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What's common to a traffic policeman in Djibouti, a healthcare worker in Malta, a manager at a Sports City in Jordan and a computer engineering student in Iraq? They're all now in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai, playing in the 44th Chess Olympiad.

The major headlines in chess usually deal with Russia, Norway, India, the USA and several other major global powers, but the charm of the Olympiad lies in meeting participants from non-traditional chess countries who've made it here to pit their wits. And, with 187 teams in the open section and 164 teams in the women's section, Mahabalipuram is a global village.

Abdallah Hussein Ali, who turns 30 next year, has made his first trip away from home. He introduces himself with a polite bow and says he's from Djibouti. He wants to share his story but says something you'd never hear anywhere else during a sporting event: "I'm actually playing a game right now. I quickly sneaked out for a bathroom break. Can I speak to you after my match?"

Off he strides, in his pistachio green overalls. True to his word, he shares his story after his game. "I trained very hard, for two years, for the Olympiad. I was getting stronger and was among the best in my country but when you come here you see...[the level of competition] but all is well," he says with a hearty laugh.

"The Japanese player [Kojima Shinya, his opponent] was so strong, wow. He was too good. He made the kill move when I came back from the bathroom break. I lost focus and he closed out the game," he laments while adding that he would have preferred to have started with white pieces.

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Ali, whose day job is as a traffic policeman, works for close to 20 hours a stretch and then has the next 20 hours off, before repeating the cycle. His free time goes in chess. "My wife gets annoyed with me because I play chess in whatever free time I get. She calls me and I say I am busy, I will call you back...I am with my other wife [chess!]," he says with a belly laugh.

"Meeting so many new people, trying out new food, the competition here...it's really opened my eyes. I'm so happy to be here," he says. He's planned a week-long vacation in Ethiopia with his wife and eight-month-old son to rejuvenate after the Olympiad.

Mansour Sameer (57), has played chess for the better part of 30 years, and is a Chess Olympiad veteran. And he's had a long-standing love affair with India.

"I am thrilled to finally be in the birthplace of chess. I'm convinced chess was founded in India because I've read about how the Indian military was set up back in the day - the cavalry, infantry, elephantry, and chariotry. Chess was called chaturanga in Sanskrit, while we called it shatranj in Arabic," he says.

"In fact, we don't even call it chess...we refer to chess as laeibah al hindi (the Indian game) back at home," he adds. Mansour is one of six International Masters from Jordan. His son, Loay Sameer, is also on the list, making it two International Masters in the same house.

"I've read so much about the civilisations in India and have studied about the great Ramanujan [Srinivas Ramanujan, the maths genius]. In fact, many people who study maths in Jordan know about Ramanujan. Is there a museum of his I can visit in Chennai?" he asks. He perhaps would have driven past the Ramanujan IT Park on his way to Mahabalipuram and is on the lookout for a museum now.

Uranchimeg Psaila, a Woman Candidate Master from Malta, isn't playing today. She's come to the venue to soak in the vibes and meet new people, she says. Uranchimeg, or Urna as she likes to be called, is Mongolian by birth and adopted Maltese citizenship after marrying Clarence Psaila, a FIDE Master from Malta.

She didn't know a move on the chessboard until she met Clarence, who convinced her to pick up the sport. "I picked up chess from my husband around 15 years ago, but I'm not very good at it," she says with a sheepish smile.

"Malta is a very small country, you can't just play chess you know. I work as a caretaker in an old people's home. I really like it, I like helping people," she says as Viswanathan Anand walks by. "I haven't met him but I've heard a lot about him."

Urna also knows of Andre Schembri, the former Maltese football captain who played for Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League two years ago. Malta's population is less than half of Chennai's population. Yet sport, being the true uniter it is, has somehow brought her to the shores of Chennai.

A little further away from Urna is Rabeea Sabah Nori, a 20-year-old from Iraq. He's the youngest player in his team by a good 15 years and enjoyed a win over Thomas Larry of Dominica. Rabeea, whose name means spring in Arabic, is a football savant - his favourite club is Barcelona. "Yeah, Messi has left but has to leave at some point," he says before he can be quizzed about it. He points to his tucked-in t-shirt and says "I picked that up from Karim Benzema." We proceed to speak about Benzema's stellar campaign last year and how Rabeea had a terrible Fantasy Premier League [FPL] season.

