Author: Tayyib el-Sharif

The Spice Route is celebrated for the massive influence it had on global trade, culture, religion, language, art, and cuisine. Qatar Museum’s Year of Culture program and Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology are trying to secure UNESCO recognition for the historical and cultural treasure Spice Route. The partners are looking to gather enough evidence for their submission to UNESCO by the upcoming year. The Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture and Indonesia Launch Residency Program to Explore Historical and Cultural Links Between Ancient Arabia and Nusantara announced the partnership on Tuesday. The Spice Route, an ancient trade network…

Brussels (27/10 – 50) Just in September this year, ten “distinguished” people in Tajikistan have been awarded general ranks. The decree on conferring general ranks was signed by the country’s president, Emomali Rahmon, on September 7th. According to this decree, there are now three more generals in the Agency for State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption. The rank of Major General of Justice was awarded to the head of the Finance and Economic Department, Fazliddin Khodjazoda, the head of the Special Operations Department, Abdurakhmon Davlatzoda, and the head of the Agency for GBAO, Zoir Gafurzoda. The rank of Major General of…

Paris (27/10 – 40) An independent investigation done by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has found that the little-known daughter of Tajikistan’s president has built a medical empire that is generously supported by the state with finance and PR, and her husband, who is ambassador to Turkey, provides her with lobbying services. Parvina Rakhmonova – fifth daughter of the president Emomali Rahmon. Many relatives of the head of Tajikistan became owners of large fortunes or took high government positions after he came to power more than thirty years ago. Unlike Emomali Rahmon’s other children, Parvina is almost unknown to the general public.…

Brussels (25/10 – 42.86) An independent investigation revealed the secretive daughter of Tajikistan’s president has quietly built a health-care empire that benefits from government largesse, state promotion, and lobbying from her husband, an ambassador for the Central Asian nation. Parvina Rahmonova is among the many children and other relatives of authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon who have amassed significant wealth or been appointed to senior government positions since he came to power more than three decades ago. Unlike several of Rahmon’s other children, however, Rahmonova maintains a nearly invisible public profile. She rarely appears in publicly available family photographs and she…

Paris, Brussels (20/10 – 87) In an atmosphere of justifiably feverish global anger, following the murderous attacks by Hamas troopers on a “peace concert” held near the border with Gaza and the massive retaliation by Israel, several nations have declined to jump on the bandwagon: notably, Malaysia is one. Anwar Ibrahim, its Prime Minister, has issued a statement refusing to make a reflexive condemnation of Hamas. History and alliances will tell us why. When attempting to figure out the way Malaysia is distancing itself from “world opinion” (actually the “management of consent” by administrative state-directed corporate media) it is important…

JEDDAH: Thousands of Palestinians from Gaza returned to work in Israel and the occupied West Bank on Thursday when border crossings reopened after a two-week closure. A Palestinian official said Israel had reopened the border “at the request of mediators to de-escalate tensions.” The move comes amid increased international efforts by Egypt and the UN to defuse tensions and prevent a new round of armed conflict in Gaza. For the past two weeks, Palestinian protesters throwing stones and explosive devices faced off against Israeli troops who responded with live fire. Seven Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 injured…

The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) called on the international community Wednesday to support the region in “asserting its constitutional rights, ensuring progress in payment from the federal budget.” Civil servants in the region have not received their salaries for the past two months due to the federal government’s failure to allocate the KRG’s share of the budget, according to a statement released after a Cabinet meeting of the KRG. The statement underscored that the Erbil administration has diligently fulfilled all of its obligations toward the Baghdad administration. For the year 2023, the KRG’s allocated budget stands at roughly 16.4…

At 32 years old, the Qatar Golden Falcon is the favourite to win the World Athletics Championships title once again. Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim cleared the men’s high jump bar at the World Athletics Championships to reach the tournament’s qualifying round on Sunday., The Golden Falcon of Qatar, one of the three track and field athletes to clear the qualifying mark, is now aiming to win his fourth consecutive gold title after winning London 2017, Doha 2019, and Eugene 2022 editions. Competing among the best superstars, Barshim’s road to victory stands in the way of his frequent rivals, Japan’s Ryoichi…

Israel has granted visa-free entrance to nearly 6,800 Palestinian Americans in the last two weeks, the state-run Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) said on Friday. Since July 20, a day after signing a reciprocal agreement with the US, Israeli authorities have permitted 6,794 Palestinian Americans visa-free entrance through Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and the King Hussein Allenby border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. US Ambassador Thomas Nides and Israeli President Isaac Herzog had signed a “reciprocity agreement” in Washington. The visa-free entry is presently in the experimental phase and will last until September, the media outlet…

Frankfurt, Brussels (30/7 – 27) Kenges Rakishev, international entrepreneur, philanthropist and former special envoy of the Kazakh government, is leading the charge for an upcoming Nasdaq listing of Borealis Foods Inc., a fast-growing food tech company imbued with a mission to serve growing consumer needs. Rakishev intends to tackle global food challenges by developing nutritious, sustainable, and affordable ready-to-eat meals. This product is currently on sale in US and Canadian markets, with ambitious, imminent plans for a European market invasion. The Company stands at the forefront of innovation, having pioneered the world’s first plant-based ramen meal on a mass scale,…