Latest news with #OperationsRoom
Iraq Business
8 hours ago
- Business
- Iraq Business
Iraq Prepares 97 Industrial and Agricultural Projects
By John Lee. As part of preparations for the Iraq Investment Forum, scheduled for 14-15 June in Baghdad, the Operations Room of the National Investment Commission (NIC) held an extensive meeting to review investment opportunities submitted by the Ministries of Industry and Minerals and of Agriculture. 97 Strategic Opportunities The review covered 97 industrial investment opportunities worth an estimated 4 trillion Iraqi dinars. These include: Rehabilitation and development of public sector companies into profitable entities via strategic partnerships with the private sector. Establishment and expansion of industrial and economic cities. Projects in petrochemicals and fertilisers. 21 targeted opportunities in heavy and medium industries. In the agricultural sector, promising investment opportunities include: Crop and livestock production. Modern irrigation systems. Agricultural mechanisation. Development of food processing and packaging complexes, supporting food security and value-added outputs. The NIC emphasised the importance of aligning the national investment map with state priorities in productive sectors and food and industrial security. The Commission called for streamlined investor procedures in coordination with relevant ministries to ensure the readiness of projects before their presentation at the forum. The meeting was attended by members of the NIC Operations Room, representatives from the Iraqi Economic Council, and officials from the sectoral ministries. (Source: NIC)
Yemen Online
12 hours ago
- General
- Yemen Online
Yemen : 'Masam' Clears 1,139 Explosive Devices During First Week of June
The Operations Room of the "Masam" Project for clearing landmines in Yemen announced the removal of 1,139 explosive items between May 31 and June 5, 2025, as part of ongoing efforts to protect civilians from the remnants of war. According to an official statement, engineering teams successfully dismantled 1,080 unexploded ordnance, 56 anti-tank mines, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and one anti-personnel mine. The operation also cleared an area of 146,921 square meters across various Yemeni provinces. Project Director Eng. Osama Al-Qasibi emphasized that "Masam" continues to operate at a high pace to safeguard local communities. He noted that since its launch in mid-2018 up until June 5, the project has removed a total of 498,683 explosive devices from residential zones, farmland, and key transit routes. This achievement comes as the project enters its eighth year, with continued funding from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center—reflecting Saudi Arabia's sustained commitment to supporting humanitarian initiatives in Yemen.
The National
30-01-2025
- Politics
- The National
Syrian leader Al Shara vows to impose central power as challenges emerge form fringes
Syria's new leader Ahmad Al Shara said on Thursday that he would impose the power of the state on the whole of country as the central authorities deal with challenges in the east and west stemming from the civil war. A rebel coalition that overthrew president Bashar Al Assad declared Mr Al Shara the President of Syria on Wednesday. The coalition, called the Operations Room, is dominated by his Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a former offshoot of Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front. "We will concentrate in the coming period on … complete uniting the whole of Syria and bring it under a single authority, and build institutions based on merit and free of corruption," Mr Al Shara said in a three-minute televised statement. The new central authorities will also "instil civil peace and pursue the criminals who have spilt Syrian blood and committed toward us crimes and massacres", he said, referring to loyalists of the former Assad family regime, who ruled Syria from 1970 to 2024. The power of Mr Al Shara, who was until last month ruler of a small fiefdom in northern Syria, is being challenged on two fronts in the outlaying areas of the country. Since the civil war in late 2011, Kurdish militias have carved out large areas in the east of the country, while core loyalists of Mr Al Assad entrenched themselves in the western Alawite mountains overlooking the coast. HTS forces have launched a military campaign to subdue members of the former regime. At the same time, Syrian militias loyal to Turkey and allied with HTS have launched an offensive against the Kurdish-led militias that controls the east. The ascendancy of Mr Al Shara has sparked fears the country will fail to change into a system fundamentally different from the iron rule he played a main role in toppling. He vowed that there will be free elections in Syria, without setting a time. He said first the authorities will appoint a legislature and convene a national dialogue conference to "listen to all views about our upcoming political programme". Mr Al Shara did not directly mention pluralism or democracy. He said that Syria, having been liberated from 54 years of "one the darkest tyrannical rules" the world had known , will be "governed by shura", a form of collective decision making in Islam.
