As the U.S. opioid crisis spirals further out of control, and threatens to engulf Europe, the U.S. government has been scrambling in recent weeks for solutions. Some are sensible, if misguided, such as the Biden administration’s “fentanyl strike force” within the Treasury Department to aggressively scrutinize the finances of suspected narcotics dealers. Others, such as...
The two countries look like allies—but are increasingly regional competitors. The Israel-Hamas war unfolded amid an apparent regional trend of peaceful coexistence. The Middle East’s transformation along these lines has been represented by the seemingly ever-closer alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as symbolized by the apparent friendship between their respective de...
January 21, 2024 (OMDURMAN) – Sudanese Sovereign Council member and Army Assistant Commander-in-Chief Yasir Al-Atta announced on Sunday that the government would file a complaint with regional organizations and escalate it to the UN Security Council against the UAE for its involvement in exacerbating the armed conflict in Sudan. A recent report by a UN...
How China is winning the Middle East. China is working to present itself as a responsible alternative to the U.S. in the Middle East, just as many are questioning Washington’s long-term commitment to the region. Amid the recent catastrophes in the Middle East—the renewed Israel-Hamas war; widening violence in Lebanon, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, and...
Since Nov. 2023, tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—commanded by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan—and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have risen. On Nov. 27, Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta, the assistant commander-in-chief of the SAF, criticized the UAE for behaving like a “mafia state” in a speech at a military headquarters. Less than two weeks later, authorities in...
The civil war in Sudan that erupted in April 2023 is spreading. With thousands killed and millions displaced, the troubled nation is in danger of further fragmentation. is led by the nation’s actual ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, while the RSF is commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti. The two men joined forces...
Banned broadcaster RT has ramped up its presence in the UAE and other countries neutral over Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine in a propaganda push to rehabilitate Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin-controlled news channel, formerly known as Russia Today, was banned in the UK and EU, and blocked in the US, after the February 2022 invasion. It...
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in 2023 and used it to burnish its image despite pushing for fossil fuel expansion and maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward dissent, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2024. The UAE, one of the world’s largest oil producers and per capita greenhouse...
By ALISHA HOULIHAN for AML Intelligence GREYLISTED UAE has made a “substantial donation” to the funding of the body representing the world’s police Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). The Egmont Group of FIUs represents most of the main FIUs and held its most recent annual conference at a glittering venue in Abu Dhabi. Today (Wed) the...
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, home to widely diverse cultures and a population of about 500 million, is highly exposed to the impacts of climate change. While high temperatures are common there, nearly half of the population could be annually exposed to anomalous super and ultra-extreme heatwaves—up to 56 °C and higher during several...