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In recent decades, the phenomenon of international immigration has witnessed a dramatic increase, propelled by factors such as globalisation, escalating poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, war, and civil unrest. Since 2015, a notable surge in immigration from Muslim-majority countries to Europe has occurred, attributed to the geographic proximity of Europe to crisis-ridden areas like the Middle East and North Africa. On the other hand, in recent years, extreme right-wing and racist tendencies have proliferated across nearly all European nations. Immigrants, particularly those of Muslim faith, have become easy scapegoats for these right-wing elements, portraying them as threats to European identity, values, culture, and economy. This article aims to delve into the perception of Europeans towards Muslim immigrants, addressing the pivotal question: Is the immigration of individuals from Muslim countries to the European Union a genuine threat or a constructed one? The paper systematically deconstructs the primary arguments depicting Muslim immigrants as threats to the security, identity, and economy of European countries. It rigorously contends that this perceived threat is predominantly constructed by certain right-wing politicians and media outlets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the discovery of large oil and gas deposits in Central Asia, the region has become a vital battlefield for major world powers' competing interests, resulting in a complex geopolitical and energy transportation interaction known as 'pipeline politics'. After independence, multinational energy companies and global powers contacted the Central Asian Republics. Chinese investment has dominated the region's energy sector throughout the past decade. India is strategically seeking Central Asia's energy resources as it becomes more global. This article compares China's and India's Central Asian natural gas strategy and identifies research shortcomings. The complex geopolitical landscape is considered while examining their objectives and regional investments. This analysis reveals these methods' motivations and their effects on the Central Asian Republics and the world. China has an advantage over India in Central Asian pipeline politics, making the region vital to China's energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Close historical, social, cultural and economic ties and geographical proximity present ample opportunity for both Iran and India to advance their national interests by forging strong bilateral relations. Rich in energy resources, particularly oil and gas, Iran can meet India's growing demand for energy while serving as an international transit route in India's march towards global prominence and power. India, on the other hand, can help Iran in its testing times to end its isolation and contribute to its economic development. The ground reality, however, is different. India, while maintaining some level of cooperation with Iran, has been increasingly looking towards other countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq to meet its energy demands. Based on descriptive-analytical research methodology, the article posits that the shift in the Indian foreign policy paradigm from Nehruism during the Cold War period to pragmatism in the post-Cold War period has negatively impacted Iran–India relations. A number of additional factors hinder the development of positive Iran–India relations. The present article considers the role of third countries such as the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and China as important factors impeding positive Tehran–Delhi relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, particularly since 2002, relations between Iran and Turkey have been on the rise and generally expanding. The aim of this paper is to analyse and clarify the reasons for the sustainability of the two countries' relations while undergoing intermittent eruptions of disputes over the years. In other words, the main question is: why have Iran and Turkey, with their political frictions, routinely embraced rapprochement and collaboration in recent decades? Accordingly, the hypothesis proposed is that a key reason for the ongoing cooperation between Tehran and Ankara in different fields, is the rationale of geopolitical complementarity engendering their security needs in broad meaning, particularly energy security and natural gas. Whilst the logic also applies to water security, both states attach greater importance to border security and energy. In short, their common geopolitical destiny over-rides individual state preferences. To examine this hypothesis, Barry Buzan's theory based on a broad definition of security as well as regional security complex has been deployed through descriptive analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing and New Delhi, as new world emerging powers, despite border skirmishes, have not considered themselves arch-rivals. Still, the necessities of real politics have forced India to take counter-measures towards China's grand connectivity strategy in the framework of BRI and the Maritime Silk Road. This article assumes that China's grand connectivity strategy has not targeted India in particular, but unavoidably it has affected India's strategic interests in the Indian Ocean and Eurasia. In a qualitative and case study methodology, this research explains China's grand connectivity strategy and how it affects Indian strategic interests. It also elaborates on India's counter-measures vis-à-vis China policy. It concluded that the Chinese connectivity strategy has affected Indian strategic interests in the Indian Ocean and Eurasia. Therefore, Chabahar, Gwadar ports, and Malacca Strait are centers of gravity in these great connectivity rivalries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are always concerns about the environmental and human consequences of the widespread use of pesticides. This study aimed to determine the role of pesticides in the development of autism spectrum disorders in children through meta-analysis .All studies (11 articles) that had the potential to be used in our study were exported in EndNote X8 software and reviewed by authors. We extracted the required data, and we used Stata software (version 12) to analyze the pooled effect. Random and fixed-effect models were used to determine the combined estimation using the "metan" command.The results showed exposure to organochlorine pesticides could increase the risk of autism by 32% (OR=1.32; 95% CI: 1.14-1.53). The first trimester of pregnancy had the highest risk for autism (OR=1.23; 95% CI: 1.15-1.31). The cumulative meta-analysis showed a decreasing trend for crude and adjusted odds ratio over time. This study showed that exposure to pesticides can increase the risk of autism, and the time of exposure to pesticides is associated with the risk of autism. These results came as the cumulative meta-analysis results for crude and adjusted odds ratios showed a decreasing trend over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan signed a trilateral economic agreement on developing the Chabahar Port in south-eastern Iran. This project holds immense economic and geopolitical value for both Iran and India. Chabahar, as Iran's first deep water port, connects it to oceanic trade routes. This helps Iran to mitigate US sanctions and sustain trade relations with neighbours and independent states such as India. For India, Chabahar is the key point of the 'International North–South Transport Corridor', an ambitious project connecting India to Central Asia and Europe. The article analyses the geostrategic, economic and trade-related importance of Chabahar port from both Iranian and Indian perspectives. This Iranian–Indian trade co-operation is considered a strategic alternative, if not a rival, to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), whose key point is the Gwadar port in Pakistan, next door to Chabahar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to repel US pressures, Tehran has perpetually aligned itself with major non-Western powers through a 'Look to the East policy' with focus mainly on China. Iran and China are opposed to the United States' so-called unilateralism and are similarly categorized as revisionist states which this common attitude culminated into the signature of the 25-year cooperation agreement in March 2021. But, China prioritizes its national interests defined by economic pragmatism; and its complex economic interdependence with the world economy has made it conservative. The present article analyzes this question of why China has been conservative in shielding Iran against the US's paralyzing sanctions in Donald Trump's era. It argues that the Chinese global strategy and its economic pragmatism require it to make compromises with the United States and Arab states alike, and at the same time, to preserve relationships with Iran with the least political-economic expenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arab Spring’s wave arrived in Syria on 26 January 2011 and the unrest flared up on 15 March 2011 in the city of Daraa, 58 kilometers south of Damascus. Since then, Syria has been immersed in a civil war. The Security Council adopted different measures to contain this crisis. The main objective of the present research is to analyze the performance of the United Nations Security Council in tackling the Syrian crisis. The findings of the present research imply that the Security Council, in its role as a conflict moderator, has shown a positive performance particularly in such areas as instituting ceasefire, deploying peacekeeping forces, promoting humanitarian activities, facilitating the political transition process, securing the territorial integrity of the country, assisting the refugees and controlling Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. Even so, this body, due to the veto power of the permanent members, the complex nature of the crisis, and the conflictual interests of Russia and the United States and regional actors, has not been spectacularly successful in the termination of the armed conflict and enforcing peace. In order to explicate the matter, a descriptive-analytical method based on qualitative content analysis has been utilized and the library, internet-based resources, and United Nations documents have been used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]