Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, Middle East observer The U.S. Embassy in Damascus has been closed for 8 years, but their Facebook page is still active. Recently, they posted a direct threat at anyone who might participate in the “Damascus International Fair”, which was founded in 1954 and is the oldest fair of its type in the Middle East. “The United States does not at all encourage businesses or individuals to participate in the #Damascus International Trade Fair on August 28th. …. Businesses or individuals who plan to participate in the Damascus International Trade Fair must be aware that if they make business…

The United States sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East in May in a “clear message” to Iran that any attack on American interests or those of its allies would be met with “unrelenting force” in response to what Washington described as a “number of troubling and escalatory indications”. Since being deployed to the Middle East in May, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has steered clear of both the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway linking Mideast crude producers to key world markets, The New York Times reported. The USS Abraham Lincoln remains…

BY ELIJAH J. MAGNIER An explosion occurred Tuesday at an ammunition storage warehouse used by Iraqi security forces operating under the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) close to the US air and military base in Balad, Salahuddin province, 64 km north of Baghdad. Over a week before, a warehouse at Camp-Sakr used by the Federal Police and PMF in Baghdad city blew up, causing casualties. The vice commander of the PMF Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes accused Israel of being behind the explosions, claiming “four Israeli drones were stationed at the US military base in Iraq, responsible for both explosions”. Israel Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu hinted at the responsibility of…

Earlier in the day, media reported that two Israeli drones crashed near Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut overnight, while one of them exploded in the air. The blast reportedly caused significant damage to the Hezbollah press service’s building and left three people injured. According to other reports, one of the drones was shot down by the Hezbollah movement, while the other one was seized. Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, said on Sunday that the Israeli drone attack is the first dangerous incident and breach of rules between the two countries since August 2006. He went on to say that one…

A digital currency backed by a group of nations is needed to compete with the US dollar, which has reached a level of dominance that poses a barrier to economic growth in much of the world, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in a speech to fellow central bankers on Friday. “If the share of trade invoiced in SHC [Synthetic Hegemonic Currency] were to rise, shocks in the US would have less potent spillovers through exchange rates, and trade would become less synchronized across countries,” Carney said. In addition, reducing the influence of the US dollar on the global…

By Ahmad Al Khaled The Syrian army has managed to make significant progress in clashes with “opposition” groups in Northwestern Syria, taking the strategically important city of Khan Sheikhoun. The SAA also cut the highway located to the North from the city, blocking supply routes for armed factions. This advance allowed the government troops to besiege such larger towns as al Lataminah, Kafr Zita and Murak. It is expected that surrounded and isolated from supply lines, militants will not be able to fight and will eventually surrender to the army. This sequence of events looks very likely for several reasons. Firstly,…

Last month, the US suggested establishing an international maritime coalition to patrol the Gulf and ‘ensure freedom of navigation’ in the region. As of today, only the UK and Australia have joined the US-led mission. The British Royal Navy is sending a third warship, the Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender, to the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the safe passage of merchant shipping amid growing tensions with Iran. “Wherever the red ensign flies around the world, the UK stands by to protect freedom of navigation whenever is it tested. The men and women of HMS Defender will contribute to the IMSC…

By Sarah Abed A new law passed on Monday in California and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom now allows police officers to only use lethal force when it is “necessary” in response to a threat instead of the existing “reasonable” standard. Assembly bill 392 is being dubbed as one of the most restrictive laws in the country and will take effect in January. Under the stricter standards, according to the abstract of law published online, officers can only use lethal force as a last resort to “defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person”. The…

Several explosions were heard in the sky over the Syrian Capital of Damascus on Saturday night, a correspondent reported. Several explosions over Damascus were reported by a correspondent around 11:20 pm (8:20 pm Saturday GMT) local time. Minutes later SANA agency reported that Syrian air defences were repelling ‘enemy targets’ over the city. This is not the first such instance. In July, a correspondent from the scene also reported that a series of powerful blasts had rocked the skies over Damascus. Back then, a Syrian military source reported that the missile attacks were carried out by the “Israeli occupation Air Force” .…

Jihadist dress code used by CNN Steven Sahiounie, Middle East observer Senior international correspondents for CNN, Arwa Damon, and Clarissa Ward have both been inside the territory in Syria under the occupation of terrorists, such as Al Qaeda following Radical Islam, which is a political ideology and is not a religion or sect. Damon and Ward dress-up for their part in the drama, and choose to wear headscarves and clothing which are the fashion statement of Radical Islam. Dressing up like the terrorists are not required, and can only mean they do this costuming to move the audience of CNN…