Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Reports that Ayman Hariri had been asked to leave Saudi Arabia after his home was confiscated appeared in Al Akhbar.  He is now said to be living in Abu Dhabi, where his half-brother Saad lives.  Saad and Ayman were partners in the Saudi Oger Company, which their father had founded in 1978.  Ayman sold his share to Saad in 2008.  In 2010, Forbes ranked Ayman No. 22 among the richest Arabs, and by 2012 his worth was estimated at $2.15 billion.  However, after the company became bankrupt, owing $4 billion, the assets were confiscated…

The World Health Organization is strengthening its air quality guidelines and setting a higher bar for policymakers and the public – its first update to said guidelines in 15 years. The UN health agency said air pollution was now a prominent environmental threat to human health, with 7 million premature deaths a year. “Urgent action is needed” to reduce exposure to air pollution, it said, putting it on the same level as smoking and unhealthy eating. “WHO has adjusted almost all the air quality guideline levels downwards, warning that exceeding the new… levels is associated with significant risks to health,”…

The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network said kayakers noticed a dolphin stranded in shallow waters, at Lighthouse Lakes, near Port Aransas, according to UPI. It took a group effort to rescue the dolphin stranded in the shallow waters over the weekend. Several volunteer groups took part in the rescue mission. “We made sure we had everything we needed to do it safely for the animal and the people,” Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network Executive Director Heidi Whitehead told KIII-TV. “But we knew it was at utmost importance we got out there as quickly as possible and get that dolphin rescued,” Whitehead added. The dolphin…

Taiwan is applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) days after China expressed its intention to do so. Eleven countries from Asia and the Pacific region signed the CPTPP in 2018. It is the biggest free-trade agreement in the said region, representing 13.5% of the world economy and 500 million persons. The spokesperson of the Taiwanese government Lo Ping-cheng announced, “Most of (the CPTPP’s) member countries are Taiwan’s key trade partners, accounting for over 24% of Taiwan’s international trade.” “Taiwan can’t be left out in the world and has to integrate into the regional economy,”…

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government announced on Friday that the Taliban does not intend to extradite the former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He did however demand the return of the country’s money. In an interview with Sputnik, Mujahid explained that Ashraf Ghani stole Afghanistan’s money and that the money is the right of the people. Mujahid confirmed the designation of the movement’s spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s envoy to the UN. It is noteworthy that the Taliban has yet to receive a response from the organization. When questioned on whether foreign help would be accepted to mediate for the…

Separatist member of the European Parliament and former President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, was arrested Thursday in Italy. Puigdemont has been living in exile in Belgium since 2017 to escape Spanish prosecution, after the secession attempt of Catalonia in the same year. His lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, revealed that the former Catalan president was arrested on his arrival in Sardinia based on a European arrest warrant dated October 14, 2019. “On arrival at Alghero airport, the police stopped him at the Italian border. The president will appear on Friday before the judges of the Sassari Court of Appeal, which is competent…

An Al Mayadeen correspondent in Yemen reported deaths and injuries following the continued confrontations between the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees and Hadi forces who are backed by the Saudi coalition. The Saudi coalition warplanes launched raids on multiple districts south and west of Ma’rib. Violent confrontations continue between the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees and Hadi forces. Military reinforcements have been deployed between the districts of Juba and Harib Bayhan in northeast Yemen. Explosions also broke out in the Al-Khishina camp in Al-Juba district after missile strikes by the Yemeni army and popular committees targeted depots inside a military camp for Hadi…

A statement issued by Hezbollah’s media relations office announced today, the arrival of the second ship loaded with diesel from Iran to the port of Baniyas on the Syrian coast, to enter Lebanon by tankers within days. Earlier, the fourth convoy of diesel tanks, which was brought by Hezbollah from Iran, crossed the Syrian border toward Lebanon. Last week, three convoys of diesel tankers that Hezbollah brought from Iran arrived to the Lebanese people, after crossing the Syrian borders. In this context, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance Parliamentary Bloc, MP Muhammad Raad, said that the decision to bring…

Trump’s inner circle is subpoenaed for their possible role in the riots (Reuters)Four people from former President Donald Trump’s inner circle received subpoenas on Thursday to appear before a congressional committee to shed light on what exactly Trump said and did the day the Capitol was stormed earlier this year. Congressional investigators are closing in on Trump, whom Democrats blame for the January 6 attack on the Capitol in Washington DC. The Democratic-controlled special commission, which Trump described as biased, is particularly interested in Mark Meadows, the former Trump administration’s chief of staff. Democratic Representative Benny Thompson, who chairs the…

The family of Palestinian prisoner Miqdad al-Qawasma, who has been on hunger strike for 65 consecutive days, warned that he had entered the stage of critical danger. According to the family, their son suffers from bradycardia and has refused to take medications for the past four days. The Palestinian Prisoners Club previously stressed that no serious solutions exist to the issue of the six prisoners who are on hunger strike, as they face difficult health conditions. The six prisoners who are continuing their hunger strike are prisoner Kayed Fasfous, who has been on strike for 72 days, Miqdad Al-Qawasma for…