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☆ Israel's strike showed Iran's air defenses were 'woefully unprepared.' Here's what Tehran may do next.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The incident in the city of Isfahan may force Tehran to upgrade its air defenses, possibly from more advanced Russian systems, to defend itself from the possibility of larger Israeli missile attacks. While Iranian air defenses failed to stop Israel's strike they have hugely improved in recent years. AdvertisementThe S-300PMU-2 is the most advanced air defense system Iran has acquired from Russia. "In practice, this could go either way, depending on the amount of Israeli missiles that would be hypothetically launched and from where." AdvertisementKhoueiry anticipates that early detection by Iranian air defenses could give these Iranian-made systems "more chances" against Israeli missiles.

Persons: —, Israel, Arash Azizi, Azizi, Freddy Khoueiry, RANE, Khoueiry, Jalaa Marey, Clemson University's Azizi, It's, it's Organizations: Service, Israeli, Economist, Business, Clemson University, Iran's, Rampage, Clemson, Moscow, Russian Locations: Iran, Russian, Isfahan, Tehran, Russia, Israel, Britain, East, North Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israeli, Lebanon, it's, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Certain work shifts may harm your health later in life, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

More dire long-term consequences may also be at play, according to new research on the associations between work patterns in young adulthood and health outcomes later in life. Multiple studies have shown how irregular work hours can harm overall health and social life, but the new paper views the relationship through a “life-course” approach, observing how work patterns affect health throughout adulthood instead of one point in time. Despite the challenges of today’s work schedules, health experts say there are strategies people can use to mitigate the negative impacts. Additionally, still having some kind of routine or schedule around that shift can make it easier to fit in those health-promoting activities — especially sleep, Yao added. And past research has found that refraining from eating late at night counteracts the negative effects of shift work on health, he added.

Persons: ”, Wen, Han, ” Han, White, Xiaoxi Yao, wasn’t, Yao, ” Yao, “, Leana Wen, Wen wasn’t, Azizi Seixas, Christian Benedict, Han’s, ” Benedict, Benedict, ” Seixas Organizations: CNN, Silver School of Social, New York University, Longitudinal Survey, Mayo Clinic, “, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Uppsala University Locations: midlife, Minnesota, Sweden

☆ Despite Hard-liners Winning Recent Elections, Iran Is Heading for a Big Change - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Arash Azizi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The vote, for the Parliament and Assembly of Experts, which appoints the supreme leader, was far from a referendum on current leaders, though. Iranians instead had the option to vote for varying degrees of conservative and hard-line candidates, often competing only in their effusive praise for the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Despite their Islamist declarations, many politicians in the Islamic Republic are not ideologues or revolutionaries, but technocrats or pragmatists who have gathered around Ayatollah Khamenei for proximity to his power. Today’s Iran is held together by the octogenarian Ayatollah Khamenei and his authority. A new Iran may be on the horizon, even if it’s not the Iran anti-regime protesters have hoped for.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, it’s Organizations: Experts Locations: Gaza, Islamic Republic, Iran

☆ Opinion: Why a line of dialogue truly can define a film
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Opinion Arash Azizi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Frankly, I hate dialogue,” Villeneuve told The Times of London. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. This supposed truism is heard everywhere in the film world and even taught to film writers. Cinema has never been a language of “pure image and sound.”Even in the age of silent films, dialogue rendered as inter-titles was critical to cinema. Charlie Chaplin stars in his 1931 silent film, "City Lights."

Persons: Arash Azizi, ”, CNN — Denis Villeneuve, It’s, Zoe Prinds, ” Villeneuve, I’m, Rolling Stone, Federico Fellini, Villeneuve, Fellini, Alexander Steele, ” Josh Brolin, Gurney Halleck, Paul Atreides, Carla Simón’s “, Gorgeously, Ethan Hawke, ” Hawke, “, they’ve, Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Adenoid Hynkler, Adolf Hitler, Institute’s, Quentin Tarantino’s, Jackie Brown ”, Pam Grier, Marlon Brando’s, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, Merve, Greta Gerwig’s, Bird ”, wouldn’t, Palme d’Or, Jane Campion, David Lynch’s, Golden, Martin Scorsese glowed, ” Scorsese Organizations: Oneworld, CNN, Warner Bros, Times, Gotham Writers, Chalet, Warner Bros ., Sundance, Film Society of Lincoln Center, United, Getty, New York Times, Villeneuve, Janus, Atlanta ”, Derry Girls ”, Cannes Locations: French, Canadian, London, Italian, Cannes, Berlin, Catalonia, Jewish, Iran, cinema’s, “

