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Najib Mikati incarne un Liban corrompu et à bout de souffle. Le passé et le présent du pays se sont fait avec lui, mais le futur qu’espèrent nombre de libanais ne pourra se réaliser que lorsque Najib Mikati et toute la classe politique qu’il représente seront relégués au musée. De nouveaux visages sur scène sont attendus pour la nouvelle pièce à écrire. < Back Najib Mikati, un milliardaire dans le marécage du Grand Sérail Lubin Parisien September 30, 2024 « Quelles seront vos priorités ? » demande le journaliste du Figaro . « Améliorer la situation économique, réduire la dette publique, défendre le pouvoir d'achat des Libanais et travailler sur les grands chantiers de réforme qui sont en souffrance », énumère le Premier ministre libanais Najib Mikati. Il pourrait faire référence aux priorités de son gouvernement depuis 2021. En réalité, ces réponses sont tirées d’un entretien accordé au Figaro en 2011, quand il est élu Premier Ministre une seconde fois. Durant une décennie, Najib Mikati est à la tête d’un gouvernement qui doit faire face aux mêmes problèmes. L’absence de progrès interroge: pourquoi rien n’a été fait? Najib Mikati, qualifié « d’éternelle roue de secours » par L’Orient - Le Jour , incarne l’immobilisme d’une classe politique versée dans les affaires et profondément inefficace, si ce n’est néfaste. Le 24 Novembre 1955, Najib Mikati voit le jour à Tripoli. Les élites de Tripoli ont pu ainsi jouer le jeu nationamiste syrien avant de rallier la politique libanaise. Dans l’ouvrage collectif Leaders et partisans au Liban , publié en 2012, Bruno Dewailly revient sur les “transformations du leadership tripolitain”. Désormais, avec le mandat français, “la dimension du négoce finit par primer et l’indépendance marque l’instauration d’un libéralisme particulier associant de nouvelles élites foncières et marchandes”. Dans ce contexte, la famille Mikati est une famille de petits notables tripolitains avec une éducation certaine, mais cela n’a rien à voir avec de grandes dynasties de Beyrouth ou de Tripoli comme les Karamé. C’est dans toute cette dynamique qu’il faut comprendre l'ascension des Mikatis. Najib Mikati est diplômé de l’université américaine de Beyrouth. Son ascension commence avec Investcom, une entreprise de télécommunication, fondée avec son frère, Taha Mikati. De 1975 à 1990, la guerre civile fait rage au Liban, les infrastructures de télécommunications tombent comme des dominos. C’est justement cela qui fait la prospérité de Investcom; l’entreprise vend en effet des téléphones satellitaires, et plus tard elle reconstruit un réseau d’infrastructures de télécommunications. Najib Mikati noue des liens privilégiés avec le régime des Assads: quelques semaines après l’accession au pouvoir de Bachar al-Assad, une filiale d’Investcom obtient des concessions pour opérer en Syrie. Mikati s’est aussi fait une place dans le capitalisme mondial, son groupe est coté dans de grandes bourses et est présent dans 10 pays, notamment en Afrique de l’Ouest. En 2006, les frères Mikatis empochent 5 milliards de dollars avec la vente d’Investcom à la compagnie sud-africaine MTN. Néanmoins, en faisant l’acquisition de 6% des actions de MTN , les Mikati ne coupent pas les ponts avec les télécoms. Leurs actifs se diversifient, que ce soit avec l'immobilier, la finance ou avec la mode (Pepe Jeans). Tout cela est regroupé dans une maison-mère, M1 Group, créée en 2007. Ils s’aventurent même dans la presse avec le lancement du site Lebanon 24 en 2011. En 2024, le magazine Forbes évalue la fortune de chacun des frères Mikati à 2,8 milliards de dollars , c’est-à-dire les plus grosses fortunes individuelles recensées par le magazine au Liban. Najib Mikati s’est fait une place dans le monde des affaires libanais et plus largement arabe; ce faisant, il acquiert une place dans un monde inextricablement lié au premier: la politique. De 1998 à 2004, il est ministre des Travaux publics et des Transports. Il officie dans les gouvernements de Rafic Hariri notamment, sans pour autant intégrer le grand parti sunnite des Hariris. La charge ministérielle l’a d’ailleurs « convaincu de la nécessité de ne pas cumuler les charges du ministère et de la députation. » Il gravit néanmoins progressivement les échelons ; il est élu député à Tripoli en 2000 tout en restant ministre. En 2005, l’ex-Premier ministre Rafic Hariri est assassiné dans des conditions troubles. Le pays est en crise, nombreux sont ceux qui dénoncent les ingérences occidentales et surtout l’occupation syrienne. Najib Mikati est alors nommé Premier ministre en avril sur fond de retrait syrien et de révolution populaire. Najib Mikati est une personnalité politique peu connue qui représente l'establishment pro-syrien mais qui a une assise financière mondiale qui le rend légitime aux yeux de la communauté internationale. Son gouvernement comporte des pro et anti-syriens, et pour l’organisation des élections, il fait appel à la communauté internationale: c’est donc un gouvernement consensuel. Il profite de son image en retrait pour apparaître comme une solution de compromis, mais le mandat que lui accorde la classe politique n’est qu’un intérim: « il accepte ce qu’il refuse aujourd’hui [en 2021]: être à la tête d’un gouvernement dont la seule mission est de superviser les élections et le retrait syrien du Liban » selon L’Orient-Le Jour dans une rétrospective de sa carrière politique. En 2011, le Liban est encore en crise . Le gouvernement de Saad Hariri chute. Le Hezbollah affirme sa supériorité militaire et reproche à M. Hariri de ne pas avoir assez fait pression sur le tribunal international sur l’assassinat de Rafic Hariri. Il est soutenu par le Hezbollah, il est parfois même présenté comme le candidat du parti chiite. Le clan Hariri, chassé du Grand Sérail, accuse M. Mikati de trahison contre sa communauté sunnite. Mikati est dès le début en position de funambule: dans un entretien avec Le Figaro en Février 2011, il déclare: « Avant de me soutenir, le Hezbollah m'a certes demandé des engagements, mais j'ai répondu que je ne pouvais pas les assurer. Je ne me suis engagé qu'à une chose envers lui: protéger la résistance. » Les trois enjeux de son gouvernement sont sa propre survie, le redressement de l’économie libanaise exsangue ainsi que d’éviter la propagation de la guerre civile syrienne au Liban. Pour s’attirer les bonnes grâces de la communauté internationale, il dégèle les fonds que le Liban devait allouer au Tribunal enquêtant sur l’assassinat de Rafic Hariri; il le présente comme une initiative personnelle pour ne pas attirer en même temps les foudres du Hezbollah qui craignait des poursuites à son encontre. Le gouvernement chute à cause des dissensions de la coalition autour de l’attitude à adopter vis-à-vis de la guerre civile syrienne : la politique d’équilibrisme de Najib Mikati n’a pas fait long feu. La question de la réforme électorale et du redécoupage des circonscriptions ont finalement raison des lambeaux de la coalition de M. Mikati. Il reste Premier ministre jusqu’en 2013, il exerce l’intérim jusqu’en 2014, jusqu’aux élections législatives repoussées par un Parlement n’ayant pas trouvé d’accord sur ses modalités. En parallèle, le Liban obtient le score peu glorieux de 30 sur l’indice de perception de la corruption en 2013: le pays occupe la 127ème place. Le Gouvernement Mikati n’a pas rétabli la confiance envers le pays et sa classe politique. Il n’a pas attiré le tonnerre sur le Liban, mais il n’a résolu aucun problème et a ainsi laissé le système politique s'encroûter. En 2021, Najib Mikati est de retour dans le Grand Sérail, siège du gouvernement libanais. Le Liban a vécu de grandes manifestations en 2019 contre l’incurie économique du pays. En 2020, l’explosion d’un silo de nitrate d’ammonium dans le port de Beyrouth fait 235 morts et défigure la capitale. Après les échecs de Saad Hariri, Hassan Diab puis Mustapha Adib, c'est Najib Mikati qui est nommé Premier ministre , avec notamment le soutien de la France. Pour rétablir la confiance des bailleurs de fonds internationaux dans le Liban, il doit trouver une solution aux problèmes d’approvisionnement en hydrocarbures et améliorer le sort des 78% de libanais sous le seuil de pauvreté. Son poste de Premier Ministre est remis en jeu début 2022, nombreux sont ceux qui considèrent son gouvernement comme démissionnaire. En juin, il reçoit le mandat du Parlement pour former un nouveau gouvernement, avec 54 voix sur 128 ; il bénéficie du soutien des partis chiites que sont le Hezbollah et Amal, mais les partis chrétiens le rejettent. Le rejet de M. Mikati par les partis chrétiens est d’autant plus vrai quand il faut élire un nouveau président. Le mandat de Michel Aoun expire le 31 octobre 2022. Les relations entre Najib Mikati et Michel Aoun sont notoirement mauvaises, ce qui pourrait être expliqué par leurs parcours opposés: M. Mikati était au gouvernement sous l’occupation syrienne alors que Michel Aoun était en exil en France après s’être opposé à l’intervention de Hafez al-Assad. Avant de quitter le palais présidentiel, Aoun envoie une lettre au Parlement où il nie toute autorité à Najib Mikati, qui avait reçu la confiance du Parlement mais qui n’avait pas encore formé son gouvernement. Il déclare dans un discours qu’en « vertu des pouvoirs que [lui] confère la Constitution, j'ai adressé ce matin une lettre à la Chambre des représentants et j'ai signé le décret de démission du gouvernement. » Néanmoins, si la Présidence n’a pas de titulaire, c’est à M. Mikati de remplir les prérogatives liées à la fonction présidentielle. Il ressort gagnant du bras de fer avec Michel Aoun. Son gouvernement est constitué, mais il est affaibli. Najib Mikati est à la tête du jeu politique libanais en cumulant les prérogatives présidentielles et primo-ministérielles, mais il ne tire pas toutes les ficelles de ce jeu politique. Il n’est que celui qui a le plus réussi à maintenir des voix autour de sa personne. Aujourd’hui, il n’y a toujours pas de Président élu. Autre souci pour M. Mikati, la révélation des bénéfices qu’il a retirés de biens mal acquis, notamment avec les Pandora Papers en 2021. Il est accusé d’avoir détourné, par l’intermédiaire de sociétés-écrans, un prêt accordé à M1 Group par la Banque du Liban— entre 2010 et 2013 alors qu’il était Premier ministre—pour acquérir un patrimoine immobilier personnel à Monaco et en Côte d’Azur. En Avril 2024, l’ONG Sherpa et le Collectif des Victimes des Pratiques Frauduleuses et Criminelles au Liban ont porté plainte en France auprès du PNF (Parquet National Financier). Ces transactions malhonnêtes se seraient faites avec la complicité de Riad Salamé, ancien directeur omnipotent de la Banque du Liban, arrêté en septembre 2024 pour corruption et détournement de fonds. Enfin, M. Mikati est aujourd’hui à la tête d’un Liban au bord de la guerre, après le 7 octobre 2023 et avec des échanges de roquettes réguliers entre le Hezbollah et l’Etat hébreu. Alors qu’Israël a frappé Beyrouth-Sud en août et que de nouvelles frappes encore plus meurtrières ont été initié le 23 septembre, le gouvernement semble dépossédé de l’exercice de la souveraineté de l’Etat libanais, État bien souvent oublié quand on parle de la possible guerre au Liban. M. Mikati est spectateur de la géopolitique régionale. Ses initiatives sont convenues et reprennent peu ou prou les mêmes idées que celles défendues par les chancelleries occidentales. Le rôle de Najib Mikati, qui a des ministres du Hezbollah dans son gouvernement, est sans doute de maintenir et de geler le jeu politique libanais pendant que le Hezbollah, l’Iran et Israël mènent un jeu autrement plus dangereux et déterminant pour l’avenir du Liban. Najib Mikati est partout et nulle part à la fois. Son évanescence lui a permis de naviguer dans toutes les ramifications du marécage politique libanais, et il a su maintenir un État libanais lors de grandes crises comme celle d’aujourd’hui. Il a surtout maintenu les iniquités décriées par la population et qui gangrènent la politique libanaise: Najib Mikati incarne un Liban corrompu et à bout de souffle. Le passé et le présent du pays se sont fait avec lui, mais le futur qu’espèrent nombre de libanais ne pourra se réaliser que lorsque Najib Mikati et toute la classe politique qu’il représente seront relégués au musée. De nouveaux visages sur scène sont attendus pour la nouvelle pièce à écrire.

Several nations have decided to refuse to send government officials to the 2022 Beijing Olympics in protest of human rights violations under the current Chinese regime. Are these efforts futile or worthy of further support? < Back Is the Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics an Effective Diplomatic Tool? By Luca Utterwulghe December 30, 2021 The 2022 Winter Olympic Games, set to take place in Beijing, China this coming February, has become a spotlight for diplomatic contention. The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada have established what Time called a “diplomatic boycott,” meaning that the aforementioned countries will refuse to send government employees to the games. Nonetheless, athletes from each of these countries will be sent to Beijing. The last U.S. boycott of an Olympic Games took place amidst the Cold War, as the Games in Moscow took place during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. This time, boycotting nations are openly criticizing the detention and human rights violations of China’s Uyghur ethnic group as well as the Chinese government’s repressive measures taken to quell the protest movements in Hong Kong. Moreover, the boycott emerged in light of the recent disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after she accused Zhang Gaoli (former Chinese vice premier) of sexual assault. The boycott thus reflects the mounting international concern regarding the abuse of fundamental rights under the current Chinese government. There is no clear consensus on the effectiveness of the boycott, however. French President Emmanuel Macron, for instance, has dismissed the American strategy as a politicization of the Olympics devoid of “useful effect.” Macron has instead worked with the International Olympic Committee to ensure the safety of athletes, demonstrating the divergence in the French and American approaches. In the U.S., opposition to the boycott has come largely from Republicans in government who are promoting more aggressive measures, such as withholding athletes from attending the Games. Sienna Bertamini, a first year student at the Sciences Po Menton campus who lived in Hong Kong for most of her life, suggests that, “as a form of soft power, the Olympic Boycott does very little… in terms of combating the human rights violations occurring in China.” Bertamini further notes that “China places a larger emphasis on hard power threats” and that “militaristic strategies are a greater risk to their regime,” indicating that a boycott may be little more than a performative measure. However, because strong, multilateral measures require more cooperation and consensus, the boycott may, as Bertamini states, “be the most Western countries can do without overtly shifting the global balance of power, ie. through military interventions or economic sanctions.” What does this boycott mean for the future of Chinese-American foreign relations? A New York Times article noted that “while boycotts may not change policy, they do run the risk of reprisals.” A Chinese government publication has already demanded that China initiate a retaliatory boycott against the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This boycott may initiate a series of tit-for-tat soft power sanctions and may well escalate as more nations determine their respective courses of action.

