual cases of the most prominent celebrities in the arts and

culture scene cannot be compared to the immigration waves that the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union had experienced. It has become possible to establish the history of the latter cases “theoretically,” and to classify their “waves.”

Some say there was a total of four waves, the last of which was associated with immigration entangled in religious slogans that were closer to nationalism, that is, the Jewish

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Thousands of Russians demonstrate against the war against Ukraine in Moscow and Saint Petersburg on February 2022 ,24 (AFP)

immigration that quickly took politics as a slogan. The contemporary world knows it under the name of “Emigration of Soviet Jewry” as of the seventies of the last century.

The Kremlin has had its input on the so-called “escape,” “emigration,” or “travel” of some celebrities from Russia’s arts and culture scene, underlining the need not to dwell on such news. Official sources quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that “the celebrities who left Russia after the start of the ‘special military operation’ (the war) do not affect the general level of the Russian stage.”

Peskov added that “some of the artists who left Russia cannot tolerate the weather, and their departure should not be taken in a tragic manner.” He went on to say that he believes that “talents do not offend Russia, and a departing star cannot produce the general atmosphere.”

However, some deem the hasty departure, or what we might call the “grand exodus,” of some artists and writers, and the so-called culture and arts dealers, along with their family members, as a transgression against the homeland as well as the citizens who have given it all for the sake of the nation. For many years, these people have “wallowed in” the tutelage of the privileges, insignia, and medals bestowed upon them by the state, and then chose to sacrifice that history at the first “detour.”

The Russian scene has stood with indignation and sorrow at what some described as the “mass exodus” of some of these “patriotic claimants” who turned their backs and packed their bags years ago to leave under a thousand pretenses. Ordinary citizens in Russia followed the news of these stars regarding their boasting about owning palaces and yachts, and also hoarding of wealth. In most cases, this would take place in full view of the authorities who made sure to provide their material and moral needs without paying attention to the comments and calls by President Vladimir Putin of the need to be careful and anticipate various “disasters.” Here the disasters are falling upon them and they are clinching their claws with their money, deposits, real estate properties and wealth that they had transferred or smuggled abroad in preparation for a “red-letter” day.

Apart from the names of famous oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, attention was drawn to names such as Alla Pugacheva, one of the most renowned singers. We have previously referred to her in our discussion of her efforts and the “intermediaries” she searched for in order to have the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sign a decree granting her the title of “People’s Artist of the Soviet Union” prior to his departure from power in late 1991.

Pugacheva was notorious for marrying men decades younger than her. She traveled with her husband, Maxim Galkin, a young satirist, to Israel, due to his “nationalist

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The Kremlin has had its input on the so-called “escape,” “emigration,” or “travel” of some celebrities from Russia’s arts and culture scene, underlining the need not to dwell on such news. affiliation,” where millions of her former Soviet compatriots reside. Headlines from Israel report that Pugacheva would present a television program during which she would recount her childhood and youth years.

Valery Gergiev, the international Russian-Ossetian conductor, refused to submit to the conditions of many European officials who handled his artistic activity and his concerts abroad, whether in Germany or other major foreign countries and cities.

They wanted him to condemn what they described as “Putin’s military campaign against Ukraine,” in exchange for allowing him to continue pursuing his work and activities. Meanwhile, the Russian international soprano Anna Netrebko announced her “condemnation” of the Russian military operation. In response, Russian authorities supervising Russia’s theaters cancelled their previous contracts with her.

In light of such events, many would say that history is repeating itself. The cases of mass or individual displacement from Russia, not to escape the war and its scourge as much as it is an attempt to maintain a comfortable life away from any persecution or suffering inside the country, share many similarities with the cases that has Russia previously undergone throughout its long history, the Imperial, the Tsarist, the Soviet, and even into the 1990s.

However, the reality says that “there is a quite difference between the past and the present.”

History knows the names of many famous people from the culture and arts scene whose names and artistic creations have been associated with both inside Russia during the Tsarist or Soviet Russia, or the near abroad across the European continent, or far beyond the ocean, whether in the USA, or with the few who chose Latin America as their home. These people not only produced written and audio works of art on the tragedy of the “forced exodus” from the borders of the country, but they also went further by producing movies and recorded tapes circulated by their heirs and their fellow citizens among lovers of art and literature, regardless of their national or ethnic affiliation.

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A Tragicomedy The indicators point out that we may be keeping up with a “comedy,” as we are witnessing an exodus met with a great deal of moral and media confusion. Russia might seem lucky to purge those who rushed to travel in response to the invitation of the former US ambassador in Moscow (2012-2014) Michael McFaul.

He warned of “the probabilities of tragedy that may be-

Nonetheless, the breath of relief in such a “tragedy” is that the list of so-called fugitives, departed, or travelers does not include names who are the subject of appreciation, as the country continues to commemorate their memory wherever their tombs were located, whether domestically or abroad.

fall the Russians who are destined to live in complete isolation from the rest of the world, without owning a car or a mobile phone or any of the imported foreign electronic devices, and without being able to obtain an invitation abroad to participate in any foreign conference,” as he put it.

Nonetheless, the breath of relief in such a “tragedy” is that the list of so-called fugitives, departed, or travelers does not include names who are the subject of appreciation, as the country continues to commemorate their memory wherever their tombs were located, whether domestically or abroad.

The Diaspora Stars Examples of such stars include Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, and a number of his comrades from among the philosophers and men of that revolution who spent a long time in exile in preparation for returning to Russia and declaring the establishment of socialist Russia, around which the former Soviet Union republics quickly turned. Aside from politics, there are many stars from the Russian international art and culture scene. These include Feodor Chaliapin, a renowned Russian international opera artist, the son of the Russian Tatar city of Kazan, who was a regular on the stages of Russia, Berlin, London and New York before his death in Paris.

They also include the Russian musician Sergei Rach-

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The exodus of Jews from the Soviet Union en masse in the late 1980s.

The Russian war against Ukraine brought the immigration file back to the fore.

(Getty Images)

maninov, one of the greatest pianists in Russia and the world, who was startled by the breakout of the October Socialist Revolution in 1917. He decided then to stay in the United States, where he continued to perform until his death in 1943 in California. Today his remains are in New York.

As for the literary stars, they include Ivan Bunin, the first Soviet writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1933. He was born in Voronezh, Russia, in 1870, and remained on the go in Russia and many European countries until his death in 1953 in Paris.

There is also the writer of the revolution and the founder of the socialist realist school in Russian literature Alexei Peshkov, who is known to the world as “Maxim Gorky.”

He is nicknamed Maxim the Bitter, in reference to the very bitterness of many of his literary productions, including “The Mother,” a novel that immortalizes the heroism of the Bolshevik revolution, the establishment of the socialist system and the struggle of the working class.

Despite his association with the homeland and the working class, Maxim Gorky frequently visited the island of Capri near Naples, Italy, for health reasons, although he never knew a single foreign language in his life, including Italian. It is worth noting here that Gorky’s residence in Italy did not cut his ties with the homeland, nor with its leader Vladimir Lenin, who always responded to all his literary initiatives, including the establishment of the House of World Literature. Gorky died in Moscow and was buried there.

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The names are numerous and innumerable, and most of them are of high literary value, and of great history in form and content. There is no comparison between the symbols of yesterday and those whose names are popular today, whose names are very fragile in form and content and who have gained their success and fame from being associated with people in power and for promoting their glories and achievements, both the real and the unreal.

As for the money they hoarded, common people in Russia know that the greater part of such money is closer to being the remnants of money laundering. Representatives of the oligarchs and those who are in the circles of “bar boys and girls” have tried to distribute such money during private parties that were the subject of public and private talks in Moscow during the nineties of the last century and beyond. They also held similar parties abroad through their representatives and agents in European capitals, according to the advertisements published by Russian-speaking newspapers and magazines at home and abroad.

Going back to yesterday’s history, recent and distant, shows that the freedom to move and reside wherever one wants is a right guaranteed by all charters and constitutions. However, what is not guaranteed by a charter or constitution, or by reason or conscience, is the “fugitives’” criticism of the country’s conditions and policies, who spew out their reproval while sitting abroad in the arms of those who share their opinion and stance. The important thing, however, is what may be coming.

As for what could be, there are indications of the possibil-

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ity of these people returning to their previous positions with no shame or shyness, glorified with the blessing of people in power, to resume their past lives. In this regard, there are those who say that this a right that no one can take away, as long as the person has not violated any law.

Speaking of which, countless are the crimes that are committed in the name of law.

This might be true, but the most logical and rational option might be that the weight and status of those who departed, the extent of their capabilities, and the value of the talents and abilities they possess, could be an appropriate cushion for returning to the homeland and resuming their previous activities and communications. However, there are those who say, based on the fact that nature does not accept a vacuum, that it is possible to witness in the coming period the emergence of a new crop of “people of the stage” who can impose their presence in such a way that they can confront the returnees by saying: “You were not here. Where were you?” The returnees would then have to accept the fait accompli.

What Does History Have to Say About Migrations of Yesterday – Recent and Long Past?

