2020-06-13: News Headlines

Alan Macleod (2020-06-12). Hawkish, Gov't Funded Think Tank Behind Twitter Decision to Delete Thousands of Chinese Accounts. mintpressnews.com Twitter's decision came after close collaboration with a deeply controversial U.S. and Australian government-funded think tank that has been denounced by Australia's former ambassador in Beijing as "the architect of the China threat theory in Australia."

Steven Sahiounie (2020-06-12). The US Admits They Are to Blame for Hunger in Syria. globalresearch.ca United States Special Envoy to Syria,

Elijah Magnier (2020-06-11). Syrie La loi César: Qui vise-t-elle et comment affectera-t-elle le président Assad? 1/3. thealtworld.com À la mi-juin, les sanctions américaines contre la Syrie vont s'intensifier, avec la promulgation de la ´

South Front (2020-06-11). Video: Syrian Army Repelled Militant Attack in Southern Idlib. US Air Force C-130 Plane Crashed in Iraq. globalresearch.ca The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces have repelled an attack on their positions in southern Idlib. | On June 8, forces of the Ghurfat Eamaliat wa-Harid al-Mu'minin coalition of al-Qaeda-linked militant groups stormed the villages of Tanjarah and Fattirah. …

Marwa Osman (2020-06-11). Israel's Arbitrary Detentions—MES EP.57. thealtworld.com Tough Israel regularly arrests Palestinians and keeps them under illegal detention for months, the number of such arrests have risen in the last couple of months. In complete violation of all established human rights norms, Israel has continued the practice of holding Palestinian detainees without any charge or formal trial for months before they are formally charged with baseless accusations and unfairly tried or released. | To discuss this issue with us from Madrid is Alberto Garcia Watson, activist and member of the International Solidarity Movement. | Dozens of people in the southern countryside of Syria's no…

_____ (2020-06-12). Who Supplied The Weapons Used Against #BLM Protesters? popularresistance.org In response to the murder of George Floyd by a member of the Minneapolis police department on 25th May, thousands of people across the United States joined protests demanding justice for his killing, radical reform of police forces, and driving home the message that Black Lives Matter. Many of these protests face militarised police responses, including the use of rubber bullets, sting balls, stun grenades, battons, police charges, and chemical weapons like tear gas and pepper spray. | Twitter users have photographed a large number of canisters that were fired during the protest. Many appear to have been produced…

_____ (2020-06-11). Fortress On A Hill: Interview With Larry Wilkerson. popularresistance.org Powerful. That's how I'd describe today's episode. A deep dive into the mind of COL(R) Larry Wilkerson, his career as a U.S. Army officer to include combat in Vietnam, his close professional relationship with Colin Powell, his time at the State Department during the Bush II era, his thoughts on various conflicts to include Iraq and Syria, and his thoughts on the murder of George Floyd amidst the COVID-19 era. | Lawrence Wilkerson's last positions in government were as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff (2002-05), Associate Director of the State Department's Policy Planning staff under the directorsh…

South Front (2020-06-11). Video: Explosion Targets Russian Military Police Patrol in Northern Syria. Who Was Behind It? globalresearch.ca On June 9, an improvised explosive device exploded on the route of the patrol of the Russian Military Police near the town of Ayn al-Arab (also known as Kobani) in northern Syria. Initially, Kurdish sources claimed that at least 3 …

