BY FRANK ELBERS (FGJ ‘16) - Eloy Domínguez Serén is the director of the documentary film “Hamada”, about the daily life of three young Sahrawis in the refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. With vitality, humor and unexpected scenarios, the film paints an unusual portrait of a group of young friends living in a camp in the middle of the stony Saharan desert. READ MORE

BY FRANK ELBERS (FGJ ‘16) - Next week world leaders descend on Marrakesh, Morocco to put the finishing touches on a long-awaited, and by now controversial, new framework for managing international migration. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, as it is officially called, will be discussed at the intergovernmental conference on December 10-11, after which the UN General Assembly is expected to formally adopt it before the end of the year. The Global Compact for Migration (you can read the full 30-page document here) is a voluntary pact negotiated by UN member states over the last two years. It is not a treaty, therefore not binding on participating states, and has no means of enforcement. During the negotiation process the United States, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, and Poland have made it clear they do not support the compact as it presumably encourages migration. READ MORE

BY FRANK ELBERS (FGJ ‘16) - "The very top positions in Latvia are still held by men, while women are the ones doing the heavy lifting," says Dana Reizniece-Ozola, outgoing Finance Minister. READ MORE

BY FRANK ELBERS (FGJ ‘16) - Football in Lebanon continues to be plagued by sectarian violence. The final game of last year’s Alfa One League season between Al Ahed F.C. and Nejmeh Sporting club was played in an empty Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium (capacity: 49,000) in Beirut surrounded by the army and its tanks. READ MORE

BY FRANK ELBERS (FGJ '16) - On February 27, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that a fisheries agreement between Morocco and the European Union is not applicable to Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied since the former colonial power Spain withdrew in 1975. READ MORE

In this #online piece on @muftahorg , Shirly Bahar breaks ground and shows how Turkish Arabesk and Mizrahi music in Israel shares a common history and striking parallels in their contexts. This piece is a must-read for popular culture enthusiasts and Turkey and/or Palestine/Israel scholars. Link: https://muftah.org/leave-leave-come-come-arabesk-music-mizrahi-music-and-the-there-of-the-orient/#.WmEXYKJOmEc #aftersaidat5 #online #arabesk #turkey #israel #music #muftah

Muftah's brilliant editors Mariam Elba and Fatima Mohie-Eldin introduce the new special collection of essays on politics and popular culture in the Middle East. We are so excited to feature every single of these exceptional, #fresh #online pieces here at @aftersaidat5 Link: https://muftah.org/new-special-collection-politics-and-pop-culture-in-the-middle-east-north-africa/#.WjFeiRiZOgw

#Repost @muftahorg with @repostapp ・・・ Cosmological painting from Rajasthan, India, circa 18th century #india #indian #rajasthan #cosmolpgical #cosmology #astronomy #paint #painting #art #map #maps #history #Muftah #MuftahOrg Photo: magictransistor