History says that it is necessary to search among the cases of the past, and the records of the émigrés among the famous people of the country and the world, for what may be useful experiences and lessons for the present. This is what may appear in the biographies of many of the famous people of the past, which necessitates tracing the beginnings of the history of Russian immigration starting with the sixteenth century. Those years included the rule of Ivan the Terrible. One would then move to the seventeenth century, which witnessed dissident movements that contributed to the emergence of the first groups of emigrants comprising young nobles who were sent by Tsar Boris Godunov to Europe to study, but did not return to Russia.

A leap over this era, towards a quick return to the recent

History says that it is necessary to search among the cases of the past, and the records of the émigrés among the famous people of the country and the world, for what may be useful experiences and lessons for the present.

past, takes us to the most famous symbols of that time among the pre-October Revolution Russian immigrants, including Herzen, Turgenev (France and Germany, 18471883), Metchnikoff (Paris, 1888-1916), Pirogov, Lenin, and Gorky, among others since the beginning of the twentieth century. Amidst such names, one recalls what Russian literature says about “migration as a legal concept, which was absent from Russian legislation before the revolution, which in turn stipulated the prohibition of transferring Russians to another nationality and set the period of residence abroad at five years, after which it was necessary to apply for an extension of this period. Otherwise, the person loses his citizenship and on his return is subjected to arrest and eternal exile; a person’s properties are automatically transferred to the Board of Trustees.

Starting 1892, immigration was permitted only for Jews.

In this case, however, they were categorically forbidden from any form of repatriation.”

It is also worth noting that registration and census operations were limited to legitimate passport holders who would cross the empire’s borders legally. The cases of immigration until the middle of the nineteenth century were almost isolated. The situation did not change in a tangible way until after the abolition of the slavery system in 1861.

In the following years, there were the phenomena of mass migration from the Caucasus region, especially of representatives of Caucasian nationalities, including Circassians, Abkhazians, Dagestanis and Chechens, to the lands of the Ottoman Empire, and from there to many countries, including the Arab world among other countries in the Middle East, Western Europe and the USA. The migration waves ranged between political, which were mostly associated with the European continent, to economic, which was mainly associated with the Ottoman Empire, as well as religious, which was a slogan that covered under its banners the so-called Jewish immigration to Israel.

Perestroika and Mixed Migrations During the perestroika period, whose proponent was Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the movement and immigration were characterized by a great degree of indiscipline and marred by what might fall into the category of corruption, absence of accountability and conscience, and betrayal of the homeland.

To start with, there was the Jewish immigration that flowed into Israel in the late 1980s and 90s, which included among the ranks of the Jewish immigrants, scholars and the non-Jewish elite of the former Soviet Union, even the fugitives who fled after draining all the state’s resources and stealing its wealth under the guise of “notorious privatization.” Millions of the country’s citizens became unrepentant about any historical, material or spiritual resources, and left the country prey to the greedy

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Protesters in Russian cities carry signs reading “No to war”. (Getty Images)

and fraudsters who drained its resources under the guise of “privatization” decisions, before they decided to leave, carrying with them all the money and wealth they had unlawfully hoarded.

The names of the celebrities who fled the country would most probably arouse feelings of astonishment filled with a whole lot of indignation and anger, especially against those who were behind the issuance of privatization decisions. It was later admitted that such decisions “were approved specifically to be the last nail in the coffin of communism.”

President Putin had openly revealed in one of his last annual press conferences that those people who were “official employees of the Russian government” were working in close proximity to CIA officers until the beginning of this century. As for the “fugitives,” “displaced persons,” or “those who left” Russia during the past few weeks, the lists of their names are long, and among them is Anatoly Chubais. He is directly responsible for privatization policies. He has moved among various top ranks, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the Kremlin’s chief of staff, and the head of the electric power corporation (RAO

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UES), among other major government institutions. A few years ago, Andrei Kozyrev, the first foreign minister of the Russian Federation, succeeded him.

Kozyrev was Yeltsin’s advisor when he signed the treaty to end the existence of the former Soviet Union with the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus. He ended up being an agent for one of the American pharmaceutical companies before he emigrated from Russia to the United States where he has been residing since the mid-nineties of the last century.

There was also Alfred Koch, a former minister in the first Russian government, who settled in Germany years ago.

The list also includes Sergei, the son of the former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who was a major rocket scientist and emigrated to the United States at the end of the perestroika years, where he passed away a few years ago.

At that time, the famous Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko emigrated and joined the “angry” convoy. He started working in the arms of yesterday’s opponents under the guise of teaching poetry and literature at an American university. He died there, but his body was later transferred to be buried in his “home country.”

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Arduous Task Awaiting Six-party Alliance in Turkey Turkish Professor to Majalla: Ruling Coalition Considering Re-election If It Loses

By Jiwan Soz The Turkish political circles, and with them the voters who will vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections that the country will witness next year, are waiting to know the name of the candidate to be determined by the “six-party” coalition that was established on February 12 and which will compete in it and face the current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or his candidate.

the value of the Turkish lira deteriorated against foreign currencies.

That makes the elections gain exceptional importance, especially with the decline in the purchasing power of the population, high rates of inflation and unemployment in addition to the amendments made by the ruling coalition, which includes the Justice and Development parties and the rightwing National Movement to the parties and elections laws earlier this month.

A Turkish academic and professor of political science at Hacettepe Üniversitesi After a party leader from the Turkish alliance announced that they agreed on one (University), located in the capital Ankara, candidate, they would not reveal his name described the choice of the six-party alliance of one candidate to compete with Ersoon.

The upcoming elections seem very deci- dogan in the upcoming elections as a difsive as they coincide with the centenary of ficult task. the establishment of the Turkish state, in addition to the continuation of the econom- Academic Mete Kaan Kaynar stressed that ic crisis that the country has been suffer- “this alliance has not yet determined its ing from for years and as a result of which candidate, which is something that the al-

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Turkish academic and professor of political science at Hacettepe Üniversitesi Mete Kaan Kaynar

liance may hesitate as long as each party can participate with a single candidate in those elections.” Here is the full text of the interview that Majalla conducted by phone with Kaynar, who is based in Ankara: *Does it seem easy for the parties affiliated with the six-party alliance to agree on one candidate?

First of all, I want to underline that there are no magic shortcuts to deciding on a candidate for the presidency. It is really obvious that it is so hard job for the sixparty-alliance to handle this problem. I am sure that no one -including chairmen of the six parties- knows who will select as a candidate for the Nation Alliance today. There are two ways in front of the six-chairmenalliance: First, they should decide whether they need the joint candidate or not; and then they should decide who is their joint candidate. As you know, the presidency

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Of course, the opposition parties have a great chance of winning and ousting Erdogan despite the amendments in the electoral law. election is two phases, if candidates don’t gain more than 50% of the votes, the second phase of the election will be held. Each of the six-party-alliance may join the first phase of the election with its candidate. It is also a way of policy having some advantage and disadvantage as well can be followed. It can be thought that pointing out the joint candidate who are selected by the ruling elite of each of the six parties-alliance to the voters may cause reluctance. In other words, Voters may reluctant to give their votes to these joint candidates. On contrary, it is also true to say that decid-

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ing on the joint candidate at the beginning of the presidential election campaign has some advantages and disadvantages. The first, imminent, and urgent duty of the sixparty-alliance is to weigh up all the pros and cons of the matter before making a decision. The question of who the candidate is the second question that the members of

The upcoming elections seem very decisive as they coincide with the centenary of the establishment of the Turkish state, in addition to the continuation of the economic crisis that the country has been suffering from for years and as a result of which the value of the Turkish lira deteriorated against foreign currencies.

the Nation Alliance have to answer. * As if you want to say that these parties have not yet agreed on the existence of a single candidate to compete with Erdogan?

Of course, the opposition parties have a great chance of winning and ousting Erdogan despite the amendments in the electoral law. The opposition parties hold the selfconfidence which is given by the last municipal election held on 31st March 2019 in their hands at the moment. And it is clearly seen that they take a strong downwind to their backs. Obviously, the amendments in the electoral law are just the amendments in order not to be defeated in the next election. In other words, I think that Erdogan understands that he has no way to win the next election and plans to change the rules of the game in order to be defeated. Let me underline that there al a lot of differences between the “playing to win” and the “playing not to be defeated” These amendments also show us Erdogan is started to lose his psychological supremacy. This psychological supremacy has started to pass to the opposition.

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Leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu (L), leader of IYI Party Meral Aksener (2nd R), Felicity Party (Saadet) leader Temel Karamollaoglu (R), leader of the Democratic Party Gultekin Uysal (3rd L), Future Party (Gelecek) head Ahmet Davutoglu (3rd R), and leader of the Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party Ali Babacan (2nd L) attend the presentation of “Strengthened Parliamentary System” signing ceremony in Ankara on Feb. ,28 2022. - ADEM ALTAN/ AFP via Getty Images

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rivals face an uphill struggle in convincing voters that they could repair Turkey’s economy © AFP via Getty.

* How will the presence of one candidate in the six-party opposition alliance lead to voter hesitation? Can this coalition win in those elections? * Can the six-party alliance win the presidency without the participation of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party?

We can easily say that this alliance will not -and cannot- achieve its political goals without the People’s Democratic Party (HDP).

