Author: Steven Sahiounie

On June 7, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched the second phase of its large security operation against ISIS cells in northeast Syria. In a statement, the group said that a 30 km long and 60 km wide area including 15 towns was secured during the second phase of the operation. Ten positions were raided. At least 12 suspects and terrorists were arrested. Furthermore, ammo and weapons were also seized. Around 6,000 troops are taking part in the operation that was launched on June 4. The U.S.-led coalition is providing a direct support. The SDF concluded the first phase of the operation on…

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq – ‘Ashab al-Kahf (AK) has warned Iraqi companies against working with the U.S.-led coalition. In an official statement, the group vowed to use force against security and logistic companies if they don’t cease their work with the US-led coalition. The group said that nothing bars it from using force against these companies, anymore. “You must focus on three important points of the enemy: We monitor you at a high level and you may not expect the extent of the influence within you, with regard to our field for sureWe call on the workers in those Iraqi…

Turkish-led forces ingored the ceasefire initiative proposed by Egypt for the conflict in Libya and continued their advance on positions of the Libyan National Army supported by Egypt and the UAE. So, now, Egypt is sending massive columns with battle tanks to the border with Libya. Egypt could opt the strategy of direct actions if the situation escalates even further and Turkish proxies continue their advanc on Sirte

Former leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Ramadan Shallah has passed away after battling a long illness. Shallah, who served as secretary general of the resistance group from 1995 to 2018, died at the age of 62 on Saturday night, according to Lebanon’s al-Manar television network. The Gaza-based movement said in a statement that Shallah had been in a coma for more than three years. It didn’t say where he died, but he is believed to have been in Lebanon. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered his condolences over the death of Shallah. “By losing Shallah we lost a great national man,”…

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has condemned certain attempts to incite division among the Lebanese, warning against the emergence of sectarian strife. “Sectarian violence has surged again in a bid to polarize the country and undermine national unity as well as civil peace. Such strife is much worse than mass murder. Cursed are those who stoke it! Exercise due vigilance in order not to get carried away as strife will spare no one,” Berri stated on Sunday. “Definitely and with absolute certainty, any insult or act of sacrilege against Muslim and Christian sanctities, symbols and sacred places is strongly denounced.…

As part of Washington’s stiff competition with some of its regional allies to maintain control over oil reserves in Syria and plunder natural resources in the country, the US military has reportedly sent a new convoy of trucks carrying military and logistical equipment to the northeastern province of Hasakah. Local sources in the town of Yaarubiyah, requesting not to be named, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that a convoy of about 50 vehicles, including trucks and oil tankers, crossed the al-Walid border crossing into Syrian territories on Sunday. Since late October 2019, the United States has been redeploying troops to the…

Washington has accused Beijing of encroaching on Hong Kong’s freedom by moving to enforce a new national security law in the city and US President Donald Trump has threatened to revoke Hong Kong’s special trading status. Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Chinese newspaper Global Times, has compared US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Goebbels in a row over Hong Kong. Pompeo said on Saturday, the D-Day anniversary, that China’s actions regarding the city are reminiscent of the Third Reich’s occupation of Europe during WW2. Hu Xijin replied on Twitter: “You are inciting radical hostility and ripping the world apart. You aren’t like…

Brent crude prices creeped up past $40 per barrel this week for the first time since mid-March following April’s historically unprecedented nose dive to negative spot prices. Prices collapsed in the wake of the global halt in economic activity due to the coronavirus, as well as the failure of major oil exporting nations to agree on cuts. The OPEC+* group of nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia has tentatively agreed to extend oil production cuts for another month, an OPEC source has told Reuters. According to a draft of the declaration, the 9.7 million barrel per day (bpd) output…

The Western and Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) announced that it had reestablished full control over Tripoli last week, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi announcing a new Cairo-backed peace initiative to settle Libya’s long-running civil war for good. Libya’s massive El Sharara oil field restarted production on Saturday after forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) switched allegiances following a string of GNA victories, S&P Global has reported, citing sources said to be familiar with the situation. Situated in the Murzuq Desert in southwestern Libya, the El Sharara oil field has the capacity to produce about…

In times of economic volatility, people are driven to put their money into something solid. The fact that 80 percent of all the $100 bills in circulation are currently held outside the United States is perceived as a sign of recognition that the US dollar is the de facto the global reserve currency. The US dollar, which marks its 235th birthday on 6 June, has been reigning supreme as the main global reserve currency. A spate of analysts have weighed in on the reasons for the persistent dominance of the “greenback”, while mulling the chances of digital currencies in helping countries wean themselves of…