Author: Zahengan

The president of Iran was on Sunday night feared dead after the helicopter he was travelling in crashed in a mountainous region. The lives of Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amirabdollahian, his foreign minister, were “at risk”, an Iranian official said during a large search and rescue mission. Ahmad Vahidi, the Iranian interior minister, blamed the crash, which came just a month after Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israel, on poor weather conditions. State media described the incident as an “accident”. The chief of staff of the Iranian military ordered the entire army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)…

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…

Tajikistan’s existential project to build the colossal 335-meter-high Roghun hydropower dam is proceeding apace, but costs are spiraling, and to a level that is making it hard to see where the government is going to find the funds needed to finish the work. To complicate matters for Dushanbe, this is happening against the backdrop of calls from environmental watchdogs for international development lenders to pause the allocation of any future funds to Tajikistan pending a fresh assessment of the project. The extent of the budget overshoot is striking. In a press conference on February 16, Finance Minister Faiziddin Kahhorzoda revealed…

ReFarm has built a demonstration farm in the Al Quoz district of Dubai that is fully operational and already harvesting produce for sale to local ghost kitchen group Kitopi. Various stakeholders have visited the site during this week’s COP28 where they can see black solider recycling food waste on-site to create by-products including organic compost, animal feed for replacing unsustainable fish meal and soy oil, and water for use in the vertical farming towers. “The technologies on site will also recover up to 90% of ammonia sulphate from wastewater for use in plant fertilisers, and produce organic biodegradable polymers designed to gradually…

Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25) Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that. Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the…

An emotional Palestinian team will play Australia on Tuesday at the neutral venue of Kuwait after its World Cup qualifier was moved from the West Bank due to continuing conflict in the region. Authorities in Kuwait are expecting a big crowd at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium with passionate support for the Palestinians, a team that has never appeared at the World Cup. “We’re very sympathetic for everyone with what’s going on,” Australia coach Graham Arnold said of the Gaza conflict. “But again, it’s a game of football and that brings a lot of joy to everybody.” Australia can take a big…

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, Frankfurt (13/10 – 42) Twenty-First Century technology has a way of speeding everything up – often overdriving events beyond human control. Exhibit “A”: the internet. Hamas and its supporters were undoubtedly aware of the multiplication impact of social media when they mounted their recent murderous attack on a “peace party” along the Israeli border (twist the irony dial); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, intent on a blanket reprisal on the Palestinians, apparently does not care what the internet thinks, says or reports. It is perplexing to the simple-minded when there are no “good guys” in a fight. Note how the…

UAE President Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Ethiopia last week demonstrated many of the core tenets of the country’s rising international political influence. Ethiopia has emerged as an important partner for the UAE in the Horn of Africa, and the trip further solidifies this relationship while also bolstering the UAE’s environmental messaging ahead of Cop 28. The UAE President arrived in Ethiopia on 18 August at the head of a high-level delegation, and was welcomed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The pair oversaw the signing of multiple preliminary agreements during the visit, with notable projects planned by UAE…

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Argentina have all been invited to join the BRICS group of major developing countries, as the bloc seen as an alternative to the Western world order grows its influence. BRICS currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which is hosting the group’s summit in Johannesburg this week. The group already accounts for around 40% of the global population and a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the new members on Thursday, the final day of the summit. “BRICS is a diverse group of…