Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Lebanese army announced the direct operations of raiding closed gas stations. The army announced in a statement today, Saturday, that it will confiscate all seized gasoline found in closed gas stations and will directly distribute it to the people The Lebanese army’s decision was welcomed by the social media activists, who called on the “protectors of the homeland to hit with an iron fist.” Activists also called for “raiding the homes of officials” who, according to the tweeters, bear the responsibility for corruption in the country. The Internal Security Forces also stated that they will not stand by and…

Canada’s government will soon require all public servants to be vaccinated against Covid, two ministers have said, while mandatory vaccinations are also looming for air and train travelers. Speaking during a news conference on Friday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced plans to greatly expand the scope of mandatory vaccinations in Canada. In the coming weeks, all government employees and people working in certain industries subjected to federal regulations – such as airlines and railways – will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19. While Canada boasts one of the highest inoculation rates in the world – over 80% of eligible…

A Serbian recluse who made international headlines after he called on people to get vaccinated has claimed he was given just one expired dose – as well as gifts from media outlets who promoted his pro-vaccine story. Panta Petrovic, who says he lives part of the year in a cave near the Serbian town of Pirot, became an overnight sensation after media outlets applauded his pro-vaccination stance, despite his allegedly extreme “social distancing” lifestyle. According to news agency AFP, the Serbian “hermit” was jabbed soon after Covid-19 vaccines became available in his area. “It [the virus] does not choose. It will come here to my…

Oil prices fell for a second day today, Friday, after the International Energy Agency warned that the increase in demand for crude oil and its products is slowing down sharply as Covid-19 infections rise around the world. Brent crude fell 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $70.82 a barrel by 05:07 GMT, after dropping 13 cents. Moreover, US crude fell 53 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $68.56 a barrel, after falling 0.2 percent on Thursday. The two benchmarks are still heading towards achieving a slight gain this week. “We are now witnessing a faltering recovery in global demand this month,…

Tunisian President Kais Saied affirmed his adherence to the decisions he took recently. During his meeting today with the National Disaster Response Committee, Saied stated that he “vows the people to move forward” noting that his decisions “respect the constitutional and legal procedures.” In his speech, Saied touched on the fires that erupted in the country, describing them as “fabricated”, stressing that “lawful punishment will be imposed on everyone who participates in igniting them, further contributing to the abuse of the Tunisian people.” The Civil Defense in Tunisia had announced earlier that rising temperatures had fueled the outbreak of…

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity confirmed today that two power transmission lines were blasted with explosive devices, stating that the lines supplied energy to the Karkh water project.  According to a statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity: “Both Nasr-Karkh and Tarmiyah-Karkh electric power transmission lines were damaged today by detonated explosive devices.” “The explosion caused severe damage to the towers of the electric power lines,” according to the statement, as “immediate actions were taken to speed the completion of the essential maintenance and return them to service.” Several electrical transmission towers and stations in several Iraqi governorates have been sabotaged…

Israeli media quoted top Israeli officials well-aware of the meeting proceedings between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and CIA Director William Burns as saying that Bennett stressed the need to work out a common strategy in the event Iran refuses to re-enter the 2015 nuclear deal. Officials listed the meeting between Burns and Bennett as part of the preparations for the latter’s meeting with US President Joe Biden, which will be held this month in August in Washington. An Israeli official said, “It was important for the Prime Minister to clarify that when we say that we think it is a…

The occupation forces in al-Quds forced five members from one family to demolish their homes in Beit Hanina, north of the city. Members of the Khodor family proceeded to demolish five of their residences in the Aishwarya neighborhood of Beit Hanina with bulldozers. The occupation court had rejected the family’s request to stop the demolition of the houses a week ago, forcing them to bring their homes down for the settlers who claim ownership of the land. The five houses belong to the resident of al-Quds Abdullah Khodor, who lives with his children and their wives. According to reports by…

Italian authorities have evacuated 25 families from their homes to the east of Rome as a wildfire spread through the Monte Catillo nature reserve and temperatures in some parts of the country neared 50 Celsius. On Friday, the Italian fire brigade said that they had evacuated 25 families overnight as the emergency services battled a dangerous blaze in the Monte Catillo nature reserve, near the Rome suburb of Tivoli, amid scorching temperatures on the peninsular.  A video shared online by the fire brigade shows burnt-out buildings and scorched land as well as images from the night’s rescue work. They added…

A Bolivia-based NGO has raised alarm about the impact of destructive wildfires, saying they tore through 749,000 hectares of the country’s woodland between January and July earlier this year, in a new report released on Thursday. The report by the Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN) examined the extent of the damage caused by wildfires in the region, finding that there had been a 62% increase in the scale of the burned area during June and July compared with 2020 and a 48% rise versus the same period in 2019. Using satellite imagery collected by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 to track the…