Author: Mubashshir Salik

U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancer bombers fired advanced munitions in a live-fire exercise in the Middle East, the latest display of American muscle in the region. Two B-1s took off from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom on June 7 and released precision munitions—JDAM guided bombs and an AGM-158 JASSM cruise missile—the next day at ranges in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has stepped up its air and sea operations in the area amid Iran’s aggressive posture and thawing relations with Saudi Arabia. “These bomber missions represent the U.S.’s commitment to our partners and showcase our ability to deliver overwhelming power at a…

On May 28, the Middle East affairs working group of the Russian and Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) convened in Chengdu, China. The meeting was chaired by the Russian MFA’s Middle East bureau chief, Alexander Kinshchak, and the Chinese MFA’s Asian and African Affairs department head, Wang Di. In a joint statement, the Russian and Chinese MFAs acknowledged the trend toward regional reconciliation in the Middle East and vowed to “coordinate and cooperate closely on Middle East issues.” Even though Russia and China’s strategic partnership has strengthened in recent years, the leaderships of both countries infrequently engage on Middle East affairs.…

Forbes Middle East has appointed Princess Noura bint Faisal Al-Saud as the chair of the Women’s Summit 2023. The summit will bring together the world’s most talented and accomplished women from all spheres of society and sectors in Riyadh from May 21-23. The summit aims to examine the most important issues, refute out-of-date perceptions, and spark deep connections among a multigenerational global network of innovative women. “We are so honored to have Princess Noura bint Faisal Al-Saud as the chairperson for our Women’s Summit. We chose to appoint Princess Noura to this position as she is a young role model…

Second rocket was also launched from southern Lebanon, according to local media reports, after Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa. The Israeli army has said that it has intercepted a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon a day after Israeli police attacked Palestinians inside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for two nights in a row. “A rocket was fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory and was successfully intercepted,” an initial army statement said on Thursday as Israeli media reported a “salvo” of projectiles had been fired – the first fired from Lebanon since last April. Warning sirens had sounded in the town of Shlomi…

BEIRUT — Suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed two Iranian military advisers, temporarily put the country’s two largest airports out of service, and raised fears of regional escalation. While Israel has fought a shadow war with Iran in Syria for years, it has intensified recently, with near-daily airstrikes attributed to Israel by Syrian officials over the past week. The escalation of attacks comes after what appears to be a rare infiltration by an armed man from Lebanon into Israel and Iran’s reconciliation with regional rival Saudi Arabia last month. It also comes against the backdrop of a major domestic…

Hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been economically beneficial for Qatar, as the country sees an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with the retail and hospitality sectors growing. According to a report by Cushman and Wakefield, the GDP grew by about four percent in 2022, which is an improvement from 2021 when there was only a 1.5 per cent increase. However, the GDP is expected to grow by only 2.7 per cent in 2023, as the travel and tourism industry will experience a slight downfall due to the end of the World Cup. There will be major sports events…

NEW DELHI: Exchanges with the Middle East have influenced many aspects of Indian culture, including fashion, with contemporary designers still drawing inspiration from the sartorial links established centuries ago. An integral part of men’s and women’s fashion in the Indian subcontinent is shalwar — loose-fitting, pleated trousers — and a tunic known as kameez. Considered traditional and everyday dress by many, the outfit traces back its origin to the Middle Eastern influence brought to India by the Mughals who ruled the region between the 16th and 19th centuries. With their ancestral domains in Central Asia, the Mughals, a Muslim dynasty,…

Delivering On Our Promise of Universal Education Our investment in education – especially for children caught in crisis and conflict – is our investment in a better future. GENEVA, Jan. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The following is a press statement provided by Education Cannot Wait: As we mark International Day of Education, world leaders must make good on their promise of providing quality education for all by 2030. On February 16, world leaders are gathering for the Education Cannot Wait High-Level Financing Conference in Geneva. Hosted by ECW and Switzerland – and co-convened by Colombia, Germany, Niger, Norway and South…

JERUSALEM: A Jerusalem bishop said on Wednesday he was “dismayed” by the desecration of dozens of Christian graves on the edge of the Old City, as police probed the vandalism. Stone graves lay in pieces with crosses toppled at the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion, where Christians believe Jesus’s Last Supper took place. “We discovered that more than 30 tombstones and crosses were smashed to pieces,” Hosam Naoum, an Anglican bishop, told journalists at the cemetery. Church authorities said the damage was discovered on Tuesday, while security camera footage from January 1 showed two men or boys vandalizing the site while…