Author: Steven Sahiounie

Thirty-four US service members have been diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injuries after Iran conducted ballistic missile strikes on two bases in Iraq with half of them still undergoing medical treatment, Department of Defence spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a press briefing on 24 January. “With regard to the number of recent injuries here is the latest update 34 total members have diagnosed with concussions and TBI [traumatic brain injury]”, Hoffman told reporters. According to Defence Department data, eight service members arrived on Friday morning in the United States for continued medical treatment, another nine are treated in Germany…

In the last eight months, US troop levels in the Middle East have increased by one-third, and new arrivals can expect to be there “for quite a while,” a top US general said earlier this week. “You’re here because I requested that you come,” US Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who commands US Central Command (CENTCOM), told sailors and Marines aboard the USS Bataan in the Red Sea on Thursday, according to AP. “I’m not sure how long you’re going to stay in the theater. We’ll work that out as we go ahead. Could be quite a while, could be less than that,…

By: RICHARD SILVERSTEIN Facebook has a problem on its hands: its Whatapp messaging service (which was originally an Israeli startup) has become the go-to app for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his efforts to smear and sabotage his enemies, who are legion. The Guardian reported today that Jeff Bezos and MBS had been carrying on a Whatsapp conversation in the weeks since they’d first met each other in California. You’ll recall that Bezos also employed Jamal Khashoggi, one of the Saudi regime’s deepest irritants, as a columnist. In one of their conversations, MBS sent Bezos a message containing a link to a…

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)