David Shadrach

The rise and rise of 'halal' business NEWS / BUSINESS & ECONOMY Islam Business & Economy Turkey Middle East SIGN UP Halal industries are expected to be worth $3.7 trillion by 2019 [Reuters] When Kerim Ture placed his first order for a batch of long-sleeved tunics that could be worn by Muslim women, the manufacturers producing them demanded payment upfront, apparently convinced the venture would fail and Ture would be left unable to pay them. The Turkish entrepreneur quickly proved that their scepticism was unfounded, and he was back shortly afterwards to place a new order, having sold the first. Today the website Ture established to sell his products, Modanisa, attracts 100 million visitors annually, has customers in 120 countries, and has no shortage of manufacturers willing to work with it. "Modanisa now has 300 suppliers and 30 designers, it's become a platform for hundreds of suppliers from all over the world who want to sell products on our site," a ...

Wheat aid arrives in blockaded Yemen amid famine fears NEWS / MIDDLE EAST OPINION Yemen's fate was sealed six years ago by Noha Aboueldahab READ MORE Aid trickles into Yemen after three weeks of blockade Yemen Middle East Famine War SIGN UP Children protest against the Saudi-led coalition outside UN offices in Sanaa last week [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters] About 25,000 tonnes of wheat will be offloaded on Monday for starving people in Yemen, the first food aid allowed into the country facing mass famine after a three-week blockade by a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition. A spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), Abeer Etefa, said the shipment landed on Sunday at the Houthi rebel-controlled Red Sea port of Saleef in western Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi fighters imposed the siege on Yemeni ports and airports in response to a ballistic missile they fired at the Saudi capital, Riyadh, which was shot down earlier this month. UN officials have warned that Yemen cou...

Dozens of civilians killed in Syria air strikes NEWS / MIDDLE EAST READ MORE Syria: Secret underground hospital established to treat injuries READ MORE Assad to Putin: Thank you for 'saving our country' Syria's Civil War Middle East SIGN UP Fighter jets at Khmeimim airbase in Syria seen in this June 2016 photo [File: Vadim Savitsky/ Russian Defence Ministry via Reuters] Dozens of civilians have been killed in air strikes and artillery shelling in war- ravaged Syria, activists said on Sunday. Air raids targeting Eastern Ghouta district outside the capital Damascus killed at least 23 people as Syrian government forces continue to increase military pressure on the rebel- controlled area. "The toll could rise further because of the number of wounded people in a serious condition," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. At least four children were among the dead, he added. The local Ghouta Media Center also reported 23 civ...

Guns 'key' to African American equality: NAAGA NEWS / GUN VIOLENCE US & Canada Gun violence Gun control Racism United States SIGN UP NAAGA Vice President Douglas Jefferson believes gun violence should be remedied with a 'holistic' approach [Photo provided by NAAGA] The United States' recent history is filled with mass shootings and a lack of political will to initiate reforms to curb gun violence. The past two months have seen two of the deadliest shootings in the nation's history. As of November 24, there had been 321 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks gun-related violence. October saw the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history in Las Vegas, when Stephen Paddock killed 59 and injured more than 500 concert- goers at the Mandalay Bay hotel. On November 5, Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 and injured 20 at a Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the deadliest shooting in a place of worship in the ...

Can Saudi Arabia's economic reforms succeed? NEWS / MIDDLE EAST WATCH 24:40 What is Mohammed bin Salman's next move? Saudi Arabia Middle East Politics SIGN UP The Saudi prince pledged to destroy 'extremism' and return the kingdom to 'moderate Islam' [Reuters] Reforms spearheaded by Saudi Arabia 's crown prince may be insufficient to wean the economy from its addiction to oil and create a thriving private sector able to generate sufficient jobs, economists and analysts say. Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "Vision 2030" master plan aims to transform Saudi's economy as sluggish oil prices squeeze its finances. Since Mohammed bin Salman cracked down on corruption earlier this month, some observers have voiced concerns about the impact of political risk on his plans, amid fears of a backlash. "Nobody actually expects Vision 2030 to be fully implemented, but it is an attempt to show the world that there is a direction of travel away from oil,...

