2020-06-17: News Headlines

Marwa Osman (2020-06-17). Lebanon in Economic Free Fall—MES EP.58. thealtworld.com 1st segment | Lebanon's worst economic crisis in decades has already cost thousands of jobs, with unrest stirring again as protesters lashed out at the government's response. The depreciation in the Lebanese Lira is driving up prices, hitting disposable incomes and forcing many Lebanese to rein in the free-spending lifestyles they'd become accustomed to. To discuss this issue with us from Beirut is Dr. Hussein Gharbieh academic and political commentator. | 2nd segment | Libya's conflict has taken a new twist after an attempt by eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar to seize the capital, Tripoli, crumbled rapidly…

yenisafak (2020-06-17). UN sends 49 truckloads of aid to Syria's Idlib. yenisafak.com The UN on Wednesday sent 49 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Idlib, northwestern Syria, where millions of people are in need of assistance due to internal conflict in the country.Truckloads of supplies entered Idlib 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…

ahtribune (2020-06-17). After the West Bank When (How Soon) Will the East Follow? ahtribune.com Whatever percentage of the West Bank Israel begins to annex in July, it will eventually annex the rest. Will it then turn to the east bank of the Jordan river? | Since the 19th century, the Zionist project was based on the seizure of all Palestine, including territory east of the Jordan. The map of 'Israel' presented to the Paris peace conference in 1919 extended northwards into what is now Lebanon and included the city of Sidon; in the northeast, all the Golan Heights and Syria almost as far as Damascus; in the southeast the entire Jordan River valley, with the territory it desired extending almost to the tow…

Andrew Korybko (2020-06-17). The US' Planned Imposition of Draconian "Secondary Sanctions" on Syria. Targets Any Entity Doing Business with Syria. globalresearch.ca The US hopes that making Syrians even more desperate than they already are could catalyze another Color Revolution at one of the country's most critical moments in its history, which could then be exploited for regime change purposes. | Reuters reported …

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-17). US Congress Calls it "Civilian Protection": Washington Wants 17 Million Syrians Starved Into Submission. globalresearch.ca Implementation of the so-called Caesar Syria Civilian Protection legislation (Caesar Act) is the latest shoe to drop in Washington's long war of aggression on the country, its legitimate leadership, and 17 million people. | Signed into law by Trump last December, …

South Front (2020-06-17). Video: Russian Surface-to-Air Missile Systems in Syria Shoot Down Militants' Drones. globalresearch.ca Tor short-range surface-to-air missile systems have downed more than 45 unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Syrian militants, according to the chief of the Russian Air Defense Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov. | "Since the start of combat duty, the calculations …

news.un (2020-06-16). Security Council: Time is on no-one's side in Syria, warns top UN envoy. news.un.org With war-weary Syria in economic freefall and protesters back on the streets, all sides — domestic and international — must find a way forward that helps its people overcome their suffering and shape their own future, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen says.

Morning Star (2020-06-16). Huge anti-government protests sweep Lebanon. peoplesworld.org Huge protests swept Lebanon June 13 as demonstrators called on the government to resign. Demonstrators marched through Beirut demanding an end to the country's sectarian political system, where positions of power are allocated between different factions, and action over an economic crisis that has seen the currency collapse and yawning inequality. A bank was set …

RT (2020-06-16). India summons Pakistani ambassador after embassy staff detained following road accident. rt.com Pakistan's ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in New Delhi after two Indian embassy employees were held by Pakistani police, following an alleged hit-and-run incident in Islamabad on Monday. | The ambassador was handed a protest note against what India called "abduction and torture" of the staff of its embassy, officially called the High Commission. The two men were "video-graphed and coerced to accept a litany of fictitious allegations and concocted charges," the statement by the ministry read. | The embassy employees were "kept in illegal custody for more than 10 hours" and were released only af…

Alan MacLeod (2020-06-16). Hawkish, Gov't funded think tank behind Twitter decision to delete thousands of Chinese accounts. mronline.org 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."

South Front (2020-06-16). Video: Al-Qaeda Factions Create New Coalition in Idlib. globalresearch.ca Early on June 14, the Russian Aerospace Forces reportedly carried out airstrikes on positions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham near the villages of al-Bara and Deir Sunbul in southern Idlib. Since the signing of the new de-escalation agreement with Turkey on …

news.un (2020-06-16). Syrian refugees resort to ever more desperate measures to resist pandemic impact. news.un.org The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic spike in the number of Syrian refugees in need of emergency assistance in the last three months, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, in an appeal for funding to confront new challenges posed by the health emergency.

