Established In: 1983;
Also Known As: Badr Brigade, Badr Brigades, Badr Corps, Badr Organization of Reconstruction and Development, Badr Organisation Iraq, Martyr Mohamed Baqir al-Sadr Forces, Martyr Muhammed Baqir al-Sadr Forces, Munathamat Badr, Quwet Shahid Baqir Sadr;
Country Of Origin: Iraq;
Key Members: Hadi al Amiri;
Operational Area: Iraq;
Involved In: Assasinations, Armed Attacks, Bomb Attacks;
Established In: 1981
Established By: Fathi Shaqaqi, Abd Al Aziz Awda, Ramadan Shalah, Bashir Moussa
Also Known As: Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Country Of Origin: Palestine
Leaders: Ramadan Shalah
Key Members: Ramadan Shalah, Abd Al Aziz Awda
Operational Area: Palestine
Number Of Members: 8000
Involved In: Suicide attacks, Suicide car-bomb attacks, Terrorist attacks, Kidnapping, Rocket attacks
Also Known As: BATTALION OF THE SAYYID’S MARTYRS; a.k.a. KATA’IB ABU FADL AL-ABBAS; a.k.a. KATA’IB KARBALA; a.k.a. THE MASTER OF THE MARTYRS BRIGADE; a.k.a. “KSS; Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada
Country Of Origin: Syria
Leaders: Abu Mustafa al Sheibani;
Key Leaders: Abu Mustafa al Sheibani; Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji; Falih Khazali – Spokesman;
Operational Area: Syria, Iraq
Involved In: Iranian proxy, and is one of the original militias that formed the Popular Mobilization Forces in 2014
Established In: October 2003
Established By: Unknown
Also Known As: Hezbollah Brigades
Country Of Origin: Iraq
Leaders: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (Jamal al-Ibrahimi)
Key Members: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (Jamal al-Ibrahimi), Jafar al-Hussaini
Operational Area: Iraq, Syria
Number Of Members: Over 30,000
Involved In: Armed Attacks, Bomb Attacks, Suicide bomb attacks
In its resolution 2178 (2014), adopted unanimously on 24 September 2014, the Security Council expressed
particular concern over the acute and growing threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs),1 in particular those recruited by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da’esh), the Nusrah Front and other cells, affiliates, splinter groups or derivatives of Al-Qaida. It also expressed concern over the increased use of communication technology for the purpose of, inter alia, financing and facilitating the travel and subsequent activities of FTFs and underlined the need to disrupt financial flows supporting FTFs, while respecting international human rights law, international refugee law, and international humanitarian law. In that resolution, the Council also directed CTED to identify issues, trends and developments related to FTFs.
Two Israeli airstrikes struck Damascus and its suburb Qudsaya on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 16, as reported by AP via SANA, coinciding with Iranian official Ali Larijani’s visit to the capital. Israel stated the strikes targeted Islamic Jihad’s infrastructure, allegedly involved in recent conflicts with Israel. These airstrikes reflect escalating tensions, especially given the Syrian regime’s claims of civilian casualties and property damage in Mazzeh and Qudsaya. Meanwhile, Syria TV and SANA reported further Israeli operations on Hezbollah’s smuggling routes in Al-Qusayr, impacting supply chains into Lebanon and emphasizing Israel’s broader campaign against Iranian influence in Syria. Iran, denying reports of force reductions in Syria, reaffirmed its presence through senior advisor Ali Asghar Haji. This came after Russia’s envoy Alexander Lavrentiev clarified that Moscow opposes Israeli actions in Syria and denied the use of Russia’s Khmeimim base for weapons transit to Hezbollah. The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington published a report highlighting U.S.-led sanctions’ unintended effects, reinforcing Iran’s foothold in Syria and increasing Gulf-U.S. policy divergences. The report outlines regional frustration over sanctions that have deepened Syria’s economic crisis without shifting political conditions. In a separate development, CNN reported UN concerns over Israel’s activities along the Golan Heights buffer zone, where IDF excavation has breached a demilitarized area. The UN’s warning underscores the risks these operations pose to the longstanding ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Syria, maintained since 1974.
In “How China Escaped the Poverty Trap”, Yuen Yuen Ang provides a compelling analysis of China’s rapid economic transformation over recent decades. Rather than focusing on specific policies or economic theories, Ang emphasizes China’s unique approach to development. She argues that China’s success in escaping poverty and achieving significant economic growth was not simply a result of adopting Western-style economic reforms, but of implementing a distinctly Chinese strategy that allowed local innovation within the bounds of central control.
Honestly, what would George Orwell have written about this planet of ours, four decades after that ominous year 1984 passed from his fiction into history?
And yes, in case you think that, as in his novel 1984, published in 1949, a year before his death and just as the Cold War (a term he was the first to use in an essay in October 1945) was getting underway, our world, too, seems to be heading for a nightmarish future, I suspect that — were he capable of returning to this planet of ours — he wouldn’t disagree with you for a moment. Phew! Sorry for such a long, complicated sentence, but little wonder given the way our world is now tying itself in knots. Yes, just last week, with the election of climate-change denier and (to steal from Orwell) our very own Big Brother Donald Trump as president of the United States (again!), we just paved the way for an instant all-American nightmare. Still, even without him, the world was anything but peachy keen.
Africa has emerged as a pivotal partner in China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI), the maritime dimension of Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). One of the key footholds for Chinese inroads has been the Mombasa Port, located on Kenya’s south-eastern coast.
Mombasa—the largest and busiest port in East Africa—serves as a gateway for landlocked countries in Africa and is central to regional trade. Thus, it is imperative to examine how the port serves as a crucial node in China’s engagement with Africa and reflect on China’s broader geopolitical ambitions in the Western Indian Ocean.
Incredibly few Palestinian civilian casualties in Israel’s war of survival – yet only Israel is condemned
On October 7, 2023, Hamas butchered 1,200 innocent people, maimed 5,400, kidnapped 250, and drove tens of thousands out of southern Israeli towns. The next day, to show solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah began launching rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel, driving 80,000 from their homes.