Author: Steven Sahiounie

21st CenturyWire correspondant Arnaud DEVELAY caught up with elected Member of the Russian State Duma and Ranking Member of the Duma’s Commission for International Affairs, Maria BUTINA. Q: Let us start with what has been a crackdown on free speech around the world with the raid on Scott Ritter’s house, the arrest of individuals in the UK for merely posting comments on social networks and the arrest in France of Telegram founder and CEO, Pavel Durov. What can you tell us about this worrying development? Maria Butina: I view it as purely political in nature. First of all, there’s a…

West Jerusalem could launch its retaliation against Tehran “at any time,” unnamed officials told the channel Israel’s retaliatory strike against Iran may come as early as this weekend, with the list of potential targets allegedly narrowed down to Tehran’s military and energy infrastructure, NBC News reported on Saturday, citing anonymous US and Israeli officials. Israel has yet to make a final decision on whether to target Iran’s nuclear facilities or carry out targeted assassinations, but so far there is “no indication” that West Jerusalem would go that far, US officials believe, according to the channel. The Middle East is on…

The conflict between Moscow and Kiev cannot be resolved with “more weapons,” Sahra Wagenknecht has said Berlin should make more active diplomatic efforts if it wants the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev to end, German MP Sahra Wagenknecht told Funke Media Group on Friday. “More weapons” for Ukraine would not bring peace to Europe, she argued. The veteran politician has repeatedly criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government over its stance on the Ukraine conflict, asserting that Berlin’s current policy only helps to fan the flames of war. “We need more diplomatic efforts,” said Wagenknecht, once of Left Party’s parliamentary faction…

International newspapers continue to discuss Israel’s indifference toward halting its aggression on Lebanon and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, highlighting how the United States is focusing on reshaping the region by force, while largely ignoring Israel’s desire to continue its war efforts. In its editorial titled “The Cowardly Abandonment of Lebanon,” Le Monde stated that Israeli authorities seem uninterested in stopping the fighting in Lebanon or Gaza. The French newspaper pointed out that the U.S. rarely addresses this issue compared to its emphasis on reshaping the region through force. Le Monde also noted how Israel “continues to enjoy complete impunity, from…

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on a field hospital set up by the Iranian Red Crescent on the Lebanon-Syria border, calling it a “war crime.” Despite the bombing, the Iranian Red Crescent announced its plans to establish another mobile medical center to provide aid to Lebanese refugees and treat those injured by Israeli airstrikes. The Iranian Red Crescent’s affiliated newspaper, Shahrvand, reported that last Thursday, Israel bombed the field hospital, which had a capacity of 56 beds, on the Lebanon-Syria border. The attack caused a fire in the medicine and food supplies warehouse, destroyed medical equipment, damaged…

Alisher Usmanov earlier this month won a libel case against Germany’s public broadcaster ARD Russian metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov has filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office in Cologne, Germany, after winning a libel case against German TV channel ARD, tabloid Bild reported on Friday, citing Usmanov’s attorney. The billionaire is seeking to hold a journalist with ARD criminally liable. Earlier this month, the District Court of Hamburg backed Usmanov in a libel case against German public broadcaster ARD, which had previously published two articles and one video report where journalist Hans-Joachim Seppelt accused the Russian businessman of being…

The specialists handle counter-terrorism operations and have trained divers within their ranks, Der Spiegel reports Germany’s Interior Ministry will permanently station a police tactical unit at the Baltic Sea port of Neustadt to ensure a rapid response to any potential attacks on “critical infrastructure,” Der Spiegel weekly reported on Friday. The move was reportedly prompted by the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts, which showed there was a “clear” danger of “acts of sabotage,” the media outlet said, citing security sources. GSG 9, the counterterrorism division of Germany’s Federal Police, features a maritime deployment unit, GSG 9/2, which has specially…

The former US president has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of importing “an army of illegal alien gang members” Former US President Donald Trump has called for the death penalty for immigrants who kill American citizens, vowing to rid the country of foreign criminal gangs if he returns to the White House. Addressing supporters in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday, Trump said that he was “hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant who kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.” Trump has recently made Aurora a focal point of his anti-immigration rhetoric, blaming the lax border policies…

Human error” led to the publication of Bernard Arnault’s email address, the Department for Business and Trade has said The British government has apologized for revealing the personal email address of Bernard Arnault, the founder of luxury giant LVMH and Europe’s richest man, in an email circulated ahead of a major investment summit. Arnault was CC’d in the email sent by the Department for Business and Trade to summit participants earlier this week, meaning that the French tycoon’s email address was visible to anyone who received the message. Other participants, including executives from global banks, multinational corporations, and tech firms,…

Four people, including two children have died in the incident, the emergency services have said A gas station located in the center of the city of Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechen Republic, was destroyed in a powerful explosion on Friday. Four people died in the incident, according to the local emergency services. The blast at the station located near the busy Muhammad Ali Avenue in Grozny was caught on numerous videos that surfaced on social media. The clips show the venue quickly catching fire, with a massive explosion rocking the area soon after that. A huge fireball can be…