Author: Steven Sahiounie

The site, discovered on an island off the coast of the UAE, could predate the advent of Islam Archaeologists in the United Arab Emirates have unearthed the ruins of a Christian monastery on an island off the coast of the Umm al-Quwain emirate. Hidden for more than a millennium beneath a sand dune, the monastery may predate the rise of Islam across the Arabian Peninsula. The emirate’s tourism and archaeology department announced the find on Thursday. Archaeologists discovered the remains of a church, a refectory (dining hall), cisterns, and cells for the monks where they spent time in solitude, The National,…

North Korea has launched at least four more projectiles, as massive US-South Korea military drills continue North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. The rockets are said to have flown some 130 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 20 kilometers. The launches bring the total number of ballistic missile tests conducted by Pyongyang since Wednesday to 30. The heightened activities come as the US and South Korea continue their ‘Vigilant Storm’ aerial drills, which kicked off on Monday. Aside from firing ballistic missiles, North Korea has held live-fire artillery exercises,…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator According to MiddleEastMonitor, a leading Israeli newspaper said that Israel “is now closing in on a right-wing, religious and authoritarian revolution” aimed at destroying democracy. The recent Israeli elections have brought Benyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party back to power, but with the ultra-right wing religious party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir as an allied partner. Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state. It has democratic institutions, such as elections to the Knesset, but has been officially labeled by the UN and human rights organizations as an apartheid state. Zionism is Israel’s national ideology. Zionists…

“We believe that the Chinese and American people have the wisdom, the opportunity and capability to find a way for peaceful coexistence. But China will not allow others to bully it and the historic process of China’s national rejuvenation cannot be held back by anyone or any force,” said Sun Yeli, a Communist Party spokesman in Beijing on October 15. The US has been committed to providing Taiwan with the means of defending itself, although it does not officially recognize the island as a country, while the US maintains diplomatic relations with Beijing. With increased US rhetoric, including high level…

US President Joe Biden’s administration has quietly deleted from the official White House account a tweet posted on Tuesday that praised a big increase in Social Security payments. The move came after users had appended a fact-check arguing the president was effectively boasting about the high inflation rate. “Seniors are getting the biggest increase in their Social Security checks in 10 years through President Biden’s leadership,” the tweet read. A skeptical user had added a note clarifying that the size of the cost-of-living increase is calculated proportional to inflation, meaning a record increase in one reflects a record increase…

England manager Gareth Southgate has a lot on his plate as the World Cup in Qatar grows ever closer. He is trying to turn around an England football team enduring its worst run of form since 1992, while facing an ever-growing injury list. All this as he prepares for the first World Cup held mid-season. Moreover, this is a World Cup – starting on November 20 – which has been dogged by a number of human rights issues. The Guardian reported last year that 6,500 migrant workers had died in the country in the 10 years following Qatar’s successful bid to host the tournament in 2010,…

Cristiano Ronaldo has come under a lot of criticism this season and he’s clearly been listening. On Sunday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner snubbed former teammate Gary Neville ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League match against West Ham following recent criticism from the television pundit. Neville had criticized Ronaldo’s “unacceptable” behavior in United’s recent league victory over Tottenham Hotspur where the 37-year-old appeared to refuse to come on as substitute before leaving the game early. The Portuguese international was subsequently dropped by manager Erik Ten Hag and made to train with the youth team for three days before returning to the first-team squad. In the…

By:Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator There is a battle brewing in the occupied West Bank of Palestine. Thousands of Israeli occupation forces will be deployed to face a growing resistance force. The ‘natives are restless’ and the Lions’ Den has mobilized to fight for their freedom and human rights. The Israeli occupation has depended on divisions among the Palestinian factions. However, it has never before faced a unified force of motivated youth who are willing to die for freedom. 500,000 illegal Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank in some 130 settlements. Recently, Israeli forces reported that dozens of settlers…

By:Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria for many years, and the latest was on October 24 in a rare daytime attack in Damascus.  Israel views Iran as their chief national security threat.  Iran supports the resistance movement against the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance group.  When the US-NATO attack on Syria began for ‘regime change’ both Iran and Hezbollah came to the aid of the Syrian government and fought not only the terrorists following Radical Islam, which were used as foot-soldiers by US President Obama, but much later also…

By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The US-employed terrorists, Maghawir al-Thawra (MaT), have turned against their partners, the US Army, stationed at al-Tanf base in the eastern Syrian desert.  On October 4, the terrorists, who are employed as mercenaries by the US military, attempted to break out of the illegal US base using a large-caliber machine gun on the pickup truck they were driving.  However, their break out was thwarted by the Syrian Arab Army who hold positions nearby and returned fire causing the MaT to retreat into the US base. Russian Major General Oleg Yegorov, deputy chief of the Russian Center…