Author: Zinjibar

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…

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Friday it was vigilant and ready as a resumption of fighting between its Palestinian ally Hamas and Israel fueled concern that clashes across the Lebanese-Israeli border could also restart. Rocket sirens went off in several towns in northern Israel near the Lebanese border, sending residents in the area running for shelter. The Israeli military did not immediately give details of what set them off. In their worst hostilities since a 2006 war, the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel traded fire for weeks across the border after the Hamas-Israel war erupted on October 7. Mirroring the situation in the Gaza Strip, the…

Berlin (06/11 – 58) UN Special Rapporteur of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has once again called on the authorities of Tajikistan to release imprisoned Tajik journalists and bloggers. Mary Lawlor posted on her social media account, formerly Twitter, that during a meeting with Tajikistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jonibek Hikmat, in New York on October 24, she reiterated her call for the Tajik authorities to release the convicted human rights defenders and journalists, including Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, and Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva. Last year, in Tajikistan, eight journalists and bloggers were sentenced to various prison terms, ranging from 7…

Jakarta, Surakarta, Berlin (7/12 – 11) Amid a generally declining period for Germany’s national football team, the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia has been a shining light for them. Germany is one of the most successful national teams ever in international competition. They have won four World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996), and a Confederations Cup (2017). Nevertheless, in recent years, Germany is suffering a horrid fate. In 2018, Germany suffered their first-ever first-round exit from the World Cup, since 1938. Germany became the fifth defending champions to be eliminated in the…

Israeli forces reached the gates of Gaza City’s main hospital on Monday, the primary target in their battle to seize control of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, where medics said patients including newborn babies were dying for lack of fuel. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday the death toll at Al-Shifa hospital rose to 34 since the weekend as the facility suffered fuel shortages. The latest toll included 27 adult intensive care patients and seven babies, deputy health minister in the Gaza Strip, Youssef Abu Rish, told AFP. Israeli soldiers operate inside the Gaza Strip, amid…

The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Monday one of its locations in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, sustained “significant damage” from Israeli army naval strikes. There were no casualties, as the aid organization’s staff had left the building 90 minutes before the strike on Sunday, UNRWA said in a statement. “This recent attack is yet another indication that nowhere in Gaza is safe. Not the north, not the middle areas and not the south. The disregard for the protection of civilian infrastructure including UN facilities, hospitals, schools, shelters and places of worship is testament to the level of horror that…

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…

The US on Friday issued a second round of sanctions on the Palestinian group Hamas following its attack this month on Israeli communities, including by targeting a Hamas official in Iran and members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US Treasury Department said in a statement the measures targeted additional assets in a Hamas investment portfolio and people facilitating sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies. A Gaza-based entity that Treasury said has served as a conduit for illicit Iranian funds to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group was also targeted, the department said. Iran backs Hamas and other…

Over the past few months, Iran realized that the Taliban would be much more assertive in their future bilateral dealings. For any observer, Kabul’s tough-talking approach seems consistent considering its conduct with Islamabad. Tehran’s loss of patience with the Taliban reflects the over-estimation of its influence.Recent armed clashes along the Helmand-Baluchistan border have inflicted several fatalities, with at least two confirmed losses of soldiers on the Iranian side and one on the Afghan side. The fierce fighting involved automatic machine guns, artillery and rocket fire, while Iran even resorted to the use of gunship helicopters and drones. The Taliban took…

Spanish government announced the plan to invest $5.1 billion in electrical vehicles. The plan includes support of automotive companies that manufacture the vehicles, battery suppliers and charging stations. Kenes Rakishev considers the idea a brilliant one for a couple of reasons. Some of the reasons are technical in nature, some are purely economic one. Kenes Rakishev considers the following technical reasons to approve the decision Spain has amazing automotive industry. But the home brands are now under pressure and it’s hard to reach superiority without relying too much on foreign important parts. Contrary to the popular beliefs, in fact EV’s are much simpler than gasoline…