عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
pdf
Logo
صورة الغلاف اقرأ النسخة المطبوعة
آخر الأخبار
استمع إلى "إيجاز" اليوم
9:30 دقيقه

منتدى دافوس: دول الخليج تقود الإصلاحات في المنطقة

كيروز أكد لـ«الشرق الأوسط» أن مبادرة السعودية الخضراء «إشارة قوية»

عشرات المشاركين في الدورة الـ51 لمنتدى دافوس أمس (إ.ب.أ)
عشرات المشاركين في الدورة الـ51 لمنتدى دافوس أمس (إ.ب.أ)
TT
TT

منتدى دافوس: دول الخليج تقود الإصلاحات في المنطقة

عشرات المشاركين في الدورة الـ51 لمنتدى دافوس أمس (إ.ب.أ)
عشرات المشاركين في الدورة الـ51 لمنتدى دافوس أمس (إ.ب.أ)

يعود المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي لينعقد حضورياً هذا الأسبوع في منتجع دافوس السويسري، بعد غياب عامين بسبب جائحة «كورونا»، بمشاركة 2500 شخصية بارزة من عالمي الاقتصاد والسياسة. وتخّيم حرب أوكرانيا وبوادر أزمة اقتصادية جديدة على أعمال المنتدى، التي تنعقد هذه السنة تحت شعار «التاريخ عند نقطة تحول».
وفي حديث لـ«الشرق الأوسط»، يقول رئيس قسم الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا في المنتدى، مارون كيروز، إنَّ العالم يواجه اليوم «عدّة أزمات في الوقت نفسه، تتطلب جميعها حلولاً مختلفة»، ما يجعل اجتماع هذه السنة «وقتياً للغاية». وأكّد كيروز أنَّ المنتدى سيشهد مشاركة رفيعة من الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، محدّداً 4 تحديات تواجهها المنطقة، تشمل التغير المناخي وبطالة الشباب والفجوة بين الجنسين وانعدام المساواة، مشدداً على ضرورة إصلاح النماذج الاقتصادية وتنويع مصادر الدخل، ومشيداً بـ«زخم الإصلاحات» الذي تقوده دول الخليج. واعتبر أن استضافة مؤتمري «كوب» المقبلين من قبل مصر والإمارات، والمبادرة السعودية الخضراء «إشارات قوية على أن المنطقة تأخذ هذا التحدي على محمل الجد».
ويرى كيروز أن العالم يواجه 3 تحديات أساسية: «الأول هو حرب أوكرانيا التي تشكّل صدمة للاقتصاد العالمي والنظام الدولي»، والتحدي الثاني هو جائحة «كوفيد ـ19» التي لا تزال مستمرة، كما أظهرت الأحداث الأخيرة في الصين، والتي تتطلب مقاربة مختلفة. أما التحدي الثالث فيندرج على المدى الطويل، لكنه ليس أقل إلحاحاً، وهو التغيّر المناخي. «لقد حذّر الخبراء من أن نافذة العمل تضيق، وسلّطوا الضوء على الحاجة إلى تسريع التقدم، إذا أردنا الحد من ارتفاع درجة الحرارة عند 1.5 درجة مئوية».
وفي وجه هذه التحديات، يرى كيروز أن المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي يتيح فرصة البحث عن حلول مبتكرة، عبر الجمع بين قادة من خلفيات وقطاعات وصناعات مختلفة، وتعزيز التعاون بين القطاعين العام والخاص.
واستشهد المسؤول بمبادرة قام بها المنتدى، بالتعاون مع المبعوث الأميركي الخاص بالمناخ، جون كيري.
وقال إنه «من خلال العمل مع المبعوث الخاص خلال اجتماع مؤتمر الأطراف (كوب) في نوفمبر (تشرين الثاني) الماضي، جمعنا تحالفاً من 30 شركة من صناعات الطيران والشحن، التي التزمت تخزين نسبة معينة من مشترياتها من مصادر مستدامة».
... المزيد

مواضيع
دافوس

الأكثر قراءة

 
 

مقالات ذات صلة

الذكاء الاصطناعي والجغرافيا السياسية يتصدران «دافوس الصيفي» في الصين

الاقتصاد رئيس الوزراء الصيني يلقي كلمة في حفل افتتاح المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي في داليان (أ.ف.ب)

الذكاء الاصطناعي والجغرافيا السياسية يتصدران «دافوس الصيفي» في الصين

تتصدر الذكاء الاصطناعي والتوترات الجيوسياسية جدول أعمال اجتماعات «دافوس الصيفي» في مدينة داليان الصينية.

