Author: Steven Sahiounie

Yemeni forces have liberated another district capital in the strategic west-central province of Ma’rib, killing dozens of Saudi-led mercenaries and forcing hundreds of others among them to surrender. Local Yemeni sources and various outlets reported the liberation of the city of al-Jadid, the capital of al-Jubah District, on Tuesday. It took the Yemen army forces and Popular Committees 48 hours to wrest back control of the city, including its center, government buildings, and the mercenaries’ camps, the sources reported. According to Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam news network, the victory has brought the Yemeni forces within close range of Ma’rib’s provincial capital…

John Ransom is a political and financial writer and editor whose work has appeared at Townhall.com, Newsmax, the Daily Caller and IBT. He splits his time between the US and Asia. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s latest scheme to scare up new plans to fund the Biden White House’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan is to tax “unrealized capital gains” or, in plain English, money that doesn’t actually exist yet. It’s Tuesday in America, and that means that it’s another day for Democrats to play Fantasy Government, the game where we only find out what happens to the rest of us after Congress…

By Jonny Tickle Reports that the European Union is mulling the possible return of its diplomatic staff to Afghanistan in the near future are very welcome, but simply talking about it isn’t enough, a senior Russian diplomat said on Monday. Speaking at an online conference, the Russian president’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov called for the bloc to return to Kabul. The EU mission’s staff fled in August when the Taliban took hold of the country, along with the envoys of most of the countries of the world. Only the Russian, Chinese, Pakistani, Kazakh and Uzbek embassies did not evacuate,…

Americans are losing confidence in President Biden’s ability to steer the US out of the Covid-19 pandemic. With Biden’s ratings in freefall, a new poll shows Democrats and independents both losing faith in an economic upturn. Fewer than half of all Americans (44%) are confident that Biden can “ensure a quick post-pandemic economic recovery,” according to an Axios/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday. While Democrats and independents are far more likely to believe this statement than Republicans, their trust is waning. Just 71% of Democrats trust Biden’s ability to get the economy back on track, compared to 86% at the beginning of his term in…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator As the US downgrades its role in the Middle East and North Africa, the regional countries are looking to forge closer ties with Russia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The US foreign policy in the Middle East for the last sixty years has been focused on two goals: keeping Middle East oil supplies secure for US industry and keeping Israel as a Jewish homeland. Experts watching foreign policy in the Middle East agree that the US focus now is on China, and the Asia-Pacific region. The Biden administration has made clear it seeks to…

The United Kingdom’s current relations with Russia are not the way London would like to see, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. “The Prime Minister was clear that the UK’s current relationship with Russia is not the one we want. He said significant bilateral difficulties remain, including the poisonings in Salisbury in 2018. The Prime Minister also underscored the importance of Ukrainian sovereignty,” a Downing Street spokesperson said after their telephone call. The Kremlin said after the conversation that the two leaders exchanged views on the current situation in…

The dialogue on strategic stability is developing in a right direction, it is professional and substantial, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said, speaking at the International Advisory Council of James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies – CNS of Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (California) Monday. “On September 30, Geneva hosted the second round of consultations between the interagency delegations led by deputy foreign ministers. The conversation is developing in the right direction and of a professional and substantive nature,” the Russian Embassy’s Facebook page quoted him as saying. “An important result already achieved thus far is…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned on Monday the measures imposed by Sudan’s military forces. A statement issued by the Department of State read: “We firmly reject the dissolution of the civilian-led transitional government and its associated institutions and call for their immediate restoration.” The statement added that the “arrest of Prime Minister Hamdok and other civilian leaders is unacceptable.” It also asked the military forces to ensure their safety and “release them immediately,” as these new developments may derail “the country’s transition to democracy and are a betrayal of Sudan’s peaceful revolution.” The State Department also condemned the use of…

The US Department of State welcomed the statement issued by the United Nations Security Council regarding the Iraqi October 10 election. In its statement, the Department of State congratulated “the people and the Government of Iraq for a secure, technically sound, and largely peaceful election process”, describing it as an opportunity for the voters to shape their future through a government that reflects their will. Furthermore, Washington noted that it joins the international community in condemning the violence threats against the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Independant High Electoral Commission (IHEC), urging all parties to respect the rule of…

US officials told the Associated Press on Tuesday that “Iran resourced and encouraged the attack” on the US base in Syria’s al-Tanf, “but that the drones were not launched from Iran.” US Central Command had announced on Thursday that al-Tanf base located on Syria’s border with Iraq and Jordan was subjected to a “deliberate and coordinated attack” by drones, confirming that there were no casualties among the US forces. Israeli media also tackled the attack on Saturday, analyzing it, noting that the attack carries an Iranian message to the Israelis that “the period of absorbing Israeli attacks in Syria will not last forever,” according…