While many might still view the opposition to the Super League as being excessive, it is important to understand that these athletic communities seek to maintain the integrity of what is fundamentally a game that unites and empowers people, no matter their class, race, religion, sexuality, disability. < Back European Super Greed: The Rapid Rise and Spectacular Fall of the European Super League By Hugo Lagergren October 30, 2021 Football plays a unique role in Europe, and specifically in the UK. It breaks down the class barriers that often come between the working class and the middle class, and it unites them behind a common cause. The UK Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, described this phenomenon in a speech to the House of Commons in which he criticized the Super League: “Football clubs aren’t just businesses; they define communities across the country.” For 56 hours, however, these communities united beyond even the geographical divides that usually act as barriers, and united against the financial giants that were at the helm of this project. This David v. Goliath moment is the brief story of how these communities managed to topple the commercial master plan of a handful of greedy European bureaucrats. Reports began to break of a rumored “breakaway” European Super League during a match between Arsenal and Fulham on Sunday the 18 of April. Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal Football Club, was asked about the rumors after the game. His lack of knowledge or involvement was apparent from his double take after the project was mentioned. This interaction is a perfect example of the disconnect that was in place prior to the project between the owners of these clubs, and the footballing communities that they preside over. The suggested project involved 12 clubs breaking away from their respective national and international competitions and forming a new, exclusive championship. It is precisely this idea of exclusivity that was a central reason for the project’s unpopularity. Domestic championships are a tier-based system. They reward clubs for merit and punish them for inadequacy through promotion and relegation between championships. Despite the financial disparity that exists between clubs, this gives them all the opportunity to challenge “the Big Six” (Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham & Arsenal); these teams being the six wealthiest in the UK (prior to the recent takeover of Newcastle United by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia). An example of this type of success story is when Leicester City F.C. went from playing in the Championship, the second division of English football, to winning the Premier League in the space of three years. While this type of event occurs less and less due to the increasing wealth gap between clubs, the important thing is that it remains a possibility, despite its unlikeliness. This possibility of challenging the bigger teams and winning incentivizes fans of smaller clubs to get back behind their teams in a more active manner. This includes attending football games and buying club merchandise, which provide the club with active moral and financial support. An exclusive championship without the possibility of failure through regulation would also motivate players less as they would be guaranteed the same quality of football games each year. This demotivation would become even more pronounced as a breakaway league would remove the financial bonuses that are often included within each players’ contracts which reward exceptional individual performance, in the context of high team performance. The argument of those driving the project, notably Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid C.F., is that the Super League will “save football” through the millions of euros it would receive in television and sponsorship revenue. In addition to this, the project would include the 12 most successful teams in Europe in order to create a league with a high level of skill, thus making it an attractive concept for football fans world-wide. However, both arguments were unsatisfactory and, more importantly, unconvincing in the eyes of supporters across the globe, and particularly in Britain. Firstly, the poor planning on behalf of the business titans behind the project manifested the disconnect that exists between owners and fans. The prioritization of money over supporters in an attempt to reinvigorate the football economy reflects a complete misreading of the footballing community, as the leaders of the project rapidly came to understand following many fan-led protests across the country. While the argument of creating a league that plays more attractive football may appear to hold more weight, fans argued instead that such a project would, in actual fact, render football more boring and less attractive for fans. They argued that the existing international competition, the UEFA Champions League, was special because it is infrequent. The fact that matches from this competition were rare during the football season and often brought similarly successful European teams in contact created a certain aura and hype around the competition, which fans argued would disappear with the creation of the Super League, as it would sensitize them to elite-tier football. It is interesting to consider such an argument from a scientific perspective as well, to better comprehend this idea of sensitization, as it holds some scientific weight. The hypothalamus, a section of the brain responsible for maintaining constant certain aspects of the body, such as heart rate, blood pressure and hormone levels, releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine to amplify a person’s feeling of pleasure during any kind of enjoyable activity. When continued amounts of dopamine are injected into one’s system, it causes the person to become resistant to the effects of dopamine, and thus receive less pleasure from the same amount of dopamine. This is what many football fans think could happen as a result of the creation of a Super League. As well as the heavy opposition from the army of English supporters, there was also significant political pressure from leading European politicians, including Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, which led to the project’s suspension. The project’s clear unpopularity provided governments with the opportunity to side with fans and gain favor among voters and none made more use of this opportunity than Boris Johnson, who, as Prime Minister of a stagnating economy and fragile, post-Brexit union, needed a story to divert attention from Britain’s domestic issues. As a European football official said, “not all politicians are football fans, but every politician is aware that every fan is a voter.” The pressure created by the possibility of political intervention was pivotal. However, this was only made possible by the strength of the popular revolt against the project. This debacle has highlighted the problems of greed and elitism that currently plague the football industry and has raised important questions as to how club ownership should be structured. Many have referenced the German 50+1 structure which prevents any one body being the majority stakeholder in a club by placing 51% of the club’s ownership in the hands of fans. Chief reporter Tobi Altschaeffi of the German sports newspaper SportBild stated that it is precisely this ownership structure that creates such a strong community surrounding the club, as it involves fans in a more active manner. Boris Johnson went as far as to announce a “root-and-branch investigation into the governance of football and the role of fans in that governance.” Oliver Dowden went on to mention the governance structure that German clubs employ as a possible influence, if there were to be a restructuring of Premier League club ownership. One would hope that government intervention is not necessary. However, as has been the case time and time again, owners have consistently shown a lack of empathy with their club’s players and supporters and the wider footballing community, and have chosen instead to put their own monetary gain first. While this does create a cause for concern, the speed at which the project was reversed due to public outcry and political pressure should also give football fans confidence that there is a strong enough community to keep these billionaire owners and business titans in check. While many might still view the opposition to the Super League as being excessive, it is important to understand that these communities only seek to maintain the integrity of what is fundamentally a game that unites and empowers people, no matter their class, race, religion, sexuality, disability or any other factor which divides us.

Lebanon forms first government after 13 months amidst a severe economic crisis < Back Lebanon’s New Government By Emilia Kohlmeyer September 29, 2021 Lebanon’s president Michel Aoun and prime minister Najib Mikati signed a decree issuing a new government on Friday the 10th of September, 13 months after the resignation of former Prime Minister Hassan Diab in the wake of the Beirut explosion, which left Lebanon without a government. The new cabinet consists of 12 Muslim as well as 12 Christian members in line with Lebanon’s sectarian politics, and it only includes one woman and one independent candidate. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is assuming this role for a third time, was designated prime minister in July after both his predecessors failed to form a government during the last year and resigned in consequence. Mikati, a multi-billionaire facing multiple accusations of corruption, is tasked with forming a response to the severe economic crisis Lebanon has been facing, which catapulted a large portion of its population into poverty. While the new government has been able to secure a long awaited rescue package of just over $1 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund, it has not yet expressed how it will use this money. Furthermore, the government has been on a path to decrease fuel subsidies, hiking up the prices by 66% during the last month and again by 38% on Friday the 17th of September, posing further constraints on the poverty-stricken population. As the state electricity grid is rationed to two hours of electricity daily, the population depends on fuel-powered generators to maintain essential services such as hospitals and grocery stores. Western countries such as France have expressed optimism in the formation of a new government, but the general public response has been skeptical. The new government is a reflection of the sectarian parties which scrambled over influence during the last year, further destabilizing the country. Furthermore, there is skepticism over the integrity of the figures in the Lebanese political class. EU parliamentarian Christophe Grundler, heading the resolution enabling sanctions on corrupt political leaders in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera, “we know who is responsible for the political and the economic crisis: all factions, most ministries, many corrupted MPs,” — a view widely represented by the Lebanese population. The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value alongside massive fuel and medical shortages, leading to massive price hikes in goods such as foodstuffs, making basic sustenance either unaffordable or entirely inaccessible to the average Lebanese citizen. The largest non-nuclear explosion in history hit Beirut last August after ammonium nitrate was stored in the port facility under dubious security conditions, claiming more than 200 lives and injuring and displacing thousands more. The population is still waiting for an independent inquiry into the figures responsible for the tragedy.

Le désir d’aller contre tous les pronostics, de rendre fier tout un campus, de montrer que le cholismo n’est pas mort, en bref ; montrer aux yeux du monde (ou au moins quelques centaines de sciencepistes) que oui, Menton n’est pas mort, Menton ne baissera pas la tête, Menton va rivaliser et bien plus que cela, que nous n’avons jamais été aussi forts qu’aujourd’hui, plus qu’hier et moins que demain. < Back Association Feature: l'Équipe de Foot By Samy El Maloui April 29, 2022 Le bruit du ballon en cuir qui roule sur le terrain synthétique. Les éclats de voix, pour exprimer la désapprobation face à un geste raté ou l’émerveillement suivant un dribble chaloupé. La sueur stigmate de l’engagement des joueurs sur le pré (ou le cardio aberrant de certains, mais c’est un autre sujet). Les premiers automatismes qui se forgent et les premières affinités qui se créent. Le temps était doux en cette soirée qui marque la fin du mois d’août et tout doucement celle de l’été. La semaine d’intégration, les rencontres entre 1A et 2A (voire 3A un peu trop accrochés à la perle de la french riviera), l’agitation estudiantine dans la cité mentonnaise, mais surtout, la reprise de la pratique du sport roi pour les lions des Alpes. La rareté du fait donne de la valeur à la chose. Après quasiment un an d’arrêt en raison d’une pandémie qui avait mis un terme dès octobre 2020 à la rencontre, à l’interaction, au contact, à la vie en somme. Mais enfin, c’était le moment. Nous étions fringants. Après deux mois de vacances où certains traînèrent leurs carcasses à Dubaï et d’autres en Franche-Comté (grand respect pour le Football Club de Sochaux Montbéliard nonobstant), les mines étaient pleinement revitalisées, les jambes fourmillantes à l’idée d’un objectif. Le seul, l’unique, celui qui prenait toute la place dans les esprits et surtout celui du néo-capitaine : le Minicrit. Devenu un mythe pour certains, la compétition fétiche des campus de Sciences Po avait semblé avoir disparu pendant deux longues années estampillé COVID-19. Les joueurs étaient donc logiquement surmotivés à l’idée de se frotter aux dijonnais, havrais, nancéiens, parisiens, poitevins et autres rémois. Mais avant cette perspective excitante, il s’agissait de s’entraîner dur pour arriver prêt et ne pas être frauduleux à Nancy, ville d’accueil du Minicrit pour cette année. Ainsi s'enchaînèrent les séances, montrant le talent exacerbé de certains, destinés aux plus grandes carrières mais qui se retrouvaient sur ce terrain de foot à 5 miteux dans une ville peuplée en majorité de vieillards séniles. Les semaines passèrent, au gré du passage au temps automnal puis hivernal, l’obscurité de la nuit qui arrivait de plus en plus tôt, la présence de certains qui se faisaient de plus en rare, en corrélation avec le froid mordant qui avait remplacé la brise chaleureuse de l’été révolu. Le mois de novembre marquait un match contre l’école de commerce niçoise de l’IPAG dont vous connaissez sûrement l’épilogue : rappelons que ces cuistres de futurs dévots à la start-up nation ne méritaient sûrement pas de l’emporter mais sans rancune, nous avions un joueur de champ et accessoirement danseur émérite dans les buts. Mais alors que l’année battait son plein et que nous nous approchions tout doucement de la fin du premier semestre, un constat clair et net s’imposait dans les esprits. Pourquoi diable ne pourrait-on pas s’entraîner sur le non moins célèbre stade Lucien Rhein, celui-là même que El Pibe de Oro, Diego Maradona, avait foulé de ses pas en mai 1995 ? Notre capitaine, fort de ses talents de persuasion et négociation, se lançait alors dans ce qui serait un bras de fer avec celle-dont-on-ne-doit-pas-citer-le-nom, la terrible, l’infernale, la coriace… administration. Par respect pour ses membres qui ne sont pas tous à blâmer dans cette affaire, nous utiliserons uniquement ce terme plus général désignant l’institution à l’origine de tous nos atermoiements. S’enchainèrent un premier mail, deux mails, trois mails, quarante, deux-cent cinquante, trois-mille quarante… mais toujours pas de réponse satisfaisante et la lassitude commençait tout doucement à faire son lit. L’administration ne semblait pas vouloir répondre à nos revendications légitimes, celles de perpétuer l’héritage pré-Covid de nos prédécesseurs qui s'entraînaient lors des matinées du cinquième jour de la semaine. Le créneau était même en temps normal entièrement alloué à cet effet alors que nous avions, pour notre part, l’obligation d’assister à des cours plus ou moins monotones. Alors que l’espoir semblait mort et enterré, et que le rêve de se mouvoir sur le terrain synthétique du plus beau stade de la ville s’éloignait de plus en plus, le deuxième semestre avait apporté son lot de miracles. Malheureusement, M. Amouri n'était pas toujours pas venu nous gratifier de ses talents intergénérationnels sur le terrain mais nous avions enfin eu des échos positifs et obtenu un créneau après tous ces efforts. Nous allions enfin pouvoir avoir accès à ce qui semblait être l’impossible, avec un entraîneur spécialement réquisitionné pour nous afin de nous préparer dans les meilleures conditions pour le Minicrit. Après de nombreux aléas et imprévus, qui ne l’étaient parfois pas vraiment, nous nous retrouvions dans une position difficile avec de nombreux absents avant cette compétition. Mais qu’à cela tienne ! Nous étions motivés, ragaillardis, prêts à croiser le fer avec des Dijonnais inconnus, des Poitevins forts de leur préparation digne d’une équipe professionnelle avec de (très) nombreux matchs de préparations (en même temps, que peut-on faire de mieux à Poitiers…) et des Havrais que nous étions prêts à rétamer, pour leur montrer que la mer Méditerranée sera toujours meilleure que la Manche. Face à toutes les difficultés que nous avions pu rencontrer cette année spéciale, nous avions toujours cette fougue au fond de nous, celle du feu sacré. Le désir d’aller contre tous les pronostics, de rendre fier tout un campus, de montrer que le cholismo n’est pas mort, en bref ; montrer aux yeux du monde (ou au moins quelques centaines de sciencepistes) que oui, Menton n’est pas mort, Menton ne baissera pas la tête, Menton va rivaliser et bien plus que cela, que nous n’avons jamais été aussi forts qu’aujourd’hui, plus qu’hier et moins que demain. « Le sport va chercher la peur pour la dominer, la fatigue pour en triompher, la difficulté pour la vaincre. » Pierre de Coubertin

