Asharq Al-Awsat
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic (R) holds the 2023 Miami Open Trophy after she won the match against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan (L) during the Women’s Singles Final of the 2023 Miami Open tennis tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, USA, 01 April 2023. (EPA)
Petra Kvitova said she drew on her deep well of experience to come through an epic first set tie-breaker and upset Elena Rybakina 7-6(14) 6-2 for her first Miami Open title on Saturday. The 33-year-old Czech, who is 10 years older than her opponent, kept her nerve in the game's biggest moments to claim her 30th career title and ninth WTA 1000 crown. "Experience today played a good role in my mind," Kvitova told reporters after the match. "I played so many finals. I know I can play well in the final no matter who I'm facing. Mentally it was very important for me to know that." The former world number two, who had contemplated retirement last year, said her two weeks in Miami as well as her run to the quarter-finals of Indian Wells had left her "really happy and very exhausted." The loss snapped Indian Wells champion Rybakina's 13-match win streak and ended her hopes of claiming the "Sunshine Double" by winning both hardcourt events. "This means a lot," Kvitova said. "The young ones are coming up all the time. It's tough to face them all. It's very tiring," she said with a smile. With the win Kvitova became the second-oldest women to triumph at the Miami Open, after Serena Williams in 2015. She will now return to the top 10 for the first time since September 2021. The twice Wimbledon champion made headlines after her semi-final when she said that she opposed Wimbledon's decision to lift its ban on Russian and Belarusian players amid Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. "I'm really appreciating that Wimbledon didn't take them last year," she said on Friday. Wimbledon organizers said it was an "incredibly difficult decision" and that they "condemn totally Russia's illegal invasion." Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation." Kvitova said athletes from those countries should also not be allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has not yet announced its policy for the Games.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4248446/kvitova-draws-experience-triumph-miami
Marlene Laruelle and Ivan Grek
Marlene Laruelle and Ivan Grek -
From the perspective of a Russian soldier, the war in Ukraine must look nightmarish. In over a year of combat, nearly 200,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded, according to American officials, in a military operation that has proved both incompetent and ill equipped. Morale is reportedly low and complaints common. And yet a significant number of Russian men are still keen to fight — more, in fact, than at the war’s outset. What explains the disconnect? One obvious reason is fear. Men called up to the army have no choice but to obey, because opposition to the war has effectively been outlawed. In such a stifling atmosphere, fed by wall-to-wall propaganda, it’s perhaps unsurprising that discontent seems thin on the ground. Yet while fear and repression shape responses to the war, that doesn’t explain the readiness — willingness, even — of some Russian men to serve at the front. About 36 percent of Russian men are content to be conscripted, with the most supportive group being men age 45 or older. That’s no accident. In the three decades since the end of the Soviet Union, those men have faced industrial collapse, the disappearance of millions of jobs and declining life expectancy. The war promises to change that downward trajectory, transforming the losers of the past three decades into new heroes — even if dead or wounded. For many Russian men and their families, the war may be a horror. But it’s also the last opportunity to fix their lives. First, there’s the money. The federal base salary for a soldier is about $2,500 a month, with payment of $39,000 for wounding and up to $65,000 in the case of death. Compared with a median monthly salary of $545, this is a handsome reward — even more so for the approximately 15.3 million Russians living below the poverty line. But there’s much more on offer, too. For those coming back from the front, the state promises fast-tracked entry into civil service jobs, health insurance, free public transportation, free university education and free food at school for their children. And for those who were imprisoned and joined the Wagner private military company, the state grants freedom. Those promises aren’t entirely fulfilled, of course. Many troops have not been paid in full, and their wives often complain about nonpayment in public forums. Interviews with three wounded service members and their families on the anti-Kremlin network TV Rain painted a parlous picture of life at the front: no pay, no training and high casualties. Even so, the interviewees still considered the war just and wanted to return to the front or support the war efforts as volunteers. Another war provides the reason. Today’s troops live in the shadow of the generation that won the war against Nazism. In Russian public culture, no honor is higher than to be a veteran of the “Great Patriotic War,” something the regime has capitalized on by framing today’s war as a kind of historical re-enactment of World War II. The conflation clearly works. As one soldier wrote on Telegram in February, the war confers “a sense of belonging to the great male deed, the deed of defending our Motherland.” The phrase is revealing. By allowing men to escape the difficulties of everyday life — with its low pay and routine frustrations — the war offers a restoration of male self-worth. These