Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrive in Baku for a state visit. His talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are expected to focus on the current state of and prospects for the further development of bilateral relations, as well as pressing issues on the international and regional agenda. At the airport, the Russian leader was welcomed by Azerbaijani First Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov. The two exchanged greetings. The welcoming delegation also included Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Samir Sharifov and Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu. After greeting the Azerbaijani officials, Putin proceeded to an Aurus limousine and left the…

Azerbaijan would like to join BRICS, the republic’s Ambassador to Moscow Polad Bulbuloglu said in an interview with TASS before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Baku. “There is a long queue of those willing to join BRICS. Azerbaijan has indeed stated such willingness. We have talked about it with our Russian colleagues, but this process and issue is in progress,” he said when asked whether Baku has officially applied for joining the integration. The BRICS group, established in 2006, first expanded in 2011, when South Africa joined the four founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The decision…

The agreements reached in Istanbul could become a basis for the start of new peace talks on Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview for the News of the Week program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel, adding that the situation on the ground has already changed, which should also be taken into account. “If coming to the negotiating table a question arises: <…> what to start with? He [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has suggested correctly, from the ground, to start from what we stopped at in Istanbul. <…> Indeed, the situation on the ground has changed, but we…

Israeli Prime Minister plans to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem on August 19, Dmitry Gendelman, an advisor to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told TASS. “[Netanyahu’s] meeting with Blinken will begin at ten in the morning tomorrow (August 19 – TASS) <…> in Jerusalem,” he said. Source: TASS

The Israeli military claims it is working with the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to get 1.3 million polio vaccines into Gaza after the highly contagious virus was found in the enclave. This comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the only real solution against the virus, along with other humanitarian concerns in Gaza, is an immediate ceasefire. The army had announced in July that it was giving vaccines to its soldiers operating in the enclave, claiming a large number of vaccines had already been brought in. Source: AlJazeera

Over the last few years, the Israeli government has deducted approximately 6.93 billion shekels from Palestinian tax revenues and has refused to return these funds, exacerbating the financial difficulties faced by the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to the latest statistics of the Palestinian Ministry of Finance. Under interim peace agreements dating back to the early 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and transfers them to the latter on a monthly basis. Since the onset of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli authorities have deducted nearly 2.55 billion shekels from the tax…

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that he is preparing the republic’s citizens for his stepping down. “All think as follows: ’30 years is a lot, with only a few people working [as president] for 30 years’. And people have become used to him and no one else. This is wrong. I’m preparing people to it [stepping down], I want no disappointment or failure,” Lukashenko said in an interview for the News of the Week program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel. “Not long ago we adjusted the constitution [of Belarus] to changes. But we do not want changes as a…

Türkiye’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli on Sunday said several ongoing forest fires in the country, including those in Izmir’s Yamanlar and Urla districts, have been brought under control. At a press briefing in Izmir’s Karsiyaka district, Yumakli said efforts were ongoing against eight active fires over the past day. “As we announced earlier, the fire in Izmir Yamanlar, which posed a risk to the city, has been successfully contained. Our teams managed to confine the burning areas to a valley on the upper part of the region. I am pleased to inform you that the fire in Izmir…

Youth unemployment in China ticked up to 17.1 percent in July, official figures showed, the highest level this year as the world’s second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds.

A US judge on Friday temporarily blocked the launch of a new sports streaming service backed by three media giants, Walt Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery, which aims to capture younger sports fans who do not watch games on TV.