Author: Steven Sahiounie

A Japanese beetle was discovered near the country’s border in the Swiss city of Basel, causing concern among German pest control officials. According to the Augustenberg Center for Agricultural Technology, these beetles can cause significant damage because there are no organisms in Germany that feed on them, reducing their numbers. As a result, citizens should be watchful and report the presence of such a beetle if one is discovered, in order to prevent it from escaping. The insect is classified as a “beetle with a big appetite” by the Julius Kohn Institute, a federal plant research center. The Japanese beetle…

Patients frequently struggle to read doctor’s prescriptions; poorly written reports are as close to coding as possible. They’ve become a source of amusement and laughs over the years, but Moroccan authorities have decided to put an end to this by the power of law. Moroccan legislators issued a decree related to medical ethics, which requires doctors in Morocco to improve their handwriting when writing prescriptions for patients in order for them to be readable. The Moroccan government recently ratified an amendment to the medical ethics suggested by the Minister of Health, which requires doctors to write prescriptions that are clear…

Lebanese authorities were accused Tuesday of being “criminally negligent under Lebanese law in their handling of the cargo, creating an unreasonable risk to life” by the Humans Rights Watch. An investigation revealed the failure of political and security officials to follow up on the ammonium nitrate shipment that led to the explosion of the Beirut port a year ago. The explosion left at least 214 people dead and more than 6,500 injured; it resulted from 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate impounded at the port for years. The organization recommended that sanctions must be imposed on officials responsible and that the…

The MV Mercer Street oil tanker was attacked off the coast of Oman, killing two, in what the United States called a drone-style attack. The tanker was heading from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates, with no cargo aboard when it was struck, according to Zodiac Maritime. Zodiac Maritime is part of the Zodiac Group, owned by the Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, whose enterprises include shipping, real estate, technology, banking, and investments. Ofer was ranked the world’s 197th richest person by Forbes this year, with a fortune of $11.3 billion. His firms own and run over 160 ships. Zodiac originally…

Australia’s Defense Department has released a four-year plan to tackle “serious and systemic” failures in its military structure and culture – eight months after a bombshell probe into war crimes in Afghanistan. Last November, the Brereton inquiry found sufficient credible evidence to allege that 25 Australian soldiers were involved in the murder of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners. Recommending a criminal investigation, it warned of a “warrior culture” within the country’s special forces, and of “the clique of non-commissioned officers who propagated it.” In response to that report, the Defense Department quietly released the ‘Afghanistan Inquiry Reform Plan’ on the website of the inspector-general of…

Sweden’s health authority has announced that most Swedes are likely to be offered a Covid booster shot in 2022, while vulnerable people could receive their third shot this autumn. The Swedish Public Health Agency unveiled plans on Tuesday to offer a large portion of the population a third booster shot next year, depending on the emergence of new variants and data on the effectiveness of vaccines over time. Anders Tegnell, a state epidemiologist, detailed reasons for offering a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine, stating that “the assessment is that it is not possible to eradicate the virus and therefore vaccination work should…

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly covered up the killing of six Palestinians, including a baby, after “mistakenly” shelling an area housing Bedouin farmers in an operation in the Gaza Strip during the 11-day war in May. The incident, which apparently has not received any publicity, was known to the army, according to Haaretz. The paper said the army never reported it, and after a two-and-a-half-month investigation, an IDF spokesman stated only that the artillery unit had “learned professional lessons.” On the evening of May 13, ahead of the IDF’s launch of ‘Operation Lightning Strike’ to collapse Hamas tunnels in the…

Researchers have warned that men will dramatically outnumber women in the coming decades because of “cultural preferences” for boys and the prevalence of sex-selective abortion in certain countries. A new study that modelled global sex ratios has concluded that the imbalance could put global stability at risk over the long term. It cautioned that countries with uneven sex ratios at birth could face a “conservative” deficit of 4.7 million girls by 2030 and potentially “lose” 22 million by 2100. The study, published in the scientific journal BMJ Global Health, found that prenatal sex selection was to blame for about half of the deficit. This…

Multiple explosions and gunfire could be heard in downtown Kabul as the residence of the country’s defense minister came under attack by suicide bombers. The minister and his family are reportedly safe, but there are casualties. A car bomb went off in the Shirpoor neighborhood of Kabul on Tuesday evening, around 8pm local time, reportedly targeting the residence of General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. As crowds of Afghans took to the streets to chant “Allahu akbar,” more explosions could be heard, followed by gunfire and rockets.  Afghan officials said at least two attackers exchanged fire with security forces. There were also reports of…

The recent deadly South African riots sought to topple President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the worst may be yet to come, a veteran politician and Zulu tribal leader has told RT. “What is happening now actually should not surprise us,” Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a former minister of home affairs, told RT’s Paula Slier. The shocking unrest last month was “well-planned and coordinated, and not spontaneous at all,” he said. The veteran politician added that the violence stems from “the faction fights” within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and dates back to the highly contentious 2017 race for the party leader, in which Ramaphosa narrowly beat Nkosazana…