Author: Steven Sahiounie

the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) released its information bulleting, in which it claims that since January 17th the country has lost $4 billion from blocked oil exports. The blockade is attributed to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) which has repeatedly rebuked claims saying that the citizens themselves decided to block it, in order to pressure the Government of National Accord into surrendering Tripoli. Total oil production inside Libya is down to 80,510 barrels per day, as of April 13th, 2020. Before the blockade it produced up to 1,2 million barrels per day, so it is a massive reduction. On…

The US-led coalition is compensating the public damage caused by the surrender of its proxies in al-Tanf to the Syrian Army by posting photos of F-35 jets over northeastern Syria. At least, now taxpayers know that they can fly.

German anti-terrorism police have arrested four Tajik nationals suspected of plotting terrorist attacks against American military bases in Germany. The members of an alleged Islamic State cell were picked up in dawn raids at various locations in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The men, all citizens of Tajikistan, were identified only by their first names: Azizjon B., Muhammadali G., Farhodshoh K. and Sunatullokh K. The group’s alleged leader, a 30-year-old Tajik man identified only as Ravsan B., has been in prison for the past 12 months on firearms charges. German federal prosecutors allege that the men swore allegiance to…

More than two million people have contracted Covid-19 globally since the lethal outbreak began last December, passing another dark milestone as the World Health Organization is pulled into a war of words between the US and China. The worldwide coronavirus case count now stands at over two million, the latest figures from AFP showed on Wednesday. More than half of this number relates to outbreaks in European nations, but globally the worst-hit country is the United States, with almost 610,000 identified Covid-19 patients. The US death toll stands at over 26,000 or over 28,300, depending on whether revised numbers that…

Even after members of OPEC+ and other oil-producing countries signed an agreement to cut global crude output, black gold prices have continued to fall, with Brent blend losing almost 7% since the deal was inked. Riyadh might resort to selling international bonds in the near future, as its government coffers remain unfilled due to oil prices continuing their fall after the signing of a new OPEC+ deal, Reuters reported, citing several anonymous banking sources. The sources noted that Saudi Arabia will be monitoring the oil markets’ reaction to the new output cuts before making a decision on borrowing money. “It’s the logical…

Russia and Turkey held the fourth joint patrol of the M4 highway in the Syrian province of Idlib, the Russian military said Wednesday. “In accordance with the agreement of presidents of Russia and Turkey dated 5 March, on 15 April, another — the fourth —  Russian-Turkish joint patrol of a stretch of the M4 highway in the Idlib de-escalation zone linking the cities of Aleppo and Latakia took place”, the Russian centre for reconciliation of opposing sides said. Earlier this week, Russian army planes carried out patrols along a fixed route in northern Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his…

The Saudi-led coalition has conducted 26 air raids on Yemen’s northern and western provinces despite the alliance’s step towards a ceasefire in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Yahya Sarai, the spokesman for the Houthi rebel movement, said on Wednesday. “Air forces of the Saudi-US [coalition] launched more than 26 air raids, with 18 of them [having been conducted] on the districts of Majzar and Sarwah in the Marib [northeastern province], six on the district of Khabb Wa Shaaf in the Jawf province [in the northwest]”, Sarai said. He added that two more air raids were conducted on the northern province of…

Turkish gendarmerie forces have “neutralised” two armed militants in the Kurdish-dominated Sirnak Province in the country’s southeast, media said Wednesday. The raid on the militants was part of an ongoing domestic security operation in the Mount Cudi region, the state news agency Anadolu reported, citing the Interior Ministry. It is unclear what happened to the militants, as there were no additional details in the official statement. The news agency said they could have been killed, captured, or surrendered. Ankara has been fighting Kurdish militants since the early 1980s. The Turkish authorities designated the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which seeks to…

Damascus has repeatedly accused Israel of conducting illegal airstrikes on Syrian territory. Tel Aviv has indeed claimed responsibility for some of those strikes, insisting that it targeted alleged Iranian forces or its proxies in the Arab Republic, despite Tehran denying their presence in Syria. A drone, allegedly belonging to the Israeli Air Force has carried out an attack against a vehicle in Syria near the country’s border with Lebanon, Reuters reported citing an anonymous security source. According to the media’s sources, the car was carrying Hezbollah forces, who managed to escape the vehicle before it was hit with the attack reportedly resulting…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator There are 2 camps in the Middle East: those countries which work with ‘Israel’, and those who do not. The countries which have established relationships with ‘Israel’ are Turkey; United Arab Emirates (UAE); Saudi Arabia; Qatar; Bahrain; Oman; Jordan; Egypt. This group of countries is backed up by the US and the EU. The countries which do not have a relationship with Israel are Syria; Lebanon; Iraq; Iran; Occupied Palestinian; Yemen; Algeria. This group of countries has established a very good relationship with Russia and China. The world is split between 2 spheres of…