2020-04-23: News Headlines

Max Blumenthal (2020-04-23). Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Funds State Dept/USAID Operations that Once Helped Trigger Polio Outbreak in Syria. globalresearch.ca While the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill was authored in the spirit of beating back a pandemic, buried deep within its text is a stipend for the US State Department operations dedicated to carrying out foreign interventions that have contributed …

South Front (2020-04-23). Video: Government Forces Clash with Kurdish Militias Amid Israeli Strikes on Central Syria. globalresearch.ca On April 21, clashes broke out in the city of Qamishly between the Kurdish Asayish, a security force of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the pro-government National Defense Forces. | Local sources claim that NDF units tried to capture several Asayish …

South Front (2020-04-22). Video: Russian Fighter Jets Buzz US Spy Planes Off Syrian Coast. globalresearch.ca On April 20, gunmen attacked a vehicle of the US-led coalition moving along the road near the village of Roueished in the province of al-Hasakah. Syrian state media reported that the vehicle was destroyed and several US service members were …

Marwa Osman (2020-04-22). U.S. Cruel Sanctions—MES EP.50. thealtworld.com While US officials claim their sanctions do not affect humanitarian aid nor the medical and food supply of other countries, in Iran and Syria these areas are being targeted almost directly. | Meanwhile, Yemen's war shows no signs of abating 10 days after the Saudi-led military coalition declared a unilateral truce. We discuss this segment with Dr. Ziad Al Hafez, former Secretary General of the Arab National Conference from Washington. | Simultaneously, Yemen announced its first case of COVID-19, as aid organizations warned the country's health system, which has all but collapsed since the Saudi aggression against…

en.mehrnews (2020-04-22). Nasrallah says patience key to defeating Israeli enemy, coronavirus. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 22 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that the country is able to overcome challenges by exercising patience.

teleSUR (2020-04-21). Palestine Receives Medical Aid from China to Fight COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Palestine received Monday from China a batch of emergency medical supplies including medicines, quick medical tests, and ventilators to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | The Chinese Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei personally delivered the aid at the health ministry's storage warehouses in the West Bank city of Ramallah to the Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila, who thanked the Asian nation for…

Max Blumenthal (2020-04-16). Coronavirus stimulus bill funds State Dept/USAID operations that once helped trigger polio outbreak in Syria. thegrayzone.com A look at recent USAID schemes from Pakistan to Syria shows US empire can be very hazardous to your health….

Jason Ditz (2020-02-20). Turkey Kills Over 50 Syrian Troops, Russian Warplanes Intervene to Halt Offensive. theantimedia.com Russia called the situation a "worst case scenario."

Middle East Eye (2020-02-07). Russia Says Israel Used Civilian Plane as Human Shield During Syria Strikes. theantimedia.com Russia accused Israel of "making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians."

Middle East Eye (2020-02-06). Turkey Gives Assad Deadline to Pull Back or Face Military Action. theantimedia.com Turkey has given the Syrian government until the end of this month to withdraw from recently seized territory in Idlib province.

Tasnim News (2020-04-21). Iran, Russia, Turkey to Discuss Syria Situation. iranian.com The Iranian, Russian and Turkish foreign ministers plan to hold a meeting via video conference on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in Syria. According to Russian foreign ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Turkish counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu will hold the online meeting on April 22, TASS reported. …

yenisafak (2020-04-23). German court opens first Syria torture trial. yenisafak.com Two suspected members of President Bashar al-Assad's security services had charges of torture and sexual assault read out against them on Thursday in a German court, in what lawyers say is the first trial for war crimes by Syrian government agents.Anwar R., a former intelligence officer who applied for asylum in Germany six years ago after leaving Syria, is charged with 58 murders in a Damascus prison where prosecutors say at least 4,000 opposition activists were tortured in 2011 and 2012.Grey haired, with a bald patch and wearing a moustache, glasses and a dark sweater, he sat calmly behind a glass cubicle erect…

yenisafak (2020-04-23). Glad to be helping: refugee Syrian film-maker turns London hospital cleaner. yenisafak.com On a coronavirus ward in an east London hospital, award-winning film-maker Hassan Akkad, a refugee from Syria, is working as a cleaner, joining the fight against the pandemic in his adopted home."I'm so glad to be helping," Akkad said in an interview on Zoom.The 32-year old refugee has lived in London for four years. His footage of the journey he made surviving a sinking dinghy from Turkey into Europe and on to the UK, was part of a documentary series which in 2017 won BAFTA and International Emmy awards.With the outbreak of the disease, he saw a way to thank the community that had welcomed him and become "like h…

yenisafak (2020-04-23). Turkey donates emergency food for 3,000 Bangladeshis. yenisafak.com Turkey on Thursday donated emergency food aid for 3,000 poor households in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on the eve of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan amid the novel coronavirus pandemic."We stand by our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh, who are the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences," said Mustafa Osman Turan, Turkish Ambassador in Bangladesh, in an address to the recipient families at a ceremony.The South Asian nation of more than 165 million has so far reported 127 deaths from COVID-19 so far, with 4,186 confirmed cases and 108 recoveries.The Turkish Cooperation and Co…

yenisafak (2020-04-23). Head of EU delegation to Turkey marks Children's Day. yenisafak.com The head of the EU delegation to Turkey marked the National Sovereignty and Children's Day Thursday, wishing for a world that ensures the rights and well-being of children.Ambassador Christian Berger and his wife recorded a video message for Anadolu Agency to observe the 100th anniversary of the Turkish parliament on behalf of the delegation.They also shared two "very special" childhood photos of themselves that were taken in Vienna and Athens.Highlighting the importance of the centennial celebrations, Berger said: "A day that was dedicated by the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatàºrk, to all child…

sputniknews (2020-04-23). Iran Summons Swiss Ambassador Representing US to Lodge Protest Against Trump's Threats. sputniknews.com The US president said he had "instructed" the country's Navy to shoot and sink Iranian gunboats if they start harassing American war vessels in the Persian Gulf. Head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami later cautioned Washington against such step warning that Tehran will shoot back.