NEW YORK // The Arab Spring protests that shocked the regimes in the Middle East and North Africa last year were the biggest challenge to authoritarian governments since the downfall of Soviet Communism, the pro-democracy watchdog group Freedom House said in a report released yesterday.
The Washington-based group pointed to the downfall of the Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and subsequent free national elections as one of the biggest leaps forward for democracy since the group began publishing its annual review of global civil rights and liberties in 1972. The Tunisia protests inspired others throughout the region.
But the crackdown on those uprisings weighed against the advance towards democracy and even prompted China to suppress dissent in its far-flung interior regions all the more harshly.
"In China, the authorities responded to events in Cairo's Tahrir Square with a near-hysterical campaign of arrests, incommunicado detentions, press censorship, and stepped-up control over the internet," Freedom House said.
The Middle East and North Africa saw gains towards democracy in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, but Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Gulf countries suffered the most decline, Freedom House said in its report.
Freedom House found that the world as a whole moved slightly more towards authoritarianism last year.
"We've been through a multiyear period in which the world's authoritarians seemed to be on the march and the democracies appeared to be in retreat," David J Kramer, the president of Freedom House, said in the report.
"But the past year's trends give reason for hope - especially because they arose in a region of the world where many observers dismissed the idea of democratic change as futile."
Twenty-six nations became less free and tolerant last year, while only 12 showed overall improvement, making it the sixth consecutive year in which countries with declines outnumbered those with improvements.
Freedom House ranks political rights and civil liberties on a scale of 1 (most free) to 7 (least free) largely by reference to the values of the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Among the values examined are free elections, multiparty democracy, rule of law and equality of opportunity.
The United States is ranked among the top "free" nations, but the new report warns of a rise in isolationist sentiment.
Republicans and some Democrats criticised the US president, Barack Obama, for giving Libyan rebels a decisive boost through air strikes that helped them bring down Muammar Qaddafi, Freedom House noted.
Mr Obama also showed initial hesitation before he backed reforms in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, the report said.
While Mr Obama publicly advocated democratic reform, he "has failed to invoke the authority of the White House on specific cases.
Instead it is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who has publicly addressed violations of human rights in Russia, Hungary, and Turkey, and aligned the administration with the forces of change in Myanmar and elsewhere where prospects for freedom's growth have opened up", the Freedom House report said.
The group listed other areas of concern:
• Three promising democracies saw a troubling backslide in 2011: Hungary, South Africa and Ukraine
• Turkey didn't change in the ranking (partly free) but was a cause for alarm due to a series of political arrests and pressure on media freedom
• Deterioration was seen in energy-rich Eurasia, including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan
• The Worst of the Worst, countries or territories with the lowest ranking on political rights and civil liberties, are Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and also Tibet.
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mobile phone packages comparison
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The%20specs
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Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243