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Saudi Arabia has allowed the sale of Christmas trees in a shopping mall in Riyadh
We begin our tour of the British newspapers with the Financial Times newspaper, which published a report on the Christmas celebrations event in Saudi Arabia, prepared by its correspondent, Samer Al-Atrash.
The reporter begins his report with the phrase, “Saudi Arabia wishes you a Merry Christmas!”, indicating that the world is not accustomed to any ruler of this conservative Arab country allowing the celebration of this important day in the Christian calendar to be held publicly.
He notes that this year it looked completely different. In the Saudi capital, Riyadh, “the Saudis bought Christmas trees, and an official Saudi newspaper prepared a festive edition for this occasion for the first time in the country’s history.” The headline on the front page of the Saudi English-language newspaper Arab News read, “Saudis are feeling the Christmas spirit more than ever,” with recommendations for readers of the best places to have a turkey dinner. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief also wrote an opinion article entitled “Better late than never,” referring to the unprecedented Christmas celebrations in his country.
The newspaper stated that the restrictions imposed on Christmas products – which were banned in Saudi Arabia – have been gradually eased in the past few years.
“But this year is a turning point for these religious celebrations in that country where none of its residents profess anything other than Islam and all its Christians are foreigners. A shopping center in the capital, Riyadh, was allowed to sell such items as Christmas trees, polar bear dolls and a cello,” according to al-Atrash.
The correspondent believes that the new Christmas, which the Saudi authorities allowed to celebrate for the first time in its history this year, came within the framework of the efforts of the de facto ruler of the country, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aimed at carrying out a series of important reforms that include reducing the economy’s dependence on oil revenues and easing restrictions. The religion that was behind depriving Saudi women of driving cars, which they were not allowed to do until a few years ago.
And he adds: The controversy – which was dominating the scene over the issue of congratulating non-Muslims on their holidays at Christmas times – has also begun to recede to a large extent, to the extent that the Islamic cleric Muhammad Al-Issa said on a television program that there is no legal text that “forbids congratulation.” In reference to congratulating Christians on Christmas.
The major official shift in the state’s position on Christmas celebrations also found positive echoes among many Saudis, especially those who received their education outside the country.
The report states that, despite this, Saudi Arabia carried out dozens of death sentences this year, and also sentenced a doctoral student and a mother of two, aged forty, to prison terms, which goes in the opposite direction to the reforms that the country witnessed in the recent period.
And while supporters of bin Salman’s reforms believe that taking tough stances is necessary if the crown prince wants to succeed in what he started a few years ago, there are also among opponents of those changes who seek social reforms, according to the British newspaper.
The report concludes by saying: The efforts of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, since their inception, were among the most controversial issues in the Kingdom, whose conservative majority believes that it is the faithful guardian of the most important Islamic sanctities. The best evidence of this is the barrage of criticism on social media from inside and outside Saudi Arabia that the country faced earlier this year when it allowed Halloween celebrations.
Iran and accusations of the West
We turn to the Guardian newspaper, which published an article dealing with Iranian allegations that the West, especially the United Kingdom, is behind the protests that have been taking place in the country on a large scale for several months.
The article, written by Patrick Wintour, focused on comments made by Alicia Cairns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the British House of Commons, during which she urged Britons in Iran to leave the Islamic Republic because of the large number of detainees the Iranian authorities had taken “hostages of the state”. Against the backdrop of allegations that they are “connected to Britain”, including a number of dual nationals, the authorities claimed that they participated in the anti-government protests that began about a hundred days ago.
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Iranian player Ali Daei says an international flight was rerouted to prevent his wife and daughter from leaving Iran
The newspaper pointed out that British diplomats called on Tehran to clarify the reasons that led to their arrest, while Cairns described what is happening as “an artificial hostage-taking by the state, and this is what Iran is doing now.”