Sanctions failed to make Saddam Hussein withdraw from Kuwait, unseat Fidel Castro, convince Haiti’s junta to honor democratic election results, or prevent India and Pakistan from testing nuclear weapons. Despite mounting sanctions against Iran, the violent suppression of protests has not abated — Iranian courts have begun to issue death sentences for those with links to the protests. < Back Are Iran Sanctions an Ethical Alternative to War? By Peyton Dashiell December 31, 2022 Since the rise of recent Iran protests after the killing of Mahsa Amini and subsequent violent crackdowns at the hands of Iranian officials, the international community has employed a range of responses. The United States stalled highly-anticipated nuclear negotiations, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a special session on the situation in Iran and new economic sanctions, travel bans, and asset freezes were applied to many individuals and companies with ties to the Iranian government. These actions are not new developments — since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the international community has applied various economic, trade and military sanctions against Iran with efforts spearheaded mainly by the United States. Reasons cited for sanctions include Iran’s nuclear program, the backing of the Houthis in the Yemeni Civil War and support for designated terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. As a result of sanctions, Iran has experienced a drastic reduction in oil revenue, billions of dollars of frozen foreign assets and almost complete exclusion from the global financial system due to sanctions on banks. Economic sanctions against Iran from the United States can be divided into two categories: primary sanctions, which prevent U.S. citizens and entities from engaging in economic activity with Iran, and secondary sanctions, which bar non-American entities from engaging in business with Iran if they want a presence in the United States. Due to secondary sanctions, multinational corporations do not operate in Iran due to the risk of being banned from the American market. The European Union and International Atomic Energy Agency have imposed their own sanctions on the Iranian regime due to unauthorized nuclear activity. In 2007, the European Union froze all assets of individuals with ties to Iran’s nuclear program, and in 2010, they joined the U.S. policy of banning all transactions with Iranian financial institutions. However, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action lifted some sanctions against Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Initially a party to the deal, the United States withdrew in 2018, citing national security concerns. These sanctions have resulted in broad economic and humanitarian consequences. Since 2018, the Iranian currency has lost 50 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, prompting inflation and higher living costs for citizens. And while American sanctions theoretically exempt humanitarian imports, many medical companies over-comply with these sanctions out of fear of retaliation and penalties from the U.S. government, resulting in severe shortages of medications and raw materials for medical production. According to Idriss Jazairy, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Effects of Sanctions on Human Rights, under economic sanctions, “people die but from lack of food and medicine, rather than from explosive devices.” Unfortunately, this has been true in practice. After the United Nations Security Council imposed economic sanctions and a complete trade embargo on Iraq in 1990 due to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis were killed due to malnutrition and disease — 500,000 of whom were children. Jazairy also argued that sanctions deserve the same recognition and concern in the international community as any act of war. These negative humanitarian effects are not an unprecedented consequence. After new U.S. sanctions were imposed in 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted that “things are much worse for the Iranian people, and we are convinced that will lead the Iranian people to rise up and change the behavior of the regime.” This lends credence to the idea that economic sanctions are a form of collective punishment — punishments imposed on a group for the actions of individuals. This practice is regarded as a violation of international human rights law and illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Secondary sanctions imposed by the United States have been exceptionally controversial in international law due to their extraterritorial jurisdiction, and other major global powers have tried to mitigate their economic effects. After the 2018 JCPOA withdrawal, the European Commission issued a Blocking Statute, declaring U.S. Iran sanctions illegal. Businesses based in Europe became explicitly prohibited from complying with the U.S. sanctions and could recover damages from U.S. restrictions on legitimate business with Iran. Finally, sanctions as a foreign policy tool evoke broader questions regarding the morality of international intervention. Since the end of World War II and the advent of a new, post-Westphalian world order, the international community has taken on the responsibility of monitoring and upholding human rights through military intervention, sanctions and prosecution in international courts. But to what degree should this responsibility be applied — and are sanctions that worsen civilian conditions in the name of human rights hypocritical? Despite their prominent role in modern foreign policy, there are few examples of sanctions eliciting their desired political response. Sanctions failed to make Saddam Hussein withdraw from Kuwait, unseat Fidel Castro, convince Haiti’s junta to honor democratic election results or prevent India and Pakistan from testing nuclear weapons. Despite mounting sanctions against Iran, the violent suppression of protests has not abated — Iranian courts have begun to issue death sentences for those with links to the protests. As history has demonstrated, economic sanctions are an ineffective political measure that comes at an extreme civilian cost. While carefully calculated sanctions against specific industries or government officials may be a useful foreign policy tool, utilizing sanctions in the fashion of the United States — as an economic blockade spanning decades and forcing civilians to bear the effects — is an undeniable human rights infringement. Sanctions are not a flippant, inconsequential measure to respond to issues seen as not important enough to justify military operations — in some cases, they are more impactful than any act of war.

The recent increase in the number of races held in the Arabian Peninsula comes from the rise in investment from the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, which is currently advocating for the addition of a second race in Qiddiya. < Back Formula 1: Are the Gulf Countries “Sportswashing”? By Selin Elif Köse March 30, 2024 It’s lights out and away we go : Formula 1 2024 season is officially off to a start with the much anticipated Bahrain Grand Prix. As the silly season comes to an end, the whole Formula 1 community is still in shock with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton's announcement of transferring to Ferrari in 2025. The soon-to-be-empty Mercedes seat, on the other hand, has been associated with many names, from two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to Williams driver Alex Albon, but the most jaw-dropping one without question is Red Bull’s very own Max Verstappen. While there has been plenty of news going on off the grid, there hasn’t been a significant change in the team’s performances on the grid compared to last year, except for Alpine, as the formerly midfield team has fallen way back. Red Bull is still comfortably leading with Verstappen winning and Sergio Perez becoming runner-up in both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The third place on the podium went to Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc respectively, in the first two races of the season. Aston Martin and McLaren have also shown solid performance finishing in points while Mercedes has been facing obstacles with both the qualifying and race pace which left Hamilton ve Russell frustrated. However, this is not unexpected, as Mercedes started the last season on the wrong foot. Nonetheless, with the upgrades brought midseason, Mercedes quickly moved to the front of the grid again. With the end of the two-header in the Arabian Peninsula, the teams are now headed to Australia, returning to the Gulf for the last two races of the year. The recent increase in the number of races held in the Arabian Peninsula comes from the rise in investment from the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, which is currently advocating for the addition of a second race in Qiddiya. With their increasing stakes in Formula 1, Gulf countries have been accused of sportwashing. The Guardian journalist David Conn defines sportwashing as “the exploitation of sporting events to cleanse tarnished reputations." But why are the Gulf countries suddenly more interested in investing in Formula 1 and are they actually “sportwashing”? The term gained significant traction after Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup, but “sportwashing” has been long used for other Gulf countries as well with their huge investments in football and Formula 1 in recent years to cover up their political wrongdoings. Evidently, Abu Dhabi's investments in sports, such as ownership of English Premier League club Manchester City and hosting the final race in the Formula 1 calendar, serve as a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from its violation of human rights, which include unfair trials, limited freedom of expression, failure to investigate torture allegations, gender discrimination, and mistreatment of migrant workers, as condemned by Amnesty International. Perceptions surrounding Saudi Arabia and sportswashing are similar. The country is commonly known as an authoritarian state responsible for the execution of almost 200 people in the last year , fueling the humanitarian crisis in Yemen with a military intervention, linked to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the persecution of women's rights protestors. Yet, Saudi investors succeeded in securing a spot in the F1 calendar for Jeddah in 2021. This was received poorly, as Formula 1 had just launched their “We Race as One” campaign a year prior in 2020 to condemn inequality & racism and promote inclusivity for everyone regardless of their gender, race, and sexuality. Even though some argue that the Gulf states’ investment in sports is a means to improve their reputations on the international stage, it is also arguably fueled by desires for rapid economic growth. In 2016, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman introduced Vision 2030, a long-term development plan to diversify the Saudi economy and reduce its dependency on oil revenue by developing other sectors such as tourism, entertainment, and technology while promoting private sector growth. Parallel to these efforts, Saudi Arabia invested heavily in Formula 1 by building a circuit in Jeddah and signing a 10-year contract with Liberty Media, owners of F1, to host at least one race each season in the country. Additionally, they advocated for a second race in Qiddiya by signing multi-million dollar marketing deals with drivers, including Fernando Alonso. This paved the way for other Gulf countries to develop their own economic plans to transform their oil-dependent economies into more sustainable and diversified ones. Qatar implemented the National Vision 2030 and constructed state-of-the-art stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The United Arab Emirates launched the "UAE Vision 2021" and "UAE Vision 2071" initiatives, investing heavily in sports by hosting events such as the Dubai World Cup (with horse racing), Dubai Tennis Championships, and Dubai Rugby Sevens, among others. They also backed the Emirati former rally driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the FIA Presidential elections for choosing the successor of Jean Todt. The eventual election of Ben Sulayem also naturally increased the Gulf influence in F1. While this growing Gulf influence benefits the countries’ reputation, economy, and globalization, the administrative change has led to various political debates. Drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and former F1 driver and world champion Sebastian Vettel are actively engaged in activism for human rights and social justice. They often use their platform to speak out on global issues — Hamilton has worn a special design rainbow helmet supporting LGBTQ rights and a Black Lives Matter shirt before races. Hence, a major controversy emerged when The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) changed its International Sporting Code and endorsed drivers to receive written permission from the FIA to make any "political, religious and personal statements." FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem further said he would prefer the drivers to leave their "private personal agendas at home.” It was later clarified that the drivers were actually free to say whatever they wanted in the press conferences and this ban was only for formal events like podiums and grid ceremonies. This was just one of the multiple political debates going around in the F1 paddock. Even though there aren’t absolute restrictions on the rights of expression and political speech, the drivers and the teams have to be more careful with their words and actions in Middle Eastern countries. In conclusion, sportswashing and economic goals lie at the heart of the rise in Gulf investment in sports and Formula 1. While it sometimes leads to political controversies, it benefits both the states and the sport. In a way, it also gives the drivers the platform to be vocal on the social injustices and inequalities in the countries they are racing at and draw attention to these issues on the global stage. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Formula 1 is a platform that reaches an immense global audience and it can be instrumental in shaping public opinion. Hopefully, F1 not only provides breathtaking races in the Gulf but also carries the “We Race as One” spirit to these countries.