Rabeea, who is pursuing a course in computer engineering, hopes chess can be as popular as football in Iraq one day. "People are warming up to the sport, but of course, football is the most popular sport. There are a few more young players around my age, coming up now and that could help popularise chess," he says.

From Malta, Djibouti and Iraq, the Chess Olympiad has brought the global family to the board.

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From Malta, Djibouti and Iraq, Chess Olympiad brings the global family to the board - ESPN

Oxfam is an international confederation counting 17 organizations working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries.

Oxfam has been working in Iraq since the 1990s with both an expanding and contracting presence. In 2014, Oxfam established its first office in Mosul when the conflict with ISIS began and the country was thrown into a new humanitarian crisis, in an already fragile context. In 2021, Oxfam is amongst the largest NGOs operating in the country. With nine offices and almost 200 employees.

Oxfam in Iraq's strategy is shaped around 3 key pillars 1) Humanitarian response 2) Governance and 3) Equality. Within each of these pillars, intervention covers the following sectors: Emergency Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihoods, Water and Sanitation and Hygiene, Gender and Protection, Emergency lifesaving support, and Local Humanitarian Leadership.

In this framework, Oxfam in Iraq has recently launched a new project, Masarouna, aiming at supporting young peoples advocacy to achieve their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). The program is implemented in six countries/territories of the MENA region. Masarouna identifies two main interlinked pathways to achieve the desired change. Pathway 1 is focused on the direct influencing of decision-makers and society to address inadequate legislation and harmful traditional social and cultural norms through strengthened youth engagement. Pathway 2 is focused on strengthening civil society, reclaiming civic space, and formation of new partnerships and alliances.

In the specific context of Iraq, young people face a series of challenges that limit their full enjoyment of SRHR: lack of evidence-based information about SRHR, limited access to information, lack of YP-friendly SRHR services, discrimination etc...

In this context, the Masarouna project in Iraq supports YP in accessing comprehensive information about SRHR, with a specific geographical focus on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Through increased knowledge and the building of alliances and solidarity, Masarouna in Iraq will equip YP individuals to demand their SRHR and create a supportive environment to enjoy them.

Under the Masarouna project, Oxfam in Iraq and the project partners will be working with Young People (YP) to influence decision-makers and different actors of society to address legislation and transform social norms. In addition to creating a lasting systemic and behavioral change while addressing root causes and barriers preventing YP from claiming their SRHR. Furthermore, it will work toward mobilizing, engaging, and building relationships with the communities we work with, starting from the designing process and up to the implementation of the project influencing Strategy. The project influencing work will also include knowledge sharing, creating spaces for engagement and dialogue, and building networks and alliances.

Overall, the influencing work with partners and allies under the project will aim to:

Cultivate active citizenship by working with young people, underrepresented groups, and social movements to increase their participation in decision-making spaces and secure their rights.

Provide young people with knowledge and skills to participate in decision-making spaces and work with citizens, partners, civil society, and duty bearers to better engage with young people.

Shift narratives on SRHR issues that concern young people in MENA to open space for policy change through communications, media networking, and the use of influence.

Transform public and official attitudes, social norms, and behaviors of the public and officials that deny SRHR and prevent policy implementation.

Link national-level youth-led activities to relevant regional and global influencing activities within the domain of Gender Justice and SRHR.

The Consultancy's overall objective is to develop an Iraq contextualized SRHR influencing strategy for the Masarouna project to support the design and implementation of the influencing interventions under the project. This will include the activities implemented by the Oxfam team and the project partners.

The Consultant is expected to develop the Strategy through the following methodology:

- Study the already available documentation on SRHR within the context of Iraq and KRI. Documentation consists of Masarouna baseline documents, Masarouna global influencing strategy.