The National
30-01-2025
- Politics
- The National
Al Shara's appointment as Syria's President sparks fears of new iron rule
The appointment of Ahmad Al Shara as President of Syria by his own supporters has sparked fears the country will fail to change into a system fundamentally different from the iron rule he played a main role in toppling. A rebel coalition that overthrew Bashar Al Assad declared Mr Al Shara the President of Syria on Wednesday. The coalition, called the Operations Room, is dominated by Mr Shara's Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a former offshoot of Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front. Walid Al Bunni, a prominent dissident and a former political prisoner who was among the first non-violent figures in Syria to oppose Bashar Al Assad when he came to power in 2000, said the appointment ushers a transformation to a new 'tyranny'. 'Syrians may accept this tyranny for a while, if Julani [Shara's previous nom de guerre] obtains financial support to bring in bread and some basic services,' Mr Al Bunni said. 'But sooner or later, the revolution for a democratic Syria will be renewed,' he said, referring to the 2011 peaceful, pro-democracy uprising, which was crushed by the Assad regime, killing thousands. New powers bestowed on Mr Al Shara by his own troops and auxiliaries gave him the authority to appoint a parliament for an unspecified transitional period and merge all the country's military, political and civil groups into the state. The move represented a consolidation of power for the man who played the main role in toppling the former regime. In December, he led rebel formations from HTS's base in Idlib on an offensive that overthrew Mr Al Assad in Damascus, a decade after Mr Al Shara had become the ruler of a northern fief. Ahmad Aba Zeid, who became a young activist in the rural south of Syria when the revolt broke out in 2011, said the apparent power given to Mr Al Shara to dissolve every group in the country could be 'an arbitrary start to restricting public space'. 'The military groups have a right to disband,' he said. 'But who has the right to dissolve the political and civil groups that had sprung from the revolution?" Mohammad Salloum, a Syrian political satirist who rose to prominence after leading civil disobedience in Idlib at the start of the 2011 uprising, said the appointment mirrors the history of military coups in Syria. These coups were marked by military officers declaring themselves president before overseeing rubber-stamped elections to further legitimise their rule. 'Ahmad Al Shara is still Al Julani,' said Mr Salloum. He has not changed from a leader of the revolution into a statesman, he added. But prominent political commentator Ayman Abdel Nour said Mr Al Shara had to make the move because of the political and legal vacuum in the country. 'He has to legitimise the new state,' Mr Abdel Nour said, a Syrian engineer who had worked on reforming the system with Mr Al Assad, before becoming disillusioned with his rule in the 2000s. 'How else would new laws be enacted, to whom ministers would swear loyalty?' '[Al] Shara's first test will be who he appoints to the legislature,' said Mr Abdel Nour, pointing out that the first parliament after Hafez Al Assad came to power in 1970 comprised regime loyalists only.
The National
30-01-2025
- Politics
- The National
Ahmed Al Shara declared Syrian President and Gaza hostage release set for Thursday
Trending Middle East brings you the latest social media and search trends from the region and around the world. Here are today's headlines. The rebel coalition that overthrew Bashar Al Assad has declared Ahmad Al Shara President of Syria, in a consolidation of power for the man who played the leading role in toppling the former government. The constitution that was in place under the former regime has been annulled and the military and 'all security agencies of the bygone regime' have been also dissolved, according to Col Hassan Abdul Ghani, spokesman for the rebel umbrella group known as the Operations Room. A Palestine advocacy group said Israeli authorities will release 110 Palestinian detainees on Thursday as part of an exchange under a Gaza ceasefire deal as agreed to with Hamas. The group includes 30 minors. Three Israeli hostages and five Thai captives will be released. President Sheikh Mohamed on Wednesday hosted Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, at Abu Dhabi's Al Shati Palace The leaders discussed ways to bolster bilateral relations and enhance co-operation, particularly in the economic, trade, investment and development fields, state news agency Wam reported.