Tim Anderson (2020-06-16). Trump's 'Caesar' Style Siege on Syria, A Sign of Impending Regional Failure. iranian.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 …

yenisafak (2020-06-16). Lavrov: Russia, Turkey, Iran to hold summit on Syria. yenisafak.com Ankara, Moscow and Tehran agreed to hold a videoconference and then a face-to-face meeting on the Syrian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Tuesday.The presidents of the three countries will discuss Syrian issues in a videoconference and then will hold a summit in Tehran, Lavrov said at a news conference following a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif."Today, we confirmed the agreement of the three presidents of the Astana format countries that the summit will be held in Tehran within terms that will be determined considering the situation developing due to the c…

yenisafak (2020-06-16). NATO concerned by Russia's growing presence in E.Med. yenisafak.com Russia's growing presence in the Eastern Mediterranean region is a cause for concern for NATO, the military alliance's chief said on Tuesday."NATO is also concerned about the increased Russian presence in the eastern Mediterranean in general, in Syria, but also, of course, in Libya. And we have to follow and monitor that very closely," Jens Stoltenberg said in response to a question in an online news conference ahead of the NATO defense ministers meeting on June 17-18.He said the situation in Libya was not on the meeting agenda, but could be discussed, adding: "It has a direct impact on the security of especially…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-16). Resistance arms part of our culture, strategic doctrine: Nasrallah. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 16 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says,"Resistance arms, for our people, are part of our culture, strategic doctrine."

Philip Giraldi (2020-06-15). America's Supernational Sovereignty. thealtworld.com Iran and Syria again on the receiving end of sanctions | One of the most disturbing aspects of American foreign policy since 9/11 has been the assumption that decisions made by the United States are binding on the rest of the world, best exemplified by President George W. Bush's warning that "there was a new sheriff in town." Apart from time of war, no other nation has ever sought to prevent other nations from trading with each other, nor has any government sought to punish foreigners using sanctions with the cynical arrogance demonstrated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The United States uniquely seeks to pen…

ahtribune (2020-06-15). America's Supernational Sovereignty: Iran and Syria Again on the Receiving End of Sanctions. ahtribune.com The conceit by the United States that it is the acknowledged judge, jury and executioner in policing the international community began in…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-15). 'Trump Heights': The newest Israeli-approved illegal settlements in occupied Golan Heights. peoplesdispatch.org The Golan Heights is Syrian territory occupied by Israel following the 1967 war. Israeli settlement activities inside the occupied territories are in complete violation of international laws…

Elijah J. Magnier (2020-06-15). US Congress "Caesar's Law" Directed against Syria: Who Does It Target and How Will It Affect President Assad? globalresearch.ca In mid-June, the US sanctions against Syria will escalate, with the enactment in Congress of "

Pepe Escobar (2020-06-14). Syria in Seattle: Commune Defies the U.S. Regime. dissidentvoice.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 …

Pepe Escobar (2020-06-14). Syria in Seattle: Commune Defies the U.S. Regime. The Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). globalresearch.ca 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 …

teleSUR (2020-06-14). African Countries Call for Urgent UN Debate Over Racism. telesurenglish.net African countries on Friday called on the United Nation Human Rights Council to urgently debate racism and police impunity, amid growing protests over George Floyd's death in the United States and other parts of the world. | RELATED: | In a letter written on behalf of 54 African countries, Burkina Faso's ambassador to the UN in Geneva asked the UN's top rights body for an "urgent debate" on "racially inspired human ri…

ahtribune (2020-06-14). Burning Lands and Crops, Turkish "Starvation" War on Civilians of Northern Syria. ahtribune.com Recently, the Turkish forces and their armed factions carried out frequent violations and attacks towards the people living within the areas adjacent to theirs in northern Syria, by targeting agricultural lands with explosive bullets and shells aiming at burning them and depriving the owners of their crops. | Under the difficult humanitarian conditions and in a declared war aimed at "starving" civilians, the Turkish forces and their factions have worked over the past two weeks to consecutively target with explosive bullets the agricultural lands in northern Syria almost daily, especially villages and towns con…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Top Russian officials' visit to Turkey postponed. yenisafak.com A planned Sunday visit to Turkey by Russia's foreign and defense ministers has been postponed, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said.In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov decided to hold contacts and negotiations between their deputy ministers in the days to come, said a ministry statement.Ministerial talks will also take place at a later date, it said.Russia's foreign and defense ministers were expected in Turkey for dialogue on regional issues.Moscow and Ankara frequently consult on the situation in Syria and Libya, and the two issues, particularly the lat…

sputniknews (2020-06-14). Militants Shell Settlements in Syria's Latakia, Idlib, Aleppo, Russian Military Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group has attacked settlements in Syria's provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, and Latakia, Rear Admiral Alexander Shcherbitsky, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Sunday.

teleSUR (2020-06-13). Lebanon: Mass Night Protests as the National Currency Dives. telesurenglish.net Citizens took to the streets for the second night in a row to protest against Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab who has failed to control the strong depreciation of the Lebanese pound (L £) against the U.S. dollar. | RELATED: | In Beirut, the country's capital, protesters burned tires, cut roads, and confronted security forces. At least eleven people were injured, according to the Red Cross. | "In our co…