K Raveendran Big financial institutions recognize the superiority of blockchain technology, but are intimidated by the prospects of bitcoin replacing them, so they will try to censor, control and manipulate it before ultimately they will be forced to accommodate it on public demand, says Grigory Rybalchenko, founder and CEO of Emirex, an exchange and a marketplace for digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Gregory will be among the top […]
James M Dorsey Societal struggles and reform often take unexpected turns in vast swaths of land stretching from the Middle East into Central Asia. Take education for example. The Taliban have yet to fulfil their promise to allow girls to return to school but primary and secondary Afghan textbooks appear to be a relative bright spot amid all the doom and gloom about the group’s rule. It’s a bright […]
Arabian Post Staff Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, has announced signing a strategic partnership with Herrenknecht, one of the oldest and largest companies specialised in tunnelling solutions, to develop new tunnel design and construction technologies. The agreement, which took place on the sideline of Expo 2020 Dubai, was signed by Shadi Malak, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Rail, and Martin […]
Arabian Post Staff Oil prices are currently ruling at such levels that they carry quite some risk for traders, with today’s wild fluctuation illustrating their fragility and vulnerability to market developments. As Monday’s OPEC+ policy decision does not relieve the market tightness further in coming months, oil prices continued their stunning rally this morning. Despite the bullish morning, the API estimate that US crude stocks built last […]
James M Dorsey On their way from Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem in 1977 then Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Yigael Yadin asked President Anwar Sadat, the first Arab leader to ever officially visit Israel, why the Egyptian military had not moved deeper into the Sinai during the 1973 Middle East war. “You have nuclear arms. Haven’t you heard?” Mr. Sadat replied. Mr. Sadat’s strategic calculations in the war, the […]
Now the Longest Subsea Cable System in the World HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 28 September 2021 – The 2Africa consortium, comprised of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced today the addition of a new segment – the 2Africa PEARLS branch – extending to the Arabian Gulf, Pakistan and into India. This extension will bring the total […]
Arabian Post Staff Dubai’s non-oil external trade surged 31 percent in the first half of 2021 to reach AED722.3 billion from AED550.6 billion in the corresponding period in 2020. Exports grew 45 percent year on year (YoY) in H1 2021 to AED109.8 billion from AED75.8 billion, which supports the goal of the 10 x 10 programme (one of the nation’s ‘Projects of the 50’ initiatives) to increase […]
Matein Khalid Brent crude has now reached a post-pandemic high of $77 and reinforced my conviction that energy will be the best performing sector of September 2021. Saudi Arabia and Russia have ignored the Biden White House’s call to pump more oil and the quota discipline in OPEC+ is intact while Libyan oil remains offline due to the civil war and the US’s Afghan debacle means Biden […]
James M. Dorsey Saudi and Emirati efforts to define ‘moderate’ Islam as socially more liberal while being subservient to an autocratic ruler is as much an endeavour to ensure regime survival and bolster aspirations to lead the Muslim world as it is an attempt to fend off challenges rooted in diverse strands of religious ultra-conservatism. The Saudi and Emirati efforts to garner religious soft power have much […]
In a world where employers no longer hold all of the cards, the fourth annual report provides a roadmap for organisations as they move out of crisis and look to refine or rebuild their cultures SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Media OutReach – 23 September 2021 – O.C. Tanner, the global leader in employee recognition and workplace culture, today announced the release of its 2022 Global Culture Report. In […]
James M Dorsey Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas set the bar high for President Joko Widodo as well as Nahdlatul Ulama, the religious backbone of Mr. Widodo’s government when he laid out the agenda for his country’s presidency of the Group of 20. The G20 groups the world’s largest economies. Speaking to the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna as Italy prepared to handover its presidency to […]
James M Dorsey The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan may help Iran reduce its international isolation. At least, that’s what the Islamic Republic hopes when leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) gather in Tajikistan next weekend. Members are admitted to the eight-member China-led SCO that also groups Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, by unanimous consensus. Iran, unlike its rivals in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the […]
