Latest news with #CentreforMiddleEasternStudies
National News
26-04-2025
- Politics
- National News
Salameh partakes in "International Orientalism Conference" in Doha
NNA—Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh participated today in the opening of the International Orientalism Conference in Doha, which was attended by 600 researchers and intellectuals from around the world. Salameh was a guest speaker at the opening session, "Towards Balanced Civilizational Communication," which also included Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, and Director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford University, Eugene Rogan. In his word, the Culture Minister touched on the developing concept of Orientalism and its criticism, noting that ideas have regained their weight at the expense of identity elements. He explained that in the past decades, we reached considerations of identity and inherited elements without giving sufficient importance to notions which are usually adopted with complete freedom, unlike the identity that is given upon birth. In response to a question about the situation in Gaza, Salameh considered that "what happened in Gaza raises doubts about the effectiveness of international laws, international systems, and the shared international community of values," adding that "there is a pre-Gaza phase and a post-Gaza phase." Salameh underlined that we must come to an understanding from now on that if there are truly universal values, they must be applied to everyone with the same force and the same strictness, without the exclusion of countries, as is the case with Israel's actions in Gaza. =========
South China Morning Post
22-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's KJ-500 radar aircraft overseas for first time in joint drill with Egypt
China's air force has flown its KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft overseas for the first time in a joint exercise with Egypt , as Beijing seeks closer defence ties with Africa. Advertisement It comes after Egypt confirmed it was using the Chinese HQ-9B long-range surface-to-air missile system earlier this month. The People's Liberation Army sent the KJ-500, along with YU-20 aerial refuelling aircraft and J-10 fighter jets, to Egypt for the joint air drill known as the 'Eagles of Civilisation 2025', which began on Saturday and runs until the middle of May. An advanced radar aircraft, the KJ-500 has sophisticated electronic warfare systems and secure data link capabilities. Its radar dome provides 360-degree coverage and it can detect and track airborne and surface targets at an extended range. Sun Degang, director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the KJ-500's flight over the Red Sea marked 'a significant step in China's military modernisation' and showed how it could be used for strategic airlift operations and force projection. Advertisement 'China now possesses not only near-seas defence capabilities but also the capacity to conduct long-range escort missions and consular protection operations,' Sun said, referring to the presence of the KJ-500 in a strategically sensitive area.
