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Singapore Convention Week 2021 Brings Together Global Legal And Business Community

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 31 August 2021 – The upcoming Singapore Convention Week (SC Week) 2021 will bring together leaders from the legal, business and government sectors in the international dispute resolution scene. Themed ‘A World in Transition’, the global legal conference will be held virtually from 6 to 10 September 2021. Participants will discuss the latest trends and innovations in international dispute resolution amidst a […]

Taliban is enemy of Iran’s enemy. Is Taliban Iran’s friend?

By: Mohammad Javad Mousavizadeh While the Taliban swept all of Afghanistan, analysts have little clue of Iranian officials’ concern about the collapse of Iran’s next door.    As an extremist group, the Taliban has never been a danger for Iran in recent years, and the Islamic Republic’s view of the Taliban has changed from a threat to an opportunity with a common aim, withdrawal of United States […]

Ten Most Crucial Events of the Decade: The Release of Special Forex Industry Analytics

KUALA LUMPUR, MALASIA – Media OutReach – 25 August 2021 – The international Forex broker OctaFX turns ten years old. This past decade culminates in 6.6 million Forex trading accounts opened, 200,000 Trade &Win gifts delivered, over 102,000 followers on social media, 44 Forex industry awards received, providing services in more than 100 countries, and 500 million trades executed on the platform since inception—to just name a […]

Afghanistan debacle puts UAE on the spot

James M Dorsey Afghanistan is showing the United Arab Emirates the downside of being a haven for deposed leaders and exiled politicians whose wealth is reportedly parked without question in Emirati financial institutions. The latest arrival in the UAE, former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, denied this week allegations by Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan, Zahir Aghbar, that he had stolen US$169 million from state coffers and an assertion by the Russian […]

A fox in charge of the chicken coop?

By James M Dorsey Abu Omar Khorasani was taken from Kabul’s Pul-i-Charkhi prison and unceremoniously shot. The first and only person to have been executed since the Taliban gained full control of Afghanistan, Mr. Khorasani was the head of the Islamic State in South Asia until he was arrested by government forces last year. The precise circumstances of his execution are not known. His killing was, however, […]

China, India, Iran grapple with Afghanistan developments

James M Dorsey Taliban advances in Afghanistan shift the Central Asian playing field on which China, India and the United States compete with rival infrastructure-driven approaches. At first glance, a Taliban takeover of Kabul would give China a 2:0 advantage against the US and India, but that could prove to be a shaky head start. The potential fall of the US-backed Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani […]

Israeli bid to allay diaspora fears

James M Dorsey Israel’s first post-Netanyahu government is seeking to rebuild fractured relations with the Jewish Diaspora and rebrand the country as a liberal rather than an illiberal democracy against the backdrop of uncertainty about future US policy towards the Middle East and continued unconditional backing of the Jewish state. Uncertainty about US reliability has been reinforced by the US negotiation with the Taliban and subsequent withdrawal […]

Afghanistan a bellwether for Iran-Saudi rivalry

James Dorsey Boasting an almost 1,000-kilometer border with Iran and a history of troubled relations between the Iranians and Sunni Muslim militants, including the Taliban, Afghanistan could become a bellwether for the future of the rivalry between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia. Had the United States withdrawn from Afghanistan several years earlier, chances would have been that Saudi Arabia would have sought to exploit military advances […]

Tactics between Iran and US in focus

James M. Dorsey The United States and Iran seem to be hardening their positions in advance of a resumption of negotiations to revive a 2015 international nuclear agreement once Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes office in early August. Concern among supporters of the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program which former US President Donald J. Trump abandoned in 2018 may be premature but do raise questions about […]

US, China misguided approach in Middle East

James M. Dorsey A recent analysis of Middle Eastern states’ interventionist policies suggests that misguided big power approaches have fueled a vicious cycle of interference and instability over the last decade. Those approaches are abetted, if not encouraged by US and Chinese strategies that are similar, if not essentially the same, just labelled differently. The United States has long opted for regime stability in the Middle East rather than […]

Raytheon is a beauty

Raytheon is America’s preeminent vendor of advanced aerospace technology products, mission critical for 21st century warfare. Hypersonic missiles, space to space command and control systems, cyber warfare, satellite reconnaissance/surveillance/smart drones and defence electronics. The stock has been a beauty, rising from 55 on Election Day to 89 now even though the Republicans lost the White House. This is the testament to the fact that its product menu […]

