Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Saudi-Iran talks are on track and may produce results. The discussions were launched under former President Hassan Rouhani, and have continued since President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August. “We have achieved results and agreements, but we still need more dialogue,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on October 8 in Beirut. He added, “The role of these two countries in [ensuring the] sustainable security of the region is significant.” “Iran-Saudi dialogue is in the right direction and we need more dialogue,” he said. “We were not the first to cut ties with Saudi…

Iraqis voted Sunday in legislative elections a year early, and voters were seen flocking to polling stations, as high-security measures were put in place to guarantee a safe electoral process are implemented throughout the national event.Iraqis voted Sunday in legislative elections a year early, and voters were seen flocking to polling stations, as high-security measures were put in place to guarantee a safe electoral process are implemented throughout the national event. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Iraq had announced that the polls would be closed at 6 PM local time and that there would be no extension. Polling…

by : Kirill Kurevlev .The move reportedly comes as the NSO Group heard that the British court determined that Pegasus most likely had been used by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, to hack into his ex-wife Princess Haya’s phone, as well as those of her lawyers, who were involved in a child protection battle with him.The infamous Israeli-made spyware Pegasus, which was reportedly used to hack into the phones of UAE’s Princess Haya and her divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, is no longer effective against UK phone numbers, which start with a +44 prefix, The Guardian reported.Sources within the software’s…

by : IMEMC Israeli forces continued to commit crimes and multi-layered violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse, and attacks on civilians, turning the West Bank into isolated blocks of land. Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in Hebron under Israeli military protection. The Israeli settlement expansion works continued on Palestinian lands and properties. Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip enters its 15th year under closure, exacerbating the humanitarian hardships across the territory. Army shooting and violation of right to bodily integrity: Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinians,…

Due to fuel shortages, two of Lebanon’s biggest power stations were forced to shut down on Saturday, leaving the crisis-hit country in the dark, an official source has said. The blackout in the country of almost six million is expected to last for several days, the government source told Reuters. “The Lebanese power network completely stopped working at noon today, and it is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days,” the official told the agency. The authorities will attempt to use the military’s oil reserves so the power plants can temporarily resume operations, he said, but…

A 16-year-old high school girl was arrested and her entire school locked down, all over her refusal to wear a face mask. Her arrest caused outrage on the right, and conservatives have started chipping in to her legal defense. Video footage captured on Thursday showed 16-year-old Grace Smith met with school officials and a police officer when she turned up at the doors of Laramie High School in Wyoming. Smith had already served two consecutive suspensions for refusing to wear a face mask in class – per school board requirements – and again attempted to enter the building unmasked. She…

Czech center-right opposition group Together is set to beat Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO party in national elections. Babis was beset by corruption allegations after being named in the Pandora Papers ahead of the vote. Voting in the Czech Republic took place on Friday through to midday on Saturday, and with 99% of ballots counted that evening, the center-right Together coalition is taking 27.69% of the vote – a hair above the 27.23% taken by Babis’ ANO party. The liberal Pirates/Mayors coalition are coming in third, with 15.5%. Earlier results showed the ANO in the lead, but even before Together…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his accompanying delegation arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Saturday morning. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Faisal Mekdad, who received Amirabdollahian at Damascus airport, said that “Syria supports efforts undertaken by the Iranian leadership regarding the nuclear file.” Mekdad strongly condemned all “American actions that seek to manipulate the nuclear issue and other matters in the region.” For his part, the Iranian Foreign Minister expressed his country’s interest in its strategic relations with Syria, stressing that “Iran will remain firmly on the side of Syria, just as it stood by it…

The United States is supporting Syrian terrorist groups to divide it, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. “Washington is insincere about the reason behind its presence in Syria to combat ISIS,” he told reporters in a joint press conference with his Venezuelan counterpart, Felix Plasencia. “The United States transported ISIS militants from Syria to Afghanistan,” Mevlut asserted. The Turkish foreign minister underscored that Washington is making unilateral policies that have affected Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, calling on the US to change its policies instead of blaming Turkey. Cavusoglu had condemned the US military presence in Syria, saying it has to…

Militant groups in northern Mali’s Kidal region have been trained by French officers, Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga claimed in an interview with RIA Novosti, saying two-thirds of his country is “occupied by terrorists.” Mali has evidence that French forces present in its territory with a mission to counter terrorist groups have been instead “training” militants, the transitional government’s prime minister told Russia’s RIA news agency on Friday. According to the Malian official, France now controls an enclave in Kidal, with Mali having no access there. “They have militant groups there, who have been trained by French officers. We have evidence of…