Author: Steven Sahiounie

Shutdown was prompted by an “equipment failure,” according to the pipeline operator Gas exports from Britain to Europe have been suspended over an “equipment failure” at the key pipeline the Interconnector, according to its operator. The pipeline is operated by Interconnector Ltd., which is largely owned by a Belgium-based natural gas transmission company, Fluxys. In a notice posted online by the operator late on Saturday, the company said the pipeline will remain inactive until March 8 due to “transmission system unavailability” caused by an unspecified “equipment failure.” The bidirectional pipeline connects the UK to mainland Europe through Belgium. The disruption…

The move is part of Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “tackle illegal migration” Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government in the United Kingdom is set to announce a new law that would stop people who enter the country on small boats from claiming asylum. The legislation, which will be launched this week, comes as part of the government’s pledge to “tackle illegal migration.” “Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade,” Sunak said in an interview with the Mail…

US stock indexes fell on Thursday after data pointing to a tight labor market sparked worries that the Federal Reserve will continue with its aggressive rate-hiking cycle that could potentially tip the economy into a recession. The Labor Department’s report showed a surprise fall in US weekly jobless claims, highlighting labor market resilience in a higher interest rate environment. The report did not change expectations that the Fed will further scale back the size of its interest rate increases next month, hopes of which were sparked by a slump in retail sales in December and a retreat in inflation in…

An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange June 25, 2014. (Photo via Reuters) Saudi Arabia’s stock market closed lower on Sunday after US economic data stoked fears the Federal Reserve will act more aggressively to curb inflation. Most (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have their currencies pegged to the US dollar and follow the Fed’s policy moves closely, exposing the region to a direct impact from monetary tightening in the world’s largest economy. The benchmark index TASI in Saudi Arabia dropped 0.5%, dragged down…

The spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry considers the Israeli regime to be behind the recent lies against Iran in the media and says these lies are not new, but its intensification in recent months has reasons. Posting some photos of the recent unrest in the occupied territories and tweeted: “A very important reason is that the apartheid regime of Israel has long been involved in political conflicts, chaos, street camping, and internal crisis.” “Of course, hiding the facts will not help to save the regime from the inevitable fate of collapse,” he added. Measures taken by scandal-hit Prime Minister Benjamin…

Surrey Heath has been named the house price discount capital of Britain, with three out of five sales done at a cut the price to their initial listing. The Home Counties borough, which covers towns such as Camberley, Frimley and Bagshot, had almost double the national average of discounted property sales last month. 59pc of homes sold in the Surrey commuter belt district in February had a price change before a sale was agreed, according to TwentyCi, a data company. The national average last month stood at 32pc. Julian de la Poer Beresford, of Hamptons estate agents in Sunningdale, said discounts in…

On March 5, Lebanese soldiers engaged in a rare brawl with Israeli soldiers who breached the separation line between the two countries. In a statement, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said that a patrol of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) violated the Blue Line at the village of Aita al-Shaab in south Lebanon by a meter. The Blue Line is the line set by the United Nations for the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Lebanon in 2000. A Lebanese unit intervened and forced the Israeli patrol to retreat beyond the Blue Line. Later a unit from the UN Interim…

Supplies of lethal military assistance to Kiev make some EU and NATO nations parties to the Ukraine conflict, even if they are not directly involved in the hostilities, Hungarian parliamentary speaker Laszlo Kover said on Sunday. “NATO and EU members have already sent almost $60 billion worth of lethal military aid to Ukraine, one of the warring parties. It means that separate EU and NATO member states are participants of this war, even though they are not fighting yet,” Kover to Hungarian broadcaster. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban cautioned the European Union last month that it could sleepwalk into an armed…

French trade unions are heading for what is expected to be a decisive showdown with President Emmanuel Macron over pension reform, with massive strikes from Tuesday aiming to bring the country “to a standstill”. After five separate days of protests so far this year, this week’s stoppages herald a new phase in the battle between the centrist government and opponents of the changes. “We always said that we would go into a higher gear if necessary,” the head of the influential CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday. “It will be the case on Tuesday.”…

The Syrian foreign ministry strongly condemned the visit by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to an illegal US military base in the country’s northeast, calling it a violation of sovereignty, dignity, and territorial integrity. An official at the ministry stated that the American military official visited the illegal base purportedly to evaluate the effectiveness of the war against Daesh (ISIS or ISIL), a claim that was refuted by the international community as the origins of the terror group are linked to American intelligence, SANA reported. The statement added that the claims made by the American administration…