Author: Steven Sahiounie

Dmitry Rogozin, general director of the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos, expressed the belief on Monday that the United States could hit Roscosmos with new sanctions before the end of this year. “The bans that I mentioned do not apply to launches that are carried out before 31 December 2022, which means the bans will be introduced on 1 January 2023. However, we have information that the package of the restrictions that are currently under consideration envisions the possibility of speeding up the introduction of these restrictions, which means they could be introduced this year,” Rogozin told Russia’s lower chamber…

On 23 June, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet together with border forces of the Federal Security Service (FSB) expelled the UK destroyer Defender which had entered into Russian territorial waters. The Russian forces had fired warning shots. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has warned that anyone who carries out provocations similar to the UK HMS Defender incident, that occurred on 23 June, would face dire consequences, according to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Ryabkov also told reporters that the security of Russia comes first, adding that the country can appeal to common sense and call on other countries to respect international…

President Joe Biden’s visit to the collapsed residential building site in Surfside, Florida, will not affect the search and rescue operations there, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Thursday. Biden left Washington earlier in the day and is currently meeting with rescue crews and relatives of those still unaccounted for in building collapse incident. “President Biden’s visit today will have no impact on what happens at the site. The search and rescue operation will continue as soon as it is safe to do so,” Cava said. The 12-story residential building in Surfside partially collapsed in the early hours…

On Thursday, the US Supreme court upheld an Arizona law which will limit how absentee ballots can be returned by voters. The law, which was passed in 2016, banned unions and advocacy groups from collecting mail-in ballots by voters to halt the controversial practice that critics call “ballot harvesting.” Only family and household members, as well as mail carriers, have been allowed to collect voters’ ballots as per the legislation. George W.Bush-era Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority on Thursday in support of the Arizona law, which was debated in the Supreme Court from March. Associate…

A historic Alberta church has been destroyed in what many suspect to be the latest arson attack in a string of retaliations for the historic abuse of Canada’s indigenous community by the Catholic Church. The St. Jean Baptiste church in the town of Morinville was almost entirely destroyed by the fire, which broke out on Wednesday morning. By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, its interior had already begun to collapse, and its basement had been engulfed by flames. Hours later, only a few fragments of its walls remained standing. “It’s one of the [town’s] largest buildings. It’s a…

China’s Mighty Dragon J-20 stealth fighter jets flew over Beijing’s historic landmark in their largest display yet – a show of might to commemorate the founding of the Communist Party 100 years ago. Beijing showcased the power of its air force during centenary celebrations for the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Thursday. The 15-strong fighter jet fleet flew in three V-shaped formations, with five planes forming each arrow. In an interview with the Sina news outlet, J-20 pilot Cao Cheng detailed the symbolism of the demonstration and explained how the fleet flew in uniform precision: “Each wedge team has five…

The pilot of an F-16 fighter plane in the Netherlands was injured after ejecting himself from an aircraft on Thursday morning at Leeuwarden Air Base, prompting speculation as to what happened. Photographers captured the pilot’s falling parachute in pictures that showed a large plume of smoke in the background, though the aircraft reportedly did not catch fire. The Netherlands Air Force confirmed the incident in a statement, revealing that the F-16 had “crashed into an opposite building” during start-up and that “two people were injured as a result,” including the pilot. “The pilot managed to get himself to safety. There was no fire and no explosion,” explained…

A new study has said that monitoring lightning and invisible electrical bursts, known as “vent discharges,” at volcanoes could help predict imminent and explosive ash-rich eruptions which may be dangerous for people and planes. In the research, published recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a team of scientists led by Cassandra Smith, a volcanologist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, presented their findings after monitoring 97 different volcanic explosions in order to learn more about the connection between electrical activity and volcanic activity. The field work took place at Japan’s Sakurajima volcano back in 2015. The team noted that while…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Lebanon’s 6 million people have been suffering through a crisis which began 20 months ago, and there is no end to the suffering in sight. Severe shortages of medicine, fuel, electricity and a myriad of basic goods in the import-dependent country. The crisis, which began in late 2019, was brought on by systematic government corruption and mismanagement, which led to debts that caused the currency to collapse. Banks that had shut, now opened, but with severe restriction on withdrawals and transfers. The country has operated for years on little to no government supplied electricity,…

A Swedish police officer died from his wounds after being fatally shot in Gothenburg on Wednesday. It reportedly marks the first killing of a law enforcement officer in 14 years, as gun violence in the country continues to soar. The officer’s death was announced by police in a statement on Thursday, which revealed that he died in hospital following the shooting in Hisingen, Gothenburg. Local police chief Klas Johansson called the killing “a terribly tragic event” and a “sad message to receive,” while the police statement claimed that the officer was “talking to a couple of people” on Wednesday evening before he was shot. However, it is still…