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Geopolitical region encompassing Egypt and most of Western Asia
Coordinates: 29°N 41°E / 29°N 41°E / 29; 41
371 million (2010)[1]
UN members (16)
UN observer (1)
De facto (1)
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (United Kingdom)
Kurdistan (Iraq)
Rojava (Syria)
Occupied (4)
UN buffers (2)
UNBZC
UNDOF Zone
Languages without official status (spoken by diaspora or other minorities)
Abaza
Abkhaz
Bosniak
Crimean Tatar
Domari
Balkan Gagauz Turkish
Gilaki
Kurbet
Judæo-Spanish
Lurish
Nobiin
Talysh
Turoyo
UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+03:30, UTC+04:00, UTC+04:30
Largest cities
10 largest cities in the Middle East
?zmir
Map of the Middle East between Africa, Europe, Central Asia, and Southern Asia.
Middle East map of Köppen climate classification.
The Middle East (Arabic: , ISO 233: ash-Sharq al-Awsat) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Ash-Sh?m and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen). The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions, and has been viewed by some to be discriminatory[2] or too Eurocentric.[3] The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of Western Asia (including Iran), but without the South Caucasus, and additionally includes all of Egypt (not just the Sinai Region) and all of Turkey (not just the part barring East Thrace).
Most Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world. The most populous countries in the region are Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, while Saudi Arabia is the largest Middle Eastern country by area. The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the geopolitical importance of the region being recognized for millennia.[4][5][6] Several major religions have their origins in the Middle East, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.[7] Arabs constitute the main socioethnic grouping in the region,[8] followed by Turks, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen, Yazidis, and Greek Cypriots.
The Middle East generally has a hot, arid climate, especially in the Arabian and Egyptian regions. Several major rivers provide irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas here, such as the Nile Delta in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates watersheds of Mesopotamia, and the basin of the Jordan River that spans most of the Levant. These regions are collectively known as the Fertile Crescent, and comprise the core of what historians had long referred to as the cradle of civilization (a label now applied to multiple regions of the world). Conversely, the Levantine coast and most of Turkey have relatively temperate climates typical of the Mediterranean, with dry summers and cool, wet winters. Most of the countries that border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of petroleum, with monarchs of the Arabian Peninsula in particular benefiting economically from petroleum exports. Because of the arid climate and heavy reliance on the fossil fuel industry, the Middle East is both a heavy contributor to climate change and a region expected to be severely negatively impacted by it.
Other concepts of the region exist including the broader the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which includes states of the Maghreb and the Sudan, or the "Greater Middle East" which additionally also includes parts of East Africa, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and sometimes Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The term "Middle East" may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office.[9] However, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902[10] to "designate the area between Arabia and India".[11][12] During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, a rivalry which would become known as the Great Game. Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf.[13][14] He labeled the area surrounding the Persian Gulf as the Middle East, and said that after Egypt's Suez Canal, it was the most important passage for Britain to control in order to keep the Russians from advancing towards British India.[15] Mahan first used the term in his article "The Persian Gulf and International Relations", published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal.
The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar; it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. Naval force has the quality of mobility which carries with it the privilege of temporary absences; but it needs to find on every scene of operation established bases of refit, of supply, and in case of disaster, of security. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, and the Persian Gulf.[16]
Mahan's article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled "The Middle Eastern Question," written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include "those regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India."[17] After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term.[18]
Until World War II, it was customary to refer to areas centered around Turkey and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean as the "Near East", while the "Far East" centered on China,[19] and the Middle East then meant the area from Mesopotamia to Burma, namely the area between the Near East and the Far East.[] In the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term "Middle East" gained broader usage in Europe and the United States, with the Middle East Institute founded in Washington, D.C. in 1946, among other usage.[20]
The corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner.
While non-Eurocentric terms such "Southwest Asia" or "Swasia" has been sparsedly used, the inclusion of an African country, Egypt, in the definition questions the usefulness of using such terms.[21]
Usage and criticism
1957 American film about the Middle East
The description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, "Near East" was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while "Middle East" referred to the Caucasus, Persia, and Arabian lands,[22] and sometimes Afghanistan, India and others.[23] In contrast, "Far East" referred to the countries of East Asia (e.g. China, Japan and Korea).[24][25]
With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, "Near East" largely fell out of common use in English, while "Middle East" came to be applied to the re-emerging countries of the Islamic world. However, the usage "Near East" was retained by a variety of academic disciplines, including archaeology and ancient history, where it describes an area identical to the term Middle East, which is not used by these disciplines (see Ancient Near East).[]
The first official use of the term "Middle East" by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, which pertained to the Suez Crisis. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles defined the Middle East as "the area lying between and including Libya on the west and Pakistan on the east, Syria and Iraq on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudan and Ethiopia."[19] In 1958, the State Department explained that the terms "Near East" and "Middle East" were interchangeable, and defined the region as including only Egypt, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.[26]
The term Middle East has also been criticised by journalist Louay Khraish and historian Hassan Hanafi for being a Eurocentric and colonialist term.[2][3][27]
The Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous. It instructs:
Use Middle East unless Near East is used by a source in a story. Mideast is also acceptable, but Middle East is preferred.[28]
There are terms similar to Near East and Middle East in other European languages, but since it is a relative description, the meanings depend on the country and are different from the English terms generally. In German the term Naher Osten (Near East) is still in common use (nowadays the term Mittlerer Osten is more and more common in press texts translated from English sources, albeit having a distinct meaning) and in Russian ? or Blizhniy Vostok, Bulgarian ? , Polish Bliski Wschód or Croatian Bliski istok (meaning Near East in all the four Slavic languages) remains as the only appropriate term for the region. However, some languages do have "Middle East" equivalents, such as the French Moyen-Orient, Swedish Mellanöstern, Spanish Oriente Medio or Medio Oriente, and the Italian Medio Oriente.[note 1]
Perhaps because of the influence of the Western press, the Arabic equivalent of Middle East (Arabic? ash-Sharq al-Awsa?) has become standard usage in the mainstream Arabic press, comprising the same meaning as the term "Middle East" in North American and Western European usage. The designation, Mashriq, also from the Arabic root for East, also denotes a variously defined region around the Levant, the eastern part of the Arabic-speaking world (as opposed to the Maghreb, the western part).[29] Even though the term originated in the West, apart from Arabic, other languages of countries of the Middle East also use a translation of it. The Persian equivalent for Middle East is (Kh?var-e miy?neh), the Hebrew is (hamizrach hatikhon), the Turkish is Orta Do?u and the Greek is ? ? (Mesi Anatoli).
Countries and territory
Countries and territory usually considered within the Middle East
Traditionally included within the Middle East are Arabia, Asia Minor, East Thrace, Egypt, Iran, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and the Socotra Archipelago. The region includes 17 UN-recognized countries and one British Overseas Territory.
(km2)
(per km2)
GDP, bn (2022)[30]
GDP per capita (2022)[31]
Akrotiri and Dhekelia 254 18,195 72 Episkopi N/A N/A Euro De facto stratocratic dependency under a constitutional monarchy English
Bahrain 780 1,501,635 1,925 Manama $44,169 $29.103 Bahraini dinar Absolute monarchy Arabic
Cyprus 9,250 888,005 96 Nicosia $27.726 $30,663 Euro Presidential republic Greek,
Egypt 1,010,407 102,678,136 102 Cairo $435.621 $4,162 Egyptian pound Presidential republic Arabic
Iran 1,648,195 85,022,548 52 Tehran $1,739,012 $20,261 Iranian rial Islamic republic Persian
Iraq 438,317 41,190,700 82.7 Baghdad $297.341 $7,038 Iraqi dinar Parliamentary republic Arabic,
Israel 20,770 9,443,420 455 Jerusalema $520.703 $54,688 Israeli shekel Parliamentary republic Hebrew
Jordan 92,300 11,098,276 120 Amman $47.745 $4,636 Jordanian dinar Constitutional monarchy Arabic
Kuwait 17,820 4,670,713 262 Kuwait City $186.610 $38,755 Kuwaiti dinar Constitutional monarchy Arabic
Lebanon 10,452 6,769,000 648 Beirut $19.126 $2,802.14 Lebanese pound Parliamentary republic Arabic
Oman 309,500 4,520,471 21 Muscat $110.127 $23,416 Omani rial Absolute monarchy Arabic
Palestine 6,220 5,227,193 840 Ramallaha $18.698 $3,682 Israeli shekel,
Jordanian dinar Semi-presidential republic Arabic
Qatar 11,437 2,799,202 245 Doha $225.716 $84,514 Qatari riyal Absolute monarchy Arabic
Saudi Arabia 2,149,690 35,013,414 16 Riyadh $1.040.166 $28,759 Saudi riyal Absolute monarchy Arabic
Syria 185,180 18,276,000 99 Damascus $60.043 $3,285.35 Syrian pound Presidential republic Arabic
Turkey 783,562 83,614,362 107 Ankara $692.380 $8,081 Turkish lira Presidential republic Turkish
United Arab Emirates 82,880 9,503,738 115 Abu Dhabi $501.354 $50,349 Emirati dirham Federal constitutional monarchy Arabic
Yemen 527,970 30,491,000 58 Sanaab
Aden (provisional) $28.134 $891 Yemeni rial Provisional presidential republic Arabic
a. ^ ^ Jerusalem is the proclaimed capital of Israel, which is disputed, and the actual location of the Knesset, Israeli Supreme Court, and other governmental institutions of Israel. Ramallah is the actual location of the government of Palestine, whereas the proclaimed capital of Palestine is East Jerusalem, which is disputed.
b. ^ Controlled by the Houthis due to the ongoing civil war. Seat of government moved to Aden.
Other definitions of the Middle East
Various concepts are often being paralleled to the Middle East, most notably the Near East, Fertile Crescent, and Levant. The Near East, Fertile Crescent, and Levant are geographical concepts, which refer to large sections of the modern-day Middle East, with the Near East being the closest to the Middle East in its geographical meaning. Due to it primarily being Arabic speaking, the Maghreb region of North Africa is sometimes included.
The countries of the South Caucasus--Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia--are occasionally included in definitions of the Middle East.[32]
The Greater Middle East was a political term coined by the second Bush administration in the first decade of the 21st century,[33] to denote various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world, specifically Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.[34] Various Central Asian countries are sometimes also included.[35]
Some henges at Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 9600 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, England, by over seven millennia. The site of the oldest known artificial religious structure.[36]
Western Wall and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
