Author: Sana Tewran

The Soviet Union’s collapse 32 years ago led to rapid change, economic collapse, and violence. In Tajikistan, that violence slid rapidly into civil war. Reflecting on the Soviet Union’s collapse 32 years ago and attempting to draw any sort of conclusion is often a matter of perspective. In his new book, “Moscow’s Heavy Shadow: The Violent Collapse of the USSR,” Dr. Isaac McKean Scarborough, an assistant professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Leiden University, writes of the collapse from one of the Soviet Union’s most distant peripheries — Dushanbe. In doing so, he highlights a perspective not often taken…

As flames licked up the walls and choking, black smoke billowed from the windows, terrified residents of a building in Soran screamed for help. Fourteen people were killed in the blaze late on Friday. Nearly 48 hours later, five people have been arrested though the cause of the fire is still unknown. Haunting footage shows smoke rising from the ground floor and sweeping through the upper floors as people trapped inside wave to attract the attention of rescue crews. Mohammed Aziz is an eyewitness. When he arrived, he saw four sofas on fire and tried to put out the flames. …

The US has conducted “precision” air strikes in Syria on facilities used by the Iranian revolutionary guard, the Pentagon has said. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said the strikes were in response to “continued attacks” on US bases in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed fighters. At least eight pro-Iran fighters were killed, a UK-based war monitor said. It is the third time since 26 October that the US has carried out such air strikes. They come amid rising tensions in the region due to the Israel-Hamas war. Mr Austin confirmed the air strikes in a brief statement on Sunday, saying…

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday met with Turkey’s ambassador to Iraq to discuss bilateral ties and the status of Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline which have been halted since March. “Both sides commended the strength of Iraq’s and Kurdistan Region’s relations with Turkiye, while also emphasizing the importance of further enhancing these relations and promoting greater cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade and economy,” said a statement from Barzani’s office on his meeting with Ambassador Ali Riza Guney. According to the statement, Guney “reaffirmed his country’s willingness to support oil exports from the Kurdistan Region”…

London (15/11 – 67) The streets in Colombo, Sri Lanka, erupted into celebration on July 13, 2022 after weeks of peaceful protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country. Rajapaksa, long implicated in war crimes when he was defense secretary, had presided over an economic catastrophe amid allegations of widespread corruption and impunity. But a year later, despite some superficial changes, there is no sustained improvement in the country’s economic situation that impinges many people’s human rights. The acute shortage of fuel that was the most visible feature of the economic crisis has eased. But more than six million people – nearly 30…

Oil producers in the Kurdistan Region on Friday said recent talks between Erbil and Baghdad are a “potentially positive step” towards resuming oil exports that have been suspended for eight months. The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) said in a statement that discussions earlier this week between an Iraqi delegation headed by Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani and Kurdish officials in Erbil “represent a potentially positive step toward resumption of full production and exports,” but warned that any addendums to their contracts should be agreed on by all parties – the federal government, the regional government, and the…

The Palestinians’ longstanding and legitimate grievances have been irrevocably subverted by Hamas’ brazen attack against Israel on Oct 7. Unlike previous rounds of conflicts and clashes between Israel and the Palestinians on the one hand and neighbouring Arab states on the other, Thailand has become a direct casualty like never before, as 30 Thai workers have been killed to date, with at least 16 injured and 17 taken hostage. As a militant political movement motivated by Islamic fundamentalism using methods of terrorism to achieve its objectives, Hamas has made a bad name for the Palestinian cause, eliciting condemnation and opposition…

An unidentified drone on Friday crashed in the orchard of a villager near Duhok province’s Amedi town, according to a security source. There were no casualties or damage. The drone crashed in the orchard of Ibrahim Zala village on Friday afternoon, a local security source told Rudaw’s Hayder Doski on condition of anonymity, adding that the incident took place while the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were clashing in the area. Media affiliated with the PKK claimed that the drone belonged to Turkey and was downed during a confrontation with the Turkish army. Ankara has yet to…

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday presented his government’s 2024 budget, emphasising the need for tough reforms until the full recovery of the cash-strapped island nation’s economy. Although Sri Lanka has managed to control its hyperinflation in the ongoing economic crisis, its economy is far from being fully recovered. “We have been able to put back on the rails the derailed economy. Still, people undergo suffering,” Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, said. “The inflation which was 70 per cent in September 2022 has been reduced to 1.5 per cent in October this year,” the minister said. He…

UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Tuesday renewed her warning that any further postponement in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election will have negative consequences. “There is so much at stake,” she said.  A new parliamentary vote was set to be held in October 2022, but disagreements between the Kurdish political parties, especially the ruling ones, over the existing elections law and the electoral commission prevented the process from being conducted on its scheduled time and pushed the legislature to extend its four-year term for an additional year.In early August, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani set February 25 as the date for the…