☆ Iran shows it can unleash its own deadly drone war against US troops
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In its Sunday attack on a US outpost in Jordan, Iran and its militia allies showed they have the suicide drone technology to defeat US air defenses. The drone struck Tower 22 near Jordan's border with Syria, killing three US service personnel and injuring over 40 . Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERSSunday's attack wasn't the first time these militias have used such drones against American troops. Advertisement"The drone was deployed at the same time as a returning US military drone, allowing it to approach undetected," Rogers said.

Persons: —, James Rogers, Arash Azizi, Azizi, Houthis, Rogers, IRGC, Qassem, Soleimani, Samad, Biden, Ceng Sagnic, Sagnic Organizations: Service, Business, White, of, Clemson University, Iran's, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Planet Labs, Handout, REUTERS, Force, TAM, C Locations: Jordan, Iran, Jordan's, Syria, Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, Tehran, Yemen, Lebanon, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, Baghdad

☆ Taliban Minister Raises Return of Deported Afghans' Assets in Pakistan Visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Charlotte GreenfieldISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting commerce minister said he had asked Pakistan to help return the assets of expelled Afghans and discussed ways to overcome Afghanistan's stalled banking sector transactions during a four-day visit to Islamabad this week. Acting minister Nooruddin Azizi's arrival in the Pakistani capital marked the first public visit by a senior Taliban official since Pakistan announced its policy to deport thousands of undocumented Afghans and other foreign citizens after Nov. 1. The Taliban have said the security issues are a domestic matter for Islamabad and called on Pakistan to stop deportations. Azizi said a major focus of the visit had been raising the problem of Afghan deportees being unable to return their assets from Pakistan. Pakistan's commerce minister and a spokesman for the commerce ministry did not respond to request for comment.

Persons: Charlotte Greenfield, Nooruddin, Azizi, Asif Shahzad, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, William Maclean Organizations: Taliban, Pakistan, Reuters Locations: Charlotte Greenfield ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Islamabad, Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate, Uzbekistan, China, Kabul

☆ Taliban minister raises issue of refugee assets during Pakistan visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting commerce minister met Pakistan's foreign minister in Islamabad this week, an Afghan embassy statement said on Tuesday, discussing trade and how the thousands of Afghan citizens Pakistan is expelling could take cash and other assets back to their homeland. Taliban officials say militancy is an internal matter for Pakistan and have called on Islamabad to halt its deportation of Afghan citizens. Afghan citizens returning to Afghanistan have said there are restrictions on the transfer of cash and property to Afghanistan from Pakistan, where many had built businesses and homes for decades. Last month, Pakistan set a Nov. 1 start date for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Pakistan's foreign office said the Taliban acting commerce minister would also undertake a trilateral meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Persons: Naseer Ahmed, Haji Nooruddin Azizi's, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Jilani, Charlotte Greenfield, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province, Chaman, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Afghan, Karachi, Western, Uzbekistan, South, Central Asia

"We requested China to allow us to be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative... (and) are discussing technical issues today," acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters in an interview a day after the Belt and Road Forum ended in Beijing. The Pakistan "economic corridor" refers to the huge flagship section of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Afghanistan's neighbour. Asked about the MCC talks, Azizi said discussions had been delayed because the mine was near a historical site, but they were still ongoing. Afghanistan and 34 other countries agreed to work together on the digital economy and green development on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum on Wednesday. Additional reporting by Ahmad Masih Noori and Charlotte Greenfield in Kabul; editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Tingshu Wang, Xi Jinping's, Azizi, Ahmad Masih Noori, Charlotte, Miral Organizations: Reuters, Embassy, REUTERS, Metallurgical Corp, Pakistan Economic, Initiative, China Ltd, MCC, Islamic State, Taliban, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Beijing, China, Taliban, BEIJING, Kabul, Pakistan, Afghanistan's, Charlotte Greenfield

