Photo source: Al Jazeera By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront Jordan has recently intensified its warnings against Iranian militias along its northern frontier, accusing Tehran of facilitating drug trafficking through drones and other methods. Officials in Amman argue that Iranian‑affiliated groups have expanded their influence in southern Syria, shifting the balance of power in the area. Al Jazeera reported that Jordanian authorities see narcotics smuggling as not only a criminal enterprise but also a geopolitical weapon, with militias using the trade to fund operations. These warnings are not new. Since Tehran intervened in the Syrian war in 2014 to support President Bashar al‑Assad, Jordan has been wary of being drawn into the conflict. By late 2021, drug smuggling had escalated and become increasingly violent. In January 2022, a Jordanian army officer was killed and three personnel injured when smugglers opened fire on an outpost along the border, according to Reuters. The ...

Photo source: Al Jazeera By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront Freetown in Sierra Leone exploded into violence in August 2022 due to persistent economic hardships, and a government failure in ameliorating the impact of rising costs. As clashes broke out, most of the dwellers of Freetown stayed indoors. People believed it was a sudden explosion of violence, as many government buildings and private property were destroyed. Due to this, government forces patrolled the streets, and a tense, eerie calm returned with ordinary life gradually returning. But, due to the intensity of the protests common people were shocked. Apart from Freetown, the protests had been also concentrated in the opposition's northern heartland. Female protestors had too joined the political protestors, and it added to the mayhem. It was unclear who was behind the destruction, but Freetown’s mayor, Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, an opponent to the current government, revealed in a statement in August 2022 that the city coun...

  Photo source: The Guardian By Naveed Qazi |  Editor, Globe Upfront Forde Inquiry Report has exposed factionalism within the British Labour Party, during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure. This was made public in July 2022, after an earlier leaked internal report. The new report was originally intended to be published by the end of 2020 but it faced difficulties because of continuing legal battles within the party, and its publication was repeatedly delayed. The report confirms a disturbing picture as the party’s democratic socialism was pitted against rightist bureaucracy. The party even committed to maintaining the neoliberal priorities of New Labour set by former leader Tony Blair. Many of the party staff saw one of their main aims in finding reasons to expel Corbyn supporters, in what they termed as ‘trot busting’ and ‘trot hunting’ exercises. It is believed that some party staff members exhibited ‘deplorably factional and insensitive, and at times discriminatory attitudes’ towards ...

  Photo source: Al Mayadeen By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront In July 2022, China Daily reported that US military tankers had carried thousands of litres of crude oil from Syria’s north‑eastern province of Hasakah into the semi‑autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. The Chinese paper accused Washington of ‘bandit behaviour’, claiming that ‘stealing oil is their profession’. China’s foreign ministry issued a statement urging the United States to respect Syria’s sovereignty, lift unilateral sanctions, and ‘stop plundering Syria’s national resources’. Syria’s official news agency SANA echoed these accusations. In August 2022, it reported that 144 tankers laden with Syrian oil crossed into Iraq via the al‑Mahmoudiya border, only days after another convoy of 60 vehicles passed through the al‑Waleed crossing. SANA described these transfers as violations of international law, portraying US forces as occupiers. The Pentagon, however, has consistently maintained that its deploym...

  Photo source: The New Arab By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront Tunisia began its new era of a march towards autocracy when Kais Saied passed a referendum which was met with a low turnout in July 2022. It was something unexpected after he had installed a new female prime minister giving hope to Tunisians for a vibrant democracy.  The new constitution includes changes to shift back power to the presidency, away from parliament, which Saied’s supporters see as a centre full of political bickering and government paralysis. His mandated charter would replace a 2014 constitution that was a hard-won compromise between Islamist-leaning and secular forces. There was no minimum participation rate requirement for the referendum. Hence, the newly drafted constitution will become the law. Tunisian political analyst and author Amine Snoussi made comparisons of this referendum with some other recent referendums in other countries where attendance was far higher, such as Uruguay in 2022,...

  Photo source: Polish News By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront July 2022 witnessed Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister,  accusing a rebel group of carrying a massacre of civilians in the western Oromia state. The Oromo Liberation Army has been inflicting damage on civilians as its fighters fled an offensive by security forces in Oromia, as per reports by Al Jazeera. There were a lot of citizens living in the Qellen Wollega zone of Oromia that have been massacred. Rebels had also managed to attack Gambella, the capital. According to officials, the rebels have been killing the ethnic Amharas. Around three hundred bodies were collected, although there still could be more and their whereabouts are known to no one. Many also believe that places like Tole Kebelle are vulnerable to more rounds of attacks if security forces leave from there. Michele Bachelet, the United Nations rights chief, has called on the Ethiopian authorities to conduct ‘prompt, impartial and thorough’ i...