Author: Steven Sahiounie

Belgian health authorities have mandated a 21-day self-isolation period after three cases were detected Belgium’s Risk Assessment Group has announced a 21-day quarantine for patients with monkeypox after three people in the country were diagnosed with the virus, which has surfaced in over a dozen countries in the past week. The health authority issued the declaration on Friday. A fourth case of monkeypox was diagnosed on Sunday, virologist Marc Van Ranst revealed on social media. He noted that, like the previous three instances, the individual in question was connected to the international gay fetish festival Darklands, which was held in…

According to the FT, Beijing is working on at least two additional security deals with Pacific island nations following an earlier agreement with the Solomon Islands. The April agreement allows the archipelago to request Chinese security reinforcements in the case of public unrest. Chinese troops may soon be placed in close proximity to the US’ Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, the Eurasian Times has noted in the wake of a Financial Times report about Beijing’s plans to expand security deals in the Pacific in the near future.According to FT sources, Kiribati is one of the two nations that China is currently…

On May 22, a senior officer of Iran’s Quds Force, a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was assassinated in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The assassination took place in the Mojahedin Eslam street in the eastern part of Tehran. The officer, identified by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as Colonel Hassan Sayyad, was gunned down inside his car by the assailants, who were armed with silenced guns and moving on a motorcycle. IRNA released a photo showing the dead body of Col. Sayaad inside his white SAIPA Saba. The state-run agency didn’t say if the assailants were…

Authorities in Moldova should first ask for weapon deliveries, the chair of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs says The US is ready to supply weapons to Moldova and the issue is currently being discussed with the country’s authorities, Gregory Meeks, who chairs the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, has said. He made the statement on Saturday at a news conference in Chisinau, where he arrived as part of a delegation of US lawmakers for talks with top officials from Moldova. “My position is that we need to talk to the government of Moldova. We’ve got to make…

Russian troops operating in the Donbass region have been spotted with the Harpoon-2M anti-drone radio-electronic gun. On May 22, Russian sources shared a photo showing a Russian service member with the gun, which was developed by Russia’s New Telecommunication Technologies. It’s unclear when or where exactly the photo was taken. The Harpoon-2M gun was designed to counter the threat of light and ultralight drones with electronic warfare means. The gun, which was first presented at the Integrated Safety and Security Exhibition 2019, can jam the data links of commercial drones on eight different frequency bands. It can also suppress the…

China’s foreign minister says the US Indo-Pacific strategy aims to create division, incite confrontation and undermine peace in the Asia-Pacific region. The US Indo-Pacific strategy is causing more and more vigilance and concern in the world, especially among the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Guangzhou City, south China’s Guangdong Province, CGTN reported. The White House said US President Joe Biden will announce the launch of a new regional initiative, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework…

Washington has followed the EU by announcing it would upgrade trade ties with Taipei, a move that has angered Beijing Washington is seeking to deepen its economic cooperation with Taiwan, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has told journalists. Speaking en route to Japan on board Air Force One on Sunday, Sullivan said the US was “looking to deepen our economic partnership with Taiwan including on high technology issues, including on semiconductors and supply chains.” He noted that America did “not want to see unilateral changes to the status quo,” nor “military aggression.” Sullivan added that Washington expects its “allies…

Hama – A landmine left by terrorist outfits in the Hama region of Syria went off and critically wounded six rural farmers. Syrian News Agency SANA reported that six farmers were injured in the landmine explosion left behind by terrorist organizations in the vicinity of al-Zara village in Hama’s southern countryside. “A landmine left behind by terrorist organizations went off when a pick-up carrying farmers in the vicinity of al-Zara village, injuring six civilians,” a source in Hama Police Command told SANA. Landmine explosions in various parts of Syria have killed 66 people, including two women and 29 children, since…

 Ministers have been accused of choosing the “worst moment in history” to slash the foreign aid budget, as provisional figures showed that UK overseas humanitarian funding was cut by more than half last year. MPs and charity campaigners say the aid budget urgently needs to be increased to cope with the Ukraine conflict and the risk of famine in Africa. Up to 23 million people face acute hunger in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia due to drought, The Guardian reported. The UN has warned the Ukraine crisis risks tipping 1.7 billion people – one-fifth of the global population – into poverty, destitution and…

Turkish occupation and its mercenaries of terrorist organizations have launched new attacks on a number of villages in the northwestern countryside of Hasaka province. Local sources told SANA reporter that the Turkish occupation and terrorist groups affiliated with it bombed with artillery shells the houses and properties of citizens in the villages of Tal al-Ward and Khirbet al-Shaer, south of Abu Rasin township in Hasaka northwestern countryside. The sources added that the Turkish aggression extended to target the villages of al-Banajah, al-Dardara, Um al- Kaiyef and al-Taweelah in Tal Tamir northern countryside, and some power lines were damaged as a…