She added that Iran describes those arrested as “linked to Britain” because it wants support for its claim that the West, especially the United Kingdom, is planning the protests, “they will never admit that this is happening as a result of rampant corruption and an oppressive regime.”
Kerner was quoted as saying: “Iran has shown that it has no problem arresting dual nationals. If I were a dual British foreigner in Iran, I would have left at once because there is evidence that they will play these in any game of chess when they have the chance and they will They use brutal repression. And I would advise anyone from western countries to leave as safely as possible.”
Alicia Cairns also called for sanctions to be imposed on Tehran “every day” after the Iranian regime executed a demonstrator. It also objected to what British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are already subject to British sanctions, which he made during an evidence market for the House of Commons committee.
The Guardian article noted that the IRGC is not among the sanctioned entities on the most recent consolidated list of individuals and entities subject to an assets freeze or travel ban.
The author of the article says that the Iranian authorities are detaining seven men, who they said are linked to Britain, in Kerman Province, and called them the Zagros group. Tehran claimed that this group was responsible for planning the protests, but reports suggested that there were no British citizens among the seven detainees.
Iran also forced a plane carrying the wife and daughter of Ali Daei, captain of the Iranian national football team from 2000 to 2006, to land after it took off from Tehran en route to Dubai at Kish Airport, an island in southern Iran, where security forces escorted the player’s wife and daughter. The former international out of the plane. Daei said his family was going shopping in Dubai and had no intention of escaping to the United States.
On the other hand, the authorities said that they arrested the family members, who were subject to a travel ban, on the basis of accusations of relations with rioters, as well as allegations that they had called for a general strike.
The Guardian indicated that Tehran is also planning – as part of efforts to suppress the protests – to criminalize filming events on the Iranian street with smartphones.
5 lessons learned from the invasion of Ukraine
Back again to the Financial Times, where it sheds light on the most important lessons learned from Moscow’s invasion of control of Kyiv, according to the author of the article, John Paul Rathbone.
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Russian missiles bombed key locations in central Kherson
Rathbun said that the first lesson that Russia should absorb from its invasion of Moscow is that the “miscalculation of the national situation” of Ukraine. The writer gave an example of the Soviet Union’s attempt to invade Afghanistan in 1979.
The article made a comparison between the two invasions, revealing that the Soviet invasion lasted for ten years, ending with the withdrawal from Kabul after the Soviet Union suffered human losses of about 15,000 soldiers. On the other hand, about 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the beginning of the war in Ukraine ten months ago.
Paul Rathbone pointed out that the second lesson is that a country that undertakes a comprehensive invasion of another country must have industrial capabilities and a strategic stockpile of weapons sufficient to implement its military plans. While Russia suffers from a shortage of supplies and weapons, there is strategic military support for the Ukrainian forces commensurate with the size of the defenses it needs at the present time to repel Russian attacks. It is scheduled to receive Kyiv in the near future US-made Patriot missile defense systems.
As for the third lesson that Moscow must learn, it is that “quality is more important than quantity. Good logistics, large numbers of forces, and efficient military equipment – do not mean anything if the military intelligence and command at the head of the forces do not have the competence” necessary for the battle, “according to to the author of the article.
The writer indicated that the fourth lesson that the Kremlin should be aware of is that civil society is of great importance in maintaining the effectiveness and sustainability of the war effort. Ukrainian software developers have built apps to help Ukrainian forces target Russian soldiers, Ukrainian chefs have prepared food for Ukrainian soldiers on the front, and volunteers continue to run fundraisers for Kiev to buy military supplies such as first aid kits and night vision goggles.
As for the fifth lesson, and perhaps the most important one, it is for the two sides of the conflict, who should know that the war takes place on more than one front, and not only with tanks.
While Putin has recently launched uninterrupted attacks on vital energy facilities and infrastructure to break the will of the Ukrainians, the Russian president is striking Kiev from other fronts, such as threats to cut off oil and natural gas supplies to the West, which could prolong the conflict in Ukraine.