In Palestine, memory has always been a form of resistance. Today, it lives not only in embroidery and heritage, but on digital screens across the world. Across Gaza, the West Bank, and the Palestinian towns inside Israel, a new generation is documenting life, loss, and love in "real- time" — transforming social media into a living archive of survival. < Back Digital Resistance: How Young Palestinians Use Social Media to Preserve Memory Mariam Mahamid November 6, 2025 In Palestine, memory has always been a form of resistance. Today, it lives not only in embroidery and heritage, but on digital screens across the world. Across Gaza, the West Bank, and the Palestinian towns inside Israel, a new generation is documenting life, loss, and love in "real- time" — transforming social media into a living archive of survival. When mainstream media misrepresents or erases Palestinians voices, young creators step in to fill the silence. Through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, they reclaim the narrative — one post at a time. From Bisan Owda 's heartfelt stories and Plestia Alaqad 's field reports in Gaza", to Muna El-Kurd documenting displacement in Sheikh Jarrah, and artists like Tamer Nafar and Nadeen Khoury using performance to challenge silence — each of them adds a fragment to Palestine’s digital memory. Even creators such as Marwan Halabi keep the Palestinian dialect and humor alive online, showing that even humor can be a form of resistance. Together, these voices form a patchwork of truth — connected by hashtags instead of threads (traditional Palestinian embroidery). For many in Gaza, sharing the truth is an act of immense risk. Saleh Al-Ja’frawi , a young content creator, used to post brief videos capturing daily life between airstrikes — snippets of hope amid chaos. His camera became his way of coping and communicating with the world. When he was killed while filming, his final posts turned into memorials: fragments of a story that will not fade. Even after his death , his account remains — a reminder that in Palestine, to document is to resist. According to Access Now’s 2024 report "Gaza, Genocide & Big Tech ", major social media companies have repeatedly removed Palestinian content, shadow-banned accounts, and labeled eyewitness reports as "sensitive"or "misinformation." The stated reason for many of these removals is that the posts contain explicit or graphic imagery — footage of bombings, the wounded, or scenes of destruction. Yet these images are often the only proof of what is happening on the ground. As a result, Palestinians documenting the war face a constant dilemma: how to show the reality without violating platform policies. Many creators blur images, crop videos, or use symbols and coded language to avoid deletion. In doing so, they expose the paradox of the digital age — that the same platforms built for visibility can also enforce invisibility. This digital erasure mirrors the physical destruction on the ground: while bombs silence cities, algorithms silence witnesses. Yet, Palestinians continue to post, rebuild, and remember — proving that resistance survives in every upload. Palestinian heritage has always depended on acts of remembrance. Where previous generations preserved identity through tatreez , such as traditional Palestinian embroidery, today’s youth are doing so through images, captions, and live streams. Today’s youth are doing so through images, captions, and live streams. The method has changed, but the purpose remains the same. According to "Digital Activism in Perspective: Palestinian Resistance via Social Media ", social platforms have become “virtual spaces of protest” where storytelling and collective memory merge. Projects like "Visualizing Palestine " and the "Palestinian Museum Digital Archive " extend this tradition into cyberspace, transforming data and memory into visual testaments of truth. Palestine’s digital activism carries the same spirit of remembrance that once lived in thread and fabric. In colonized societies, memory itself often becomes a way to survive — a quiet act of resistance passed from one generation to the next. As historian Pierre Nora wrote in 1989, these "sites of memory" are spaces where people preserve identity when physical places or traditions are lost. For Palestinians, the internet itself has become one of these sites — a shared space where loss and belonging coexist in every post. Each photo, voice note, or caption becomes a modern heirloom passed from one timeline to another. Yet telling these stories online comes with its own battles. Palestinian content is often restricted or deleted by platforms that claim neutrality. Reports from Amnesty International and the Meta Oversight Board reveal how algorithms systematically suppress Palestinian voices, echoing what researchers call "systematic digital repression." As scholar Miriyam Aouragh wrote in 2008, this represents a new kind of "everyday resistance on the internet," where activism becomes embedded in daily digital life. Yet the community finds ways around it — mirroring posts, translating captions, saving content before it disappears. Every repost becomes an act of defiance, every share a heartbeat of persistence. As noted in "Social Media’s Key Role in Palestinian Activism for Gaza ", the online sphere now serves as both a newsroom and a memorial wall. This convergence between memory and technology mirrors the old forms of preservation — when tatreez carried stories across generations, and now when data carries voices across screens. Digital resistance doesn’t end when the Wi-Fi is cut off. It lives in conversations, in art, and in the quiet insistence to remember. These young Palestinians aren’t just documenting conflict — they’re preserving humanity. Their feeds may scroll endlessly, but their stories root deeply. Beyond the posts and the algorithms lies something more enduring: a collective determination to exist. Each act of sharing, archiving, or even mourning online becomes a declaration of identity. For Palestinians, visibility itself is survival — an assertion that their stories cannot be deleted, even when their accounts can. This persistence transforms technology into testimony, and testimony into truth. Just as every stitch of a tatreez once carried a story, every pixel now carries a memory — a thread of continuity between past and present. Through both fabric and fiber optics, Palestinians continue to prove that resistance is not only about struggle, but about the refusal to be forgotten. Photo Source: Raw Pixel, Creative Commons

Lorsque la question des nations sans états indépendants est abordée, on pense souvent aux Palestiniens, aux Tibétains, aux Berbères. À cette liste des “opprimés des opprimés” , il faudrait rajouter les Kurdes. < Back Vous Voulez Savoir Plus Sur les Kurdes? C'est Par Ici By Amalia Heide March 31, 2023 Lorsque la question des nations sans états indépendants est abordée, on pense souvent aux Palestiniens, aux Tibétains, aux Berbères. À cette liste des “opprimés des opprimés” , il faudrait rajouter les Kurdes , considérés comme étant, parmi les peuples sans État, le plus démographiquement nombreux dans la région du Moyen Orient. La distribution du peuple kurde dans différents États, et donc sous différents régimes politiques, nous amène à nous questionner sur l’évolution régionale du nationalisme kurde depuis sa naissance au début du XXe siècle. Faisons un récapitulatif historique. Historiquement, les mouvements nationalistes kurdes ont tous revendiqué un État kurde indépendant, que ce soit pour le PKK en Turquie, le PYD en Syrie, ou les kurdes irakiens (GRK) et iraniens. Le sujet de la création d’un État Kurde indépendant avait été envisagé dans le traité de Sèvres en 1920 après la chute de l’empire ottoman mais n’avait pas connu suite du fait du refus du fraichement constitué Etat turc nationaliste à perdre des territoires ainsi que du besoin du Royaume-Uni de contrôler rapidement la région, où l’on avait récemment découvert du pétrole. Se signa ainsi le traité de Lausanne en 1923 pour remplacer le traité de Sèvres. Celui-ci prévoit la création de l’État syrien sous le contrôle de la France et du Royaume de l’Irak sous contrôle du Royaume-Uni. Pas un mot sur le statut des Kurdes ne figure sur le traité. Les kurdes se trouvent ainsi dispersés entre la Turquie, la Syrie, la Perse et l’Irak. Leur lutte pour la revendication qui s’ensuit s’est souvent traduite en mouvements politiques qui ont connu des répressions très violentes notamment de l'État Irakien avec le massacre de Halabja en 1988 avec des armes chimiques. En Turquie, les répressions contre le PKK ont même poussé ce dernier à évoluer sur sa position à la fin des années 90 et début 2000 pour passer d’une revendication indépendantiste à une revendication autonomiste, et à un changement de méthode qui implique en principe moins de violence. Néanmoins, cette évolution est à nuancer puisque le PKK est encore reconnu comme étant une organisation terroriste par beaucoup de pays tels que les Etats-Unis et l’Union Européenne. Les violences et les attentats ne sont pas disparus. Le susdit massacre de Halabja en Irak a suscité un important émoi de la communauté internationale. Cette agitation a permis aux États Unis d’instrumentaliser la question des nationalismes kurdes dans le cadre de la première guerre du golfe en incitant ces derniers à la révolte afin de déstabiliser l’Irak. À la suite de cette guerre, les Kurdes en Irak ont pu établir une zone autonome qui a ensuite reconnu la pleine reconnaissance de l'État irakien dans la constitution de 2005 après la chute de Saddam Hussein. Le Kurdistan irakien est toujours là et constitue la forme la plus institutionnalisée et stable d’un État kurde après l’existence éphémère de la République kurde de Marhaba en Iran en 1946. En 2017, un référendum a été organisé dans cette région de l’Irak sur la question de l’indépendance qui a obtenu 92.73% de votes en faveur. Contrairement aux attentes, ce référendum a été une source importante de divisions. En effet, les mouvements kurdes ne sont pas unis et de nombreuses divisions persistent encore aujourd'hui. Étonnamment, la question de l’autonomie ou l’indépendance est une source de désaccord important entre les mouvements nationalistes kurdes car certains ont changé leur position et leur angle de lutte. C’est le cas notamment en Turquie , où le parti politique kurde (PYD) fut créé en 2015 ayant pour objectif un Etat autonome démocratique, égalitaire, pacifique et écologiste dans le respect des frontières turques. Il s’agit d’un parti ayant des relations proches avec le PKK mais qui ne soutient pas publiquement leurs actions violentes. Cette nouvelle idéologie fut exportée au mouvement en Syrie. L’évolution dans ces revendications du mouvement kurde va totalement à l’encontre du nationalisme kurde en Irak, où le discours indépendantiste « pankurdiste » est certes en voie de disparition , mais où l’on cherche activement la mise en place d’un État-nation « kurdistanais irakien ». Cet affaiblissement d’un sentiment d’appartenance commune kurde et donc les divergences de revendications expliquent pourquoi à présent nous devons parler des nationalisme s et non d’ un nationalisme kurde. En outre, les soutiens de puissances étrangères à certains mouvements kurdes ont participé à augmenter les tensions entre les différents mouvements qui ont parfois évolué jusque vers des luttes armées. C’est le cas de l’Irak soutenant les kurdes iraniens et inversement l’Iran soutenant les kurdes irakien pendant la guerre de 1980-1988, ce qui fait que les deux groupes kurdes s’affrontent à plusieurs reprises. Pour mettre un exemple plus récent, le jeu d’alliance dans la région fit que, lors des révoltes contre Bachar-Al Assad en Syrie, le GRK (les kurdes d’Irak) étaient soutenus par la Turquie tandis que la Turquie était du côté de l’opposition syrienne. Au contraire , le PYD (groupe kurde de Syrie) soutenait (au moins au début) le régime syrien. Comme le PYD et le PKK sont proches idéologiquement et que le régime turc et les Kurdes de Turquie ne s’entendent pas très bien, à la fin, nous voyons que le PYD et le PKK s’opposent dans ce jeu d’alliances. C’est hallucinant de voir l’impact que les intérêts des puissances extérieures peuvent avoir sur des mouvements qui étaient à l’origine extrêmement proches. Mais cette discordance et tensions entre mouvements kurdes est à nuancer. Même s'il existe des divergences et même des conflits d'intérêts, il existe encore une certaine solidarité kurde transfrontalière qui fait preuve de l'existence encore latente d'une identification commune. Un exemple est la prise en charge de réfugiés lorsque se produisent des persécutions de la part des Etats. Celui-ci est le cas à présent avec les jeunes kurdes iraniens, victimes des répressions actuelles de la part de l'Etat Iranien suite au mouvement social, qui fuient et sont accueillis par le Kurdistan irakien.

Ever since the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has understood that it is surrounded by dangerous neighbors. < Back Armenia: The EU As a Destination? By Jad Toufic Toutinji April 30, 2024 Ever since the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has understood that it is surrounded by dangerous neighbors. Notably, Armenia’s unreliable ally, Russia, does not even consider Armenia’s interests as a secondary priority. Since the defeat and the rise of a new geopolitical opportunity through the Russia-Ukraine war, Armenia has seriously taken into consideration to join the European Union (EU), and the EU has cleared their way to apply. Thus, the Western bloc, especially after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the freezing of its Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) membership. In March, the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that applying for an EU membership is “being discussed.” Later, the European Parliament passed a resolution confirming that Armenia can apply for membership as it meets the requirements of the Maastricht Treaty Article 49. What are the motives for both sides? What about Russia? Armenia’s motives to join the EU are mostly defensive. Located in the Caucuses and surrounded by threats from all its neighbors (apart from Georgia), it makes absolute sense that it seeks to ensure its security. With Russia occupying Ukraine and having proven untrustworthy and unreliable in the war against Azerbaijan, France, arguably the leader of the EU, has strongly been a resort for arms sales and strengthening the military. For example, in October 2023, Paris declared it would sell an air defense system to Armenia and provide other military and humanitarian aid. Thus, in a time when Armenia feels dangerously besieged, the EU appears as an inevitable option. On the other side of the story, the EU would benefit strategically from swaying Armenia to its side. First and foremost, a foothold in Armenia presents an opportunity for military pressure on Türkiye but also, obviously, Russia. Moreover, in the long run, leverage in Armenia can, should any geopolitical shifts take place, provide access to energy resources through Azerbaijan and potentially avoid Turkish and Russian hegemony over it. Not only so, but seeing the widespread Armenian diaspora, especially in the Middle East, the EU would also gain several political influences in the region, for instance, in Türkiye and Lebanon. Nevertheless, a shortcoming that the EU might discover later is that expanding into Armenia could translate into a consistent risk of immigrant influx from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia and the Middle East region. Inevitably, too, the geopolitical benefits will translate into further tensions with Iran, Türkiye and Russia as these countries begin to feel surrounded. The EU may have to interfere politically and potentially militarily on several occasions if the aforementioned countries decide to act upon or create political traps for the EU countries. As to Russia, apart from the political and security messages, Armenia joining the EU will be seen as an intrusion in a region historically dominated by it, which puts Putin’s narrative of an alternative to the West under doubt. But, Armenia is not in continental Europe. The precedent for a non-European geographic country being in the EU exists if we consider Cyprus as being part of Asia or looking at the non-European territories of France and other European countries too. Not to forget, joining the EU is more reliant on upholding the values assigned in the Maastricht Treaty and the Copenhagen Criteria, which do not give reference to geographic location. Moreso, Armenia has already politically engaged with Europe through participation in bodies like the Council of Europe. Is it as easy as it sounds? It would be naïve to assume that Armenia joining will take place in a matter of months. Firstly, EU accessions are known to take years, often decades, to be fully completed. By the time a full accession takes place, if it ever does, the geopolitics of the region and the role of Russia might have shifted significantly. Apart from the natural time constraints, there are still over 10,000 Russian troops in Armenia. In April, however, Yerevan sent an official request to Moscow to remove its troops from Zvartnots International Airport, as Armen Grigorian, Armenian Security Council Secretary has said. The Kremlin (at the time of writing) denies receiving an official request, explaining why it has not started any withdrawals. Nonetheless, it is doubtful that Moscow would commit to withdrawal as it would lead to Russian loss of influence. In the past, Russia has pressured the continuity of Russian troops on ex-USSR territory, whether forcible or willingly, such as in Georgia and Crimea; hence, it would not be surprising if Russia decides to infringe upon Armenian sovereignty to protect its regional hegemony. In the future, it would be expected to see that this infringement will keep on increasing the closer Yerevan becomes to Brussels. The real question would be to see whether Russia might be further pressured by Armenian rapprochement to the EU that it intervenes militarily or leads a coup d’état. Another difficulty is geography: are small European states willing to deal with the threats surrounding Armenia, especially at a time of the rise of the European right? In light of the recent rapprochement between Hungary’s Orban and Türkiye’s Erdogan, will a hampering of the process of accession also take place by Türkiye via Orban? Lastly, Armenia is geographically isolated from most trade with the EU, so it remains to be seen whether or not further economic integration plans will be proposed and are feasible even; in another sense, will the driver for accession remain only for security purposes for Armenia? In a decade’s time, if no economic integration proposals take place, the incentive to join the West might change, thus slowing or even ending the attempt.

