Hezbollah missile power
The secretary general of Hezbollah resistance movement warns that there is no point in the occupied territories out of the range of the movement’s missiles. Speaking in an interview, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah enjoys sufficient defensive and offensive power at sea. He added that the resistance movement has created powerful deterrence and can strike enemy’s targets anywhere in the waters of the occupied Palestine. Nasrallah said Hezbollah’s drones have flown over Israel and returned to their bases dozens of times in the past years and the regime has failed to shoot them down. He also warned Israel against extracting gas from the disputed Karish field before a maritime border agreement is reached with Lebanon. Otherwise, he warned, there would be a problem and Hezbollah would do anything to achieve its objectives even if it means going to war. The Hezbollah secretary general also stressed that Israel has no future and the end of the regime is very close. Nasrallah said this is not a mere prediction or aspiration, but is based on existing evidence.
Europe energy crunch
Russia is tightening its gas squeeze on Europe. Energy giant Gazprom says supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany will be slashed to just 20 percent of its capacity. Gazprom says gas flows to Germany will fall to 33 million cubic meters per day as of Wednesday, because it has to halt the operation of a turbine. But Germany, which is Russia’s biggest gas customer, says there is no technical reason to limit supplies. In June, Russia cut the pipeline’s gas flows to 40 percent of its capacity before completely shutting it down for 10 days over annual maintenance work. The EU has accused Russia of using energy as a weapon while Moscow blames Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine for the disruptions. Europe imports about 40-percent of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia. A potential halt to gas supplies this winter would plunge Germany into recession. Across the continent, it would lead to soaring prices for consumers already grappling with higher food and energy prices.
Tunisia constitution vote
Tunisian voters have overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new constitution, which expands the powers of President Kais Saied. An exit poll shows over ninety-two percent of voters have supported the new constitution. According to Tunisia's electoral commission, at least 27.5 percent of 9.3 million registered voters cast their ballots. The initial results of the referendum are expected Tuesday afternoon. The turnout is seen as a gauge of Saied's popularity after a year of tight one-man rule. Saied is accused by his rivals of trying to install an autocracy in the North African country. Observers say many of voters were from middle classes fed up with high inflation and unemployment. The new constitution places the president in command of the army, allows him to appoint a government without parliamentary approval, and makes him virtually impossible to remove from office.