Author: Steven Sahiounie

The US Federal Reserve warned during the previous raise earlier this year that it planned to continue increasing the interest rate throughout the year to fight historically high inflation in the country that has started to severely affect ordinary people’s budgets. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 points, bringing its value to between the 1.5-1.75% range. This is the third time the Fed has raised rates this year, and is the biggest one-time increase in 28 years since 1994. By increasing interest rates and trying to slow down the overheated economy, the Fed is looking to reign in…

Late on June 15, militants based in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib fired two rockets at the Armenian town of Kesab in the nearby northern countryside of Lattakia. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, the rockets landed in the city causing some material losses only. A photo from the scene of the strike show the remains of what appears to be a Grad-type 122 mm rocket. The rocket strike may have been carried out to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the 2014 Lattakia offensive, during which a coalition of al-Qaeda and Free Syrian Army factions occupied Kesab…

US will send artillery and advanced rockets to Kiev Washington will give Kiev another $1 billion in “security assistance,” including artillery, ammunition and advanced missiles, US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday after a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Biden informed Zelensky that the aid would include “additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in [Donbass],” according to a readout of the call released by the White House. The two leaders also discussed Wednesday’s meeting of the ‘contact group’ in Brussels, led by US…

The price of July futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands rose to $1,216 per 1,000 cubic meters, or 112.9 euro per MWh The price of gas in Europe surpassed $1,200 per 1,000 cubic meters on London’s ICE on Wednesday for the first time since May 12, following the news about an additional reduction in gas supplies via Nord Stream and the shutdown of another Siemens gas turbine engine. The price of July futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands rose to $1,216 per 1,000 cubic meters, or 112.9 euro per MWh. Gazprom announced earlier on Wednesday it…

According to Maria Zakharova, neither the North-Atlantic Alliance, nor the NATO secretary general “has pity for Ukraine or its people, since they are talking about a price” that has to be paid to stabilize the situation The North Atlantic Treaty Organization cannot succeed in pushing its efforts to prevent further tensions with Russia as long as it keeps exacerbating the situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Wednesday. When asked to comment on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s statement that the alliance…

Washington would support a possible security alliance between the UK, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States, the US envoy to NATO says The US Permanent Representative to NATO, Julianne Smith, said on Tuesday that Washington would “want to support” the idea of a new security alliance, which could reportedly include Ukraine, the UK, Poland, the Baltic States, and possibly Turkey. Last month, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had floated the idea of a so-called “European Commonwealth” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Kiev in early April. According to the paper’s sources, Johnson sees the…

The delegations of the guarantor countries, Turkey, Russia, and Iran, have begun talks within the framework of the 18th round of the Astana talks in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The Syrian delegation to the Astana talks, headed by Deputy Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Ayman Sousan met Wednesday with the UN delegation headed by Robert Dann, the Chief of Political Affairs in the office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria and head of the UN delegation to the Astana meetings in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 18th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana format.…

As Xi Jinping explained, Beijing was taking an independent position on the Ukrainian issue, “taking into account the facts and historical realities” In a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin China’s leader Xi Jinping expressed his readiness to help settle the Ukrainian crisis, China’s central television said on Wednesday. “All parties concerned must take a responsible stance, thus promoting the correct settlement of the crisis in Ukraine,” the broadcaster quotes Xi as saying. “China is prepared to keep playing its constructive role.” As Xi explained, Beijing was taking an independent position on the Ukrainian issue, “taking into account the…

Brussels is seeking new sources of energy to reduce its reliance on Russia Egypt, Israel, and the European Union have signed a deal to boost shipments of liquified natural gas (LNG) to EU member states, Sky News Arabia reported on Wednesday. Brussels hopes the agreement will help it to reduce energy dependence on Russia. “The deal will see Israel sending more gas via Egypt, which has facilities to liquify it for export by sea,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said at a joint news conference alongside the Egyptian and Israeli energy ministers. In 2021, the EU imported some 40%…

On June 15, two Turkish airstrikes targeted the so-called People’s Council in the northern Iraqi town of Snuny that is located just ten kilometers away from the border with Syria. The airstrikes, which were allegedly carried out by a combat drone, claimed the life of 12-year-old Saleh Shifan Khidr Naso from the Yazdi minority. Iraqi sources said that the total number of victims from the airstrikes was four. However, this is yet to be confirmed. Snuny is a part of the Sinjar district, the heartland of Yazidis who were the victims of genocide by ISIS terrorists in 2014. The Kurdistan…