Syria

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syria offers Aleppo truce as rebels argue over talks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Syrian government, preparing for peace talks with rebels next week, handed the Russian co-sponsors of the conference a proposal on Friday for a local ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners. There was no immediate response from President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents, whose very attendance at the talks due to start on Wednesday in Switzerland remained in doubt – prompting a last-minute appeal to them from the United States. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, on a visit to Moscow, said he had given Russian officials a plan for a truce in Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city, and said the government was ready to exchange lists of prisoners to be swapped. Moscow and Washington, favouring opposing sides, respectively for and against Assad, have urged both parties to make concessions, … [Read more...] about Phuket Gazette World News: Syria offers Aleppo truce as rebels argue over talks

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Israeli officials believe that a potential Iranian acquisition of advanced Russian S-400 air defense missile systems could complicate a potential strike against that country's nuclear program. But would an S-400 acquisition really give Tehran a game-changing capability given that it already possesses some formidable long-range air defense systems? On March 11, Iranian state media reported that Iran had finalized a contract for buying Su-35 Flanker-E fighters. Tehran is expected to receive at least two dozen jets built initially for Egypt. Earlier in the month, Bloomberg reported that Iran is also seeking S-400s. It cited unnamed American and Israeli sources warning that such an acquisition would hasten any decision to launch a strike. It also said it would take less than two years for any Iranian S-400s to become operational. ADVERTISEMENT However, it has yet to be seen if Russia will ultimately fulfill an … [Read more...] about Would Acquiring Russian S-400 Missiles Give Iran A Game-Changing Capability Against Israel And U.S.?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin By Joe Monaghan, CEO of Worldwide Logistics Group . Just a few weeks in and 2023 has already given a glimpse into just how uncertain supply chains have become. The tragic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria left logistics leaders scrambling to understand rippling supply chain impacts . Meanwhile, renewed tensions between the U.S. and China over alleged spy balloons are starting to influence several organizations’ supply chain practices. This isn’t just a 2023 problem; unfortunately, natural disasters and geopolitical events aren’t limited to a moment in time. The industry has already adjusted to a laundry list of global disruptions over the last three years, causing more than half of logistics managers to not expect normalcy in their supply chain until at least 2024. And 29% said it might not happen until after 2025—if ever again. This volatility is transforming the role of supply chain management. Rather … [Read more...] about Three Ways To Future-Proof Your Supply Chain Management

It has been a year since the Russia-Ukraine war. The war is still going on and shows no signs of stopping. Many people have already died, injured and maimed, and thousands of houses and structures have been destroyed. This war has not brought benefits to anyone, nor will it in the future. No one wins this war, and war is not the solution. So it is better to sit at the negotiation table to solve the problem and establish peace. Everyone, including United Nations, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Ukraine, should come forward for this. But first of all, both countries involved in the war must take the initiative. Peace-loving people of the world do not want wars. They all want to live together in peace. Russia and Ukraine are two neighboring countries. Ukraine was once part of the former Soviet Union. Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Both countries are very large. The area of Russia is 1 crore 71 lakh square kilometers. 6 lakh … [Read more...] about Stop the Russia-Ukraine War for the Greater Interest

The Codex Sassoon, a 10th century Hebrew Bible, goes up for sale at Sotheby’s in May and could become the most valuable book ever sold at auction. By Isabel Lord , Forbes Staff “I t’s one of the world’s greatest treasures.” Sharon Liberman Mintz, a senior Judaica specialist at Sotheby’s, says of the Codex Sassoon, which goes up for auction in May. But for now, the thousand-year-old Hebrew Bible is stored in what looks like a supersized shoebox stuffed with paper, on a crowded table in a nondescript room at the auction house’s New York headquarters. Hardly a glamorous setting for one of the most valuable books in the world. It's not until Liberman Mintz and a colleague lift it—as gingerly as one can raise a 26-pound, six-inch thick stack of centuries-old parchment—that the true heft of the Codex apparent. Already boasting the highest pre-auction estimate of a book or manuscript ($30 million to $50 million), the Codex Sassoon could become the most expensive … [Read more...] about The Genesis Of A $50 Million Bible

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin On Thursday, the Pentagon released declassified video from the MQ-9 Reaper drone it says a Russian Su-27 fighter downed two days previously over the Black Sea. In a Wednesday press briefing , Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the incident, “dangerous and reckless and unprofessional.” But if it was intentional, was it unprofessional? In a joint briefing with Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, affirmed that the U.S. concluded that the intercept was not improvised or executed by the Russian pilots without authorization. “We know that the intercept was intentional. We know that the aggressive behavior was intentional. The physical contact of those two [aircraft], we’re not sure yet,” he said. Milley’s comment contrasts with (and perhaps overrides) an unnamed U.S. Air Force official who reportedly told ABC News that they do not think that one of the two Russian pilots who hit the … [Read more...] about If The Russian Intercept Of A U.S. Drone Was Intentional, Was It Unprofessional?

Two ISIS officials were killed in a US military operation in eastern Syria, US officials confirmed Sunday. The “successful helicopter raid” executed by US military forces followed “extensive planning” and resulted in no civilian deaths or injuries, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM) press release. Officials confirmed the identity of one of the two terrorists as Anas, an ISIS Syrian province official with involvement “in the group’s deadly plotting and facilitation operations in eastern Syria.” “The death of these ISIS officials will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out destabilizing attacks in the Middle East,” said CENTCOM spokesperson Joe Buccino. (RELATED: ‘Terrorism Crimes’: DOJ Slaps ISIS-Funding Company With Over $700 Million Fine) US Raid Kills ISIS Officials in Syria https://t.co/gmq7qGsEKK pic.twitter.com/6lZUWkROa5 — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 11, 2022 US involvement in Syria stems from … [Read more...] about US Helicopter Raid Takes Out ISIS Leaders In Middle East

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Today marks the start of Ramadan 2023. There are an estimated 3.85 million practicing Muslims in America, and this number is growing rapidly. Pew Research Center data projects that the number will reach 8 million by 2050 , at which point Islam could emerge as the second-largest religion in the U.S. In Muslim culture, the month of Ramadan is a heightened spiritual time of year, during which people fast during the day and come together in spiritual community and to enjoy celebratory meals at night. Muslims consume products that are halal, which means they are free of certain ingredients, such as alcohol and pork, and that the meat is sourced and processed in a specific way. Globally, the halal market is expected to reach $3 trillion in 2023 . The halal label can apply not just to food, but also cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. By offering halal products, brands can not only appeal to the Muslim population, but also … [Read more...] about Why More Brands Are Offering Halal Products

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Both REITs admit climate risk is a material risk factor in their 10Ks. Coastal Risk, a consulting firm, and I tried estimating such risk using publicly available data. We made some progress but could not go too far. We need rules on quantitative climate risk disclosures that would help investors bound such risks, contrary to claims that our current voluntary disclosure regime is adequate. Climate risk disclosures are arguably the most controversial development in the staid world of accounting and reporting in recent times. As a case study, consider the SEC’s proposed climate risk disclosure rule which is reported to have attracted over 14,000 comment letters. The proponents of more and useful disclosure (including me) argue that climate-induced physical and transition risks are real for many businesses, but the current state of required disclosure does not give investors enough information to get a reasonable handle on … [Read more...] about The Need For Climate Risk Disclosures: A Case Study Of Physical Risk Of Two REITS, EQR And ARE