Author: Steven Sahiounie

October 18. The organization of the so-called Northern Supplies – goods deliveries to hard-to-reach territories in the Far North – requires federal support and effectively united logistics centers to make the supplies smooth and to cut retail prices, said regional representatives, who participated in a roundtable – Northern Supplies: Improving State Support Mechanisms – at the Federation Council. “With the purpose to provide the food security in the Far North districts and in the areas, to where the Northern Supplies are made, [it is necessary] to resume the federal support for the Northern supplies. A public-private partnership logistics center or…

ANKARA, October 18. Turkey is still ready to consider purchasing Russian-made Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets, if Ankara fails to reach agreement with Washington on the delivery of US F-16 fighters, Head of Turkey’s Defense Industry Ismail Demir said on Monday. “If the United States does not approve a deal on the F-16s after the situation with F-35 aircraft, no alternatives will be left for Turkey. The issue of Su-35 and Su-57 planes may surface again at any time,” the Turkish NTV television channel quoted Demir as saying. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 17 that the United…

The Declaration of Freedom and Change (the ruling coalition in Sudan) forces called on Sunday to build a united Sudanese armed force and to go out in convoys next Thursday in support of the country’s democratic transition. The ruling coalition called on the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) to participate in the convoy to silence the “putschists”, and to support the civil and democratic transition. It added calls for peace and the “building of a single Sudanese armed force” without an ally or competitor from any other force. Hundreds of Sudanese are continuing the sit-ins in front of the…

The head of Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades security apparatus, Abou Ali Al-Askari, considered that the elections that took place in Iraq last week were fraudulent, stressing that the “general elections are the biggest fraud operation.” Al-Askari demanded that Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi be put on trial for his actions, the latest of which “is high treason for rigging the elections,” adding that diligent work must be done to restore the rights of the voters and their candidates. He noted that Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades support the right to peaceful protest, adding that security apparatuses must protect the protestors. Iraq’s High Electoral Commission…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Russian diplomacy played a major role in the international agreement to supply electricity and natural gas to Lebanon, which was facing a complete black-out. A team of Lebanese technicians, along with their Syrian counterparts, completed an inspection of the Arab Gas Pipeline, through which Egyptian natural gas is set to transit, as part of a plan to address Lebanon’s energy crisis. Work on the pipeline has progressed swiftly, which had sections damaged as a result of terrorist attacks in Syria. Syria is one of the transit countries the plan will use to meet Lebanon’s…

Erling Haaland celebrated his successful return from injury with a pitch-invading fan after scoring two goals in a 3-1 win over Mainz on Saturday to send Borussia Dortmund top of the Bundesliga overnight. Norwegian striker Haaland missed Dortmund’s last four games with a thigh complaint, but returned against Mainz to score his third brace in as many appearances and take his season tally to nine league goals. The 21-year-old then delighted the home crowd even more by celebrating arm-in-arm with a supporter who had somehow made it onto the pitch, and handing him his jersey as a gift. “Erling really…

The Taliban say their forces will be tasked with providing security at Shia mosques in in the southern city of Kandahar, in the wake of a “brutal attack” on Friday prayers, which killed at least 60 worshippers. The head of Kandahar’s police, Maulvi Mehmood, said on Saturday that Shia mosques had so far been guarded by local volunteer forces with special permission to carry weapons. But after the Friday attack on the Bibi Fatima mosque, the Taliban would take charge of its protection. “Unfortunately, they could not protect this area and in future we will assign special security guards for…

The president’s Build Back Better economic plan has faced stonewalling from Republicans, and resistance from conservative Democrats seeking to keep new spending in check. Joe Biden and his allies continue to push the bill notwithstanding a recent close call which nearly saw the federal government default on its $28+ trillion in debt.President Joe Biden has offered a novel, if somewhat confusing defence of his Build Back Better spending package.“My friends on the other side never had any problem printing $2 trillion in tax cuts for the very wealthy,” Biden said, speaking at a child center in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday…

At least three people have been killed and seven others injured after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali just before dawn on Saturday, the country’s search and rescue agency has said. It was mainly felt in the Karangasem and Bangli districts on the east side of the island, causing people to flee their homes in panic. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the earthquake at 4.8, saying that its epicenter was located 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) northeast of the port town Singaraja at a depth of 10 kilometers. The initial quake was followed by…

The German state of Hesse has become the first to allow businesses to deny the unvaccinated access even to basic necessities, setting a troubling precedent as its neighbors wrestle with protests against vaccination mandates. Hessian supermarkets have been granted permission to deny the unvaccinated the right to buy food and other essentials, the state chancellery confirmed to German magazine BILD on Friday. Under the new policy, stores can decide whether to implement the ‘2G rule’, which means allowing entry only to the vaccinated and recovered (‘geimpft’ and ‘genesen’ in German) or the more lax ‘3G rule’, encompassing those who have…