Author: Steven Sahiounie

On Saturday, the online voting monitoring service in Moscow revealed that more than one million people voted in the State Duma elections remotely. The service indicated in published data that about 1.2 million people participated in e-voting in Moscow on the first day of the elections. The votes included both major and minor federal electoral districts, the service reported. 450 seats in the Russian State Duma Members of the State Duma will be elected for a term of 5 years. Russia has a mixed electoral system: 225 deputies from multi-member districts, and 225 deputies from single-member districts. Fourteen parties are…

Confrontations between Palestinian youths and the occupation forces broke out on Friday evening near al-Jalama checkpoint, northeast of Jenin (north of the occupied West Bank). According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli occupation forces at the checkpoint fired stun grenades and tear gas at the young men who took to the streets in support of the four re-arrested prisoners who had broken out of the Israeli Gilboa Prison. No injuries were reported. The occupation forces had called in reinforcements to al-Jalama checkpoint and to the west of Jenin, during the past few days, after six prisoners had managed to break out of…

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a joint venture between Russia’s Gazprom and five European partners, aims to carry Russian natural gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea.The construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has come to an end, Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Friday. “At a morning operational meeting […], the chairman of Gazprom’s Management Board, Alexey Miller, said that this morning at 08.45 Moscow time [05:45 GMT] construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been fully completed,” Gazprom announced on its Telegram channel.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasised that stopping Nord Stream 2 is “impossible”,…

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani, said on Sunday, during his meeting with Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi, that “terrorist activity in Kurdistan is worrisome,” adding that such activity targets both countries’ border security and that terrorists “must be expelled from northern Iraq.” Shamkhani also highlighted the normalization of ties with the Israeli occupation by some regional countries, saying that it serves US interests and “destabilizes regional security.” He also said that the strengthening of relations on all levels with neighboring countries is a long-standing policy of Iran and one of its most important priorities. “20 years…

A senior US envoy said on Saturday he had delivered reassurances to Ukraine and Poland on mitigating any threat posed by Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, but that the project was now a “reality”. Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s senior adviser for energy security, told Reuters there was “breathing room” until 2024 to ensure Ukraine kept its status as a gas transit country but urged Kyiv to move towards alternative energy sources. The United States has been Ukraine’s most powerful backer in a standoff with Moscow since Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula in 2014, but Kyiv opposed a US-German…

The director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, said on Sunday that the talks with the IAEA’s Director General are to create opportunities to develop cooperation within the context of the IAEA’s regulations. The AEOI Chief declared in a joint press conference with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi that the latter visited Tehran at the invitation of the IAEA and that “good, constructive” talks were held with him. He added that all issues between the two agencies are of a technical nature, and that “there is no room for politics” in their relations. Eslami also said that Iran…

According to Kurdistan’s security force, at least 3 missiles were fired near Erbil International Airport. Reliable sources told Al Mayadeen that “what was targeted yesterday north of Erbil airport is a Mossad headquarters.” Furthermore, the sources added that “the targeted headquarters is a spy den of the Mossad, and it was hit with Katyusha rockets.” Al Mayadeen’s reporter revealed preliminary information about an attack at an American base hosting US forces within the airport.  According to airport director Ahmed Hoshyar, the Anti-Terrorism Unit in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region announced in a statement that an attack was carried out by armed drones, and no damage…

Kabul airport’s manager declared on Sunday that flights to and from the capital have increased, with some flights transporting humanitarian aid to the country. He also announced and that a number of international flights have been resumed. Moreover, he said that technical teams from Qatar and Turkey have provided aid to Kabul and that domestic flights are back on track, with the government-owned Ariana being the first to resume business since the US withdrawal. Senior Taliban official Mawlawi Abdul Ghaffar Agha had said that the Movement achieved its goal after 20 years, stressing that it aims at satisfying the people…

The Lebanese army arrested a member of the al-Nusra Front in the town of Majdal Anjar, central Bekaa, who had participated in the kidnapping of the Maaloula nuns in Syria in 2013. توقيف سوري في مجدل عنجر تابع ­لتنظيم فتح الشام الإرهابي#الجيش_اللبناني #LebaneseArmyhttps://t.co/ajz7dq8bYO pic.twitter.com/cdwY0JlfXY— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) September 12, 2021 The Army indicated that the detainee, nicknamed Abu Inad, partook, alongside his group, in several battles in the al-Qalamoun outskirts and in the Battle of Arsal in August 2014. The Army announced seizing books of the aforementioned organization, binoculars, 4 cell phones, 3 cameras, and a khaki military uniform were seized from the…

Lukashenko announced that Belarus is negotiating the purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense systems, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has disclosed information to him during their talks in Moscow this week on the more modern S-500 systems, which can use ballistic missiles. This week, Russia and Belarus are holding massive joint military exercises, over 9 regions in Belarus, western Russia, and the Baltic Sea. NATO officials have warned that the exercises, which coincide with a massive Russian military mobilization on Ukraine’s border earlier this year, increase the risk of accidents or miscalculations that could ignite a crisis. It is worth…