Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described the news of repeated security incidents targeting ships in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman as “suspicious”. Khatibzadeh warned against promoting private political purposes and emphasized Tehran’s eagerness to maintain security and stability in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman while cooperating with the countries of the region to help solve navigation problems. Similarly, Iranian Armed Forces spokesman Abu al-Fadl Shakarji said, “Our forces contribute to the security of navigation and provide assistance in securing commercial ships.” He implied that Iranian forces have all suspicious acts under their surveillance and are…

The Chief of the Tunisian General Labor Union, Noureddine Taboubi, stated on Tuesday that the Union demands a small government led by an experienced prime minister, who is able to send positive signals to Tunisians and international donors. The Union assured, after a meeting, that the exceptional measures taken by the President were in response to popular demands, condemning leaders of the “Ennahda” Movement for relying on foreign forces.  In an interview for Al Mayadeen, Assistant Chief of the Tunisian General Labor Union, Samir al-Tahiri, stressed the Union’s rejection of any reliance on foreign forces and welcomed any visit in support of the…

The body of Martyr Muhammad Farid, 20, was finally handed over to his family on Tuesday night, a month after the occupation forces had seized it. Near the Hawara military checkpoint, the Israeli forces handed over the martyr’s body to his family, who took him to the Rafidia Surgical Governmental Hospital. The martyr’s body will be buried in his hometown of Qusra village, in southern Nablus of the occupied West Bank. Video footage showing the occupation soldiers shooting child Mohamad Alami In the same context, video footage showed the occupation soldiers deliberately opening fire at the vehicle the child Mohamad Alami was…

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake erupted off Japan’s eastern coast, with shaking felt all the way in Tokyo, around 200 kilometers away from the epicenter, according to journalists visiting the city to cover the Olympics. The quake struck off the coast of the Ibaraki Prefecture at around 5:30am on Wednesday morning, with the Japan Meteorological Agency putting it at a depth of 40km. The agency recorded several aftershocks, one coming in at 5.6 magnitude, though added there is no risk of a tsunami. “Welcome back to the Olympic city, where we are currently in an earthquake,” said Australian sports commentator Mark Beretta…

A ship that was believed to have been hijacked in the Gulf of Oman is now safe, the Royal Navy’s vessel-tracking agency has said, after Iran was accused of being behind the incident. “Boarders left the vessel. Vessel is safe. Incident complete,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday, without elaborating and identifying the vessel in question. The navigation agency, which was founded by the UK’s Royal Navy and is manned by reservists, reported on Tuesday that an unnamed ship was subject to potential “hijack” off the coast of the UAE in the Gulf of Oman, which is connected to…

The mayor of a town in southwestern Turkey has desperately called for a firefighting helicopter or plane with night vision to be sent to the area, as disastrous wildfires close in on his town and its thermal power plant. “The situation is very serious. The flames have come to the edge of the thermal power plant,” Muhammet Tokat, the mayor of Milas – located east of the major resort of Bodrum – said on Twitter on Tuesday. Tokat shared a video showing a massive blaze raging through the hills near the city and sending plumes of black smoke into the night…

The Taliban says it was behind an attack on the residence of Afghanistan’s acting defense minister late Tuesday, in which at least eight people were killed and many others wounded. The minister’s residence was struck while an important meeting was underway inside, the group said in a statement released by its spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid. The attack was just the beginning of retaliatory operations targeting key Afghan officials overseeing the fight again the Taliban across the country, the group warned. On Tuesday, the militants attacked the residence of the acting defense minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, located close to Kabul’s heavily fortified…

Officials in Macau, China, often called the ‘Las Vegas of Asia’, have ordered mass testing for Covid-19 and shut down most of the city’s entertainment venues after a cluster of infections was discovered. Authorities set up 41 testing stations across the city, which will operate non-stop for three days. The measure was introduced after four cases were reported on Tuesday in Macau, a former Portuguese colony and a popular casino hub with a population of 660,000. Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng was quoted by Chinese media as saying that the four patients are members of one family, which includes a…

Two trains have collided in Milavce village in the Czech Republic, near the town of Domazlice on the western border, killing two and injuring over 30. Rescue services are at the scene. Shortly after 8am (6am GMT,) the trains collided in Milavce, near Domazlice in the Czech Republic’s west, the country’s police force said on Twitter. “Unfortunately, at this moment we have confirmed that two people lost their lives at the scene of the railway accident,” the police said in a tweet. “We have the site of the intervention divided into two sections. We have transported some people from the train.…

Iranian Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi has criticized Western, Israeli, and Saudi news outlets that claim Iran is responsible for maritime attacks in the Persian Gulf region, deeming it a form of “psychological warfare.” On Wednesday, Shekarchi, a spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces, slammed media outlets for accusing Iran of being behind the “potential hijacking” of the Asphalt Princess in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, as well as another recent attack on an Israeli-operated oil tanker. “Conflicting reports published by some Western, Zionist, and Saudi outlets regarding maritime insecurity, hijacking ships, and etc. in the regional waters are a sort of…