Author: Steven Sahiounie

Turkish Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu makes pledges for his first 100 days in power amid a difficult economic situation in Turkey. Turkish presidential candidate and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu announced on April 13 his political program for the first 100 days in power if he got elected as President of Turkey. Kilicdaroglu’s election slogan during this election has been “I promise you, Spring will come again!” In the newly published brochure, Kilicdaroglu stated, “On May 14th, the government will change in Turkey,” adding “Together we will build a prosperous, fair, and democratic Turkey where everyone gets their due, with…

A former senior minister accuses Home Secretary of weakening the party in order to further her personal leadership aspirations. Top UK Conservative Party members have condemned Suella Braverman’s “racist rhetoric,” accusing her of sabotaging the party in order to further her personal leadership ambitions. On Thursday, Rishi Sunak was under pressure to act to safeguard the party’s credibility after the home secretary incited additional outrage by criticizing police for seizing a pair of golliwogs exhibited in an Essex bar. Conservative MPs, Lords, and campaigners have accused Braverman of inflaming racial tensions on many occasions in recent months, expressing concern that she is now…

The leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement stresses the need to wage a battle against the United States and the Zionist lobby in all fields. The leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, called on the Yemenis to participate in the celebrations of the International Al-Quds Day on Friday, stressing that the Yemeni people will affirm tomorrow their readiness to wage any decisive battle against the inevitably vanishing Israeli occupation. Speaking on the occasion of International Al-Quds Day, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement said that the Khalifa family in Bahrain and the Emirati, Moroccan, and Saudi…

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Thursday called for an international investigation into reports of US biological laboratories in Ukraine and other countries. “Published reports about US military biological laboratories in Ukraine and in some other countries cause serious concern. An impartial international investigation is needed,” Kanaani tweeted. Earlier in April, the Russian parliament approved the report of a parliamentary commission investigating the activities of US biological laboratories in Ukraine. The report claims that there are at least 30 US biological laboratories currently operating in Ukraine, with the Pentagon as the main customer. This raises concerns about the military…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian highlighted the Islamic Republic’s resolve to strengthen ties with Japan. Amirabdollahian, in a phone conversation with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa on Wednesday, expressed Tehran’s commitment to further deepening ties with Tokyo. He also said Iran views diplomacy and dialogue as the only viable solution to current regional and global challenges. According to a statement issued by Iran’s foreign ministry, the Japanese foreign minister, for his part, said friendly relations between Tehran and Tokyo were of high importance. The two top diplomats also discussed ongoing efforts aimed at the revival of the nuclear deal, known…

Assets of the Bank of Russia cannot be simply transferred to Ukraine, EC experts said Lawyers of the European Commission (EC) have arrived at a conclusion that assets of the Bank of Russia frozen in the EU will have to be returned to Russia after the end of the conflict in Ukraine, Die Welt newspaper said on Thursday, citing an unpublished EC document. Assets of the Bank of Russia cannot be simply transferred to Ukraine, EC experts said. “There is political will but legal barriers are high. The European Commission comes to a sobering conclusion that frozen assets cannot be touched since…

France’s largest unions confirm that the demonstrations will not stop even if the reform plan is adopted tomorrow. Protesters clashed with French security forces on Thursday across the country, objecting to the pension reforms undertaken by Macron’s government one day ahead of the final decision by the Constitutional Council to pass the bill, some of it, or dismiss it entirely. Public outrage has erupted for months over the pension plan – which adopts a two-year extension of the current retirement age to 64. Large numbers of security forces were deployed in the vicinity of the Constitutional Council, which is based…

The region must be one of cooperation and security for everyone, Dmitry Peskov has said Despite efforts from Kiev, the Black Sea will never be the domain of NATO, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. He was commenting on a speech by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who called for the military bloc to devise a new strategy for the region. Speaking at the Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest, Romania, Kuleba urged the West to “work out a comprehensive security network for all nations… that feel threatened.” He insisted that it is “time to turn [the] Black Sea into what…

The foreign ministers of Russia, China and Iran and Pakistan’s minister of state for foreign affairs released a joint statement after a meeting in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand on Thursday within the framework of a ministerial conference of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries. The meeting is proceeding in a closed format, in which the top diplomats of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also took part. The diplomats discussed steps on facilitating Afghanistan’s political settlement, the stabilization of the humanitarian and socio-economic situation in the country as well as the development of regional economic integration and the implementation of transport and energy projects with Kabul’s participation.…

Wagner fighters continue the operation to encircle and destroy the Ukrainian grouping in Bakhmut. The head of Wagner PMC confirmed that 80% of the city is under Russian control, including all administrative buildings, factories and plants. In their turn, Ukrainian units, including various Special Forces, nationalist battalions reinforced by numerous foreign mercenaries, continue to hold their positions in the residential areas in the west of the city. Units of the Russian Ministry of Defense, including the Airborne Forces, covered the flanks in the Bakhmut region, allowing Wagner fighters to concentrate on the street battles and in Khromovo. On the northern…