- Conduct an additional comprehensive and extensive desk review on SRHR within the context of Iraq and KRI. This should include specifications of the context, gaps, and opportunities. The context analysis should provide strong insights into the social, cultural, religious, and legal environment in which SRHR exists in Iraq and KRI. It will also provide a comprehensive analysis of stakeholders and YPs perception, understanding, and ability to advocate for their SRHR rights.

- Conduct consultation meetings, which will guide the development of the Strategy, with different stakeholders, including:

members of national civil society,

members of the international community,

different and diverse groups of the community, including YP,

Oxfam team includes the project team in Iraq, regional teams, and relevant members of Oxfam affiliates,

relevant authorities' representatives,

- Conduct 2-3 workshops with identified stakeholders, mainly Oxfam team, Oxfam partners, and YP, and relevant members of the national civil society, and international community if relevant to develop the Strategy's objective and framework. The number of workshops can be adjusted according to the consultant's workplan.

- Develop a comprehensive influencing strategy with, but not limited to, clear objectives, stakeholder analysis, messages and indicators, and risk analysis.

- The Consultant will present the draft strategy through a validation work plan with the representatives of the groups who were part of the consultation meetings.

Oxfam will provide all relevant documents under the Masarouna project, including the project proposal, baseline assessment, and an in-depth analysis carried out by the implementing partners.

The Consultant is expected to commit to the following deliverables:

Inception report outlining the methodological approach and detailed understanding of the assignment (max. 10 pages).

Comprehensive and complete influencing strategy. The structure and content of the Strategy will need to be agreed on beforehand with Oxfam team.

At least 3 consultation sessions/meetings with stakeholders, partners and YP's representatives

At least 1 validation workshop.

Debriefing session with Oxfam team.

A final report indicating the summary of the activities, achievements, challenges, and lessons learned.

The Masarouna Project Manager in coordination with the Policy, Advocacy, and Communications Manager, who will provide technical and practical supervision of the assignment.

Oxfam will be responsible for covering the following costs:

The venue, meals, and other needs for implementing the consultation meetings and workshops..

Media & photos etc.

Follow-up on action plans developed and status of scaling.

The Consultant will be responsible for covering the following costs:

All transportation and logistics-related costs for the Consultant and the team if valid.

Accommodation throughout the duration.

Stationary and other material support that are required during the training.

In case of an international consultant, visa and tickets.

The Consultant will be paid the agreed rate upon satisfactory completion of the assignment, including submission of deliverables and reports as per the below schedule:

40% will be paid upon signing the contract.

40% will be paid upon delivering the training.

20% will be paid after the submission and approval of the final reports.

The consultancy is expected to be carried out in a period of 30 days. The timeline can be extended and the number of working days can be refined based on the Consultant's work plan, nevertheless, early delivery is considered a plus.

The Consultant should submit a full financial plan, considering the financial elements mentioned in point 7.

The following key technical requirements will be taken into consideration when assessing consultants' technical competencies:

University degree in journalism, community development and communication studies, sociology, or other relevant fields.

The Consultant should have proven previous experience in conducting similar training and working with similar groups.

Proven skills and experience in developing influencing strategies.

High proficiency in understanding Iraq's context, SRHR, and influencing for it.

Familiarity with constraints and challenges encountered while working on similar topics.

Strong English skills, Kurdish and Arabic are recommended as policy documents and other governmental documents might be available in Kurdish or Arabic language.

11. Scoring criteria for selection of the service provider/consultant

SN Criteria Weight % Evaluation method

1 Technical proposal 70 % Review of the technical proposal

2 Financial proposal 30 % Review of the financial proposal

Total 100 %

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested individuals or consultancy firms with relevant experience and skills based on the ToR can submit their Expression of Interest (EOI), including the following:

Cover letter of no more than 1 page introducing the consultant/company and intention to deliver the assignment. The cover letter should also indicate the consultants' availability for the proposed period.

Technical proposal should provide details on the proposed methodology responding to the ToR and the deliverables in line with the competencies required for the assignment, including references to experience with similar assignments; a work plan detailing the anticipated timeline to undertake the assignment and finalize the deliverables, clearly indicating the dates of delivery; CVs of the consultant/consulting team directly involved in the assignment, including their specific roles; and three professional referees. A technical proposal should not be longer than 10 pages, excluding annexes.