RT (2020-06-10). Putin stresses importance of Libya ceasefire in phone call with Erdogan. rt.com Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday and stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Libya as soon as possible, the Kremlin's press service said. | The two leaders expressed "mutual concern over the mass armed clashes ongoing in the country," the statement said. Putin also stressed the need for renewed inter-Libyan dialogue. | Discussing Syria, Putin and Erdogan underlined the need to implement Russian-Turkish agreements on the Idlib de-escalation zone. | The presidents discussed joint efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, and noted the…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Turkey rescues 381 asylum seekers in a week. yenisafak.com Turkey rescued 381 asylum seekers over the past week, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said on Saturday.Between June 5 and 11, a total of 381 asylum seekers were held or rescued in 14 incidents, the coast guard said on Twitter.Three smugglers were also arrested, it added, sharing four photos from the rescue operations where the Turkish teams in full protective gear were seen taking asylum seekers' temperature.Turkey has been one of the main routes for asylum seekers wanting to reach Europe, especially since Syria's civil war started in 2011.Turkey hosts nearly four million Syrians, more than any other country in t…

yenisafak (2020-06-11). Cherry season ensues in Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com Syrian civilians have started harvesting cherries in the Idlib de-escalation zone in the northwest of the country amid relatively secure environment since cease-fire agreement inked between Turkey and Russia on March 5.Idlib is home to hundreds of thousands of cherry trees.However, farmers returning to their homes after the cease-fire have been badly affected by skyrocketing fertilization, tree pruning, transportation and fuel prices."We suffered a lot during the migration period. We returned to our land after the cease-fire. We look forward to this month every year," Syrian farmer Haci Ahmet Muhammad told Anadol…

yenisafak (2020-06-10). UN dispatches 57 trucks carrying aid to Syria's Idlib. yenisafak.com The UN on Wednesday dispatched a total of 57 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for needy people in Idlib city of northwestern Syria.Truckloads of supplies entered the Syrian city through the Cilvegozu border crossing of Turkey's southern Hatay province.The aid will be distributed among residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreem…

yenisafak (2020-06-10). Erdogan, Putin discuss Libya, Idlib over phone. yenisafak.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday spoke over the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the latest situation in Libya and Idlib, northwestern Syria.According to the Turkish Communications Directorate, the two leaders also discussed regional issues and steps to be taken in…

yenisafak (2020-06-10). Turkish defense company distributes aid in Pakistan. yenisafak.com Turkey's leading defense company Roketsan on Wednesday distributed food packages among 1,000 families in Pakistan through the Turkish Red Crescent.The food packages distribution event held in Rawalpindi, a city adjacent to the capital Islamabad, was attended by Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul and the country's head of the Turkish Red Crescent Carlos Camilo.The ongoing coronavirus crisis and earlier lockdown has deprived a large number of poor families and daily wage workers of their source of income in Pakistan.Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Camilo said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affecte…

sputniknews (2020-06-12). Militants Shell Settlement in Syria's Idlib, Russian Military Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group has attacked a settlement in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, Rear Admiral Alexander Shcherbitsky, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Friday.

sputniknews (2020-06-12). Russian Embassy Says Fake Statement of US Official on Libya, Syria Will Further Spoil Relations. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Russian Embassy in the United States said the fake statement by a high-ranking US official, including recent remarks on the situation in Syria and Libya, will only spoil relations between Moscow and Washington even further.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-13). Iranian envoy holds webinar with Iranian students in Japan amid pandemic. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 13 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Japan Morteza Rahmani Movahhed held a video-conference meeting on Saturday with Iranian students, researchers, and professors residing in Japan.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-12). Syrian MP terms US sanctions as 'war crimes'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 12 (MNA) — A member of the Syrian Parliament, Mohammad Fawaz, said that the US is committing war crimes by imposing new sanctions against Syria.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-12). Iran, Iraq discuss expansion of healthcare cooperation. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 12 (MNA) — Iran's Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Msjedi and Iraqi Health Minister Hassan Mohammed al-Tamimi stressed the need for promoting cooperation in the health sector.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-11). Iran, Iraq underline development of bilateral coop. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 11 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi met and held talks with Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Thursday on the expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-10). Iran, Russia voice concern over humanitarian crisis in Yemen, Syria. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 10 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister's Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji held a phone conversation with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and Syria.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-10). Be ashamed of crying wolf over detention of an Iranian. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 10 (MNA) — In a tweet on Wednesday, Iran's Ambassador to UK Hamid Baeidinjad lashed out at United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson for his latest remarks urging the release of the detained Iranian citizen Morad Tahbaz by the Islamic Republic.

