Author: Karsaz Bapir

Sanjiva Weerawarana is a Sri Lankan success story. He founded enterprise software firm WSO2 in 2005, got it close to $100 million in ARR as its CEO, then sold it to private equity firm EQT for $600 million in May. He sometimes drives for Uber, too. Sri Lanka isn’t renowned for its startup ecosystem, but one company has been something of an outlier in the South Asian island nation these past two decades. WSO2, an open source enterprise software provider with customers such as Samsung, Axa, and AT&T, recently agreed to be acquired by private equity giant EQT, at a valuation TechCrunch reported at the time…

After the 2024 shock and the French elites are breaking into shell shock over the European Parliament outcome Europa’s slide to the right continues. The Christian Democrats remain firmly in power although the future of Van der Leyen and ilk is uncertain. The election had a few surprises, mainly the center left Renew Europe and the Non-attached Members (NI) and Others group. The pose with 12.50% an outlier. The ultra-right groups grouped at the Identity and Democracy Group (ID) although a minor group in the European Parliament, locally surprised many. In France, the ID block has the majority seats (30).…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh resigned on February 26 in anticipation of postwar governance challenges. “I see that the next stage and its challenges will require new governmental and political arrangements,” Shtayyeh said, emphasizing “the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus.” American and Palestinian officials expect that Abbas will nominate Mohammed Mustafa, the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, as Shtayyeh’s successor. Expert Analysis “Bringing in Palestine Investment Fund chief Mohammed Mustafa and pushing out the current prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh is the rearranging of the…

A suicide drone hit a residential building in Erbil on Friday, causing no casualties, according to security directorates. This is the third attack in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on the same day. “At 6:05 pm, a suicide drone hit a civilian building in Erbil, but luckily it did not cause any casualties,” the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism said in a Facebook post. The Kurdistan Region Security Council confirmed the attack on “a residential building.” “We hold the Iraqi federal government responsible to prevent these attempts by outlaw groups,” the council stated. Earlier in the day, the United States…

Update 2: Death toll now 150 with 500 wounded as of December 26. Update: Death toll now 113 in Christmas Eve terror attack on sleeping Christian villagers, according to county Chairman Monday Kassah. Scattered gunfire heard by reporters as thousands evacuate Christmas Day. Breaking: Fulani Terrorists strike Sleeping Villages in Plateau State on Christmas Eve Death Toll at 70 as Citizen Guards Shoulder Pipe Guns By Masara KimTruth Nigeria (Jos) At least 70 unarmed men, women and children have fallen to Fulani terrorists attacking at battalion strength in Central Plateau State since December 23, according to officials speaking to Truth…

A group of Kurdistan Region’s striking teachers plan to protest in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Sunday, bringing their demands for regular monthly payments of their salaries and permanent employment for non-contract teachers to the Iraqi capital. Karokh Abdullah, a representative of non-contract teachers, said that their protest will be critical of both the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). “We will gather there and ask the Iraqi federal government to not differentiate between the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants and Iraq’s civil servants in terms of financing salaries, and to treat them equally,” Abdullah told Rudaw’s Soran Hussein. The…

Water levels have declined by nearly 50 percent in Dhi Qar province’s al-Hammar Marshes in recent years, leaving hundreds of fishermen without jobs. Hammar, one of Iraq’s largest marshes, is a source of income for dozens of families living in the southern Iraqi province whose livelihoods have been dried up by years of drought. “We do not know how to work any other jobs because this has been our profession for years,” Fayaq Amjad, a fisherman who has seen his neighbours forced to abandon their nets, told Rudaw. “There used to be hundreds of us. Now we are only a…

Berlin (06/12 – 67.67) Asliddin Sherzamonov, an activist from Tajikistan, strongly believes that the United Nations (UN) should assess the actions of the Central Asian country’s security forces during the events of 2021 and 2022 in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Speaking at the UN session on minorities held in Geneva on December 1, Asliddin said that an independent international commission should be established to evaluate the activities of Tajikistan’s security forces. In the operations carried out by security forces in 2021 in Roshtkala and Khorog, three people died. In another operations in the spring of 2022 by the security…

The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) on Thursday said one of its members was shot in front of his house in Erbil, blaming Iran for the hit. The member, a lawyer, was injured in the incident.    Sohrab Rahmati was shot by unidentified individuals in front of his house in Hana City, Erbil. While he was injured as a result of the attack his condition is currently stable, according to Rudaw’s Halabja Saadun, reporting from the hospital where Rahmati is receiving treatment. The KDPI said he is an “active” member of the party and the lawyer in charge of…

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Monday rejected the resignation of three ministers affiliated with ousted Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled to revoke Halbousi’s parliamentary membership and end his tenure as the speaker of the legislature after he was accused of forging a document. Taqadum Party, the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, announced in a statement late Tuesday its decision to withdraw from Sudani’s cabinet, ordering the planning, industry and tourism and culture ministers to resign. Iraqi Government Spokesperson Basem al-Awadi said in a statement that PM Sudani “has rejected the resignations…