Author: Steven Sahiounie

(L) Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. © ALEX EDELMAN / AFP; (R) People watch as the Stonewall Jackson statue is removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia on July 1, 2020. © Ryan M. Kelly / AFP The US president took political exaggeration to the extreme when he said the Capitol rioters were worse than the Confederates. With this historical ignorance, he seems intent on framing all his opponents as enemies of the state. Hyperbole is often commonplace within political theater. Many politicians know the worth of…

People in France have taken to the streets to protest against the government’s decision to make Covid-19 vaccination compulsory for health workers and to introduce a health pass to access bars and restaurants. Protests took place across France on Wednesday with heated clashes erupting with police in Paris. A number of groups, including those associated with the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement, announced their intention to hold demonstrations across the country on Tuesday following the government’s announcement of compulsory vaccinations for health workers and the introduction of a national Covid-19 passport. In Paris, eyewitness footage captured people fleeing from tear…

The Spin Boldak-Chaman border crossing connects the towns of Wesh in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and Chaman in Pakistan’s Balochistan. Nearly 70,000 people are said to use the crossing every day. The Taliban* takeover of the border town comes after days of fighting with Afghan government forces for control of Kandahar. The advancing Taliban fighters in Afghanistan on Wednesday took control of the border crossing between Spin Boldak and Chaman after the Islamist outfit took control of the town of Wesh in Kandahar province. The move was confirmed by the Taliban’s official spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. The Taliban last controlled the crossing in 2001,…

South Africa descended into chaos on Friday after protests ignited by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma over skipping a corruption probe transformed into what has become the worst turmoil in the country in years. A man in a police jacket has been caught red-handed by an angry mob in South Africa beside his car, packed with what appears to be looted goods, as the nation is hit by major unrest due to former President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment, in addition to massive unemployment and a weak economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a video of the incident, uploaded on Twitter,…

Late last month, several parties filed a petition to impeach Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of committing 23 crimes, with the most recent accusation made in connection with the purchase of the Covaxin vaccine against COVID-19 and allegations of misconduct related to it. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalised to investigate the cause of an unrelenting bout of hiccups, according to a note from the president’s office, released by the G1 Globo news portal. The president will remain under medical observation for up to 48 hours, the note said, adding that he was “in good spirits and doing well”.…

More than 3,600 people suffered violent deaths during The Troubles – 30 years of sectarian strife in Northern Ireland, which was ended by the Good Friday Agreement. But in the last 20 years there have been repeated attempts to get to the bottom of who perpetrated certain atrocities and bring them to justice. The Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has announced plans to introduce a statute of limitations which would effectively block the prosecution of soldiers for crimes committed during The Troubles. It comes two weeks after the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland dropped charges against two retired British Army soldiers over…

On the sixth signing anniversary of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif highlights the failure of the United States’ so-called ‘maximum pressure campaign’ and sanctions, citing Tehran’s progress, including in the nuclear field, despite the bans. In a tweet on Wednesday, Zarif marked the anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying, “6 years ago today, #JCPOA resolved a UNSC Chapter VII issue without resorting to war. “ He pointed to different approaches taken by the US administrations since the deal was signed in 2015, noting they failed to achieve their goals and will to do so in…

The UAE opens its embassy in ‘Tel Aviv’ with Israeli President Isaac Herzog attending the ceremony. UAE opens its embassy in ‘Tel Aviv’  The most recent step towards normalization, the ‘Abraham Accords,’ paved the way for diplomatic relations between the UAE and the Israeli occupation. On Wednesday, the UAE inaugurates its embassy in ‘Tel Aviv,’ with Israeli President Isaac Herzog attending the ceremony. According to Herzog, “Opening the embassy is an important milestone on our path to peace, prosperity, and security in the Middle East.” “Witnessing the Emirati flag flying proudly in Tel Aviv might have seemed like a far-fetched…

US Central Command (CENTCOM) releases a statement saying that personnel and material withdrawal from Afghanistan is “more than 95%” complete. CENTCOM: The US has handed more than seven facilities to the Afghan defense ministry. Yesterday, the US Central Command announced that the United States has completed more than 95% of the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan. CENTCOM’s statement announced that the drawdown is ongoing and that the military has officially handed more than seven facilities it was in control of to the Afghan Ministry of Defense. CENTCOM relayed in its statement that “The DoD has retrograded the equivalent of…

In the wake of Iran as an ‘existential threat’ to ‘Israel,’ Benny Gantz warns of the growing challenges facing ‘Israel,’ stresses that Iran is on top of the list of challenges. Israeli Minister of Security Benny Gantz says that “Through its cohesion, the current government has the ability to enhance security and develop the relations with our neighbors with whom our relations came to a halt during the last government, such as Jordan.” Gantz recently participated in an Israeli trade union conference in one of the Gaza envelope settlements, which was titled: “We Support the Residents of the Gaza Envelope.”…