Страны демонстрируют растущую решимость объединять усилия для борьбы с наркотиками, сказал Кувейтский полковник Мохаммад Аль-Хазим, руководитель операций в Управлении по контролю над наркотиками Министерства внутренних дел Кувейта. Аль-Хазим говорил в кулуарах девятого международного Форума по вопросам наркотиков, проходившем в июне 2013 в Дубае, Объединенные Арабские Эмираты. Это мероприятие было организовано Дубайской полицией. Аль-Хазим сказал, что Кувейтское министерство внутренних дел стремится принимать участие в таких мероприятиях, подчеркнув, что этот форумявляется важным местом встречи для международных организаций, возглавляющих борьбу с наркотиками. Участвующие организации включали региональный офис ООН по наркотикам и преступности и субрегиональный офис UNODC для Совета по сотрудничеству стран Персидского залива…
Unipath
Pakistani youth leader Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi has a plan to counter the relentless message of violence spewed by extremists in his country — and he is stealing a gimmick from the enemy’s own playbook to do it. His weapon: the three-wheeled motorized rickshaws that buzz along Pakistan’s streets. Extremists have long used the vehicles as a canvas for slogans that foster hatred. Zaidi is turning that strategy on its head with a fleet of rickshaws emblazoned with peace slogans and decorated with colorful designs similar to those found on many trucks and buses in the country. Zaidi chose to…
UNIPATH STAFF A driving wind was already kicking up the powdery clay dust off the desert floor when the two shells landed with a thud. As the acrid smoke streamed into the displaced persons camp, dozens of men emerged from tents clutching throats and chests. For the throng of refugees, it was their worst fear realized: a sarin nerve gas attack committed by the very same regime they had recently fled. In a blare of sirens, emergency response teams arrived before the smoke had cleared. Within 20 minutes, the casualties were categorized, decontaminated, diagnosed and ushered into a surgical tent,…
UNIPATH STAFF Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sharpened their counterterrorism and convoy-protection skills at sea during the 10th iteration of the joint biannual Naseem Al-Bahr naval exercises. Held off the coast of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea from January 12 to 22, 2013, the maritime warfare exercise also focused on mine countermeasures and special forces operations, as well as sharing resources to fight piracy, arms smuggling and human trafficking. Members of the Saudi Navy, Marines, Special Operations Forces and bomb disposal teams participated along with their counterparts from the Pakistan Navy’s Special Services Group, Maritime Special Warfare Group, SEALs and Special…
In a bid to promote its peaceful civilian nuclear program, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. hosted an official delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in January 2013. The delegates toured the Barakah site — selected for the country’s civil nuclear energy program — where they received a comprehensive update on construction and the achievement of key milestones. “The U.A.E. is making safe and consistent progress in the development of the peaceful nuclear energy program. … We are very satisfied with the quality of the information we have received,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said. He praised the Emirati…
UNIPATH STAFF For the past decade, Kazakhstan has been the proud host of the Steppe Eagle military exercises. Since 2003, the peacekeeping exercise has gathered thousands of security forces from 15 nations to cooperate, share ideas and build relationships. Held at Camp Illisky and co-sponsored by the United States, Steppe Eagle promotes interoperability among friendly forces. The exercise is helping Kazakh forces prepare to deploy a company-sized unit in support of a U.N. peacekeeping operation by 2015. During Steppe Eagle in 2013, Kazakh forces are undergoing NATO peacekeeping evaluation and certification. Sources: Third Army/U.S. Army Central, U.S. Central Command
Central Asia Newswire Turkmenistan will launch its first space communications satellite in late 2014. The satellite will improve telephone services and increase the number of available television channels. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow announced his intention to build a national space communications system in 2009. Turkmenistan currently uses Russia’s Yamal satellite for its communications needs. The satellite is being manufactured by European aerospace firm Thales Alenia Space, which signed a contract with the Turkmen government in late 2011. Thales is also expected to build a new ground-control system, as well as ensure that the satellite operates effectively for the next 15…
Yemen News Agency (SABA) Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Ahmad Ali urged military commanders appointed recently by President Abd Rabuh Mansur Hadi to exert considerable efforts to help modernize and reform the country’s army. Ahmad made the remarks during an April 2013 meeting with the new commanders attended by Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Ahmad Ali al-Ashwal and the Army’s newly appointed Inspector General, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Ali al-Qasemi. “The Yemeni people expect the new military commanders to work hard to make a remarkable change in the process of building and modernizing the armed forces to become…
U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime To combat the threat of illicit drug trafficking, the Kyrgyz Republic drug control and prison services signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in December 2012 to strengthen interagency cooperation. The agreement will fight trafficking in drugs and psychotropic substances and improve control of precursor ingredients. It will also help prevent drug abuse in prisons by strengthening the professionalism of the prison staff, said Alimbay Sultanov, chair of the state drug control service. The MOU was developed by an interagency working group designed to increase the rule of law in the Kyrgyz Republic by further…
Central Asia Newswire The Uzbek government will invest $10.4 million in a new transport logistics center in the Surkhandarya region, a key component of the country’s plan to become a regional crossroads for trade and transportation. Located at the nexus of several trading routes, Uzbekistan provides a strategic locale for firms eager to export goods to Russia, China, India and other states. As the country invests millions to improve road and rail networks, the European Union is contributing $2.6 million to upgrade Uzbekistan’s transportation infrastructure. Uzbekistan is not the only Central Asian state developing top-of-the-line transport logistics centers. Kazakhstan is…