Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Russian president and members of the cabinet and oil industry officials met on Friday to discuss the situation on the global energy markets. Oil prices suffered their worst decline in decades in March after Russia and Saudi Arabia failed to reach a deal on output cuts amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The current slump in demand for oil could lead to shortages in the future when the global economy enters a period of economic recovery, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. The situation on energy markets remains difficult, with demand continuing to fall, Putin said, speaking to officials and…

Early on April 3, ISIS cells launched a “hit and run” attack on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claimed that ten fighters of the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, one of the Iraqi groups supporting the Damascus government, were killed or injured in the attack. “During the attack, the organization [ISIS] used RPGs as well as heavy machine guns … violent clashes between the two sides lasted for hours,” the monitoring group’s report reads. Local sources revealed that the attack targeted military positions…

The US Navy has fired the commander of an aircraft carrier who had warned American sailors aboard the vessel would die unless the coronaviru-hit ship was evacuated. Captain Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt with 5,000 people onboard, had called for help to save the lives of his sailors after an unconfirmed number tested positive for Covid-19 more than a week ago while the carrier was in the pacific. In a letter, which was published by the San Francisco Chronicle and caught the Navy by surprise, Crozier described how bleak the situation was onboard the…

The ongoing market turmoil is causing headaches for Donald Trump – primarily because of the alarming death rate and unprecedented job losses, but in no small part because his own business empire has taken a hit as well. US President Trump has seen his fortune shrink by a third as the coronavirus pandemic is gripping the global economy, Forbes reports. The magazine estimates that Trump’s net worth was at $3.1 billion at the beginning of last month, but dropped to $2.1 billion by 18 March. Trump is the owner of the eponymous organisation, which comprises more than 500 legal entities, including properties in nearly…

By Riyad Farid Hijab The Syrian Democratic Forces have for some time been no longer completely controlled by Washington. Recall that it was the Kurdish formations that for many years were in Syria the main shock ground force of the international coalition led by the United States. They played the role of infantry, the Pentagon armed them and prepared them, and during the offensive operations, the US military carried out planning, artillery and air cover. “You don’t want to protect people, and you don’t want another force to come to protect us. You betrayed us. It is immoral!” – said at the end of…

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…