The Kaaba, located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The Middle East lies at the juncture of Africa and Eurasia and of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is the birthplace and spiritual center of religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Manichaeism, Yezidi, Druze, Yarsan, and Mandeanism, and in Iran, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Manicheanism, and the Bahá'í Faith. Throughout its history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs; a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area. The region is one of the regions where agriculture was independently discovered, and from the Middle East it was spread, during the Neolithic, to different regions of the world such as Europe, the Indus Valley and Eastern Africa.
Prior to the formation of civilizations, advanced cultures formed all over the Middle East during the Stone Age. The search for agricultural lands by agriculturalists, and pastoral lands by herdsmen meant different migrations took place within the region and shaped its ethnic and demographic makeup.
The Middle East is widely and most famously known as the cradle of civilization. The world's earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia), ancient Egypt and Kish in the Levant, all originated in the Fertile Crescent and Nile Valley regions of the ancient Near East. These were followed by the Hittite, Greek, Hurrian and Urartian civilisations of Asia Minor; Elam, Persia and Median civilizations in Iran, as well as the civilizations of the Levant (such as Ebla, Mari, Nagar, Ugarit, Canaan, Aramea, Mitanni, Phoenicia and Israel) and the Arabian Peninsula (Magan, Sheba, Ubar). The Near East was first largely unified under the Neo Assyrian Empire, then the Achaemenid Empire followed later by the Macedonian Empire and after this to some degree by the Iranian empires (namely the Parthian and Sassanid Empires), the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. The region served as the intellectual and economic center of the Roman Empire and played an exceptionally important role due to its periphery on the Sassanid Empire. Thus, the Romans stationed up to five or six of their legions in the region for the sole purpose of defending it from Sassanid and Bedouin raids and invasions.
From the 4th century CE onwards, the Middle East became the center of the two main powers at the time, the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire. However, it would be the later Islamic Caliphates of the Middle Ages, or Islamic Golden Age which began with the Islamic conquest of the region in the 7th century AD, that would first unify the entire Middle East as a distinct region and create the dominant Islamic Arab ethnic identity that largely (but not exclusively) persists today. The 4 caliphates that dominated the Middle East for more than 600 years were the Rashidun Caliphate, the Umayyad caliphate, the Abbasid caliphate and the Fatimid caliphate. Additionally, the Mongols would come to dominate the region, the Kingdom of Armenia would incorporate parts of the region to their domain, the Seljuks would rule the region and spread Turko-Persian culture, and the Franks would found the Crusader states that would stand for roughly two centuries. Josiah Russell estimates the population of what he calls "Islamic territory" as roughly 12.5 million in 1000 - Anatolia 8 million, Syria 2 million, and Egypt 1.5 million.[37] From the 16th century onward, the Middle East came to be dominated, once again, by two main powers: the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid dynasty.
The modern Middle East began after World War I, when the Ottoman Empire, which was allied with the Central Powers, was defeated by the British Empire and their allies and partitioned into a number of separate nations, initially under British and French Mandates. Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the eventual departure of European powers, notably Britain and France by the end of the 1960s. They were supplanted in some part by the rising influence of the United States from the 1970s onwards.
In the 20th century, the region's significant stocks of crude oil gave it new strategic and economic importance. Mass production of oil began around 1945, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates having large quantities of oil.[38] Estimated oil reserves, especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran, are some of the highest in the world, and the international oil cartel OPEC is dominated by Middle Eastern countries.
During the Cold War, the Middle East was a theater of ideological struggle between the two superpowers and their allies: NATO and the United States on one side, and the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact on the other, as they competed to influence regional allies. Besides the political reasons there was also the "ideological conflict" between the two systems. Moreover, as Louise Fawcett argues, among many important areas of contention, or perhaps more accurately of anxiety, were, first, the desires of the superpowers to gain strategic advantage in the region, second, the fact that the region contained some two-thirds of the world's oil reserves in a context where oil was becoming increasingly vital to the economy of the Western world [...][39] Within this contextual framework, the United States sought to divert the Arab world from Soviet influence. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the region has experienced both periods of relative peace and tolerance and periods of conflict particularly between Sunnis and Shiites.
Maunsell's map, a Pre-World War I British Ethnographical Map of the Middle East
Arabs constitute the largest ethnic group in the Middle East, followed by various Iranian peoples and then by Turkic peoples (Turkish, Azeris, Syrian Turkmen, and Iraqi Turkmen). Native ethnic groups of the region include, in addition to Arabs, Arameans, Assyrians, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Greek Cypriots, Jews, Kurds, Lurs, Mandaeans, Persians, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, and Zazas. European ethnic groups that form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians (including Kabardians), Crimean Tatars, Greeks, Franco-Levantines, Italo-Levantines, and Iraqi Turkmens. Among other migrant populations are Chinese, Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Pakistanis, Pashtuns, Romani, and Afro-Arabs.
"Migration has always provided an important vent for labor market pressures in the Middle East. For the period between the 1970s and 1990s, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf in particular provided a rich source of employment for workers from Egypt, Yemen and the countries of the Levant, while Europe had attracted young workers from North African countries due both to proximity and the legacy of colonial ties between France and the majority of North African states."[40] According to the International Organization for Migration, there are 13 million first-generation migrants from Arab nations in the world, of which 5.8 reside in other Arab countries. Expatriates from Arab countries contribute to the circulation of financial and human capital in the region and thus significantly promote regional development. In 2009 Arab countries received a total of US$35.1 billion in remittance in-flows and remittances sent to Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon from other Arab countries are 40 to 190 per cent higher than trade revenues between these and other Arab countries.[41] In Somalia, the Somali Civil War has greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many of the best educated Somalis left for Middle Eastern countries as well as Europe and North America.
Non-Arab Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey, Israel and Iran are also subject to important migration dynamics.
A fair proportion of those migrating from Arab nations are from ethnic and religious minorities facing racial and or religious persecution and are not necessarily ethnic Arabs, Iranians or Turks.[] Large numbers of Kurds, Jews, Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians as well as many Mandeans have left nations such as Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey for these reasons during the last century. In Iran, many religious minorities such as Christians, Bahá'ís, Jews and Zoroastrians have left since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.[42][43]
Islam is the largest religion in the Middle East. Here, Muslim men are prostrating during prayer in a mosque.
The Middle East is very diverse when it comes to religions, many of which originated there. Islam is the largest religion in the Middle East, but other faiths that originated there, such as Judaism and Christianity,[44] are also well represented. Christian communities have played a vital role in the Middle East,[45] and they represent 40.5% of Lebanon, where the Lebanese president, half of the cabinet, and half of the parliament follow one of the various Lebanese Christian rites. There are also important minority religions like the Bahá'í Faith, Yarsanism, Yazidism,[46] Zoroastrianism, Mandaeism, Druze,[47] and Shabakism, and in ancient times the region was home to Mesopotamian religions, Canaanite religions, Manichaeism, Mithraism and various monotheist gnostic sects.
The six top languages, in terms of numbers of speakers, are Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Hebrew and Greek. Arabic and Hebrew represent the Afro-Asiatic language family. Persian, Kurdish and Greek belong to the Indo-European language family. Turkish belongs to Turkic language family. About 20 minority languages are also spoken in the Middle East.
Arabic, with all its dialects, is the most widely spoken language in the Middle East, with Literary Arabic being official in all North African and in most West Asian countries. Arabic dialects are also spoken in some adjacent areas in neighbouring Middle Eastern non-Arab countries. It is a member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Several Modern South Arabian languages such as Mehri and Soqotri are also spoken Yemen and Oman. Another Semitic language such as Aramaic and its dialects are spoken mainly by Assyrians and Mandaeans. There is also an Oasis Berber-speaking community in Egypt where the language is also known as Siwa. It is a non-Semitic Afro-Asiatic language.
Persian is the second most spoken language. While it is primarily spoken in Iran and some border areas in neighbouring countries, the country is one of the region's largest and most populous. It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages. Other Western Iranic languages spoken in the region include Achomi, Daylami, Kurdish dialects, Semmani, Lurish, amongst many others.
The third-most widely spoken language, Turkish, is largely confined to Turkey, which is also one of the region's largest and most populous countries, but it is present in areas in neighboring countries. It is a member of the Turkic languages, which have their origins in East Asia. Another Turkic language, Azerbaijani, is spoken by Azerbaijanis in Iran.
Hebrew is one of the two official languages of Israel, the other being Arabic. Hebrew is spoken and used by over 80% of Israel's population, the other 20% using Arabic.
Greek is one of the two official languages of Cyprus, and the country's main language. Small communities of Greek speakers exist all around the Middle East; until the 20th century it was also widely spoken in Asia Minor (being the second most spoken language there, after Turkish) and Egypt. During the antiquity, Ancient Greek was the lingua franca for many areas of the western Middle East and until the Muslim expansion it was widely spoken there as well. Until the late 11th century, it was also the main spoken language in Asia Minor; after that it was gradually replaced by the Turkish language as the Anatolian Turks expanded and the local Greeks were assimilated, especially in the interior.
1911 Ottoman calendar shown in several different languages such as: Ottoman Turkish (in Arabic script), Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, Bulgarian, and French.
English is one of the official languages of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.[48][49] It is also commonly taught and used as a second language, especially among the middle and upper classes, in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Kurdistan, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.[50][51] It is also a main language in some Emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is also spoken as native language by Jewish immigrants from Anglophone countries (UK, USA, Australia) in Israel and understood widely as second language there.
French is taught and used in many government facilities and media in Lebanon, and is taught in some primary and secondary schools of Egypt and Syria. Maltese, a Semitic language mainly spoken in Europe, is also used by the Franco-Maltese diaspora in Egypt. Also, due to widespread immigration of French Jews to Israel, it is the native language of approximately 200,000 Jews of Israel.
Armenian speakers are also to be found in the region. Georgian is spoken by the Georgian diaspora.
Russian is spoken by a large portion of the Israeli population, because of emigration in the late 1990s.[52] Russian today is a popular unofficial language in use in Israel; news, radio and sign boards can be found in Russian around the country after Hebrew and Arabic. Circassian is also spoken by the diaspora in the region and by almost all Circassians in Israel who speak Hebrew and English as well.