Sports Recap – April 2022 < Back Sports Recap: April By Hugo Lagergren April 29, 2022 Football As the season reaches its climax, the battle between Liverpool and Manchester City for domestic and European glory is showing no sign of letting up. In their second meeting of the Premier League season, the two teams played out an exhilarating 2-2 draw, in what was described by many as the game of the season. One week later, however, Liverpool overcame Pep Guardiola’s side with a dominant first half display to reach their first FA Cup final under Jurgen Klopp. This keeps its hopes of completing a historic quadruple alive. The Champions League quarter-finals saw some serious upsets, as Villareal managed to eliminate favorite Bayern Munich with a late goal from Samuel Chukwueze, setting up a semi-final against Liverpool. Karim Benzema maintained his brilliant form by eliminating the defending champions, Chelsea, with a devastating hat-trick, sending Real Madrid through. Real Madrid will play Man City, as Pep tries to win the only trophy that has eluded him during his time at City. The Europa League, UEFA’s second tier competition, also produced a number of shock results. The biggest was Eintracht Frankfurt’s defeat of Barcelona at the Camp Nou. West Ham United and Red Bull Leipzig also won their respective quarter-finals. Possibly the biggest surprise of the competition was Glasgow’s Rangers reaching the semi-finals of a European tournament. This is the first time a Scottish side has reached the last four since 2008. In the inaugural season of the Europa Conference League, Europe’s tertiary club football competition, Olympique de Marseille, has managed to reach the semi-finals, where it will play Dutch side Feyenoord. Leicester City defeated PSV to set up a semi-final against Mourinho’s struggling AS Roma. With 29 out of the 32 teams having already qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, FIFA completed the draw of the group stages, classifying the 32 possible contenders into 8 groups. This decides the paths each team must take if they are to reach the World Cup final. Following a poor display of form, OGC Nice dropped out of contention for the Champions League, despite reaching the final of the French Cup. This has undoubtedly dampened the mood on the Côte D’Azur, as Nice look likely to miss out on the top-tier of European football, once again. With six games left in the season, none of which are against teams currently in the top five, Nice are looking to reverse its poor form by taking the maximum number of points possible whilst also hoping that the teams above them drop points. With only four games remaining, and just one point separating Chelsea and Arsenal, the tension is rising in the Women’s Super League, as Arsenal attempts to steal the title off Chelsea. Defending champions Chelsea, who have held the title for two years running now, will be without star striker Fran Kirby for the rest of the season. Her absence, according to Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, can be attributed to a case of “fatigue.” In the Women’s FA Cup, Chelsea beat rivals Arsenal comfortably to reach the final, where they will play Man City at Wembley. On March 22, FC Barcelona announced a four-year partnership with UNHCR. Audiences will see the UN Refugee Agency’s logo appear on the back of the Barcelona kit. Moreover, the Barcelona Foundation pledged to supply UNHCR with an annual €400,000 cash contribution and an additional annual €100,000 worth of sports equipment and technical expertise. Barcelona has a history of philanthropic partnerships with the UN – collaborating with the intergovernmental organization for unconventional kit sponsorships. Many will remember the iconic Barcelona kits with the UNICEF logo displayed on the front, which the team used from 2006 to 2010. Formula 1 Ferrari continued its dominant form by clinching a double podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix behind Max Verstappen (Leclerc 2nd, Sainz 3rd). They earned their second win of the season at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, where Leclerc stormed to his fourth career win. Max Verstappen retired with engine issues in Melbourne for the second time this season, exacerbating worries surrounding Red Bull’s reliability. Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, labelled the issue “desperately frustrating,” as Red Bull struggles to keep up with the pace of the Ferraris. However, Red Bull managed to reestablish themselves at Imola, where they achieved their first one two finish since Malaysia 2016, with Max Verstappen taking the victory. Tennis Stephan Tsitsipas beat Davidovich Fokina to win his second Monte Carlo title in a row. The Greek tennis player took victory in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, despite looking slightly tense during the tie breaker of the second set. The world number five described himself “very proud” as he won his first trophy of the season, a feat he hopes will kickstart his 2022 campaign. Golf On April 10, American golfer, Scottie Scheffler won his first green jacket by championing the 86th PGA Masters tournament, holding off late pushes from Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy. Last year, Scheffler finished 18th and his highest finish at any previous major was fourth place. However, much of the golfing world’s attention was on Tiger Woods. Woods made a surprising return following a serious car crash in February 2021, during which he sustained several serious leg injuries. American Sports The NBA playoffs are now underway, with the Phoenix Suns as the favorite to win this year. Last year’s champions, the Milwaukee Bucks will be looking to defend their title. However, the Suns have put up a dominant display during the regular season by setting a franchise record for the most wins in a single season. The NHL approaches the Stanley Cup playoffs with many teams filling playoff spots, including the New York Rangers who have qualified for a place in the playoffs for the first time in five years. Last year’s finalist, the Montreal Canadians, have struggled and are currently bottom of the Atlantic Division, with qualification for the playoffs far out of reach.

Entre des réformes politiques en faveur du droit des femmes tels que le droit de conduire et le droit à l'obtention d’un passeport et au voyage à l'international sans autorisation d’un parent masculin et les réformes culturelles tel que l'accès au cinéma et la production de films, le pays semble changer radicalement. < Back L’industrie cinématographique en Arabie saoudite By Anna Halpern March 30, 2024 L’Arabie saoudite, sous la direction du prince héritier Mohammed ben Salmane (communément surnommé MBS), a fait beaucoup de bruit sur la scène internationale grâce à des réformes qui poussent le royaume vers une modernization soudaine. Entre des réformes politiques en faveur du droit des femmes tels que le droit de conduire et le droit à l'obtention d’un passeport et au voyage à l'international sans autorisation d’un parent masculin et les réformes culturelles tel que l'accès au cinéma et la production de films, le pays semble changer radicalement. Mais est-ce vraiment possible de convaincre le monde, en commençant par la population saoudite elle-même, de ce changement si souvent critiqué comme étant plus d'insuffisant? Pour ce qui est de convaincre la population saoudite, l’importance du changement culturel ne doit pas être sous-estimée. En effet, dans un pays qui subit encore de fortes répressions, il devient essentiel de garder la jeunesse du côté du gouvernement. Ceci est fait principalement grâce à des réformes destinées à ‘occidentaliser’ et ouvrir le pays, et ceci passe en grande partie par une nouvelle ouverture à l'audiovisuel international. Qui plus est, ce changement n’est pas sans motivation économique ; dans le cadre de sa “vision 2030” MBS a comme objectif de diversifier l’économie du royaume, et ceci semble passer par un pari sur le potentiel du pays dans l’industrie cinématographique. Ce développement semble centré sur Neom, où ils espèrent établir un hub technologique ainsi qu’un centre de l’industrie cinématographique en commençant par d'immenses studios. Ces studios ont déjà commencé à attirer des productions telles que « Desert Warrior » du réalisateur britannique Rupert Wyatt, avec des stars telles que Anthony Mackie et Ben Kingsley. D’ici 2030, le royaume espère avoir 2000 salles de cinéma et un box-office de 1 milliard de dollars, faisant de l’Arabie saoudite un lieux idéal pour investir. Cette ouverture nouvelle vient aussi de façon formelle par la création du festival « Red Sea Film Festival » . Ce festival a ouvert son édition 2023 par le film Britannique « What’s Love Got to Do With It? » , une comédie romantique multiculturelle représentant des LGBTQ+, des mariages arrangés ainsi que des couples bi-culturels; en bref ce film montre une diversité que peu auraient pensé voir sur un écran en Arabie saoudite il y a à peine 10 ans. Ces nouvelles normes se trouvent tout de même face à certains obstacles. En effet, la communauté religieuse à eu du mal à accepter cette modernisation. En 2017, le grand Mufti à déclaré juger le cinéma et les concerts « sources de dépravation » . Les critiques rejettent tout de même l’imposition de valeurs 'hollywoodiennes’ dans un pays qui reste tout de même très conservateur et où le droit est basé sur le respect de la sharia. D’autre part, l’ouverture du pays à des productions internationales risque d'être limitée par leur capacité à attirer des stars dont les positions publiques à propos du droit des femmes et des LGBTQ+ les met en opposition au régime saoudien. De plus, la communauté internationale n’a pas oublié la mort du journaliste Jamal Khashoggi, assassiné dans le consulat Saoudien à Istanbul. Son meurtre est largement imputé au prince héritier, causant une vague d’outrage. Plus largement, le traitement de l’opposition semble en dissuader plus d’un de participer à un projet en Arabie saoudite. La question se pose donc, ce changement en Arabie saoudite n’est il qu’une façon de faire passer l'autoritarisme de MBS sous une couverture de modernization et d'occidentalisation, ou souligne t-il un véritable pas en avant vers un pays plus ouvert et libre - même si ceci est encore loin d'être le cas.

La jeune femme iranienne, Bahar, semble alarmée face à l'idée qu'un mouvement qui la touche de si près puisse tout simplement s'évaporer, comme c'est souvent le cas de la plupart des mouvements à vocation humanitaire qui deviennent viraux à l'échelle internationale sur les réseaux sociaux. < Back Le Mouvement en Iran: Un Phénomène à la Mode Pour la Communauté Internationale By Amalia Heide November 30, 2022 « Le mouvement tend vers une tendance » . Ce terme, chargé de méfiance, a été employé par Bahar (pseudonyme) pour décrire ses craintes quant à l'avenir du mouvement d'émancipation des femmes en Iran. Cette jeune femme iranienne semble alarmée face à l'idée qu'un mouvement qui la touche de si près puisse tout simplement s'évaporer, comme c'est souvent le cas de la plupart des mouvements à vocation humanitaire qui deviennent viraux à l'échelle internationale sur les réseaux sociaux. Les utilisateurs passent d'une obsession fiévreuse et passionnée pour une cause à l'indifférence et à l'oubli. Et tout cela en un clin d'œil. La viralisation excessive d'une cause génère donc une saturation et un ennui chez les utilisateurs qui ne sont pas directement concernés. C'est pourquoi, au cours d'une semaine, on assiste à un défilé sans fin de posts sur les réseaux sociaux sur un sujet précis, partagés automatiquement et sans réelle réflexion. La semaine suivante, les mêmes utilisateurs, qui semblaient si engagés, se lassent de voir le même message encore et encore et deviennent obsédés par une autre campagne. Mais qu'implique également cette viralisation démesurée ? Elle réduit une réalité très concrète à quelque chose d'abstrait ou de « symbolique » , en détournant l'attention des personnes réellement concernées par le problème. C'est pourquoi Bahar a l'impression que les utilisateurs des médias sociaux actuels accordent plus d'attention aux paroles et aux actions des influenceurs occidentaux qu'aux femmes iraniennes, dont la liberté est limitée à son expression minimale par le régime. Même lorsque les actions de ces influenceurs sont plus importantes que le simple partage d'un post, la signification de cette action ne sera pas la même ni aura le même poids que si elle était réalisée par une femme iranienne. Prenez, par exemple, les femmes qui ont rasé leurs cheveux en signe de soutien aux femmes iraniennes. Les implications d'un tel acte ne sont pas les mêmes pour une femme occidentale vivant dans un État de droit que pour une femme iranienne qui met sa vie en danger. Il est vrai, cependant, qu'il s'agit d'une forme de sensibilisation et de faire prendre conscience au plus grand nombre, ce dont Bahar est très reconnaissante. Il est indéniable que l'effet positif est très fort. Cependant, il faut toujours être conscient des limites de ces campagnes de sensibilisation. Surtout quand, une fois les cheveux coupés par exemple, les influenceurs occidentaux estiment que leur rôle a été fait et passent à un autre sujet pour divertir leurs followers. Ont-elles coupé leurs cheveux pour soutenir une cause noble ou pour créer du sensationnel et des visuels sur leur page ? Mais alors, comment pouvons-nous, en tant que membres de la communauté internationale, contribuer à changer cette réalité concrète dans laquelle vivent des millions d'iraniennes ? Selon Bahar, l'essentiel est de s'informer avant de partager sur le sujet et non de publier aléatoirement afin suivre une tendance, surtout pour ne pas laisser une vision occidentale et anti-islamique du problème s'imposer à l'opinion publique. Ce n'est pas la religion musulmane qui génère le problème actuel en Iran, ni le port du voile lui-même, mais la répression autoritaire, violente et systématique d'un régime qui ne permet pas aux femmes de décider du cours de leur vie ni du rapport qu'elles souhaitent entretenir avec la religion. Dans le même temps, les membres de la communauté internationale peuvent aider les femmes iraniennes en faisant pression sur les autorités de l'État afin qu'à leur tour, elles fassent pression sur l'ONU pour que le régime iranien actuel commence à respecter les droits fondamentaux de ses femmes. “The movement tends into a trend ” . Este terme, cargado de recelo, fue utilizado por Bahar (seudónimo) para describir sus miedos con respecto al futuro del movimiento de emancipación de las mujeres en Irán. Esta joven irani parece alarmada frente a la posibilidad de que un movimiento que la toca tan de cerca se evapore en el aire, como suele pasar con todos los movimientos de reivindicación social que se viralizan a nivel internacional en las redes sociales. Los usuarios pasan de sentir una obsesión febril y pasional por una causa a la indiferencia y el olvido de la misma. Y todo en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. La viralización excesiva de una causa genera por lo tanto saturación y hastío en los usuarios que no se ven afectados de manera directa. Es por eso que a lo largo de una semana, hay un desfile interminable de publicaciones en las redes sociales sobre un tema específico, compartidas de manera automática y sin una reflexión real. La semana siguiente, los mismos usuarios, que tan comprometidos parecían, se aburren de ver la misma publicación una y otra vez y pasan a obsesionarse con otra causa, volviendo a producirse el mismo proceso. Pero que implica además esta viralización excesiva? Se reduce a algo abstracto o “simbólico” una realidad sumamente concreta, quitando el foco de las personas que están verdaderamente implicadas en la problematica. Es por ello que Bahar tiene la impresión de que actualmente los usuarios de las redes sociales le prestan más atención a las palabras y acciones de influencers occidentales que a las mujeres iranies que ven su libertad limitada a su minima expresion por el regimen. Inclusive cuando las acciones de dichos influencers es mas significativa que el simple partage de una publicacion, el significado de dicha accion no va a ser el mismo ni va a tener el mismo peso que si lo hiciera una mujer irani. Tomemos como ejemplo raparse el pelo como muestra de apoyo hacia las mujeres iranies. Las implicaciones de dicha accion no son las mismas para una mujer occidental viviendo en un Estado de derecho que para una mujer irani que pone su vida en peligro al hacer lo mismo. Es verdad de todas maneras de que es una forma de spread awarness, algo que agradece Bahar, pero hay que ser conscientes de sus limites. Sobretodo cuando, una vez la mecha de pelo cortada, las influencers occidentales sienten que su parte ya fue hecha y pasan a otro tema para mantener entretenidos a sus seguidores. En el fondo se cortaron el pelo por apoyar una causa justa o para crear sensacionalismo y vizualicaciones en su pagina? Pero entonces, como podemos en tanto que miembros de la comunidad internacional contribuir a que esta realidad concreta en la que viven millones de mujeres iranies cambie? Segun Bahar, lo principal es Informarse y luego compartir sobre el tema y no unicamente publicar por seguir una moda. Informarse es esencial, sobretodo para no dejar que una vision occidental y anti-islamica sobre la problematica se imponga en la opinion publica. No es la religion musulmana la que genera problema, ni el port du voile en si, sino la represion autoritaria, violenta y sistematica de un regimen que no da lugar a que las mujeres decidan sobre el curso de sus vidas ni sobre la relacion que desean tener con la religion. A su vez, es importante hacer presion sobre las autoridades estatales para que, a leur tour, estas hagan presion en la ONU para que el regimen irani vigente comience a respetar los derechos fundamentales de sus mujeres.