And it can be also very clearly seen that the six-party-alliance has no political weight to win the Turkish presidency without the support of the HDP. As you know the second opposition party in the Turkish Parliament is the HDP, despite the shackles in its ankles.

By the way, HDP is still holding the political key to the presidential election in its hands.

But I want to point out the detail as well, in some aspects, it is clearly seen that HDP is “the partner”-but, not “the member” of the Nation Alliance. Knowing this political reality, Erdogan has been trying to separate the HDP -which was a partner of AKP during the “Peace and Resolution Process of 20092015- and the National Alliance by declaring (and describing) it as a “political enemy”

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We can easily say that this alliance will not -and cannot- achieve its political goals without the HDP. * If the opposition wins the presidency, can the elections be repeated, as happened in the year 2019 with the municipal elections?

Just speculating, I don’t think that the ruling coalition in Turkey intends to repeat the upcoming elections if it loses them, as happened in Istanbul in 2019. I think that Erdogan has lost his international and national popularity in order to challenge the result of any election (and/or the next election).

Despite its strong political problems, Turkey has the moral and the institutional power coming from its history, for tackling the people who may not want to obey the result of the next election. I strongly think (and wish) that Erdogan will return his home easily and the new government will take the responsibility as soon as possible.

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Pakistani Gov’t’s Dilemma: Existing challenges, A Necessary Approach

Current Challenges Facing Pakistani Government: A Step Forward or Steps Back?

By Ahmed Taher

the country’s 75-year history. It was also the first time that a Pakistani premier loses office by a vote of noThe floundering of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister, confidence, in a process he did not accept. Khan did Imran Khan, after his last attempt to dodge the politi- everything he could to stay in power after losing his cal opposition, which tried for a week to impeach his parliamentary majority. He dissolved the parliament and government was not the first failure of its kind in the called for elections. However, the Supreme Court ruled life of Pakistani governments that did not shahbazcom- all his steps illegal, and ordered the parliament to hold a plete their constitutional term of five years throughout new session and vote to impeach him.

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The said events confirm that there is a political custom that characterizes Pakistani governments, which is that the heads of these governments fail to complete their entire elected term. This holds a prophecy about the future of the new government formed by opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif, the 70-year-old leader of the Pakistan Muslim League. He was the PM of the Punjab region. His government will face many challenges internally and externally and will face of growing potential threats in light of the developments taking place at international and regional levels. These factors make the government prone to failure, whether in terms of completing the constitutional period scheduled until the next elections in 2023 or in renewing the confidence if it is able to complete that period and run for the next round.

In this photo released by the Press Information Department, newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif addresses during the National Assembly session, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 11, 2022.

(Press Information )Department via AP

The government is faced with a complex and intertwined international situation due to the outbreak of the RussianUkrainian war, whose echoes have rippled inside Pakistan. state of chaos.”

The government also faces a political crisis, represented in the stance of Imran Khan’s party members In light of these two pathways, this report showcas- in parliament following the vote of no-confidence and es the future of the Pakistani government that was the formation of the new government by the opposiformed by the opposition after successfully impeach- tion leader. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the former foring the former PM Imran Khan. This will be done eign minister and deputy chairman of Khan’s party, declared in a speech before voting to elect a new PM: through two themes as follows: “We announce that we are all resigning.” This has First – The new government and the challenges ahead funneled the state into a new crisis over the future of these vacant seats. Is the government heading for … Long agenda: complementary elections or early elections? Members It is not an exaggeration to say that the Pakistani real- of the “Insaf Movement” party, which Khan belongs ity, internally and externally, holds many risks that to, hold 155 seats in the 342-seat parliament. would face any government that would assumes responsibility, amidst growing challenges at the internal Each option poses challenges for the future of the new government and how it performs its tasks, especially and external levels. if we take into account that Shahbaz Sharif won the At the local level, there is a variation in the challenges parliament’s confidence by three votes more than that the new government must professionally handle. half, as he secured 174 out of 342 votes in parliament, There are economic challenges, such as the increas- which holds the seeds of a political crisis that is exing burden of foreign debt, which stands at $130 bil- pected to rekindle from time to time. lion dollars and constitutes 43% of the gross domestic product. There are also the high inflation rate that In addition to the aforementioned, the current govexceeds 12%, as well as the weak national currency ernment also faces security challenges related to the that is now valued at 190 rupees against the dollar, increasing threat of rebellion comprising extremist i.e. the currency lost nearly a third of its value since and terrorist movements. This represents a challenge the ousted PM Imran Khan took office. As a conse- whether in terms of dealing with such organizations quence, a state of stagnation and economic instability on the one hand, and dealing with their threats and has prevailed over the past three years, which created their repercussion on the economic and social condian economic crisis facing the new government. Muf- tions on the other hand. tah Ismail, one of the assistants of the new PM, who is likely to be Minister of Finance, was quite open Outside its borders, the government is faced with a about it when he said, “The new government faces the complex and intertwined international situation due daunting task of managing a faltering economy with to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, whose massive deficits... Imran Khan has left behind him a echoes have rippled inside Pakistan. Some believe

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that one of the repercussions of this war is the isolation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who angered the United States and the West because of his proximity to Moscow. This was evident in his visit to Moscow on the same day that Russia launched its military operation against Ukraine. Therefore, the incoming government is burdened with adjusting the compass of Islamabad’s relation with Washington in light of the deterioration in the relations between the two countries lately. The marks of this fallout could be seen in the military situation in Pakistan, as the USA is a major supplier of arms.

Therefore, the next government is responsible for

The government also faces a political crisis, represented in the stance of Imran Khan’s party members in parliament following the vote of no-confidence and the formation of the new government by the opposition leader.

working on fixing the deteriorating relationship with Washington on the one hand, and maintaining its proximity to Beijing on the other hand. The latter step comes after Imran Khan’s government saw tension between the two countries regarding the common economic corridor included in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The new government is therefore required to work on resolving differences in the relationship with Beijing. In a clearer sense, the new government needs a vision that is able to move with great care in the course of its foreign policy at the regional and international levels in order to preserve its national security and not involve it in any burdening alliance that it cannot withstand amidst the internal crises.

It is worth noting that the external challenges have not been limited to this matter only. The crisis in neighboring Afghanistan, with Taliban coming to power following the sudden US withdrawal from Afghanistan represents another challenge facing the new government. The pace of Taliban’s operations is expected to increase. The movement threatened to launch a large-scale attack on the government forces during the month of Ramadan, which will exacerbate the internal situation on the one hand, and escalate the level of tension between the two neighboring countries on the other hand.

The thorny relations with neighboring India represent another challenge for the new government. The

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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, center, addresses an anti government rally, in Peshawar, Pakistan, early Thursday, April 14, 2022. (AP Photo/ )Muhammad Sajjad

In this photo released by Press Information Department, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, second left, meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbad Sharif, right, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Omar’s visit is the first by a member of Congress since a new coalition government came into power in Islamabad last week after the ouster of former premier Imran Khan. (Press Information Department via AP)

two countries witnessed some tension during Imran Khan’s government. Bilateral trade between Islamabad and New Delhi had previously been suspended after India attempted to consolidate its authority in the region it controls in Kashmir. Khan was also a vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to the extent that Khan called for an international move to end what he described as “genocide” in the disputed region.

Second – The new government and the search for a different approach:

On the external level. Shahbaz Sharif is expected to reboot his country’s relations with the USA, with Washington welcoming him to power.

without an increase. On one hand, the hike in the incomes of government employees may push the genAmidst all the said challenges and potential threats eral level of prices upward, which places more burden facing the Pakistani government both internally and on Pakistani citizens. On the other hand, this increase externally, there is an urgent need for searching for represents an additional burden on the Pakistani puba different approach to how the government should lic budget, which is groaning from an increasing defimanage its economic, security, military and external cit that carries a risk of rising inflation rates. Thereaffairs. In this regard, it is worth emphasizing the fore, the step taken by the PM, which came within importance of adopting a multi-dimension approach, the framework of the new government’s attempt to which can be summarized as follows: win the loyalty of the government apparatus, needs to reconsider its repercussions so as not to exacerbate On the economic level. The new PM wanted to as- the economic crisis. sume his responsibility by attempting to improve the economic conditions of citizens. He made his first de- The government of Shahbaz Sharif needs to work cisions to raise the minimum wage for government on more than one path, starting with maximizing reemployees to PKR25,000, as of April 1. This step mittances to Pakistani expatriates. Remittances have with its seemingly positive effect has a negative layer seen an unprecedented high rate during the last pein its content – the incomes of Pakistanis who are riod. There is also the need to resume talks with the not working in the government remained unchanged International Monetary Fund, which were suspended

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military, as the relations between the Muslim League party led by Nawaz Sharif and its ally, the Pakistan People’s Party, witnessed tension with the military On the political level, there is on one hand a need to due to their criticism of its interference in political start implementing confidence-building measures and life. Therefore, the new government must work on repolitical reconciliation between various political par- building these relations so that they do not clash with ties competing for power. On the other hand, the gov- the military and its vision if it moves unilaterally. ernment should work to improve its relations with the On the security level, confronting the Pakistani Taliban is a top priority for the new government. It must work on restoring stability in Baluchistan. Pakistan’s largest state has been suffering from political turmoil for several years due to sectarian conflicts. There also the insurgents demanding more autonomy and a greater share of the rich wealth enjoyed by this state, where there are natural resources and minerals. before the seventh review of the $6 billion rescue program that was agreed upon in July 2019.