The largest Romanian-speaking community in the Middle East is found in Israel, where as of 1995[update] Romanian is spoken by 5% of the population.[note 2][53][54]
Bengali, Hindi and Urdu are widely spoken by migrant communities in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia (where 20-25% of the population is South Asian), the United Arab Emirates (where 50-55% of the population is South Asian), and Qatar, which have large numbers of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian immigrants.
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2016)
Oil and gas pipelines in the Middle-East
Middle Eastern economies range from being very poor (such as Gaza and Yemen) to extremely wealthy nations (such as Qatar and UAE). Overall, as of 2007[update], according to the CIA World Factbook, all nations in the Middle East are maintaining a positive rate of growth.
According to the World Bank's World Development Indicators database published on July 1, 2009, the three largest Middle Eastern economies in 2008 were Turkey ($794,228), Saudi Arabia ($467,601) and Iran ($385,143) in terms of Nominal GDP.[55] Regarding nominal GDP per capita, the highest ranking countries are Qatar ($93,204), the UAE ($55,028), Kuwait ($45,920) and Cyprus ($32,745).[56] Turkey ($1,028,897), Iran ($839,438) and Saudi Arabia ($589,531) had the largest economies in terms of GDP-PPP.[57] When it comes to per capita (PPP)-based income, the highest-ranking countries are Qatar ($86,008), Kuwait ($39,915), the UAE ($38,894), Bahrain ($34,662) and Cyprus ($29,853). The lowest-ranking country in the Middle East, in terms of per capita income (PPP), is the autonomous Palestinian Authority of Gaza and the West Bank ($1,100).
The economic structure of Middle Eastern nations are different in the sense that while some nations are heavily dependent on export of only oil and oil-related products (such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait), others have a highly diverse economic base (such as Cyprus, Israel, Turkey and Egypt). Industries of the Middle Eastern region include oil and oil-related products, agriculture, cotton, cattle, dairy, textiles, leather products, surgical instruments, defence equipment (guns, ammunition, tanks, submarines, fighter jets, UAVs, and missiles). Banking is also an important sector of the economies, especially in the case of UAE and Bahrain.
With the exception of Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Israel, tourism has been a relatively undeveloped area of the economy, in part because of the socially conservative nature of the region as well as political turmoil in certain regions of the Middle East. In recent years, however, countries such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan have begun attracting greater numbers of tourists because of improving tourist facilities and the relaxing of tourism-related restrictive policies.
Unemployment is notably high in the Middle East and North Africa region, particularly among young people aged 15-29, a demographic representing 30% of the region's total population. The total regional unemployment rate in 2005, according to the International Labour Organization, was 13.2%,[58] and among youth is as high as 25%,[59] up to 37% in Morocco and 73% in Syria.[60]
Middle East map of Köppen climate classification
Predicted Köppen climate classification map for North Africa for 2071-2100
Climate change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) refers to changes in the climate of the MENA region and the subsequent response, adaption and mitigation strategies of countries in the region.[61] In 2018, the MENA region emitted 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and produced 8.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)[62] despite making up only 6% of the global population.[63] These emissions are mostly from the energy sector,[64] an integral component of many Middle Eastern and North African economies due to the extensive oil and natural gas reserves that are found within the region.[65][66] The region of Middle East is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. The impacts include increase in drought conditions, aridity, heatwaves and sea level rise.
Sharp global temperature and sea level changes, shifting precipitation patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events are some of the main impacts of climate change as identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[67] The MENA region is especially vulnerable to such impacts due to its arid and semi-arid environment, facing climatic challenges such as low rainfall, high temperatures and dry soil.[67][68] The climatic conditions that foster such challenges for MENA are projected by the IPCC to worsen throughout the 21st century.[67] If greenhouse gas emissions are not significantly reduced, part of the MENA region risks becoming uninhabitable before the year 2100.[69][70][71]
Climate change is expected to put significant strain on already scarce water and agricultural resources within the MENA region, threatening the national security and political stability of all included countries.[72] This has prompted some MENA countries to engage with the issue of climate change on an international level through environmental accords such as the Paris Agreement. Law and policy are also being established on a national level amongst MENA countries,[73] with a focus on the development of renewable energies.[74]
Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
Ankara - Turkey
Baghdad, Iraq
Beirut - Lebanon
Cairo - Egypt
Damascus - Syria
Istanbul - Turkey
Jerusalem - Israel
Kuwait City - Kuwait
Manama - Bahrain
Muscat - Oman
Nicosia - Cyprus
Ramallah - Palestine
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia
Sana'a - Yemen
Tehran - Iran
This video over Central Africa and the Middle East was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station.
This video over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station.
A pass beginning over Turkmenistan, east of the Caspian Sea to south-eastern China, just north-west of Hong Kong.
Geography portal
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Cinema of Egypt – Filmmaking in Egypt
Etiquette in the Middle East
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Mental health in the Middle East
Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle Eastern cuisine – Regional cuisine
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Orientalism – Imitation or depiction of Eastern culture
Russia and the Middle East – Relationships between
State feminism § Middle East
Timeline of Middle Eastern history
^ In Italian, the expression "Vicino Oriente" (Near East) was also widely used to refer to Turkey, and Estremo Oriente (Far East or Extreme East) to refer to all of Asia east of Middle East
^ According to the 1993 Statistical Abstract of Israel there were 250,000 Romanian speakers in Israel, at a population of 5,548,523 (census 1995).
^ Population 1971-2010 (pdf Archived 2012-01-06 at the Wayback Machine p. 89) IEA (OECD/ World Bank) (original population ref OECD/ World Bank e.g. in IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2010 p. 57)
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Publication date: 1 September 2004
Franchising and the Internet: an exploratory study of franchisor Web sites
Helen Dixon and Barry Quinn
This paper explores the impact that electronic commerce is beginning to have on franchising, with the objective of discovering how franchisors are utilising their Web…
This paper explores the impact that electronic commerce is beginning to have on franchising, with the objective of discovering how franchisors are utilising their Web sites. Results are presented from a survey of franchisor Web sites illustrating what content and features are being made available online. The analysis of franchise Web sites indicates that most franchisors use them for marketing purposes and to provide information. However, a significant number provide a fully developed electronic commerce site accepting both online orders and payments. The results of the study should help to significantly inform debate on this subject and serve as a starting‐point for further research into the impact of electronic commerce, and more generally Internet technologies, on the franchising growth strategy.
Internet Research, vol. 14 no. 4
Enabling the entrepreneur
Sue Dixon, Ann Holcroft, Judy Scott and Patience Seebohm
People who experience mental distress are no less capable than the rest of the community when it comes to starting a business. In this article Patience Seebohm talks to…
People who experience mental distress are no less capable than the rest of the community when it comes to starting a business. In this article Patience Seebohm talks to Sue Dixon from the Laughing Buddha Bubble Incubator project and Ann Holcroft from Inspire about their work with people with mental health problems to help them develop their entrepreneurial skills, and Judy Scott adds useful advice about Working Tax Credit for those starting a business.
A Life in the Day, vol. 11 no. 2
Publication date: 15 January 2021
Putting assemblage to work to explore pedagogical practices in health education in Aotearoa New Zealand
Rachael Dixon, Gillian Abel and Lisette Burrows
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Health Education is socio-critical in orientation and is offered as a subject that can offer credits towards the national secondary school…
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Health Education is socio-critical in orientation and is offered as a subject that can offer credits towards the national secondary school qualification. The purpose of this paper is to explore the learning experiences of people who studied Health Education to the final level of secondary schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand. The authors focus specifically on how the subject is taught; or the pedagogical practices that are "put to work" in the Health Education learning environment.
Using in-depth interviews as the authors' method of data production, they experiment with a post-qualitative approach to analysis while traversing the theoretical terrain of new materialism. In doing so, they explicate the non-human and human elements that are arranged in a pedagogical assemblage – and explore what these elements can do.
The authors found that an array of pedagogical practices were put to work in the senior secondary school Health Education classroom: Student-centred approaches, a non-judgemental and energetic tone to teaching, deployment of human and non-human resources, and students connecting with the community. The authors argue that these practices open up possibilities for a critical Health Education.
This research addresses an empirical gap in the literature by focusing on Health Education in the senior secondary levels of schooling. The findings in this paper may provide readers who are Health Education teachers with ideas that could be of material use to them in their teaching practice. In terms of implications for researchers, the authors demonstrate how putting "new" theory and methodological approaches to work in the area of school-based Health Education can produce novel ways of thinking about the subject and what it can do.
The shifting nature of the pedagogical assemblage can ignite new ways of thinking about teaching practice in the Health Education classroom and the capacities that result for learners. In combination with a post-qualitative approach to analysis, the paper provides a novel approach to exploring Health Education.
Health Education, vol. 121 no. 2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-05-2020-0034
New materialism
Post-qualitative
Assemblage pedagogy
Blues: An assessment of scholarship, reference tools, and documentary sources
Patrick Ragains
Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for…
Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the first rise in international awareness and appreciation of the blues. This first period of wide‐spread white interest in the blues continued until the early seventies, while the current revival began in the middle 1980s. During both periods a sizeable literature on the blues has appeared. This article provides a thumbnail sketch of the popularity of the blues, followed by a description of scholarly and critical literature devoted to the music. Documentary and instructional materials in audio and video formats are also discussed. Recommendations are made for library collections and a list of selected sources is included at the end of the article.
Reference Services Review, vol. 21 no. 4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/eb049197
Publication date: 12 October 2015
Effective risk management planning for those convicted of sexual offending
Stephanie Kewley, Anthony Beech, Leigh Harkins and Helen Bonsall
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which risk is addressed in the risk management planning process of those convicted of sexual offending.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which risk is addressed in the risk management planning process of those convicted of sexual offending.
