Author: Steven Sahiounie

Poland’s prime minister has lashed out with accusations that EU institutions impede on the rights of its member nations following a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Tribunal that Warsaw’s laws reign supreme over Brussels’. Speaking to the Polish parliament on Thursday, Mateusz Morawiecki proclaimed that “we are at a crucial moment, you could say at a crossroads in the EU’s history.””Democracy is being tested – how far will European nations retreat before this usurpation by some EU institutions.” Morawiecki’s accusations come as he is due to appear before the European Parliament next week to defend Poland’s case after a landmark court…

Addressing the UNGA’s 76 First Committee’s Combined Thematic Discussions: Nuclear Weapons, Other WMDs, Outer Space, and Conventional Weapons, Heidar Ali Balouji said, “Achieving global nuclear disarmament remains one of the most long-lasting goals of the United Nations. Today, international security is under threat by the existence of almost 14,000 nuclear weapons with well-funded, long-term plans to not only modernize but also strengthen the arsenals of NWSs and so nuclear arms race.” Balouji pointed out that the US withdrawal from the INF spelt an end to the commitment to eliminate an entire class of nuclear missiles, saying, “Similarly, its withdrawal from the JCPOA, and…

Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks during a visit to the IRGC’s naval units in the Persian Gulf islands and the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC’s naval forces have reached the “quick reaction” capability in face of any threat, stressing that enemies have to come to terms with the reality of Iran’s offensive and defensive power. “Using modern electronic warfare systems, the IRGC Navy has been able to gain complete control over the geography of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the honors of our Navy today,” he added. Salami said the IRGC Navy…

MOSCOW, October 15. . Russia’s COVID-19 cases surged by 32,196 in the last 24 hours to 7,925,176, which is an all-time high since the onset of the pandemic, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Friday. In relevant terms, the COVID-19 incidence in Russia increased by 0,41% over the past day. In particular, over the past day, some 2,632 COVID-19 cases were registered in St. Petersburg, 2,110 cases were confirmed in the Moscow Region, some 791 cases were disclosed in the Samara Region, as many as 695 people were infected with COVID-19 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, while 668 cases of…

NOVO-OGARYOVO, October 15. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that interaction should be maintained with the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia), but there should be no haste to recognize them officially. “There should be no haste to recognize the Taliban officially. We are aware that they should be cooperated with, but there is no place for haste,” Putin said at the CIS summit on Friday. He added that Moscow was going to discuss these questions with its CIS counterparts. Putin stressed that the Taliban’s interim government regrettably failed to reflect the entire diversity of Afghan society. “At the same time, an…

In an interview with Al-Mayadeen, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau Zaher Jabarin confirmed that there is a genuine discussion about uniting all Palestinian resistance movements to fight for the Liberation of Al-Quds and all of Palestine. Jabarin confirmed that the Palestinian prisoners’ resistance inside Israeli prisons will persist, adding that the Israeli occupation is not yet prepared for a prisoner exchange deal. Simultaneously, Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned the Israeli occupation against “testing the patience and resistance of the Palestinian people,” emphasizing that the occupation must bear the consequences of this “foolish policy” that may lead to a wide explosion in the…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator French President Macron provoked Algeria’s wrath and indignation after his critical and divisive comments were reported by Le Monde newspaper. Algeria has recalled its ambassador to France in protest of the statements, and Algerian authorities then closed their airspace to French military aircraft. Many Algerians will likely call on France to apologize for the crimes it committed during its colonization of Algeria over a period of 132 years (1930-1962) which, according to the Algerian presidency, claimed the lives of more than five million Algerians. Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Hana Saada in order to…

While reiterating that cryptocurrency deserves to have a place in global currency and transactions, Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that the digital currency market is too high-risk and unstable to be used for settling oil contracts. Russia, for years, has been trying to lower its dependency on the US dollar, which makes up over 80% of international transactions around the world. Some companies switched to euros. “It’s too early to talk about that for now because cryptocurrency can of course be a payment unit, but it is very unstable. To transfer funds from one place to another, yes, but I…

Sydney is scrapping mandatory quarantine for overseas travellers from next month, officials said Friday, signalling a faster-than-expected end to tough coronavirus restrictions. Australia’s borders have been closed for the last 19 months to prevent the spread of Covid-19, stranding tens of thousands of Australians overseas and leading critics to dub the country a “hermit state”. Currently, anyone who enters Australia has to qualify for an exemption to travel and fork out many thousands of dollars to be locked in a hotel room for 14 days. New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said that, from November 1, fully vaccinated travellers to…

WASHINGTON, October 15. Word Bank Group President David Malpass hailed as ‘informative’ talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk in Washington on Thursday. “This afternoon, I was pleased to welcome Russian DPM Alexei Overchhuk to the Word Bank,” David Malpass said in a tweet. “We held informative talks on several issues, including IDA20, comprehensive approaches to debt and debt transparency, energy sector reforms and climate change,” he wrote on Twitter. “President Malpass welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk’s views on a new approach to assessing the business and investment climate across countries,” the World Bank said in its readout after…