https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-media:-israel-preparing-for-hezbollah-response-over

Israeli media: "Israel" preparing for Hezbollah response over Karish

Israeli news website Walla reported on Friday that the Israeli occupation forces are preparing for a response by Lebanese Hezbollah to the Israeli activity at the Karish gas platform.

According to the website, the IOF claimed that it was preparing for a "provocation", adding that the current issue requires military and diplomatic thinking.

In addition, the website said that Israeli security forces warned of a drone attack, a bombing, or even missiles fired at the Karish platform.

It is noteworthy that the Karish field is located within borderline number 29, which the Beirut negotiating delegation considers a Lebanese border.

Walla said that the Israeli occupation forces are preparing for various security scenarios after activating the platform in the disputed area, quoting security sources as saying that the IOF is not deploying sufficient forces around the Karish field.

On Thursday, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, stressed that "The main goal should be preventing the enemy from extracting oil and gas from Karish and impeding the activity that will start or that might have already started."

Sheikh Naim Qassem, the Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, had said that the Lebanese Resistance is prepared to take appropriate measures against "Israel's" attempts at gas exploration in disputed maritime zones.

In the same context, the head of the Lebanese military-technical delegation and negotiator, Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, had explained that "Israel" would be violating the Lebanese sovereignty by extracting gas from the Karish field and exporting it.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/damascus-international-airport-halts-flights-over-israeli-at

Damascus International Airport halts flights over Israeli attack

The Syrian Ministry of Transport announces suspending incoming and outgoing flights through Damascus International Airport.

Citing sources, Al Mayadeen correspondent said Friday that the Damascus International Airport is expected to resume its operations within 48 hours, after ensuring the safety of the technical equipment and operational movement.

Our correspondent added that communication equipment and towers at the Damascus International Airport were damaged as a result of repeated Israeli aggression, the latest of which was this morning in the vicinity of the airport.

Earlier, Syrian state media reported the Israeli strikes on southern Damascus, adding that a barrage of missiles was launched from the occupied Golan Heights at around 4:20 a.m. (0120 GMT).

It is worth mentioning that Syrian air defenses intercepted the majority of the missiles, but those that did reach their target injured at least one civilian and caused material damage, according to the official news agency SANA.

This was the second Israeli air raid this week. Syrian state media reported late Monday night that Israeli missiles hit Syrian army positions south of Damascus, causing damage but no casualties.

It is noteworthy that on June 6, the Syrian air defenses confronted Israeli aggression over the southern area of ​​Damascus.

In May, "Israel" bombed the Masyaf area, killing five Syrians in an unjustified and unlawful attack that comes in violation of the country's sovereignty.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/china-will-not-hesitate-to-start-war-over-taiwan—mod

China will 'not hesitate to start war' over Taiwan - MoD

Officials reported that China's defense minister warned his US counterpart Friday that if Taiwan declares independence, Beijing will "not hesitate to start a war."

Wu Qian, the spokesperson of the Information Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, quoted defense minister Wei Fenghe saying "If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost," during a meeting with Lloyd Austin.

The meeting is Austin and Wei's first since they spoke on the phone on April 20, which was the first such call since the Biden administration took office.

According to the Chinese defense ministry, the Chinese minister also promised to "smash to smithereens any 'Taiwan independence' plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland."

He stressed that "Taiwan is China's Taiwan… Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail."

Austin told Fenghe during the talks that Beijing must "refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan", the US Department of Defense said.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hungary-pm:-embargo-on-russian-gas-is-devastating-europe

Hungary PM: Embargo on Russian gas is devastating Europe

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban considered on Friday that an embargo on Russian gas imports to the EU will have a devastating effect on the European economy.

Responding to a question about the EU’s ongoing debate on the possibility of banning gas supplies from Russia, Orban told the Kossuth radio station that his government was firmly against this step.

"Not that Hungary has no alternative. This may ruin the whole of Europe," Orban indicated, expressing his certainty that "common sense will prevail" when discussing this topic within the EU.

"Wartime inflation"

The Hungarian Prime Minister indicated that the war in Ukraine and the anti-Russian sanctions had already caused "wartime inflation, which is different from inflation in a normal situation" throughout Europe.

"As long as there is a war on, there will be inflation. Peace is the only way to stop wartime inflation," he affirmed.

Orban highlighted that his government is now forced to take additional measures "to protect Hungarian families and curb utility bills."

