Author: Tameema al-Salek

Northern Elders showing Buyer’s Remorse for Backing Tinubu in 2023 It seems unthinkable that the wealthy and powerful cattle-herding class could be on the margins of President Bola Tinubu’s ruling clique, but it’s thinkable now. During the eight years of Fulani-born Muhammadu Buhari, the beef-on-the hoof lobby called Miyetti Allah Cattlemen’s Association marched vast herds of bony white cattle the length of the nation over lands public and private with impunity. The herds and their rifle-carrying herders uprooted thousands of small plot farms and sent thousands of civilians to their graves in so-called farmer-herder clashes. During those years, the killers…

Explanations beginning to emerge after worst terror attack in Israel’s history They might as well have been sitting ducks. They are the tatzpitaniyot, mostly female soldiers stationed on the IDF bases near the Gaza Strip, their eyes glued to security cameras and other feeds of the border. Last Saturday morning, the Hamas terrorists who entered some of those bases with hang gliders shot at cameras and jammed some communications systems. They shot at the combat soldiers who were stationed at those bases, as well as at the tatzpitaniyot. “Yes, they surprised us, and we weren’t ready for it,” said a female soldier…

Brussels (21/10 – 75) In May 2022, tens of ethnic Pamiri protesters were killed by security forces as demonstrations were violently suppressed and an “anti-terrorist operation” was launched in the east of the country. Activists, local leaders, journalists and bloggers were arrested and sentenced in unfair trials. Many reported being tortured. Access to information, including through the media and internet, remained heavily restricted. Domestic violence remained widespread with victims rarely securing justice or support. Afghan refugees continued to be detained and deported. Tajikistan’s economic and political life continued to be tightly controlled by the president, in the 30th year of…

The State of Qatar said that it pledges to provide $50 million as an initial humanitarian aid package to Gaza, which is witnessing an ongoing genocidal war waged by the Israeli occupation army. In a statement the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Doha pledged to provide $50 million “as an initial humanitarian aid package, targeting refugees, displaced persons, the wounded, orphans, and those affected by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.” It also reported that “The State of Qatar also pledged, during its participation in the high-level segment of the Second Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, to provide 100 scholarships…

Cairo: A private sector worker in Saudi Arabia can do two jobs at the same time, the labour authorities in the kingdom have said. “Private sector employees are allowed to combine two jobs,” the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources said. The ministry added that in such a case, the worker’s employment contract and bylaws of the employing establishment should be checked to ensure they do not have a term proscribing keeping two jobs. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has sought to regulate its job market, and boost its attractiveness and competitiveness. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Human Resources unveiled…

Brussels (16/11 – 83) Sri Lanka is still dealing with the aftermath of its most devastating economic crisis since independence, a government without popular support and intensifying geopolitical competition in its neighborhood, a year after the Sri Lanka’s massive unrest. Known as the Aragalaya protests which were spurred by the economic crisis, the protests led to mass resignations across the government with former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country in July 2022. In the year since, the country has secured an IMF agreement, and its economy has ambled toward a slow path of recovery. However, there have still been concerns on the human rights front as the current government of Ranil Wickremesinghe has…

Doha, Qatar: Qatar positions itself politically and economically stable and the infrastructure is in place to attract major foreign investments into the country, stated the Head of Qatar at Knight Frank Adam Stewart in an interview with The Peninsula. During last month’s Cityscape real estate event, the official discussed long-term investment opportunities in Qatar along with other experts from various sectors and entities. The expert enlightened the attendees on regulation and obtaining investor confidence as numerous government initiatives including the residency through real estate and the announcement of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Knight Frank, one of the leading global…

Qatari royal and banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has withdrawn his offer to buy the Manchester United soccer club, according to reports. Sheikh Jassim, chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank and the son of a former Qatari prime minister, had bid 5 billion pound sterling ($6 billion) for the British soccer club but further talks last week have broken down, the BBC reported Sunday. The Qatari royal was understood to offer all cash and to repay all of the club’s old debt. The deal would have also included more than 1.4 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) in financing a new stadium,…

Paris: The Lusail International Circuit in Qatar will kick off the action-packed 2024 MotoGP season on March 10, the governing body of the sport announced yesterday. According to MotoGP, next year’s World Championship is primed for a record-breaking 22 Grands Prix races and it all kicks off under the floodlights at the famed motorsport venue. After the Qatar round, action will move to from Middle East to Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia before the curtain will come down in Valencia on November 17. The Aragon Grand Prix returns to the MotoGP circuit and Kazakhstan will finally host its…

Qatar’s economic activity could remain modest on expectedly steady hydrocarbon output, National Bank of Kuwait said in its report released Monday. NBK’s 2023 growth forecast for Qatar remains unchanged from the May estimate, at 2%. In its report, NBK noted Qatar’s economy expanded by 2.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in first quarter (Q1, 2023), down from the “exceptional” World Cup-driven growth of 6.2% in Q4, 2022, and below the consensus forecast of 4.2%. The “slower” expansion was mostly on a marked deceleration in non-oil growth, which plunged to 1.9% y-o-y from 7% in the previous quarter, with the manufacturing (11%), motor vehicle…