[1/5] Chinese President Xi Jinping greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as they attend the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), to mark the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Edgar Su Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against decoupling from China as he opened the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum in Beijing on Wednesday, criticizing Western efforts to reduce dependence on the Chinese economy. The trade disruptions of the pandemic years have also added urgency to the desire to limit their dependence on China. WESTERN SCEPTICISMWestern scepticism of Xi's grand plans stems from suspicions over the way it would extend China's global influence, analysts say. Xi is making the Belt and Road smaller and greener, moving away from big-ticket projects like dams to high-tech ones such as digital finance and e-commerce platforms.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Edgar Su, Xi, Putin, BRI, Viktor Orban, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Azizi, Xi's, Antoni Slodkowski, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Initiative, of, People, REUTERS, Rights, EU, Washington, Thomson Locations: Beijing, Rights BEIJING, China, Asia, Africa, Europe, Tiananmen, Taiwan, Western Europe, Afghanistan, Northern

[1/5] Chinese President Xi Jinping greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as they attend the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), to mark the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, October 18, 2023. Putin and other foreign leaders sat with key Chinese officials from the 25-member Politburo on the front row, as Xi delivered his opening speech. The forum centres on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a grand plan launched by Xi in 2013, that envisioned building global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes. Western scepticism of Xi's grand plans stems from suspicions over the way it would extend China's global influence, analysts say. Xi is pushing to make the Belt and Road smaller and greener, moving away from big-ticket projects like dams to high-tech ones such as digital finance and e-commerce platforms.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Edgar Su, Xi, Putin, BRI, Viktor Orban, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Antoni Slodkowski, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Initiative, of, People, REUTERS, Rights, Forum, EU, Washington, Thomson Locations: Beijing, Rights BEIJING, Tiananmen, Asia, Africa, Europe, China, Western Europe, United States, Ukraine

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban will attend China's Belt and Road Forum next week, a spokesman said on Saturday, underscoring Beijing's growing official ties with the administration, despite its lack of formal recognition by any government. Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostly those focussed on Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile multilateral summits it has been invited to attend. China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan. Officials from China, the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan said in May they would like Belt and Road to include Afghanistan and for the flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor to be extended across the border to Afghanistan. China has boosted engagement with the Taliban, becoming the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul since the Taliban took power, and invested in mining projects.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Xi, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, Azizi, Akhundzada, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Joe Cash, William Mallard Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, Rights, China Pakistan Economic, Taliban, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Rights KABUL, Beijing, Pakistan, China Pakistan, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad

☆ UN says Taliban carried out hundreds of extrajudicial killings after seizing power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Taliban fighters have committed hundreds of extrajudicial killings since taking power in Afghanistan in 2021, despite a “general amnesty” meant to protect the previous government, according to the United Nations. International rights groups and bodies like the UN have accused the Taliban of unwinding progress in protecting human rights since seizing power. In interviews conducted with UN officials, individuals recounted beatings with pipes, cables, verbal threats and abuse at the hands of Taliban security force members. “Former government and security officials are entitled to the same human rights protections as all Afghans.”Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the Taliban to punish offenders. “Afghans were able to regain their country, freedom, government and will,” Taliban deputy spokesperson Bilal Karimi previously told CNN.

Persons: “, ”, Volker Turk, Abdul Khaliq, ’, Alia Azizi, hasn’t, UNAMA, ” Turk, Amir al, Hibatullah Akhundzada, Bilal Karimi, Roza Otunbayeva, ” Otunbayeva Organizations: CNN, Taliban, United Nations, United Nations Assistance, Afghan National Army, police, National Directorate of Security, UN, Human Rights, NATO, Taliban’s Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Herat, Emirate

☆ Tart cherry juice is a key ingredient in TikTok's 'Sleepy Girl Mocktail'—but can it actually improve your sleep?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The concoction, which consists of magnesium, prebiotic soda and, the key ingredient, tart cherry juice, first blew up when wellness influencer Gracie Norton said it gave her the best sleep of her life. Tart cherry juice is often touted for its positive impact on sleep, but how true are those claims? Can tart cherry juice actually improve your sleep? Tart cherry juice has many different health benefits, and sleep can be one of them. Azizi Seixas Sleep and Circadian Sciences Expert at the University of Miami Miller School of MedicineBut that isn't the only reason why tart cherry juice may positively affect sleep, he says.