Confronting the Pakistani Taliban is a top priority for the new government. It must work on restoring stability in Baluchistan. Pakistan’s largest state has been suffering from political turmoil for several years due to sectarian conflicts.

On the external level. Shahbaz Sharif is expected to reboot his country’s relations with the USA, with Washington welcoming him to power. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki stressed: “The United States is committed to the long-term partnership with Pakistan, which holds vital importance for Washington.”

At the same time, the new government will also be keen on strengthening its relations with China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stated: “The changes taking place in the Pakistan’s political

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A supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) political party carries party flag as he along with others listen to the speech of the ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan during a rally, in Karachi, Pakistan April 16, 2022. REUTERS/ Akhtar Soomro

Members of Pakistan’s new cabinet take the oath in a ceremony in Islamabad, Pakistan April 19, 2022. Press Information Department Handout via REUTERS

scene will not affect the overall situation of ChinaPakistan relations.” It is noteworthy that Shahbaz Sharif had announced after his election that his government would accelerate infrastructure projects in Pakistan supported by Beijing.

Nonetheless, the future of Pakistan’s relations with India remains the most prominent step in the Pakistani foreign policy agenda. The relation between the two countries is expected to witness an understanding in the upcoming period. This was evident in what Shahbaz Sharif said in response to the congratulatory message he received from Modi on the occasion of his selection: “Pakistan desires peaceful and cooperative relations with India. The peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir, is indispensable.” This rapprochement is reinforced by the history of the relationship between the Sharif family, from which the elected PM comes from, and India. Sharif visited India in 2003 when he was the PM of Punjab, during which he met the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other officials in New Delhi.

On the other hand, his Indian counterpart Modi attended the wedding of a member of the Sharif family.

Modi also made a surprise trip to Pakistan in 2015,

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“ It is noteworthy that Shahbaz Sharif had announced after his election that his government would accelerate infrastructure projects in Pakistan supported by Beijing. a year after taking office, where he was received by Sharif’s older brother Nawaz, who was then PM. Therefore, India views Shahbaz Sharif’s government as a conciliatory government that is ready to settle differences through dialogue rather than confrontation.

To sum it up, the coming days, along their challenges and crises, constitute a very difficult test for Sharif.

Either he will succeed and pass the test, or he will face the same fate that befell his successor and his peers who preceded him. The matter remains dependent on the extent of his ability to build political alliances at home, and rearrange his country’s relations abroad in a way that supports him in traversing the severe economic crisis, the increasing security threats, and the escalating political conflicts.

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Dangerous Conflagration for Africa

Food Riots, Wagner Group Spell Trouble for Continent

By Raphael Parens As the war in Ukraine grinds toward its third month, the ripple effects continue around the world, affecting Africa in particular.

Food prices have increased massively in

the past month across the continent, which could lead to instability in countries already severely affected by Covid19- or other crises.

Sustained unrest, especially surrounding upcoming elections, could spell trouble for the continent. The resulting instability and

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The continent has struggled through Covid19-, yet the Ukraine crisis presents a new challenge for African governments and societies. already experiencing severe economic setbacks caused by Covid19-, inflated food prices may lead to political instability and change.

Africa is no stranger to food riots and the resulting political upheaval. Experts have linked the Arab Spring, the series of upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East that led to several regime change in XYZ, to food riots triggered by increased food prices in 2008, particularly grain. In sub-Saharan Africa, increased food prices that year were linked to riots in Mozambique, Niger, and several other countries. Another cycle of unrest and change could be coming due to the war in Ukraine.

A member the Russianbacked Wagner Group, serving as part of the security detail of the CAR president, waits for him alongside a Soldier and a United Nations peacekeeper. AFP/GETTY IMAGES

demand for increased security assistance may create an opening for outside involvement from private military contractors (PMCs), including Wagner Group.

Food prices are skyrocketing and have reached all-time high prices on the global market. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions have driven the crisis, as much of the world relies on Russia and Ukraine as their breadbasket. According to the African Development Bank, “wheat imports make up 90 percent of Africa’s 4$bn trade with Russia and almost half of the continent’s 4.5$bn trade with Ukraine.”

This has led to a %64 increase in the price of wheat. In addition, the two countries are the top two suppliers of sunflower seed oil, used for cooking around the world. On a continent

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The continent has struggled through Covid19-, yet the Ukraine crisis presents a new challenge for African governments and societies. With food prices skyrocketing, desperate people may resort to riots to encourage their governments to lower national prices. These developments come at a politically sensitive time for several countries. Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, and Sudan are due for presidential elections this year. Food riots would disrupt the political status quo in these countries with elections looming.

This troubling trend could align with another problematic development—the expansion of Wagner Group into Africa. The group has intervened in Libya, Mozambique, Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan, Madagascar, and most recently Mali. Wagner carries out security assistance programs, including riot

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suppression, military assistance against rebel groups, and training programs. They have also conducted significant disinformation campaigns, often encouraging their own brand or supporting the Russian state in these countries. In exchange for their services, Wagner often receives mining and precious metal extraction rights and sites. The success of the Wagner group often comes at great cost. They have been responsible for human rights violations or other abuses of populations.

Wagner’s recent success in Mali featured a clear political victory over France, Mali’s security assistance partner for the last ten years.

Wagner’s recent success in Mali featured a clear political victory over France, Mali’s security assistance partner for the last ten years. After it became clear that Wagner Group would be intervening in response to Mali’s long-term insurgency, President Emmanuel Macron removed French forces in February 2022. Mali has hung an “open for business” sign on the Sahel. This development signals to Wagner as well as other African states that Western security assistance is on the decline, and that Wagner offers an “efficient” method of solving nagging political and military issues in Africa. Food riots, upcoming elections, and political instability may create the perfect storm for more African leaders to reach out to Wagner Group for support.

African governments facing instability over food prices may be tempted to turn to the Wagner Group for XYZ. This would be a mistake. Although Wagner Group offers short-term benefits for African

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A woman carrying water poses for a photo in a camp for displaced people in the town of Ouallam, Niger, July 2021 ,6. REUTERS/ Media Coulibaly/File Photo

Displaced women, who fled from attacks of armed militants in town of Roffenega, ride donkey carts loaded with food aid at the city of Pissila, Burkina Faso January 2020 ,23. Photo by Anne Mimault/REUTERS

leaders, their brutal methods are likely to delegitimize the government over time.

Governments facing the pressures of food riots and elections will need to understand the long-term results, should they commit to employing the Wagner Group. These include human rights violations, failed military campaigns, potential Western sanctions, and economic losses from resource extraction operations. Further, leaders will need to determine whether aligning with the Russian state during this fraught time is a wise idea.

Wagner Group and the Kremlin have their own choices to make as well. Reports have suggested that Wagner Group has deployed some forces to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including from CAR. German Military Intelligence recently intercepted signals connecting Wagner Group operatives with war crimes against civilians in Ukraine. If Wagner has begun redeploying its forces

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Although Wagner Group offers short-term benefits for African leaders, their brutal methods are likely to delegitimize the government over time. to Ukraine, this may represent a shift away from Africa. Yet, Wagner offers a powerful tool of Russian influence in Africa that can help the Russian state build political and military relationships on the continent. Both parties would benefit from maintaining or expanding these operations in Africa, instead of wasting this valuable resource on the battlefields of Ukraine.

This article was originally published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute and can be viewed at www.fpri.org

A Weekly Political News Magazine

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Issue 1901- April- 22/04/2022

Yasser Galal: President Sisi in “El Ekhteyar 3 “ www.majalla.com

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Ramadan Mercy Tables: An Inherited Muslim Custom A Tradition Displays Social Solidarity During the Blessed Month

By Salma Adham - Cairo

scribed religious processions and Quran reading sessions during Ramadan, and the decoration and The Table of Mercy “Ma’edat Al Rahman” is one architecture of mosques, and talked about a pheof the most important manifestations that Egypt nomenon similar to what is currently known as witnesses in the holy month of Ramadan to re- “Iftar Tables. “ Egypt’s charity has been known flect the generosity and social cohesion among throughout its history and until now. Sir de ViEgyptians. The name (Ma’edat Al Rahman) is lemon says in his book: “Egyptians sit on the given to the iftar table held during fasting days to ground eating food in the open courtyard or in feed Muslims, and some donate to spend on or- front of their homes, and they usually invite pasganizing it. According to the neighbourhood, all sersby to share the food with honesty and hospikinds of foods are displayed, providing Iftar for tality.” the needy and passersby in an attempt to feel the THE HISTORY OF THIS CUSTOM warmth and spirituality of the holy month.

