Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Taliban announced Tuesday that Mullah Mohammad Hassan would be the prime minister of their upcoming interim government, while Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be deputy Prime Minister. During a Kabul press conference, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, “Haji Mullah Mohammad Hassan will be acting Prime Minister, while Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be acting deputy Prime Minister.” Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, will be the new defense minister, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, will be the new interior minister, Mujahid added. The spokesman also said that the other ministers would be announced…

During his visit to Washington last week for talks with President Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the two countries view the Russian-European gas pipeline project as a “threat to European energy security”, and that they will continue to jointly oppose it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed as “nonsense” President Zelensky’s claims that the Nord Stream 2 energy infrastructure poses a threat to Europe’s energy security. “Zelensky says that Nord Stream 2 is a terrible threat to European security. This is nonsense. This project, on the contrary, contributes to ensuring Europe’s energy security,” Peskov said in a television interview…

La Casa de Papel infuriates Palestinians. The global TV sensation, produced by Netflix, has just released its fifth season and is quickly becoming the talk of the town, albeit for the wrong reasons. Stars of the TV show visited the occupied Palestinian lands and were interviewed by an Israeli news channel where they disclosed their fascination with “Israel,” asserting their intention of promoting it and visiting again. Actor Darko Peric described his visit with the following: “When people travel to “Israel,” they always talk of the extreme security measures, but when I got here even police members wanted to take…

Twitter Inc. will test some new privacy features that provide users with more control over their followers’ lists and who can see their posts and likes, as part of a plan to make users more comfortable with their interactions. “Social Privacy” is what Twitter executives are calling it, and the features include the ability to edit followers’ lists, archive old tweets so that other users can’t see them after a set period, and others. This last feature promises to be a more popular feature among users who would prefer a time-limited online presence. Staff researcher at Twitter, Svetlana Pimkina, said…

The Director of Foreign Trade at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khaled Bouchlaghem, announced that Algerian exports, excluding hydrocarbons, have reached a $2.4 billion threshold in the past seven months, expecting that they will exceed $4.5 billion before the end of the year. Bouchlaghem confirmed that there is a new ascending curve in the export process, especially toward African countries, which contributed to reducing the trade balance deficit. He said data indicate that exports will achieve a historical record this year, adding that statistics from customs for the first seven months of this year reveal that exports reached $2.4…

On Sunday, the new UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, officially took over his duties. Grundberg said he would do everything in his power to contribute to achieving peace in Yemen. Grundberg addressed the Yemenis by saying, “We will work relentlessly in pursuit of peace, and we will remind all concerned parties of their joint responsibility toward Yemen’s future.” Hans Grundberg will succeed Britain’s Martin Griffiths, who was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley announced that Afghanistan will “likely” erupt in civil war, warning of the resurgence of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist groups in the country. “The conditions are very likely,” the top US general told Fox News, “that you could see a resurgence of terrorism coming out of that general region within 12, 24, 36 months.” Speaking from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Milley questioned whether the Taliban can consolidate power as they seek to shift from a guerrilla force to government. A spokesperson for the opposition forces in Panjshir…

On 11 August, Kumsa Diriba, aka ‘Jaal Marroo’, the leader of the Oromo Liberation Army (known as ‘OLF/Shene by Ethiopian authorities) announced the military alliance struck between his force and the armed wing of the outlawed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) regional government. The OLA has been fighting against the government of Ethiopia in the western and southern parts of Oromia. TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics in the three decades prior to 2018, is a major player in the ongoing disastrous conflict in Tigray and surrounding parts of Afar and Amhara regions. Early this year, in March, the federal parliament proscribed both as terrorist…

Twenty deputies of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Tunisia, mostly from the Ennahda Movement and the Heart of Tunisia blocs, have published a statement on Friday calling on President Kais Saied to determine the duration of the exceptional measures announced on 25 July, urging him to restore democracy in Tunisia. The MPs also requested to immediately stop the “arbitrary and illegal” travel bans and house arrest orders, while demanding to stop referring civilians to military courts. The deputies stressed that their understanding of the protest movements in Tunisia on 25 July, a result of the prevailing circumstances…

The “humiliating” US withdrawal from Afghanistan has unleashed a wave of criticism towards US president Joe Biden. Local and international critics blame his administration not only for miscalculating the withdrawal and tarnishing US credibility around the world but also for paving the way for Afghanistan’s neighboring countries China, Russia, and Iran to strengthen their geopolitical stand in central Asia. The region is adapting vastly to the US’ strategic failure in Afghanistan. No more US leverage The US retreat in central Asia is nothing new, it goes back years ago. The last time US troops used bases in Central Asia –…