In the hottest parts of the world, high temperatures and humidity will, for longer stretches, surpass a threshold that even young and healthy people could struggle to survive as the planet warms, study says. Heat waves can already be deadly for the most vulnerable people — but in a warming world, temperatures and humidity will,...
Tag: MiddleEast
The 90 companies responsible for two-thirds of historical greenhouse gas emissions
ExxonMobil, the fifth-leading producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the world from 1880 to 2010, has been planning since 2018 to raise its yearly carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 17% by 2025, according to internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The news comes in stark contrast to efforts to slow down the pace of...
Russia’s geopolitical balancing act between Iran and the UAE
Russia’s geopolitical balancing act between Iran and the UAE. Kremlin has to keep up excellent ties with its two main allies in order to carry on with its assault against Ukraine: Iran for drone delivery and the United Arab Emirates for evading sanctions. The three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are...
Wagner: Sword of Damocles amid Russia’s potential troubles
The use of mercenaries dates back to 400 B.C., and they were used by ancient Greeks, Alexander the Great and Rome’s army. Since then, there have been several debates around their use for centuries, and some intellectuals argued that they are beneficial while others opposed the idea of using mercenaries. In his famous book “Utopia,”...
The UAE and Wagner Paymasters Past, Present, and Future
Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Until Yevgeny Prigozhin blinked and ordered his Wagner Group forces to turn back within 200 miles from Moscow, it looked as though Putin’s Russia had created a monster it could not control. But whatever fate awaits its hardman founder, the organisation Prigozhin built is too useful to be dispensed with entirely. Wagner’s...
Adnoc Drilling lands $2bn worth of new contracts
UAE-based Adnoc Drilling has won five 10-year contracts worth $2bn from state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). The largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size will support ADNOC Offshore’s growing drilling operations with five high-specification, premium jackups along with all required manpower and equipment. The rigs will start activity...
Middle Eastern Wealth Flows to China Amid Anxiety About US Ties
Oil-rich gulf monarchies are leveraging their wealth to deepen ties with China amid anxiety about the future of their longstanding security partnership with the US. Seven months after President Xi Jinping participated in the first China-Gulf summit in Riyadh, economic exchanges between the world’s second largest economy and nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates...
How Sudan Became a Saudi-UAE Proxy War
Gulf heavyweights view the conflict as an opportunity to cement their hegemonic status in the Middle East. Fighting in Sudan, now in its third month, shows no signs of abating. The country’s two rival generals have flouted multiple cease-fires as they vie for control. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who first gained power after the 2019 ousting...
UAE’s Troubling Support for Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa
One targeted company, Industrial Resources General Trading, is a Dubai-based company sanctioned for importing gold from the Central African Republic and paying the Russian mercenary outfit in cash sent directly to Moscow. It is the first Emirati company sanctioned in relation to Wagner. OFAC previously targeted another United Arab Emirates (UAE) based firm, Kratol Aviation, for...
China’s Overseas Police Service Stations in the Middle East
Chinese Overseas Police Service Stations are known to be present in Israel and the UAE. However, their specific locations, functions, and extent are shrouded in secrecy. China’s footprint in the Middle East has grown significantly over the past two decades. The region has become central to China’s foreign policy within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)...