«الشرق الأوسط» (داليان، الصين)
تحليل إخباري من سيحرّك قطع الأحجية في «اللعبة» العالمية الجديدة؟ (أرشيفية - أ.ف.ب)
العالم

تحليل إخباري العالم يبحث عن «نظامه» الجديد في ظل الثورة الصناعية الرابعة

يضع هذا التناقض الجذري صانعي القرار أمام خيارين: إما الانكفاء نحو الهوية والقومية الاقتصادية، أو الانخراط في عولمة رقمية شاملة.

أنطوان الحاج
الاقتصاد مدينة جدة (واس)
الاقتصاد

إرجاء اجتماع المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي في السعودية بسبب التطورات

أعلن المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي بعد التنسيق مع وزارة الاقتصاد والتخطيط السعودية، إعادة جدولة الاجتماع الدولي الذي كان من المقرر عقده في جدة شهر أبريل.

«الشرق الأوسط» (الرياض)
أوروبا رئيس المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي بورغه برنده (أ.ف.ب)
أوروبا

استقالة الرئيس التنفيذي لـ«دافوس» بعد كشف صلته بإبستين

أعلن بورغه برِندِه استقالته من رئاسة المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي، الجهة المنظمة لقمة دافوس السنوية، بعد الكشف عن صلة له بجيفري إبستين، المُدان بجرائم جنسية.

«الشرق الأوسط» (جنيف)
أوروبا الرئيس والمدير التنفيذي لمنتدى دافوس بورغ بريندي في مؤتمر صحافي عشية المنتدى (إ.ب.أ)
أوروبا

منتدى دافوس يحقق في علاقة رئيسه بجيفري إبستين

أعلن المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي، الجهة المنظمة لقمة دافوس السنوية، الخميس، أنه سيحقق في علاقة رئيسه التنفيذي مع المدان بجرائم جنسية جيفري إبستين.

World

Trump Orders Pentagon to Cut Back Military Exercises with South Korea

US President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks (Reuters)
TT
TT

Trump Orders Pentagon to Cut Back Military Exercises with South Korea

US President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday instructed the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” 10 days of joint military exercises with South Korea as they were about to get underway, citing the cost of the drills and Seoul's refusal to take part in actions against Iran.

Hours before exercises were scheduled to begin, Trump said on his Truth Social site that although it was too late to cancel the drills entirely, he was “not happy” that the US had previously agreed to participate and highlighted his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to Reuters.

“These exercises are not only costly... but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Trump wrote.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters that the drills started on Monday as scheduled, but declined comment on Trump's comments. The country's presidential office and defense and foreign ministries did not immediately respond on a public holiday in Seoul.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises are scheduled to run from August 17 to 27, with about 18,000 South Korean military ⁠personnel participating. The drills are expected to include operations to counter drones, disrupt GPS signals and cyberattacks to adapt to North Korea's evolving capabilities, officials said last week.

Trump also pointed to South Korea's stance on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, 'No thanks!’” Trump wrote.

A Pentagon spokesperson referred questions on the matter to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for more information on next steps for the drills.

Pyongyang routinely denounces the US-South Korean exercises as preparations for an invasion. North Korea last Wednesday fired a ballistic missile from its eastern coast towards the Sea of Japan, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, six days after a similar North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch on August 6.

US military officials have said that North Korean troops, who have fought alongside Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, have gained experience from the conflict, including the growing use of unmanned systems, electronic warfare and cyber operations.