The Canary (2020-06-11). Shamima Begum's British citizenship should be restored, Court of Appeal hears. thecanary.co Shamima Begum's British citizenship should be restored because she cannot have a "fair and effective appeal" against the government's decision to strip her of it, the Court of Appeal has heard.Begum, now 20, was one of three East London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State (IS) in February 2015. She lived under IS rule for more than three years. She was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. It prompted then home secretary Sajid Javid to revoke her British citizenship later that month.In 2019, Begum took legal action against the Home Office at the…

ahtribune (2020-06-12). Trump's 'Caesar' Style Siege on Syria, A Sign of Impending Regional Failure. ahtribune.com Would be emperor Donald Trump has announced the 'Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act', to tighten the genocidal siege on the Syrian people. Without a hint of irony, this new edict imposes even more serious obstacles to the Syrian people getting access to energy, food and medicines, while claiming its purpose is to 'protect' those same people. | However the move comes as (1) a shrinking US military presence faces resistance attacks in both Syria and Iraq, (2) Washington's allies are abandoning the US-led 'coalition' in Iraq, (3) Trump has undermined his local allies in Lebanon and Iraq, by threats and economi…

Mahmut Geldi (2020-06-13). Lebanese Protesters Set Central Bank on Fire. anti-empire.com Demonstrators in Lebanon attempted to occupy the central bank in the capital Thursday after the country's currency sank to a record low against the US dollar. | As a result of the nation's economic crisis, the dollar rose to 6,000 Lebanese pounds from 4,000 in the last two days, prompting protesters to take to the streets in Beirut and many other cities. | twitter.com/BasedPoland/status/1271523775440392195 | They blocked roads to traffic with garbage containers and burning tires. | Forcing their way into the central bank on Hamra Street, they had to withdraw when security forces intervened. | Security for…

Marko Marjanoviƒá (2020-06-11). The Powers That Be Are Ecstatic That the Left Believes the Biggest Problem Right Now Are Statues of Dead White Men. anti-empire.com In the US and the EU both, we've witnessed the biggest monetary heist in history. We're sailing into a depression that central banks have set up for us over the past two decades. And we're doing so in the worst possible condition thanks to the Draconian, harebrained and unnecessary lockdowns that the politicians imposed on us. | Several of Empire's wars and occupations continue in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Syria. Tension is being needlessly cultivated with China and Russia, and the entire architecture of nuclear arms control is just about done being thrown in that trash bin of history. | Simultaneously the…

Andrey Areshev (2020-06-12). Syria in Seattle: Commune Defies the U.S. Regime. strategic-culture.org The marriage of post-Lockdown and George Floyd protests has nurtured a rough beast that is still immune to any form of civilized debate in the U.S.: the Seattle Commune. | So what really is the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone cum People's Republic all about? | Are the communards mere useful idiots? Is this a refined Occupy Wall Street experiment? Could it survive, logistically, and be replicated in NYC, L.A. and D.C.? | An outraged President Trump has described it as a plot by "domestic terrorists" in a city "run by radical left Democrats". He called for "LAW & ORDER" (in caps, according to his Tweetology). | Shades…

Arabi Souri (2020-06-12). Video: Hearing Is Not Like Seeing: NATO's Terrorists Burning Syrian Wheat Crops. globalresearch.ca A video clip shared by local farmers from Ras Al-Ayn showing an inferno burning their livelihood before their eyes, hundreds of acres of wheat on fire just as the crop is due to harvest. | We've been reporting about these fires …

WSWS (2020-06-10). Protests erupt in Syria as the economy collapses. wsws.org The Syrian pound has fallen precipitously following Lebanon's economic crisis last October and now the US's Caesar Act allowing President Donald Trump to impose fresh sanctions.