Author: Steven Sahiounie

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered China’s armed forces to “comprehensively” strengthen the training of troops and be prepared for war, as tensions rise between Beijing and a number of other countries. Speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress on Wednesday, Xi praised the Chinese army’s contribution to the country’s fight against the coronavirus epidemic but called on the armed forces to ramp up military training. “It is necessary to explore ways of training and preparing for war because epidemic control efforts have been normalized,” China’s official news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.…

The Western military coalition, purported to fight the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, has reportedly deployed three Patriot missile batteries at a US base in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr. The Arabic-language al-Alam television news network, citing local sources, reported on Wednesday that the batteries were deployed to the base set up at the Koniko gas field, which is located about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) east of the provincial capital city of Dayr al-Zawr, during the past few days. Koniko is one of the largest gas plants in Syria. The sources added that the US-led coalition forces are working to install similar batteries…

The Unit Corporation said in a statement on Tuesday that it has filed for bankruptcy after acquiring debt of more than $650 million thereby becoming the third oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States to become a casualty to the measures implemented to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. “Like many companies in the oil and gas industry, we have felt the impact of the severe downturn in commodity prices, which has only worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic”, Unit Corporation President and CEO David Merrill said in the statement. Merrill emphasized the need for the company to…

Most OPEC+ nations want to preserve the April conditions of the deal and reduce oil production by 7.7 million barrels per day starting July, but there are some objections, a source in a delegation said on Wednesday. OPEC+ countries plan to hold a two-day video conference on June 9-10 to discuss the energy market situation and the first results of the deal. Prior to that, on June 8, the OPEC+ ministerial monitoring committee will hold talks. Some members of the alliance do not rule out that oil reduction parameters, especially those related to the period starting in July, could be…

According to the South China Morning Post, the group was arrested ahead of planned demonstrations against the new bill that would criminalize insulting the Chinese national anthem, the March of the Volunteers. Police in Hong Kong arrested 16 protesters, including three individuals carrying petrol bombs, early on Wednesday as demonstrations broke out ahead of a controversial new national anthem bill that will be debated by the Chinese region’s Legislative Council, media have reported. The legislation could see those that disrespect the anthem face up to three years in jail and a fine of up to $6,450. Earlier on Wednesday, riot…

At least six people have been killed, and three others were injured in a shooting incident that occurred in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern province of Asir, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday, citing the province’s police spokesman. Spokesman Lt. Col. Zaid Mohammed al-Dabbash said that the incident took place in the province’s Umwah district on Tuesday morning, adding that those injured were taken to a local hospital to receive medical attention. According to the official, the necessary procedures are currently being completed to transfer the case to the Public Prosecutor’s office. A video of the shooting, the authenticity of…

The president accused the social media giant of “completely stifling FREE speech” late Tuesday, warning that he would not allow this to continue after the microblogging platform put a “get the facts…” flag under his tweets about mail-in ballots. US President Donald Trump doubled down following his spat with Twitter on Wednesday morning, accusing it and social media platforms as a whole of “totally” trying to “silence conservative voices”, and warning that he and Republican lawmakers would “strongly regulate or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.” “We saw what they attempted to do, and failed,…

An explosive detonated on a highway in the Idlib region of Syria earlier in the day wounding soldiers from a Turkish military convoy, leaving some in critical condition. Aerial footage, allegedly showing the moment of a roadside bomb blast in the Idlib region in Syria, has been shared on Twitter. In the video, fumes of white and black smoke caused by the explosion are seen rising into the sky from what appears to be a warehouse situated on the roadside. The targeted vehicle is seen pulled over nearby before it was enveloped by the smoke cloud. The camera also focused on…

The reported incident comes just over a month after a similar ambush which led to the loss of a vehicle carrying US troops and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia, the predominantly Kurdish militia group which enjoys de facto control over part of northeast Syria. Several people were reported injured in that attack. Three US soldiers and five members of the SDF militia have been injured in an attack on a convoy at the junction of the village of Rwaished (alternative spelling ‘Rouished’) along the administrative border between the provinces of al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor, SANA has reported, citing local sources. The…

Washington has consistently objected to NATO-member Turkey acquiring the Russian-made S-400 missile systems, claiming they were incompatible with security standards of the alliance and might compromise the operations of the new US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. Turkey is committed “in principle” to its earlier announced plans to activate the Russian-made S-400 missile defence systems acquired last year, despite procrastination due to a spate of issues, Turkish Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin was quoted as saying by France 24 on Monday. Speaking in an interview, the spokesperson referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as having delayed the matter of activation, slated originally for April, and…