Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United States has confirmed its plans to further decrease the number of servicemen deployed to Iraq, the joint statement of the governments of the United States and Iraq said. “On the security partnership, the two countries recognised that in light of significant progress towards eliminating the Daesh* threat, over the coming months the US would continue reducing forces from Iraq and discuss with the Government of Iraq the status of remaining forces as both countries turn their focus towards developing a bilateral security relationship based on strong mutual interests. The United States reiterated that it does not seek nor request permanent…

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on South Korea on Friday to release billions of dollars of Iran’s oil-export revenue that was blocked by Korean banks after Washington imposed sanctions on Tehran, the presidential press service said in a statement, adding that the frozen funds were needed to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. Rouhani held a telephone conversation with the head of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Abdolnaser Hemmati, urging him to pursue the case of freeing the Iranian assets. “South Korea’s ban on Iran’s use of central bank resources to buy basic goods, medicine, and humanitarian items is not acceptable…

In March, more than 15 medium-sized missiles hit the Taji base. Three soldiers died and 12 more were injured as a result of the attack. A rocket has hit Iraq’s Taji military base which hosts the US-led coalition forces, according to Al-Arabiya TV channel. No injuries or damage have so far been reported. Last time the Taji military base came under attack was in March when three soldiers were killed and 12 more injured after 15 medium-sized missiles hit the base. Following the attack, the US carried out precise attacks on five munition depots owned by the Shiite ‘Kataib Hezbollah’ network in Iraq. Six…

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is holding a meeting with Aguila Saleh, the speaker of Libya’s eastern-based parliament, the presidential office said on Saturday. The visit takes place after the Algerian leader announced that his country was ready to host intra-Lybian talks to settle the longstanding conflict. “President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is currently receiving the head of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, and his delegation”, the office said. Last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi announced the roadmap for Libyan peace after a meeting in Cairo with Saleh and its ally, Head of the Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The…

Overnight clashes between protesters and army personnel in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli have left 76 people injured with 16 requiring hospital visits, state news agency NNA reported Sunday morning. According to the agency, continuous unrest in Lebanon’s second-largest city started when protesters began vandalizing stores and hurling what appeared to be Molotov cocktails at the government building, prompting the army to intervene. The army had regained full control by Sunday morning but several facilities were destroyed, the agency reported. Unrest across Lebanon returned earlier this week on the back of a plunging currency and a deteriorating economic situation. The…

The south Yemeni secessionist movement seeks to undo the Yemeni unification of 1990 and restore a separate independent state of South Yemen. Separatists from the Southern Transitional Council in southern Yemen took control of 64 billion Yemeni riyals (equivalent to roughly $255.5 million US) on Saturday, with a convoy carrying the cash intended for the central bank in Aden commandeered by militia and redirected to a nearby military base. In a statement cited by Reuters, the STC, which controls Aden, called the action “part of several measures to end sources of corruption and to prevent the use of public money…

The Palestinian government cannot pay salaries to its employees, as it did not receive tax deductions from Israel, spokesman Ibrahim Milhim said on Sunday. “The government did not receive tax deductions from Israel. The Palestinian leadership will not be subject to Israeli blackmail. When the necessary funds for salary payment appear in the Ministry of Finance, then the government will pay all salaries”, Milhim said at a press conference. Last week, Milhim said that the Palestinian government refused to accept Israeli monthly tax transfers for goods produced within its territory, as the country cut its ties with Israel. The spokesman…

Russian Tor air defence missile systems have downed more than 45 drones used by militants in Syria, the chief of the Russian air defence forces, Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov, said. “Since the start of combat duty, the calculations of the Tor combat vehicles targeted over 45 UAVs crafted by militants”, Leonov said in an interview with the Natsionalnaya Oborona (National Defence) magazine. According to Leonov, the short-range Tor air defence systems of various modifications are used together with the S-400 and Pantsir-S systems in protecting various facilities in Syria. The Russian armed forces will be supplied with the Tor-M2 air…

Although Sheikh Abu Khalil Al Tamimi, an influential religious figure from the West Bank, strives for a two-state solution, he says he realises it is impractical, and therefore calls on the Israeli authorities to establish one state, where Palestinians and Israelis would share equal rights and responsibilities. Israel’s civil administration is gearing up for the possibility of conducting a population census for Palestinians living in Area C of the West Bank to determine their exact number and avoid a situation where the extension of the Jewish state’s sovereignty, planned for early July, would attract an influx of new residents, who…

As George Floyd protests continue to rage on, another black man was killed by a white cop in Atlanta in what prosecutors suggested might have been an unnecessary shooting. The hacker group Anonymous has claimed responsibility for taking down the website of the Atlanta Police Department in the wake of the killing of Rayshard Brooks. Atlanta media report that the department’s website went offline for three hours on Sunday morning, local time, but was later recovered. It appears to be unavailable again, as of 1:00 a.m. on Monday. Anonymous, who have organised cyberattacks on the police in the past, said they targeted…