Data were collected from a risk assessment and management system called the Offender Assessment System (OASys), used by the National Offender Management Service, in England and Wales. The records of 216 clients were accessed and each risk management plan analysed. The study aimed to understand if first, general and sexual risk factors identified by assessors were recorded and detailed in subsequent plans; second, if specialist sexual offending risk assessment tools were used to inform risk management strategies; and third, if both a balance of control and support mechanisms were in place to tackle identified risk and needs of clients.
Inconsistencies were found in relation to practitioners transposing risks identified, into the subsequent risk management plans. Strategies were therefore deemed, inadequate as there was a significant omission of the use of specialist sexual risk assessment tools to inform and ensure risk assessment to be robust. In addition risk management plans were often overbearing in nature, as assessors tended to utilise control strategies to assist the reintegration process, in contrast to a combination of both control and support.
This sample was taken from only one probation trust in England and Wales. The findings might therefore be unique to this organisation rather than be representative of national practice. This study should therefore, be replicated in a number of other probation areas. In addition, it is important to note that this study only reviewed one electronic tool used by practitioners. Therefore, while it might appear for example that the RM2000 tool was not routinely completed; this cannot be assumed as practitioners might have adopted local custom and practice, recording RM2000 scores elsewhere.
These findings highlight the need for some understanding as to why there is a lack of consistency throughout the risk management planning process. Practitioners should receive ongoing risk management training, development and supportive supervision. In particular, practitioners require supervision that supports and develops their skills when applying RM2000 classifications to their clients' risk management plans. Likewise initiatives which develop practitioner's awareness and application of strengths based approaches such as the Good Lives Model should be encouraged. These will help practitioners develop plans that address both the risks while supporting their development of the strengths a client presents.
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study of its kind, which examines the risk management plans of those convicted of sexual offending, completed by practitioners in England and Wales using the OASys tool.
Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, vol. 7 no. 4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-05-2015-0171
Risk management plan
Sexual offender
Black Women at the Helm in HBCUs: Paradox of Gender and Leadership
Gaëtane Jean-Marie and Tickles
Many Black women continue to negotiate their way within higher education institutions, which are influenced by social class, race, and gender biases. Several scholars…
EPUB (28 KB)
Many Black women continue to negotiate their way within higher education institutions, which are influenced by social class, race, and gender biases. Several scholars contend that Black women's objectification as the "other" and "outsider within" (Collins, 2000; Fitzgerald, 2014; Jean-Marie, 2014) is still apparent in today's institutions yet many persist to ascend to top leadership positions (Bates, 2007; Epps, 2008; Evans, 2007; Hamilton, 2004; Jean-Marie, 2006, 2008). In particular, the inroads made by Black women administrators in both predominantly white colleges (PWIs) as well as historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) depict a rich and enduring history of providing leadership to effect social change in the African American community (i.e., uplift the race) and at large (Bates, 2007; Dede & Poats, 2008; Evans, 2007; Hine, 1994; Miller & Vaughn, 1997). There is a growing body of literature exploring Black women's leadership in higher education, and most research have focused on their experiences in predominantly white institutions (Bower & Wolverton, 2009; Dixon, 2005; Harris, Wright, & Msengi, 2011; Jordan, 1994; Rusher, 1996; Turner, 2008). A review of the literature points to the paucity of research on their experiences and issues of race and gender continue to have an effect on the advancement of Black women in the academy. In this chapter, we examine factors that create hindrance to the transformation of the composition, structure, and power of leadership paradigm with a particular focus on Black women administrators and those at the presidency at HBCUs. From a review of the literature, our synthesis is based on major themes and subthemes that emerged and guide our analysis in this chapter. The chapter concludes with recommendations for identifying and developing Black women leaders to diversify the leadership pipeline at HBCUs and other institutions for the future.
Black Colleges Across the Diaspora: Global Perspectives on Race and Stratification in Postsecondary Education
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-358X20160000014006
Black women administrators
gender and race
historically Black Colleges and University (HBCUs)
leadership pipeline
Key issues in the process of implementing shared decision making (DM) in mental health practice
Shulamit Ramon, Helen Brooks, Sarah Rae and Mary-Jane O'Sullivan
This review paper will look at internationally existing publications in the English language on mental health shared decision making (SDM) implementation of a variety of…
This review paper will look at internationally existing publications in the English language on mental health shared decision making (SDM) implementation of a variety of interventions, including different methodologies and research methods, age groups and countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of: process, degree and outcomes of implementation; barriers and facilitators; perspectives on implementation by different stakeholders; analysis of the process of implementation in mental health services through the lenses of the normalisation process theory (NPT).
Following a targeted literature search the data were analysed in order to provide an overview of methodologies and methods applied in the articles, as well as of the variables listed above. Three different types of information were included: a content analysis of key issues, reflective understanding coming out of participating in implementation of an SDM project in the form of two narratives written by two key participants in an SDM pilot project and an NPT analysis of the process of implementation.
Only a minority of mental health SDM research focuses on implementation in everyday practice. It is possible and often desirable to achieve SDM in mental health services; it requires a low level of technology, it can save time once routinized, and it is based on enhancing therapeutic alliance, as well as service users' motivation. Implementation requires an explicit policy decision, a clear procedure, and regular adherence to the aims and methods of implementation by all participants. These necessary and sufficient conditions are rarely met, due to the different levels of commitment to SDM and its process by the different key stakeholders, as well as due to competing providers' objectives and the time allocated to achieving them.
The review indicates both the need to take into account the complexity of SDM, as well as future strategies for enhancing its implementation in everyday mental health practice. Perhaps because applying SDM reflects a major cultural change in mental health practice, current value attached to SDM among clinicians and service managers would need to be more positive, prominent and enduring to enable a greater degree of implementation.
Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 22 no. 3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-01-2017-0006
Success and Failure in Rigid Environments: How Marginalized Actors Used Institutional Mechanisms to Overcome Barriers to Change in Golf
Karen D. W. Patterson, Michelle Arthur and Marvin Washington
Rigid environments, those with exceptionally strong cultural and traditional barriers to change, present unique challenges for institutional entrepreneurs attempting to…
Rigid environments, those with exceptionally strong cultural and traditional barriers to change, present unique challenges for institutional entrepreneurs attempting to initiate change. We utilize such a setting to examine what support mechanisms, both individual and contextual, have been utilized when attempting change in rigid environments. We examine the case of successful and unsuccessful attempts to make golf more inclusive to women. Our research supports the claim that rigid environments require more complex combinations of support mechanisms than other settings, illustrating the importance of institutions in both enabling and constraining change in such settings.
How Institutions Matter!
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X201600048A009
Rigid environments
institutional change
The ethics of service work in a neoliberal healthcare context: doing embodied and "dirty" emotional labor
Lilith Arevshatian Whiley and Gina Grandy
The authors explore how service workers negotiate emotional laboring with "dirty" emotions while trying to meet the demands of neoliberal healthcare. In doing so, the…
The authors explore how service workers negotiate emotional laboring with "dirty" emotions while trying to meet the demands of neoliberal healthcare. In doing so, the authors theorize emotional labor in the context of healthcare as a type of embodied and emotional "dirty" work.
The authors apply interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to their data collected from National Health Service (NHS) workers in the United Kingdom (UK).
The authors' data show that healthcare service workers absorb, contain and quarantine emotional "dirt", thereby protecting their organization at a cost to their own well-being. Workers also perform embodied practices to try to absolve themselves of their "dirty" labor.
The authors extend research on emotional "dirty" work and theorize that emotional labor can also be conceptualized as "dirty" work. Further, the authors show that emotionally laboring with "dirty" emotions is an embodied phenomenon, which involves workers absorbing and containing patients' emotional "dirt" to protect the institution (at the expense of their well-being).
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-08-2020-2005
Emotion work
Emotional labor
Interpretative phenomenological analysis
The Library World Volume 15 Issue 3
THE Woolwich Borough Council have made the retirement of Dr. Baker from the post of Borough Librarian the opportunity of adopting the reactionary policy of dividing the…
THE Woolwich Borough Council have made the retirement of Dr. Baker from the post of Borough Librarian the opportunity of adopting the reactionary policy of dividing the Woolwich library system into three independent parts. They do not propose to fill Dr. Baker's post, and have made three members of the staff librarians‐in‐charge of the Woolwich, Eltham, and Plumstead libraries. Within recent years West Ham and Lewisham have adopted a similar policy; while an opposite course has been taken by Southwark and Westminster. It is obvious that an already limited income will be even more inadequate when it is administered in three separate parts. A small temporary advantage may accrue to certain localities of the borough, but the library service of the borough as a whole is bound to suffer. There is plenty of evidence that the greatest library service can be given to a district when the libraries form one organic whole. So much for the present; now for the future. Woolwich is growing rapidly in some localities, and when the inevitable library extension is required, what is going to happen ? Each of the older districts is going to be mulcted of a part of its already far from adequate share in order to finance still another separate administration. Instead of the Borough library service under one administration becoming increasingly efficient with the growth of the district, it is going to remain a series of small and comparatively ineffective units. Then there is another aspect of the question which touches us even more closely professionally. If library systems are going to be divided in this way, men and women are not going to be found willing to go through the long and special training necessary for an administrative librarian, because the position of "librarian‐in‐charge" is no return for such training. In this way, if this policy is going to spread, a much more serious blow still will be struck at the library efficiency of the country.
New Library World, vol. 15 no. 3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Grouping data by value ranges I have a csv file that shows parts on order. The columns include days late, qty and commodity.
I need to group the data by days late and commodity with a sum of the qty. However the days late needs to be grouped into ranges.
>56
>35 and <= 56
>14 and <= 35
>0 and <=14

