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Geopolitics

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing


A R A B I C A
ارابيكا

By Kristen Gillespie


TENSION RISING
Lebanon's A-Nahar daily reports on the growing acrimony between the new Hezbollah-backed government and the March 14 opposition faction, headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon last week indicted four men, believed to be members of Hezbollah, in the February 2005 assassination of Saad Hariri's father, ex-Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Both factions have maintained armed militias, which raises the stakes for all Lebanese as the crisis over whether to proceed with prosecutions in the Hariri cases becomes more contentious.

TENSION EBBING
Bahrain appears to be emerging from months of martial law, while Saudi, Emirati and Kuwait troops sent it to control violent protests slowly begin to withdraw. Still, the Bahrain February 14 Revolution Facebook group is not giving up. The Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the largest opposition bloc in Bahrain, is holding a "popular festival" this Friday. "Our demand for the nation: elected government" reads the poster advertising the event to be held on July 8th at 5pm in Karaneh village. While the event invitation attracted 120 "likes' in the 20 minutes after it was posted, one commenter wrote, "I probably won't be there because of Al-Wefaq's participation in the national dialogue" with the government.

HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE
The UAE daily Al Emirat Al Youm reports that Abu Dhabi is considering major changes to its high school curricula. The paper did not elaborate on the changes, but quoted the director of the Abu Dhabi Education Council Mugheer al-Khelee as he spoke on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony at the Institutes of Applied Technology. He said that scientific education has arrived late to the UAE, but that the institutes are moving quickly to fill the gap.

POP STAR
Algerian singer Souad Massi says that the wave of revolutions hitting the Arab world will not happen in Algeria because "the situation is very different." The people "really love the current president and he genuinely changed things," she told Reuters.

July 5, 2011

photo credit: illustir

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

A Profound And Simple Reason That Negotiations Are Not An Option For Ukraine

The escalation of war in the Middle East and the stagnation of the Ukrainian counteroffensive have left many leaders in the West, who once supported Ukraine unequivocally, to look toward ceasefire talks with Russia. For Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, Piotr Andrusieczko argues that Ukraine simply cannot afford this.

Photo of Ukrainian soldiers in winter gear, marching behind a tank in a snowy landscape

Ukrainian soldiers ploughing through the snow on the frontlines

Volodymyr Zelensky's official Facebook account
Piotr Andrusieczko

-Analysis-

KYIVUkraine is fighting for its very existence, and the war will not end soon. What should be done in the face of this reality? How can Kyiv regain its advantage on the front lines?

It's hard to deny that pessimism has been spreading among supporters of the Ukrainian cause, with some even predicting ultimate defeat for Kyiv. It's difficult to agree with this, considering how this war began and what was at stake. Yes, Ukraine has not won yet, but Ukrainians have no choice for now but to continue fighting.

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These assessments are the result of statements by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and an interview with him in the British weekly The Economist, where the General analyzes the causes of failures on the front, notes the transition of the war to the positional phase, and, critically, evaluates the prospects and possibilities of breaking the deadlock.

Earlier, an article appeared in the American weekly TIME analyzing the challenges facing President Volodymyr Zelensky. His responses indicate that he is disappointed with the attitude of Western partners, and at the same time remains so determined that, somewhat lying to himself, he unequivocally believes in victory.

Combined, these two publications sparked discussions about the future course of the conflict and whether Ukraine can win at all.

Some people outright predict that what has been known from the beginning will happen: Russia will ultimately win, and Ukraine has already failed.

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