On that evening, when I was casually texting my relative as we discussed Lebanon’s situation, he sent me a photo that my Tweet was shared on TV < Back Never Give Up on Your Voice: My Tweet Went Viral in Lebanon By Riwa Hassan November 30, 2021 Expressing my voice in Lebanon, a country that has been collapsing Nothing uncommon, just some videos of militias terrorizing the country with their legal and illegal arms. Over the years, this has become a norm for me and for everyone who lives in Lebanon, one of the most politically complex and divided countries in the MENA region. For decades now, our citizens have stood by political warlords and religious extremist figures, which has weakened Lebanese unity and allowed for corruption to infiltrate almost all governmental and non-governmental organizations. Today, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crisis, the Beirut explosion, and the overall socio-political situation compounded, people can no longer afford their basic necessities. On October 14, 2021, although the scene was not very different from today, the backstory was in fact more threatening, as it seemed that the country was on the verge of a civil war. Hezbollah and Amal Movement, known as the duo-Shiite, protested against the judge for the Beirut explosion investigation, Tarek Al Bitar, and accused him of being biassed after he involved some of their leaders in the investigation. As the protestors approached Ain El Remmaneh, where the residing majority are Christians who follow the Lebanese Forces Party, the clash, which soon became a bloodshed, began. This Tayouneh-Ain El Remmeneh bloodshed was called a “mini-civil war” as it also started in the same area where the Lebanese Civil War began in 1975. During that same time, I was in French class, trying to process all the news and the videos while texting my loved ones to make sure they were safe. The whole clash was not as disappointing to me as the youth supporters of these political parties, whose dreams and daily lives have been destroyed over the past two years. The protest, which was clearly not peaceful, was defended by Hezbollah and Amal supporters, as they backed it up with their right to protest and express themselves freely. They only recognize such human rights when it is in their interest. This sentiment was expressed in a Tweet I shared, which compared Hezbollah and Amal’s reactions in protests against a judge doing his job to the protests which demanded justice, equality and basic life necessities. In the former, they clearly supported the protests, but in the latter, their reaction was opposing and full of violence. As I normally do, I wrote a Tweet, “Remember when they called us ‘ate3een tor2at’ and ‘ze3ran’ and accused us of threatening civil peace when we were protesting for our basic rights #العدالة أقوى_من_ترهيبكم #الطيونه .” ‘Ate3een tor2at’ and ‘ze3ran’ can be translated to bandits or crooks. The hashtag under which I shared my Tweet is translated to “justice is stronger than your terrorism.” Suddenly, my Tweet was trending, and while some were threatening and cursing me, others showed their full support. On that evening, when I was casually texting my relative as we discussed the whole situation, he sent me a photo that my Tweet was shared on TV, on Lebanon Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI). I received a lot of messages that encouraged me to continue voicing my opinion. At the same time, I got messages to be careful, and warnings that being bold about my stance is not safe. Later this year, on November 22, Lebanese Independence Day, while I was supposed to be studying for my finals, I could not help but think of how our lives have flipped upside down during the past two years, and reflect on what independence I was supposed to celebrate. I poured the words from my heart onto a post on Instagram. In almost an hour, my post was shared on numerous Instagram stories, especially within the Sciences Po community. For that, I cannot explain how safe it felt to be living in such a supportive community. I cannot thank you enough but I am forever grateful for your effort to help share my voice. I am writing this article on the plane on my way back to Lebanon and I have never felt this afraid yet excited at the same time. I know that I have only been away for around three months, but the situation in the country is changing very fast and, sadly, for the worse. On the bright side, this is the first time I have seen this amount of people going back to Lebanon, which explains how much love all the Lebanese diaspora hold for this country despite all the traumas and losses it has caused them. Sharing my stance and explaining the situation in Lebanon means a lot to me, and I will always express my opinion regardless of the consequences. Freedom of expression might only be found in our constitution, on paper, but we have the duty to share our concerns and turn it to action. The latter is one step forward towards change which Lebanon is in dire need for.

Sport is key for every individual. It constitutes an integral part of human life. Essentially, it keeps us fit and sane while reinforcing mental and physical strength. Biologically, it keeps our prominent organs alert and in turn the heart becomes stronger when it is met by regular exercise. Serving as a tool to help build the character and personality of a person. Sports have gained priority in all aspects of life while uniting the people. < Back Sports as a Way of Life By Joudi Arafa November 29, 2021 Sport is key for every individual. It constitutes an integral part of human life. Essentially, it keeps us fit and sane while reinforcing mental and physical strength. Biologically, it keeps our prominent organs alert and in turn the heart becomes stronger when it is met by regular exercise. Serving as a tool to help build the character and personality of a person. Sports have gained priority in all aspects of life while uniting the people. What can be learned from Sports? Sports bring utility. Notably, they establish discipline in life as they teach the fundamentals of communication, mobility, hard work, fairness etc. Psychologically, sport advances a human's thinking ability and decreases the stress of mind. It teaches control of emotions; the essence of staying focused in attaining discipline. Consequently, how does one attain their desired levels of discipline to reach a desired goal? First and foremost, it is essential to highlight the value of discipline in shaping determination and mindset. Discipline is a crucial foundation for any sport, and also a major aspect to succeed and dominate in other areas of life, especially in one’s career. As mentioned, it assists in achieving a certain mindset towards realizing great things. Another angle that can be taken when stating the lessons learned from sports is leadership skills. Even without being the captain of the football team, all teammates gain leadership skills. Sports always encourage people to strive to be the best that they can be, acting as a role model in their surroundings. Undoubtedly, physical activity is a core mental skill because it impacts other parts of our lives, like school and relationships with family and friends. It acts as an opportunity to build self-confidence, by embracing getting along with all kinds of people. Being a part of a group is motivating by itself; there is a group energy that occurs when people come together to take part in the same fun event. To sum up, discipline and focus are just two of the life skills that sports can illustrate; responsibility, goal-setting and working within a group are all equally beneficial and vital when recognizing sports and physical activity as pillars of leading a happy healthy life. Technology in sports The world of sport is perpetually changing over the years, and the use of technology is just one area that has made an impact on many sports in the modern day. Nowadays, technology plays a significant role in sports, and its use is indeed growing significantly. Advanced technology has become more resilient and less burdensome over this last decade, paving the way for new opportunities. Athletes currently wear sensors that portray real-time information to a trainer’s tablet, a GPS that precisely pinpoints motion, and wearable tech that prevents injuries. Compared to whiteboards and post-practice reviews, technology has substantially increased athletic potential. Take, for instance, swimmers and divers who participate in an extremely technical sport and have adapted the use of sensors into their usual practices. When swimming or diving, sensors measure more than the usual time and effort metrics. They map movements like rotational speed, dive angle, leg movement and hydrodynamics. Observing movements like those listed is groundbreaking, and allows trainers to help athletes further perfect their movements. Remarkably, they may only shave milliseconds off a performance, but a millisecond in a race can make all the difference needed to secure that desired gold medal! Importance of sports for students life As mentioned, sports have a massive positive impact on both the mind and body. It is therefore imperative to assess the various benefits that a student will gain from engaging in sports activities while also attending class. One can not deny how much sports aid in the overall development and growth of a student when effectively balanced with academia. While engaging in sports activities may seem to deduct time from studying, research has shown that more active students have better cognitive abilities. Sports along with other physical activities are beneficial to the brain, which allows students to remember or understand consistently what they read. In turn, it also increases competence when planning, creating strategies, and building team work, all of which are vital skills to have when being part of society. Development from sport goes beyond learning new physical skills. Sport helps students develop better ways to cope with the highs and lows of life. Constructive use of time and discipline is a major characteristic of any sportsperson. If a student plays sports, they need to demonstrate commitment of time, to be in a particular place at a particular time every day as a part of their routine. Simply put, participating in sports encourages a mindset towards practice, growth, and improvement: principles that encourage students to also hold academically. Becoming better at a sport results in self satisfaction, and sports are an excellent way to experience tangible improvement. From improving social skills to teaching self-esteem and personal resilience, sports can instill lifelong values for students that reach far past the classroom. With that being said, let’s hear what students from our Sciences Po campus had to say when asked about staying active: Carolina MOHR, 18yrs What sport do you play? “Soccer” Why is physical activity important for you? “Mental health, specifically for focus and I also just generally feel better because of endorphins.” Samanéa Rousseau, 18yrs What sport do you play? “I did competitive swimming for 12 years and eventing in horse-riding for 10.” Why is physical activity important for you? “I liked the idea of pushing myself to see where it takes me. I liked the outcome of mixing sports and people- it brought me amazing teammates, made me travel, encounter people and places I would not have otherwise. It taught me how important connections between people are. Those people picked me up when I was at my lowest and also pushed me to do my best. Go try new things, meet people; those things will teach you a bundle of values about life that you don't even know you need. I wish it to everyone, don't be scared to make the leap because you have nothing to lose.” Lena Westlund, 18yrs What sport do you play? “Boxing” Why is physical activity important for you? “Beneficial for physical and mental health.” David Ederberg, 21yrs What sport do you play? “For most of my life I’ve been doing Krav Maga, here in Menton I mostly play Volley- and Basketball. But I also like going running and doing different workouts to stay fit.” Why is physical activity important for you? “For me, being physically active is the perfect way to clear my mind, gain new energy and to be able to better focus and concentrate on school work. I love it when after a workout you know that you really challenged yourself and accomplished something - it's the best feeling ever.”

