Author: Steven Sahiounie

Yemeni army forces, supported by allied fighters from Popular Committees, have intercepted and targeted an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to the Saudi-led military coalition in the skies over the kingdom’s southern border region of Najran, in retaliation for the alliance’s military aggression against their conflict-stricken country. The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, wrote in a post published on his Twitter page that Yemeni forces and their allies shot down the drone over al-Sawh area of the region, situated 844 kilometers (524 miles) south of the capital Riyadh, on Thursday evening. He added that Yemeni army forces and Popular Committees fighters targeted the unmanned aerial…

By Nick Cunningham Some analysts see the world dodging a recession next year, which provides some upward room for oil prices. Last week, the IEA warned last week that “the hefty supply cushion” building up in the first half of 2020 will cause OPEC+ problems as the group tries to balance the oil market. Part of the reason for another potential surplus is the steep drop in demand growth this year, forcing oil forecasters to make multiple downward revisions to their projections. “With consumption growth of just 830 thousand b/d YoY in 2019, global oil demand has easily expanded at the lowest rate since the…

By Andrew Korybko What originally began as an expression of legitimate outrage at the Mideast country’s dysfunctional government and endemic corruption quickly transformed into a Color Revolution aimed at carrying out regime change in Lebanon through the removal of Hezbollah from its government, the threat of which makes this a defining moment for the Resistance because its supporters’ loyalty is being tested to the core. Lebanon is undoubtedly in the throes of an ongoing Color Revolution that’s already succeeded in securing the resignation of Prime Minister Hariri in response to large-scale protests against the Mideast country’s dysfunctional government and endemic corruption, sparked as…

In framework of the economic, and commercial cooperation agreements signed between Syria and Crimea, the first batch of olive oil arrived at the Russian Crimea Peninsula on Wednesday. Minister of industrial policy of the Republic of Crimea Andrey Vasyuty said in a statement published by Russian TASS Agency that the first batch of the Syrian olive oil arrived by the beginning of the current month, asserting that a second batch will arrive to Crimea soon. Vice-Chairman of the Syrian-Russian Business Council and a member of the Committee of Lattakia Export Chamber Myasara al-Haji told SANA in a statement that a…

The Middle East Eye (MEE) has reported on November 21, that the US and British military ran at least two secret prisons in Iraq during the months following the 2003 invasion, effectively concealing prisoners from Red Cross inspectors. MEE claims that the British army’s most senior legal advisor in the country, at the time, has filed a criminal complaint to the police about the existence of the so-called black sites. The legal advisor has alleged that the prisoners may not have been declared to the Red Cross and may have subsequently been rendered out of the country. This allegation comes…

Turkey is discussing with Russia “how to address the continued presence” of Kurdish YPG militants in areas covered by an agreement between the two countries, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday. Ankara halted its incursion against the YPG last month after agreeing with Moscow to allow militants to pull out of a swathe of land east of the Euphrates river, as well as the towns of Tel Rifat and Manbij, west of the river. Turkey has complained that the withdrawal has not been completed, and threatened to resume its offensive, Reuters said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on…

The United States is ready to work with a new Lebanese government that responds to the needs of its people, the country’s President Michael Aoun tweeted on Thursday, citing President Donald Trump’s cable to him. Lebanon is mired in a deep political crisis amid nationwide protests that prompted PM Saad Hariri to resign on October 29. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged Lebanon’s leaders to form a new government capable of enacting reforms and fighting corruption. Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday scheduled a session of parliament next week to discuss draft legislation on banking secrecy and…

By Anas Chihab  The former NSA and CIA agent Edward Snowden revealed that the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was trained in Israel, various Iranien sources reported. Snowden added that the American CIA and the British Intelligence collaborated with the Israeli Mossad to create a terrorist organization that is able to attract all extremists of the world to one place, using a strategy called “the hornet’s nest”. The “Hornet’s nest’’ strategy aims to bring all the major threats to one place in order to track them, and mostly to shake the stability of…

Damascus has appealed to the international community to put pressure on Ankara for Turkey to cease its aggressive action in northeast Syria which the government says run counter to the agreements reached in Astana and Sochi, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Thursday. “The Syrian Arab Republic staunchly condemns criminal attacks committed by Turkish occupation forces at Syrian people and is calling on the international community to exert influence over Ankara to cease its aggression,” the SANA news agency quoted the statement as saying, TASS reports. The ministry claims that Turkey “continues to commit crimes in…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator US President Donald J. Trump has campaigned on a ‘tough on China’ policy to US voters, and with a new election in less than a year, his decisions on what deal he will make now with China are influenced by what affect it may have on his re-election chances.  He had initially wanted a comprehensive trade deal with China, but after his 17-month trade war, he is now focused only on a smaller ‘phase one deal’.  Trump threatened for the second time in a week to “raise the tariffs even higher” on Chinese imports if a…