Financial proposal includes a full budget of the offer, covering all major anticipated costs.

Statement on the willingness to follow Oxfam's Code of Conduct and guidance regarding safe programming.

Please submit the EOI and other documents by midnight Iraq time on the 16th of August toprocurementiraq@OXFAM.org.uk with Development of Iraq contextualized SRHR Influencing Strategy in the subject line. No EOIs will be accepted after the deadline.

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Consultant - Development of an Iraq contextualized Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Influencing Strategy - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Theres just no upside to communism. Even when they can force an entire country to bend to their will and mass any and all resources at their disposal, they all still come up short. Not just a little short, either. Way short.

From the end of World War II through the end of the Cold War, communism was always trying to keep up with the capitalist western countries. In order to stay even slightly competitive, the Soviet Union had to steal the best technology, it couldnt develop any of it on their own.

The Soviets stole nuclear weapons and advanced jet engines from the West, giving the communists a chance against the United States, NATO, and other western armies for centuries to come. With all that in mind, one might be tempted to think that the worst among the stolen technologies would be nuclear weapons. But that person would be wrong.

Arguably the biggest disaster for American and western military secrets didnt come in the form of information from a spy, electronic eavesdropping, or even the outright theft of the tech. In some ways, one could say the United States just gave it away.

Americas greatest Cold War intelligence loss was the Sidewinder air-to-air missile and the communists got it because of one faulty missile.

On September 28, 1958, the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang was fighting for its life against a Chinese invasion. The communists in mainland China were enjoying supremacy in the air, as the advanced, Soviet-built MiG-17 made its first combat appearance.

The Chinese communist MiG-17 was so far advanced over the F-86 Sabres flown by the nationalist Taiwanese, the communists were able to essentially choose when and where they would engage and for how long. Taiwans air forces were taking a beating. Then, Taiwan invoked its defense treaty with the United States.

President Eisenhower not only ordered the U.S. Navy to protect the islands supply lines, he authorized Operation Black Magic, the strategic retrofitting of Taiwans fighter aircraft. They were going to be specially-modified to carry the United States small but mighty new weapon: the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.

The Sidewinder was (and is) one of the most stunningly capable missiles ever built by anyone anywhere. Since the Navy introduced the weapon in 1956, it has been adopted by the Air Force, then much of the rest of the modern world. Even today, variants of the AIM-9 are still in use all over the world.

So are rip-offs of the same future technology.

Sidewinders are cheap, effective, and are also the most successful missile ever developed with more than 270 air-to-air kills in its operational history. One of those kills should have been a Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force MIG-17 in the skies over the Strait of Taiwan on September 28, 1958, but it wasnt to be.

One nationalist Sidewinder missile hit a Chinese communist MiG-17 over the strait, but the missile didnt explode on impact. Instead it embedded itself into the aircraft, which limped home with a missile in its belly.

Eventually, the communists reverse-engineered the brilliant, easily produced weapon, creating the Soviet K-13 weapon. Everything about the original K-13 missiles were stolen and within three years, the Soviets were using NATOs own new missile against them.

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The best Cold War communist military technology was all stolen from the West - We Are The Mighty

Political deadlock is not confined to the election of the President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament and the formation of the government. It is also expressed in the manifestations of the deep crisis of the political process that is based on this system, which is breeding failure and corruption.

The statement added that "the ongoing struggle for power, among the ruling forces, does not represent a struggle over projects for state-building, but rather an extension of the fighting over sharing wealth and influence."

It continued: "In this sense, any new government formed according to the power-sharing quota approach will be doomed to failure, whoever is assigned to head it. Such a government will not differ, in essence, from any governments formed on the basis of ethno-sectarian power-sharing in the past years."

It warned that the insistence on continuing this approach will only deepen the crisis and open the way to dangerous paths that threaten the constitutional and democratic construction of the state and civil peace.

