Author: Steven Sahiounie

Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in to lead Bangladesh’s interim government in a ceremony that began with a minute of silence as a tribute to those who were killed during the violent protests that recently swept the country. Over 1,500 guests attended the inauguration led by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, including politicians, students, protest organizers, and military and civil society representatives. Other members of the interim government were also sworn in, including two student leaders and Adilur Rahman Khan, a major human rights activist who was previously imprisoned by the toppled government. Yunus arrived at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday after having…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On August 6, The Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas announced they had chosen Yahya Sinwar, 61, as the head of their political bureau, succeeding Ismail Haniyah who was assassinated on July 31 in Tehran by Israel. Sinwar is regarded as the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the deadliest attack in Israeli history. The attack left around 1,200 people dead and about 240 taken as hostages in Gaza. Israel began a revenge attack on the people of Gaza which has left 40,000 dead, mostly women and children, with hundreds of…

On Thursday evening, at approximately 20:55, the Israeli occupation forces launched an airstrike from northern Lebanon, targeting several military positions in Syria’s central region, namely Homs. According to a Syrian military source, the attack resulted in the injury of four soldiers and caused limited material damage. The Syrian military has condemned the aggression, describing it as a blatant violation of its sovereignty. Not the first Israeli war jets launched a series of airstrikes on Friday evening targeting towns on the Lebanese Syrian borders. Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported Israeli aggression on the outskirts of the town of Hosh al-Sayyid Ali in Bekaa and…

Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency said Israeli bombardment killed more than 18 people in strikes on two schools on Thursday, as Iran accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East.After a week-long pause in November, US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have endeavoured to secure a second truce in the 10-month-old war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.In a joint statement…

Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji met with the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour on Wednesday. During the meeting on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Jeddah, the two officials discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian crisis. They also reviewed regional developments, Saudi Press Agency reported. Al-Khuraiji also met with Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, and Abu Bakr Mohamed Hanafi. At the OIC meeting, Al-Khuraiji condemned the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail…

The Mexican authorities will not be able to arrest Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin in accordance with the International Criminal Court’s warrant in case of his visit in October for the inauguration of the next president, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s incumbent President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told the daily news conference. “We can’t do that, it’s none of our business,” he said when asked by the media whether the Mexican authorities would act in accordance with an ICC warrant, if the Russian leader visited the country. Lopez Obrador confirmed that the authorities had sent invitations to Sheinbaum’s inauguration to the heads of…

Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League Ambassador Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Matar welcomed in Cairo on Thursday the Speaker of the Arab Parliament Adel bin Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi. The parties looked at existing cooperation between the Kingdom and the Arab Parliament, discussing collaborative efforts in the parliamentary field while exploring a range of additional topics. Al-Asoumi met Abdulaziz Al-Mulla, the executive director of the World Bank, last month, along with representatives of several Arab countries. The meeting focused on the mechanism of the World Bank’s operations. source: Arab News

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, on Thursday, received a phone call from his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa. They discussed the dangerous escalation occurring in the region and the steps being taken to safeguard the region and its security from its effects. Safadi emphasized that halting Israeli aggression, upholding Israel’s commitment to international law, and ceasing any further actions that jeopardize peace efforts and deny the region’s right to security and stability are the first measures toward lowering the escalation. Along with discussing measures to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the two ministers…

US Vice President and Democratic frontrunner Kamala Harris’ team released a statement announcing that she will not be discussing an arms embargo on “Israel” after two far-left activists from the Uncommitted movement claimed she exhibited openness to do so. The Times of Israel reported, citing The New York Times, that Harris met with two Arab Americans leading the Uncommitted National Movement, who asked her to consider an arms embargo on “Israel”, at a campaign stop in Michigan. Just before her rally, Harris met with Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed, who, according to NYT’s report, “wanted to support her but… wanted her to consider an…

Thanks to its aggressive policies, Israel has become more isolated and rejected on the international stage, Presidential Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh stated on Thursday. Abu Rudeineh said that Israel has entered the stage of being internationally isolated and rejected as a result of its aggressive policies and total disregard of the United Nations resolutions and international law. Commenting on supremacist Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remarks that letting two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip die of hunger might be “justified and moral” and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs decision to cancel the travel visas of the Norwegian diplomatic mission…