Europe "dancing" on brink of global economic crisis

It is noteworthy that Orban had said that Europe is "dancing" on the brink of a global economic crisis because of sanctions against Russia.

The Hungarian PM praised the European Union's plan to exclude Russia's pipeline oil supply from the sixth round of sanctions.

According to Orban, "The pipeline solution is not bad. It’s a good approach, but we need a guarantee that in the event of an accident with a pipeline going through Ukraine, we will have to have the right to get Russian oil from other sources. If we get it, it’s fine."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-funded-46-biolabs-in-ukraine:-pentagon

US funded 46 biolabs in Ukraine: Pentagon

The US government supported 46 biological research facilities in Ukraine for the past 20 years, revealed the Pentagon on Thursday.

On that note, the US military accused Russia and China of "spreading disinformation and sowing mistrust" about its efforts to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

In a document titled 'Fact Sheet on WMD Threat Reduction Efforts,' the US Department of Defense for the first time revealed the specific number of facilities its government has sponsored in Ukraine.

The Pentagon claimed that these facilities were part of a peaceful public health project and were not focused on developing biological weapons, saying that the US has “worked collaboratively to improve Ukraine’s biological safety, security, and disease surveillance for both human and animal health,” by providing support to “46 peaceful Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and disease diagnostic sites over the last two decades.”

These programs are supposed to have focused on “improving public health and agricultural safety measures at the nexus of nonproliferation.”

The Pentagon insisted that the work of these biolabs was "often" carried out in collaboration with organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and that it was "consistent with international best practices and norms in publishing research results, partnering with international colleagues and multilateral organizations, and widely disseminating their research and public health findings."

Only three laboratories in Ukraine possessed the required safety requirements to conduct the type of studies the Pentagon claimed to be engaged in, according to the Russian military. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Radioactive, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces, referenced Ukrainian government sources to point to a number of difficulties at one of those sites in Odessa, as an example.

The Russian military presented evidence of the Pentagon's involvement in funding laboratories in Ukraine in March. In early May, Kirillov accused Ukraine of launching a biological attack against the breakaway region of Lugansk and of conducting "inhumane experiments" on Ukrainian patients. Further evidence suggested attempts to weaponize drones to disperse pathogens, and attempts to destroy compromising materials after the Russian military operation began in February.

Russia’s Investigative Committee concluded that the US has poured more than $224 million into biological research in Ukraine between 2005 and early 2022. Moscow added that Western pharmaceutical giants, nonprofits and even the US Democratic Party all took part in the scheme.

Despite evidence pointing otherwise, the US alleged that it had "full approval" from the Russian government to employ "thousands of former Russian biological weapons scientists to conduct peaceful biological research projects for public health purposes."

The US military states elsewhere in the memo that it is attempting to provide "sustainable civilian employment” for scientists with “weapons-related knowledge” in order to “remove incentives to seek or accept of terrorist or other state actor employment and financing.”

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/gas-rationing-might-become-a-reality-in-germany

Gas rationing might become a reality in Germany

Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Friday that Germany will face difficult fall and winter seasons as energy supplies become limited.

Habeck presented a new energy-saving initiative in Berlin and stated that "As for supporting the people in need, I made clear what lies ahead of us and what is already partly a reality but has not yet definitively become true. We need to be clear that we have a very tough fall and a very tough winter ahead of us. Two legislation packages of relief measures that we as a government have created have the answers."

In May, Fatih Birol, International Energy Agency Executive Director suggested that the efficiency of energy supply used must be improved or Europe in general, and Russian energy-dependent countries specifically, are likely to face 'very tough' fall and winter.

Birol's statement come after Russia stopped supplying Gazprom Germania the German subsidiary of Gazprom. The decision came after Berlin put the company under trustee management following the Ukraine war.

As a result, the Bundesnetzagentur energy regulator, acting as a trustee, had bought replacement gas to fulfill supply contracts with German municipal utilities and regional suppliers.

The Economic ministry spokesperson estimated that an extra 10 million cubic meters per day are required to fulfill the needs of the market. The spokesperson further added, in an email response, that "the quantities are procured on the market and at market prices. No information can be given on the exact amounts due to commercial confidentiality."

This comes after the sixth package of sanctions was approved by the EU. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said his country would not deliver gas to Europe for free, in a reiteration of President Vladimir Putin's that Russia would not accept anything but rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries".