Syria and Saudi Arabia Reopen Embassies

The move comes just days after Damascus was reinstated to the Arab League, following a decade-long suspension.

Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations nearly 10 years after cutting ties, both countries have announced. 

The move marks yet another rapprochement between Riyadh and its former foes, after the Gulf kingdom also restored diplomacy with Iran under a deal brokered by China.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry confirmed the decision in a statement on Tuesday, saying the renewed diplomacy would strengthen “bilateral relations between Arab countries to serve joint Arab action.”

“Based on the deep bonds and common affiliation of the peoples of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the embodiment of the aspirations of the peoples of the two countries …The Syrian Arab Republic decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ministry said.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a similar notice on Tuesday, stressing “the brotherhood ties that unite the peoples of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic.” While neither country specified when they would reopen their respective embassies, the kingdom added that the move would “enhance security and stability in the region.”

Riyadh initially broke relations with Damascus in 2012, not long after the Syrian war kicked off, during which Saudi Arabia supplied millions of dollars in weapons and gear to jihadist rebel factions seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Saudi officials were among the first to condemn Assad’s handling of anti-government protests at the time, later shuttering the Saudi embassy in Syria and expelling the Syrian ambassador.

However, following a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran mediated by China in March, the region has seen renewed efforts to mend ties between former adversaries, with the United Arab Emirates also voicing willingness to improve relations with Syria. Tehran and Riyadh have also taken steps to end the conflict in Yemen, which has raged since 2015, taking a devastating toll on Yemeni civilians.

On Sunday, the 22-member Arab League agreed to lift Syria’s 12-year suspension from the organization, yet another step toward reconciliation. That decision followed a high-level meeting in Amman between Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, where all parties agreed to improve cooperation on combating terrorism and pledged to “support Syria and its institutions to establish control over all of its territory and impose the rule of law.”

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The Federal Reserve Cartel: The Solution

Thomas Jefferson opined of the Rothschild-led Eight Families central banking cartel which came to control the United States, “Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of the day, but a series of oppressions begun at a distinguished period, unalterable through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing us to slavery”.

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Congressional China Panel Preps Proposals to Rapidly Arm Taiwan

The House committee dedicated to countering China is preparing bipartisan proposals for the fiscal 2024 defense authorization bill that would accelerate U.S. munitions production and arms transfers to Taiwan, its chairman told Defense News in an exclusive interview.

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ASEAN Finance Ministers & Central Banks Consider Dropping US Dollar, Euro, Yen, Phasing Out Visa and Mastercard

An official meeting of all ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors kicked off on Tuesday (March 28) in Indonesia. Top of the agenda are discussions to reduce dependence on the US Dollar, Euro, Yen, and British Pound from financial transactions and move to settlements in local currencies.

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ICC’s Putin Arrest Warrant Based on State Dept-funded Report that Debunked Itself

On March 17, the Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, introduced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Llova-Belova.

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Saudis Arrive for Yemen Peace Talks

An almost nine-year conflict has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Delegates representing Saudi Arabia and Oman arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Saturday to discuss a permanent ceasefire to end the civil war which has raged in the country since 2014.

The fighting is being waged primarily between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels – both of whom claim to be the country’s official leaders – along with their various allies.

The Houthi-operated Saba news agency reported on Sunday that the Saudi and Omani envoys will attempt to negotiate with Houthi officials to end the fighting, bring to a close Riyadh’s military involvement, and lift “the siege with all its repercussions.” 

Saba also said the talks are aimed at restoring the rights of Yemeni citizens, including the payment of state salaries with revenue derived from oil and gas. The lifting of a Saudi-imposed blockade on Yemeni ports will also be discussed, as well as the establishment of a timeline for foreign military forces to leave the country, Reuters reported.

Omani officials are mediating the talks, which come alongside UN efforts to establish peace in the region. The discussions follow Saudi Arabia and Iran’s decision to re-establish diplomatic ties, at talks recently brokered by China.

The Houthis are an Iran-aligned Shia militant group which seized Sanaa in 2014, as well as much of the north of the country. The previous, internationally recognized government fled south, and later into exile in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, Riyadh led a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa to intervene in the civil war on behalf of the ousted government, launching bombing campaigns and later a naval blockade.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of supplying weapons to the Houthis. Tehran denies this, but admits backing the rebel cause.

