Author: Steven Sahiounie

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman emphasized the necessity of stopping attacks on the Palestinian people during an Eid Al-Fitr speech on Tuesday. He also called for the provision of safe relief corridors, and an end to Palestinians’ suffering by enabling them to obtain all their legitimate rights, including the establishment of an independent state and living in safety. King Salman thanked God for the honor of serving the two holy mosques and its visitors, and the public sectors for their efforts to facilitate the millions of pilgrims who performed Umrah this Ramadan. The king wished everyone a happy Eid, and prayed…

Putting pressure on settlers in the West Bank might be a way to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne suggested on Tuesday. The UN has warned that many of the enclave’s 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation, after six months of Israeli military operations there. “There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions, to let humanitarian aid cross check points,” Sejourne told RFI radio and France 24 television. “France was one of the first countries to propose EU sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank,” he…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday spoke over the phone with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and discussed bilateral relations as well as Israel’s attacks on Gaza. During the call, Erdogan stated that “efforts to stop Israel’s attacks on Palestinian territory and to dispatch urgent humanitarian aid to the region at the desired level should increasingly continue and that it is essential for the Islamic world to take steps in unity regarding this issue.” The two leaders also exchanged Eid al-Fitr greetings. Eid al-Fitr holiday marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Source: Anadolu agency

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday sent cables of congratulation to leaders of Islamic countries for Eid Al-Fitr. The cables were sent “based on the keenness” of the leadership to “communicate annually with the leaders of the Islamic countries on the blessed holiday,” the Saudi Press Agency reported. In their message, the king and crown prince called for further security, stability and prosperity for the Islamic world. The Saudi leadership also received cables from heads of Islamic states offering greetings for Eid Al-Fitr. Source: Arab News

Tuesday’s drone attack on the training center of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) points to readiness for new attacks on the plant, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said. “Today’s reported incident – although outside the site perimeter – is an ominous development as it indicates an apparent readiness to continue these attacks, despite the grave dangers they pose to nuclear safety and security and our repeated calls for military restraint. Whoever is behind them, they are playing with fire. Attacking a nuclear power plant is extremely irresponsible and dangerous, and it must stop,”…

President Mahmoud Abbas has called for limiting the celebrations of Eid al-Fitr to religious rituals only, due to the challenging circumstances the Palestinian people are going through as a result of the ongoing genocide being carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities in Gaza. He said his call also comes in the aftermath of the Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, as well as the attacks on the Islamic and Christian holy sites. The President prayed for mercy upon the martyrs of the Palestinian people, swift recovery for the wounded, and the prompt release of the prisoners. He…

Chinese President Xi Jinping believes that the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing sets the stage for Russian President Vladimir Putin coming to the country in the future, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The Chinese leader welcomed the arrival of Sergey Victorovich Lavrov in Beijing as an important stage of comprehensive preparations for the upcoming state visit of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to the People’s Republic of China later this year, gave high marks to the state of Sino-Russian ties that continue to dynamically develop in a very complex global…

Israel is deliberately delaying and blocking more food supplies from entering Gaza in comparison with other forms of humanitarian aid, the UN said on Tuesday.With famine looming, the claim will fuel allegations that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, a crime under international law.The UN’s humanitarian agency said statistics from March showed that it was much more difficult to obtain clearance for delivering food than other aid. “Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70 percent of people face famine conditions, are … three times more likely to be denied than any other…

In a phone conversation this evening, President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discussed the latest developments in Palestine, particularly the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. President Abbas emphasized the urgent need to halt the genocidal war against our people, stressing the importance of expediting the delivery of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, preventing displacement, and stopping the Israeli escalation in the West Bank, including Jerusalem. The President expressed gratitude and appreciation to President el-Sisi and the people of Egypt for their steadfast support for the just Palestinian cause. He commended…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Sunday’s nationwide elections in Turkey were surprising. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its majority to the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for the first time since 2001. The left-leaning CHP emerged as the leading party in Turkey for the first time since 1977. The AKP’s overall vote share fell 2% below that of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which secured 37.74% of the vote nationwide. The CHP won landslide victories in the largest cities, including in Ankara and Istanbul, and also captured 16 cities…