Author: Steven Sahiounie

Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty and his Japanese counterpart Yuko Kamikawa agreed in a meeting on Sunday on the necessity to prevent the escalation of tensions on the Lebanese front to avoid a regional war, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. The meeting came amid the regional escalation witnessed in the past few hours on the Lebanese front between Hezbollah and Israel, the statement said. It is the second meeting in 48 hours between Kamikawa and Abdelatty, who is currently in Japan to attend the Ministerial Meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), held upon a request from the Japanese top diplomat. …

Blasting the West, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova questioned whether international human rights groups will pressure France after its authorities detained Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov like they did when Russia proposed regulations for the platform’s operations. Earlier, French media reported that the Russian-born entrepreneur was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday, claiming his detention comes as part of a preliminary police investigation. Durov is set to appear in court on Sunday evening. French authorities had allegedly issued a warrant for Durov’s arrest, citing concerns that insufficient content moderation on Telegram enables widespread criminal use of the platform. Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in…

Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained in France because of his refusal to “censor the truth” by the order of governments and intelligence agencies, US journalist Tucker Carlson believes. “It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away. Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world,” Carlson said on his X page. Previously, the LCI TV channel reported that Durov was detained…

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been detained in France, the LCI news channel reported. According to the media outlet, Durov was detained at Le Bourget Airport. He was accompanied by his girlfriend and a bodyguard. The Paris police prefecture has not yet confirmed the information about Durov’s detention for TASS. Source: TASS

The International Criminal Court should issue arrest warrants and prosecute all Israeli officials involved in the war crimes being committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said. Speaking with Sputnik, Al-Maliki said no Israeli official should be spared by the ICC, regardless of their position and status, whether they are government officials, lawmakers, or soldiers, as they have all contributed to the war crimes being committed in Gaza since October. “I’m not really sparing anyone. I believe that all of them are. All of them are responsible, and the ICC should really issue arrest warrants against all of…

Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, discussed the latest developments and the joint coordination to strengthen the relief efforts in the Gaza Strip. During a meeting today in Ramallah, they discussed the efforts to stop the genocidal war waged against the Palestinian people in the Strip, and the aggression of the occupation army and the colonists against Palestinians in the West Bank. They also tackled the interventions of the Gaza-based relief government, plans to expand emergency relief operations once the aggression on the Strip stops, restoration of basic services,…

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district to express their solidarity with Gaza, while denouncing “Israel’s” ongoing aggression and war crimes that have killed over 40,200 people, according to social media reports. The rally information was shared by Thoton Akimoto, a journalist with an international platform, who called on Japan’s residents from diverse backgrounds to stand in solidarity with Palestine despite “differences in skin color, nationality, religion, and language.” “What if they were your children?” Michelle, a Jewish American woman, said at the demonstration, questioning the international community’s response to the occupation’s daily aggression. “I don’t know what you have to do to bring your…

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has named a former ambassador to Russia as his top political adviser. Mehdi Sanaei was named Deputy for Political Affairs of the Iranian Presidency Office on Saturday in a decision announced by Mohsen Haji Mirzaei, the head of staff for Pezehkian. He succeeds Mohammad Jamshidi, who served as former President Ebrahim Raisi’s political advisor for three years. Sanaei served as Iran’s ambassador to Russia until 2019 and teaches at the University of Tehran’s Russian Studies Department, part of the Faculty of World Studies. The Iranian parliament has granted confidence to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says Muslim countries, particularly Iran and Turkey, should hold more consultations to counter the Israeli regime’s destabilizing moves in the region. In a phone call with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan on Saturday, Araqchi said West Asia faces intensification of crises and the Israeli regime’s moves to cause more tension and spread instability across the region. He underscored the importance of improving relations between Iran and Turkey and expressed his country’s readiness to boost constructive talks aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in all fields. Fidan, for his part, extended his congratulations to Araqchi over…

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc criticized the US and Israel on Saturday, accusing them of blocking a cease-fire in Gaza and committing acts that amount to genocide. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul before the gala screening of the documentary Al-Shifa Hospital – 14 Days of Horror, prepared by the Recorded for Humanity Initiative and Al Jazeera 360 with Anadolu as the global communications partner, Tunc told how Al-Shifa Hospital was destroyed by Israel in front of the eyes of the world, with a great many people killed. He condemned US support for Israel, particularly highlighting the standing ovation most members…