Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Disputes have popped up between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the war in Yemen, Syria and OPEC quotas. There has always been a rivalry, but in recent years the relationship between the two oil-rich nations was seen as warm and friendly. Now, the friendship seems to have gone cold. This month, Saudi officials placed border tariffs on goods produced by foreign workers in neighboring countries, and the UAE and Dubai in particular, is most affected, due to its foreign-dominated manufacturing sector that exports to the region. Arab Gulf experts are…

The attack that killed two people aboard an Israeli-operated vessel off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea on Thursday, is believed to have been a drone strike, US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the region, has said. American explosives experts, who have examined the Mercer Street product tanker, have discovered “clear visual evidence that an attack had occurred” on the ship, the Fifth Fleet said, in a statement on Saturday. “Initial indications clearly point to a (drone)-style attack,” it stated, without elaborating on how such a conclusion was reached. Two US warships – nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and…

Brisbane is headed for another “snap” lockdown, following six new local coronavirus infections, forcing most residents in Australia’s third-most populous city and other regions of Queensland to stay at home until next week. Queensland officials announced the three-day lockdown on Saturday morning, with state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urging locals not to venture beyond their homes until the measures expire on August 3, with a few exceptions. The new snap shutdown order comes after just six new cases were tallied on Saturday, along with one imported from abroad. “We received the advice of the chief health officer, and the premier has…

While Olympic athletes have been breaking sporting records at the arenas in Tokyo, the Japanese capital has set a grim milestone of its own, reporting a record 4,058 coronavirus cases on Saturday. It’s the first time that daily infections in the country’s largest city surpassed the 4,000 mark since the start of the pandemic, which so far has recorded more than 214,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and almost 2,300 deaths. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the recent spike in cases in Tokyo and across the country was largely caused by the more infectious Delta variant of the virus. “With a…

Social media users have theorized that President Andres Manuel López Obrador could face severe repercussions after he refused to purchase Covid vaccines for children, vowing that Mexico wouldn’t bow to pressure from drugs firms. In remarks made earlier this week, the Mexican leader said his government was still waiting for the scientific community to demonstrate the benefits of vaccinating minors. Until conclusive evidence was provided, Mexico would refuse to purchase jabs for children, Obrador announced, adding that pharmaceutical firms seemed to be focused more on making profits than on ensuring medical necessity as they rake in record sales from Covid-19…

As the CDC urges Americans to mask up against the Delta variant, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist has argued that more data is needed about the strain’s infectiousness. His mask-free nation is hovering at zero Covid deaths per day. Anders Tegnell said on Friday that there was “a lot we do not know” about Delta and cautioned against drawing “far-reaching conclusions” about the coronavirus strain. He noted that the variant had been circulating in Sweden “for quite some time” with little effect, particularly in high-risk settings such as nursing homes. His comments were made in response to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

In a historic win for trade unions, Australia’s federal court ruled in favor of the Transport Workers Union’s case against airline giant Qantas. The outsourcing scandal saw over 2,000 employees laid off amid the Covid pandemic. Friday morning Justice Michael Lee said he was not convinced of the evidence put forth by Qantas – Australia’s most dominating airline – that the laying off of thousands of employees was not, at least in part, motivated by their union membership. Qantas dismissed more than 2,000 ground handlers during the pandemic, whose roles were outsourced to save money for the corporation, which in…

In an interview with New York Times journalists today, Tunisian President Kais Saied said that “Tunisia is working within the framework of human rights and freedoms, and the measures were taken in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.” Said explained that “freedom of expression is guaranteed and untouched in Tunisia,” stressing that “he has taught the US constitution to his students for three decades and knows how leaders in the US have worked to ensure freedom.” Said wondered how he could turn into an overnight dictator, as some have described him, after dedicating a large portion of his life to study…

The Ennahda movement released a statement on Saturday saying that the exceptional measures taken by President Saied are in breach of the law and the constitution and that they pose a threat to individual and civil rights. The statement added that the efficient and possible way out from these problems is not through concentrating power. Yesterday, Ennahda MP Yamina Zoghlami said that the solution for Tunisia is domestic and not external, pointing out that the movement has an important meeting today and that it should apologize to the people of Tunisia and change policies and leaderships. President Kais Saied, on…

Residents of the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood in al-Quds called for an all-out participation in the protests in front of the residences threatened with forced expulsion in the Neighborhood tonight. This move comes just two days prior to a hearing in the occupation’s High Court scheduled to look into the decision of expelling 4 families from the Neighborhood, which was approved by the occupation’s so-called Central Court. Early last May, the occupation’s decision to expel residents of the Neighborhood and confiscate their homes sparked a wave of protests. That step later evolved, due to the occupations’ aggressiveness and obstinacy in dealing…