The partys statement also said: Based on our concern for consolidating peaceful, democratic political action, we call for the organisation of fair and honest early elections that express the true will of the Iraqis, to be organised by a truly independent interim government that enjoys national acceptance."

It added, "At this sensitive juncture, we reaffirm our democratic, patriotic, political project, which calls for Comprehensive Change to build a democratic civil state on the basis of citizenship and social justice.. a change to achieve the aspirations of our people for a free and dignified life."

"Therefore, all democratic civil forces and personalities, and the patriotic forces of change, who have not been involved in the crises, are called upon to unify efforts and organize their ranks to create a national balance of forces that provides a political alternative to the ethno-sectarian power-sharing system. This alternative has a real vision and opens up prospects towards building a state of citizenship and social justice.

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Iraq Crisis: Communist Party calls for early elections organised by an independent interim government - In Defense of Communism

Two events separated by a mere six months in 1949 the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China by the Chinese Communist Party shaped the world as we know it today.

During the Cold War, NATO was a key stabilizing force in Europe and a bulwark against communism. And, as weve seen recently, the threat of land wars in Europe did not end with the fall of the Soviet Union. NATO remains a vital source of stability and security on the European continent.

The same cannot be said of the CCP, which is playing a zero-sum game that requires America and its allies to fade away. In recent decades, the CCP has taken steps to make that happen, methodically undermining our economic strength by stealing critical technology, manufacturing capacity, and jobs from America and our allies.

In Beijing, we face an adversary with not only a formidable military and growing nuclear arsenal but also control of critical supply chains and an influence over global markets the old Soviet Union never enjoyed. Great power competition between the U.S. and China is the single most consequential contest of the 21st century. If we lose, it will usher in a dark age of exploitation, conquest, and totalitarianism and Americans way of life will be much worse than it is today.

Those are the stakes, and they must form the lens through which we view every policy decision we make, both domestic and foreign including whether to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

Fortunately, Finland and Sweden are strong, stable countries with a long history of security cooperation with NATO allies. They are committed to national defense and would more than live up to their NATO obligations. Finland already spends more than the required 2% of gross domestic product on its military, and Sweden is on a fast track to do the same. Both nations require military service of their citizens.

Simply put, NATO would be stronger with Finland and Sweden. And while President Joe Bidens record is proof that weakness invites aggression and breeds chaos, the converse is also true. As Ronald Reagan would say, peace comes through strength.

Some in Washington believe the only way to show strength in the face of Putins aggression is to double down on Americas security commitments in Europe. More troops. More equipment. More time. In fact, that seems to be Bidens approach as he continues to deploy military personnel to the region.

That is a mistake. Not only does it keep much-needed resources from the Indo-Pacific, it also ignores the military capability and economic resources of our European allies, both of which increase significantly if Finland and Sweden join NATO.

Americas resources are not endless, and our leaders need to be realistic and prioritize the greatest global threat facing our nation. Beijings days of quietly amassing economic power and biding its time are over. Under General Secretary Xi Jinping, the CCP is increasingly assertive and militarily aggressive, bullying U.S. allies and openly provoking its neighbors.

Thats why we need more troops, more ships and aircraft, and more funding for our presence in the Indo-Pacific. Thats why we need to encourage and enhance our relationships with our allies and partners in Beijings crosshairs, including those in the Western Hemisphere, such as Brazil and Panama. The CCP has been preparing to overturn American dominance for decades. We must give China our full attention if were going to defeat Xis bid for dominance.

Its been 73 years since NATO and Communist China came into existence. During that time, one has been a source of security and stability, bringing relative peace and prosperity to the world. The other has become Americas greatest foreign adversary.

A strong and unified NATO is a powerful asset in the contest with Beijing. When Finland and Sweden join the alliances ranks and the free peoples of Europe become stronger than ever, more U.S. resources will be available to focus on countering Communist China. If we do not rise to the challenge, it will be too late, and Americans will be held hostage by a totalitarian regime half a world away.

Marco Rubio is a U.S. senator for Florida and the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as a ranking member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

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A stronger NATO allows America to focus on the threat of Communist China - Washington Examiner