Russia and the West are still working together in space

The International Space Station represents one of the only collaborative projects between Russia and the West that hasn't been abandoned. Here's why.

Anna Kikina is the first Russian astronaut to launch on an American rocket in 20 years

The war in Ukraine has put a halt to most of Russia’s political, scientific and academic collaboration with the West.

But one project continues moving forward despite the conflict: Last week, Anna Kikina became the first Russian astronaut to launch on an American rocket in 20 years — and the only cosmonaut to ever board a SpaceX vessel. 

Kikina is headed to the International Space Station (ISS), where she will live for over four months as a member of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission. Her presence aboard the mission was announced in July as the result of a crew swap that put a NASA astronaut on a Russian flight to the ISS.

The ISS is a 25-year-old space collaboration between the US, Russia, Canada, the European Union and Japan that has long been seen as an emblem of successful post-Cold War relations. It is one of the few projects Russia and the West have continued working together on since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine. 

Space environment lab

The ISS is the largest space station in low Earth orbit and represents the longest human presence in space — over 20 years. It is largely used as a space environment lab where thousands of experiments in astronomy, physics and microbiology have been conducted over the past two decades.

The module itself is made up of two parts: One is manufactured and operated by Russia, while the other is manufactured and operated by the US, with support from the other partner countries. 

Russia has responsibility over the part of the station that keeps it in orbit.

Russia helps the ISS stay in orbit

An extra push

The ISS exists in a state of free fall, creating the sensation of weightlessness or "microgravity", which refers to the fact that gravity aboard is never exactly zero. Everything with mass, like the Earth, the Sun, the space station itself and the astronauts, exerts a gravitational pull.

The station is able to stay in orbit because it circles the Earth quickly enough to compensate for being in a state of free fall. It moves at a speed of almost 8 km per second (5 miles per second) — more than 20 times the speed of a 9mm bullet.

Although this swift velocity is usually enough to keep the station afloat, sometimes it loses altitude and requires an extra push to stay at its normal 400 km (250 miles) above Earth. The Russian module provides that boost.

"Both countries are needed for operations, the Russians for propulsion, the Americans for power. We will continue to have a very professional relationship between cosmonauts and astronauts to keep this station alive," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in an interview with Der Spiegel International in July.

Science aboard the ISS

The state of free fall differs from the state of gravity we experience on Earth. Strange things happen aboard the ISS — the water on astronauts’ toothbrushes forms bubbles, a sneeze can knock them back and a candle's flame appears perfectly round.

Most of the science conducted aboard the station, which revolves around Earth 16 times a day, is focused on understanding how long-haul space flights impact astronauts’ health.

This knowledge is critical for the design of longer crewed missions — to Mars, for example.

Through experiments conducted aboard the ISS, scientists have learned that bones lose density in microgravity, and that astronauts have to work out two hours daily just to keep their muscle mass.

NASA's famous Twin Study taught scientists important lessons about how space affects the length of telomeres — the end tips of chromosomes that could play a role in lifespan, the immune system and gene expression.

For this joint US-Russia experiment, researchers studied two identical twins, both now retired astronauts. Scott Kelly was on board the ISS for about 11 months with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, while his brother Mark stayed on Earth.

Former astronaut Scott Kelly (R) stands face-to-face with his twin brother, 

former astronaut Mark Kelly (L). The two took part in NASA's Twin Study.

And it’s not only about astronaut health. Other projects, like the Aquamembrane water recycling experiment, could also help people on Earth. Using "forward osmosis" water filtering technology, astronauts were able to purify urine to drinking water. This technology is quicker than the alternative currently being used on Earth, called "reverse osmosis", and could have big implications for water-scarce areas in the future. 

Plans for the future

Roscosmos president Yuri Borisov said in July that Russia plans to pull out of the ISS in 2024 to launch its own space station. 

But according to NASA's Administrator Bill Nelson, they haven't received any official decision from Russia, and Sergei Krikalev, head of human space programs at Roscosmos, said that the collaboration might be extended past 2024 in a press briefing before the Crew-5 launch.

The US has pledged to continue until the end of the decade: US President Biden signed the CHIPS Act in early August, which extends NASA's involvement with the ISS six years, to 2030.

Are there any alternatives?

Whether the ISS could continue without Russia is unclear. 

