Author: Steven Sahiounie

Several Tunisian parties have announced rejecting an invitation from the US embassy to attend a meeting with a congressional delegation visiting Tunisia. Sami Tahiri, the Assistant Secretary-General of the General Labor Union, stressed that the Tunisian issues can only be resolved between Tunisians, expressing his refusal for foreign interference. In turn, the People’s Movement emphasized on not allowing any foreign side to interfere in Tunisian affairs and opposing anything that would harm Tunisia’s sovereignty. As for the Free Constitutional Party, it affirmed its refusal to the invitation for its belief in the right of the Tunisian people to self-determination. Yesterday,…

The Lebanese ministerial delegation arrived at the Jdeidet Yabous border area in Syria, which aims to pave the way for easing the electricity crisis in Lebanon by importing electric power from Jordan through Syria. In the visit, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Zeina Akar, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, and General Director of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim. Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported that the Lebanese delegation’s visit will be followed by meetings of joint technical committees, indicating that the visit can be considered a step in breaking the…

Protesters roamed the streets of Akka city in northern occupied Palestine, Friday evening, to demand the release of detainees in Israeli occupation prisons. The “Youth Committee of Akka’s Detainees” demanded that the occupation authorities free nearly 20 men imprisoned during the public rallies that coincided with the battle of Seif al-Quds. The families of the detainees intend to place a sit-in tent in the city demanding the release of their children. 200 Palestinian youths were arrested in Akka, with roughly 26 remaining detained, according to data provided by the Committee.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the declassification of documents related to the 9/11 attacks that led to the death of over 3,000 as the 20th-anniversary of the tragic event approaches. As per the executive order, the Department of Justice, as well as other federal agencies, are obligated to conduct a declassification review of several documents related to the FBI’s probe into 9/11. This was one of Biden’s electoral promises. He said he is honoring his commitment as we approach the 20th 9/11 anniversary. “When I ran for president, I made a commitment to ensuring transparency regarding…

Dozens of women marched the streets of Herat yesterday to press for more rights and integration into the future Taliban government, the New York Times reported. Herat, in western Afghanistan, is one of the most liberal cities where thousands of girls there attended universities and worked outside their homes before the Taliban took control. The march organizers revealed that their aim is to expand the protests across the country. “We wanted to show our power to the Taliban,” expressed Maryam, one of the protest’s organizers. “If we stay in our houses, we can’t show our power, but the Taliban can…

E-commerce giant Alibaba announces that it will spend $15.5 billion to support Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign to spread prosperity in China, more evenly to include the poor. The company said it would invest in 10 projects to create jobs, care for vulnerable groups and technology innovation. The 100 billion yuan ($15.5 billion) will include 20 billion yuan ($12.5 billion) that will be spent to ease inequality. Alibaba and other Chinese tech giants announced plans to invest in social welfare, technology development, and other ruling party priorities, responding to pressures to align with Beijing’s political and economic plans. The Chinese…

WhatsApp is fined a record $267 million by Ireland’s data watchdog for breaching EU data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said Thursday that WhatsApp did not tell European Union citizens enough about what it does with their data. WhatsApp supposedly failed to tell Europeans how their personal information is used, as well as how WhatsApp shares data with Facebook. It has ordered the platform to tweak its privacy policies and its means of communicating with users to work with Europe’s privacy law. As a result, WhatsApp may have to expand its privacy policy. the Whatsapp spokesperson said, “WhatsApp is…

Controversy picked up pace amid accusations flying in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Warmongers from both parties are still, however, adamant about increasing the defense budget. The HASC agreed to add an extra $24 billion to the administration’s defense budget of $715 billion for 2022, for a total of $740 billion. Meanwhile, Defense One published a study estimating the costs of the Afghanistan War, saying that the Pentagon had agreed to a preliminary budget of $1 trillion in 2001, but that $2.3 trillion has been spent “so far” on the war, according to the Pentagon. According to the study,…

Today, Friday, former Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil congratulated Hossein Amirabdollahian on his new position as Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and thanked Iran for sending a fuel ship to Lebanon. During a phone call, Bassil criticized the policies of those who seek to starve the Lebanese people to reach their political goals, calling for the expansion of all bilateral relations between Lebanon and Iran. The former Lebanese minister conveyed to Amirabdollahian a message from President Michel Aoun addressed to the Iranian president. The two sides also discussed the region’s developments. In turn, the Iranian Minister expressed his country’s readiness…

Three sources within the Taliban confirmed today that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the movement’s political bureau, will lead Afghanistan’s new government. The sources also added that Mullah Muhammad Yaqoub, the son of the late founder of the movement, Mullah Omar, and Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai will take prominent positions in the next government. Afghan sources told Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Afghanistan that the Taliban may announce its government after Friday prayers today. Yesterday, the Taliban revealed the situation of women in the new government. The spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the new Afghan government will include…