Author: Steven Sahiounie

“As it has been repeatedly noted, Russia has worked for the result, and in terms of our interests, including in the context of peaceful nuclear cooperation with Iran, the text is quite satisfactory for us,” Sergey Ryabkov said The document for returning to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the settlement around the Iran nuclear program is at a high level of readiness, the remaining problems are of political nature, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Monday. “Now the document is at a high degree of readiness for adoption. There are some…

Seven US mercenaries who were fighting with Kiev forces in the Donbass region were killed at the Krasitel plant in Rubizhnoye city, Apty Alaudinov, an assistant to the head of Chechnya, told RIA Novosti on May 15. Footage showing the passport of one of the slain mercenaries, Joseph Ward Clark, surfaced online earlier. Clark, a native of Washington who was born in 1987, was reportedly an agent of the US intelligence. “The American citizen we are talking about, Joseph Ward Clark, we also have his passport. He, in fact, opposed us at the Krasitel plant, tried to resist. Probably, this…

Hezbollah has been dealt a blow in Lebanon’s parliamentary election, with preliminary results showing losses for some of its oldest allies and the Saudi-aligned Lebanese Forces party saying it had gained seats. With votes still being counted, the final make-up of the 128-member parliament has yet to emerge. Reuters reports that Hezbollah and its allies won a majority of 71 seats when Lebanon last voted in 2018. The current election is the first since Lebanon’s devastating economic meltdown blamed by the World Bank on ruling politicians after a huge port blast in 2020 that shattered Beirut and the country’s political…

Pentagon said that Russia’s warnings against Sweden and Finland’s alliance membership bids are “concerning” The United States is prepared, if needed, to provide Sweden and Finland with military support as these countries await NATO’s response to their membership applications, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said. On Sunday both Finland and Sweden formally announced their intention to join NATO, despite multiple warnings from Russia. Moscow, which considers NATO expansion as a direct threat to its own security, has previously pledged to take adequate measures in response. In a BBC interview which was recorded on Friday and broadcast on Sunday, Kirby said…

The intergovernmental agreement was signed in January 1994 Latvia has decided to suspend rail transit of Belarusian military cargo through the country’s territory to its Baltic seaports, Latvian Ministry of Transport said on Sunday. According to Delfi news website, starting from May 10, Latvia suspended the agreement that allowed direct rail transportation of military cargo from Belarus to third countries through Latvian ports. The intergovernmental agreement on transportation of military goods by rail from Belarus to third countries using the ports of Latvia was signed in January 1994. Source: TASS

On May 12, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said in an interview with Reuters that Ukraine had already spent 245.1 billion hryvnias (about $8.3 billion) on the war with Russia. According to Marchenko, the budget funds provided for development were spent on the military needs from the purchase and repair of weapons to emergency aid for internally displaced persons. The Ukrainian government collected only 60% of the planned tax revenues in April. In May and June this figure may fall down to 45-50%. “Kiev needs foreign financial support as Ukraine is forced to allocate billions of dollars for emergency expenses.…

A bomb blast near the southern Pakistani city of Karachi has killed at least one person and injured 13 others. An improvised explosive device (IED) that was planted in a motorbike went off on a crowded street in the city’s downtown Saddar area, Asad Raza, a senior police official, told reporters. “Law enforcement and security personnel have reached the spot with rescue teams. Until now 13 people have been moved to the hospital,” a police officer said. An eyewitness said the explosion was so big it shattered windows of nearby apartments, shops, and cars and started a fire. In a…

 Thousands of Tunisians protested on Sunday against President Kais Saied, demanding a return to the normal democratic order and rejecting his replacement of the independent electoral commission with one he named himself. “The people want democracy” and “Saied has led the country to starvation” were two slogans chanted by the protesters who gathered in central Tunis a week after a smaller demonstration in support of the president. “It has become clear that the street supports a return to the democratic path,” said Samira Chaouachi, the deputy leader of the dissolved parliament who like Saied’s other opponents accuses him of a…

Moscow repeatedly warned the Western countries against delivering weapons for Ukraine, arguing that it only perpetuates the conflict and prevents a quick diplomatic resolution. The Kremlin also stated that Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO will prompt a proper response from Russia, which sees such steps as a threat. The leader of Lega, Italian ruling coalition’s party, Matteo Salvini has stood up against the idea of accepting Sweden and Finland in NATO as the former is considering to make this step in the nearest future and the latter have already decided to file a bid to join. “Not now. Everything…

Security units of Luhansk People’s Republic revealed that the Ukrainian army booby-trapped the Zarya chemical factory with 49 tons of explosive materials before withdrawing from it. “The Ukrainian army left behind a warehouse full of explosives and about 49 tons of TNT stored in the warehouse of factory No. 406, warning that these explosives could cause massive destruction and lead to a global catastrophe due to the presence of substances near them that contain in their composition ammonia, nitrogen, sulfur, acids, benzene and other dangerous substances.” RIA Novosti Agency quoted the republic’s security units as saying in a statement. The…