Author: Tamazi Donauri

In the whirlwind of Sri Lankan politics, last week’s visit by Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) to India carved a narrative that has both intrigued and polarised the political arena. This spectacle showcased the delicate art of political communication, underscoring the critical importance of reputation management and the nuanced dance of damage control in the face of adversity. For years, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), questioning authority and challenging the status quo, found itself in an unfamiliar position – defending rather than accusing. The controversial trip to India marked a turning point. Critics pounced, dissecting every word, every move, with relentless…

PA President’s son Tareq Abbas also holds positions in other ventures incorporated by offshore company. Leaked documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca reveal Tareq Abbas, son of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, holds shares worth nearly $1 million in an offshore company with ties to the Palestinian Authority. The documents, leaked as part of the massive ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, show that a company called the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC) was registered in September 1994 in the British Virgin Islands. Since then, the company’s economic portfolio has grown substantially, and is active in virtually every Palestinian economic sphere, including…

Nika Melia, the former Chair of the opposition United National Movement party, on Thursday said he was leaving the ranks of the largest opposition party in Georgia amid the ongoing intra-party feud. Melia noted he had done “everything” to preserve the principles of the United National Movement party, but his efforts had been ignored. The party has made “informal governance, behind-the-scenes influences, persecution of dissent and closing the door to democracy” as a political “standard”, Melia stressed. A vicious circle has been created [within the UNM] taking into account the interest of everyone except the interest of the people. Staying…

The United Nations Children’s Fund in Georgia and the Embassy of France on Wednesday launched a partnership initiative to strengthen children’s rights across the country through expansion of capacity of children’s rights experts, support for professionals in providing quality services for children and strengthening of children’s rights centres. Titled Strengthening Child Rights in Georgia, the project will seek to enhance capabilities of the centres established with the support of the UNICEF at state and private universities as key institutions for knowledge creation, dissemination, training and child rights-related activities, the UNICEF said. It will target university centres in regions to be…

Russia is trying to recruit foreign migrants, detained in a recent sweep at its border with Finland, for its war in Ukraine. The BBC has seen evidence of several cases in which foreigners were rushed into a military camp on the border with Ukraine, days after they were picked up for breaching immigration laws. The practice of coercing people in pre-deportation detention centres to sign contracts for army service in Ukraine is not new, but the numbers swelled as foreign migrants arrived at Russia’s 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Finland. Finland temporarily closed all eight of its Russian border crossings, accusing…

President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday slammed France for providing armored vehicles to the southern Caucasus nation of Armenia, calling it a “provocative” move. Speaking to journalists on his return flight from a visit to Greece, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “This is provocation. France should know they are not doing good to Armenia but doing wrong.” “The Armenian government must learn from its recent experiences and not fall for these provocations. It would be in Armenia’s interest to seize the opportunity for peace and not to fall into the trap set by countries misleading Armenia,” he explained, referring…

Brussels (27/10 – 50) Just in September this year, ten “distinguished” people in Tajikistan have been awarded general ranks. The decree on conferring general ranks was signed by the country’s president, Emomali Rahmon, on September 7th. According to this decree, there are now three more generals in the Agency for State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption. The rank of Major General of Justice was awarded to the head of the Finance and Economic Department, Fazliddin Khodjazoda, the head of the Special Operations Department, Abdurakhmon Davlatzoda, and the head of the Agency for GBAO, Zoir Gafurzoda. The rank of Major General of…

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday extended his gratitude to the Hungarian Government for supporting Georgia’s European Union integration while also urging Budapest not to hinder Ukraine on its European integration path. Mdinaradze’s comments followed the demand by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to have Ukraine’s European Union membership taken off the agenda at the bloc’s summit next week. Mdinaradze stressed Hungary was the “main supporter and lobbyist” of Georgia and its European integration. “How can the stance [on Ukraine] of Hungary, which is the main supporter and lobbyist of this country and…

President Ilham Aliyev has ordered Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission to prepare for an early presidential election on Feb. 7, shortly ahead of Russia’s presidential election on March 17. The order was published on the presidential website but did not explain why Aliyev had called an early vote. The next presidential election had been scheduled to be held in 2025. Aliyev’s popularity in Azerbaijan has recently increased after the government took full control of the Karabakh region following a lightning rout of ethnic Armenian forces there. Some analysts suggested the timing of the vote was aimed at taking advantage of the recent…

Türkiye welcomed Azerbaijan and Armenia’s agreement to take confidence-building measures, expressing a desire for an imminent peace deal in move toward normalization after decades of tension Friday. “We support the decision to continue negotiations for the adoption of additional confidence-building measures,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said. “We wish for the prompt signing of the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which will constitute one of the most crucial developments for establishing permanent peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” it added. The South Caucasus neighbors have been locked in a decadeslong conflict over the control of the Karabakh region,…