When thinking about global warming, one rarely associates it with terrorism. Nevertheless, when looking at the aims of terrorist organizations and the potential power and influence that climate change predisposes them to have in certain regions of the world, we understand both the disparity of the situation and the urgent need for it to change. < Back Terrorism & Climate Change: A Collective Effort To Further Destabilize West Africa? Victoria Krumova September 30, 2024 Our world is political. By virtue of our need to constantly showcase our individuality and unique way of thinking, we often stand strong in our beliefs. We debate topics like abortion, war, mental health and, basically, all that we can think about. We also debate climate change. And while some highlight that it has come as a result of human activity, others passionately argue that the influx of temperatures is solely a natural phenomena explained by the cyclic nature of the temperatures on our planet. One, however, has to pose a begging question that arises: does it really matter what causes climate change, when we see it is a fact and it is starting to kill our own? Because, at the end of the day, if we have the means to stop it, slow it down, or postpone it, shouldn't we all be united by the goal of self-preservation and the chance for prosperity for future generations? Surely, for the average UK resident, climate change is not going to radically alter their day-to-day life experiences. It might be two degrees hotter on a random Thursday afternoon, but that, for most people, is as far as the impact will go. The country having millions upon millions of pounds in its bank reserves, being relatively self-sufficient and being isolated from other countries means that it is unlikely to face consequences such as inability to invest in adaptation means, lack of goods it had previously been supplying itself with from other countries, or massive waves of migrants in a theoretical critical peak of climate change. But what about Tuvalu, a country expected to sink in under 100 years with the current rate of the rising of ocean levels? The country is the first ever to announce it is “going digital” and is being brought to the metaverse to preserve its customs and traditions. And, as heartbreaking as it is to say, this dystopia is our reality. Cities like Cairo and Alexandria are also at risk of sinking; coastal areas will be the first ones hit by tornados and there will be mass migration of millions of people to a limited number of cities with the most resources. There will be less agricultural land that is supposed to feed the same number of people, there will be overcrowding on the job market and housing options will be insufficient compared to the demand. And yet, these are the “expected” outcomes of climate change. They are the impacts the people of the future will have to deal with. No matter directly or indirectly affected by the crisis, all countries will suffer, regardless of the extent. But how does the situation look today, and more interestingly, what are the unexpected ways in which climate change shapes our reality? When thinking about global warming, one rarely associates it with terrorism. Nevertheless, when looking at the aims of terrorist organizations and the potential power and influence that climate change predisposes them to have in certain regions of the world, we understand both the disparity of the situation and the urgent need for it to change. So what are those terrorist groups doing? Where are they acting? And most importantly, what does climate change have to do with all of this? To be able to analyze these questions, we firstly need to look at where these organizations are prevalent. ISIS and al-Qaeda have been extremely active in West Africa—Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. The answer to why, however, is far more complex. On the one hand, there is the issue of weak governments that do not have a strong military, by virtue of Africa’s lack of great wars in its history. This, in recent years, has meant that terrorist organizations could install themselves on the territories of those countries, without necessarily having a hard time doing so. Weak governments have also proven to be inadequate in dealing with local conflicts. These conflicts, often based on religious or ethnic divide, lead to the necessity of social services and the need for protection. Jihadist organizations then offer that protection to the people, thus spreading their ideology and influence. The U.N. and France have tried to battle this. In 2013 the U.N. sent a peacekeeping force in Mali, after the occupation of its northern parts by Islamist fighters. France too involved itself, by sending 5,000 soldiers, in an effort to stabilize the situation. However, the insurgency of violence in the region, despite the presence of said external powers, is an undeniable fact. Not only did deaths from armed violence in Mali increase by more than three times from 2015 to 2019, but the U.N. also lost more than 300 soldiers, making this what some have called the “deadliest peacekeeping mission in the world”. It remains uncertain whether the failure of this mission has occurred as a result of the soldiers not being ordered to launch active offensives against the militants, or because of the alleged interference of the Malian government with the operations that were being carried out. Nevertheless, both the U.N. and France decided to withdraw their forces in 2023 and 2022 respectively, with the latter doing so in response to the alienating shifting alliances the junta made with Russia and the growing anti-French sentiment among the local population. Climate change is making battling with the rebel groups and the terrorists even harder. As 70 percent of the population of West Africa is reliant on agricultural activities and livestock to make their living, even the slightest change in weather can mean famine, poverty and death. Thus, a certain demographic has chosen an alternative path for going through life: young men. More and more of them have been resorting to militancy, and by doing so, they have been making the situation for the civilians even more dire. The number of civilian fatalities in Mali has more than doubled in the span of just two years—from 2020 to 2022. In Burkina Faso, 223 people, 56 among whom were children, were massacred on Feb. 25 this year in the villages of Nondin and Soro. In a statement, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan condemned the attack saying that "the massacres in Nondin and Soro villages are just the latest mass killings of civilians by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency operations.” She also expressed the need for international assistance to support an investigation into crimes against humanity. But with France and the U.N. already having only a bitter taste of failure from their last mission in Mali, Russia and China having criticized said mission and the UK and Sweden refusing to send troops, it may be said that the international community is intentionally choosing to avoid involving itself further in West Africa’s struggles. A lot of questions remain unanswered: what about the civilians that are forced into radical ideologies because of desperation; what about the kids that are being killed by rebel groups; what about the young men that seek a more stable future in the groups responsible for the unstable status quo? And with the droughts that leave those people without a land to live off of, how much worse will the situation become? With no peacekeeping missions currently present on the terrain, terrorists are continuing to wreak havoc in West Africa. Just recently, on Sept, 5 a jihadist group carried out an attack on civilians in Barsalogho. As of most recent claims, this group was Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which has links to al-Qaeda. Because of their presence in the northern parts of the country, almost 90,000 migrants, most of them Christian, have sought refuge in the town of Barsalogho, hoping to escape the jihadist violence. However, this attack has proved that no place is safe when there is nobody to stop the advance of the jihadists into new territories. According to reports, between 200 and 400 people were killed in the attack. Moreso, the massacre took place while the civilians were digging defensive ditches to protect themselves from situations exactly like the one that followed. According to eyewitnesses, corpses were found lying near the shovels they had been using to dig. But Burkina Faso has been experiencing turmoil since long before Sept. 5. As stated in reports from May 2023, two million people have been displaced internally—the majority of whom are women and children. According to statistics cited by the Los Angeles Times , “one out of four people requires aid and tens of thousands are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.” Bringing this back to climate change and the need for water and fruitful agricultural lands, there is a silver lining. Despite the droughts that the region has been facing, international organizations have been present on the ground in countries such as Burkina Faso. Oxfam International has invested resources into spreading information to the local families on adapting to the new weather conditions, preparing nutritious meals from the food they have access to and have also trained people on proper hygiene in regards to both cooking and water consumption. Workshops on preventing malnutrition have been carried out in the village of Tafgo, water towers have been installed in other communities and crops that require less water to sprout have been found. However, this is not a viable long-term solution to the impend ing need for food. A local— Noaga Ouèda—shared with Oxfam International: "As there has been less rain than in previous years, we are suffering a lot. Before this, we didn't know hunger, but now we are forced to ration the to [flour] so that we can give it to our children." Therefore, the issue still remains, regardless of the efforts put in and the progress made. No matter our efforts to find crops that require less water to sprout, they require water nonetheless. So the question begs: How many more people will go to sleep hungry tomorrow compared to today and how many more will need to fall asleep under the sounds of yet another jihadist rebel group’s firearms rummaging through their city?

Why the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United is a dark day, not only for the football community, but also for the wider United Kingdom population. < Back Controversy as Saudi Arabia Gains Entry into Top-Flight Football By Hugo Lagergren December 30, 2021 The recent takeover of Newcastle United by the Public Investment Fund (P.I.F.), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has sparked outrage across the football community due to its strong connections with the Saudi Arabian government and Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince. Football fans and human rights activists have criticized the Premier League and Newcastle United for their apparent refusal to consider Saudi Arabia’s dismal human rights record during the takeover saga. Amnesty International's United Kingdom branch has also criticized the takeover and called for the English Premier League to reshape its owners and directors test to include a larger focus on human rights issues. Amnesty UK’s CEO, Sacha Deshmukh, stated that the takeover represented “a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football.” However, Amnesty was not the only group to criticize the takeover. Fans of Crystal Palace put up a banner denouncing the Premier League for allowing the transaction. The banner depicts a man in a thawb, a traditional Arab garment which Crystal Palace fans labeled the P.I.F., wielding a large blood-stained sword. Next to him, what appears to be a Premier League official is standing in a pool of blood with bags of money at his feet, and he is holding a rainbow armband in tatters. Recently, the Premier League has cracked down both on racism and the discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community through various initiatives, including taking a knee before each game and sporting rainbow shoelaces and armbands. The majority of players take a knee before each game, with only a few exceptions. The rainbow campaign remains less prominent among players yet is still supported by most. These campaigns extend beyond just the players. Within each broadcast, the Premier League includes graphics underneath the scorecard with slogans such as “No Room For Racism.” These initiatives have highlighted the English football community’s united stance, for the most part, on these issues. They have issued strong and clear messages repeatedly denouncing any form discrimination within the sport. Despite some continued instances of discrimination, notably after the final of the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, there has been progress towards eliminating racism. Indeed, it is this progress that facilitated Australian football player Josh Cavallo to come out as gay on October 27th 2021, thus becoming the first and only openly gay player in top-flight football, and one of the only openly gay athletes in any major sports leagues across the world. Now that Saudi Arabia’s P.I.F. has been accepted into the football community, it will create the sense that the LGBTQ+ are less welcome. While it may not affect the English LGBTQ+ community directly, since Newcastle will probably continue to support the various LGBTQ+ campaigns, it makes it abundantly clear that, despite the warm words, football’s governing bodies value money over inclusivity and the protection of human rights. Football fans have rallied behind the LGBTQ+ community to criticize the Premier League for approving the deal, many citing Saudi Arabia’s continued criminalization of homosexual behavior. Indeed, Saudi Arabia continues to encourage violence and repression of the LGBTQ+, as it operates under an uncodified criminal code based on Sharia Law, which strongly prohibits any form of homosexual activity. Public floggings are a routine occurrence and many gay citizens have been imprisoned. However, Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses extend far beyond the LGBTQ+ community. Intellectuals and activists across the country are imprisoned for speaking out against Mohammed bin Salman’s regime. This includes Raid Badawi who was imprisoned in 2012 on the charge of “insulting Islam through electronic channels.” Public demonstrations by groups of people are also a criminal act. Women remain heavily repressed in practice and in law, with many laws ensuring that they remain subordinate to men. Harassment and intimidation are common practices that women in Saudi Arabia face on a regular basis. Indeed, in 2015 alone, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development reported over 8,000 cases of violent and psychological abuse. Only very recently have small steps been taken to make Saudi society more inclusive towards women, such as the extension of the right to drive. However, Saudi Arabia remains extremely patriarchal. Saudi Arabia’s ardent censorship also caused the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 for being critical of the regime, and his death sparked outrage around the world. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s top executioners, as dozens of people are put to death every year, often in the form of public beheadings. Other controversial issues include the civil war in Yemen that Saudi Arabia takes an active role in, the continued use of torture as a state-sanctioned punishment, religious discrimination against Shi’a minorities, and the banning of human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. The wife of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi expressed her shock that the Premier League approved the Newcastle deal. She also expressed her sadness in relation to the state of Newcastle United and English football in general, due to their acceptance of authoritarian regimes into the sport. Despite the controversy and widespread condemnation, Newcastle fans have celebrated the takeover, as many hope that increased investment from the P.I.F. will lift the club out of a cycle of misfortune and failure that has plagued it over the past 20 years. Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time top scorer and a Newcastle legend, hailed the takeover as a “special day” for the club’s supporters. Shearer acknowledged the concerns regarding Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, yet cited “Russians” (Chelsea), “Chinese” (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and “Abu Dhabi” (Manchester City) as a justification for Saudi Arabia’s presence in the Premier League. When asked about human rights concerns, many Newcastle fans defended their joy by citing Saudi Arabia’s investments in Twitter, Facebook and Uber, arguing that we, as a society, have not stopped using these platforms as a result, and continue to enrich Saudi Arabia by using these platforms. So, they argue, why shouldn’t Newcastle fans rejoice if it means it will bring their club more success? Rona Evain, the executive director of the Football Supporters Europe Association, argues persuasively that the ethical considerations within football are more important due to the sport’s influence on society. He considers this to be why football must place more emphasis on ethics. “The example given is that the Saudi sovereign fund has also invested in Uber and so on, but people don’t have posters of Uber cars at home. They don’t have tattoos of the logo on their skin or take their children to Uber’s AGM [Annual General Meeting].” Evain joins the wider call for stricter ownership tests to prevent similar regimes from engaging in acts of sportswashing, a term used to describe the process of countries or states using sports teams or events to improve their political image, both domestically and abroad. The failure of the Premier League to block the deal highlights how football remains an industry driven by greedy bureaucrats who are willing to sacrifice ethical issues in favor of monetary gain. Authoritarian regimes are increasingly using sportswashing to distract attention from their oppressive behavior. This includes the Chinese Olympics in 2008, the Russian World Cup in 2018 and Winter Olympics in 2014, and attention is now turning to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. This is an issue that is not going away anytime soon, and therefore, must be addressed if the footballing community is to become as inclusive and egalitarian as it pretends to be on the surface.

When faced with a situation this severe, it is imperative to remain cognizant of our chosen course of study. Our specialization in the Middle East entails a collective duty — we must band together to support this region in which we are all so invested. < Back Prices Soar as the Egyptian Economy Enters a Recession By Catarina Vita February 28, 2023 Egypt, which has been in an economic recession since before its manifestations of political discontent in 2011, accumulates 85.6 percent of its economy in debt. As Egyptians demanded “bread, freedom and social equality” during the Arab Spring, their nation was plagued with precarious living standards and an unstable economy. Protests petitioning better administration of the economy brought global awareness to the Egyptian situation. Unemployment raged due to serious issues in infrastructure — such as the precarious maintenance of roads and unhelpful urban planning — besides the grave mismanagement of national economic investments. From 2013 to 2014, 6 percent of the Egyptian Gross Domestic Product was directed to fuel subsidies, which neglected the healthcare and infrastructure sectors. The towering unemployment rate of 13.4 percent in 2013 is largely due to infrastructure itself; the lack of road maintenance makes the working commute harder, similarly to the urban planning that could be better. As a result, Egypt enters a vicious cycle — or downward spiral — of dangerously low economic growth. The Egyptian Arab Spring activists in 2011 watched the economic recession rise from 9.8 percent to 13.5 percent in 2013 — and this percentage only grows. Besides the overinvestment in the fuel industry, the funding of long-term projects, such as building a new metropolis and the artificial “Green River,” a chain of lakes below the desert, also bog down the Egyptian economy. These two projects specifically exacerbate Egypt’s emergency climate crisis. When Nadeen Ebrahim from the CNN asked Professor Nabeel Elhady at Cairo University about his input on Egyptian artificial states, he responded that carrying water to an artificial metropolis is far from sustainable — environmentally and financially. Egypt continued to suffer economically in 2022. The impacts of the war in Ukraine reached the Middle East as fuel prices — the main source of investment in the Egyptian economy — climbed. Investors in Egypt swiftly retracted, causing the Egyptian pound to depreciate 14 percent against the U.S. dollar. Grain prices flew as Russian blockades made accessible trade impossible. Egypt, with Russia and Ukraine as two of its biggest importers of grain, no longer offered accessible bread prices, leading to widespread food insecurity. From 2021 to January 2023, the prices for chicken, a standard item for the Egyptian diet, went from 30 Egyptian pounds to 70. Chicken swiftly turned into a luxury item in Egyptian kitchens, and the National Institute of Nutrition responded to criticism with the suggestion of eating chicken feet, which is not commonly eaten in Egypt, according to CNN. Using a photoshopped picture of the world-famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo and the proposed meal idea, starving Egyptians resorted to this advice, and the price of chicken feet doubled. The National Institute of Nutrition swiftly deleted the post after Egyptian influencers and news organizations noticed the falsehood of the image. Home to over 100 million people, Egypt undergoes a downward spiral of economic insufficiency. The issues of food shortage and insecurity, lack of governmental credibility and raging unemployment simultaneously join hands during this crisis. For over ten years now, Egyptians have demanded “bread, freedom and social equality.” Hopefully, with global cooperation and more efficient economic investments, the Egyptian people will receive what they have for so long been asking for.