men, at last, matter. (For women, made to suffer the brunt of the war’s fallout, it’s more vexed, but despite the difficulties, many understand and support men’s decision to serve.) Feelings of inferiority, too, are swept aside in the fraternal atmosphere of the front. “It doesn’t matter who you are, how you look,” as one soldier put it. In the communal life of conflict, many of the distinctions of civilian life dissolve. War is an equalizer. That surely explains its appeal to those from lower social classes. While some of the urban middle and upper classes have expressed their discontent with the war by emigrating, the poorer sections of Russian society see things differently. Mistrust of the rich, belief that sanctions actually strengthen the economy and disdain for émigrés all attest to a class-based experience of the conflict. By participating in the war, millions of Russians at the bottom of the social ladder can emerge as the country’s true heroes, ready for the ultimate sacrifice. The risk may be grave and the financial reward uncertain. But the chance to rise in esteem and respect makes the effort worthwhile. Such support, of course, is contingent. The longer the war drags on, bringing more casualties, loss and broken promises, the harder it may become to sustain such levels of acceptance. Then again, it may not. Collective emotional turmoil could deepen the feeling that the war must be won, no matter what. In the absence of an alternative vision of the future, Vladimir Putin and his war will continue to hold sway. The New York Times
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4248361/marlene-laruelle-and-ivan-grek/why-do-russians-still-want-fight
Raisi Says Hijab Is the Law in Iran as Unveiled Women Face ‘Yogurt Attack’
Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat
A screen grab of a handout video obtained from social media shows what appears to be a man throwing yogurt at two unveiled women in a shop near Mashhad, Iran. (Handout via WANA/via Reuters)
President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the hijab was the law in Iran after a viral video showed a man throwing yogurt at two unveiled women in a shop near the northeastern city of Mashhad. Growing numbers of women have defied authorities by discarding their veils after nationwide protests that followed the death in September of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules. Security forces violently put down the revolt. Judicial authorities in a town near Mashhad issued arrest warrants for the man seen pouring yogurt over the heads of the two women, a mother and her daughter. They were also the subject of arrest warrants for flouting Iran's strict female dress rules, state media reported. Risking arrest for defying the obligatory dress code, women are still widely seen unveiled in malls, restaurants, shops and streets around the country. Videos of unveiled women resisting the morality police have flooded social media. In live remarks on state television, Raisi said: "If some people say they don't believe (in the hijab)... it's good to use persuasion ... But the important point is that there is a legal requirement ... and the hijab is today a legal matter." Authorities said the owner of the dairy shop, who confronted the attacker, had been warned. Reports on social media showed his shop had been shut, although he was quoted by a local news agency as saying he had been allowed to reopen and was due to "give explanations" to a court. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei earlier threatened to prosecute "without mercy" women who appear in public unveiled, Iranian media reported. "Unveiling is tantamount to enmity of (our) values," Ejei was quoted as saying by several news sites. Under Iran's religious law, imposed after the 1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures. Violators have faced public rebuke, fines or arrest. Describing the veil as "one of the civilizational foundations of the Iranian nation" and "one of the practical principles of the republic," an Interior Ministry statement on Thursday said there would be no "retreat or tolerance" on the issue. It urged citizens to confront unveiled women. Such directives have in past decades emboldened hardliners to attack women without impunity.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4248356/raisi-says-hijab-law-iran-unveiled-women-face-%E2%80%98yogurt-attack%E2%80%99
Najib Saab
Najib Saab - Secretary-General of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) and editor-in-chief of Environment & Development magazine
An environment minister once told me: "We are the Ministry of Environment, so we don't deal in politics." I immediately realized that his ministry would not succeed in making any serious progress, because the ministry is indeed a political entity, whose mission is to set legislation and laws that protect the environment, to integrate the environmental dimension within the scope of work of all ministries, to press for a sufficient share of funding for environment within allocated budgets, and to convince the rest of the cabinet members of the validity of its demands. It also has to ensure that its projects are approved in parliament, in addition to managing international and bilateral negotiations related to all sorts of environmental and climate affairs. All of these matters require political management at the highest level. The minister's comment reminded me of those who use the term "politicization" in the form of a disgraceful accusation against anyone who opposes their views, as if politics is a shameful practice, or one that only a select elite is entitled to be involved in, who essentially agree with the views of those monopolizing the right of classification. Whereas