Author: Steven Sahiounie

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…

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…