Author: Steven Sahiounie

G20 nations have agreed to work together to make the super-rich pay their taxes, but stopped short of a more substantial deal, according to a declaration adopted Friday after a meeting of finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

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Malaysia has sent an application for BRICS membership to Russia, which is currently holding BRICS presidency, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “Malaysia has sent a letter of application to join the (BRICS) organization to Russia as the BRICS chairman, besides expressing openness to participate as a member country or strategic partner,” the BERNAMA news agency quoted him as saying. Earlier on Sunday, Anwar Ibrahim met with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to the Malaysian prime minister, the conversation focused on Malaysia’s application to join BRICS, which, in his words, will have a considerable potential for both sides.…

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Egypt warns about the risk of the escalation between Israel and Lebanon, which may entail a large-scale war in the region, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. “Egypt warns about the risks stemming from the opening a new front in Lebanon amid the latest developments in the town of Majdal Shams on the Syrian occupied Golan Heights,” it said, adding that “this may plunge the Middle East into a full-scale regional war.” The ministry called on the international community to “interfere immediately to spare the peoples of the region of catastrophic consequences of the expanding [Middle East] conflict, which pose a…

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Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has formally endorsed Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s new president. At a ceremony broadcast live on state television on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei gave his official approval for Pezeshkian, who emerged victorious in the second round of the presidential vote on July 5. Iranian state and military officials, seminary and university professors, representatives of various guilds, a group of families of martyrs, and foreign ambassadors in Tehran attended the ceremony. The Leader’s decree, endorsing the mandate of President Pezeshkian, was read out at the event by the head of the leader’s office. In the decree,…

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Moscow does not yet see any prospects for ending the bloodshed in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out at the end of his visit to Malaysia. “There are no prospects for ending this bloodshed yet. Israel, through Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, has repeatedly responded to calls for an immediate ceasefire by saying that it will not stop until it completely destroys Hamas,” Lavrov said. He explained, “In my opinion, — and many of my colleagues share this point of view — it is an unrealistic task to completely destroy an organization that exists and that has…

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