This sport recap is the first edition of a new project that the Menton Times has launched, in which it aims to recap all of the major sports news and events that have taken place during the weeks before each edition is published, in case you may have missed anything. < Back Sports Recap: February and March By Hugo Lagergren March 30, 2022 This sport recap is the first edition of a new project that the Menton Times has launched, in which it aims to recap all of the major sports news and events that have taken place during the weeks before each edition is published, in case you may have missed anything. The sport community stands united with Ukraine: Like much of the world, the sporting community has rallied together to show its solidarity with the people of Ukraine. In light of Russia’s violent invasion of the country, each sport has found different ways of expressing its solidarity with Ukraine, often at the expense of Russian athletes. From the disqualification of Russian athletes to the wearing of the Ukrainian flag, the sporting world's response has been strong, both on an institutional and individual level. The most significant show of support might be FIFA’s decision to disqualify the Russian national football team from participating in their World Cup qualifier versus Poland. The decision came after FIFA had initially declared that Russia would be allowed to compete under the name “Football Union of Russia.” After intense pressure from the Polish, Swedish, and Czech football associations (FA), its opponents in the World Cup qualifying knockout stages, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA were forced to disqualify Russia from the tournament. The ban also prevents Russia’s women’s football team from competing in any tournaments or matches. In a joint-statement with FIFA, UEFA also banned Russian clubs from participating in any European club competitions. This includes the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League. As a result of this ban, Spartak Moscow were eliminated from their Europa League Round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig. This was the only Russian club still competing in a European club competition, hence the only club affected by UEFA’s ban. Russia recently lost its appeal to have this ban lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. UEFA has also terminated its sponsorship deal with Gazprom, a major Russian oil company. The termination of such a relationship will undoubtedly affect UEFA as the deal, in place since 2012, has been reported to be worth around 40 million euros per season. In addition to this, UEFA has decided to move the 2022 UEFA Champions League final, which was originally planned to be played in Saint Petersburg, to the Stade de France in Paris. Following a request from the Ukrainian FA, FIFA has also postponed their World Cup qualifying match versus Scotland due to the ongoing fighting raging within the country. Originally scheduled to be played on the 24th March, it has been postponed indefinitely, with discussions under way for a new date, with the international break in June being the most likely option. Possibly one of the biggest stories currently within the football world is concerning the ownership of Chelsea FC by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, whose self-proclaimed “father and son” relationship with Putin caused the UK government to freeze Abramovich’s assets on the 10 March. In the days after the invasion, sanctions were handed out to Russian officials. Yet, initially, Abramovich was not included in these sanctions. Abramovich made it clear that he wanted to shield the club from any political backlash, and hence, attempted to sell the club before the UK government managed to slap him with sanctions. He failed to do so in time, and the UK government took control of Chelsea. A special license has been issued by the government which allows Chelsea to continue playing, however, after 10 March, no extra tickets could be sold and the club’s shop would be forced to close. The sanctions on Abramovich interrupted the sale of the club, however, the UK government has shown itself to be “open in the future to considering a license that would permit the sale of Chelsea FC,” on the condition that Abramovich make no profit from the sale. As bids continue to come in, Abramovich estimates the club to be worth around 3 billion USD. Abramovich’s love of the club remains apparent. He has stated his willingness to forgo the 1.5 billion GBP in loans he has made to the club over the last two decades, as paying this would, no doubt, have a crippling effect on the club’s financial structure. Abramovich is expected to make a decision on the club’s sale in the coming days. The International Paralympics Committee also ruled that Russian and Belorussian athletes would not compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics that day before the games started. In Formula 1, a few weeks before the beginning of the 2022 season, US-based team Haas terminated Russian driver Nikita Mazepin’s contract, as well as their main sponsorship deal with the Russian company, Uralkali. This decision came after the FIA ( Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ), Formula 1’s governing body, gave Mazepin the go ahead to continue racing in Formula 1, on the condition that he race under a neutral flag. Mazepin has since been extremely vocal in criticizing Haas for their decision. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is one of the only major sports governing bodies which is yet to impose bans on Russian athletes. With Russian tennis player Danil Medvedev making history, by taking the top spot of the ATP World Rankings off Novak Djokovic for the first time, the ITF came under intense pressure to ban Russian athletes from competing and revoke Medvedev’s position as World Number 1. They responded by stating the Russian and Belorussian athletes would be allowed to compete, as long as they agreed not to compete under the name or flag of their respective countries. However, the sport with the biggest Russian representation is undoubtedly ice hockey, and for this reason, people waited apprehensively for ice hockey’s governing body, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), to address to situation. Their response did not hold back. The IIHF banned any Russian or Belorussian players from competing in any IIHF tournaments “until further notice.” The Federation also withdrew Russia’s hosting rights for the 2023 World Juniors. On the other hand, the National Hockey League (NHL), the most popular club ice hockey competition in the world, took a more moderate approach. Whilst the NHL has not banned Russian players from participating in the competition, it has suspended relations with its Russian business partners and has paused its Russian language social and digital media sites. Russian-born Alexander Ovechkin, hailed as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time, spoke out against the war and called for peace. However, he stopped short of criticizing Russia and Putin. Many Russian athletes, including Medvedev, have also taken this course of action. They call for peace, yet are unable to criticize the Russian president directly. This highlights the fear that Putin instills within his citizens, even within top Russian athletes who live abroad. As sport plays such a large role in our societies culture, it is important for the sports world to continue to take a strong stance on Russia's unprovoked act of aggression. The reason being that we idolize sportsmen and women. Economic sanctions successfully cripple Russia’s economy, however, it affects people less on an individual level. We don’t have posters of big oil companies on our wall, or take our children to said companies’ AGMs. On the other hand, sport acts as a temple for millions of people. Attending football games and following clubs and national teams religiously results in athletes being raised up and placed on a pedestal. This gives them a responsibility to behave appropriately, as their actions often resonate across wide swathes of society, due to the influence they possess. It is for this reason that it is so pleasing to see so many athletes supporting Ukraine on an individual level. Certain football players, including Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, have started wearing armbands with the Ukrainian flag. Premier League clubs continue to broadcast the Ukrainian flag on screens within the stadium before games begin and fans showcase homemade banners, flags and slogans which highlight their solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Football: Sadio Mané scored the winning penalty as Senegal defeated Mohamed Salah’s Egypt to qualify for the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup amid controversy. Opposition fans shone bright-green lasers in the faces of the Egyptian players throughout the match. After the match, the Egyptian FA claimed that their team had been subjected to racism and other intimidation tactics. Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Cameroon also qualified. In Europe, Portugal and Poland booked their place in Qatar at the expense of North Macedonia and Sweden. Following a shock early defeat to North Macedonia, European champions Italy will miss out on the World Cup for the second time running. Canada managed to qualify for the first time in 36 years. Uruguay and Ecuador joined Brazil and Argentina as the South American teams to have secured qualification for the World Cup. In other news, the Premier League title race is heating up as Liverpool moves within one point of Manchester City, following their poor run of form. With 9 games left in the season, and both teams still competing in the Champions League and FA Cup, the stage is set for an intense race to the finish line between Klopp’s Liverpool and Guardiola’s Man City. Liverpool, who recently beat Chelsea to win the League Cup are no doubt looking to build on this, by completing a historic quadruple. A feat never before achieved by an English side. The Champions League Round of 16 provided some serious shocks as well. PSG were eliminated by Real Madrid, after a 17-minute hattrick by Karim Benzema sent the Bernabeu into raptures. Another disappointing end to PSG desperate attempts to get their hands on the elusive Champions League trophy. The summer transfer window saw them bringing in the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Lionel Messi to strengthen their chances of Champions League glory. Their early exit from the competition can only be seen as a huge disappointment, and questions have intensified over manager, Mauricio Pochettino’s future at the club. Villarreal also stunned Juventus by thrashing the old lady 3-0 in Turin to send them through to the quarter-finals of the competition. The quarter-final draw in full: Chelsea vs Real Madrid Manchester City vs Atlético Madrid Villarreal vs Bayern Munich Benfica vs Liverpool In Ligue 1, Nice have continued their successful run of form as they jostle with Marseille for 2nd place in the French championship and qualification for the Champions League. This would be a first for the club, as Nice have never qualified for the Champions League. Their success has extended to the French cup, where Nice managed to defeat both PSG and Marseille, earning them a place in the Final where they will 7th place Nantes. Rugby: In Rugby, France beat England at the Stade de France to win the Six Nations, completing their first Grand Slam in 12 years. Tries from Antoine Dupont and Gaël Fickou saw France breeze past England in a dominant display, much to the delight of the 80,000 French fans within the stadium. With France set to host the next Rugby World Cup in 2023, they will undoubtedly be considered the favorites, as reigning Champions South Africa have lost 4 out of their last 7 games. The final week of the Six Nations also saw Italy end their 36-match losing streak, with a stunning late victory against Wales. After Paolo Garbisi’s late conversion put Italy one point ahead of Wales in the dying embers of the game, the scenes were jubilant in Rome, with tears of joy being shed by players and fans alike. Formula 1: The first Grand Prix of the Formula 1 season saw Ferrari reestablish themselves by completing a 1-2 finish, with Charles Leclerc taking his 3rd career victory in Bahrain. The Scuderia ’s dominant display sets up an exciting three-way battle for the Championship, with Red Bull and a struggling Mercedes. Despite looking strong in testing, both Red Bulls were forced to retire late on in the race with powertrain issues, in what can be described as a nightmare start for the English team. Swimming: On 17 March, Lia Thomas became the first trans swimmer to win the NCAA women’s championship. This has reignited the heated debate surrounding transgender athletes’ participation in sport, as many call for her title to be taken away from her. Lia Thomas, originally William Thomas, was ranked 456th within the men’s event and jumped to 1st in the women’s event, above Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant. American sports: In American football, the Los Angeles Rams scored a late touchdown to win the 56th edition of the Superbowl, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. On 15 March, American basketball player, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, made history by becoming the all-time leading 3 point scorer, with 2977 pts, overtaking Ray Allen (2973 pts).

Although the human rights violations in Qatar and its threat to the environment are alarming, it is of the utmost importance that one approaches the situation holistically. Forced labor, environmental threats and the kafala system gained attention due to World Cup boycott conversations. While the tournament has already occurred, it is paramount to not discard these issues in future discourse. < Back Analyzing the Morality of the World Cup: Boycotts, Forced Labor and Human Rights By Catarina Vita December 31, 2022 Every four years, not only do football fans from all around the globe gather to watch the sport but so does most of the world’s population. FIFA, the International Federation of Football Association, is responsible for the World Cup and decided to host the 2022 games in Qatar. Appalled by the workers’ rights violations and the imminent climate crisis in Qatar, a portion of the World Cup audience considered boycotting the tournament. However, counterarguments arose: the consideration of a boycott only popularized when the World Cup was located in the Middle East, and Qatar’s longstanding history of poor labor rights makes the timing of the boycott hypocritical. With increased international knowledge of Qatar’s recently abolished kafala system, alongside continued worker maltreatment in the country, potential World Cup spectators considered not watching the tournament at all. The kafala system, by definition, is a labor system connecting foreign workers to a local employer with no relation to labor ministries. As a result, workers have no rights, and many complain about a lack of breaks and overwhelmingly long working hours. Despite the Qatari government’s 2016 termination of the system, Amnesty International reports that the reform was “inadequate” and still allowed foreign workers to be exploited by their bosses. Furthermore, it is also argued that Qatar did not have the proper infrastructure for the World Cup. The high mortality rate among immigrants was due to the fast-paced manual labor of building stadiums. The climate crisis in Qatar also made the choice of country subject to criticism. Due to the ever-rising temperature in the country, even during the fall season in November and December, the government installed air conditioners inside seven of eight football stadiums. The total Qatar World Cup carbon emissions predicted were upwards of 3.6 million tons, while the tournament in Brazil and Russia had an estimated two million tons emitted. Some perceive the boycott to be either ineffective or contradictory. Although FIFA was involved in an extensive corruption scandal throughout the 2010s, the other World Cups were still watched and appreciated. Moreover, human rights violations in other World Cup host countries, such as massive corruption and torture in Brazil and anti-LGBTQIA+ stances in Russia, did not incur such international resistance. Qatar was the first Middle Eastern nation to host a World Cup, and the fact that only then did boycott ideas surface raises questions about the general perceptions of Middle Eastern countries. Although the human rights violations in Qatar and threats to the environment are alarming, it is of the utmost importance that one approaches the situation holistically. Forced labor and the kafala system gained attention due to boycott conversations. While the World Cup has already occurred, it is paramount not to discard these issues in future discourse. The worsening climate crisis and human rights violations are not limited to one country in the Global South; as these conversations arose because of the World Cup, it is vital to research and raise awareness about them on a global scale.