Author: Steven Sahiounie

Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty spoke by phone with his new Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to discuss regional crises, including the latest developments in the Gaza war and efforts toward reaching a ceasefire in the 10-month-old conflict. According to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry, FM Abdelatty expressed to Araghchi Cairo’s hope for a truce agreement that would include a ceasefire in Gaza and a captive-prisoner exchange deal. Abdelatty also voiced hopes that mediation efforts would succeed in reducing regional tensions to prevent further violence and escalation. The two top diplomsats also discussed the repeated Israeli violations of international and humanitarian…

The United States and other Western countries have trained the Kiev regime, set it on a terrorist path, and have long been directing its strikes on civilian targets, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “We have been documenting these crimes for a long time, despite denials or attempts to present them in a different light. We have said that the United States, in the first place, has groomed the Kiev regime, putting it initially on an extremist path and now on a purely terrorist one,” she said on the sidelines of the 10th Territory of Senses national educational youth…

A top US general began an unannounced tour to the Middle East on Saturday to explore ways to avoid any fresh escalation in tensions that may lead to a larger confrontation, as the region prepares for a retaliatory strike on “Israel” from Iran. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has started his journey in Jordan and is to visit Egypt and “Israel” in the following days to hear military officials’ opinions. His visit comes amid so-called efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian resistance and “Israel,” which Brown stated would “help bring down the temperature” if…

Former US President Donald Trump has accepted the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has said he will end his independent run for office in swing states. Hours after making the announcement on Friday, 70-year-old RFK Jr. joined Trump on stage during the Republican presidential candidate’s rally in Glendale, Arizona. Kennedy said that Trump will “make America healthy again” and be a president “who is going to protect us against totalitarianism.” Trump embraced and thanked Kennedy for his support and stated that his father, US Senator Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, John F. Kennedy, would be “very, very proud of Bobby.” “I am…

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov is expected to return home from Washington in October, a diplomatic source in Moscow told TASS. “As for Antonov’s return from Washington, preliminarily, this will happen in October, the source said. Antonov, 69, has been Russia’s Ambassador to the United States since August 2017. Prior to that, he was Russian deputy defense and foreign minister. Source: TASS

Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday that he was suspending his campaign and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump, ending a bid that began in April 2023 with RFK as a Democrat hopeful. Kennedy’s candidacy initially gained momentum as voters expressed dissatisfaction with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, leading Kennedy to pivot his campaign to an independent run. At one point, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in November 2023 showed him drawing 20% of the vote in a three-way race against Biden and Trump. Despite his early success, Kennedy’s campaign faced challenges in securing spots on state ballots as…

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the law making it possible to ban the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was approved by the local legislative assembly on Tuesday. Such data were posted on the website of the Ukrainian parliament. The document is expected to come into force in thirty days after its promulgation. The law was prepared by the direct order of Zelensky and approved in the first reading in October 2023. Persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church started in the country after the coup in 2014. Source: TASS

Israeli media has highlighted increasing discord between the occupation’s military and political leaders over negotiating a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in the Gaza Strip. According to the Makor Rishon newspaper, the situation is critical, with the outcome of the entire war hanging in the balance, not just the fate of the captives. The security and military officials are advocating for a temporary ceasefire, while those opposing any deal have fortified their stance with new arguments, believing that halting the war at this point would be catastrophic. As a result, the rift between them is widening. The newspaper highlighted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin…

British energy regulator Ofgem on Friday raised its price cap on household energy bills by 10% from Oct. 1 to an annual level of 1,717 pounds ($2,250.64)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned Israel’s months-long onslaught on Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, stressing that the occupying regime and the United States would not dare perpetrate any crimes in the region if Muslims were united. Pezeshkian made the remarks at a ceremony on Saturday to renew his cabinet’s allegiance to the ideals of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, in his shrine in southern Tehran at the outset of the Administration Week. Pointing to the crimes committed by the Israeli regime in Gaza, the Iranian chief executive said, “Would Israel have dared to do…