Ukraine said last week that North Korean-made missiles were used in a Russian ballistic missile attack on a steel plant in ⁠Zaporizhzhia that killed seven workers and forced a production halt, with Russia's Zircon hypersonic missiles also used in the attack.

A high-ranking US Northern Command official, Lieutenant General Joseph Jarrard, last week warned that North Korea had successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missiles with “enough boost to deliver a nuclear payload anywhere in North America,” complicating US homeland defense efforts.

Culture

Is this Cave in Türkiye Where Homer Wrote 'The Odyssey'?

Access to the rock-strewn cave is not easy. Ahmet Ayberk Cimen / AFP
Access to the rock-strewn cave is not easy. Ahmet Ayberk Cimen / AFP
TT
TT

Is this Cave in Türkiye Where Homer Wrote 'The Odyssey'?

Access to the rock-strewn cave is not easy. Ahmet Ayberk Cimen / AFP
Access to the rock-strewn cave is not easy. Ahmet Ayberk Cimen / AFP

On a Turkish hillside overlooking the olive-covered slopes outside Izmir is a cave known to generations of locals as the place where Homer penned "The Odyssey".

"This place was always called Homer's Valley by the locals. Travelers from all over the world would come and see the cave where Homer is said to have composed his poems," explained Turkish researcher Altan Altin, who has written a book on the subject.

In fact, nobody knows exactly where Homer wrote his epic poems and there is much mythology around the idea of his cave. Today, of course, the debate has become livelier and more immediate thanks to Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film "The Odyssey".

The poet has for a very long time been associated with the Izmir region of Türkiye’s Aegean coast, which for most of its history was known as ancient Smyrna.

"The Smyrnaeans have the river Meles, with its lovely water, and at its springs is the grotto, where they say Homer composed his poems," wrote the 2nd-century Greek chronicler and geographer Pausanias.

Those words have fueled a centuries-long debate, one that continues today, about Homer's life and the location of the river where he was thought to have been born in the year 8 BC.

- Remarkable precision -

Visiting the cave, which is filled with rocks, is not easy.

Inside, travelers have left Greek scrawled on the walls, although it is not clear how old the writing is.

Although other places, notably the Greek island of Chios, also lay claim to Homer's origins, ancient Smyrna and its hinterland -- where Bornova is located -- are closely associated with the poet.

"For me, there's no doubt, Homer is from Bornova. In any case, he is from Ionia, which includes Smyrna and Chios. He's from these lands," Altin told AFP. Ionia is the name of an ancient Greek region on Türkiye’s Aegean coast.

To support his thesis, Altin pointed to a 3rd-century BC frieze depicting the deification of Homer, which he says reproduced the Bornova cave with remarkable precision.

"This bas-relief was already known, but no one had ever noticed the identical details to those found in Homer's cave. This is the first time such a detailed geographical description came to light," he said.

Archaeological evidence from the area also suggests a link to Homer.

"The discoveries from the excavations, especially coins bearing Homer's likeness, show us that the inhabitants of ancient Smyrna considered the poet to be one of their own," archaeologist Mehmet Akif Erdem said.

"'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' were written in the (ancient Greek) dialects of Ionic and Aeolic, suggesting that ancient Smyrna and Bornova could be among Homer's native lands," he said.

- Homer everywhere -

Beyond the academic debate about his origins, Homer is everywhere in Bornova.

At Yesilova Hoyuk, a Neolithic site considered to be the oldest known prehistoric human settlement in Izmir, there is a bust of Homer with the inscription: "I compiled The Iliad and The Odyssey epics on this land. I lived in Bornova."

The town -- which already hosts a book fair dedicated to Homer and has a statue of Trojan War hero Hector in a local park -- is planning to refurbish the cave and open it to visitors to capitalize on the revival of interest in the ancient poet.

"Preserving Homer's legacy is a duty we owe to humanity. He is one of the founding fathers of literature," Bornova Mayor Omer Eski told AFP.

"The stories he tells are about this land. The question is not whether we should claim Homer or not. His story is also ours," he said.

