Author: Steven Sahiounie

French Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin expressed confidence in an interview with Le Figaro that the country’s state debt would exceed 115 percent of the GDP by the end of year. “France’s debt will no doubt exceed 115 percent of the country’s GDP, which will be the result of measures aimed at supporting the economy in connection with the health crisis,” Darmanin said. The minister did not provide a more accurate forecast noting that the debt will “certainly” be more than the 115 percent of the GDP. Darmanin explained that the government would exempt a number of industries particularly hit by…

The ongoing crisis on the energy market could be a blessing in disguise for American energy companies, who are using it to replenish their stockpiles of a valuable resource and at a discounted rate. Little over a month ago market analysts forecast that oil reservoirs would soon be filled to the max due to low demand and the high supply of crude. But it seemingly failed to stop American refineries from buying more oil, including Russian stocks. According to data from maritime monitoring services, seven oil tankers carrying up to 6 million barrels of Russian oil are on their way to the…

Iraqi security forces have begun interrogating Abdel Nasser Qardash, a member of the Daesh* terrorist group who was tapped as its new leader, according to an armed forces spokesman. “Qardash is being held by Iraqi intelligence. The information he has is very important. This man is seen as a ‘databank’ and his capture is essentially a huge blow for [Daesh],” Yahya Rasool said. Iraq announced Qardash’s capture on Wednesday. He has long been seen as the group’s second-in-command, and poised to take over after the purported death of Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria last autumn. According to US President Donald…

Relations between Washington and Beijing recently deteriorated as the US accused China of misinformation about the coronavirus crisis. The countries have also clashed over the situation in Hong Kong, as well as territorial disputes in the South China Sea, economic issues, and US dependency on Chinese resources. “It has come to our attention that some political forces in the US are taking China-US relations hostage and pushing our two countries to the brink of a new Cold War”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters on Sunday. He noted that the two nations have to find a way for peaceful coexistence,…

Tehran earlier sent five ships reportedly carrying petrol and components needed to produce it from oil to the Latin American country as the two nations continue to suffer from the impact of US economic sanctions. There was a certain risk that the tankers could be intercepted by the US Navy in the Caribbean. Venezuela’s envoy to the UN Samuel Moncada has welcomed the arrival of the first of five Iranian tankers in the Latin American state as a major step in its fight against foreign attacks on its sovereignty. At the same time, Moncada blasted purported US plans to thwart the shipments,…

This week, the president of the United States not only revealed that he has been taking an anti-malaria hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) drug as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, but he also slammed a study warning about the dangers of its use. New research has now emerged that might soon become a further target for Donald Trump’s ire. A new observational study conducted among more than 96,000 patients diagnosed with coronavirus and treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine concluded that the usage of these drugs was associated with a higher risk of death or development of hearth arrhythmias among recipients, according to the…

The Military Information Division of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced that their air defense forces shot down a Turkish aircraft in the Libyan city of Tarhouna. According to the LNA, their air defense forces shot down the Turkish aircraft while it was preparing to bomb their positions inside this strategic city in western Libya. The air defense platforms of the armed forces are in these moments shooting down a second plane, a Turkish plane, in the city of Tarhuna, which tried to raid the sites of safe civilians inside the city,”…

The spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, revealed that the Libyan Air Force planes are preparing to launch intense airstrikes after repairing four warplanes that were damaged during the war. “The technical teams of the Libyan Arab Air Force were able to maintain and repair four warplanes that were long suspended from service,” Al-Mismari said in a press statement. “Now wait for the impressive results of these aircraft, it is time to use them with full firepower,” he added. On Thursday, Al-Mismari said today that the Turkish government had transferred hundreds of modern…

The state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) accused the U.S. military of recently kidnapping a Syrian citizen during an air operation in the eastern part of the country. According to the SANA report, the U.S. forces arrested a person from the village of Al-Shuhail in southeastern Deir Ezzor and transported him to a base via helicopter this week. During the past hours, helicopters belonging to the American Coalition forces carried out a landing on Al-Shuhail village after surrounding the village by Qasd (SDF) groups and kidnapped a person from his house in the village’s Al-Shabaka neighborhood and led him to…

Russia’s Rosoboronexport announced that they are planning to export their new radar 59H6-TE, which is able to track hypersonic targets, to foreign customers in the near future. According to RT Arabic, who cited military experts, these radar stations are becoming more common because many countries have hypersonic weapons. Russian military expert Yuri Knutov confirmed to RT that this radar is capable of tracking these hypersonic missiles, which makes this system highly desired in the market. Among the countries inquiring about this system are the North African nations, Egypt and Algeria, RT Arabic reported. The expert said that this radar would…