Author: Steven Sahiounie

On Sunday, the new UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, officially took over his duties. Grundberg said he would do everything in his power to contribute to achieving peace in Yemen. Grundberg addressed the Yemenis by saying, “We will work relentlessly in pursuit of peace, and we will remind all concerned parties of their joint responsibility toward Yemen’s future.” Hans Grundberg will succeed Britain’s Martin Griffiths, who was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley announced that Afghanistan will “likely” erupt in civil war, warning of the resurgence of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist groups in the country. “The conditions are very likely,” the top US general told Fox News, “that you could see a resurgence of terrorism coming out of that general region within 12, 24, 36 months.” Speaking from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Milley questioned whether the Taliban can consolidate power as they seek to shift from a guerrilla force to government. A spokesperson for the opposition forces in Panjshir…

On 11 August, Kumsa Diriba, aka ‘Jaal Marroo’, the leader of the Oromo Liberation Army (known as ‘OLF/Shene by Ethiopian authorities) announced the military alliance struck between his force and the armed wing of the outlawed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) regional government. The OLA has been fighting against the government of Ethiopia in the western and southern parts of Oromia. TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics in the three decades prior to 2018, is a major player in the ongoing disastrous conflict in Tigray and surrounding parts of Afar and Amhara regions. Early this year, in March, the federal parliament proscribed both as terrorist…

Twenty deputies of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Tunisia, mostly from the Ennahda Movement and the Heart of Tunisia blocs, have published a statement on Friday calling on President Kais Saied to determine the duration of the exceptional measures announced on 25 July, urging him to restore democracy in Tunisia. The MPs also requested to immediately stop the “arbitrary and illegal” travel bans and house arrest orders, while demanding to stop referring civilians to military courts. The deputies stressed that their understanding of the protest movements in Tunisia on 25 July, a result of the prevailing circumstances…

The “humiliating” US withdrawal from Afghanistan has unleashed a wave of criticism towards US president Joe Biden. Local and international critics blame his administration not only for miscalculating the withdrawal and tarnishing US credibility around the world but also for paving the way for Afghanistan’s neighboring countries China, Russia, and Iran to strengthen their geopolitical stand in central Asia. The region is adapting vastly to the US’ strategic failure in Afghanistan. No more US leverage The US retreat in central Asia is nothing new, it goes back years ago. The last time US troops used bases in Central Asia –…

The President of Guinea, Alpha Conde (83) has been arrested along with additional senior officials by rebels who staged a military coup. Heavy gunfire has been reported surrounding the presidential palace in the capital, Conakry. Jeune Afrique magazine reported that the coup was led by special army forces. Furthermore, Mamadi Domboi, a former member of the French Foreign Legion, reportedly staged the coup. On his account, Domboi confirmed the dissolving of the constitution and the government in the West African state. A local military source reported to Sputnik that the presidential guard, backed by defense and security forces, contained the threat and repelled…

The US Treasury Department has told financial institutions that they may process personal remittances to Afghanistan, a Treasury spokesperson said on Thursday. The news could provide some relief for the Afghan economy, which is nearing collapse after moves by the United States and other countries to halt foreign aid and freeze some $9 billion in Afghan assets after the Taliban takeover on August 15. Many Afghans rely heavily on payments from migrant workers overseas, with such remittances amounting to an estimated $789 million in 2020, or just over 4% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to World Bank data.…

The oil arm of Russia’s major gas corporation Gazprom – Gazprom Neft – has begun to abandon the US dollar in favor of the Chinese yuan in settling payments for fueling planes throughout China, the company’s CEO says. Alexander Dyukov said Friday that a deal has been reached with China’s national jet fuel operator to switch all fuel payments to yuan, saying, “We start from September and may switch to all the settlements on jet fuel to yuan.” Dyukov further announced that Chinese airlines in Russian airports may soon begin making payments for their purchase of fuel in Russian roubles. He…

NEW YORK (Sputnik) – Wall Street’s tech sector had its biggest winning week since mid-July after a dismal US jobs report on Friday reinforced bets that stimulus money will continue flowing to the US economy. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which includes stocks of technology giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, settled at 15,363, up 32 points or 0.2 percent. Nasdaq has gained 19 percent this year, with nearly 4 percent, or a quarter of that, coming in August alone on expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue with its monthly buying of $120 billion of stocks and…

In a breathtaking new picture of the Hubble Space Telescope, a flashing blue sword looks to pierce a great cosmic heart. The sword consists of two jets of ionized superheated gas that fly out of opposite poles of a newborn star named IRAS 05491+0247 into space. According to Hubble team members, the heart is the cloud of the remaining stain and gas which surrounds the protostar. This spectacular interplay between jets and clouds produces a rare celestial phenomenon known as a Herbig-Haro object, the Space.com website reported. The image was captured by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) sensor, which observes light…