But not everyone shares his vision.

In 2024, municipal officials from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party proposed renaming Homer's Valley after a Turkish fighter, saying the site should not have a Greek name.

"Erasing Homer's name would be one of the worst things we could do to Bornova," retorted the mayor, whose aim is to "make Homer known to the whole world as a person from Bornova" and to make the town a tourist attraction.

- 'Proud to be his compatriot' -

Mustafa Kocyigit, who runs the Gargantua bookshop in Izmir, said the success of Nolan's film has revived interest in Homer and boosted sales of the poem "The Odyssey".

"I knew Homer was from these lands, but I didn't know he was specifically from Izmir. We are incredibly lucky," said teacher Safak Tosun outside one of the city's cinemas where the film is showing.

"I feel proud, honored and deeply privileged to be his fellow countryman."

For the researcher Altin, there are clues in Homer's writing that he says shows the poet came from the area.

"When you dive into the Iliad, you really understand that Homer was an Anatolian. You find anecdotes and cultural references that are completely unknown elsewhere," he said.

He believes Homer's origins should not stir up rivalry between Türkiye and Greece.

"Homer is 2,800 years old, while the Turkish-Greek border is only a century old," he shrugs.

"Homer is Greek. Homer is Anatolian. None of us is older than he is, not even our countries."

Arab World

Egypt Warns Ethiopia against Plans to Control Nile River Flows

The Ethiopian national flag is seen at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 19, 2022. (AFP)
The Ethiopian national flag is seen at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 19, 2022. (AFP)
TT
TT

Egypt Warns Ethiopia against Plans to Control Nile River Flows

The Ethiopian national flag is seen at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 19, 2022. (AFP)
The Ethiopian national flag is seen at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 19, 2022. (AFP)

An official Egyptian source warned on Sunday Ethiopia against plans to control the flows of the Nile River to downstream countries, in the latest tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The official made the warning in wake of Ethiopia’s Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Geleta saying that his country may build more dams on the river, effectively controlling its flow to Egypt and Sudan.

The source said Egypt has “several means at its disposal and is capable of defending the interests of its people when it comes to the Nile,” reported the state news agency MENA.

“Egypt will not accept or allow any party to control the Nile’s flow to downstream countries,” he declared.

Diplomats and observers told Asharq Al-Awsat that Ethipoia’s comments prove that the construction of the dam aimed to apply political pressure on Cairo and was not a development project as it had claimed.

The dispute over the Nile goes back 15 years since Ethiopia began constructing the dam and which it inaugurated around a year ago. Egypt fears that the dam will impact its share of the river water, which is vital for the people.

Arab and local media reported Geleta as saying that his country “will control the flows of the Nile” and that it is “determined to build more dams as part of its right to the fair use of its waters and achieve sustainable development.”

The Egyptian source, however, slammed the statements as more evidence of Addis Ababa’s unilateral actions and violation of international law.

They reflect its “delusions about its ability to impose control over a river it shares with others,” he added.

He warned that the statements are “dangerous” because they reveal an intent to impose a status quo on the ground and impose monopoly over a joint international water source.

“Ethiopia is using its geographic location to threaten the water rights and interests of downstream countries in violation of international law. Egypt will not allow it,” he vowed.

Cairo had previously declared before the UN Security Council that it will resort to all means at its disposal to protect the rights of people to the Nile, he noted.

‘Several options’

Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said Cairo has “several options” at its disposal to protect its interests.

It can again resort to the Security Council and demand measures to resolve conflicts in line with Chapter 6, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Failure to comply, means it can resort to Chapter 7, which would then view the GERD as an act of aggression and a threat to human life, which demands self-defense, he added.

Chapter 6 calls for resolving disputes peacefully through negotiations and mediations, while Chapter 7 allows the Security Council the authority to impose measures through military and non-military means to preserve international peace and security.

Halima said Ethiopia’s latest statements demonstrate that the construction of the GERD was politically motivated to pressure Egypt.

The dam has already caused damage to Sudan where water levels are low, he noted.