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft managed to successfully give a necessary stabilizing boost to the station earlier this summer, which could offer an alternative. Cygnus is one of NASA's commercial spacecraft partners together with SpaceX Dragon.

But disentangling the Russian module from the US module will take time and money, and no plans have been announced so far.

When it comes to the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard, the conflict on the ground came as a surprise when it erupted earlier this year, according to German European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Mauer. He spoke candidly on a German space podcast after landing back on Earth in May after over 170 days aboard the ISS.

"We addressed it very quickly and actively. And yes, all six or seven up there immediately agreed, the Russian colleagues, the American colleagues — nobody could understand what was happening down there," said Mauer, in an hr-iNFO podcast called "WeltraumWagner". 

Football in Iran: Where women have a history of protesting

Women in Iran have taken the lead in recent protests, but it's not the first time they have defied the regime. For years, female football fans have disguised themselves as members of the opposite sex to attend matches

Female football fans in Iran have been protesting for years. 

But now it's about more than just football.

The bravery of women in Iran in standing up to a repressive regime in recent weeks has been noted around the world.

Protesters have taken to the streets up and down the country in response to the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody in September after she was arrested by the so-called morality police for "unsuitable attire."

It wasn't the only loss of life. According to a Norwegian-based human rights group, at least 185 people have since been killed across the country.

"There is a lot of rage and anger because of the killing of innocent people, and the frustration that we feel at our inability to do anything about it," says Leyli, a female football supporter who knows from first-hand experience what it is like to run the risk of defying authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In 2017, when her team, Persepolis, won the title for the first time in nine years, she smuggled herself into the stadium for the final game of the season.

"I liked Persepolis because it was the people's club and I feel and still think their values are different from others. This club is not just part of me, it's my whole life," Leyli says, using a pseudonym to protect her identity.

"I wanted to see the trophy in the hands of the captain, Jalal Hosseini, and nothing could prevent me. I thought that maybe this moment would never be repeated again and maybe I would not be alive when they opened the stadium gates to women."

Whether from the forced wearing of hijabs or being banned from attending sporting events, women have felt the full force of state repression since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

And Leyli, a football fan since watching legendary Iran striker Farshad Pious play his last game for Persepolis in 1997, had to watch World Cup qualifiers, Asian Champions League finals or big domestic league matches, on television.

But by 2017, that was something that she could no longer accept.

Football is popular in Iran but crowds are traditionally exclusively male

Leyli's disguise

"I wanted to be there at any cost and I just asked myself, 'Why can't I go? Why don't they let us enter stadiums?' It is based on nothing except rotten beliefs. It's disrespectful to limit what women can do through coercion." 

So she did the only thing that she thought she could do to get inside the massive Azadi Stadium, the iconic arena which seats 100,000 (male) spectators: she dressed as a boy, putting layers and layers on to disguise her female form.

"It wasn't easy at all," she recalls. "I wore lots of clothes to make it less obvious. I had to put on make-up, too. I was worried that it wasn't good enough to fool the police."

After a trip across the city to get to the stadium hours before kick-off, to make sure of a ticket, there was another issue. "I really didn't want to go to the bathroom in the stadium so I could not even drink anything."

There was the constant threat of being discovered by security guards or secret police who were placed among the crowd. "I was scared, a lot. I didn't know what would happen if they had discovered that I was not a boy and what my penalty would be."

For the first time since the Islamic Revolution, 500 women were allowed 

\to enter the Azadi Stadium for a match, including this Esteghlal fan.

Taking a Risk

Leyli's concerns were not unfounded, as a tragic incident two years later showed.

In March 2019, Sahar Khodayari, a female supporter of Persepolis' local rivals Esteghlal, was caught watching her team inside the stadium. Upon learning she could face six months in prison, Khodayari killed herself in front of the Islamic Revolutionary Court building.

She became known as "Blue Girl," in reference to Esteghlal's club colors.

Other women imprisoned for watching football include Forough Alaei, Zahra Khoshnavaz, Leili Maleki and Hedieh Marvasti, who were only released in 2019 after their families paid US $11,000.

Leyli went to games alone as she felt it was safer to do so. "When you go to the stadium dressed as a boy, there's no point having a friend with you because you can't speak, otherwise they could discover who you really are from your voice," she explains.

"And you can't support each other anyway if you get caught so it's better to be alone."