James M Dorsey The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan perpetuates a paradigm of failed governance in the Muslim world based on a centuries-old alliance between Islamic scholars and the state that, according to scholar Ahmet T Kuru, explains underdevelopment in many Muslim-majority states and authoritarianism in most. The takeover also highlights that, in a twist of irony, a majority of competitors for Muslim religious soft power, leadership of […]
James M Dorsey The US withdrawal from Afghanistan will likely clarify what the Gulf’s security options are. Gulf states are likely to monitor how Russia and China handle the perceived security vacuum and security threats in the wake of the US withdrawal and abandonment, for all practical matters, of Central Asia. It will tell Gulf states to what degree Russia and China may be viable alternatives for […]
متين خالد آن الأوان لأن تكشف الحكومة ومنظمة الصحة العالمية للعالم أنّ طفرات فيروس كورونا تعني أن جهاز المناعة لدى سبعة مليارات نسمة سيكون عرضةً للتقلبات الجزيئية في شيفرته الجينية. وخلاصة القول أنّ نهاية جائحة كورونا، التي افترضناها جميعًا بعد وصول اللقاحات في شهر تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر الماضي، هي ضربٌ من الخيال. مع ذلك، أقرّ بأنني اكتسبت ما أعرفه عن علم الأحياء البشري بمجهودٍ شخصي من خلال التداول بأسهم التكنولوجيا الحيوية وأسهم شركات الأدوية الكبرى. إنّ دول الهند وجنوب أفريقيا والبرازيل هي خير دليل على أن متحور دلتا من فيروس […]
James Dorsey Recent attacks on Kabul’s international airport by the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate raise multiple questions as well as the spectre of paradigm shifts in the drivers and expanding geography of political violence. The attacks have called into question the Taliban’s ability to maintain security and keep a lid on the activities of multiple militant groups in Afghanistan. Long at war with the Islamic State (IS), […]
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 […]
James M Dorsey Pakistani efforts to exploit the Taliban victory in Afghanistan threaten to reinforce ultra-conservative inclinations in Pakistan itself, the world’s second-most populous Muslim majority country, long accused of supporting militant religious groups. The notion that religious ultra-conservatism may not remain contained to Afghanistan may be one reason why US President Joe Biden decided to effectively abandon Central Asia with his withdrawal of US forces from […]
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$169 million from state coffers and an assertion by the Russian […]
By James M Dorsey Abu Omar Khorasani was taken from Kabul’s Pul-i-Charkhi prison and unceremoniously shot. The first and only person to have been executed since the Taliban gained full control of Afghanistan, Mr. Khorasani was the head of the Islamic State in South Asia until he was arrested by government forces last year. The precise circumstances of his execution are not known. His killing was, however, […]
James M Dorsey Israel’s first post-Netanyahu government is seeking to rebuild fractured relations with the Jewish Diaspora and rebrand the country as a liberal rather than an illiberal democracy against the backdrop of uncertainty about future US policy towards the Middle East and continued unconditional backing of the Jewish state. Uncertainty about US reliability has been reinforced by the US negotiation with the Taliban and subsequent withdrawal […]
Arabian Post Staff Emaar Malls recorded an increase in net profit by 80 per cent to AED 622 million (US$ 169 million) during the first six months (January to June) of 2021, compared to a net profit of AED 345 million (US$ 94 million), during the same period in 2020. Revenue for H1 2021 amounted to AED 2.048 billion (US$ 558 million), an increase of 23 per […]
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 […]
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 […]
James Dorsey China may have no short-term interest in contributing to guaranteeing security in parts of a swath of land stretching from Central Asia to the East coast of Africa, but that does not prevent the People’s Republic from preparing for a time when it may wish to build on long-standing political and military relationships in various parts of the world to project power and maintain an […]
I believe Brent’s 6% plunge last night to close below 70 for the first time since May is an ideal opportunity to accumulate high beta shale drillers and oil services shares that were gutted by 20 to 25% in the brutal correction since the past month. The world oil market is tight and has a deficit of 2.4 MBD. So it made perfect political sense for OPEC […]
In the battle to be the pre-eminent travel hub in the Middle East, the latest research from ForwardKeys, which has the world’s freshest and most comprehensive fight booking data, reveals that in the first half of 2021, Doha seized and consolidated a lead over Dubai. In the period 1st January to 30th June, the volume of air tickets issued for travel via Doha was 18% higher than it was […]
James M Dorsey A recent unprecedented alliance between Muslims and Evangelicals takes on added significance in a world in which human rights are on the defensive, religious groups tend to forge political as well as ideational partnerships, and the role of the clergy in multiple Muslim-majority countries has come under scrutiny. The alliance potentially could create a platform for voices in the Muslim world, particularly the Middle East, […]
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 […]
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 […]
