Author: Steven Sahiounie

According to Sergey Shoigu, NATO’s military activities “have been most aggressive of late” A Western-led undeclared war is being waged against Moscow and Minsk, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, on Thursday. “Today, we are being confronted by the collective West, which, in effect, is waging an undeclared war on our countries,” Shoigu said. According to him, NATO’s military activities “have been most aggressive of late.” “A number of measures to enhance the combat readiness of the [North Atlantic] Alliance’s Joint Armed Forces in Eastern Europe is currently being implemented. Extra…

Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen for two consecutive quarters, figures released on Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) have shown, meaning that the country has entered recession. First-quarter output dropped 0.3% from the previous three months, after a 0.5% decrease between October and December, Destatis said, noting that its initial estimate, released last month, was for stagnation, or 0% growth. High inflation has persisted in what is Europe’s biggest economy, forcing Germans to spend less, the statistics office explained. In January and February of this year the consumer price index stood at 8.7%, dropping slightly to 7.2%…

The Victory Party leader, Umit Ozdag, supports Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the face of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of the presidential elections. The leader of Turkey’s ultranationalist Victory Party has backed the opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu defying the party’s former presidential candidate Sinan Oan, who backed Recep Tayyip Erdogan. At a joint news appearance with Kilicdaroglu, Victory Party chairman Umit Ozdag stated that the two had signed a memorandum of cooperation, which included commitments to deport all refugees in Turkey within a year of taking office. They also agreed not to reinstate democratically-elected Kurdish mayors in Turkey’s…

The White House has been “pretty darn clear” with Kiev about the use of US-supplied weapons, John Kirby has said Washington has again dismissed visual proof of US-supplied equipment used in this week’s attack by Ukrainian militants in Russia’s Belgorod Region as unconfirmed “reports” but admitted the images require further investigation. President Joe Biden’s administration, however, has apparently acknowledged concern that Kiev might have broken its alleged pledge not to use American weaponry outside its own territory. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby spoke of “frustration” over the attack during a press briefing on Wednesday, US media outlet Politico reported. He noted that the…

The US-led military bloc should not extend its reach beyond the North Atlantic, Beijing has insisted China has urged Japan to act responsibly after Tokyo confirmed that it is in talks to build a NATO liaison office on its territory, saying Beijing would not accept “bloc confrontation” in the Asia-Pacific. Asked about the plans during a Wednesday press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said NATO should remain within its own sphere of influence and not seek to grow its presence in Asia. “NATO claims to be a regional organization and should not extend its geopolitical reach. The Asia-Pacific does not welcome…

Syria has condemned the terrorist attack on a post on the Iranian-Pakistani border in the city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran, which was launched by a group of persons who fled away. “Syria affirms that this cowardly terrorist act aims to destabilize security and stability on the border between the two countries, and to prevent cooperation and trade exchange between the two peoples, and aims to undermine the brotherly relations and friendship between the two peoples,” Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said Thursday in a statement on its official Facebook page. The ministry concluded its statement by…

Residents continue to report sporadic airstrikes and artillery fire although the ceasefire has entered its second day. Fighting in Sudan eased on Wednesday, the second full day of a fragile ceasefire that has allowed beleaguered civilians to leave, even as they wait for safe aid corridors and escape routes. Sporadic airstrikes and artillery fire have still boomed across the capital, residents said as quoted by AFP, however, US and Saudi observers said “fighting in Khartoum appeared to be less intense” since the one-week humanitarian pause brought into force late Monday. Washington and Riyadh, which mediated the ceasefire between the forces of two rival generals, however,…

The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that it had described as an openly hostile act Stockholm’s decision to declare five employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Sweden as personae non gratae on April 25, 2023 Russia expels five Swedish diplomats in a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Sweden’s ambassador to Moscow Malena Mard was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 25. “The Swedish ambassador was notified that the Russian side had decided to declare as personae non gratae five Swedish diplomats, including three staffers of the defense attache’s office at the Swedish embassy in Moscow…

“We will focus on ways to ensure energy and food security, as well as technological and financial self-sufficiency, boost digital transformation processes, remove regulatory and trade barriers and develop transport infrastructure,” Vladimir Putin said The leaders of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) started a meeting in the Kremlin. The EAEU summit opened on Thursday with a photo session of the presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Sadyr Japarov, as well as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The EAEU leaders started communicating on Wednesday at the Eurasian Economic Forum, which…

Palestinian Resistance fighters confront Israeli Occupation Forces as they raid Aqabat Jaber camp in Ariha, Occupied Palestine. Israeli Occupation Forces raided Aqabat Jaber camp, Ariha, at dawn on Thursday, but were confronted by the Palestinian Resistance, resulting in a multitude of injuries. Soon after Palestinians confronted the raiding IOF units, the latter imposed a security cordon on the camp. In turn, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 8 injured Palestinians arrived at Ariha Government Hospital, with live bullets, in their lower extremities. The ministry also highlightd that among the injured, one was in a critical condition. Local sources reported that…