politics, in its proper sense, should be the art of achieving the general national interests. It is an acquired right for people to demand their basic rights, and fight for the rule of law and public order to override any other authority, including the right to participate in major national decisions, of which those related to the environment are an essential part and parcel. Similar to the ministers of environment that disavow politics are those parties whose name includes "environment" or "the greens", and whose goals are limited to slogans such as afforestation, fighting pollution and cleaning beaches. The "party" is a political entity par excellence, otherwise it would become a civil association. The goal of every serious party should be to reach political power, which requires that it be ready for the task, through a comprehensive platform. This platform includes plans for economic, social, educational, scientific, industrial, agricultural, health and cultural policies, in addition to those directly related to environmental issues. It must have a clear vision of international relations, which allows for a better understanding of everything that affects development, the environment and the climate. So why insist on naming a specific group a party, if its principles and objectives are even less than those of a charitable association? What is the harm in calling it an association? Or is being a "party" of higher status and more prestigious? NGOs specialized in raising awareness or offering social assistance have the right to distance themselves from politics. But, in some cases, they may have to deal with political affairs related to their work, and this is not a crime if done transparently. An association boycotting a corrupt political system and refusing to deal with it, in order to preserve people's rights and ensure that aid reaches them and not only those whom the corrupt authority approves of, is a political stance of a humane nature, and thus is not an option but rather the duty of all those involved in public affairs. Environmental associations that content themselves with beach clean-up campaigns or removing waste from the streets, while avoiding to pressure political officials in order to pass and implement deterring laws that prevent pollution in the first place, are failing in their basic duty, under the pretext of not engaging in politics. They also condemn themselves to failure, and keep their activities within the framework of promotional events. Worse are those who provide funding for such theatrical acts under the pretense of environmental activism. One of the most sincere and honest personalities among those who took over a ministry of environment in the Arab region tried to cover up the inability to pass appropriate laws and enforce their implementation, by going personally to the streets and confronting violators, whether they were littering or driving cars with high emissions, and in some cases had an accompanying policeman to arrest them. However, these initiatives, despite the noble intention to set a good example, remained individual measures of limited benefit, in the absence of explicit and deterring laws that impose financial fines and issue jail sentences to violators. Despite the good intentions and gentle manners of this minister, the situation has worsened, twenty years after the street stunts, in the absence of political will and action. This experience continues to be repeated in various forms by sincere ministers with a passion for the environment, who go to streets and beaches to participate in cleaning campaigns, and up to the mountains to participate in planting trees, with temporary and localized effect, in the absence of a political will which can be translated into laws. Let us leave NGOs to carry out their noble voluntary work without pressures and domination attempts, and demand that environment ministries play their role as political bodies that draw up their plans based on science. A ministry that acts as a civil association is doomed to fail, because the task of public officials is to find solutions, not to complain to the people as if they were a wailing wall. Najib Saab is Secretary General of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development- AFED and Editor-in-Chief of Environment & Development magazine.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4248311/najib-saab/ministry-not-ngo
Charles Wins Hearts in Germany as Soft Power Pays Off
World
Asharq Al-Awsat
FILE - Britain's King Charles III waves from a balcony of the city hall in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, March 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregor Fischer, File)
King Charles III won plenty of hearts during his three-day visit to Germany, his first foreign trip since ascending to the throne following the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, last year. Charles' tour saw a number of firsts that show the importance both countries placed on it — at a time when London and Berlin are trying to rebuild relations frayed by Britain's departure from the European Union, The Associated Press said. