Author: Steven Sahiounie

Six people were killed and another 17 injured when a lightning struck a gathering at a funeral ceremony in northern Yemen, local health authorities said on Monday. The accident occurred on Sunday evening in Asha district in the northern province of Amran. The fatalities have brought the total number of people killed by rainstorms, floods, and lightning strikes to at least 97 since July in the war-torn country, which has been battered by torrential rains, flash floods, and lightning for weeks, according to the health authorities. According to the international humanitarian agency CARE, 190 sites housing more than 12,000 internally…

The German Chancellor dismissed accusations he was “intimidated by Putin” Berlin supplies “a lot of weapons” to Kiev and will continue to provide Ukraine “with what it needs for its defense,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, in response to criticism from a former Bundeswehr general. Germany is currently “in the process of supplying the most modern and efficient equipment,” Scholz stressed during a traditional ‘open-doors day’ this weekend, citing recent multiple deliveries of self-propelled ‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft guns and PzH 2000 howitzers. The German leader claimed that his main focus remains on “ensuring that there is no escalation of the war,” when a retired Bundeswehr general Klaus Wittmann accused him of a…

If NATO sits on its hands Serbia will save its people in Kosovo from pogroms, Aleksandar Vucic said NATO’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo should “do their job” in protecting the Serb minority, or Belgrade will do it unilaterally, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday. In a televised address after meeting Kosovo Serbs, Vucuc’s speech comes several days after EU-brokered talks between Serbian and Kosovo leaders collapsed. The crux of the dispute between the Balkan nation and its breakaway province is Kosovo’s push to declare Serbian identity documents and vehicle license plates invalid on its territory. As a result, tensions…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The world is inching closer to restoring a deal to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb. The US is examining the Iranian response to a ‘final’ accord tabled by the EU in the latest round of negotiation for the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (or JCPOA, as the deal between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Germany and the European Union is known). In mid-July, Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Al Jazeera, “In a few days we were able…

A member of the Internal Security Forces was martyred when an explosive device went off in a “taxi” car near al-Sina’a roundabout in the center of Daraa city. A source at Daraa Police Command told SANA that a sticky explosive device placed by unknown persons in a public car “taxi” went off at ten in the morning while it was passing near al-Sina’a roundabout in front of the industrial secondary school, which is witnessing heavy traffic. A member of the Internal Security Forces was martyred in the explosion which also caused the burning of the car completely, according to the…

The complex entered the service of the Russian Navy in 2012 The Russian Armed Forces have destroyed with Kalibr cruise missiles an ammunition depot in the Odessa Region, where missiles for US multiple rocket launchers HIMARS were stored, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Sunday. “High-precision sea-based long-range Kalibr missiles near the village of Mayorskoye in the Odessa Region destroyed an ammunition depot with missiles for the American HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems and Western-made anti-aircraft systems,” Konashenkov said. The Kalibr (NATO classification: SS-N-27 Sizzler) is a Russian cruise missile developed and produced by the Novator…

Ukrainian forces open fire on the Zaporozhye NPP using weaponry supplied by the West, however, critical facilities remain intact. In its latest act of dangerous provocations against the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Ukrainian forces have opened fire on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) using weaponry supplied by the West – however, critical facilities were not damaged in the attack, according to the civil-military administration of Energodar city. “Kiev’s punitive forces have opened fire on the Zaporozhye NPP and the outskirts of Energodar,” the region’s administration wrote on its Telegram channel. “Artillery strikes on the area of the…

The Biden administration in recent days has been seeking to reassure Israel that it hasn’t agreed to new concessions with Iran and a nuclear deal isn’t imminent, U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios. Yes, but: Israeli officials said they‘re not reassured. State of play: Iran gave a formal response this week to a “final” proposal from the EU, which has been mediating between the U.S. and Iran. That increased speculation that a deal could be close, and led to friction between the U.S. and Israel, which opposes a restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal.The Israeli concerns were exacerbated by the fact that the…

Veteran official had held the post since last year The head of Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, in Kirovograd Region was found dead in his home on Saturday evening, with sources telling local media that it was likely a suicide. The body of Aleksandr Nakonechny was discovered by his wife at their apartment in Krapivnitsky, the website Obozrevatel explained. The SBU has confirmed the security chief’s death, saying that the incident is being investigated. Obozrevatel added that Nakonechny died of a “penetrating gunshot wound to the body.” According to preliminary data, he “committed suicide” with the firearm that he had been previously awarded…

The terrorist organizations backed by the Turkish regime have renewed their artillery attacks on the safe areas in Tal Abyad and Ain Issa in the northern countryside of Raqqa. Local sources told SANA that, during the past hours, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation targeted with heavy artillery the residential neighborhoods in the villages located in the vicinity of the cities of Tal Abyad and Ain Issa in the northern countryside of Raqqa, which resulted in material damage to some houses and infrastructure. The sources added that the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries have recently intensified their attacks on these…