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Azal Ashraf

Lecturer in School of Politics & International Relations, Loughborough University
Afzal Ashraf has broad experience of International Relations and security issues, both as a practitioner and as an academic. This includes service as a senior officer in the UK Armed Forces in operations ranging from famine relief in Africa to stabilisation operations in the South Atlantic, deterrence support in the Cold War and strategic aspects of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked in support of diplomacy in the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and in information fusion, analysis and communication in some of UK’s security related government departments. He has been Head of Training Management for the Royal Air Force where he had responsibility for physical fitness, combat survival and through life learning. He has run a private security consultancy covering areas such as cyber security and countering violent extremism and was a Consultant Fellow at the UK’s oldest Think Tank, the Royal United Services Institute.

Afzal Ashraf has been teaching undergraduates and post graduates a range of international relations and security modules, including designing new ones, at Russell Group Universities in recent years. Before coming to Loughborough University he was Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Nottingham where he is now a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Conflict, Security and Terrorism. He is in demand as a commentator on current affairs, with over 200 television and radio appearances in less than a year on national and international channels and was nominated for University of Nottingham’s 2018 Impact Awards.

Ukraine war: Sweden and Finland eye the Nato option, but it's a security dilemma for the west

Apr 16, 2022 02:31 am UTC| Politics

The Kremlin has issued an ominous warning to Nato about the consequences for the Baltic if it allows Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, as has been widely reported. Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and a close...

Economy

Morgan Stanley Warns Against Overestimating EV Demand Boost from Rising Oil Prices

Morgan Stanley is urging caution among investors who believe that surging oil prices will automatically trigger a rapid recovery for South Korean battery manufacturers. While recent headlines have painted an optimistic...

Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again After Brief Reopening, Rattling Global Energy Markets

Hopes for a restoration of normal energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed within hours on Saturday after Iran reimposed tight restrictions on the vital maritime corridor, just a day after declaring it open....

Uranium Bull Market Gains Momentum Amid Supply Deficits and Geopolitical Tensions

The uranium market is entering a powerful new phase, with structural supply shortfalls and rising energy security concerns driving long-term bullish momentum. A recent special report from BCA Research confirms that the...

Energy Price Spike Won't Trigger Lasting Inflation, Analysts Say

A new report from BCA Research suggests that the recent surge in energy prices, driven by ongoing Middle East tensions, is unlikely to spark a prolonged period of runaway inflation in major global economies. According to...

Australia Extends Fuel Sulphur Relaxation Amid Iran War Supply Disruptions

Australia has extended its temporary easing of fuel-quality standards through September, as ongoing disruptions from the Iran war continue to strain the countrys fuel supply chains. Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed...

Politics

Iran's Internal Power Struggle Threatens Strait of Hormuz Stability

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have intensified after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) overturned a government decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the worlds most critical energy...

North Korea Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles Amid Growing Nuclear Ambitions

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, according to South Korea and Japan, marking Pyongyangs seventh ballistic missile test this year and its fourth in April alone....

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Eastward Amid Rising Global Tensions

South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile in an easterly direction. Military officials in Seoul are still analyzing the missiles type and flight...

U.S.-Iran Tensions Escalate as Hormuz Crisis Deepens Amid Ceasefire Strains

Fragile ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran are facing serious pressure after a dramatic weekend of escalating confrontations in and around the Strait of Hormuz. New reporting from the Wall Street...

Brazil, Spain, and Mexico Unite to Support Cuba Amid U.S. Blockade

During a high-profile international summit held in Barcelona, the leaders of Brazil, Spain, and Mexico came together to announce a strengthened commitment to providing coordinated humanitarian aid to Cuba. The meeting,...

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

NVIDIA Acquisition Rumors Dismissed by Morgan Stanley as Strategically Flawed

Morgan Stanley analysts have moved to cool speculation that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is plotting a major acquisition of a U.S. PC original equipment manufacturer (OEM). According to the investment bank, such a...

Iran’s AI memes are reaching people who don’t follow the news – and winning the propaganda war

A Lego-style Iranian military commander raps over a gangster beat: Our inbox is flooded with Americans saying they dont watch the news. They listen to our songs instead since your media is full of shit. This is the opening...

OpenAI's $20 Billion Cerebras Deal Signals Massive AI Infrastructure Push

OpenAI is reportedly set to spend over $20 billion with AI chip startup Cerebras over the next three years, marking a significant expansion of an already substantial computing partnership. According to The Information, the...

Tesla's Terafab: AI Chip Factory Eyes Taiwan's Semiconductor Talent

Tesla is actively recruiting semiconductor engineers in Taiwan for its ambitious Terafab project a fully vertically integrated AI chip manufacturing facility that aims to consolidate logic, memory, packaging, testing, and...

Japan to Subsidize Sony's Image Sensor Plant in Kumamoto with $380 Million

The Japanese government has announced plans to provide Sony with subsidies of up to 60 billion yen, equivalent to approximately $380 million, to support the construction of an image sensor manufacturing facility in...