Pressure brings change, for a while

Over the years, pressure from world governing body FIFA and groups such as Open Stadiums has seemed to make a difference.

When the new league season kicked off in August this year, the authorities allowed a limited number of women into a separate section at the Azadi Stadium.

On August 31, Leyli was present as Persepolis beat Sanat Naft 2-0 — for the first time not dressed as a boy, but cheering along with everyone else.

"It felt very different," she said. "At first, I didn't believe that I could go there just wearing my own clothes. It was so strange that I even forgot to take photos and videos."

Now, the gates are locked again, though for men too this time, with authorities preoccupied with the ongoing protests.

For Leyli, for the first time in years, football doesn't feel that important.  "We don't know what will happen."

Edited by Matt Ford

• Date 12.10.2022

How can architecture combat homelessness?

Rising homelessness is a worldwide problem that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. An exhibition in Hamburg is looking at how to deal with the crisis.


Homeless people inside Westminster underground station in March 2020

According to United Nations estimates, 1.6 billion people worldwide currently live in inadequate housing or have no fixed abode. The COVID pandemic has shown how quickly people slip into unemployment through no fault of their own and ultimately end up on the streets.

The traveling exhibition "Who's Next? Homelessness, Architecture and the City" is dedicated to this global issue which is forcing governments to act.

After opening at the Architecture Museum of the Technical University of Munich in 2021, the exhibition now comes to Hamburg's Museum of Arts and Crafts (Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, MKG), opening October 14.

"Homelessness is a global problem," says curator Daniel Talesnik. "But with our exhibition we wanted to understand in more detail how individual cities deal with this challenge."

The show therefore looks comparatively at the ways mega-cities such as New York, Mumbai, Santiago de Chile, Moscow and Tokyo are dealing with the crisis. While in Chile the state is fighting homelessness with loans for rents, for example, in Moscow, the problem is completely ignored.

Using documentary films and photo essays, the exhibition portrays the harsh reality of homelessness on the ground, but also shows innovative social housing models to provoke thinking about solutions.

LIVING WITHOUT HOUSING
A tent camp for the unhoused in San Francisco
The camp on Fulton Street in San Francisco was created at the start of the COVID pandemic amid worsening homelessness. Unhoused people can pitch their tents here on marked grids around the Pioneer Monument, which stands just outside City Hall. The city has provided sanitary facilities and a mobile phone charging station. Unofficial figures put the number of unhoused people currently at 16,000.
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How can architecture help?

According to UN estimates, some 15 million people are forcibly displaced from their homes every year. Increasingly, young people are at risk of becoming homeless. For these reasons, the United Nations adopted the first resolution on homelessness in February 2020, calling on governments to take swift and decisive countermeasures.

The causes of homelessness are complex and can relate to trauma, unemployment, drug addiction or mental illness. One thing is clear: people sleeping on the streets are a symptom of inequality and extreme social division.

Housing market speculation leading to skyrocketing rents and home prices, in addition to a lack of social housing, is leaving some people with no choice but to shelter in parks or under bridges — and through no fault of their own.

Homeless people sleep in a temporary parking lot shelter in Las Vegas marked for social distancing to help slow the spread of COVID-19, in March 2020

The pandemic has worsened unhoused people's already precarious living situation, concludes the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe e. V. (Federal Association for Assistance to the Homeless).

This is where architectural and urban planning solutions are gradually being adopted. The difficulty of isolating during the pandemic among people sleeping rough has been addressed in cities like San Francisco where, as the exhibition shows, legal tent camps were set up in grids and sanitary facilities were provided.

The exhibition includes several examples of innovative shelters for unhoused people, including Holmes Road Studios in London, a shelter for former drug and alcohol addicts made up of cottage studios that were designed by Peter Barber Architects.

"We don't see architecture as a savior or the only discipline that can solve the problem. It can only help alleviate people's situation. Because as such, this is a social problem, more than that, it's a systemic problem," said Daniel Talesnik.

ZIONIST SLANDER

What are the antisemitism claims linked to Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux?

The 2022 laureate for the Nobel Prize for literature has supported the anti-Israel boycott movement, BDS, on many occasions. Is Annie Ernaux antisemitic or simply a vocal critic of Israel's policies?

Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux

Just a few days after being showered with praise for winning the Nobel Prize for literature, French author  Annie Ernaux is now making headlines for her "dark side," as German tabloid paper Bild put it. News magazine Spiegel also reports on accusations of antisemitism, based on an initial article in the Israeli Jerusalem Post, which reveals Ernaux's closeness with the BDS movement.

An acronym for "Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions," the BDS movement aims to put Israel under international pressure to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

BDS activists accuse Israel of colonialism and compare it to South Africa during apartheid. They are therefore trying to isolate the country economically, culturally and politically.

Those who accuse BDS of being antisemitic point to statements of leading activists who deny Israel's right to exist, such as: "Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine," said BDS co-founder, Omar Barghouti.

One of the most prominent supporters of the movement is Roger Waters.

Ernaux supports BDS views

The Jerusalem Post reports that in 2018, Annie Ernaux signed a letter with 80 other cultural figures stating that the Israeli state was represented too positively in the French media. "It is a moral obligation for any person of conscience to refuse the normalization of relations with the State of Israel," the letter said.

Barbara Vinken: Ernaux cannot be called antisemitic

Again, in May 2019, Ernaux and more than 100 other French artists signed a letter demanding a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in  Tel Aviv that year. They called upon French TV broadcasters to abstain from airing the popular competition.

Two years later, Ernaux signed "A Letter Against Apartheid," in which Israel was compared to South Africa's apartheid regime. The letter denounced Israel's politics in the Gaza strip as well as Israeli attacks on Arabs and Palestinians. In its article on the Nobel Prize-winning author, the Jerusalem Post claims that the letter does not give proper background on who initiated tensions that led to fierce fighting in May 2021.

BDS has a wide network

Ernaux's political views, including her close support for BDS, are not a secret in France, says Barbara Vinken, professor for French literature at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In France, people accept her views as freedom of opinion.

"But one needs to probably also think that in other countries, the BDS has more support than it has with us [in Germany], also among intellectuals. We in Germany have a special position because of our history, and rightly so. It is clear that we are extremely sensitive towards this issue."

The Jerusalem Post also accuses Ernaux of supporting the call for the pardon for Georges Abdallah, a Lebanese communist, who murdered an American officer and an Israeli diplomat. A BDS letter about Abdallah's case, which Ernaux also signed, describes the murdered persons as "active Mossad and CIA agents" and Abdallah as "committed to the Palestinian people and against colonization."

But beyond Ernaux, a French-Jewish union for peace also stood for Abdallah at the time, Vinken told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. The campaigns "were definitely supported by a really broad and also Jewish public," she said.

Mirna Funk is critical toward Ernaux's support of the BDS movement

'No indication of antisemitism' in her works

According to Vinken, Ernaux is condemning Israeli politics in the Palestinian territories; in principle, she stands for an opinion that can evoke popular agreement. There is no reason to accuse the author of antisemitism, Vinken says.

"There is nothing in her work indicating antisemitism," the literature professor said. To turn a public personality's statements against a certain policy into a "death sentence" is unacceptable, she added, referring to the negative press Ernaux has received in Germany and Israel over the last days.

Berlin-based author Mirna Funk has a different opinion, though. The Jewish writer considers BDS to be unambiguously antisemitic. "And I also find people supporting the BDS politically dangerous," she told DW.

Funk is not alone in her opinion. The German Bundestag has also decided in a May 2019 resolution that the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign against Israel is antisemitic.

Anyone receiving the Nobel Prize and stepping into the public limelight must also accept that people will engage with their political position, argued Funk: "The same happened with [Peter] Handke."

The Austrian author, who received the Nobel Prize in literature in 2019, expressed solidarity for Serbia during the Yugoslavian conflict and according to critics, trivialized the war crimes perpetrated by Serbian forces.

Ideologies of the suppressors and the suppressed

Like many BDS supporters, Ernaux's political positions are linked to her own background. She grew up in a small place in Normandy, where her parents ran a village shop. Ernaux was the first in her lower middle-class family to complete university.

Until her retirement, she worked as a teacher and used her free time to write about her life: Poverty during her youth, her unwanted pregnancy and her abortion, which was illegal at the time. She also wrote about her sister, who died as a young child, before Annie was born.

Ernaux was always committed to the causes of the left.

"In leftist ideology, one assumes that every relationship, whether personal or political, is based on power relations between the suppressors and the suppressed," Mirna Funk said. The problem between Palestinians and Israelis is therefore interpreted this way too. "From the Palestinian side, one has understood for decades how to stylize the Palestinian as the underdog and that has functioned wonderfully well in the leftist sphere."

