Author: Steven Sahiounie

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has expressed his readiness for dialogue with anti-graft protesters to put an end to nationwide demonstrations and save the country from financial collapse. In a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Aoun promised he would fight state corruption as demanded by thousands of angry demonstrators. “My call to demonstrators: I am ready to meet your representatives that carry your concerns to listen to your specific demands. You will hear from us about our fears over financial collapse,” he said. “We will discuss what we can do together to achieve your objectives without causing collapse and chaos…

By Michael Jansen Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets and squares across Lebanon to call for the fall of the country’s political class, which they accuse of looting the country. They also demand an end to the sectarian model of governance imposed on Lebanon by France, the former colonial power. This gives the presidency to the Maronite Christian community, the premiership to the Sunnis and the post of parliamentary speaker to the Shias, and allocates other offices to figures in the 18 religious communities. Therefore, when Lebanese call for the fall of the regime, they do not…

By Pepe Escobar The negotiations in Sochi were long – over six hours – tense and tough. Two leaders in a room with their interpreters and several senior Turkish ministers close by if advice was needed. The stakes were immense: a road map to pacify northeast Syria, finally. The press conference afterwards was somewhat awkward – riffing on generalities. But there’s no question that in the end Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed the near impossible. The Russia-Turkey deal establishes a safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border – something Erdogan had been gunning for since 2014. There will be…

Steven Sahiounie, political analyst and journalist The Lebanese government has read the writing on the wall.  The protesters had spray-painted graffiti to a cement wall: “Down with the rule of the mafia” was painted next to “revolution” and the word “thieves” was a reoccurring theme of the Lebanese citizens who have had enough, and the day of reckoning has come to face those who are in power and have abused that power, according to those hundreds of thousands protesting in the streets from Tripoli to Tyre. “This is the first time that all the Lebanese citizens are all united around…

By Eva Bartlett DAMASCUS PEACE, BUT SYRIA STILL UNDER STRANGLING WESTERN SANCTIONS, EMBASSY CLOSURES A morning drive and walk through Damascus, from the Old City to Midan to the artisan area, Tikkiyeh, near the National Museum. We discuss Canada’s obscene preventing of Waseem Ramli from taking his post as honourary consul. [Support Waseem: https://www.change.org/p/justin-trudeau-re-open-syrian-consulate-in-montreal%5D Lulwa talks about how Canada’s (shameful) closure of Syrian embassies/consulates years ago affect Syrian Canadians in a variety of ways, as well as prevented many Syrians in Canada from voting (democratically) in their presidential elections. Lulwa also mentions a near-miss she and her mother had in 2011, when…

UK lawmakers have rejected Boris Johnson’s “programme motion” in a major blow to the PM’s plans to fast-track his Brexit withdrawal agreement through all stages of the House of Commons by Thursday. UK MPs passed Johnson’s WAB at the second reading stage in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening by 329 votes to 299. The UK government’s joy at that result, however, was short lived, as crucial program motion was voted down with 308 for and 322 votes against minutes later. Speaking after the second vote, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Johnson was the “author of his own misfortune.” “Work with us…

Heads of African countries have flocked to Russia for a first of its kind summit, where Moscow will be offering business ties and security arrangements alternative to ‘colonial-style’ relations with the West. Over the past decade, the African continent has become a battleground for geostrategic competition involving China, the US, and the EU, which compete with each for military access, economic superiority, and soft power supremacy. Countries like India, South Korea, and Gulf monarchies have interests in Africa too. So does Russia, which has the advantage of old ties in the region and touts itself as an ideology-free pragmatic partner…

US military forces have reportedly transferred more than 1,500 female members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group from Syria to neighboring Iraq in the wake of a ground offensive by Turkish troops and their allied militants against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that the US troops have moved the Daesh women from al-Hol refugee camp, which lies in Syria’s northeastern province of al-Hasakah and close to the Syria-Iraq border, The report came only a few days after SANA reported that US forces had transferred 230 foreign Daesh terrorists from al-Malikiyah prison to a detention…

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in the Russian city of Sochi to discuss an array of issues, with the situation in Syria and the Turkish military operation there expected to be the main topic of their conversation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that foreign forces that are currently deployed in Syria unlawfully must leave its territory. He added that Turkey shares this vision, as well as that the idea that the Arab Republic’s integrity must be preserved. Separately, he advocated that the Syrian government and Kurdish forces need to hold broad talks in order to take into…

by Tim Korso Amid an ongoing withdrawal of US troops, Defence Secretary Mark Esper announced that some will not be transferred to Iraq, as was expected, but will instead stay to “guard” Syrian oil fields from being seized by the remnants of Daesh*. US President Donald Trump is mulling the possibility of “keeping” the oil as he talked about Syria’s oilfields, which were recently secured by US troops. He further indicated that American business may be employed to do that. “I always said if you’re going in, keep the oil […] maybe get one of our big oil companies in to…