Author: Steven Sahiounie

Multinational investment banks Rothschild and Moelis have been shortlisted to advise on restructuring about $15 billion of debt at Saudi Arabia’s biggest construction firm, Saudi Binladin Group. According to Bloomberg, citing its sources, the investment banks made bids last month for what would be one of the Middle East’s biggest debt revamps. People familiar with the matter said Ken Moelis, the founder and CEO of Moelis, travelled to the kingdom to lead the process. The sources added that Goldman Sachs Group had also bid to work in an advisory role, but had not been shortlisted to work on the restructuring…

Iraq’s prime minister has vowed to address government corruption but urged protesters across the country to go home. At least 40 people have died and hundreds more have been wounded in a violent crackdown on demonstrations. In a televised address on Friday, Adel Abdul Mahdi said that protesters’ demands for social and political reforms were “righteous,” conceding that the government must do more to fight corruption. However, he called for an end to the three-day-old demonstrations, stating that “everyone should respect the rule of law by which everyone can live in security and stability.” Security forces have used live ammunition to disperse the…

Head of the Turkish Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu called for dialogue and coordination with Syria and for unifying efforts to eliminate terrorist organizations, particularly in in the Idlib Governorate, saying that his party will continue to expose the policies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime. During  a meeting of the CHP Executive Committee on Wednesday, Kilicdaroglu referred to the concluding statement of the conference which was organized by his party a few days ago with the participation of other parties, saying “It is clear that there is no solution to the crisis in Syria except through political means which…

By Arthur Evans Today, Vladimir Putin is regarded by many, even by his opponents, to be one of the grandmasters in global politics. Most recently, he reaffirmed his status as a historic figure as he paid final tribute to Jacques Chirac, a person whom some in Europe call France’s last true president and who had been at the country’s helm for 12 years. For what it’s worth, it was the first time that the Russian President attended a former leader’s funeral abroad—visiting foreign states on such sad occasions normally falls to the lot of other officials. If you think of…

By Federico Pieraccini There is a strong current of change affecting the international political arena. It is the beginning of a revolution brought on by the transition from a unipolar to multipolar world order. In practice, we are faced with the combination of several factors, including the application of US tariffs on Chinese exports, Washington’s sanctions on Iran, US energy self-sufficiency, the vulnerability of Saudi industrial facilities, and Iranian capabilities for resisting US attacks, as well as its exportation of large quantities of gas and oil to China. Everything converges on one factor, namely, the looming decline of the US dollar…

The Air Force of the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, liquidated at least 26 militants near the southwestern city of Murzuq as the militants attempted to flee the area in the wake of the US airstrikes, Ahmed Mismari, the LNA spokesman, said on Thursday. “The Libyan army units supported by the aviation forces liquidated 26 mercenaries and terrorists in the vicinity of the town of Murzuq in the southwest of the country as they fled as a result of strikes by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM),” Mismari told a press conference. The spokesman added…

The US trade conflict with China may not have spared the kitchen sink, or even kitchen cabinets, as Washington on Thursday announced another round of steep tariffs. About $4.4 billion of wooden cabinets and vanities imported from China will face additional duties because they are being dumped on the American market at less than fair value, the Commerce Department said. Chinese exporters will face tariffs of 28.7 percent to 251.6 percent to level the playing field, Commerce said in its preliminary decision. The imported cabinets already faced tariffs August 8 after Commerce determined the Chinese manufacturers received government subsidies. The…

Libya’s National Oil Corporation warns of a possible decrease in oil production over the coming nine months amid the government’s policy to withhold budgets approved for the company. “National Oil Corporation (NOC) warned that Libyan oil production may fall precipitously over the next nine months if the government continues to withhold already approved budgets. NOC recorded August 2019 revenues of approximately 2 billion USD, a decrease of 117 million USD (5%) compared with July, and an increase of 466 million USD (30%) compared with August last year,” the corporation said in a press release late on Wednesday. On the same…

 Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced a curfew across the capital of Baghdad beginning at 05:00 a.m. (02:00 GMT) on Thursday amid large anti-government protests that have rocked the city, local media reported. The INA news agency reported, citing the prime minister’s statement, that the curfew would be in force until further notice. The protests have been underway in Baghdad and other areas in the south of Iraq since Tuesday. The demonstrators are calling for economic reforms and end to corruption. Earlier, Participants of anti-government demonstrations in Iraq’s capital of Baghdad were trying to break into the city airport…

According to Iranian media, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian commander who worked to assist Iraqi and Syrian forces in their battle against Daesh (ISIS)* terrorists and other extremists between 2014 and 2017, was not harmed. Iranian authorities have thwarted an assassination plot against Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Soleimani, with three alleged plotters arrested, Iran’s Fars News Agency has reported. According to authorities, the attempt to assassinate the commander was a “regional,” “joint Israel-Arab” plot, with no information provided yet regarding the identities and/or nationalities of those arrested. According to Hossein Taeb, the head of the IRGC’s Intelligence…