I was hoping I could use a dict some how. Something like this
{'Red':'>56,'Amber':'>35 and <= 56','Yellow':'>14 and <= 35','White':'>0 and <=14'}

I am looking for a result like this
        Red  Amber  Yellow  White
STRSUB  56   60     74      40
BOTDWG  20   67     87      34

I am new to pandas so I don't know if this is possible at all. Could anyone provide some advice.
Thanks

A: You can create a column in your DataFrame based on your Days Late column by using the map or apply functions as follows.  Let's first create some sample data.
df = pandas.DataFrame({ 'ID': 'foo,bar,foo,bar,foo,bar,foo,foo'.split(','),
                        'Days Late': numpy.random.randn(8)*20+30})

   Days Late   ID
0  30.746244  foo
1  16.234267  bar
2  14.771567  foo
3  33.211626  bar
4   3.497118  foo
5  52.482879  bar
6  11.695231  foo
7  47.350269  foo

Create a helper function to transform the data of the Days Late column and add a column called Code.
def days_late_xform(dl):
    if dl > 56: return 'Red'
    elif 35 < dl <= 56: return 'Amber'
    elif 14 < dl <= 35: return 'Yellow'
    elif 0 < dl <= 14: return 'White'
    else: return 'None'

df["Code"] = df['Days Late'].map(days_late_xform)

   Days Late   ID    Code
0  30.746244  foo  Yellow
1  16.234267  bar  Yellow
2  14.771567  foo  Yellow
3  33.211626  bar  Yellow
4   3.497118  foo   White
5  52.482879  bar   Amber
6  11.695231  foo   White
7  47.350269  foo   Amber

