Author: Steven Sahiounie

‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft systems and ammunition have been delivered to Ukraine, the country’s defense minister says Ukraine has received its first shipment of German ‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft systems, as well as thousands of rounds of suitable ammunition, according to a statement made by Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov on Monday. “We are waiting for the first 15 Gepards. Three have arrived in Ukraine today. They are already at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Reznikov said on national television. “These are anti-aircraft systems, for which tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition have been transferred to us.” Germany had previously promised to…

Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google said on Friday it has dismissed a senior software engineer who claimed the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot LaMDA was a self-aware person. Google, which placed software engineer Blake Lemoine on leave last month, said he had violated company policies and that it found his claims on LaMDA to be “wholly unfounded.” “It’s regrettable that despite lengthy engagement on this topic, Blake still chose to persistently violate clear employment and data security policies that include the need to safeguard product information,” a Google spokesperson said in an email to Reuters. Last year, Google said that LaMDA – Language Model for…

Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Swedish charges d’affaires in Ankara to convey its “strong reaction” to what it called “terrorist propaganda” during a Kurdish group’s protest in Stockholm, diplomatic sources said. Finland and Sweden have applied for NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but were faced with opposition from Turkey, which accused them of supporting groups it deems terrorists. The three countries signed an accord last month to lift Ankara’s veto in exchange for promises on counter-terrorism and arms exports. Source: Reuters

Major General Hossein Salami commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) paid a secret visit to Syria before the July 22 Israeli strikes on the country’s capital, Damascus, the al-Arabiya TV channel reported. According to the Saudi-sponsored UAE-based news channel, Salami met with Syrian officials to discuss the treatment and deployment of Iran-backed forces in the country. Al-Arabiya said the targets of the recent Israeli strikes on Damascus included the 138th Brigade base of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) elite 4th Division, de-facto led by Major General Maher al-Assad brother of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, and the 57th Brigade base of the army’s 1st Division,…

After holding five rounds of talks in secret, the next meeting between Riyadh and Iran will be public, and held in Baghdad. Iraq’s foreign minister Fuad Hussein announced that next meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran will be in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and will be a public one. Over the past months, Iraq hosted rounds of talks between Tehran and Riyadh, with aim to soften up the tensions between the two countries. Hussein confirmed, in an interview with Rudaw, an Iraqi news outlet, that “five rounds of talks were held between Saudi Arabia and Iran on the security level,” noting that “the meetings that were…

The West’s reliance on military aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia has failed, Hungary’s PM has said The Russia-Ukraine conflict could end the West’s dominance and shift the balance of power in the world, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. Russia launched a military campaign against the neighboring country in late February. Orban argued that the decision to impose sanctions on Moscow and supply Kiev with heavy weapons de facto turned the EU and NATO member states into participants in the conflict, but ultimately yielded no results. “Instead, today we are sitting inside a car with flat tires…

The death toll from Friday’s flash floods in the southern Iranian province of Fars has risen to 21, and three others are still missing, rescue sources told state media on Saturday. Mehdi Valipour, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said initially 89 people were stuck in the flood waters, and that the rescue operation will continue until the rest of the missing people are found. Speaking to the semi-official Mehr News Agency earlier in the day, Estahban Governor Yousef Kargar said 13 of the recovered bodies have been identified. He noted that so far, 55 people, who were stuck…

Rosneft and Gazprom may now be able to ship oil to third countries The EU will allow transactions needed for Russian state-owned companies to sell oil to third countries, the EU Council said in a statement on Thursday. “With a view to avoid any potential negative consequences for food and energy security around the world, the EU decided to extend the exemption from the prohibition to engage in transactions with certain state-owned entities as regards transactions for agricultural products and the transport of oil to third countries,” the statement reads. This provision means that Russian state-owned companies, including Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, and…

Pakistan’s political crisis is growing following the chief minister’s election in Punjab province. The 371-member Punjab assembly on Friday held a disputed vote of strength in which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shehbaz was declared the winner, Bernama reported. Hamza, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) group, received 179 votes and his challenger Chaudhry Parvez Elahi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) secured 186 votes. However, deputy speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari rejected the 10 votes of the PML-Q members on the ground the members did not follow party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s instruction to support Hamza. The…

Russian combat aircraft eliminated more than a half of the 2nd battalion of the Ukrainian army’s 14th mechanized brigade in the special military operation in Ukraine, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported Russian artillery struck the combat positions of the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi Donbass formation near Verkhnekamenskoye, eliminating over 60 militants, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Saturday. “As a result of damage by firepower inflicted by Russian artillery on the combat positions of the Neo-Nazi Donbass formation near the settlement of Verkhnekamenskoye, over 60 militants were killed,” the spokesman said. Russian combat aircraft eliminated more than a half of the…