Author: Steven Sahiounie

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the international community to work together to build a “Great Wall of Immunity” against Covid-19 on Saturday. During a speech to the 9th World Peace Forum in Beijing, Wang said China and the rest of the world need to “face the imminent challenges together.” The most urgent priority is to expedite the construction of the ‘Great Wall of Immunity’ to fend off the virus, surpass political discrimination and carry out international anti-pandemic cooperation. The 9th World Peace Forum, which was titled ‘International Security Cooperation in the Post-Pandemic Era: Upholding and Practicing Multilateralism’, took place at Beijing’s…

A major supermarket chain in Sweden has been forced to close most of its stores throughout the country after a hacking attack on its digital services provider broke its cash registers. The Coop Sweden chain had to suspend most of the approximately 800 stores it operates nationwide. It said only shops in Varmland, Oskarshamn, Tabergsdalen, Norrbotten and on the island of Gotland were unaffected. “We regret the situation and will do all we can to reopen swiftly,” the cooperative said in a statement on its website. The disruption started on Friday evening and persisted on Saturday, with a spokesman for the company…

An Israeli merchant ship has reportedly been hit by an “unknown weapon,” causing the vessel to catch fire in the northern Indian Ocean. The incident comes amid rising regional tensions. Lebanese media outlet Al-Mayadeen reported the attack on Saturday, citing “reliable sources,” and posted a picture of the damaged vessel with black smoke billowing from a fire on one side of the ship. Unnamed Israeli officials have also confirmed the incident to the Jerusalem Post. The newspaper claimed that “Hezbollah-linked” Al-Mayadeen’s framing of the report suggests the attack was Iran’s retaliation for a drone strike on an Iranian nuclear facility last month near Karaj. The vessel…

Earlier in the week, allegations were made that a Russian-linked hacker group had attacked at least 200 US companies, demanding ransoms in the amount of some $45,000 in the Monero cryptocurrency from their targets. US President Joe Biden on Saturday said that there is no confidence in Washington in whether the Russian government is involved in the recent ransomware attack against a software management company named Kaseya. “The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government, but we’re not sure yet,” Biden said. Cited by pool reporters from Michigan’s Traverse City, Biden ordered the “full resources of the federal government” to investigate…

Former US President Donald Trump, at a Saturday “Save America” campaign-style rally in Sarasota, Florida, again critiqued the administration of US President Joe Biden and urged supporters to vote Republican in the 2022 midterm elections. Trump started off by calling for “free and fair elections and strong borders” and wished everyone a happy 4th of July. He also sought a moment of silence to honor the Surfside building collapse victims. “May we have a moment of silence for the victims and families of the horrible building collapse in Surfside, Florida,” Trump said, calling it a “terrible, terrible” tragedy. The Surfside…

After losing the 2020 US presidential election and still refusing to admit it, the former POTUS, Donald Trump, has been ambiguous about his future political ambitions, leaving both supporters and haters guessing whether he might again contend for the Oval Office in 2024. A former Trump adviser, Steve Bannon, on Saturday asserted that his ex-boss will run for president in 2024, although Trump himself is yet to make a definitive confirmation. “Donald J. Trump is running again in 2024, there’s absolutely no doubt about that,” Bannon said, speaking on a Newsmax ‘Spicer & Co’ cable show hosted by Trump’s first of four…

Multiple media reports said that the Israeli airstrikes against military sites in the Gaza Strip have not resulted in any casualties, but caused damage to buildings in the vicinity. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it conducted airstrikes targeting a “Hamas terrorist weapons manufacturing site” in Gaza on Thursday, noting that the attack was carried out in response to an earlier launch of explosive balloons into Israeli territory. “The attacked sites were used by Hamas for research and development of weapons”, IDF said. “The attack was carried out in response to the inflating of incendiary balloons into Israeli territory.”The IDF statement came after…

On Friday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby revealed that the United States had handed over control of the Bagram Air Base to the Afghan forces and removed its troops as part of the ongoing drawdown of the American military presence in the region. The Bagram Air Base outside of Kabul, Afghanistan, has seen looting after American troops handed it over to the Afghan forces, according to Darwaish Raufi, Afghanistan’s district administrator for Bagram, cited by The Associated Press. Dozens of looters entered the base on early Friday shortly after the Americans left, Raufi told the news agency. They stormed through unprotected gates, ransacked several…

On Friday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed earlier reports that the US had withdrawn its forces from the Bagram Air Base outside of Kabul, Afghanistan, handing control of the facility to Afghan forces. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved creating a security cooperation office in Qatar with Brig. Gen. Curtis Buzzard as its head to support the Afghan national defense forces, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. “The Secretary also approved the establishment of US Forces-Afghanistan Forward to be led by Navy Rear Admiral Peter Vasely, where Admiral Vasely’s command will be based in Kabul, and…

The United States ramped up planning for an emergency evacuation of its embassy in Kabul, as the US troops continue their withdrawal from Afghanistan and concerns linger over the security in the conflict-torn country after their departure, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. Not only diplomats but also thousands of US citizens in the country could be evacuated; however, while the preparations have been sped up, there is currently no need for immediate evacuation, the newspaper reported Friday. The plans are mostly classified, but the US is now keeping helicopters at the nearby Kabul airport that could be…