海角大神

Al Jazeera / Doha, Qatar

In many ways, Qatar has benefited from its neighbors鈥� blockade

鈥淲hen the blockade was imposed on Qatar on June 5, 2017, few expected it to last as long as it has,鈥� writes Sultan Barakat. 鈥淥ne year on, what started as an expression of frustration with, and attempt to change, Qatar鈥檚 independent foreign policy, has, in fact, deepened the political divisions and, if anything, made it more difficult to envisage a return to Gulf unity. Today, nobody can deny that overall the blockade has had a negative impact on all concerned, including Saudi Arabia, which ironically ended up diminishing the very same Gulf security it professes to protect from an expansionist Iran.... Qatar has demonstrated an impressive ability to turn the crisis into an opportunity in terms of improving food security, social cohesion and economic sustainability....鈥澛�

The Manila Times / Manila

Qatar鈥檚 Arab neighbors should embrace, not spurn, Al Jazeera

鈥淚n an expansive article in The Manila Times [June 5], Ambassador Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Malki of the State of Qatar wrote that his country has weathered one year of the blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5, 2017...,鈥� writes Francisco Tatad. 鈥淓ven the blockading countries will have to agree with this assessment. It鈥檚 time for the Arab Quartet to lift it.... Despite the provocations, Qatar refused to retaliate.... With respect to Al Jazeera, which is now the No. 1 Arab news channel, reaching more than 140 countries ... there is no chance Qatar will consider shutting it down.... Gulf countries should share it as a common resource to help them deepen their understanding of the world around them....鈥澛�

Tehran Times / Tehran, Iran

Iran鈥檚 #MeToo moment begins

鈥淔ollowing a schoolmaster鈥檚 sexual misconduct at a private school in western Tehran some Iranians started using the #MeToo on twitter since [May 30], sharing their experiences of harassment and assault,鈥� writes Maryam Qarehgozlou. 鈥淥n May 27, some 40 parents filed a complaint against a schoolmaster who has allegedly displayed some sexually harassing behaviors at a private school in district two of Tehran. The schoolmaster was soon detained and the school is shut down, maybe for good.... The fact that the Tehran school scandal has prompted some Iranians to recount their traumatic experiences of sexual assaults and harassment, which mostly had happened during their childhood, is a baby step towards responding to this violence more effectively by taking timely measures and adopting more restrictive laws.鈥澛�

Deutsche Welle / Bonn, Germany

To turn plastic pollution awareness into change, we must act

鈥淧eople seem to finally be waking up to the global issue of plastic pollution 鈥� it was the focus of this year鈥檚 Earth Day, and also World Environment Day in 2018 has the theme beating plastic pollution,鈥� writes Sonya Angelica Diehn. 鈥淭he unfortunate recent end of a whale in Thailand provides a timely illustration of the problem. It died with 80 plastic bags in its stomach.... Despite bans on plastic bags in some African countries, and a planned ban on other single-use plastic items in the European Union, the sad truth is that the world is probably still pretty far from 鈥榩eak plastic鈥�.... [C]an the growing momentum around the topic be harnessed to transform this trend into real change? Well, that depends on you.鈥澛�

Jamaica Observer / Kingston, Jamaica

Every one of us should refuse what we can鈥檛 reuse

鈥淎nyone who read the United Nations (UN) report released [June 5] in observance of World Environment Day and was not stunned by the data must either be extremely callous or not human at all,鈥� states an editorial. 鈥淭he report provides bald facts about how human beings are, as the UN so succinctly put it, choking the world on trash.... We note that several countries in the Caribbean and Latin America are using taxes, bans and technological innovation to restrict the production and consumption of plastic bags.... However, it should not have had to come to this, as every resident of every country should consider it his/her duty to heed the UN鈥檚 appeal to 鈥榬eject single-use plastics鈥� and 鈥榬efuse what you can鈥檛 re-use鈥�.鈥