Author: Faheem al-Yacoub

Barbados must recognise the state of Palestine and end “continue to accord recognition to the colonialist settler apartheid state of Israel,” Caribbean Against Apartheid in Palestine has said in an open letter to Prime Minister Mia Mottley. The letter, issued yesterday, highlights Barbados’ history, including the “brutality due to the enslavement of our ancestors and colonialism”, adding that this means that it “can never side with those who engage in similar acts of aggression and must always speak up against injustice and oppression.” “We were in the vanguard of the struggle against South African apartheid. We ought to be in…

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined 16,000 pro-Palestinian supporters to condemn Israel’s “barbaric” acts in the Gaza Strip and denounce its Western supporters. The demonstration took place in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, and it was the largest in a series of demonstrations organised in the Muslim-majority country in the past few weeks. The prime minister addressed the crowd gathered at an indoor stadium in Kuala Lumpur saying: “It’s a level of insanity to allow people to be butchered, babies to be killed, hospitals to be bombed, and schools to be destroyed… it’s the height of barbarism in this world.”…

Arman Shakkaliyev, Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, stated that investment from United Arabian Emirates give his country good opportunities to make growth of bilateral trade relations. ‘’ We get some great plans to unlimit our trade for three times to $1 billion,’’ Shakkaliyev told Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the UNCTAD’s 8th World Investment Forum, which came to a close on 20th October In Abu Dhabi. During the forum, Shakkaliyev said:’’ We discussed investment in environmental, social and governance (ESG) and climate change agenda and as a representative of Kazakhstan, I showed…

Mohamed Salah El-Din, Egypt’s Minister of State for Military Production, met with Eom Dong-Hwan, the acting Minister for the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in South Korea. The meeting took place on the sidelines of Salah El-Din’s visit to South Korea to attend the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2023). The visit was also attended by Majid Muhammad Jamal Al-Din, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Armored Production and Repair Factory (Military Factory 200). Salah El-Din said that during the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation in several areas of joint manufacturing, based on the mutual…

The Ministry of Labour announced the introduction of new updates to the services of authentication of digital employment contracts, as the unified digital platform allowed the ability for employees of private sector establishments to verify the terms of the contract and approve or reject it through the digital platform, in addition to providing an e- service for authenticating domestic workers contracts and without the need to visit service centers. The Ministry of Labour is persistently updating its contract authentication services as a component of their approach to advance and refine an array of services. The aim is to better harness…

Iran has released five US-Iranian dual nationals into house arrest, US officials say. Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, who also has a British passport, were released alongside a fourth unidentified man, a lawyer for one of the men said. A fifth American had already been released, a US national security official said. Talks had taken place between Iran and the US to secure their release. “While this is an encouraging step, these US citizens… should have never been detained in the first place,” said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson. “Of course, we will not rest until they…

Offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling has secured letters of award (LOA) for two premium jack-up drilling rigs, which increase the company’s firm backlog by approximately 421 days, excluding optional periods. According to Borr Drilling, the first of these two LOAs is for the Gerd jack-up rig, which got a binding LOA from an undisclosed customer for work in the Middle East. This contract will cover a firm scope of 270 days and one unpriced optional scope of 60 days. The firm scope has an estimated contract value of $47.7 million, including mobilisation and demobilisation. The rig is slated to conclude its current…

These are some big updates in the world of football. Clearly, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been in the limelight since the beginning of this transfer season. How are these trends likely to affect Premier League football clubs, the players and most importantly, the sport. Forbes India explains: Cristiano Ronaldo has been paving the way for high-profile footballers to play in the Middle East after he signed a deal with Al-Nassr until 2025 in December. According to AFP, he is set to receive the biggest salary in the history of the game: £177 million ($215 million) per year. In June, French football…

XDC Network spearheads the Web3 revolution in Dubai, partnering with multiple blockchain and Web3 initiatives. In an era of digital transformation, Dubai is rapidly emerging as a beacon of innovation, striving to become the successor to Silicon Valley. At the forefront of this visionary journey is XDC Network, which has emerged as the driving force behind Dubai’s Web3 revolution. In recent months, XDC has played a transformative role in augmenting Dubai’s Web3 ecosystem. It’s not a mere observer but an active participant, a change-maker that has engineered a string of initiatives to stimulate the digital shift. The XDC Network offers…

You are not Forgotten. Berlin, Brussels (24/04 – 28.57) Tajikistan authoritarian regime under President Emomali Rahmon is holding many Pamiris in their prisons in Dushanbe, for “political” crimes as cited by the regime, including the slightest opposition to Rahmon who has ruled Tajikistan since 1994. This Eid-ul Fitr sees many such prisoners lamenting their fate in the dreaded cells while the rest of the world celebrates the joyous moment with families and loved ones. The Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) opened a criminal case against Sino Vazirbekov, the brother of civil activist Ramzi Vazirbekov, who…