Lastly, you can use groupby to aggregate by the ID and Code columns, and get the counts of the groups as follows:
g = df.groupby(["ID","Code"]).size()
print g

ID   Code
bar  Amber     1
     Yellow    2
foo  Amber     1
     White     2
     Yellow    2

df2 = g.unstack()
print df2

Code  Amber  White  Yellow
ID
bar       1    NaN       2
foo       1      2       2

A: I know this is coming a bit late, but I had the same problem as you and wanted to share the function np.digitize. It sounds like exactly what you want.
a = np.random.randint(0, 100, 50)
grps = np.arange(0, 100, 10)
grps2 = [1, 20, 25, 40]
print a
[35 76 83 62 57 50 24  0 14 40 21  3 45 30 79 32 29 80 90 38  2 77 50 73 51
 71 29 53 76 16 93 46 14 32 44 77 24 95 48 23 26 49 32 15  2 33 17 88 26 17]

print np.digitize(a, grps)
[ 4  8  9  7  6  6  3  1  2  5  3  1  5  4  8  4  3  9 10  4  1  8  6  8  6
  8  3  6  8  2 10  5  2  4  5  8  3 10  5  3  3  5  4  2  1  4  2  9  3  2]

print np.digitize(a, grps2)
[3 4 4 4 4 4 2 0 1 4 2 1 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 1 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 1 4 4 1 3 4 4 2
 4 4 2 3 4 3 1 1 3 1 4 3 1]

A: Suppose you start with this data:
df = pd.DataFrame({'ID': ('STRSUB BOTDWG'.split())*4,
                   'Days Late': [60, 60, 50, 50, 20, 20, 10, 10],
                   'quantity': [56, 20, 60, 67, 74, 87, 40, 34]})
#    Days Late      ID  quantity
# 0         60  STRSUB        56
# 1         60  BOTDWG        20
# 2         50  STRSUB        60
# 3         50  BOTDWG        67
# 4         20  STRSUB        74
# 5         20  BOTDWG        87
# 6         10  STRSUB        40
# 7         10  BOTDWG        34

Then you can find the status category using pd.cut. Note that by default, pd.cut splits the Series df['Days Late'] into categories which are half-open intervals, (-1, 14], (14, 35], (35, 56], (56, 365]:
df['status'] = pd.cut(df['Days Late'], bins=[-1, 14, 35, 56, 365], labels=False)
labels = np.array('White Yellow Amber Red'.split())
df['status'] = labels[df['status']]
del df['Days Late']
print(df)
#        ID  quantity  status
# 0  STRSUB        56     Red
# 1  BOTDWG        20     Red
# 2  STRSUB        60   Amber
# 3  BOTDWG        67   Amber
# 4  STRSUB        74  Yellow
# 5  BOTDWG        87  Yellow
# 6  STRSUB        40   White
# 7  BOTDWG        34   White

Now use pivot to get the DataFrame in the desired form:
df = df.pivot(index='ID', columns='status', values='quantity')

and use reindex to obtain the desired order for the rows and columns:
df = df.reindex(columns=labels[::-1], index=df.index[::-1])

Thus,
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd

df = pd.DataFrame({'ID': ('STRSUB BOTDWG'.split())*4,
                   'Days Late': [60, 60, 50, 50, 20, 20, 10, 10],
                   'quantity': [56, 20, 60, 67, 74, 87, 40, 34]})
df['status'] = pd.cut(df['Days Late'], bins=[-1, 14, 35, 56, 365], labels=False)
labels = np.array('White Yellow Amber Red'.split())
df['status'] = labels[df['status']]
del df['Days Late']
df = df.pivot(index='ID', columns='status', values='quantity')
df = df.reindex(columns=labels[::-1], index=df.index[::-1])
print(df)

yields
        Red  Amber  Yellow  White
ID
STRSUB   56     60      74     40
BOTDWG   20     67      87     34

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


For me, being an injury lawyer all started with a batch of homemade cookies.
The other day my mother pulled something out of the basement, framed it and put it on my desk.
While it wasn't a box of old cookies (which I will get to in a moment) it was my political platform for running for student body president.
Like the Constitution, it set out a framework based on equality and justice for all.
I laugh at it now, because, in this day and age, what kind of equality and justice would I have needed to get my constituents in the third grade?
But, it turned out my mind was really directed – from a very young age – towards helping people combat unjust situations.
That doesn't mean I started out with the practice of law right out of school though.
I mean, similar to lawyers, I was in the trenches helping people in need, but, I wasn't in the courtrooms of justice just yet.
I first started out working in psychiatric hospitals, helping patients with their day-to-day.
I was fascinated by the mind and how it worked. I learned the unique stories of so many people and wanted to serve them more.
So, I pursued work as a social worker in order to counsel people through life challenges and then, almost immediately thereafter, went to law school so I could be a lawyer who fought for their legal rights.
I spent the better part of ten years grinding it out by helping the poor get justice while honing my craft as a skilled litigator in the trench warfare that is trial law.
Those many years of experience gave me the confidence that I could work in any courtroom, anywhere, and get 12 people, who I didn't know, to like me and my client enough to give my clients much deserved justice.
Truthfully though, it wasn't until I met an amazing young lady, who had a knack for baking cookies, that set me on the path of injury law.
I had decided it was time to move on from legal aid work after the grueling hours and low pay.
Like my law partner Mark, I wanted a better life for my young family and I wanted to be able to spend time with them knowing all the bills would be covered and my kids could see more of dad at home.
It didn't take me long to find my footing working for a guy in a small practice who had this one client who injured herself at a grocery store after she opened a fridge, got shocked and injured her shoulder.
She was an interesting person – hardworking, and could no longer do the job she had before because of her new injury.
Interestingly, she had always wanted to start a bakery with her sister. That was her longtime dream.
When the insurance company didn't settle early on for what we thought she should get, by the time they got to taking her deposition, she had started on this quest to pursue her dream. I'll never forget the moment she asked me if she should bake cookies to bring to the meeting.
If you've never been in a deposition it is not generally a friendly environment, let alone a place where it is normal to bring cookies for everyone.
But, that was the type of person that she was.
The defense lawyers from the biggest defense firms in Vermont had not seen anything like it before, but that didn't stop them from shoving their faces full of scrumptious, homemade cookies.
I get to help this awesome woman, who was kind enough to bake cookies for the very people trying to deny her justice, make good money for her and myself, all the while getting justice for someone who absolutely, without a question in my mind deserved it.
I thought, where do I sign up for this kind of work full time?
Fortunately, It wasn't long before I hit my stride.
You know when you suddenly decide on something (maybe even something risky) and you go for it – it is like the universe aligns with your brave, new decision and strange things start happening that help you get to where you want to be.
It just so happened that when I decided that this was the path, Mark called.
I knew him from my earlier days, since we were both legal aid attorneys fighting for justice for the poor. There weren't a lot of us so we kind of all knew each other.
Anyway, it turned out he needed some help with some injury cases. So he called me up when he got word of what I was now looking to do.
Real justice for real people.
Justice can take many forms. It can be working in the trenches ensuring low-income folks have a place to live tomorrow or the right to work safely.
But, as I have learned, it can also be helping hardworking people, just like you, who have been injured in car, bike or motorcycle accidents, get the medical treatment they deserve while fighting the insurance companies that want to deny them that basic right.
For me, justice now means getting to help injured people physically and emotionally recover in order for them to live fulfilling, pain-free and amazing lives.
And to think it all started with a third grade electoral run for president and a batch of the best homemade cookies on the planet!
My name is Drew Palcsik and this is why I do what I do.


text:
Home News Sports
Governor`s cup polo tournament
IMPHAL, April 13: Khurai polo club and MPSC (B) to play in finals Khurai Polo Club beat MPSC (A) and MPSC(B) beat Singjamei Pol club in the semi final matches of the 21st Governor's Cup played today at Mapal Kangjeibung.
In the 1st semifinal match, Khural Polo defeated MPSC (A) by 10 -2. Khurai Polo Club's Thomson scores in 1:00, 2:50 and 6:51 of the 1st chukker. Thomson scored three more goals in the 27, 39 and 7:19 min of the second chukker. Jotin scored in 2:34 of the third chukker and a by Jotin in 1:05 min and Th. Mocha in 2:24 and 4:46 of the fourth chukker.
For MPSC (B), S. Bimol scored both the goals in 4:52 min of the first chukker and 6:50 min of the third chukker.
In the second semi final match, MPSC (B) beat Singjamei Polo club 8 -5. Goals for MPSC (B) were scored by Abung in 0.12 min, 6:38 min and T. Pradeepkumar in 3:48,6:50 min of the first chukker. T. Pradeepkumar scored one more goal in the 2:08 min of the second chukker. In the third chukker, O. Suresh scored in the 0:30 min and A. Abngcha in 0:08 and 3:02 min of the fourth chukker.
Khurai Polo Club will clash with MPSC (B) in the final of the Governor's Cup State Level Polo Tournament on April 15.
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Sailex Ngairangbam – Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2012
KanglaOnline - August 30, 2012


text:
Xenomnesicles is een geslacht van rechtvleugeligen uit de familie Chorotypidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van dit geslacht is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1974 door Descamps.