Boycotting Ernaux is not an option

Nevertheless, Funk would still read Ernaux's books. "Even if Ernaux supports BDS, I am not in favor of boycotting [her]. I think it is very, very important to separate artistic performance from the artist herself."

Ernaux is a BDS supporter, but one must make a distinction between artists creating work that is independent of their political positions and artists who are directly producing propaganda material, Funk emphasized.

"Ernaux has not published books on Israelis and Zionists and Jews, but about her own world," Funk said. "Still, one needs to consider that she represents political positions, which can be criticized. But that is the multi-dimensionality of every person. And I think it is very important to be able to tolerate that contradiction."

Among her various political stands, Annie Ernaux applauds the courage of Iranian women currently protesting the regime and also condemns Putin's war on Ukraine.

Reacting to her prestigious award, Ernaux said that she saw it as an invitation to continue her struggle against injustice worldwide: "To get the Nobel Prize means to continue my responsibility," she stated, adding that she felt responsible to be open towards the path the world may take.

This article was originally published in German. It was translated by Manasi Gopalakrishnan.

Update: The article was modified on October 12, 2022, after its publication, to include a quote by a BDS co-founder, and now specifies which conflict is referred to in "A Letter Against Apartheid."

DW RECOMMENDS

Nobel Prize: Annie Ernaux wins 2022 award for literature

The Swedish Academy gave the award to French memoirist Annie Ernaux. An icon of autobiographical fiction, the author of "The Years" joins the ranks of other prestigious figures in the literary scene.  

• Date 11.10.2022

Pakistan: Why Swat locals are angry with both the military and the Taliban

A deadly attack on a school van in Pakistan's Swat Valley has sparked fears of a resurgence in Taliban activity in the region. Thousands have protested against the possible return of a militant presence to Swat.

Thousands protest in Swat after a gunman opened fire on a school van, 

killing the driver and critically injuring a child

Pakistan's Swat Valley was once ruled by the Taliban, who imposed a ban on education for women among other retrogressive measures.

The region — in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan — is perhaps better known for being the hometown of Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was 15 years old when Taliban militants shot and wounded her a decade ago.

Malala had been campaigning for girls' right to education in Swat and was a vocal critic of Islamic extremists. The Taliban said in 2012 that she had been attacked for promoting "secularism."

The Swat Valley had been a stronghold for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — the Pakistani Taliban group that is not directly connected to its Afghan counterpart but shares a similar ideology — which had been the focus of a 2009 military offensive to flush out militants from the area.

Taliban returns to former stronghold

Pashtun nationalists and other political parties in the area now accuse the government of holding clandestine talks with the militants and fear this could plunge the picturesque area into a reign of terror.

Many in Pakistan oppose the government's negotiations with the TTP. The group was responsible for attacking a military-run school in Peshawar in 2014, laying siege and killing 132 schoolchildren.

The government dismissed recent concerns of a significant TTP presence in the region.

But last month, suspected militants fired on a police party in the valley, fueling speculation that the militant group, which aims to set up an Islamist state in Pakistan, had returned to the area.

And the Taliban claimed responsibility for a September bomb attack that killed Idrees Khan, a local pro-government militia chief, along with two police officers, two private guards, and three laborers in the Swat region, local police told French news agency AFP.

Simmering anger then boiled over into widespread protests following a deadly assault on a school van earlier this week. One protest lasted for over 40 hours.

The attacks coincided with a visit by Malala Yousufzai to her home country to meet with victims of the devastating monsoon floods in Pakistan's southern province of Sindh.

The TTP was responsible for an attack on a military-run school in Peshawar in 2014

Factors fueling frustration

Marwat Salam, a 26-year-old resident of the Swat's Matta area, said that people are furious over the government's inaction. People feel that their leaders are either supporting the Taliban or are afraid of them, which perhaps explains why the government has not taken any concrete action, Salam told DW.

The government's lackluster response has created anxiety, particularly among women, she told DW.

She added that she had studied at university, completing a masters in psychology, but she feared her sisters and cousins might not continue their education if the Taliban returns.

"People had to leave their homes in the past and were not helped by the government, and now the government again is turning a blind eye to the activity of militants, which is fueling frustration against the government," Salam added.

