Author: Steven Sahiounie

A US Minotaur II+ rocket has blown up during a test launch at a Space Force base in California A US Minotaur II+ rocket exploded just 11 seconds after being fired from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base late Wednesday night, officials confirmed on Thursday. The explosion caused a fire, though no injuries were reported at the base. The Minotaur’s space launch vehicle was being tested ahead of plans to replace the US’ aging Minuteman missiles in its ICBM arsenal. Specifically, it will be used with the LGM-35A Sentinel missile, which is currently under development. The launch was intended to be…

The US-led coalition and its proxy, the Revolutionary Commando Army (MaT), have held a joint live-fire exercise in the southeastern Syrian area of al-Tanf where they maintain a large garrison. On July 6, MaT released photos from the joint exercise which saw US troops firing a number of precision-guided M30/M31 series GMLRS rockets from M142 HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System] launchers. At least four HIMARS launchers are currently deployed at al-Tanf garrison. The system can fire GMLRS rockets, which have a range of 70 kilometers, as well as the MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missile that has a rage of…

On Thursday, Boris Johnson announced that he was stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will lose an ally who has always provided unwavering support to Kiev with the departure of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, international commentator Daigo Oliva wrote in the Folha de Sao Paolo newspaper on Thursday. “Whoever becomes the new British prime minister, it is highly unlikely that the UK’s stance will change but Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is losing an ally who expressed support practically without any qualms,” he wrote. The analyst reiterated that Johnson, being one of the most…

The arms sent to Ukraine using the money of taxpayers in the United States, United Kingdom, and elsewhere are being used to line the pockets of the Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine is selling weapons it acquired from the West on the black market due to the Kiev forces’ limited ability to use them because of their lack of training, logistical challenges, and the diminishing size of the Ukrainian armed forces, former senior Pentagon adviser Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik on Thursday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu previously said the arms supplied by the West to Ukraine were ending up on the black market and spreading across…

The heads of the United Kingdom and the United States’ domestic intelligence services raised alarms about Chinese “economic espionage” in a rare joint address in London. Ken McCallum, the director of the UK’s MI5, said on Wednesday that the Chinese government’s “covert pressure across the globe” amounts to “the most game-changing challenge we face”, while Chris Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), warned Western firms that Beijing was determined to steal their technology for competitive gain, Al Jazeera reported. China immediately rejected the accusations as “groundless”, labelling them an attempt to “smear” its political system. McCallum…

The Israeli regime launched a military attack targeting a southern Syrian town near the Tel Aviv-occupied side of the Golan Heights, reportedly killing a Syrian soldier. The individual, identified as Farid Fuad Mustafa, was targeted in an area near his house in the village of Hader near Quneitra Province on Wednesday, Syrian and Arab state media reported. The 46-year-old soldier was said to be a member of the Syrian army. While initial reports said that Mustafa died in an Israeli drone strike, Syria’s official SANA broadcaster said he was killed by a “guided missile” fired from an Israeli military site…

Colonel Douglas Macgregor has argued for a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict Ukraine could disappear from the map unless the conflict with Russia is resolved peacefully, former Trump military adviser Colonel Douglas Macgregor said in an interview with Sky News Australia on Wednesday. When asked what more could be done to help Ukraine in the ongoing military conflict, Macgregor stated that “the longer this lasts, the more people are going to be needlessly slaughtered, the more damage will be done to Ukraine,” adding that it is now “effectively a failed state, it could be erased completely from the map.” Noting that Ukraine’s…

Seven civilians, including three children, have died from Ukrainian fire, the Donetsk People’s Republic says Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) authorities said on Thursday morning that seven people have been killed and 30 injured by Ukrainian fire over the past 24 hours. They added among those killed were three children, with eight also wounded. Officials earlier said a kindergarten had been shelled in Donetsk on Thursday. The authorities reported power outages in the villages of Aleksandrovka and Kremenets after the area was hit by Ukrainian artillery. Pavel Kirilenko, a senior Ukrainian-appointed Donbass official, meanwhile, said that seven civilians were killed by…

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) detained several foreigners, including the UK’s second most senior envoy in Tehran, for alleged acts of spying, Iran’s state TV announced on July 6. The UK’s deputy ambassador Giles Whitaker and several other foreign nationals were detained after being caught taking soil samples in restricted areas. “These spies were taking earth samples in Iran’s central desert where the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace missile exercises were conducted,” state TV said. The foreigners were reportedly arrested in the in the Shahdad desert in southeastern Kerman province. The state TV did not elaborate on when they were…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be stepping down as Tory leader and Britain’s premier following various crises he was mired in. Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister Boris Jonhson will be stepping down as the Torries’ leader after he lost the support of his ministers and lawmakers A battle will take place over the leadership of the Conservative party this summer, and a new prime minister will take the reigns of the British cabinet in time for the Conservative Party’s Autumn Conference in October. Until the conference is held, Johnson will continue to hold the premiership after pledging…