Author: Steven Sahiounie

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated Friday that Lebanon had the right to defend its land, sovereignty, and dignity by any available means. “In the face of Israel’s systematic and dangerous escalation, which we have witnessed in the past few hours, we can only reaffirm our right to defend our land, sovereignty, and dignity by all available means. We will be unwavering in this choice, regardless of the sacrifices,” Mikati said during his visit to the country’s army headquarters. The Lebanese government has informed all friendly states that Lebanon favors peace and seeks long-term stability. However, achieving this requires…

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate has slammed Israel’s assertion that the slain Al Jazeera correspondent was a member of Hamas’s elite fighting unit, saying that the Israeli statement is an “official” admission of guilt. Al-Ghoul and his companion cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in a direct Israeli air raid on their vehicle in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday. The Israeli military claimed on Thursday – without evidence – that al-Ghoul was a fighter with the Palestinian group, boasting that he was “eliminated”. The Syndicate ridiculed the allegation, noting that the journalist had been previously detained and released…

The dollar slipped 0.15% against major currencies to trade at 104.21 TOKYO – The dollar slipped on Friday as investors fretted U.S. payrolls data could be weak after an unexpected slump in U.S. manufacturing raised concerns about a slowdown in the world’s largest economy and lifted traditional safe-haven currencies. The yen firmed, pushing the dollar down 0.3% to 148.90, building on gains in the wake of a Bank of Japan decision to raise rates and strengthening as far as 148.51 overnight for the first time since mid-March. The Swiss franc gained about 0.1% to 0.8718 per dollar, and earlier reached…

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed in a telephone call on Friday the recent serious regional escalations caused by extreme Israeli policies and the Sudanese crisis with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdelatty highlighted in his call with the Saudi counterpart the importance of halting the current escalations and stressed the necessity for major international powers, especially the United States, to fulfil their responsibilities in this issue. The call also covered the sincere efforts done by Egypt and Saudi Arabia to resolve the Sudanese crisis and stop the ongoing conflict there,…

Former US head of state and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is ahead of US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also running for the country’s highest office, in terms of support from American voters, according to a poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports. According to the pollsters, 49% of respondents are ready to support Trump in the presidential election, while 44% favored Harris. A total of 4% of respondents said they would vote for another candidate. Another 2% were undecided. The survey was conducted on July 24-25 and July 28-31 among over 2,000 potential American voters. The US presidential election…

Europe’s main Stoxx share index was 1.6% lower in early dealings as all of the region’s main equity gauges fell and futures trading implied Wall Street’s S&P 500 would open more than 1% lower later in the day

Spot gold was up 0.7% at $2,463.46 per ounce as of 1105 GMT on Friday, just $20 shy of the record peak of $2,483.60 scaled on July 17

Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has appointed Mohammad Javad Zarif, the chief negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, as vice president for strategic affairs, state media reported on Thursday. “You are tasked with overseeing major national and international developments as well as how far we succeed in achieving the goals of the constitution,” Pezeshkian stated in the letter of appointment, according to the official IRNA news agency. Javad Zarif,, who served as foreign minister from 2013 to 2021 under President Hassan Rouhani, became a prominent figure on the international stage during the lengthy negotiations for the 2015 agreement. The…

Brent crude futures gained 55 cents, or 0.7%, to $80.08 a barrel

Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has urged OIC to hold an extraordinary foreign ministerial meeting following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to hold an extraordinary foreign ministerial meeting following the Zionist assassination of Hamas top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Bagheri wrote on his official X account on Friday that in separate phone calls with the UN secretary general, EU foreign policy chief and his counterparts from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Russia, and Algeria, he has strongly condemned the…