Author: Steven Sahiounie

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…

On July 20, Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was released in the form of a 200-page book on the sixth anniversary of the ratification of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. “On July 20—UNSCR 2231’s 6th anniversary—I documented 6 years of the West’s [non-]implementation of JCPOA, in what may become my last & most important letter to UNSG,” Zarif tweeted yesterday.  Zarif wrote in the document that although “the letters substantiate every assertion that has been made” on implementation issues in the West, which began before Trump took office, he was confident that his…

The Cuban FM tweeted that these new “arbitrary measures,” alongside the US disinformation campaign and aggression, are used to justify the “inhuman blockade against Cuba.” The new sanctions the FM is referring to target the National Revolutionary Police, its Director Oscar Callejas Valcarce and its Deputy Director Eddy Siera Arias. The last round of sanctions the US had implemented was announced on July 22, and targeted the Cuban Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and the National Special Brigade. US President Biden said at the time that these sanctions were “just the beginning.” On July 16th, Cuban President Diaz-Canel had stated…

The fourth-generation nuclear-powered submarine “Krasnoyarsk”, built upon the improved “Yasen-M” design, was officially launched in the Russian city of Severodvinsk. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the launch of the Krasnoyarsk submarine adds to the crucial stage of constructing the nuclear submarine. The launch took place in light of Russia’s 325th anniversary of creating a regular fleet. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov said: Thanks to the advanced design of one of the leading design bureaus in Malakhit, and the shipbuilders’ high-quality work, the Russian Navy will be equipped with the most modern and reliable nuclear submarines of…