Soorten
Het geslacht Xenomnesicles  is monotypisch en omvat slechts de volgende soort:
Xenomnesicles membranaceus (Descamps, 1974)

Chorotypidae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Why Ruto is in dilemma over BBI
Deputy President William Ruto during a meeting with professionals from Lower Eastern region at his Karen residence office in Nairobi on November 3, 2020..
By Justus Ochieng'
Opposing the drive gives the DP an opportunity to weigh his popularity ahead of his big battle in 2022.
The DP would be able to know from which regions he can attract more votes and even help him solve the "running mate challenge."
Deputy President William Ruto is in a Catch-22 situation over the referendum vote — heading a 'No' campaign could backfire should he lose, and his opponents have made it harder for him to join them.
By ruling out any amendments to the BBI report, President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga's camp have denied the DP the soft landing he would have capitalised on to avoid a contest.
Yet without a platform through which Dr Ruto can demonstrate to his supporters that his reservations with the document have been addressed to justify his U-turn to endorse it, he is forced to continue with his resistance.
Ruto halts political engagements
Politics Nov 03, 2020
Uhuru, Raila rule out changes to BBI report
This would inevitably set him up for a showdown with his boss in the referendum vote planned for June; which would require he deploys resources to counter the State-backed campaign, a costly affair just 14 months to the next General Election that he needs to pull all stops if his bid to become President is to materialise.
Taking the President head on would mean he drops all pretext that he is not defying his boss, a narrative he has so far sustained despite apparent contradictions, and brave the consequences of a Head of State who would equally go after him.
But the biggest gamble would be that the DP would have no control over the outcome of the vote. While a win would give his presidential campaign momentum, a loss — and the odds are against him having lost in the 2010 referendum — would equally puncture his projection of political invincibility.
Divisive referendum.
It would appear it is such risks that would have prompted the DP to recently call for a non-contested referendum, a plea that appears to have been spurned by President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga's meeting with more than 300 MPs in Naivasha on Monday.
Political analysts observe that Dr Ruto is "damned if he supports, damned if he doesn't."
Dr Ruto had expressed his reservations on certain proposals in the BBI document and called for consensus to avoid "a divisive referendum."
The DP had suggested fresh conversation on the involvement of political parties in the nomination of electoral commissioners, the independence of police service and Judiciary as well as his position that the Senate needed to be strengthened.
Political analyst Herman Manyora argues that Dr Ruto is rooting for a non-contested referendum due to the realisation that he may not manage to counter the State machinery that President Kenyatta has put in place to ensure approval of the BBI report.
The DP, Mr Manyora states, is aware of the implications of losing the referendum vote on his 2022 presidential bid and that he is now caught between a rock and a hard place, whether to support or oppose it.
"So he may retreat but he (Ruto) is being careful in the way of retreating. He is trying to appear like he is giving conditions so that he can enter there through those conditions," says Mr Manyora.
By going against his own government, Dr Ruto is also likely to face a backlash from the President.
Mr Manyora adds that the President and Mr Odinga were, however, aware of the DP's game plan "and just want to box him."
"They want him to make blunders, to even oppose Uhuru directly as he has of late been doing and with this he will be playing into the President's hands."
"This will make him lose some people who think he is disobeying the Head of State. If he really wants to contest 2022 election and fight BBI, it is better for him to leave government," Mr Manyora suggests.
Presidential ambitions
By Dr Ruto openly opposing the BBI, it could puncture his presidential ambitions especially if he loses in the vote. But opposing the drive gives the DP an opportunity to weigh his popularity ahead of his big battle in 2022.
Without amendments, political analysts argue it will not be easy for the DP to convince his supporters to support BBI while issues he raised at the Bomas of Kenya had not been addressed.
They say he could get a backlash from supporters should he make an about-turn and support the document without the amendments he suggested.


text:
Q: Distance between a function such that $|\int_0 ^1f| < 1$ and a set of functios. Let $A=\{f\in C[0,1]\mid f(0)=0\}$, $B=\{f\in A \mid \int_0 ^1f=0\}$ with the $||\cdot ||_\infty $ norm . I showd that if $||f||_\infty =1$ then for $f\in A$ then $|\int_0 ^1f|<1$. Now I need to show that for such $f$ that $d(f,B)=|\int_0 ^1f|$.
I have been working on it for quite a while. I understand how I can find $g\in B$ such that $||f-g||_\infty=|\int_0 ^1f|$ (at least I can draw one), so $d(f,B)\le |\int_0 ^1f|$. But how do I show that $d(f,B)\ge |\int_0 ^1f|$?

A: To understand the construction that follows, let $C := \{f\in C[0,1]:\ \int_0^1 f = 0\}$.
It is easy to verify that, given $f\in A$, the distance $d(f, C)$ is attained by the function
$$
g(x) := f(x) - \int_0^1 f,
$$
i.e.
$$
d(f,C) = \left| \int_0^1 f\right|.
$$
Unfortunately, this function $g$ does not belong (in general) to $B$, hence it cannot be used to estimate $d(f, B)$.
On the other hand, $g$ can be approximated in the following way.
Given $\epsilon \in (0, 1/2)$, let $h_\epsilon\in C[0,1]$ be the function defined by
$$
h_\epsilon(x) :=
\begin{cases}
\dfrac{1}{\epsilon(1-\epsilon)} x, &\text{if}\ x\in [0,\epsilon],\\
\dfrac{1}{1-\epsilon}, & \text{if}\ x \in (\epsilon, 1-\epsilon),\\
\dfrac{1}{\epsilon(1-\epsilon)} (1-x), &\text{if}\ x\in [1-\epsilon,1],
\end{cases}
$$
so that $h_\epsilon\in A$, $h_\epsilon\geq 0$, $\int_0^1 h_\epsilon = 1$, $\max h_\epsilon = \dfrac{1}{1-\epsilon}$.
Let us define
$$
g_\epsilon(x) := f(x) - h_\epsilon(x) \int_0^1 f.
$$
We have that $g_\epsilon \in B$ and
$$
d(f, B) \leq \|f-g_\epsilon\|_\infty
= \max h_\epsilon \left| \int_0^1 f\right|
= \frac{1}{1-\epsilon} \left| \int_0^1 f\right|.
$$
On the other hand, $d(f,B) \geq d(f,C) = \left|\int_0^1 f\right|$, hence the result follows by taking $\epsilon\to 0$.