There was a controversy over whether or not it will be held this year, as it was cancelled over the It is historically established that this idea began two last years due to the spread of the COVID19, in the era of prophet Muhammad when he used to but recently the Supreme Committee for Crisis send iftar and suhoor meals with Bilal bin Rabah management in the Council of Ministers in Egypt to the people of “Taif” when He visited them in the holy month of Ramadan, and after that, he approved its organization. took the idea of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the In 1589, the French artist, orientalist and traveler Companions and the people of his house. Later Jacques de Vilamon visited Egypt and recorded on, the Commander of the Faithful, Omar Ibn Alhis travels in his book “Journeys.” Sir de Vila- Khattab, established a place for breakfasting fastmon” published in 1589 the details of his trip. ing people under “Hospitality House.”

He followed the festivities of Ramadan and de- The name of these tables is inspired by Surah

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A volunteer carries food to tables as people wait to eat their Iftar meal to break their fast at charity tables that offer free food during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo: Reuters)

(chapter) Al-Maidah in the Quran. It calls for the spreading of mercy amongst Muslims, as this was the main reason for these tables during the era of Prophet Muhammed.

There is a state of controversy between historians over the start of the idea of Iftar tables. And there is more than one story.

More than 1150 years ago, precisely on September 15, 868 AD, Prince Ahmed Ibn Tulun entered Egypt, and that coincided with the seventh of the blessed month of Ramadan; then, he made independence from the Abbasid caliphate, after which he decided to approach the people of Egypt to help him in a war against his opponents Loyal to the Abbasid Caliph.

He prepared a grand feast for merchants and notables and even ordered them to open their homes, and extend their tables to feed the poor, then delivered a sermon to them in which he reminded them that the purpose of the table is to remind them of kindness and righteousness to the poor and needy, as he commanded that this decision be hung everywhere. This was the real beginning of the idea of the tables of the Most Merciful in the country.

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During the reign of King Farouk, it was allowed to hold the tables of the Rahman inside Abdeen Palace to receive workers, farmers and the general Egyptian people.

Ibn Tulun ordered that this table remain present throughout Ramadan, and he also asked merchants and dignitaries to open their homes and provide their tables to the needy. To be sufficient for the largest possible number of Egyptians.

After less than a century, precisely in the year 972, and following the entry of the Caliph AlMuizz li-Din Allah the Fatimid into Egypt, in the month of Ramadan, he decided to hold Ramadan banquets and tables for the people of Egypt. He was ordering rulers, senior statesmen, merchants and notables by making these tables and calling

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them “the Caliph’s Table.”

The people in charge of the Fatimid Caliph’s palace provided a large stock of sugar and flour to make Ramadan sweets. They called it “Dar AlFitra”, and they also made Eid cakes that would be distributed on the last day of Ramadan.

As for the term “the tables of mercy”, it also appeared in abundance during the era of the Sheikh of Islam in the age of the Umayyad state, Al-Layth bin Saad bin Abdul Rahman, he was a lover of charitable work, and he was helping the poor and

the needy. He was always setting up food tables outside his home for the poor and passersby, and here came the table’s actual name after his grandfather’s name, “Abd al-Rahman.”

With the arrival of Harun al-Rashid to the helm of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, he used to serve the Iftar tables during Ramadan in the garden of his palace. Al-Rashid used to disguise himself in simple and modest clothes so that he would wander among the fasting people without

Egypt’s charity has been known throughout its history and until now. Sir de Vilemon says in his book: “Egyptians sit on the ground eating food in the open courtyard or in front of their homes, and they usually invite passersby to share the food with honesty and hospitality.”

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Muslims wait to eat their Iftar meal to break their fast at charity tables that offer free food during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt.

(Getty)

Ma’edat-Al-Rahman in Cairo, Egypt.

Muslims gather to eat Iftar, the meal to end their fast at sunset, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Al Azhar Mosque in the old Islamic area of Cairo, Egypt April 2022 ,8. REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany

anyone knowing him, to ask them about their opinion of food so that he would continue to improve it so that it would be the best thing he could offer to the poor and passersby.

In modern Egypt and throughout the reign of the dynasty of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the tables of mercy had an essential role in the palace. During the reign of King Farouk, it was allowed to hold the tables of the Rahman inside Abdeen Palace to receive workers, farmers and the general Egyptian people.

After that, the king allocated many Restaurants scattered in Cairo to serve as dining tables for the poor so that the property management could pay the value of breakfast and suhoor foods. After the revolution of July 23, 1952, specifically in 1967 AD, Nasser Social Bank was established to supervise the financing of Rahman tables from “zakat” funds.

Many years ago, Mercy tables were organized besides the ancient mosques like the Mosque of AlHussein, Sayyida Zainab and Al-Azhar because of the availability of funds from big merchants.

As the years went by, some associations in Egypt began to provide Iftar tables to the people, such as the Ministry of Endowments and charitable

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According to the neighbourhood, all kinds of foods are displayed, providing Iftar for the needy and passersby in an attempt to feel the warmth and spirituality of the holy month. and civil societies. The Ministry of Health monitors the food and drinks offered at these tables to ensure the safety of those who visit them. Many mosques in Egypt prepare these tables by collecting money from people who pray.

Copts also set up Iftar tables, and the first Coptic Iftar table was held in Ramadan in the Iftar Shubra neighbourhood in 1969 AD, when Archpriest Matta Sawiris, pastor of St. George Church, held an Iftar table for Muslims and Christians in the month of Ramadan in Shubra. Since that time, the tables of Rahman began to spread Until they became found in most of the Egyptian squares and streets.

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‘Memoria’ is One of the Greatest Movies You’ll See - or Hear - This Year

A Story About the Excavation and Reanimation of Lost Memories

By Justin Chang “Memoria” begins with a bump in the night, or very early in the morning. We are in a darkened room, with just enough light peeking in to reveal the figure of a woman as she’s jolted awake by a loud noise — “a rumble from

the core of the Earth,” as she’ll later describe it. She sits up in bed, listening intently and scanning the shadows for the source of this disturbance. Is it a construction crew getting off to an early start? (It is not.) What exactly is this sound and why does it haunt her so, apart from her growing realization that she

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may be the only one who can hear it?

That last question propels this latest wonderment from the Thai writer-director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, whose beautiful and entrancing films (including “Syndromes and a Century” and “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”) have earned him a devoted international following. If you know Weerasethakul’s work, some of what you see in “Memoria,” which won a jury prize at Cannes last year, may not surprise you: clinical rooms and lush landscapes; lengthy single-take sequences that observe more than they explain; a sense of enchantment that creeps almost imperceptibly into every becalmed frame. But if “Memoria” is a gorgeous reassertion of form, it is also a bold excursion into new territory.

Tilda Swinton in the movie “Memoria.”

(Courtesy Neon/TNS)

Shot in Colombia (which it represented in the recent Oscar race for international feature), it’s the director’s first feature produced entirely outside Thailand. It also marks his first time working with a Hollywood star, and it says something about Weerasethakul’s methods that Tilda Swinton, often typecast as a movie’s most outlandish element, here provides an anchoring note of calm. The story begins in Bogota, where Jessica (Swinton), a Scottish-born orchidologist who lives in nearby Medellin, has come to visit her ailing sister. As those sounds disturb her waking moments and keep sleep at bay, she begins researching their origins — a mission that becomes ever more hypnotic and unsettling as it leads her out into the surrounding forest.

With its subtly bifurcated, town-to-country structure, “Memoria” carries echoes of some of its predecessors, especially “Blissfully Yours” and “Tropical Malady.” But the differences are as striking as the similarities.

Nearly every Weerasethakul movie can be approached as a kind of mystery, but “Memoria” is his first to present itself so explicitly as a detective story. And while sound has always been a crucial element of his formal design — his films are veritable symphonies of rushing water, chattering wildlife and soaring Thai pop — he has never been more

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“Memoria,” as its title makes transparent, is about the excavation and reanimation of lost memories, the preservation of things in danger of being lost, destroyed or forgotten. attentive to the contours of his soundscape, or more insistent that we not only look but listen. (His key collaborators here include the sound designer Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr, the sound supervisor Javier Umpiérrez and the sound director Raul Locatelli.)

In one of the movie’s most enveloping scenes — a demonstration of how easily, in Weerasethakul’s hands, the mundane can slip into the magical — Jessica seeks assistance from a young sound engineer, Hernan (Juan Pablo Urrego). In exacting detail, she describes the loud bang she’s been hearing (“a big ball of concrete that falls into a metal well which is surrounded by seawater”), which Hernan tries to replicate using a library of movie sound effects. A digital reproduction played on a computer, he warns her, might approximate what she’s hearing, but won’t achieve the same impact — a statement that reverberates here in ways that may exceed even Weerasethakul’s own intentions.

Here it may be worth noting that “Memoria” is the beneficiary of an appropriately experimental release strategy devised by its distributor, Neon. (It opens this Friday for a weeklong run at the Nuart and will play at other Los Angeles theaters in coming weeks.) The idea is for the movie to play exclusively and eternally on the big screen, one theater and one city at a time; it will never be made available on DVD or homestreaming platforms. When this plan was announced months ago, some dismissed it as elitist — hardly the first time that word has

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been hurled in Weerasethakul’s direction.

Others, myself included, couldn’t help but applaud Neon for treating “Memoria” as not just another chunk of streamable content, but rather as a work of art that demands to be approached on its own terms and experienced under the best possible conditions.

