Author: Steven Sahiounie

Damascus rejects Pentagon findings, demands troop withdrawal The Syrian permanent mission to the UN stated on Friday that the US must withdraw its troops from the country at once and pay reparations for the deaths of dozens of civilians in a 2019 airstrike in the town of Baghuz. Damascus categorically rejected a Pentagon report claiming it was not at fault for the attack, declaring its conclusions represent “an admission of negligence that calls for accountability.” The Pentagon had released a report on Tuesday claiming the March 18, 2019 airstrike targeting an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) encampment in Syria’s Baghuz,…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The Lebanese Parliamentary elections were held on May 15, with 128 seats filled in a sectarian voting system unique to Lebanon. The country is suffering from the worst economic crisis in the world in the last 150 years, according to the World Bank. In 2019, street protests began against the political elite, who were seen as corrupt, and the root cause of the country’s political, economic, and social failure. The Lebanese diaspora is estimated to be as high as 14 million, but only 225,114 had registered to vote in this election. There were 1043…

A week after Israeli cops attacked mourners and pallbearers at the burial of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Hackney Police welcomed an Israeli police team. The Metropolitan Police in London received a barrage of criticism on Friday after welcoming an Israeli police team, only a week after Israeli authorities assassinated Al Jazeera journalist and martyr Shireen Abu Akleh and assaulted mourners at her burial. Hackney Police stated on Twitter that it was “delighted” to welcome the Israeli delegation, who also joined officers from Stamford Hill police, a Hackney sub-district, on a patrol. The visit comes only a week after Abu Akhleh was killed by Israeli…

Ukrainian fighters laid down their arms after getting a “signal” from Kiev, the president insists The Ukrainian troops and members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, who had been holed up at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol for weeks, surrendered to Russian forces on orders from Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed. “The guys had received a signal from the military that they have every right to come out and save their lives,” Zelensky told Ukraine 24 outlet on Friday. Russia had announced the full liberation of Azovstal on the same day, saying more than 2,400 Ukrainian combatants, including their commanders,…

Dozens of fake news about military developments on the battlefield in Ukraine are appearing online on a daily basis. Fakes are needed to assure the peoples of victory over the enemy, to raise their spirits, and to demonstrate to the enemy how inferior their army is on the battlefield.  During the war in Ukraine, the case of Bucha was most telling. There were a huge number of proceedings concerning the bodies of civilians allegedly killed by Russian servicemen in the settlement. As soon as the MSM got rid of the “Bucha massacre” and the Kiev regime failed to provide any…

Athens summoned the Turkish ambassador to Greece after two Turkish F-16 fighter jets reportedly violated Greek airspace, as Turkey claims Greece violated its airspace twice this week. Earlier Friday, the Greek foreign ministry had strongly condemned the incursion of two Turkish fighter jets within 2.5 nautical miles of the northeastern city of Alexandroupoli on Friday, calling the incident an “unprecedented violation of national sovereignty,” Ekathimerini reported. “We condemn in the strongest terms the unprecedented violation of Greece’s national sovereignty by two Turkish fighter aircraft, which illegally entered our national airspace and approached Alexandroupoli within a distance of just 2.5 nautical…

The Pentagon has denied claims made by an Internal Affairs Ministry adviser A top Ukrainian adviser has claimed that the United States is drawing up plans to sink Russian warships and ‘destroy’ its Black Sea Fleet, following reports that Washington is seeking to provide advanced anti-ship missiles to the Ukrainian military. The Pentagon has denied the allegations. Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko made the statement on social media on Thursday, saying that discussions are now underway in relation to how the US could help to break a Russian blockade of Black Sea ports. “The US is preparing a plan for…

According to the legislator, the information obtained indicates “aggressive goal-setting that underpins the foundation of these programs, de facto implemented by US Department of Defense on Ukrainian soil” The US researched Ebola and smallpox viruses in Ukraine, says Irina Yarovaya, Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Commission on Investigation of US Biological Laboratories in Ukraine. “Today, we presented an analysis of which pathogens the US was particularly interested in in Ukraine,” she told reporters Friday. “Aside from the pathogens that are territorially bound to Ukraine, [the laboratories] researched viruses and pathogens that are endemically very far from Ukraine, such as Ebola and…

The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection more common to west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe. In what Germany described as the largest outbreak in Europe ever, cases have been reported in at least nine countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – as well as the United States, Canada and Australia, Reuters reported. Spain reported 24 new cases on Friday, mainly in the Madrid region where the regional government…

The top British diplomat said talks are underway to provide ‘NATO standard’ weapons to Moldova The UK is in active discussions to ship weapons to Moldova – a country located along Ukraine’s southwest border – according to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said the arms could help to fend off a future Russian attack. Speaking to the Telegraph in an interview published on Friday, the cabinet minister claimed Moscow has “ambitions to create a greater Russia,” suggesting it could next set its sights on Moldova, which contains the Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria. “I would want to see Moldova equipped to NATO standard. This…