Author: Zaahira el-Shehata

For many years, Tajikistan has been gravely affected by drug trafficking. At least 15-20 tons of opium and between 75 and 80 metric tons of heroin are smuggled into the country each year from Afghanistan either for local consumption or for transfer to Russia and Europe. Despite an official Tajik government policy to fight illicit drug trafficking in cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations, trafficking continues to increase. The volume of drug transit through Tajikistan is now equivalent to 30 percent of the country’s GDP. So far, the success of domestic Tajik policies and international assistance has been minimal. Trafficking is a product of numerous complex…

In 2021, a book titled “The Human-Machine Team: How to Create Synergy Between Human and Artificial Intelligence That Will Revolutionize Our World” was released in English under the pen name “Brigadier General Y.S.” In it, the author — a man who we confirmed to be the current commander of the elite Israeli intelligence unit 8200 — makes the case for designing a special machine that could rapidly process massive amounts of data to generate thousands of potential “targets” for military strikes in the heat of a war. Such technology, he writes, would resolve what he described as a “human bottleneck for both…

The UAE Ministry of Finance announced on Friday that it will participate in the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2024, under the theme “Shaping Future Governments”, from Feb.12-14 in Dubai. The summit will be attended by heads of state, government leaders, ministers, senior officials, decision-makers, thought leaders, and specialists in financial, economic, and social affairs from various countries. Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said, “In line with its commitment to its role as a strategic partner, the Ministry of Finance’s participation in the WGS reflects its keenness to enhance dialogues, discussions, and the exchange of views…

With Iraq’s provincial elections kicking off on Monday, time has run out for the Iraqi parliament to elect a new speaker of the house. The country is now at the risk of a constitutional crisis as deep divisions along political and ethnic lines continue to paralyse its top institutions following an inconclusive general election in 2022. Speaking to The New Arab by telephone from Baghdad, Iraq’s ex-parliament speaker, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, confirmed the issue of choosing a new speaker will be delayed until after the provincial elections but insisted he had a “good chance” of winning the position. Iraq is set to hold provincial elections on Monday…

BAGHDAD, IRAQ — U.S. forces were attacked four times in Iraq and Syria on Thursday with rockets and armed drones, but there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure, a U.S military official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said U.S. and international forces were attacked at two sites in northeastern Syria with multiple rockets and a one-way attack drone. In Iraq, multiple one-way drones were launched at the Ain Al-Asad air base west of Baghdad and a drone was launched at a base that houses U.S. forces near Irbil airport in northern Iraq. A group calling itself the…

TOKYO — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit Sunday to Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Blinken urged the Iraqi prime minister to hold accountable those responsible for continuing attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and fulfill Iraq’s commitments to protect all installations hosting U.S. personnel at the invitation of the Iraqi government. U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked with drones or rockets in recent days, as more U.S. forces deploy to the Middle East to support regional deterrence efforts. U.S. military officials have blamed Iranian-backed proxies for the…

BAGHDAD, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Iraq has launched three energy contracts with UAE-based Crescent Petroleum to develop three oil and gas fields in Iraq, the oil ministry said on Sunday. United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Petroleum signed in February three 20-year contracts to develop oil and natural gas fields in Iraq’s Basra and Diyala provinces in northeastern Baghdad. The Crescent Petroleum contracts are expected to begin producing 400 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas within 18 months, the oil ministry statement quoted Iraq’s oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani as saying. Abdel-Ghani, who attended the launch at the oil ministry headquarters in…

Six Palestinian citizens of Israel have been killed in two separate shootings, police said, the latest fatalities in a crime wave hitting the country’s Palestinian minority. Five members of the same family were killed on Wednesday in a shooting in northern Israel. The three men and two women were shot dead in broad daylight in the town of Basmat Tabun, northwest of Nazareth, police said in a statement. The Abraham Initiatives, a Jewish-Arab advocacy and monitoring group in Israel, identified the victims as a couple and their three adult children. Police said they were treating the incident as criminal and…

Israel’s coalition would be more stable if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not heading it, Maariv found in a new election poll published on Friday. The coalition’s number of seats in the Knesset would grow if Defense Minister Yoav Gallant or Economy Minister Nir Barkat, two Likud members seen as potential successors to Netanyahu, were to replace him as prime minister, the poll found. If Gallant were to lead the coalition, the Likud would gain three seats from the National Unity party, headed by MK Benny Gantz. However, the faction would not see a net gain of Knesset seats, since in this scenario, three mandates…

Jerusalem. Israel’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it has secured its largest-ever defense deal selling a sophisticated missile defense system to Germany for $3.5 billion after the United States approved the deal. Although Israel has long had close economic and military links with western European countries, the deal with Germany could draw the attention of Russia, which Israel has maintained working relations with throughout the war in Ukraine. Israel has repeatedly rebuffed requests to sell arms to Ukraine for fear of antagonizing Russia. Germany will buy the advanced defense system, coined Arrow 3, which is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles. Israel…