Author: Steven Sahiounie

Syrian Ambassador to Armenia, Nora Arissian, held discussions on Thursday with Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sport of the Republic of Armenia, Taneil Taneilian on boosting bilateral relations in the culture field. During the meeting, the two sides discussed the possibility of signing a memo of understanding between al-Assad Library and Armenian manuscripts House in addition to the potential of cooperating with the Opera National Academic Theatre. Taneilian, for his part, hailed the historic, social and civilizational relations between Syria and Armenia, stressing his country’s interest to cooperate with Syria in the cultural field. source: SANA

Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi says the Yemeni group has launched more missiles in the past five months than it did during the whole of its eight-year war with the Saudi-led coalition. He dedicated a televised speech lasting more than 80 minutes to Gaza and Palestinians, and said the Houthi military’s “unprecedented” use of anti-ship missiles and drones shows the importance of the Palestinian cause. The Houthis have been using these weapons to attack commercial and military ships in the Red Sea in sympathy with Palestinians in Gaza. The Houthi chief also pointed out that Yemenis are coming out in protest…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed Thursday the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has entered its 153rd day, according to the State Department. Speaking over the phone, Blinken thanked Safadi for Jordan’s “partnership” in delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians, a State Department statement said.
 The two discussed efforts to secure “an urgent and sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza for at least six weeks as part of an agreement that would also facilitate the release of hostages and increase humanitarian assistance. US secretary Blinken also emphasized the importance of preserving the historical status…

Hamas has announced that its delegation left Cairo for consultations with the leadership amid ongoing discussions on a Gaza ceasefire. Hamas stated that its delegation departed from Cairo to confer with the leadership amid ongoing talks regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, the return of forcibly displaced Palestinians, and the facilitation of humanitarian aid. Earlier, a senior Hamas official informed Reuters that talks in Cairo did not lead to a significant development, with “Israel” dismissing the movement’s requests to halt its aggression on Gaza, withdraw its troops, and guarantee unrestricted access to aid as well and the return of displaced Palestinians. “Israel thwarted all efforts…

Senegal on Wednesday announced that a delayed presidential election will be held on March 24, after a top court ruled that a proposal to further push them back was unconstitutional. The elections were initially scheduled on February 25. President Macky Sall had proposed to push the elections to April 2, the day his mandate expires, however, the opposition accused him of attempting to carry out a coup after filing for a second delay He had earlier proposed to hold the elections in December, which led to the eruption of deadly protests across the country. On Wednesday, President Sall dissolved the government and replaced Prime Minister…

The European People’s Party (EPP) endorsed the incumbent president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, 65, for a second five-year term as the chief of the Commission at a gathering in the Romanian capital. As many as 400 delegates voted for von der Leyen’s nomination with 89 votes against. Her nomination did not come as a surprise as she was the only candidate from the EPP. source: TASS

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev has attributed French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement regarding the possibility of sending NATO forces to Ukraine to the failure of Kiev’s counter-offensive and the successful actions of the Russian army in the special military operation. “The collective West is trying to push ahead with its unrealistic plans for inflicting a strategic defeat on our country in Ukraine using the neo-Nazi terrorist regime. By continuing to provide large-scale military and military-technical assistance, the West is actually participating in the armed conflict,” Patrushev said at a meeting in Magas on national security issues in the regions…

The US is challenged not by China, but by its own unwillingness to accept that another great power may be its equal, Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said on Thursday. Relations between great powers must be based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, the foreign minister, who is also responsible for foreign policy in the Communist Party of China, told a press conference in Beijing. Yet Washington is apparently unwilling to abide by those principles. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden agreed to deescalate trade tensions during their meeting last November, but Washington has failed…

The UN’s food agency on Thursday said it was pressing Israel to allow it to use the Ashdod port north of Gaza to make it easier to reach starving Palestinians.“We have several requests with the Israelis,” World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told AFP in Rome, after its latest failed attempt to get food to northern Gaza.“We want to use the Ashdod port, which would be much more efficient than going through Jordan or even Egypt,” Skau said.Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza has been plunged into a food crisis, with outside…

In a collaborative effort led by the Turkish Red Crescent, another ship carrying 2,737 tons of humanitarian aid departed from Türkiye’s southern Mersin province for war-torn Gaza strip on Thursday. The supplies include food packages, water, flour, clothing, hygiene products, tents, sleeping bags, blankets, shelter materials, and medical supplies, among others. In a ceremony before the goods left for Gaza, Turkish Red Crescent President Fatma Meric Yilmaz Türkiye said the aid will reach Egypt’s Al-Arish port, from where it will be loaded onto trucks for its intended destination. Türkiye has been working to support Palestine, and so far had sent…