Author: Maaiz el-Kamel

NEW DELHI : Gold shipments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have nearly halved from the previous year to a two-decade low in the year ended 31 March 2023 despite the concessional duty offered under the bilateral comprehensive trade pact that came into force in May last year. Under the India-UAE free-trade pact, a concessional tariff is applicable on the first 120 tonnes of gold imports in the first year, referred to as the tariff rate quota (TRQ). In FY23, India imported only about 52.81 tonnes of gold from Abu Dhabi, one of the seven emirates that constitute the UAE, the data showed.…

You are not Forgotten. Berlin, Brussels (18/5 – 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…

You are not Forgotten. Berlin, Brussels (19/5 – 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…

You are not Forgotten. Berlin, Brussels (16/5 – 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…

Frankfurt, Brussels (6/4 – 75) Alikhan Smailov was reelected Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, through a degree formalized by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on 30 March 2023. Prime Minister Smailov was born in 1972 in the city of Almaty (Almaty was renamed “Astana” in May 1998, as it became the new Kazakh capital). He graduated from Al-Farabi Kazakh State National University and the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research. Between 2015 and 2018, Smailov served as Assistant to the President. Smailov was First Deputy Prime Minister under Askar Mamin, Kazakhstan’s former Prime Minister, from 2019-2022, while simultaneously holding the post…

Chinese are trying to reassure Russians who, having seen Chinese President Xi Jinping hold the first China-Central Asia Summit in Xi’an last week, are worried that Moscow will lose control in Central Asian countries it used to rule. A Kremlin official and a Russian defense columnist have recently expressed concerns about the loosening ties between Russia and five former Soviet Union countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (C5). The comments came after Beijing promised to offer 26 billion yuan (US$3.67 billion) of financial support and grant assistance to the five countries in the region. Chinese commentators said Russians should…

China’s defense ministry said on Friday that it yet again had to monitor and drive away the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius that entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands. “We sternly demand the U.S. to immediately stop such provocative acts, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen incidents,” a spokesperson said in a statement from the Ministry of National Defence. The U.S. Navy said the guided-missile destroyer was asserting its navigational rights and freedoms. “Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms…

You are not Forgotten. Berlin, Brüssels (1/5 – 40) The Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region (GBAO) is the largest region in Tajikistan in terms of area, but the least populated in terms of population. In May and June 2022, there were deadly outcomes after President Emomali Rahmon’s regime quelled the scene of protests. One of the first victims of the horrid events of May 2022 was in the city of Khorug, Tajikistan. The incident happened on May 16, 2022. According to the reports, Zamir Nazarshoev died as a result of the residents’ protest and firing by the law enforcement forces to…

The Washington Post has reported that China is building a military base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to leaked classified documents. The documents show that the UAE has allowed China to build a logistics storage site, while Chinese military personnel have been spotted at two UAE military bases, where the UAE operates drones and ballistic missile defence systems. US officials are concerned that a Chinese base in the UAE could jeopardise sensitive US military activities in the Middle East. In December 2021, the UAE announced that it had halted Chinese construction at the Khalifa Port after US officials…

Fawaz Gruosi lives a life of duplicitous duality: he has managed a career as a famed jewelry designer to the stars while simultaneously being at the center of one of the largest money laundering schemes in modern history on behalf of his benefactor, Isabel dos Santos. Dos Santos, daughter of the late Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is currently wanted by Angolan prosecutors for widespread embezzlement and fraud, having stolen billions of dollars’ in assets from the Angolan state. Dos Santos has denied the embezzlement charges and claims she is the victim of a political “witch-hunt”. She continues to live…