Author: Steven Sahiounie

A US warship’s passage through the Taiwan Strait is a “staged drama,” Beijing said The Chinese military made critical remarks on Wednesday after the US sailed one of its warships through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in a show of flag mission. Beijing said that Washington had a habit of “staging dramas” over the self-governed island that China considers to be under its sovereignty. The US supports Taiwan against China, while maintaining strategic ambiguity over its status. The US Navy sent the USS Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the 7th Fleet, to pass through the body of water separating…

The US has already slapped Moscow with sanctions similar to ones reserved for state sponsors of terrorism, spokesperson Psaki says Washington says it has already imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia that are usually reserved for countries the State Department designates as state sponsors of terrorism. At a regular press briefing on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki was answering a question about the recent push by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. “We have been doing, already, what has happened to those other countries. So, extensive financial sanctions, export controls, also…

The bill implies allocation of funds for military, economic and humanitarian aid to Kiev US House of Representatives approved the bill on allocation of addition $40 billion in aid to Ukraine Tuesday, according to a livestream on the House website. The bill gained the required majority of votes and will be forwarded to the Senate now. Should the Senate approve the bill, it will be forwarded to US President Joe Biden for signing. The bill implies allocation of funds for military, economic and humanitarian aid to Kiev. Biden requested this additional funding earlier. He urged the lawmakers to approve it…

Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva, on Tuesday gave his assurances that the military won’t resort to the “disgraceful” act of shooting at protesters under any circumstances, after the opposition expressed its concerns that troops would abuse anti-government demonstrators. The United States on Tuesday said it was concerned by the deployment of the military in Sri Lanka, hours after that country’s Defence Ministry ordered its forces to “open fire” on people found looting public property or causing harm to others. “We’re concerned by the deployment of the military. We underscore, we stress…

The authorities concerned in Aleppo province found a tunnel, left behind by terrorist groups, in the center of Aleppo city. The tunnel extends from the old al-Hal market to the south and ends in the old Intilak center to the north with nearly three meters’ depth. Member of the Executive Office of Aleppo city council, Kumait Assi al-Sheikh, told SANA that as soon as the tunnel was discovered, the traffic movement leading to the place was shut and the civil defense, military engineering, traffic and the authorities concerned verify the place. Al-Sheikh added that explosive devices, of the terrorists’ remnants,…

Israeli forces shot Shireen Abu Akleh in the head while she was on assignment in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have shot dead Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. She was hit by a live bullet on Wednesday while covering Israeli raids in the city of Jenin and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, according to the ministry and Al Jazeera journalists. Abu Akleh was wearing a press vest when she was killed. She was declared dead at the hospital, the ministry said. Another…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said yesterday in a televised speech, “I want the entire Lebanese nation to know that those who are calling for the disarmament of the resistance are unaware of what the southerners went through since 1948.”  Referring to a brutal military occupation of the south of Lebanon by Israel from 1985 to 2000.  Nasrallah added that those making demands for Hezbollah’s disarmament have not yet offered “an alternative” in the face of Israeli acts of aggression. Lebanese citizens elect a new parliament, comprised…

Lithuania has called for the world to investigate Russia’s actions in Ukraine Lithuania’s parliament, the Seimas, unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday accusing Russia of genocide and terrorism in Ukraine. The “large-scale armed aggression” launched by Russia against Ukraine on February 24 amounts to “genocide of the Ukrainian people,” the document said. “The Russian Federation, whose military forces deliberately and systematically bomb civilian targets, is a state that supports and practices terrorism.” The Seimas called on the international community to set up a special tribunal to investigate the behavior of Russian troops in Ukraine. The vote on the resolution took…

The US forces by mistake opened fire at 11 residential houses in the Kurdistan region of Iraq during military exercises, local authorities said on Tuesday. “The US troops stationed at the Harir base mistakenly shelled 11 houses in the centre of the Basirma district at night during the drills,” the head of the Basirma district told Iraqi broadcaster Alsumaria.According to the official, while the houses were damaged, there are no casualties. The Iraqi Kurdistan Region is a region of Iraq in which the Kurds – a distinct ethnic, cultural, and linguistic group located in parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and…

The US and its allies have committed well over $4 billion in military aid for Ukraine in recent months, with the conflict becoming an arms bonanza for defence contractors, and a chance for NATO armies to get rid of old inventories. Congress could vote Tuesday to authorise up to $33 billion more in “military and humanitarian” support for Kiev. Ukraine needs a permanent “mechanism” for coordinated weapons deliveries from Western countries, and expects Washington to complement deliveries of old Soviet-era arms with American-made heavy weapons, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. Speaking to the Financial Times on Tuesday, Kuleba said Kiev’s “picture…