Author: Steven Sahiounie

Begum, 19, fled Britain to join the terror group in February 2015, but absconded as coalition forces closed in on its last stronghold in Baghuz, northern Syria. She’d hoped to be repatriated back to Britain, but the Home Office revoked her British citizenship leaving her stuck at the camp. A footage has been released showing the Daesh flag being raised by the occupants of the northern Syria refugee camp where British-born ‘Daesh bride’ Shamima Begum is currently living, the Sun reported. In the clip, women and children cheer as a young boy scales a lamp post in the al-Hawl camp and unfurls…

At least 56 people, including 21 children, were taken to a hospital over suspected food poisoning in Turkey’s eastern city of Erzincan, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Saturday. The Cumhuriyet newspaper reported that people called the ambulance after farewell celebrations held for conscript soldiers in the city center. Those affected said they had fever, nausea and dizziness. Ambulance cars took those ill to the hospital where they received medical assistanceand are staying under doctors’ supervision.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed efforts to achieve a political solution to the crisis in Syria during a telephone conversation on Thursday.

China’s Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that Beijing and Moscow are discussing ways to increase bilateral trade, particularly by increasing imports of Russian soybeans and other agricultural products. Commerce Minister Zhong Shan met with Russian Minister for Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin this week. They agreed to “deepen trade in soybeans” as China looks to diversify supplies away from the United States. The agreement follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last year that Russia will increase its production and export of soybeans to China. Putin explained that Russia will fill China’s gap in the market, which was left by the protracted trade war…

Russian Expert and diplomat for the Middle Eastern affairs Viacheslav Matuzov affirmed that Damascus International Fair is one of most important economic events in the region. ” A lot of Russian and European companies show interest to work in Syria, whether in regards to reconstruction process or in the field of energy and agriculture,” Matuzov told SANA correspondent in Moscow on Thursday. In a similar interview, Economic Researcher Gregory Lukyanov said that economic exhibitions and conference, particularly Damascus international Fair, play a key role in finding good economic environments, adding that the Fair will witness a wide participation from Russian…

The world Heritage Committee at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) agreed to lift “old Damascus” from the list of endangered heritage. The step came during UNESCO’s 43rdsession being held in the Azeri capital of Baku. Due to the terrorist acts which targeted old Damascus and a number of Syrian archaeological sites, the UNESCO decided in 2013 to include these sites in the list of endangered heritage to draw attention to the dangers that encircle this world human heritage. “The UNESCO’s decision included dispatching a fact-finding committee to investigate the situation of the city and discuss technical and…

Sarah Abed, an independent journalist and political commentator After years of deprivation and financial turmoil farmers across the most fertile parts of Syria and Iraq were looking forward to a much-needed return on their investment. Unfortunately, before that could happen, their hard work went up in flames, literally. The devastation and pain that these fires have caused a countless number of families is heartbreaking and immeasurable. Recently, tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land have been set on fire in the northern and eastern regions of Syria. 0ver 84,000 acres of wheat and barley crops have been destroyed, estimated losses are…

Padraig McGrath, political analyst Quickly following US threats to impose sanctions on Turkey following Ankara’s resoluteness in its decision to purchase the S-400 air-defence system, the US State Department raised the possibility of implementing sanctions against India, for precisely the same reason. The Indian government plans to acquire the S-400 in 2020, having just signed a $5 billion deal with Moscow. The S-400 will radically improve India’s air-defence capability. Currently, the Indian armed forces’ air-defence systems are limited to an effective range of 40 kilometres. The S-400 comes bundled with 4 different missiles, is effective against both aircraft and cruise…

Sarah Abed, independent journalist, political commentator Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is in New York this week for high level talks at the UN. He has been confined to a six-block radius. It’s not uncommon for Iranian diplomats along with envoys from North Korea, Syria and Cuba to be confined to a broader radius of 25 miles. Zarif’s movements, however, are limited to the UN Headquarters in Manhattan, the Iranian Mission to the UN, and the Residence of the Iranian Ambassador. Even with the restrictions placed on him with a limited visa, he has made time for a few interviews to…

The Farsi accounts of three Iranian news agencies have been suspended on Twitter since Friday, shortly after they reported the capture of a UK-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Twitter says the events are unrelated. Two Farsi-language Twitter pages of Mehr News Agency, as well as pages belonging to the Young Journalists Club (YJC) and IRNA, have all been blocked on Twitter since Friday. Mehr and the YJC are semi-official news agencies, and IRNA is Iran’s official government-run agency. Mehr and IRNA’s English-language accounts were still accessible as of Saturday evening. Twitter apparently didn’t tell the targeted agencies why…