Author: Steven Sahiounie

Following the controversy in Congress over raising the debt ceiling, US President Joe Biden criticizes “reckless” Republicans and warns that obstruction endangers pushing “our economy over a cliff.” very in Congress over raising the debt ceiling, US President Joe Biden criticizes On Monday, US President Joe Biden denounced the “reckless and dangerous” position of Republicans in Congress over raising the debt ceiling, at a time when the world’s largest economic power faces the risk of defaulting on its payments. Biden criticized Republicans’ “irresponsibility,” warning that obstruction threatens to push the US economy “over a cliff” by committing to filibuster the…

Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms were hit by a massive outage Monday, impacting potentially tens of millions of users as the social media giant faces fallout over its effect on teens and misinformation.ADVERTISING Tracker Downdetector was showing outages in heavily populated areas like Washington and Paris, with problems being reported from around 1545 GMT. “We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products,” Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said on Twitter. Users trying to access Facebook in affected areas were greeted with the message: “Something went wrong. We’re working on it and we’ll get it fixed as…

By Jonny TickleThe Russian Armed Forces have successfully conducted the first test launch of its state-of-the-art Zircon hypersonic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine, firing it at a target in the Barents Sea, in Russia’s Arctic north. The Ministry of Defense published a video showing the successful test. The Zircon, first produced in 2016, is an anti-ship missile capable of accelerating up to Mach 9. It has been designed to hit enemy surface ships, such as frigates and aircraft carriers, as well as ground targets located within the range of the missile. Zircon’s speed (9,800-11,025 km/h) makes it difficult for it to be stopped…

The statue to George Floyd in Union Square was vandalised on Saturday, NBC New York reported citing authorities. According to police, a security video from the site shows a man throwing blue paint on the sculpture at around 10 a.m. (2 p.m. GMT) and then running away.An investigation is underway, and no suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident, police said.The sculpture was put in the park on Thursday, as part of an art composition, alongside statues of the late Congressman John Lewis and Breonna Taylor, who was shot by police officers in Kentucky last year. George Floyd, a black…

The newly-chosen prime minister of Japan also pledged during his first press conference to put his “utmost effort” into creating a world that will be free of nuclear weapons.Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has stated that he is ready to meet with North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un without preconditions. His remarks come as Pyongyang has intensified fire-testing of its newly-developed missiles over the last month.Kishida additionally noted that Tokyo will strengthen its defence capability and continue to see the US-Japanese alliance as the cornerstone of the nation’s foreign policy.Last week, senior defence officials from the US, Japan, and South…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Iran conducted military exercises near its border with Azerbaijan on October 1. The tensions between the two neighbors were caused by Israel and Turkey, who are allies of Azerbaijan and play divisive roles. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev commented he was surprised by Iran’s military drills; however, his country hosted joint military drills with Turkey and Pakistan beginning on September 21, in what was dubbed the ‘Three Brothers-2021’. Turkey has the second-largest NATO army, and Pakistan is a nuclear power. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on September 23,…

“There are no preconditions from either side, and we are trying to start a sustainable relationship within the mutually beneficial framework,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said during a press conference.ccording to Khatibzadeh, the negotiations hosted by Baghdad since April, are being pursued in the best possible shape over bilateral and regional issues. However, he did not confirm reports that Saudi Arabia has sent a delegation to Iran to open the country’s embassy in Tehran. “The talks are still underway in Baghdad, and different cases have been discussed, with the main focus being on bilateral talks, while issues of…

By : Andrew Korybko . Tensions recently spiked between Azerbaijan and Iran after the latter commenced military drills close to their border accompanied by harsh rhetoric from its officials. This includes Supreme Leader Khamenei’s Twitter account posting such messages as: “The security of a country is the fundamental infrastructure for all activities for progress. Those who think that by relying on others they can ensure their security should know that they will soon be struck a blow for entrusting their security to foreigners.” “The issues concerning Iran’s northwestern neighbors should be resolved wisely by relying on nations, through the cooperation of the armies of neighboring…

A joint Russo-Syrian body responsible for facilitating the return of the Syrian refugees identifies the United States and its allies’ illegal presence in Syria as the main obstacle in the way of restoration of normal life in the Arab county. The Syrian and Russian Coordination Committees for Returning Displaced Syrians made the remarks in a statement on Sunday, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. The statement indicated that “the illegal presence of US and its allies in Syria is the basic obstacle to returning to normal life in the country,” the agency cited the body as saying. The…

The Joint Operations Command in Iraq confirms intense security deployment during the elections.The Joint Operations Command in Iraq confirmed that 250 000 security personnel will be dispatched to provide security for the elections, noting that the roads will be open and there will be no curfew. The Command confirmed that on October 8, 9, and 10, there will be intense security, detailing that security forces are on maximum alert, and the anti-terrorist forces will be ready for any emergencies. Meanwhile, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said that it “would not leave electoral cards that have not been received by…