Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United Nations observed the first International Day to Combat Islamophobia with a special event on Friday, emphasizing the need for concrete action against rising hatred, discrimination, and violence against Muslims. The observation followed the unanimous adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution last year, which proclaimed March 15 as such an international day, calling for global dialogue that promotes tolerance, peace, respect for human rights and religious diversity. Nearly 2 billion Muslims worldwide face bigotry and prejudice solely because of their faith, according to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Moreover, Muslim women face “triple discrimination” because of their gender,…

Syria welcomed an agreement reached between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Islamic Republic of Iran to resume diplomatic relations, saying the step will enhance security and stability in the region, Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry added that Syria highly appreciates the great efforts exerted by Chinese leadership to reach the step. That important step will lead to booting cooperation and stability in the region, and it will positively reflect the common interests of the two peoples in particular and peoples of the region in general, according to the statement. “Syria hopes those efforts would…

Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has affirmed that the global war scheme against Syria had failed whether in military, security or politically aspects, and this is a great achievement, stressing that openness towards Syria now is a recognition of its victory. ‘Many Arab countries want to restore their relations with Syria, but the US objection is the obstacle’, Sayyed Nasrallah said in speech during memorial ceremony for Commander Assad Mahmoud Saghir. Nasrallah added that Syria has always been the basis of the resistance front against the Zionist enemy, and it will remain the basis of resistance axis, asserting that…

Iran and Saudi Arabia will reopen diplomatic missions in their respective countries following negotiations in Beijing. After seven years of strained ties, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen missions in respective countries after a series of talks brokered in Beijing, China under the auspices of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. According to the joint statement, “the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies and missions within two months of talks.” Moreover, Iran and Saudi Arabia said they “thank the Republic of Iraq and the…

Jobs growth in the US remained strong last month, as the world’s largest economy continued to defy expectations of a slowdown. Employers added 311,000 jobs in February, more than expected, with bars and restaurants driving the gains. The unemployment rate edged higher, to 3.6%, from 3.4% in January, which had been the lowest rate since 1969. The US central bank is trying to cool the economy to ease the pressures pushing up prices. But the jobs market has been resilient, even as the bank raises interest rates to the highest levels since 2007. “Until jobs reports reflect reduced demand within…

Washington, which has been pumping tens of billions’ worth of heavy weapons to the Kiev regime, has been lobbing unfounded accusations against Beijing, asserting that China is looking into supporting Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine with lethal assistance. US President Joe Biden could be granted “explicit authority” to impose sanctions “against persons from the PRC” (People’s Republic of China) if legislation reintroduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., were to enter force. Democrat Adam Schiff, a member of the US House of Representatives, was joined by a number of colleagues in proposing a bill to the US Congress providing for the establishment of…

The prime minister has said “confidence is returning” after official figures showed the economy grew by more than expected in January. Rishi Sunak said the data confirmed the government’s plan is “the right one and we need to stick to it”. The economy expanded by 0.3% in January, rebounding from a sharp fall in December. Higher school attendance and the return of Premier League football after the World Cup helped boost the figure. The data comes ahead of the Budget next Wednesday when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will set out the government’s growth plans. January’s growth followed a 0.5% contraction in…

It seemed like only yesterday that markets were sure that a tougher Federal Reserve was going to raise its benchmark interest rate a half percentage point at its meeting in less than two weeks. That’s because it, in fact, was yesterday. On Thursday, traders in the futures market were almost certain the Fed would take a more hawkish monetary policy stance and double up on the quarter-point hike it approved last month. But one bank implosion and a cooperative jobs report later, and the market has changed its mind. The probability of a 0.25 percentage point increase rose above 70% at one…

The Turkish Electoral Commission approved Erdogan’s decision to hold the elections on May 14 which is a month earlier than initially planned. The date of the presidential elections assigned by the president, May 14, was approved by Turkey’s High Electoral Commission on Friday, according to Resmi Gazete. On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree setting general elections for May 14. “Our commission unanimously voted to approve May 14 as the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections. The second round of the presidential election, if necessary, is scheduled for May 28,” the commission’s statement read. Erdogan’s only…

The cryptocurrency crisis went into high gear early Saturday as Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) failure caused some of the industry’s core plumbing to go haywire. Stablecoin prices wildly swung and gas fees soared as investors scrambled to move money around hours after regulators shut SVB amid a run on the bank, which had ties to crypto. It was the second crypto-linked bank to go under this week. In the aftermath, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen convened top financial regulators to discuss the collapse of SVB. Not long after, crypto markets went into turmoil, suggesting the more-than-year-long bear market has entered an even darker phase. There’s echoes of the 2008 global…