Author: Steven Sahiounie

Lebanese police and army units have forced protesters out of the territory adjacent to the national parliament building in Beirut’s centre on Wednesday. The officers, who have arrived to the parliament to suppress the ongoing protests, have forced those rallying to leave the streets located in the vicinity of the parliament and withdraw to the Martyrs’ Square. Protesters have been throwing stones, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at the law enforcers, and they have responded with using water cannons and tear-gas grenades. Several people, who have been specifically aggressive, have been detained. Several dozens of people have been injured in the…

By Andrew Korybko The eventual completion of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) will either ease or exacerbate the Sino-Indo economic rivalry of the past few years depending on how New Delhi responds to Beijing’s latest trans-regional integration initiative, but whatever it decides to do, it’s clear that CMEC is destined to be a real game-changer one way or the other. President Xi’s visit to Myanmar last weekend was marked by the clinching of 33 agreements that are in one way or another connected with the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). This latest trans-regional integration project of China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) aims to pioneer a CPEC-like connectivity…

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that Russia’s S-400 air defense system was compatible with NATO, which needed to set up a working group to study it. “The claim is that the S-400 and F-45s are incompatible. That’s the claim. Here is our proposal: let’s have a working group and NATO can chair this, and let’s let experts make the assessment and come back to us,” he said. “We believe the S-400 and F-45 are compatible,” Reuters quoted Cavusoglu as saying during a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It does not pose any…

Over 600 Iraqis were killed since the beginning of anti-government protests in October 2019, Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It is devastating and painful, and even shameful, that acts of violence by outlaws have led to the death of over 600 innocent peaceful protesters, mostly young people, as well as many security personnel. Needless to say, I condemn these crimes in the strongest terms, and the perpetrators sooner or later will have to be dealt with in accordance with the law”, Salih said. The rallies led to Prime Minister Adel Abdul…

An Iraqi legislator has condemned US plans to install Patriot missile systems in the Arab country, saying such deployment violates Iraq’s sovereignty. “The Iraqi parliament represents all political groups and currents. The (parliamentary) decision demanding the withdrawal of US military forces is supported by the public opinion. Therefore, the [American] troops’ attempt to deploy Patriot missile systems in their bases in order to beef up their combat capabilities is rejected and considered a violation of our sovereignty,” Karim Alawi, a member of the parliament’s security and defense committee, told Arabic-language Baghdad Today news agency on Thursday. He added, “The presence of US forces in Iraq is illegal.…

Iran’s Foreign Ministry slammed the US’ policy of “targeted and governmental terrorism” after an American diplomat threatened Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani with the same fate as his assassinated predecessor, Qassem Soleimani. “These words are an official announcement and a clear unveiling of America’s targeted and governmental terrorism,” ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told Iranian state media on Thursday in response to threats made against Ghaani by US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook. Mousavi called on the international community to join him in condemning the thuggish statement from the American. “If Ghaani follows the same path of killing Americans [as…

Iraqi protesters in oil-rich port city of Basra block roads with burning tires and items during a night demonstration aimed to pressure authorities to implement long-awaited reforms. Anti-government rallies have rocked Iraq since October but had thinned out in recent weeks amid spiraling tensions between Baghdad’s key allies Tehran and Washington. (Source: AFP) 

A member of Iran’s parliament has called for placing a bounty on US President Donald Trump’s head in response to a drone strike that killed Tehran’s senior military commander, Qassem Soleimani. The statement was made by Ahmad Hamzeh, a lawmaker from the southern Kerman Province, whose namesake capital is Soleimani’s hometown. “On behalf of the people of Kerman Province, we will pay a 3 million dollar award in cash to whoever kills Trump,” Hamzeh said in a speech to fellow lawmakers on Tuesday, as quoted by Iranian news outlets. Hamzeh also said that Iran would be protected from attacks and threats…

Eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar must abide by calls for a political solution to the conflict in the country and take steps to secure “calm on the ground,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday. Haftar abandoned ceasefire talks in Moscow last week, and a summit in Berlin on Sunday aimed at shoring up a shaky truce was overshadowed by the blockade of Libyan oilfields by his forces, Reuters said. His Libyan National Army (LNA) aims to capture the capital, Tripoli. Turkey supports Haftar’s rivals, the Tripoli-based internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj.…

China’s National Health Commission has confirmed Monday that a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) can be transmitted people-to-people, Xinhua news agency reported. The Chinese authorities said that evidence suggests that the virus can be transmitted people-to-people which requires urgent measures in dealing with the outbreak, TASS reports. Chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Zeng Guang said that the outbreak of the new coronavirus can be reversed if measures are taken now. Head of the expert team of China’s National Health Commission Zhong Nanshan said that at least 14 medical staff were infected with the new coronavirus. Zhong…