Bibi Hasina, a 45-year old nurse working at a local hospital, said that the school van attack sent a shiver down people's spines, reminding everyone of the turbulent days of the past.

"The people of Swat protested against it, because they are worried about their children, their families, their businesses and their safety," Hasina said.

A sense of betrayal

The 2009 anti-militant offensive forced over a million people to leave their homes and take refuge in various parts of the country. They were only allowed to return when the operation ended a few months later.

Idris Ali Shah, who lives in Matta, said that the people of Swat were furious because they had been given contradictory information.

Malala Yousufzai speaks with women and children about facing 

the tough situation with courage

Firstly, they were assured that the militants had been eliminated during the offensive, he told DW, but then people witnessed a wave of targeted killings that included 800 political workers and peace activists.

"We were told these were ruthless terrorists and now the same are being engaged in talks without even taking the people into confidence," Shah said. "Then the reports of extortion, threats and militants' presence were all ignored. So, the disappointment with the government and the state is natural."

What is at risk?

Businesses have been booming in Swat since the end of the 2009 operation. Local and overseas tourists have also started visiting the valley, prompting people to set up new hotels and other attractions for the fresh influx of visitors.

People have invested millions or possibly billions of rupees into businesses, construction of houses, markets and other places, pointed out Sarfraz Khan, former head of the Area Study Center of Peshawar University and a Swat native.

Now this is all at risk, he told DW, adding the government is doing nothing to nab those militants who are apparently hurling threats at people over the phone, demanding extortion. He told DW that lawmakers from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) "have paid extortion and the government still did not take any action."

Misleading claims?

The army media wing last month admitted that the presence of "a small number of armed men on a few mountain tops between Swat and Dir has been observed."

However, it strongly rejected claims that the armed men had run amok.

"Apparently, these individuals sneaked in from Afghanistan to resettle in their native areas. A close watch is being maintained on their limited presence and movement in mountains," the army said in a statement.

"A misperception about the alleged presence of a large number of proscribed organization TTP's armed members in Swat Valley has been created on social media. After confirmation on the ground, these reports have been found to be grossly exaggerated and misleading," the statement added.

But security analysts say that TTP fighters feel emboldened by the Afghan Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The 'Pashtun Spring'

Some critics believe that Pashtun nationalists are trying to exploit every opportunity to defame the army.

At the core of the anti-militant and anti-army protests in Pakistan's northwestern region is the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), an anti-war group. Pakistani authorities have long accused liberal Pashtun groups, including the PTM, of destabilizing the country.

The PTM has gained considerable strength in the past five years, drawing tens of thousands of people to its protest rallies. Its supporters are critical of both the Taliban and the Pakistani military, which they say has ravaged Pashtun areas in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

Aziz Ullah Khan, a provincial law maker from Swat, told DW that it was propaganda that the army or security forces were bringing back the Taliban.

"The army offered tremendous sacrifices to flush out militants from Swat and other parts of the country. If Swat has peace today, it is all because of these sacrifices," he said, adding that some elements are spreading malicious propaganda against the army which should be condemned.

LIFE IN AFGHANISTAN UNDER THE TALIBAN
New but old dress code
Although it is not yet mandatory for women to wear a burqa, many do so out of fear of reprisals. This Afghan woman is visiting a local market with her children. There is a large supply of second-hand clothes as many refugees have left their clothes behind.
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'No anger against the government'

Khan rejected that people of Swat are fed up with the government.

"I am from the provincial government and roaming about the entire valley. I did not witness any anger against the government and security forces," Khan said.

He also refuted claims that militants are present in the scenic valley.

"I can take you to every part of Swat and you will not find any militants at all. This is just propaganda. Some criminal elements did give extortion calls using the name of the Taliban, but they were nabbed and no PTI leader or lawmaker paid any extortion," added Khan.

Edited by: Keith Walker

Date 14.10.2022

Peter Obi's 'Obidient' movement ignites Nigeria's youth

Young Nigerians, who say they have grown tired of older politicians, are mobilizing behind a candidate they consider more youthful and who promises real solutions to their problems. DW takes a closer look at Peter Obi.



Peter Obi is challenging the long dominance of Nigeria's ruling APC and main opposition PDP

The presidential election campaign in Nigeria has been in full swing since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealed its timetable last month.

