Author: Hasad Alp

The first to come up with the idea was French President Emmanuel Macron – long before it was clear that Donald Trump would win the US elections. As early as March 2023, he proposed not only new weapons, but ground troops in the Ukraine to send. They were supposed to relieve Ukrainian front troops in the hinterland, train the Ukrainian army on site, but not fight themselves. Macron has been heavily criticized for this in France and abroad. At that time nobody was ready to jump to his side. Now against it, reports Le Monde citing confidential sources, secretly negotiated Paris and London through a coalition of states…

It was bitter cold, but I don’t remember freezing or being cold. Hemingway wrote that the air was so cold when you took a breath it was like drinking water. We travelled by train, then we walked through the cold streets, no bus was running, we had to hustle to catch the last ride up the mountain, then it was up to the mountain, bundled up in two thick woolen blankets with the snow showering us. It was warm looking out of the peep hole I created, flying up the mountains sitting on the last ride of the day. The…

For many years, Tajikistan has been gravely affected by drug trafficking. At least 15-20 tons of opium and between 75 and 80 metric tons of heroin are smuggled into the country each year from Afghanistan either for local consumption or for transfer to Russia and Europe. Despite an official Tajik government policy to fight illicit drug trafficking in cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations, trafficking continues to increase. The volume of drug transit through Tajikistan is now equivalent to 30 percent of the country’s GDP. So far, the success of domestic Tajik policies and international assistance has been minimal. Trafficking is a product of numerous complex…

Moscow (11 September/ 33.33). Russia waged a 2-year war of aggression against its neighbor, the Ukraine. Two years on, hundred thousand of deaths, families destroyed, Russia is no where near its 3-day goals of occupation. The Russian army slugs on, mile for mile, killed for killed. Vladimir Putin and his Siloviki continues a red army model. Heavy artillery, wave of men urging forward. The result, mass casualties. Total loss of life, and equipment. What does Russians do if in trouble. Reversing to its all bag of tricks. Spies and sabotage. Recent Russian sabotage operations across Europe were “reckless”, Moore said,…

Washington/Paris/Berlin (12/8 – 28.57). Today is the twenty-anniversary of the sinking of the Kursk. A painful experience. A true shocker. All hands are lost, the shortcomings of the Russian system fully exposed. But today is another experience. Kursk, the region. After ceremonial pageantry by the military commander, it is clear the great Red Army was ambushed. Hoodwinked by the Ukrainians who pulled off a surprise attack, a classic attack which has all the elements of a successful deception operation. Overwhelming strength, speed and first and foremost silence. Deception played a role keeping the Russian pre-occupied. Daily the news a filled…

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…

Paris/Jakarta (24/7 – 28.57). “Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.” – Sheik-Abd-al-Kadir A friend recently opened a coffee shop is called after its owner, Muteeya. Though modest, it embodies the burgeoning coffee culture found in Paris, London, the US, and now Jakarta. The coffee is steaming hot, and soft tunes fill the air. Outside, rain pounds against the window, streaking down and forming small puddles on the street. As I gaze through the glass blurred by water, I take a sip of my warm coffee,…

The Chinese military on Wednesday said its warplanes shadowed a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft as it flew over the Taiwan Strait, a waterway that runs between mainland China and Taiwan. Part of the South China Sea, the strait has become the subject of growing disputes, as China says the waterway is within its own jurisdiction, while the U.S. views it as international territory. Army Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army, criticized the U.S. Navy for flying the plane over the Taiwan Strait in a statement Wednesday, calling it a “provocative move” that was publicly “hyped,” according…

Latest Developments The third-most senior Hamas figure, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed on January 2 in a Beirut blast that Lebanese authorities blamed on Israel. Arouri was among at least four people who died in an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas media office in the southern Dahiyeh suburb of the Lebanese capital, a Hezbollah stronghold, authorities said. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. After Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, Arouri was the top-ranked Hamas official. He pursued an especially aggressive Palestinian terrorism strategy, with a focus on the West Bank, where he ordered the 2014 abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers, sparking a…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan touched down in Dubai last Friday, along with countless other high-level Cop28 participants, and soon began listing his country’s climate accomplishments. Turkey sharply reduced its CO2 emissions this year and expects to achieve net-zero emissions by 2053. Its share of electricity generated from renewables is 55 per cent, which ranks 5th in Europe and 12th globally, according to the President. Mr Erdogan also called for more equitable climate finance to further these efforts in Turkey and other emerging economies. But would Turkey put those funds to good use? Its environmental record is rather spotty. “We are undertaking…