Life has become solitary confinement.” Some women went into hiding, fearing retribution after the Taliban seized power. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women were among the most profoundly affected. A Wrenching Change Afifa, 47, wishes more Afghan men would fight for women’s rights KABUL, Afghanistan — Walk around the capital, Kabul, and it often feels as if women have been airbrushed out of the city. When the Taliban seized power, girls’ schools remained open in a kind of limbo — neither officially sanctioned nor forbidden — for months. Zubaida, 20, teaches high school girls in secret “Regimes come and go all the time in Afghanistan.

☆ The Taliban requires all mannequins' heads be covered or cut off. Eerie storefront photos offer a glimpse of Afghanistan's new reality.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

In Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, mannequins were once a symbol of fashion and culture. But in the past year, shop owners have resorted to displaying them headless or covered in cloth, just to keep their stores open. AP Photo/Ebrahim NorooziIn August 2021, the Taliban announced that shop owners must remove the heads of their mannequins, or do away with them all together. But several shop owners pleaded with the Taliban to let them keep their mannequins intact. Azizi told Insider that the Taliban forced locals to deface banners displaying photos of fashion models before trying to totally ban the use of mannequins.

☆ The Taliban requires that all mannequins' heads be covered or cut off. Interviews with locals and eerie photos of storefronts offer a glimpse of Afghanistan's new reality.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Taliban seeks economic self-sufficiency and foreign investment for Afghanistan, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The Taliban administration will encourage self-sufficiency and wants international trade and investment, the acting commerce minister said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women. Another part of their strategy was to boost trade and foreign investment, he said. He said that countries including Iran, Russia and China were interested in trade and investment. Already facing a lack of formal recognition and sanctions hampering the country's banking sector, investors are faced with growing security concerns after attacks on foreign targets in Kabul, claimed by the Islamic State. He added that foreign investors were showing interest in Afghanistan's mining sector, which has been valued at more than $1 trillion.

CNN —A top Iranian official has said that the nation’s mandatory hijab law is being reviewed, as state media played down the same official’s claim that the country’s much-feared morality police force had been “abolished” amid ongoing protests. Montazeri was also quoted as saying on Saturday that Iran’s morality police had been “abolished,” but Iranian state media strongly pushed back on those comments, saying the interior ministry oversees the force, not the judiciary. The wearing of a hijab in public is currently mandatory for women in Iran under strict Islamic law that is enforced by the country’s so-called morality police. Her death on September 16 touched a nerve in the Islamic Republic, with prominent public figures coming out in support of the movement, including top Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti. “But no official of the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that the Guidance Patrol has been shut,” Al-Alam said Sunday afternoon.

REUTERS/Ali KharaKABUL, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The Taliban have signed a provisional deal with Russia to supply gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. Azizi said the deal would involve Russia supplying around one million tonnes of gasoline, one million tonnes of diesel, 500,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and two million tonnes of wheat annually. The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is in charge of oil and gas, also did not immediately respond. He said Afghanistan also received some gas and oil from Iran and Turkmenistan and had strong trade ties with Pakistan, but also wanted to diversify. The European Union will ban Russian crude imports by Dec. 5 and Russian oil products by Feb. 5.

A bedtime routine and an optimal environment can help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Our Insider Reviews product testers swear by these 25 products for getting a great night's sleep. Sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality affect concentration, memory, and decision-making and can cause feelings of anxiety, irritability, and impulsiveness. To fall asleep faster, stay asleep, and have a better night's sleep overall, build a sleep routine, says Dr. Benjamin Smarr, assistant professor at the University of California San Diego who specializes in neuroscience and sleep science. Here are 25 products and apps the Reviews team uses to fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up well-rested:

☆ Taliban on the cusp of securing wheat, gas, and oil deal with Russia, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-31 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Taliban-led Afghanistan is set to strike a deal with Moscow soon on imports of oil and gas. Reuters cited a spokesperson from Afghanistan's ministry of economy, Habiburahman Habib, who confirmed that the officials were negotiating contracts for wheat, gas, and oil. The European Union has similarly urged its members to split from Russian oil, coal, and gas, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying that EU countries "simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us." Afghanistan is not the only country to have boosted its energy imports from Russia. Saudi Arabia doubled its Russian oil imports in July, while Cuba started buying Russian oil that same month.

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