Author: Steven Sahiounie

Pipeline flows nearly doubled between January and July in annual terms, customs data shows China stepped up purchases of both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia between January and July, according to data released on Sunday by the Chinese General Administration of Customs. Pipeline gas supplies amounted to $3.94 billion in monetary terms – roughly double the value recorded during the same period in 2022, nearly matching the level of shipments for the whole of last year ($3.98 billion). The agency does not publish data on the volume of pipeline deliveries, only their cost. In July alone,…

Kyrgyzstan has invited Beijing to tap into its plentiful glaciers Kyrgyzstan is ready to export drinking water from its glaciers, Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov said during his visit to China this week. He made the comment during his meeting with Wang Da, the chairman of Qingdao Laoshan Mineral Water Company, noting the unrealized potential of the country’s water resources. “We stand at the source of glaciers and are ready to export clear drinking water to China, European and Asian countries,” Zhaparov said, adding that the country could greatly benefit from the experience of companies like Laoshan. The firm is a…

Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem this morning, accompanied by a heavy presence of Israeli occupation police, according to local sources. The Islamic Waqf Authority in Jerusalem said scores of settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in separate groups. They conducted provocative tours through the courtyards of the mosque, received explanations about the alleged “Temple,” and performed Talmudic rituals near the Dome of the Rock. This latest incident adds to the ongoing tensions surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third most revered site in Islam. The entry of settlers into the compound, backed by Israeli security forces,…

The West should nevertheless avoid pushing Niamey toward its enemies, Ali Lamine Zeine has warned Niger’s coup leaders have “no intention” of working with Russian defense contractor Wagner Group PMC, their top civilian official told the New York Times on Friday. Earlier reports suggested that the country’s new military leaders had reached out to Wagner amid threats of an invasion. Ali Lamine Zeine, who was appointed prime minister by the coup leaders earlier this month, said that he had “seen no intention” on the part of the ruling generals to solicit the help of the Wagner Group. However, Zeine added,…

South Korea alleges that the DPRK hackers launched “continuous malicious email attacks” on military contractors taking part in the joint drills. South Korea alleged that the DPRK launched a cyber attack targeting a joint military drill with the United States that is scheduled to start on Monday. The two allies will begin their annual exercise dubbed “Ulchi Freedom Shield,” a ten-day event that is directed against Pyongyang in particular, and other US adversaries in East Asia in general, on top of which is China. A joint probe between the US Army and the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency claimed that…

According to the department, there were no casualties or damage Three Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems in the Belgorod Region bordering Ukraine, the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday. “At about 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on August 20, the Kiev regime’s attempted attack on facilities on Russia’s territory with two plane-types unmanned aerial vehicles was thwarted. Russian air defense systems destroyed the unmanned aerial vehicles over the Belgorod Region,” it said, adding that no casualties or damage were reported. Later on Sunday, the ministry said that another drone attack was thwarted over the Belgorod Region…

A Financial Times report says as the White House is urging Kiev to utilize all forces and capabilities in the southern front, Washington is also preparing for an attrition war. Failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive strategy has led to tensions between Washington and Kiev, with the United States pushing for a more aggressive attack on the southern fronts, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The US appears to be preparing for a war of attrition as limited progress is achieved on the battlefield, the report added. American officials called on Kiev to steer the fight away from the eastern direction and focus all…

Nine Palestinian detainees remain on an open-ended hunger strike today for periods ranging between 11, 14 and 18 days in a row in protest of their unfair administrative detention under Israel’s so-called administrative detention policy, said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS). Detainees Kayed al-Fasfous and Sultan Khlouf have been on hunger strike for 18 days. Another detainee, Osama Darkouk, has been on hunger strike for 14 days. Meantime, six other detainees have been on hunger strike for 11 days. The six detainees are: Hadi Nazzal, Mohammad Taysir Zakarneh, Anas Kmail, Abdelrahman Baraka, Mohammad Basem Ikhmis, and Zuhdi Abdo. Last week,…

Four Palestinian citizens sustained injuries by Israeli gunfire last night during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces that raided the city and refugee camp of Tulkarm, in the north of the occupied West Bank. Local sources told WAFA that a young man was shot in the face with live ammunition, another suffered shrapnel wounds to the hand, while two others were run over by an Israeli military jeep while riding a motorcycle. The injured were subsequently rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Confrontations erupted in the Tulkarm refugee camp after the Israeli occupation forces invaded it, firing live…

According to Vasily Golubev, there are no casualties or destruction An attempted terrorist attack with the use of kamikaze drones was averted in Russia’s southern the Rostov Region, Vasily Golubev, the region’s governor, said on Sunday. According to the governor, two drones crashed on the territory of a military unit in Kamensk, another drone was downed one kilometer to the north of Novoshakhtinsk, there were no reported casualties or damage as a result of the attack. “Early this morning, there was an attempted terrorist attack with the use of kamikaze drones in our region,” Golubev said. “The drones were successfully…