Can Saudi Arabia's economic reforms succeed? NEWS / MIDDLE EAST WATCH 24:40 What is Mohammed bin Salman's next move? Saudi Arabia Middle East Politics SIGN UP The Saudi prince pledged to destroy 'extremism' and return the kingdom to 'moderate Islam' [Reuters] Reforms spearheaded by Saudi Arabia 's crown prince may be insufficient to wean the economy from its addiction to oil and create a thriving private sector able to generate sufficient jobs, economists and analysts say. Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "Vision 2030" master plan aims to transform Saudi's economy as sluggish oil prices squeeze its finances. Since Mohammed bin Salman cracked down on corruption earlier this month, some observers have voiced concerns about the impact of political risk on his plans, amid fears of a backlash. "Nobody actually expects Vision 2030 to be fully implemented, but it is an attempt to show the world that there is a direction of travel away from oil,...

Can Saudi Arabia's economic reforms succeed? NEWS / MIDDLE EAST WATCH 24:40 What is Mohammed bin Salman's next move? Saudi Arabia Middle East Politics SIGN UP The Saudi prince pledged to destroy 'extremism' and return the kingdom to 'moderate Islam' [Reuters] Reforms spearheaded by Saudi Arabia 's crown prince may be insufficient to wean the economy from its addiction to oil and create a thriving private sector able to generate sufficient jobs, economists and analysts say. Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "Vision 2030" master plan aims to transform Saudi's economy as sluggish oil prices squeeze its finances. Since Mohammed bin Salman cracked down on corruption earlier this month, some observers have voiced concerns about the impact of political risk on his plans, amid fears of a backlash. "Nobody actually expects Vision 2030 to be fully implemented, but it is an attempt to show the world that there is a direction of travel away from oil,...

Can Saudi Arabia's economic reforms succeed? NEWS / MIDDLE EAST WATCH 24:40 What is Mohammed bin Salman's next move? Saudi Arabia Middle East Politics SIGN UP The Saudi prince pledged to destroy 'extremism' and return the kingdom to 'moderate Islam' [Reuters] Reforms spearheaded by Saudi Arabia 's crown prince may be insufficient to wean the economy from its addiction to oil and create a thriving private sector able to generate sufficient jobs, economists and analysts say. Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "Vision 2030" master plan aims to transform Saudi's economy as sluggish oil prices squeeze its finances. Since Mohammed bin Salman cracked down on corruption earlier this month, some observers have voiced concerns about the impact of political risk on his plans, amid fears of a backlash. "Nobody actually expects Vision 2030 to be fully implemented, but it is an attempt to show the world that there is a direction of travel away from oil,...

Will the GCC summit be held next month as planned? NEWS / MIDDLE EAST GCC Middle East Politics SIGN UP The Gulf Cooperation Council was founded in 1981 and meets annually to discuss regional affairs [File: Bahrain News Agency via AP] A prominent Kuwaiti journalist has said that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit will be held on schedule next month with Qatar's participation, despite increasing indicators that the annual meeting will be postponed due to the regional diplomatic crisis. In an interview with the German Deutsche Welle (DW) broadcaster on Friday, Ahmed al-Jarallah, who has close ties to Kuwaiti policymakers, said that a solution to the Gulf crisis is imminent. Jarallah, an editor of several newspapers and magazines in Kuwait, made the comments to DW during his visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh as part of a Kuwaiti delegation. He said leaving Qatar out of the group would make the country "vulnerable to other agendas". There has been no official announceme...

Hariri: Hezbollah's regional positions 'unacceptable' NEWS / HEZBOLLAH Lebanon Hezbollah Middle East Hariri, who had recently announced his resignation, said he would temporarily refrain from stepping down at the behest of Lebanon's president [EPA] Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has warned Hezbollah against interfering in regional conflicts, saying he postponed his resignation to discuss ways to disassociate Lebanon from wars in neighbouring countries. Speaking during a meeting with the Higher Islamic Council, the official body for the country's Sunni Muslims, on Saturday, Hariri stressed that Lebanon was being targeted and that it risked being dragged into chaos. "The postponement [of resignation] at the request of President Michel Aoun was to give an opportunity to discuss and negotiate our principal demands to make Lebanon neutral and keep it away from the conflicts and the wars in the region, and to implement the policy of disassociation … and commi...