Eighteen presidential hopefuls — including one woman — are in the running to lead Africa's most populous nation. Nigeria will head to the polls to pick its next president on February 25, 2023.
Who are the main candidates?

According to some analysts, the three leading contenders to succeed Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari are Ahmed Tinubu (70), a former governor of Lagos state and the candidate of the governing All Progressive Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar (75), a former vice president who is running for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP), and the Labour Party's (LP) candidate Peter Obi.

At 61, Peter Obi is the youngest of the three and currently the most popular. Young Nigerians are calling for a new era and seem poised to demonstrate that, with 71% of those who completed their voter registration aged between 18 and 34, according to Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

A recent poll conducted by Bloomberg revealed that 72% of "decided voters'' said they would support Peter Obi in the elections.

 

Obi's supporters who call themselves 'Obidients' say he offers an alternative to the 'old-guard' candidates

Who is Peter Obi?

Obi is a businessman and former governor, who ran for vice president in the last election.

He is known for his frugal spending, transforming the educational and business sectors during his stint as state governor, and his open and accessible leadership style.

However, his Labour Party does not have such a great reach across Nigeria's 36 states — despite the frenzy surrounding his campaign so far.
The 'Obidient' movement

DW spoke with Anthony Abakporo, a street pastor, who has for some time now focused his preaching on Obi out of desperation for a change in Nigeria.

"Things are very bad," he said. "The roads […] schools are not good as we speak right now. Everything that has to do with the welfare of humanity is bad."

Abakporo said he was willing to join other young people in an effort to support Obi. "We are going to put in our resources, we're going to put in our money, we're going to put in our time to ensure that he gets there for the new Nigeria. We can't continue like this," he said.

Peter Obi's support base is now so strong across the country that it has now been termed a movement.

The "Obidient" movement, as it has been termed by many, started with young people who are considered very strong-willed, independent-minded and contemptuous of older politicians who they say have done nothing for them.

"We the youths — we're not moved by the temptation to collect bribes or money in order to forfeit our destiny again for another four years," one young person told DW.

Another young voter told DW that "anybody that can do the job that can take Nigeria forward is what we need right now."

Many analysts believe that the "Obidient" movement is a continuation of the EndSars protests of 2020 — when thousands of young people took to the streets demanding an end to the SARS police unit which was notorious for assaulting, extorting, and killing innocent people.

Just like #EndSars activism, the "Obidient" movement is decentralized, community funded and has no clear leader.

It's organized by multiple small groups who have the common goal of unseating the establishment. Using Obi as a channel to air their hopes and vent their anger, young people have been campaigning online and holding peace walks across Nigeria.

In a report, the civil society group Centre for Democracy and Development said that money would "continue to play a huge role in determining who emerges the winner if the presidential primaries and recent gubernatorial elections offer any lesson."

"Online campaigns will be more fiercely fought than ever, with attacks aimed at boosting candidates, attacking opponents and undermining INEC likely to be accentuated in social media in the run-up to, during and even after voting," the report noted.
A statement from the youth

Around 95 million voters are expected to participate in the February election, according to INEC's projections.

Security and the economy are major issues for the more than 200 million citizens of Nigeria.

The West African nation is also battling an insurgency by Islamic extremists in the northeast, as well as armed violence that is spreading across parts of the northwestern and southeastern regions.

Preacher Anthony Abakporo said he considers the enthusiasm around Peter Obi as a statement from the Nigerian youth that they want real solutions to their problems.

"We are tired. Since we were born, we've never seen anything work. So, we feel like it has been their turn all along, they've done their own, it's Nigeria's turn. It's not Igbo, it's not Yoruba, it's not Hausa ... it's beyond the tribe," he said.

Young people like Abakporo are ditching the two strongest parties in the country and rallying behind Peter Obi but some critics say that Obi's following is only an internet movement that will not translate to votes in 2023.

However, it's clear that his support has already transcended beyond social media. With the "Obidient" movement on the rise many believe the old political guard could be in for a rude awakening.

Edited by: Keith Walker

 

'ART IS A SOFT POWER'
Stella Gaitano
Born in Sudan in 1979, the author writes mainly about war, escape and displacement, but also about great expectations and hopes for her native country. In early 2022, she fled to Germany with the help of the PEN writers' association. Art is a living thing that needs space to be freely expressed, accepted and supported, Gaitano says.
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