Author: Kurmanzhan Khasanov

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…

As Kazakhstan moves to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups, Rustam Emomali, speaker of Tajikistan’s parliament, said that the spread of religious extremism from Afghanistan poses a threat to members of the CSTO. Religious schools in Afghanistan “train suicide fighters”, he said. According to TASS news agency, the Tajik president’s son stressed that “more than 1,000 religious schools have been established in Afghanistan, most of them in Afghanistan’s border provinces”. The risk of extremism infiltrating from Afghanistan into CSTO countries has increased more than ever, the speaker of Tajikistan’s parliament told a meeting of the heads of…

Funding for priority projects in Tajikistan was discussed in Dushanbe on May 29 at a meeting of Tajikistan’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mr. Zavqi Zavqizoda, with Silk Road Fund President, Mr. Cai Xuejun. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) press center says that during the meeting, Mr. Zavqizoda, in connection with the Chinese government’s allocation of 26 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) to finance Central Asian countries, presented Tajikistan’s investment opportunities. The minister, in particular, proposed to discuss the financing of projects previously submitted for consideration of China, which was positively received. The projects include: It is…

New York. (11 June – 31) US federal agents have arrested eight Tajikistan nationals in the US on terrorism charges. The arrests, carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, spanned across Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia. These actions coincide with recent alerts from US intelligence officials about a terrorist plot. ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is designated as a terrorist organization by numerous countries and international organizations, including the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union. The ability to surveillance certain foreign targets has been a subject of intense debate in Congress,…

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…

Russia has reportedly lost a staggering amount of troops over the past 24 hours along with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles as bloody fighting takes its toll on Vladimir Putin’s men. Russia lost a staggering 1,740 troops in a single day, the highest tally of casualties for Moscow since the start of the invasion in 2022, according to Ukraine. In the previous 24 hours, Ukraine also claimed Russia had lost 30 tanks and 42 armoured vehicles. Death toll and military hardware statistics are difficult to assess with both sides giving different or little information. However, Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed Russia has so far lost an eye-watering…

Warsaw, Berlin (25/3 – 80) A diverse group of Pamiri and Ismaili interest groups gathered to discuss the terror attack in Moscow. “We reject the notion this were Pamiris or Ismailis representing us”, said one of the spokespeople, who want to remain anonymous out of fear of persecution by the Tajik authorities. “They are Takfiris”, he said. Non-believers, apostates to the cause. The majlis (meeting) was called after Moscow was quick to blame Tajik immigrants for the terror attacks. Previous warnings were ignored by Moscow. “We as a Pamiri community do not belief in the use of violence against the…

A year ago Germany deported to Tajikistan an activist from that country’s exiled opposition movement who had been living in Dortmund since 2009. What happened next is a shocking example of what can occur when Germany fails to uphold safeguards in its increased efforts to deport unsuccessful asylum seekers. The Bundestag this month gave police greater powers to carry out deportations. The activist, Abdullohi Shamsiddin, 33, was deported to Tajikistan on January 18 2023. He was detained on arrival by the security services. Two months later he was convicted of trying to overthrow the constitution and jailed for seven years. No credible…

On a crisp afternoon in November, Bakyt Choitonbaev picked his way along a narrow trail, pushing through spiky shrubs of ephedra before stopping at a small pool of bright green water and pointing out well-worn patches of dirt where visitors kneel to pray. Pilgrims, Choitonbaev explained, come from around Kyrgyzstan to this spring and half a dozen others nearby to seek healing from illnesses or help bearing children. This community leader lives in nearby Bokonbayevo, a town of 14,000 people at the foot of the snowcapped Tian Shan mountains in this central Asian country. For the past seven years, he said, he…

Coal imports to Kyrgyzstan have almost halved. The National Statistical Committee provided such data, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg News Agency. According to statistics, from January to September 2023, about 469,500 tons of coal was imported into the country. Of this amount, the supply of solid fuel is 459,400 (821,500 tons were imported into the Kyrgyz Republic for the same period last year). The supply of brown coal reached 10,100 tons. Almost all imported coal comes to the country from Kazakhstan. Earlier, the Ministry of Energy reported that in preparation for the autumn-winter period of 2023-2024 it was planned to supply 1.2 million…