Author: Babomsar

The Justice Department has charged a man for allegedly leaking highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to court documents and a person familiar with the case. Asif W. Rahman was indicted last Thursday for willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information, according to court documents. He was arrested Tuesday in Cambodia and will first appear in court in Guam, though the department has asked a federal judge to move him to Virginia to stand trial. Rahman was employed by the CIA, according to a person familiar with his employment. Court documents indicate he was employed by…

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,…

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…

Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on January 23 that Tajikistan in 2010 raised the minimum age for marriage from 17 to 18. Authorities said the move was to protect women’s rights and ensure their well-being. The government also warned religious figures not to conduct a “nikah” (Islamic marriage, a contract exclusively between a man and woman. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills) to anyone below 18. Tajiks, however, can still marry at 17 with a court’s permission. Official statistics show that underage marriages with court permission have rising steadily in Tajikistan…

“I knew you would come back,” said the little boy, a Syrian refugee who had intercepted me in Ras Beirut. Then the young philosopher told me a story, in a serious tone, about a doctor who gave him 1,000 lira (at the time 66 cents). What is 1,000 lira to him? It is normal to give 2,000, which is fair. “It is not what I am worth, it reflects on him. When you give, you give your own worth.” That was at the end of October 2012. He would now be older than 21 and probably still in Lebanon, where…

Lebanon’s authorities on Friday issued “precautionary” guidance on evacuating Beirut’s international airport in the event that exchanges of fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border escalate into full-blown conflict. The caretaker Minister of Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, said the guidelines were issued as a “precautionary measure” under the government’s national emergency plan in case of further conflict. He said the airport was continuing to operate normally. The guidelines include instructions for people in the airport to follow specified paths to safe places without using elevators “in the event that the airport or its surroundings are subjected to any external attack”. “The circular issued by…

President Isaac Herzog has invited ruling parties and the opposition to meet on Tuesday, a day after the planned judicial overhaul was delayed. Israel’s far-right government and opposition parties are set to open talks on controversial judiciary reforms that have sparked a general strike and mass protests, the presidency said. President Isaac Herzog invited the working teams representing the ruling coalition and the first two opposition parties for a first meeting at the president’s residence in Jerusalem at 7:30pm (16:30 GMT) on Tuesday, his office said. It added that Herzog was expected to meet with representatives of the other parties later in…

BEIRUT: Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai has praised Christian politicians as they united around a presidential candidate, in a move that could end a nearly eight-month power vacuum in Lebanon. His blessings during Sunday sermon came after opposition parliamentary blocs agreed to support the nomination of Jihad Azour, a former minister who is the director of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia department. He is expected to contest the presidency against Suleiman Frangieh, the preferred candidate of Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and their allies. Al-Rahi also sent Bishop Paul Abdel Sater on Sunday to meet Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah…

French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed former Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as his personal envoy to Lebanon. The appointment comes a year after the senior diplomat stepped down after failing to make any inroads in Lebanon’s political deadlock. Macron appointed his former foreign minister as personal envoy to Lebanon just a year after he stepped down and having previously not been able to make any inroads in the political deadlock in the country. Macron led international efforts after a massive explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut in 2019 and destroyed swathes of the capital city. But…