Author: Steven Sahiounie

Previously, similar tactics by Saudi Arabia implemented in 2017 proved instrumental in draining a global crude glut and propping up the market, as the kingdom slashed its US oil exports to nearly a three-decade low. In a time-tested tactic, Saudi Arabia is poised to slash shipments of crude to the United States, seeking to drain excess stockpiles and boost rebalancing of supply and demand, writes Bloomberg. Underscoring that calibrating the flow of crude in and out of American ports has a big impact on the level of US inventories, with weekly-published oil inventory data reflecting the pattern of changes in the…

The Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez, announced the arrival of the Turkish research vessel “Uruj Chief” to the eastern Mediterranean, in order to resume exploration activities in that region. Donmez tweeted on Monday, that work will continue without stopping to achieve independence (Turkey) in the field of energy. The minister said, “The Turkish research vessel, Uruj Chief, has arrived in its region in the Mediterranean to continue its new work.” The Turkish ship had earlier sailed from the state of Antalya (southwest) to off the island of Cyprus, to resume oil and gas exploration activities, accompanied…

The Minister of Health Hamad Hassan announced after leaving the government session that the government of President Hassan Diab had resigned, pointing out that the people knew the perpetrators of the crime of the port explosion. He added that “the resignation is not an evasion of responsibility.” According to a government source, the official announcement for the resignation is coming shortly. The resignation of the government comes just hours after the Minister of Finance Ghazi Wazni announced that he was stepping down from his position. Wazni was a major negotiator with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a key player…

A military convoy belonging to militants affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has reportedly come under attack by unidentified assailants in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah. Syria’s state-run al-Ikhbariyah television news network, citing local sources, reported that the convoy was targeted on the outskirts of the town of Shaddadi as it was heading toward al-Omar oilfield in the neighboring province of Dayr al-Zawr. Security conditions are reportedly deteriorating in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led SDF in Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces amid ongoing raids and arrests of civilians by the SDF militants, who are supported by Washington. An American oil company has recently signed…

The Palestinian resistance movement, Islamic Jihad, has warned the Israeli regime against escalating acts of aggression against Palestinians. The movement, in a statement released on Sunday, censured the repetition of attacks by Israeli military forces against Palestinians, stating that such heinous behavior projected its ugly image last Friday when Dalia Samoudi, 23, succumbed to her critical wounds sustained from Israeli gunfire during a raid into al-Jaberiyyat neighborhood of the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The Islamic Jihad said the mother of three was shot as she prepared to feed her baby daughter, and was hit by a bullet which penetrated…

The Pentagon has announced a plan for a sizable reduction of American troop numbers in Afghanistan before the end of November, the month in which the US presidential election will be held. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that the United States would lower the number of its forces currently deployed in Afghanistan from about 8,600 to below 5,000 troops by the end of November. “We are going down to a number less than 5,000 before the end of November,” Esper said in an interview with Fox News. The figure would be the lowest since the United States invaded…

Lebanon’s Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad has stepped down from her position, citing the failure of the government to carry out reforms and the recent deadly explosion in the capital Beirut. She announced her resignation on Sunday, saying the move was out of respect for all those who were killed, injured and still missing as a result of the Beirut blast, and in response to the people’s demand for change. “I apologize to the Lebanese people whose aspirations we were unable to meet … change remained elusive,” Abdel-Samad said before announcing her resignation on live TV. She was appointed as…

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab says he will request early parliamentary elections in a bid to defuse a worsening political and economic crisis in the cash-strapped Arab country following a devastating explosion at Beirut port earlier this week. “In reality, there is no way out of this structural crisis without early parliamentary elections, in order to produce a new political class and a new parliament,” Diab said in a televised speech on Saturday evening. The premier noted that he will introduce a draft bill for early elections during a cabinet session on Monday. Diab then called on all political parties in…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The sonic blast at the Port of Beirut on August 4 produced a huge white mushroom cloud that enveloped the port and then rose into the evening sky just after 6 pm. However, the cloud of confusion and disbelief still fogs the minds of the Lebanese people, who demand answers and accountability. President Trump’s favorite news source, “Fox News”, falsely reported that the Port of Beirut was controlled by Hezbollah, the Lebanese political party and resistance movement. Hassan Koraytem is the General Manager of the Port Authority of Beirut, and a member of former…

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut on Thursday, to make an official visit in the wake of a warehouse explosion that killed more than a hundred people in the city. Shortly after his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Macron took to Twitter to post in Arabic, “Lebanon is not alone.”Macron pledged to arrange more French, European and international aid to Lebanon in the coming days, adding that Lebanon faces a political and economic crisis and there is a need for an urgent response to it. The French President also said that Lebanon will continue to…