Author: Steven Sahiounie

BEIRUT: Hezbollah on Saturday launched a series of strikes against the Israeli army, targeting military sites near Lebanon’s southern border from Hermon to the coastal city of Naqoura.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem, he described seeing “medical equipment purposefully broken, ultrasounds — which you will know, is a very important tool for helping ensure safe births — with cables that have been cut”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this coming week as Washington and Beijing try to keep ties on an even keel despite major differences on issues from the path to peace in the Middle East to the supply of synthetic opioids that have heightened fears over global stability.The rivals are at odds on numerous fronts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Taiwan and the South China Sea, North Korea, Hong Kong, human rights and the detention of American citizens. The United States and China also are battling over trade and commerce issues, with President Joe Biden announcing new…

President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized this evening that combating terrorist crimes perpetrated by Israeli colonist militias against our people, land, and holy sites remains a top priority for the Palestinian leadership. The President made these remarks as he received representatives from several villages and towns in the Ramallah and Nablus governorates this evening, which have been affected by terror attacks carried out by both Israeli colonist militias and occupation forces. He stated that the leadership has been reaching out to all regional and international stakeholders to confront colonist terrorism, combat their crimes, and hold them accountable. The President added that instructions…

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned of the danger of the tension escalating, and the conflict spreading if Israel continues in its attacks on Palestinians, during his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. “President Erdogan stressed the importance of reducing tensions between Israel and Iran to prevent the entire region from descending into conflict, highlighting the essential need for Islamic nations to collaborate in achieving this goal,” said the country’s Communications Directorate on X. During the meeting, bilateral relations between the two nations and developments related to Israel’s attacks on Gaza, as well as global and regional…

Saudi Arabia expressed its regret for at the failure of United Nations Security Council adopting a resolution accepting full membership of Palestine in the UN. In an official statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media platform X, the Kingdom said the ‘failure to adopt the resolution allows for the Israeli occupation to continue its violations if international law without deterrence and will not bring the desired peace closer.” The ministry renewed the Kingdom’s call for the international community assume its responsibility towards stopping the Israeli occupation’s attacks on civilians in Gaza. The Kingdom also reaffirmed its support…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the United Nations Security Council’s inaction on Israel’s attacks on Iran’s diplomatic premises in Syria prompted Tehran to take a retaliatory action against the regime. Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone call with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on Saturday, referring to Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the Israeli-occupied territories last week — dubbed Operation True Promise. After Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian diplomatic sites in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the UN Security Council refrained from giving a proper response to the move while some permanent members of the world body (the US,…

Russia’s signals that it is ready to negotiate on Ukraine are “not just for show,” but talks with Vladimir Zelensky are off the table, as they would lead nowhere, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with radio stations Sputnik, Govorit Moskva (Moscow speaking) and Komsomolskaya Pravda. “We are fully convinced that we need to continue the special military operation. We indicate our readiness for negotiations not just for show. This is indeed the truth, but talking to Zelensky is pointless for many reasons,” he said. The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the…

Arab Parliament condemned the continued aggression of the Israeli occupation entity against the Gaza Strip and its repeated attacks on Syrian territory. Parliamentarians warned during the plenary session of the Arab Parliament at the headquarters of the League of Arab States of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and the genocide crimes it is witnessing committed by the Zionist entity, and the theft of Palestinian natural resources, especially gas, calling for the necessity of international action to stop these crimes. Arab Parliament Speaker Adel Abdel Rahman Al-Asoumi pointed out that despite the issuance of a binding resolution by…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday received Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign miinister, who is paying an official visit to Türkiye. No further details of the closed-door meeting at the Dolmabahce Office in Istanbul were provided. Earlier in the day, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Shoukry met and held talks and later held a joint news conference.​​​​​​​ Source: Anadolu Agency