To put it another way: Weerasethakul doesn’t make convenient movies, and our culture of instant cinematic gratification could scarcely be more antithetical to the way he perceives the world. And so there is something to be said for allowing his movie to reach its audience at a pace commensurate with its own serene, meditative rhythms. When you go to see “Memoria” — and I urge you to make time to see it — you may feel an instinctive kinship with Jessica from that jolt of an opener: Here you are, just like her, having left home to find yourself sitting in darkness, watching and listening and trying to figure out what the hell’s going on. There’s pleasure in this discombobulation, and within a few moments, you find yourself warming to Jessica’s company — and marveling at Swinton’s ability to both harness and downplay her natural magnetism.

longtime expat’s slightly faltering fluency.)

It’s a wondrously self-effacing performance from an actor who ordinarily can’t help but grab the camera’s attention. Here, the cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (shooting on 35-millimeter film) maintains a watchful distance from Swinton, seldom going in for a close-up (the rare exception is a jawdropper) and finding the expressive depths in her spare, precise body language.

Warm yet reserved, happy to speak but happier to listen, Jessica awakens your protective instincts and your identification. But if she serves as something of a surrogate for the audience, she might also be a stand-in for Weerasethakul: a curious, sensitive outsider, humbly engaging with the riddles of a culture that isn’t her own. We watch as she walks the streets of Bogotá, wanders an art gallery and shops for a refrigerator for her orchids. She sits with her recovering sister (Agnes Brekke) in a hospital and consults an archaeologist (Jeanne Balibar) who’s studying ancient human remains. In time Jessica will head out into the countryside, not far from where those remains were excavated, and make contact with an older fisherman (a remarkable Elkin Díaz). There, in a rapturThis is not the first time she has modulated ously beautiful riverside idyll, they forge a her screen presence in service to an auteur’s connection as inexplicable as it is profound. otherworldly vision, or proven herself an exceptionally skilled polyglot. (Having tried her The fisherman happens to be named Hernan, hand at Hungarian in “The Man From Lon- and the possibility that he and the sound endon” and Russian-accented Italian in “I Am gineer are the same person — or alternate Love,” Swinton speaks Spanish here with a versions thereof — would hardly be out of place in Weerasethakul’s cinematic universe, where the transmigration of souls is a given. In her own way, too, Jessica is granted access to someone else’s consciousness. As the older Hernán shares a draft of his hallucination-stirring home brew and speaks about his own personal history, Jessica seems to empty herself out. She becomes a vessel — “an antenna,” in her host’s words — for the perceptions, insights and recollections of others. Hernan describes himself as a “hard disk,” a bottomless repository of memories,

Nearly every Weerasethakul movie can be approached as a kind of mystery, but “Memoria” is his first to present itself so explicitly as a detective story.

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Memoria (2021)

Weerasethakul doesn’t make convenient movies, and our culture of instant cinematic gratification could scarcely be more antithetical to the way he perceives the world. lost memories, the preservation of things in danger of being lost, destroyed or forgotten.

These might include the traditions of Colombia’s Indigenous people, or perhaps the lives affected by the armed conflict that has regularly engulfed the nation since the 1960s.

But Weerasethakul has no use for conventional history lessons. He loves the people in front of his camera, and his love proves contagious. He’s also fascinated by the forces of decay and impermanence, and the possibility of using technology to cheat them or at least slow them down. Jessica’s refrigerators are one such mechanism; the cinema is another.

And cinema, as Weerasethakul reminds us, is still a young art, one whose properties and possibilities are still in the process of revealing themselves. An explanation for those strange sounds does materialize, and even coming from a filmmaker who has primed us to expect the otherworldly, it’s something to see — and to hear. A paean to the distant past that unfolds in a rigorous present tense, “Memoria” finally reveals itself as a vision from the future — a declaration of faith in a medium that hasn’t lost its power to astonish.

This article was originally published by Los Angeles Times. and the references to outmoded technology further immerse us in a world that feels both far from home and out of time.

“Memoria,” as its title makes transparent, is about the excavation and reanimation of

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‘MEMORIA’ In Spanish and English with English subtitles Not rated Running time: 2:16 Where to watch: Now in theaters

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Trailing a Blaze German Coach Leading Positive Change for Women in KSA Interviewed By Sarah Gamal The women’s football scene in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has gained increasing momentum, especially after the establishment of the first specialized women’s football department in 2019, in addition to the fact that women’s sports in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 witnessed an amazing increase in participation and interaction rates, which reached %149 over the four years past. Currently, more than 195,000 girls between the ages of 5 to 15 years practice sports on a weekly basis.

The success of Saudi women’s football was not the result of chance, or a stroke of luck, but rather with conscious planning and abundant efforts, and the solidarity of everyone, in support of development, and by placing the right person in the right place.

A promising start and an optimistic start, indicating a brilliant future for Saudi women’s football was that after entering the game in the Kingdom under the FIFA table, the team won the first two matches at the expense of the Seychelles and the Maldives teams under the leadership of veteran German coach Monica Staab.

Monika Staab is something of a pioneer in women›s soccer. The well-traveled -63year-old spoke to Majalla about her role as coach of Saudi Arabia›s women›s national team — and building from the ground up.

The highly rated Staab, who has more than 25 years of experience as a player and coach, started coaching after a professional playing career spanning more than two decades with clubs such as Germany’s Kickers Offenbach, Queens Park Rangers in England and Paris Saint-Germain in France.

After switching to management, Staab coached SG Praunheim, the last team she played for in Germany, before taking Bundesliga giants Frankfurt to nine

domestic titles and one UEFA championship title between 1999 and 2004.

“I call myself a pioneer in women’s football as we had to overcome so many barriers throughout my life in the game. I started to play when I was 4 years old with the boys. As a girl it was forbidden to play in a club or in any boys’ team. So, when our German Football Federation allowed us to play on 30th of October 1970 I was entering an adult team club as there was no girls’ youth team. From that day on we were trying to get accepted in the society. Now I am working in Saudi Arabia and I find the same situation as we had 53 years ago. I always say that if you work in women football you have to be positively crazy. There was not a lot of money involved – only the passion and the love of the game drove you.” Mrs. Staab stated.

“In women’s football you have to be very patient and very dedicated to achieve anything. Overall, you have to believe in it and then it can happen - you need to have a great stamina. I always give the people who are involved in women’s football the sparks - the fire they have to light themselves,” she added.

Staab›s star shined with prestigious European clubs such as Queens Park Rangers and Southampton in England and then Paris Saint-Germain in France, before deciding to return to Germany, where she supervised the technical management of the Frankfurt Women›s Club, before taking over the presidency of the same club between 1999 and 2003.

Staab was able to make a brilliant name for herself in the international women›s football decision-making circles.

She is also famous for her lectures on the game in the two federations: the international (FIFA) and the European (UEFA). She has also undertaken on more than one occasion the mission of representing FIFA and Germany in a number of international missions and events.

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“The women’s football scene in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has gained increasing momentum, especially after the establishment of the first specialized women’s football department in 2021, in addition to the fact that women’s sports in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 witnessed an amazing increase in participation and interaction rates, which reached %149 over the four years past.”

Monika Staab is the first Saudi women’s National Football Team coach.

(Photo Credit: Monika Staab).

Additionally, Bahrain was the first of her many adventures as a pioneer as Staab herself has said in numerous interviews. She has travelled to 85 countries over the last 15 years, from Gambia to Pakistan and from Syria to North Korea. The doors of every football association under the international auspices of FIFA have been open to her – all but those of Saudi Arabia.

From the end of 2018, she had been in charge of the German Gambian Football Project until COVID19came along and with it, a new challenge. Regarding her experience in the German Gambia Football Project; she said: “It was a real fantastic experience. This project was supported by the German Government and the German Olympic Sport Federation. Gambia is also a Muslim country so we did have a lot do to convince the society that girls can also play football. The beautiful game was not only meant to be for the boys and men also for girls and women. So, we did a lot of school programs so the girls started at a very young age to play and then it was normal to play for them when they are 12 above.”

“We educated a lot of teachers so they could run all these school programs. We organized a lot of festivals so the parents were able to see their daughters being happy.

We established academies so there was a good pathway for the girls to enhance their performances. Many girls are not allowed to go to school lack of funding and also, they have to support the housework. So, we were able

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to get quite a few girls back to school through football as education is the most valuable good for all children – boys as well as girls.” She added.

Another milestone in the history of women’s football came about on 2 November 2021 when Staab held the first training session with the national team. A total of 700 players registered to play for their country, and all of them attended try-outs and had their skills assessed, with Staab then whittling down the number to a squad of 30.

“Well, when I came here there was virtually no national team. We started to announce through social media some tryouts. Actually 700 female players were registered. In the end 400 players came and we selected 50 out of the three main cities Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh. They never ever played on an -11side pitch so we started off in playing a league in these three cities with 6 teams each.

The last 8 best team played a knock-out tournament and in the beginning of January the first champions of Saudi Arabia in women football was elected. They played only 70 minutes each game. I pulled the best 36 players in the end of January together to prepare them for their first official international match in the Maldives against Seychelles.” The -63year-old pioneer said.

“It was an amazing experience for the players. The first time they played on a big field. At the beginning everything was a little bit chaotic. After they played some games, their performance improved tremendously.

