Author: Steven Sahiounie

By Steve Brown  If on October 10th a Saudi vessel had been struck by a missile in the Red Sea there is absolutely no doubt that US State and its major media outlets would immediately identify Iran as the culprit. So far, we’ve seen no hysteria from US State claiming that Iran was the source of the attack on the Sabiti tanker, originally claimed to be the Sinopa.  Despite a spreading oil spill related to the attack, according to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), “No help was offered to assist by any country” even if Saudi Arabia claimed otherwise. To…

On late Saturday, Lebanon’s minister of finance said that the government had agreed on a final budget which did not include any additional taxes or fees in a bid to appease nationwide protests. People are holding anti-government protests in Beirut, Lebanon amid a government decision to agree on the final budget without imposing additional taxes. Mass protests in Lebanon erupted earlier in the month after the government moved to introduce a $6 monthly tax on online calls made via WhatsApp and other mobile applications. Even though the tax was scrapped as the protests gained momentum, the rallies continue, with dozens of people injured in…

by Tim Korso The reported destruction of the base comes amid a redeployment of American troops to Iraq that was announced on the same day by Defence Secretary Mark Esper. The US Air Force has delivered airstrikes on the Al-Qulaib military base in the north-eastern Syrian province of Al-Hasakah, which American forces themselves occupied not long ago, Syria’s SANA news agency reported. The base had a runway that was used to receive military shipments from cargo planes and helicopters. The base had just recently been abandoned by US troops due to their withdrawal to Iraq amid a Turkish offensive in northern Syria, which has…

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri has reportedly given the nod on a package of reforms with government partners in an attempt to tackle an economic crisis that has triggered nationwide protests in the recent past. Official sources told Reuters on Sunday that a cabinet meeting would be held on Monday to approve the reforms. The package urges a 50-percent reduction in the salaries of current and former officials and $3.3 billion in contributions from banks to achieve a “near zero deficit” for the 2020 budget. It also includes a plan to privatize Lebanon’s telecommunications sector and an overhaul to its…

By Stephen Lendman One of the trilogy’s most memorable scenes was in pre-liberated Cuba where mafia dons are seen carving up a cake representing the country. The Hyman Roth character explains that “all of you will share” in plundering the island state in collaboration with its ruling authorities, adding: “These are wonderful things that we’ve achieved in Havana, and there’s no limit to where we can go from here.”“This kind of government knows how to help business to encourage it…(W)e have now what we have always needed —real partnership with the government.” Cuba’s strongman despot Fulgencio Batista was like Nicaragua’s Anastasio Somoza, a figure Franklin…

The Syrian army clashed on Saturday with the Turkish-backed militants near the border city of Ras al-Ayn, the SANA news agency reported. According to the outlet, the incident took place in the Tall Tamr district in the Al-Hasakah province, with the army having prevented the militants from seizing a village, controlled by Damascus. At the same time, the militants reportedly managed to seize two villages on the road, connecting Tall Tamr with Ras al-Ayn. The situation in northern Syria sharply escalated in October after Turkey had launched a military operation against the Kurdish units in the area. On October 9, Turkey began “Operation…

Russia views with alarm NATO’s expansion toward its western border and it will make not only a political response but a military one as well if need be, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said. In an interview with the Serbian newspaper Vecernje Novosti, the Russian official said NATO’s maneuver toward Russia’s border is a threat to its “national security,” Tass news agency reported on Saturday. “We are a large country, we are a nuclear state, and the desire to place NATO bases in our immediate vicinity obviously cannot fill us with positive emotions,” Medvedev said. “We have always responded and will…

Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, The ministerial committee assigned with following up on the implementation of service and development projects in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces inaugurated a number of projects and got acquainted with the service and livelihood reality in the two provinces. In Deir Ezzor, the Committee, which was headed by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Ghanem, accompanied by Health Minister Nizar Yazigi, inaugurated al-Thawra medical center and the Cardiac Clinic Care and the Internal Medicine Departments in al-Furat Hospital. The committee also inspected the reality of the health situation in the province and participated in the national…

Syrian army expanded on Friday deployment in Hasaka countryside and entered three new villages in the surroundings of Tal Tamer. SANA reporter said that units of the army entered the villages of Salmas, Um al-Kheir and Ghirnata in the western countryside of Tal Tamer amid welcome by the families who gathered on the entrance of the villages to greet the army.

A centuries-old al-Saqatiyah souk (market) was re-opened recently in the old city of Aleppo after the completion of restoration works and repairing the damages caused to its shops due to terrorism. Re-opening of this souk means the return of former way of life and for traders and shoppers, being back in the al-Saqatiyah souk represents a partial return to their old lives. The souk includes more than 53 shops dedicated to the sale of desserts and nuts. It is considered as the main center of the markets of the old city of Aleppo. Al-Saqatiyah souk’s significance comes from being the…