Author: Jaasir al-Rahman

Palestine will under no circumstances agree to Russia’s exclusion from the Middle East settlement process, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview with TASS First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Abbas emphasized, Russia “has always sought and is seeking ways for a peace solution” and is striving for “a just solution to the Middle East issue in accordance with of international law.” “And let’s not forget its role in the ‘Middle East Quartet’. The United States has always wanted to exclude Russia from this process. Under no circumstances shall we agree…

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…

Ex-defense minister and head of national security council Sergei Shoigu to meet Pezeshkian, counterparts; Moscow condemned Haniyeh killing, relies on Iranian-made arms in Ukraine Russia’s National Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran Monday for a series of meetings with Iranian counterparts, Russian and Iranian news agencies reported, amid fears of a wider war in the region following last week’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Russia’s state Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies reported that Shoigu, Russia’s former defense secretary, was scheduled to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; the secretary of the Supreme National Security…

The Mossad enlisted Iranian security agents to plant explosives in the Tehran guesthouse where Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was staying, according to a report in the Telegraph. The report says the initial plan called for assassinating Haniyeh when visited Tehran in May to attend the funeral of president Ebrahim Raisi, but two Iranian officials tell the newspaper the operation was called off due to the large number of people in the building and seeming high possibility of failure. The British daily says the agents nevertheless went ahead and planted explosives in three rooms at the compound, and later left Iran. They…

London (20/5 – 20)One academic was asked about the internet eating their young. This triggered a heated debate about the use of the internet the freedom in presents, the dangers of unfettered go for it all to the public, the rise of the left, the response by the right, and AI, or Artificial Intelligence. The seriousness of the debate can be seen at the UK sponsored conference on AI at Bletchley Park. Following this was the adaptation of the European law on Artificial Intelligence. 28 countries at the summit, including the United States, China, and the European Union, have issued…

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which will hold a summit with Japan in Tokyo on Sunday to mark 50 years of ties, has built relations of trust with the country and generally welcome it playing a bigger security role in the region, amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. The ASEAN members, however, are navigating a delicate balance in their ties with Japan and China, taking into account Beijing’s stronger economic influence in Southeast Asia, while vigilantly watching the competition for regional clout between China and the United States, experts said. Trust between ASEAN and Japan has…

Pyongyang has terminated the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement with Seoul in response to South Korea’s decision to suspend a part of the agreement due to North Korea’s satellite launch on Tuesday, North Korea announced on Thursday The 2018 agreement laid down a number of measures that would lower military tensions and accidental military clashes between the two sides. Among them included the dismantling of guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone, a no-fly zone along the DMZ, the cessation of live fire artillery drills and field exercises above the regiment level and above within three miles of the Military Demarcation Line,…

When US President Joe Biden recently signed off on a $80m (£64.6m) grant to Taiwan for the purchase of American military equipment, China said it “deplores and opposes” what Washington had done. To the casual observer it didn’t appear a steep sum. It was less than the cost of a single modern fighter jet. Taiwan already has on order more than $14bn worth of US military equipment. Does a miserly $80m more matter? While fury is Beijing’s default response to any military support for Taiwan, this time something was different. The $80m is not a loan. It comes from American…

Environment officers in Fujairah have been called into action 48 times this year to remove venomous snakes from gardens and vehicles in the emirate. Authorities say the figures represent a rise in close encounters with the reptile over previous years. A possible reason behind this, officials say, is the popularity of camping, because food left behind could be changing feeding patterns and leading to larger snake populations. But climate change could also be influencing snake behaviour in the UAE, potentially causing them to be active at times of the year when they were previously dormant. The UAE is home to 13 species of snake, four…

At 10am on Friday, citizens and residents across the UAE will mark Flag Day. It will be the 11th year in which the annual celebration has taken place. But what is Flag Day and how did it start? And what rules exist around flying the UAE flag? The National explains. What is Flag Day? Flag Day was first celebrated in 2013. The idea was conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to celebrate the accession of Sheikh Khalifa as President of the UAE in 2004. It is commemorated every year on the anniversary, November 3. It is not a public holiday. Sheikh Mohammed recently…