The women are so eager to learn and unbelievable engaged to play the game. Actually, there are 28 female club teams in Saudi Arabia. So football has been played since 2007 nevertheless never a competition on -11 side field – only 5er, 7er or 9er-side at communities’

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tournaments/level.” She added.

Playing a role in this social change is something that is very important for Staab, who hails from Dietzenbach near Frankfurt. As well as looking after the national team, her tasks include training other coaches.

“Developing women football means really hard work and that every year – starting all over again specially in these Arabic countries where women football is still not accepted in the society due to cultural barriers. An Arabic man told me once: “A Arabic woman is like a crystal and when she plays football she will break – and

“The female Falcons, overseen by -62year-old German coach Monika Staab, defeated the Seychelles 0-2 in a friendly match that was held in the Maldives.

Pele said: “I want to congratulate the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and their women›s National Football Team for their first ever official FIFA match.”

then I answer I have been playing for over 50 years and I have not been broken”. Staab said.

After playing and winning their first ever international match, the Saudi Arabian women’s national football team has garnered worldwide praise and, in particular, from one of the game’s biggest names.

“Today is a historic day, not only for you, but for everyone who loves football,” tweeted legendary Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, in support of the players.

The female Falcons, overseen by -62year-old German coach Monika Staab, defeated the Seychelles 0-2 in a friendly match that was held in the Maldives. Pele said: “I want to congratulate the Saudi Arabian Football

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Monika Staab leads a training session of the Saudi women’s national football team. (Photo Credit: Monika Staab).

Monika Staab has been coaching Saudi Arabia›s first women›s national team since September 2021. (Photo Credit: Monika Staab).

Monika Staab while working as a soccer teacher in Qatar. (Photo Credit: Monika Staab).

Federation and their women›s National Football Team for their first ever official FIFA match.”

On the other hand, the German coach described it as; “The players did amazing – they were so full of passion – they wanted this success so badly. They have played with such an honor and pride for their country.

I was really astonished how quickly the girls were implementing all the tactical, technical and the physical aspects of the game they were trained in such a short period of time. They never played in such a big stadium and also for 90 minutes. They played 2 games in within 4 days. I did not expect such a high performance of the players. They players were so happy to play their first official international match. The players made history and these girls will never ever forget this unbelievable historical moment.”

Meanwhile, when asked if she met a lot of people who are not so open about women’s football in Saudi Arabia; she said: “Not at all – all the feedback I have been getting after such the big success in the Maldives was really great. Particularly the men are so supportive and happy that the women can now also play the game. Saudi is a crazy football nation – everyone the grandmother, the daughters, the mothers and of course all the men are in some way supporting a club team or even an international team in Europe. They all go into the stadium and cheer their team up. Where ever I go now in Saudi they all will recognize me as the women national coach and want to make selfies.”

When asked about if women’s football contribute to equality; “Well, the women here in Saudi do face equality – they are having good jobs and what surprised me they have equal pay. The players of the national

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“Developing women football means really hard work and that every year – starting all over again specially in these Arabic countries where women football is still not accepted in the society due to cultural barriers.” team were getting the same daily allowances as the men are getting. This was unimaginable in our days when we were playing football. I am really surprised how the society is positive about the women who are playing football.” Staab said.

As for the next steps for her and for the women’s national team; “At the moment most of the national players prepare for some FUTSAL competition which is coming up in May (GCC Futsal tournament) and in June the West Asian Futsal tournament where Saudi Arabia is the host. There is a Futsal national coach as it is not the same game. The -11side national women football team will start again in August to prepare for their next 3 international games in Mauritius. Five games need to play against FIFA ranking teams before the-national team will enter into the FIFA rank list.”

Staab concluded.

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Yasser Galal: President Sisi in “El Ekhteyar3“

By Majalla Illustration by Jeannette Khouri The appearance the Egyptian actor, Yasser Galal, in the character of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, sparked a state of interaction through social media, with the presentation of the first episode of the series “El Ekhteyar 3” (The Choice).

The new part of the series, which is an extension of two previous parts that were earlier shown during the month of Ramadan, presents an artistic treatment of the most historic experiences that Egypt has gone through in recent years since Sisi was chosen as Minister of Defense during the rule of former President Mohamed Morsi.

Galal played the President before he came to office after the June 30 Revolution in 2013. The makeup team successfully transformed Galal into El Sisi despite the differences in their features.

Yasser Galal was born in Alexandria Governorate on April 16, 1969, into an artistic family. He is the son of director Galal Tawfiq, the eldest brother of fel-

low onscreen personality Ramez Galal.

He entered the world of art through cinema, in 1983 through his participation in the movie “The Dancer and the Drummer”, at the age of 14 years.

Yasser belongs to cinema and TV’s rising generation that shone at the end of 1990s. He studied in the High Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1990. After graduation, he played a role in “Rahma wa ameer al-ghaaba” (Rahma and Prince of the forest).

Upon finishing his military service, Galal worked in TV and Theatre. He excelled in TV series like “Lan a’eesh fe gelbaab aby” (I will not put myself in my father’s robe), “Al-waa’d al-hakk” (The right promise), “Nahnu la nazraa’al-shawk” (We do not sow thorns), “Awlaad hadret al-naazer” (Principal’s children) and “Al-batal” ( The hero).

Many have linked the features of Yasser Galal and the late artist, Rushdi Abaza, to the cinema, due to the similarity of features and personality as well as the seriousness and masculinity that characterize the personality of both of them, in addition to the hand-

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someness.

Yasser Galal’s art spanned nearly 90 critically-acclaimed roles, most of which were secondary roles, until his stardom year (2017), in which he put his foot firmly in the ladder to stardom after his success in the series, “Shadow of the President” and then the starringlead roles rolled over him.

Many viewers deal with Yasser Galal as the first star of Ramadan this year, praising his performance and his elaborate portrayal of the character, through emotions, body language and tone of voice, to the distinctive form of makeup that is very close to the character and the voice that seems to be largely identical.

In 2006, Yasser Galal married lawyer Heba Abdel Moneim, from outside the artistic community, and they have a daughter and a son, Qadriya and Galal.

Galal has won many awards, the most important of which are the Best Actor Award in 2017 for his role in the series “The President’s Shadow,” and the Best Actor Award at Dear Guest Festival for his role in the series “Rahim” in 2018.

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echnology

The Information Age is Starting to Transform Fishing Worldwide

Commercial Fishing Has Begun a Shift Toward a Less Destructive Postindustrial Era

By Nicholas P. Sullivan People in the world’s developed nations live in a postindustrial era, working mainly in service or knowledge industries. Manufacturers increasingly rely on sensors, robots, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to replace human labor or

make it more efficient. Farmers can monitor crop health via satellite and apply pesticides and fertilizers with drones.

Commercial fishing, one of the oldest industries in the world, is a stark exception. Industrial fishing, with factory ships and deep-sea trawlers that

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land thousands of tons of fish at a time, are still the dominant hunting mode in much of the world.

This approach has led to overfishing, stock depletions, habitat destruction, the senseless killing of unwanted bycatch, and wastage of as much as 30% to 40% of landed fish. Industrial fishing has devastated artisanal pre-industrial fleets in Asia, Africa, and the the Pacific.

The end product is largely a commodity that travels around the world like a manufactured part or digital currency, rather than fresh domestic produce from the sea. An average fish travels 5,000 miles before reaching a plate, according to sustainable-fishing advocates. Some is frozen, shipped to Asia for processing, then refrozen and returned to the U.S.

Photo Credit: (TNS)

Industrial fishing, with factory ships and deep-sea trawlers that land thousands of tons of fish at a time, are still the dominant hunting mode in much of the world. was produced sustainably.

Fishing boats in New Bedford, Massachusetts— the top U.S. fishing port, based on total catch value—are rigged with sensors to develop a Marine Data Bank that will give fishermen data on ocean temperature, salinity, and oxygen levels. Linking this data to actual stock behavior and catch levels But these patterns are starting to change. In my is expected to help fishermen target certain spenew book, The Blue Revolution: Hunting, Har- cies and avoid unintentional bycatch. vesting, and Farming Seafood in the Information Age, I describe how commercial fishing has be- Annual catch limits, divvied up through individgun an encouraging shift toward a less destruc- ual quotas for each fisherman, have helped curb tive, more transparent postindustrial era. This is overfishing. Imposing catch shares can be highly true in the U.S., Scandinavia, most of the Eu- controversial, but since the year 2000, 47 U.S. ropean Union, Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, stocks that were overfished and shut down have South Korea, the Philippines, and much of South been rebuilt and reopened for fishing, thanks to America. policy judgments based on the best available sciFishing with data ence. Examples include Bering Sea snow crab, Changes in behavior, technology, and policy are North Atlantic swordfish, and red grouper in the occurring throughout the fishing industry. Here Gulf of Mexico. are some examples: A growing “fishie” movement that mirrors the Global Fishing Watch, an international nonprofit, widespread “foodie” locavore movement has monitors and creates open-access visualizations been gaining steam for more than a decade. Takof global fishing activity on the internet with a ing a page from agriculture, subscribers to com72-hour delay. This transparency breakthrough munity-supported fisheries pay in advance for has led to the arrest and conviction of owners regular deliveries from local fishermen. Such enand captains of boats fishing illegally. gagement between consumers and producers is beginning to shape buying patterns and introduce The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability, consumers to new types of fish that are abundant an international business-to-business initiative, but not iconic like the cod of yore. creates voluntary industry standards for seafood traceability. These standards are designed to GROWING FISH ON LAND help harmonize various systems that track seafood through the supply chain, so they all collect Aquaculture is the fastest-growing form of food the same key information and rely on the same production in the world, led by China. The U.S., data sources. This information lets buyers know which has exclusive jurisdiction over 3.4 million where their seafood comes from and whether it square miles of ocean, has a mere 1% share of

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echnology

the global market.

