Author: Ayyoob el-Firman

The United Arab Emirates has signed a $1.9bn deal with a state mining company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to develop at least four mines in the African country’s turbulent east, the Congolese presidency says. President Felix Tshisekedi’s office said on Monday that an Emirati government delegation had signed the partnership in the capital, Kinshasa, with Societe Aurifere du Kivu et du Maniema (Sakima). The deal would see the “construction of more than 4 industrial mines” in the provinces of South Kivu and Maniema, according to the statement. State-owned Sakima has mining concessions for tin, tantalum, tungsten…

Kabul [Afghanistan], June 30 (ANI): As many as 36 cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever have been reported by doctors in Afghanistan’s Herat in the past two months, including five deaths, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. Mohammad Asif Kabir, Deputy Public Health of Herat, has said that the number of cases witnessed a rise this year. According to Mohammad Asif Kabir, the rise in cases has sparked concern among authorities about the spread of diseases, particularly throughout Eid-ul-Adha, the report said. Earlier, three cases of Congo fever were reported in Takhar province and one of the three patients died. According to officials, 91 people in Afghanistan have been infected by Crimean-Congo…

You are not Forgotten. Berlin, Brussels (14/5 – 40) In the vast and remote mountain lands of Central Asia, the Ismaili Pamiris have long faced systemic discrimination and persecution at the hands of the Tajik government. Despite their proud history, rich cultural traditions, and highly educated populace, they have been targeted for cultural extermination in a chilling campaign of ethnic cleansing. Tajikistan President Imomali Rahmon has demonized them as “inbred” and “criminals” and launched a brutal program to replace their community with ethnic Tajiks. In May and June 2022, the government launched a final assault on the Pamiris to end…

The Aenoica scientific project, developed by Almaty school students Ramazan Amre and Symbat Barsagazy, won the NASA Space Settlement Contest, reported the Kazakh Ministry of Education on April 13. The scientific project of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools students became the best among 30,000 applications of young scientists. According to the tutor Raiymbek Abilbek, the project aims at fostering new technologies. “We have created a space station to settle 300,000 people and ensure a life support system using quantum communications and technologically advanced agriculture. I am thrilled that the project was successful,” Abilbek said. The NASA Space Settlement Contest is an…

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi commended Kazakhstan’s role in the global movement for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation during an April 18 meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, reported the Akorda press service. “We are working closely in different areas. I would be happy to exchange views with you on a wide range of topics from healthcare to the country’s future nuclear energy development program,” said Grossi. Tokayev noted the importance of Grossi’s visit for strengthening cooperation between the sides, emphasizing the leading role of the IAEA in the peaceful use of atomic energy and strengthening the nuclear…

The war in the Ukraine created two main opposing camps of countries. An Alliance of Democracies on one side and a Group of Authoritarian. The escalation of geopolitical tensions linked to the Ukrainian crisis has highlighted two main opposing camps of countries — an Alliance of Democracies on one side and a Group of Authoritarian Regimes on the other. A number of countries have resisted choosing sides, however, as they strive to balance their national interests with international developments while simultaneously advocating the need to maintain peaceful diplomacy and global connections. While the number of these so-called “in-between” countries abound…

The eighteenth meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place in New Delhi. Uzbekistan was represented by the president Mirziyoyev’s security aide Viktor Makhmudov. The parties discussed the situation in the field of security and stability in the SCO countries. The parties reviewed further cooperation between the SCO member states in cyber security, biomedical security, and cooperation on the anti-drug track were considered in detail. The also focused on specific measures to jointly counter transnational organized crime and terrorism. They stressed their commitment to the principles of equal…

Today our life is undergoing profound qualitative changes. Cardinal reforms are rapidly forming a completely new image of our society. The new edition of our Constitution contains special norms on ensuring environmental rights of citizens, in particular, everyone has the right to a comfortable environment, reliable information about its condition, the state takes measures on improvement, restoration and protection of the environment, maintaining the ecological balance, protection of the ecological system of Aral Sea Region. This constitutional norm is enshrined in the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan to achieve goals such as increasing the share of renewable energy sources by 25%…

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the Kazakhstan – the United Arab Emirates (UAE) investment roundtable with UAE officials and business executives on Jan. 17 in Abu Dhabi, focused on bilateral trade, agriculture, food industry, the real sector of the economy and transit capacity as kea areas for investment, reported the Akorda press service. Addressing the meeting participants, Tokayev said that the UAE has invested nearly $3 billion in Kazakhstan, being the country’s key regional trade and economic partner. “Kazakhstan, in turn, has invested over $1 billion in the UAE. By the end of 2022, the trade turnover between…

Kazakhstan has elections on March 19 and for the first time in nearly 20 years, there’s a chance that candidates who are not from pro-government parties might win seats. Polls will be conducted for regional, district and city administrations known as maslikhats, as well as for the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament. The Mazhilis elections will differ from the last four parliamentary polls (2007, 2012, 2016 and 2021). On June 5, voters in Kazakhstan approved changes to roughly one-third of the country’s constitution. Some of those changes affected the Mazhilis. There were 107 seats in the legislature, but nine…