Trump aide indictment mars UAE’s lobbying success

James M Dorsey This month’s indictment of a billionaire, one-time advisor and close associate of former US President Donald J. Trump, on charges of operating as an unregistered foreign agent in the United States for the United Arab Emirates highlights the successes and pitfalls of a high-stakes Emirati effort to influence US policy. The indictment of businessman Thomas  J. Barrack, who maintained close ties to UAE Crown Prince […]

UAE oil policy clashes with Saudi, Russian line

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was not only the founder of the most successful political federation in the modern history of the Arab World but also the architect of the UAE’s innovative, globalised oil and gas sector. The late UAE President defied the populist trend in OPEC in the 1970’s to nationalise the assets of foreign oil companies. Instead, he signed joint ventures and concession agreements […]

Defining moderate Islam: Muslims and Evangelicals forge an alliance

James M Dorsey A major Muslim and Evangelical organization joined forces this week to significantly advance hitherto state-backed ceremonial inter-faith dialogues that seldom go beyond platitudes and lofty statements. This week’s launch at a Washington DC mosque of an inter-faith alliance and a book published by the Institute for Humanitarian Islam and the Germany-based World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) as well as the Center for Shared Civilizational Values constitutes an […]

World’s recoverable oil 9% slimmer

Rystad Energy’s world’s energy landscape review for 2021 deals a major blow for the size of the world’s remaining recoverable oil resources – but it also shows that oil production and consumption can align with climate goals. Rystad Energy now estimates total recoverable oil resources at 1,725 billion barrels, a significant reduction of last year’s estimate of 1,903 billion barrels. Out of this total, which shows our […]

New Research Signals The Rise Of A Growing Aspirational Consumer Class In Hong Kong, Increasingly Dominated By Millennials, According To New Research By IAB SEA+INDIA And Carousell Media Group

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 13 July 2021 – According to a new report published by Carousell Media Group (CMG) and IAB Southeast Asia and India (IAB SEA+India), income levels and purchasing patterns in Hong Kong signalled towards a growing aspirational consumer class. 64% of Hong Kongers noted that their household income was in the top 50% income tier. The report on the Millennial Motivations […]

Fuel divide among Gulf states

by James M. Dorsey Personality as well as the conflation of genuine national interest with personal ambition contribute to the widening gap between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was only a matter of time before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would want to come out on his own and no longer be seen as the protégé of his erstwhile mentor and Emirati counterpart, […]

Dubai: A post-pandemic investment destination

More than ever before, Indians are now eyeing properties in Dubai. Investing in real estate has emerged as the quickest way to get a residency permit in UAE, and since 2017, Indians have ranked amongst the top 3 nationalities investing in property in Dubai. In 2019, Indians contributed 16% of the housing sales in Dubai sales by volume – pushing in more than 8 Bn AED into […]

Iran says executing child offenders not a rights violation

Tehran: Iran’s use of the death penalty for crimes committed as minors does not mean it violates human rights, a senior Iranian official has insisted to AFP in response to UN criticism. The Islamic

Manouvring Jerusalem’s future

By James M. Dorsey US President Joe Biden may have little appetite for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking but seems determined to prevent some third parties from exploiting the regional stalemate to their advantage. That seems to be one message contained in ensuring that King Abdullah of Jordan will be the first Arab leader to visit the White House since Mr. Biden took office. The message takes on added significance with the […]

Forging a future with rather than against Iran

James M Dorsey The rise of hardline President-elect Ebrahim Raisi has prompted someanalysts to counterintuitively suggest that it could pave the way for reduced regional tensions and potential talks on a rejiggered Middle Eastern security architecture but getting from A to B is likely to prove easier said than done. Hopes that a hardline endorsement of a return to the 2015 international agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear program will […]

ME powers fight for next generation of Muslims

James M Dorsey Education is emerging as a major flashpoint in competing visions of a future Muslim world. Rival concepts being instilled in a next generation are likely to shape what amounts to a battle for the soul of Islam. Reports earlier this year published by the Israel-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) chart the divergence in educational approaches. At one end of […]

Rocket targets Iraq base hosting US troops: security source

BAGHDAD: A rocket on Sunday targeted an Iraqi air base hosting American troops, a security source told AFP, the latest in a spate of attacks the US blames on Iran-linked militias. The assault on the

Pakistan, Quo Vadis?

James M. Dorsey Pakistan’s place in a new world order is anybody’s guess. Recent policy moves suggest options that run the gamut from a state that emphasizes religion above all else to a country that forges a more balanced relationship with China and the United States. The options need not be mutually exclusive but a populous, nuclear-armed country whose education system is partially anchored in rote learning […]