The film was reportedly made on a $75 million production budget. The Marvel tentpole - starring Chadwick Boseman and directed by Ryan Coogler - crossed $700 million at the domestic box office, one of three films to hit that mark.
"We believe this is a solid start for this film", Cathleen Taff, Disney's head of theatrical distribution, said.
"Christopher Robin", $25 million ($4.8 million international).
Fallout easily crushed its competition, Christopher Robin.
As for Christopher Robin, the box office performance very much matches the critical reaction: it's fine.
While many believe that the censors are behind Christoper Robin's banning, other industry professionals claim that it more to do with the size and scope of the film and the massive number of studio tentpole pictures flooding the market. The next closest studio is Universal, with 14 percent.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at USA and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. If nothing else, the film raised the profile of the 92-year-old Pooh, who still generates more than $1 billion in merchandise sales annually for Disney.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard could exercise its ability to block off a major strait amid intensifying tensions with the US. Interested in Iran? Add Iran as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Iran news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
Also arriving in wide release was a lightly marketed, poorly reviewed science-fiction thriller called "The Darkest Minds", which cost 20th Century Fox roughly $34 million to make and sold $5.8 million in tickets.
Landing with a thud in third was Lionsgate's action comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me with a lifeless $12.3 million from 3,111 theaters.
Rounding out the top five was the Sony's The Equalizer 2 with $8.8 million from 2,725 screens.
"Incredibles 2", $5 million ($19 million international).
The latest movie adaptation of a young adult book series was trashed by the critics and ignored by public.
Rogue Nation and Fallout writer-director Christopher McQuarrie unraveled the mystery surrounding Jeremy Renner's role on the Empire podcast - "Jeremy had his commitment to Avengers, which ironically they ended up not exercising, and we didn't know what the [sixth Mission: Impossible] movie was, so we couldn't provide a schedule".
Other companies have come close to the mark, but no public USA company has hit a $1 trillion valuation. Amazon had the second-largest USA market cap as of Wednesday, at roughly $872.5 billion.
Mientras se muestra de vacaciones en sus redes sociales, Pogba le escapa a su regreso a los entrenamientos en Inglaterra. El directivo del Barcelona tenía claras sus intenciones y por eso pactó el encuentro en una villa privada en Los Ángeles.
El once de Milano, según las condiciones del Fair Play Financiero , no parecería estar en condiciones de abonar ese monto. Si quieren hacerse con los servicios de Modric , hay que saltear al Real Madrid pagando la cláusula de rescisión.
New batsman Pandya played several solid defensive shots before driving Stuart Broad down the ground for a textbook four. Those are the learnings (sic) I had and as a spinner I feel the ball is definitely different to Kookaburra and SG.
Ranger reported he was drunk and argumentative and he was ultimately cited for a seat belt violation on July 31. "Hancock and a crowd of people approached within ten yards of the bison while walking along a boardwalk".
Las pirámides egipcias están rodeadas de misterios y leyendas, y aún esconden secretos accesibles para el conocimiento científico. Luego hicieron un modelo de la respuesta electromagnética de la pirámide y calcularon la sección transversal de extinción.
AFPFuerzas de seguridad revisaron un edificio en el que aparentemente se registraron daños por una explosión. Las detonaciones generaron siete heridos y están siendo atendidos en los hospitales.
La ceremonia por el traslado de los restos de soldados americanos repatriados desde la base de las fuerzas estadounidenses en Osan hasta Hawái fue oficiada en la tarde del 1 de agosto.
Una de las pasajeras que iba en el tren de Inca Rail dijo que iban a Aguas Calientes y que estuvieron detenidos por la manifestación.


The bus takes a much-needed rest in an Austrian village in January 1969.
him about the book to be launched at the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCCT) on May 9th.
This isn't your first book?
the best part of the second book, although it did discuss important issues like squashed lizards, dancing policemen, pickled parrots and men with bald heads. They were great fun to compile, although they weren't exactly best-sellers.
What prompted you to write this third book?
first at the Rajdamnoen office and then the U-Chuliang.
So can we call it your memoirs?
Not really, as it only concerns a certain period of my life. You could say it's a partial memoir. It picks up when I was about 21, working in London, and first getting the wanderlust. I didn't want to bore people with tales of my childhood. Equally, I didn't want to dwell much on my later years which would probably send most readers to sleep. The book concentrates on the 1970s and 80s before tourists overran the country. They were exciting times for me as it felt like I was experiencing something new almost every day. I still am, for that matter.
I haven't included much on recent times because just about everyone on the planet has visited Thailand now and they don't need me to tell them about the delights of the kingdom.
Actually, when I set off from London on an old bus, I had no intention of coming to Thailand. I was aiming for New Delhi and then going on to Australia. It didn't quite work out that way. I think you call it fate, or to be more accurate, bad planning. So when I arrived here, I was regrettably quite ignorant about the kingdom.
I immediately felt comfortable. Whatever people say these days, those smiles worked a treat.
experience and something I've never forgotten. I didn't know anybody on the bus, but after a while became friendly with another Englishman, Clarence Shettlesworth.
the further we ventured into Asia.
It's not something you would want to do by yourself. Clarence, incidentally, is still in Thailand living in Chiang Mai.
There follows a couple of chapters on adapting to life in Thailand and working as a teacher, before joining the Bangkok Post in November 1969. Not surprisingly, the newspaper features heavily throughout the book, and there are two chapters specifically on life at the Post, first at the Rajdamnoen office and then the U-Chuliang.
The first dozen chapters are roughly chronological after which there are assorted topics, primarily anecdotes about travelling around the kingdom. Some of those trips to the provinces were very rewarding owing to the natural friendliness of the people. They were wonderful times. I experience some form of culture shock in just about every chapter.
With former Post colleague Wayne Morrison on a deserted beach in war-ravaged Cambodia in 1971, just across from the Thai border.
Fortunately, I kept a diary in 1969, which I still possess, so for the whole of that year, I know exactly where I was on what day. Much of the diary is trivia at its most trivial. I wouldn't let anyone else read it. However, I wish I had continued with some sort of daily journal. These days I can't remember what happened yesterday.
R&R from Vietnam. It was heaving until hostilities ended in 1975.
chapter about the events of Oct 14, 1973, and Oct 6, 1976, which definitely cannot be treated in a frivolous manner. I witnessed both events and have attempted to convey just how traumatic those times were. They are not particularly pleasant memories, although Oct 14 was in a way inspiring.
How about your maid, Ms Yasothon?
She's got a whole chapter, God bless her, and probably deserves more.
She sadly died back in 2003, but her husband Noi still looks after our house and garden, and he's a lovely chap. I have happy memories of Tong (Ms Yasothon), and I think it rubbed off on readers. I wrote a tribute to her in the Bangkok Post the week after she died and was overwhelmed with emails of condolences from around the globe. It was very moving. She would never have any idea she had such a following.
Any particular moments in the book that bring back fond memories?
As a teacher singing an impromptu 'Simon Says' with a class of 12-year-old in what was supposed to be an English lesson - that was great fun.
The tale of the haunted house which became my first (and last) front-page story; the 'capture' and release of the black panther, Ai Dum, a classic Thai tale if ever there was one. And the look of bewilderment on Ms Yasothon's face when a PostScript reader asked for her autograph, a lovely moment.
We are actually the same age, the Post and I, established in 1946. When I joined we were a sprightly 23, so we have sort of grown up together.
Even in the months before I joined the Post, I used to buy it every day.
Features editor at the U-Chuliang office in the 1980s.
You must have a special attachment to the Bangkok Post having worked there for most of your life?
reason for buying the paper was to catch up on the sports news back in England, particularly the football. But I also felt it had an excellent balance of home and international news, something that still exists to this day.
Bangkok has changed considerably since you arrived. Please give us some less obvious examples of those changes.
Something many people have forgotten is that until the 1980s most taxis in Bangkok had no air conditioning unless you counted the holes in the floor. Those old Bluebird rattletraps felt like tin saunas, but when you let the windows down, it also let the fumes in. They had meters which never worked and were only used by cabbies to hang their hats on.
man with his little bell. We've still got stray dogs, however. That won't change.
The Bangkok Post provided excellent coverage of the war, so we were all alert to the situation. I was never really worried about my future, but in the early 1970s, I was concerned about what could happen to Thailand.
the Communists. I am convinced that the people's love for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej united Thailand and played a major role in the kingdom holding firm, especially in the vulnerable Northeast.
Relaxing with BigChilli's Colin Hastings at the King's Cup Regatta in Phuket.
but if you went out at night, you could almost guarantee you would run into several people you knew.
Is it true that Bangkok's expat community in the early 70s was so small that everybody knew just about everyone else?
and we invariably ended up having drinks together - Germans, Swiss, Scandinavians, Italians, French and Thais. It was wonderful. I made so many friends from different nationalities. However, it was almost impossible to have a discreet date - there would always be someone you knew showing up at the quietest of places.
Who else has been involved in the book?
Several people have been very helpful. My old friend John Leicester has done an excellent editing job and has been very patient with all the delays. Then there are friends and former Post colleagues Tony Waltham and Peter Finucane who came through when my memory was found lacking. Danny Speight has also been very supportive, and his work on the production side has been invaluable.
And of course my late dog, Toby, who proved to be a very good listener in my more fragile moments.