A VORACIOUS CHINA

But aquaculture, mostly shellfish and kelp, is the third-largest fisheries sector in the Greater Atlantic region, after lobsters and scallops. Entrepreneurs are also raising finfish—including salmon, branzino, barramundi, steelhead, eels, and kingfish—mostly in large, land-based recirculating systems that reuse 95% or more of their water.

This kind of progress isn’t uniform throughout the fishing industry. Notably, China is the world’s top seafood producer, accounting for 15% of the global wild catch as well as 60% of aquaculture production. Chinese fishing exerts huge influence on the oceans. Observers estimate that China’s fishing fleet may be as large as 800,000 vessels and its distant-water fleet may Industrial-scale ocean salmon farming in Nor- include up to 17,000 vessels, compared to 300 way in the 1990s was largely responsible for the for the U.S. perception that farmed fish were bad for wild fish and ocean habitats. Today this industry has According to a study by the nonprofit advocacy moved to less dense deep-water offshore pens or group Oceana using Global Fishing Watch data, land-based recirculating systems. between 2019 and 2021 Chinese boats carried out 47 million hours of fishing activity. More Virtually all new salmon farms in the U.S.—in than 20% of this activity was on the high seas Florida, Wisconsin, Indiana, and several planned or inside the 200-mile exclusive economic zones for Maine and California—are land-based. In of more than 80 other nations. Fishing in other some cases, water from the fish tanks circu- countries’ waters without authorization, as some lates through greenhouses to grow vegetables or Chinese boats do, is illegal. Chinese ships often hemp, a system called aquaponics. target West African, South American, Mexican, and Korean waters.

There is heated debate over proposals to open U.S. federal waters, between 3 and 200 miles Most Chinese distant-water ships are so large offshore, for ocean aquaculture. Whatever the that they scoop up as many fish in one week outcome, it’s clear that without a growing mari- as local boats from Senegal or Mexico might culture industry, the U.S. won’t be able to reduce catch in a year. Much of this fishing would not and may even widen its $17 billion seafood trade be profitable without government subsidies. deficit.

Clearly, holding China to higher standards is a priority for maintaining healthy global fisheries.

Aquaculture is the fastestgrowing form of food production in the world, led

by China. The U.S., which has exclusive jurisdiction over 3.4 million square miles of ocean, has a mere %1 share of the global market.

THE OCEAN’S RESTORATIVE POWER There is no shortage of gloomy information about how overfishing, along with other stresses like climate change, is affecting the world’s oceans. Nonetheless, I believe it bears emphasizing that more than 78% of current marine fish landings come from biologically sustainable stocks, according to the United Nations. And overharvested fisheries often can rebound with smart management.

For example, the U.S. East Coast scallop fishery,

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A researcher at the advocacy group Oceana uses GPS data to trace the activity of fishing boats.

[Photo: Eric Baradat/ AFP/Getty Images]

which was essentially defunct in the mid-1990s, is now a sustainable $570 million a year industry.

Another success story is Cabo Pulmo, a 5-mile stretch of coast at the southeast end of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Once a vital fishing ground, Cabo Pulmo was barren in the early 1990s after intense overfishing. Then local communities persuaded the Mexican government to turn the area into a marine park where fishing was barred.

“In 1999, Cabo Pulmo was an underwater desert. Ten years later, it was a kaleidoscope of life and color,” says ecologist Enric Sala, director of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Project, observed in 2018.

Scientists say that thanks to effective management, marine life in Cabo Pulmo has recovered to a level that makes the reserve comparable to remote, pristine sites that have never

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Most Chinese distant-water ships are so large that they scoop up as many fish in one week as local boats from Senegal or Mexico might catch in a year. Much of this fishing would not be profitable without government subsidies. been fished. Fishing outside of the refuge has also rebounded, showing that conservation and fishing are not incompatible. In my view, that’s a good benchmark for a postindustrial ocean future.

This article was originally published by Fast Company.

H

ealth

A Healthier Way to Look at Body Fat

Excess Stored Fat and Its Location in the Body Impact your Health

BY Matthew Solan You need some body fat for optimal health. However, where it’s stored may affect your risk of health problems.

Americans have a big weight problem. According to the CDC, about %42 of men ages 60 and older are obese, storing excess body fat. “But body fat in itself is not the issue, as your body needs a certain amount of fat to stay healthy,” says Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Harvard-

affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Rather, excess stored fat and especially its location in the body have the greatest impact on health.”

BODY FAT FACTS Here is how your body stores fat. When you eat, the main components of food -- protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fat -- are broken down and mostly metabolized as energy to fuel the basic biological processes that keep you alive

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Photo Credit: (Pixa)bay/ pexels

and kicking.

Any unused fuel gets stored as lipids (fatty molecules) in fat cells, called adipocytes, all around the body. The amount of that stored fuel -- measured in calories -- determines how much fat cells grow. In fact, fat cells can expand or shrink in size by up to a factor of 50.

You never lose fat cells, and once you reach adulthood, the number more or less stays the same. You also can’t control where your body stores fat. “Factors like body type, age, hormones, and genetic predisposition all determine where excess fat ends up,” says Dr. Apovian.

Stored fat in itself is not bad. The body needs fat reserves for emergency energy, and fat helps insulate the body and protect vital organs. Fat cells also release leptin, a hormone that acts on the brain to decrease appetite and help regulate body weight.

It’s how much body fat you have, and where, that makes a difference to your health. In most people, about %90 of body fat is subcutaneous, meaning it lies in a layer just beneath the skin. The remaining %10 is visceral fat, which lies beneath the abdominal wall and in the spaces surrounding the liver, intestines, and other organs. Of the two, visceral fat is the most troublesome: having too much increases the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a fatty liver. While fat is practically everywhere in the body -- chest, back, stomach, glutes -- the midsection is where most men see (and feel) excess amounts.

Why does body fat build up? It’s a myth that eating fat makes you fat, and in fact, it can be the opposite. “Many natural foods high in healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats can make you feel fuller faster because fats are slow to digest,” says Dr. Apovian. She points out that the highly touted Mediterranean diet, which was recently ranked the healthiest diet, contains %40 to %50 fat.

Weight gain is caused by eating too many calories, no matter the source. The biggest calorie culprits are ultraprocessed foods, such as frozen pizza, soda, fast foods, and salty snacks. Americans eat more of them than ever, according to a study published online Oct. 2021 ,14, by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that examined the daily eating habits of about 41,000 adults over a period of 18 years.

Other research has found that people whose diets contain high amounts of ultra-processed foods eat around 500 extra calories per day compared with people who eat few of these foods. “The research suggests that ultra-processed foods ‘fool’ your brain into eating more calories than if you are eating whole foods or unprocessed foods,” says Dr. Apovian. “If your body doesn’t use those extra calories, they get stored as fat, and that is why people gain weight.”

USING THE FUEL There are different ways to burn excess stored fat.

The first is to reduce your calorie intake. When

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“Many natural foods high in healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats can make you feel fuller faster because fats are slow to digest,” you consume fewer calories than your body needs, your body converts stored fat into usable energy for fuel. As a result, fat cells get smaller, and you lose weight.

Low-carb diets follow this approach since carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of calories. Research has shown low-carb diets can help jump-start weight loss, but the effect can wane after about six months to a year. “Part of the problem is that low-carb diets are tough to maintain for long periods,” says Dr. Apovian.

This is why many nutritionists promote an allaround healthy diet that includes adequate amounts of protein, carbohydrate, and fat as well as essential vitamins and minerals. “A low-carb diet can help in the short term, but if you don’t adjust your overall eating habits, you can gain it all back,” says Dr. Apovian.

The other way to burn fat and shrink fat cells is with exercise. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise like brisk walking, cycling, and swimming can force the body to tap into stored fat for energy.

(Guidelines suggest you get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise.) However, how quickly your body burns fat depends on your body size and exercise intensity.

Resistance (weight) training also can help older men lose excess stored fat by increasing muscle mass. “Men naturally lose muscle mass as they age, and increasing muscle can make their body burn more calories,” says Dr. Apovian.

An analysis published online Sept. 2021 ,21, by Sports Medicine found that people who engaged in 45 to 60 minutes of resistance training two to three times a week for five months reduced both their visceral fat and total body fat.

“But if you want to lose weight, you can’t count on exercise alone. You will also need to reduce your calorie intake,” says Dr. Apovian. “And to help keep it off, you need to do resistance training at least two to three times per week.”

This article was originally published by Harvard Health.