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took the unprecedented step of welcoming Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, at the Brandenburg Gate with military honors Wednesday. A day later, Charles became the first monarch to address the Bundestag, the German parliament, stressing the long-standing close ties between both countries and the importance of future cooperation. Observers in both Germany and the UK said the trip sent a strong signal about the enduring strength of British-German relations. Jens Zimmermann, a lawmaker from Germany's center-left Social Democrats, said Charles sent a “clear message” by speaking to parliament partially in German. "The speech in the Bundestag was very well-received," Zimmermann told The Associated Press. “It was much more political than you might have expected. It was very connecting — I think that was very good.” In the speech, Charles emphasized that London and Berlin have provided considerable aid to Ukraine in its efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion — praise that will have been gratifying to a German government more used to claims it's not doing enough to help Kyiv. Zimmermann said Charles thanking Germans for taking in so many Ukrainians seeking shelter from the war might also be seen as a roundabout criticism of the British government's recent anti-refugee policies. Although King Charles cannot pass legislation or directly impact British policy, the “soft power” of his visit should not be underestimated, Zimmermann said. Others said that after the pandemic's long-distance diplomacy, in-person visits like Charles' can help deepen and renew relationships between leaders. “I think as coronavirus has faded, we’ve been reminded of the value of face-to-face meetings,” said Bronwen Maddox, chief executive of the Chatham House think tank. “And it just does add something to relationships, particularly between heads of state, who are very insulated," she said. "I think it has been received very well.” Charles originally planned to visit France first, but anti-government protests there led both governments to postpone that part of his trip. The new itinerary put the focus on Germany, where Charles has family roots and the royals have long been the subject of keen interest. That fascination was on display among the German public at Charles' appearances. Despite the wet and cold spring weather, well-wishers waited patiently to greet Charles and Camilla at their stops in Berlin and Hamburg, a city that sees itself as having a particularly close connection to Britain due to its long seafaring and trading ties. Charles and Camilla also laid a wreath at the remains of St. Nikolai church to commemorate the more than 30,000 people, mostly German civilians, who were killed in Operation Gomorrah, the Allied bombing of Hamburg in July 1943. A boat trip and a farewell reception involving musical performances, including by a Beatles cover band and a sea shanty group, rounded off the king’s visit on Friday. Michael Kruse, a lawmaker with the pro-business Free Democrats who like Zimmermann is a member of the German-British parliamentary group, said the two countries continue to have many common economic interests despite Britain's divorce from the EU. “The channel has widened due to Brexit,” he said. “That's why the visit by Britain's head of state was all the more important.” Kruse voiced a hope shared by many in Germany, that London will find its way back into the 27-nation bloc. “My hope is still that the British will someday recognize Brexit was a mistake and return to the EU,” he said. “The door should always be open for this. Until then, we say: see you again, King Charles III.”
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4246951/charles-wins-hearts-germany-soft-power-pays
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Say Officer Killed in Israeli Strike on Syria, Vows Revenge
Iran
London, Damascus – Asharq Al-Awsat
Singers performing in the old city of Damascus to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan on March 27 (AFP)
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have admitted that one of their officers was killed in an Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Friday. The Guards vowed to retaliate, but the increasing frequency of Israeli airstrikes on Syria suggests that Israel is determined to confront Iran's strong presence in the country. Friday’s attack was the second strike near Damascus in two days. There was no immediate statement from Israel, which usually declines to comment on reports of strikes in Syria. “The Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the martyrdom of guardsman Milad Haydari, one of the IRGC's military advisers and officers,” in the Israeli attack, the IRGC said in a statement reported by the official news agency, IRNA. The statement also criticized the international silence regarding “the ongoing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent member state of the UN.” It emphasized that Israel “will undoubtedly receive a response to this crime.” The air strike was the sixth attack by Israel in Syria this month, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israel has for years carried out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011. Iran says its officers serve in an advisory role in Syria at the invitation of Damascus. Dozens of IRGC members including senior officers have been killed in Syria during the war, according to Reuters. Syrian state media said that Israel had attacked just after midnight, firing missiles that hit a site in the Damascus countryside. Syrian air defenses had shot down several missiles, it said, without mentioning any casualties. The Syrian foreign ministry also condemned Friday’s attack and said Syria stood ready to confront any further attacks. Iranian-backed groups, including Lebanon's heavily armed Hezbollah, and Iraqi paramilitary groups have positions around the capital and in Syria’s north, east and south.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4246916/iran%E2%80%99s-revolutionary-guards-say-officer-killed-israeli-strike-syria-vows
UN Food Chief: Billions Needed to Avert Unrest, Starvation
World
Asharq Al-Awsat
FILE - World Food Program chief David Beasley speaks to The Associated Press in the village of Wagalla in northern Kenya Aug. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
