Author: Steven Sahiounie

Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he would remain in self-isolation, one week after revealing that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will address the nation tomorrow over coronavirus. “Her Majesty The Queen has recorded a special broadcast to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak. The televised address will be broadcast at 8 pm on Sunday 5th April, 2020,” Buckingham Palace said. The statement comes as Britain reported a record 684 death toll in its daily update, as the number of…

By Andrew Korybko Russia’s urgent dispatch of counter-COVID aid to America was both symbolic and substantial in the sense that it improved the country’s reputation among average Americans which in turn advances Trump’s years-long case for a “New Detente” between these two Great Powers. From Russia With Love Observers could be forgiven for not believing it when they first heard the news, but Russia just urgently dispatched counter-COVID aid to America in a real-life scene that seems ripped from the pages of political fiction. Had anyone speculated about this scenario just a few short months ago, practically nobody would have believed them, but World…

The Libyan National Army has destroyed another Turkish armoured vehicle supplied by Ankara to its proxies in Libya. This time it was the ACV-15 armoured combat vehicle operated by the Government of National Accord near Tripoli. Turkey has been supplying dozens of pieces of military equipment and heavy weapons to pro-Turkish forces in Libya. It has also deployed a few thousands of members of Turkish-backed Syrian miltiant groups to the country. However, Turkish-led forces have failed to turn the tide of the conflict and regain the initiative from the Libyan National Army.

On April 2, Usbat al-Tha’ireen (UT), a newly-formed Iraqi armed group, released an aerial footage of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Baghdad. The 3-minute video, which was apparently taken by a small drone, shows the embassy’s buildings in details. Located in Baghdad’s highly-secured Green Zone, the U.S. embassy is the largest and most expensive embassy in the world, and is nearly as large as Vatican City. “U.S. embassy in Iraq, are our eyes are observing their movements … They will not get what they want,” A message in the end of the video reads. UT announced its presence on…

Late on April 2, the Turkish military shelled Syrian Arab Army (SAA) troops in Aleppo’s northern countryside for no obvious reason. “Turkish forces stationed at the Yashli base shelled, this evening, gatherings of regime forces in the town of Arab Hassan, west of Manbij,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a report. According to the London-based monitoring group, the artillery strike injured two officers of the SAA, both holding the rank of Lieutenant. The SAA deployed several units around Manbij in the last few years under agreements with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the city’s military…

The number of coronavirus cases in Russia has increased by 601 over the past 24 hours, amounting to 4,149 in 78 regions. A total of 281 patients have recovered, 34 people have died, the coronavirus crisis center said on Friday. “Four coronavirus patients have died over the past 24 hours. In total, 34 people have died,” the center said. Fatalities have been recorded in Komi Region (2), Moscow (1) and Perm Region (1), TASS reports. New coronavirus cases have been recorded in 32 regions over the past 24 hours, including Moscow (448), Moscow Region (34), Krasnodar Region (17), Penza Region (11),…

Iraq’s anti-terror resistance groups have reiterated their readiness to counter any possible attack by US occupation forces, saying that they are also on high alert for any false-flag US operation aimed at creating further unrest in the Arab country. Asbat al-Thaireen, or League of the Revolutionaries, showed off its intelligence power by releasing its drone footage of US-occupied Ain al-Asad Airbase. The group also released drone footage of another US-occupied base, the Harir Camp north of Erbil. Asbat al-Thaireen had earlier issued a statement to caution Iraqi forces against staying close to Americans in order to protect their lives. The group said…

Israel and Saudi Arabia have launched crackdown on certain population centers as cases of COVID-19 infections surge there. According to the Saudi SPA state news agency, the kingdom will advance a pre-existing curfew to 3 pm local time in the Eastern Province’s Dammam city and Qatif Governorate along with the Makkah Province’s Ta’if Governorate starting on Friday. With 1,885 recorded infections and 21 deaths, the Saudi kingdom is worst affected among the six Persian Gulf Cooperation Council states. The curfew extension comes as observers fear that Saudi authorities may be seeking to use allegedly coronavirus-related measures to crack down on human rights…

The Russian president made the announcement in a televised address, his second in eight days, as the government introduces additional measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. President Vladimir Putin thanked doctors, volunteers and ordinary Russians for their efforts to battle and contain COVID-19, but stressed that Russia isn’t in the clear yet. “Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel are working hard, and they do not have it easy now. They are our frontline defenders, protecting us in hospitals and infectious wards from the advancing pandemic. They are treating and saving people,” Putin said in an address to the nation on…

The National Disaster Management Operations Room released its daily report on coronavirus in Lebanon. The report includes the epidemiological curve according to the daily number of infections, in addition to the distribution of confirmed cases according to districts, gender, age and nationality.