Author: Steven Sahiounie

Moscow calls on all parties to the conflict in Libya to immediately cease hostilities and resume dialogue under the auspices of the UN, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. She commented on statements by Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the eastern-based Libyan parliament, which supports the LNA. On Friday, Saleh put forward a road map for the Libyan political settlement, proposing to form the presidential council and a commission in charge of drafting the constitution. Saleh also called for a cessation of hostilities in connection with the onset…

Rumours about the North Korean leader being in a coma or even passing away emerged last Saturday, but one thing is certain: it’s actually not the first time that 36-year-old Kim Jong-un has “died,” with the main intrigue being not the trustworthiness of the claims, but how things would play out should it really be the case. On 11 April it first emerged that Kim Jong-un had dropped out of sight, with the South Korean media outlet Daily NK reporting that the politician had undergone heart surgery purportedly due to his obesity, stress and excessive smoking. The starting point of…

The Russian president has called for enhanced self-discipline in the run-up to the May holidays in the country, which are traditionally observed on 1-2 May and 9 May, the Victory Day, so as to halt as quickly as possible the spread of the novel virus. Addressing a meeting on the coronavirus response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the country is entering a difficult stage of the pandemic, urging that self-isolation measures should be extended until at least 11 May. He called for maximum self-discipline and concentration at this tumultuous time, arguing that the citizens “must work to succeed…

Ambulances and fire brigades are working on the scene of the explosion, local media reported. At least 40 civilians, 11 children among them, were killed and 47 injured when a fuel truck exploded in the Syrian city of Afrin, the Turkish Defence Ministry said. Earlier, a local source said that 23 people were killed and 26 injured in an explosion in central Afrin. The source added that local hospitals were calling on its residents to donate blood. A video and photos of the aftermath of the alleged explosion were shared online. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR),…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator US President Trump ordered a surprise withdrawal of US troops from Syria in October 2019; however, he bent to pressure from aides and Pentagon officials and soon reversed his decision. He then ordered about 500 US soldiers to occupy the Syrian oil fields to steal the oil, regardless of the violation of international law, or the reflection of state-sanctioned crime on the image of America.  As the US armored vehicles left Qamishli in October, the locals threw rocks and rotten vegetables at them. The US had ditched its local allies, in favor of oil…

Saudi Arabia may have to borrow as much as $58 billion this year to cover a budget shortfall caused by the oil price slump, Bloomberg reports, citing Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan. Al-Jadaan told media this week that the Kingdom might issue bonds worth $26.57 billion (100 billion riyals) this year in addition to an earlier issue of $31.88 billion (120 billion riyals) worth of debt. Saudi Aramco, for its part, is considering a $10 billion sale in part of its pipeline business, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. “The kingdom went through similar crises in its history – maybe even worse – and was…

Brazilian aircraft company Embraer has threatened to seek damages from US aerospace giant Boeing, after the latter “wrongfully terminated” a $4.2 billion merger deal. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Brazil-based jet manufacturer accused its American counterpart of using “false claims” to pull out of the deal, which would give Boeing an 80-percent stake in Embraer’s commercial jet unit. Embraer says Boeing wanted to avoid its commitments to close the transaction and pay the agreed purchase price as the US company faces financial troubles linked to the 737 MAX fiasco Embraer will pursue all remedies against Boeing for the damages incurred…

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will take delivery of an undisclosed number of stealth drones, Colonel Akbar Karimloo revealed on Sunday. According to Karimloo, the IRGC will receive the new Fotros stealth drone, which was first unveiled in November of 2013. In a conversation with the Tasnim News Agency, Karimloo said that the drones would be delivered sometime ‘in the near future’, with the decision to accept the unmanned aerial vehicle into service based on extensive meetings with the ministry of defense, as well as an evaluation of its features. The Fotros is a large multipurpose drone capable of…

The Libyan National Army (LNA) launched a heavy attack on the Mitiga Airbase in Tripoli on Sunday, targeting several sites inside this strategic installation that houses several Turkish military personnel. According to a field report from Tripoli, the LNA heavily targeted the Mitiga Airbase with artillery shells and rockets, causing a number of explosions that could be heard throughout the capital. “The Haftar terrorist militias continue to bomb the Grad rockets at Mitiga Airport and the residential neighborhoods in its vicinity,” the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces announced this afternoon. The Mitiga Airbase is Turkey’s main base in Libya,…

Turkey has deployed a new batch of at least 2,100 Syrian militants in Libya, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) revealed on April 25. The London-based monitoring group said the number of Syrians fighting for the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya is 7,400. Around 2,500 others are now preparing for deployment in the north African country. “Hundreds of fighters are preparing to move from Syria to Turkey, as the process of registering new lists of names by the Syrian National Army’s factions continues upon the orders of the Turkish intelligence,” the SOHR report reads. Most of the…