Author: Steven Sahiounie

Early on April 26, another service member of the Syrian intelligence was assassinated in the southern governorate of Daraa. The service member, Adeeb Abdul Rahim al-Damad, was abducted from his house in the town of Ibtta in the northern Daraa countryside by unknown gunmen. Later, al-Damad’s dead body was found near the town of al-Yadudah. A photo of the corpse shows that he was killed with an execution-style shot. According to local sources, al-Damad fought in the ranks of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the early years of the war. In 2018, he joined the reconciliation process and enlisted…

UAE-backed separatists have broken with once-allied Saudi-sponsored militants in Yemen, saying they will establish a self-ruled administration in the war-torn country’s southern regions. In a statement released early on Sunday, the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is supported by the United Arab Emirates, declared emergency rules in Yemen’s port city of Aden and all the southern governorates. “The Southern Transitional Council announces a self-administration rule in the south, as of midnight Saturday, April 25th 2020,” the STC said. It also accused the Riyadh-backed government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi of corruption and mismanagement. Mohammed al-Hadhrami, the foreign minister of the self-proclaimed Hadi regime, described the STC’s announcement as a…

An explosive device has been lobbed at a private bank in Lebanon in the latest attack on financial institutions in a country facing its worst economic crisis in decades. The night-time assault by unidentified attackers took place at Fransabank branch in the southern city of Sidon on Saturday, destroying its roof and glass facade. The attack came a day after Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Lebanese bank deposits had plunged $5.7 billion in the first two months of the year, despite curbs on withdrawals and a ban on transfers abroad. Lebanon has been grappling with a dire economic situation, lack of equity,…

People across Yemen will mark Islam’s holy month this year amid ongoing conflict, seasonal diseases, floods and rising prices, in a country where the economic situation doesn’t allow two thirds of the population to access or afford enough food. The coronavirus threat is also on people’s minds, with one confirmed case in the country of almost 29 million. Yemen’s health system is fragile and under strain: half of all health facilities are not functioning and just this week 500 cholera cases were reported in 24 hours in one ICRC-supported hospital in the capital Sana’a. “Yemenis cope with so much hardship…

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on the United Nations Security Council to extend its conventional arms embargo on Iran, set to expire in October, citing Tehran’s recent satellite launch. In a statement, Pompeo repeated his allegations against Iran, saying Tehran “should not be allowed to buy and sell conventional weapons”. He said Iran’s announcement Wednesday that it had launched its first military satellite showed that its space program — which Tehran has long insisted is peaceful and civilian — was in fact “neither peaceful nor entirely civilian”. Pompeo claimed that the technology used to launch the satellite was compatible with that used to launch ballistic missiles, saying “Iran’s dangerous missile programs” need to be…

The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces says the Baghdad government is serious about implementation of the parliament’s resolution concerning the withdrawal of US forces from the country. “The letter that US ambassador to Baghdad (Douglas A. Silliman) delivered to caretaker prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, was very positive, and covered all possible forms of strategic relationship between Iraq and the United States in detail. It was important and good,” Arabic-language al-Mawazin news agency quoted Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf as saying on Sunday. He added, “Iraq will discuss the subject of foreign forces’ presence with the United States in a serious…

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has halted economic activities and travel, has crippled demand for crude, resulting in an oil glut and sending prices plunging, heralding more shocks to the industry. Amid the destructive economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, production shut-downs in the petroleum industry are imminent, writes Bloomberg. Nosediving crude prices, oil stored offshore in tankers after refineries closed down over the coronavirus lockdown with experts concerned the world could run out of storage by May – these are just a few of the chapters in the currently unfolding oil crisis, which is about to enter a new phase. Shut-downs in…

As the world mulls Kim Jong Un’s health, with some suggesting that the leader of North Korea may be dead, guesses continue to be fueled by reports of Kim’s alleged heart surgery and his disappearance from high-profile official events. The state radio of the DPRK reported on Sunday that Kim Jong Un had expressed “appreciation” for workers taking part in building the city of Samjiyon amid speculation on the leader’s health and possible demise, according to the South Korean state-run news agency Yonhap. There was no elaboration, however, on his health conditions or on Kim’s public activities. “Comrade Kim Jong-un sent appreciation to workers earnestly…

Rumours have been circulating in the media regarding the North Korean leader’s health, with some reports suggesting that Kim is in a vegetative state or even dead. The reports emerged due to Kim’s absence from high-profile official events. Speculations about Kim Jong-un’s health cannot be verified and it is early to jump to conclusions, Russian legislator Kazbek Taysaev said on Sunday after his talks with the new North Korean ambassador to Russia. “We’ve discussed this topic with the ambassador and I’ve received no confirmation of such rumours. Only the official statement from the authorities in Pyeongyang can be seen as…

Former Senate aide Tara Reade formally filed a criminal complaint earlier this month regarding Senator Joe Biden’s alleged 1993 sexual assault against her, communicating that she is willing to testify under oath and cooperate with law enforcement if deemed necessary. Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer who has accused former US Vice President Joe Biden of a sexual assault dating back to 1993 has vented her disappointment over CNN anchor Anderson Cooper failing to ask the 2020 presidential election candidate about the allegation on two occasions, reported Fox News. Tara Reade, who formally filed a criminal complaint earlier in April regarding the assault dating to…