Author: Steven Sahiounie

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…

On Friday, a Boeing 737 cargo aircraft was forced to land in the waters near Honolulu, Hawaii, due to an engine problem that occurred right after take-off. The US Coast Guard rescued both crew members of a Boeing 737 cargo plane that made an emergency landing off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii. A video released by the Coast Guard shows one of the pilots on the tip of the aircraft’s tail and another crew member in the water, with a rescue helicopter hanging near them.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1411027936824553472&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Fus%2F202107031083296877-us-coast-guard-rescues-downed-boeing-737-cargo-pilots—video%2F&sessionId=af4be3bedbacf1a9cf06ff96b6fa727f2b80cf22&siteScreenName=SputnikInt&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px The @USCG and Honolulu Fire Department rescued two people from a downed Boeing 737 inter-island transport plane 2-miles south…

The official bioethics academy of the Catholic Church has come forward alongside a host of global medical associations to demand an end to the “myths and disinformation” interfering with the fight against Covid-19. The Pontifical Council of Life (VPCL) and several international physicians’ groups spoke with reporters on Friday in what was described as an “all-out effort” to set straight the disinformation surrounding the vaccine’s place in religious doctrine, insisting the pharmaceutical mixture was not only safe and effective but also ethical under the Catholic faith. While acknowledging that some reluctance to take the jab in “disadvantaged communities” was linked to previous “breaches of trust in medical research” and overall “suspicion” of…

America’s long-standing opposition to the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline could have destroyed its relations with Berlin, Washington’s top envoy has said, insisting it will find ways to ensure it doesn’t undermine Ukraine. Facing questioning before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the worst possible outcome” of persisting with sanctions against the nearly completed energy link would have seen Germany alienated and the construction finished regardless. That scenario, he said, would have meant “physical construction of the pipeline [was] completed, the relationship with Germany poisoned and no incentive for Germany to come to the…