Without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see mass migration, destabilized countries, and starving children and adults in the next 12 to 18 months, the head of the Nobel prize-winning UN World Food Program warned Friday. David Beasley praised increased funding from the United States and Germany last year, and urged China, billionaires and other countries “to step up big time.” In an interview before he hands the reins of the world’s largest humanitarian organization to US ambassador Cindy McCain next week, the former South Carolina governor said he’s “extremely worried” that WFP won’t raise about $23 billion it needs this year to help millions of needy people, The Associated Press said. “Right at this stage, I’ll be surprised if we get 40% of it, quite frankly,” he said. Last year, Beasley raised $14.2 billion for WFP, more than double the $6 billion in 2017, the year he took over as executive director. That money helped over 128 million people in more than 120 countries and territories. Beasley said he was able to convince the United States last year to increase its funding from about $3.5 billion to $7.4 billion and Germany to raise its contribution from $350 million a few years ago to $1.7 billion, but he doesn’t think they’ll do it again this year. Other countries need to step up now, he said, starting with China, the world’s second-largest economy which gave WFP just $11 million last year. Beasley applauded China for its success in substantially reducing hunger and poverty at home, but said it gave less than one cent per person last year compared to the United States, the world's leading economy, which gave about $22 per person. China needs “to engage in the multilateral world” and be willing to provide help that is critical, he said. “They have a moral obligation to do so.” Beasley said they’ve done “an incredible job of feeding their people,” and “now we need their help in other parts of the world” on how they did it, particularly in poorer countries including in Africa. Beasley said the wealthiest billionaires made unprecedented profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and "it’s not too much to ask some of the multibillionaires to step up and help us in the short-term crisis,” even though charity isn’t a long-term solution to the food crisis. In the long-term, he said what he’d really like to see is billionaires using their experience and success to engage “in the world’s greatest need – and that is food on the planet to feed 8 billion people.” “The world has to understand that the next 12 to 18 months is critical, and if we back off the funding, you will have mass migration, and you will have destabilizing nations and that will all be on top of starvation among children and people around the world,” he warned. Beasley said WFP was just forced to cut rations by 50% to 4 million people in Afghanistan, and “these are people who are knocking on famine’s door now.” “We don’t have enough money just to reach the most vulnerable people now,” he said. “So we are in a crisis over the cliff stage right now, where we literally could have hell on earth if we’re not very careful.” Beasley said he’s been telling leaders in the West and Europe that while they’re focusing everything on Ukraine and Russia, “you better well not forget about what’s south and southeast of you because I can assure you it is coming your way if you don’t pay attention and get on top of it.” With $400 trillion worth of wealth on the planet, he said, there’s no reason for any child to die of starvation. The WFP executive director said leaders have to prioritize the humanitarian needs that are going to have the greatest impact on stability in societies around the world. He singled out several priority places -- Africa’s Sahel region as well as the east including Somalia, northern Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia; Syria which is having an impact on Jordan and Lebanon; and Central and South America where the number of people migrating to the United States is now five times what it was a year-and-a-half ago. Beasley said McCain, the widow of US Senator John McCain from Arizona who was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and has been the US ambassador to Rome-based WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, “is the right person at the right time” to lead the World Food Program. They've been working together to make sure “she hits the ground running,” he said, But “it’s going to be a very, very challenging time” because of all the money going to the war in Ukraine, and the need to help so many other fragile economies. Beasley said his biggest surprise was believing in April 2017, when he took over the agency and there were 80 million people in the world “marching to starvation,” that “we could end world hunger and put the World Food Program out of business.” What he didn’t expect were the conflicts and wars, the climate shocks, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, he said, which raised the 80 million in desperate need of food to 135 million right before COVID started spreading in early 2020, to 276 million before Russia invaded Ukraine – “the bread basket of the world” -- in February 2022, and to 350 million now. Beasley said ""it's hard not to get depressed" but two things give him hope. Seeing little girls and boys smiling in the midst of war and suffering from hunger “inspires you not to give up,” he said, as does the bipartisan support in the often divided US Congress for helping the poorest of the poor around the world. As he returns to his family in South Carolina, Beasley said his dream remains to end world hunger.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4246826/un-food-chief-billions-needed-avert-unrest-starvation
