Author: Steven Sahiounie

After learning about the characteristic indications of infection early on in the pandemic, which include loss of taste and smell, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and exhaustion. The question remains, have the symptoms of the delta variant changed? With the limited data available, there is still much to know. Severe symptoms such as trouble breathing, or chest pain, are more commonly developed by unvaccinated patients. According to the New York Times, in states such as Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, which have lower vaccination rates and unvaccinated children, people are being admitted to hospitals in greater numbers than other times during the pandemic.…

Mobile telecommunications company T-Mobile announced the start of a probe into claims of clients’ data leaks. The investigation started after an online forum post claimed to be selling the customers’ data stolen from T-Mobile’s servers. The data in question includes names, addresses, and Social Security numbers for more than 100 million people. Initial reports confirmed the authenticity of the claim. A T-Mobile spokesperson said: “We are aware of claims made in an underground forum and have been actively investigating their validity.” In his post, the seller was asking for $270,000 in cryptocurrency, i.e. 6 bitcoins, to sell the data of…

The administration of US President Joe Biden is set to announce the largest long-term increase in food stamp benefits in the program’s history, giving Americans more money to buy groceries and adding billions of dollars in costs to the government. Bloomberg quoted a US official, before the announcement which is expected today, saying that the average benefit will increase by more than 25% in October from pre-pandemic levels for 42 million people enrolled in the program. This increase means the average monthly benefit will “rise by $36 per person from $121,” according to the US official. Anti-hunger advocates stated that…

A spokeswoman for the Chinese government stated today that China is willing to deepen its “friendly and cooperative” relations with the Taliban. Spokeswoman Hua Chunying disclosed that the Taliban have expressed their desire to develop good relations with China, detailing that they aspire to see China’s participation in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. Chunying expressed China’s respect for the Afghan people’s right to self-determination and is willing to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan. Following the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban fighters, Chunying called on the movement to ensure “a peaceful transition” by “establishing an open,…

The administration of Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, suspended Monday commercial flights “until further notice,” to allow civil aviation to transport departing passengers. Local media quoted the airport administration saying that commercial air traffic was “temporarily suspended,” due to the chaos and crowding caused by the urge of citizens to leave the country. Many countries began evacuating their nationals from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of large areas of the country, including the capital, Kabul, late on Sunday. Video footage posted on social media showed scenes of chaos on the airport runaway as Afghans try…

The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel once said, “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” This quote perfectly paints a picture of the repeated US foreign policy failures from Hanoi, to Beirut, to Kabul, to Baghdad, to Havana, and so on and on. The never-ending costs of US failure, in lives and dollars, are tragic for those living under occupation and others recruited to force it. The poor decisions of the United States will go down in history, never to be forgotten.  Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary…

Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced Monday that Lebanon is “about to form a government within days, despite some parties aiming to obstruct that.” Aoun hopes that Lebanon will be able to end the ongoing crisis through the upcoming government formation. “Our struggle to rebuild the country continues despite all the hardship, confrontations, and campaigns,” he asserted. President Aoun stressed that he will not be resigning and will fulfill his duties until the end, saying no one will affect his position nor his desire to confront corruption. The Lebanese President had previously called on Parliament to hold a session to discuss the economic…

The initial hopes that vaccine development would be the remedy against Covid-19 are fading, blown up by the spread of the Delta variant. RT asks experts whether this outcome could have been foreseen and avoided. It’s been well over a year since the global fight against the coronavirus started, but matters of concern are still mounting. The growing number of infections has led to new lockdowns and mass testing, while plans to make vaccination compulsory have been causing tensions and protests. Is the fight against Covid-19 in trouble? “I think we rushed in lifting restrictions like mask mandates, as we…

An official in the Iraqi oil sector revealed that Baghdad signed contracts with foreign oil companies to drill 131 new oil wells as part of Iraq’s future plan to expand crude oil production capacities to 8 million barrels per day by the end of 2027. The Director-General of the Iraqi Drilling Company at the Ministry of Oil, Bassem Abdul Karim, said Iraq has signed contracts with foreign oil licensing companies to drill 131 new oil wells and reclaim scores of wells currently operating in the Kirkuk, Baghdad, Basra, Maysan, and Nasiriyah oil fields. The official stated that the Iraqi drilling…

The Maariv newspaper revealed yesterday, Saturday, that the number of martyrs from the “Hamas” Movement was “much less” than they estimated at the end of the “Guardian of the Walls” Operation. MK Zvi Hauser and former Head of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee said that “it should be acknowledged that the factor of eliminating the enemy, which the chief of staff established as an essential element in the process of deterrence, did not achieve its motives.” He added, “It cannot be evaded that, because of the scope of fire targeting ‘Israel’ and the war resources expended by the Israeli army, the…