The conflict has been described as a ‘proxy war’ between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The UN has estimated that by the end of 2021 more than 377,000 people had died during the conflict, either by direct or indirect means. Around 80% of Yemen’s population is thought to be dependent on foreign aid. The civil war has led to what has been described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia agreed to release 13 Houthi prisoners in exchange for one Saudi captive. Further prisoner swaps are expected.

“The detainees released today from Saudi prisons are part of the deal agreed via the United Nations, and next Thursday the deal will be fully implemented,” Houthi official Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza told Reuters on Saturday.

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Saudi Arabia Makes its Eurasian Shift

Saudi Arabia’s recent reconciliations with Iran and Syria under Chinese-Russian guidance is perceived as a step toward reducing Riyadh’s dependence on the US, while also advancing Beijing and Moscow’s political and economic influence in West Asia.

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EDCA Camps are US ‘Platforms for War,’ Chinese Missiles’ Targets | Duterte

RODRIGO Duterte hasn’t lost his penchant for telling it like it is, even beating this professional writer in crafting a precise, vivid term for our military camps that the former president Benigno Aquino 3rd and incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are allowing the US armed forces to use whenever they please, especially in a war with China.

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France Blocked for 4 Years: Macron Has Just Deliberately Destroyed His Constitutional Authority

The crisis that France is going through today is not just another episode in an eternally agitated country. It is about a deep crisis of mode which will be solved only with the beginning of a new society. The country will go through several years of blockage, before embarking on a complete transformation, a revolution that will last at least a generation.

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The Middle East frees itself from the West

The reconciliation between Saudi Arabia, leader of the Sunni Muslim world, and Iran, leader of the Shiite Muslim world, finally makes possible an era of peace in the Middle East. It was made possible by Russia, ally of the two enemy brothers, and negotiated first in Iraq and Oman before being concluded by China, Iran’s millennial ally, acting impartially. This agreement closes eleven years of wars and Western influence.

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Dozens of US Banks at Risk of Repeating SVB Collapse – Study

Many other lenders are also sitting on unrealized losses caused by the rapid rise in interest rates.

Nearly 200 American banks face similar risks to those that led to the implosion and bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), according to a paper posted this week to the Social Science Research Network. SVB, a major US lender focused on the tech and startup sectors, was shut down by regulators last week after massive deposit outflows.

In the study, four economists from prominent US universities estimated how much market value the assets held by US banks have lost due to recent interest rate hikes.

From March 07, 2022, to March 6, 2023, the federal funds rate rose sharply from 0.08% to 4.57%, and this increase was accompanied by quantitative tightening. As a result, long-dated assets similar to those held on bank balance sheets experienced significant value declines during the same period,” they wrote.

Although higher interest rates can benefit banks by allowing them to lend at a higher rate, many US banks have parked a significant portion of their excess cash in US Treasuries. This was done when interest rates were at near-zero levels. The value of these bonds has now greatly decreased due to the rate hikes – investors can now simply purchase newly issued bonds that offer a higher interest rate. The decline in the banks’ portfolios is unrealized, meaning the value of the securities has declined but the loss is still only ‘on paper’.

The problem arises when customers request their deposits back and banks are forced to sell their securities – at a significant loss – in order to pay depositors back. In extreme cases, this can lead to a bank becoming insolvent, or as happened with Silicon Valley Bank, the loss of confidence can trigger a bank run.

The report’s authors looked into how the amount of US lenders’ funding that comes from uninsured deposits: the greater the share, the more susceptible a bank is to a run. For instance, at SVB, where 92.5% of deposits were uninsured, the deposit outflow caused the bank to collapse in a span of only two days. The authors of the study calculated that 186 American banks do not have enough assets to pay all customers if even half of uninsured depositors decide to withdraw their money.

Our calculations suggest these banks are certainly at a potential risk of a run, absent other government intervention or recapitalization… Overall, these calculations suggest that recent declines in bank asset values very significantly increased the fragility of the US banking system to uninsured depositor runs,” the economists concluded, noting that the number of banks at risk could be “significantly” larger if “uninsured deposit withdrawals cause even small fire sales.”

SVB’s failure sent ripples across the entire US banking industry and caused the closure of another lender, Signature Bank. Many other financial institutions have seen their stocks plunge, with the six largest Wall Street banks losing around $165 billion in market capitalization, or some 13% of their combined value. Earlier this week, the ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook for the US banking system from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’, citing the “rapidly deteriorating operating environment.

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Beyond the Smoke & Mirrors