2020-06-27: News Headlines

yenisafak (2020-06-27). EU holds off decision on borders, Americans set to be excluded. yenisafak.com European Union countries failed to settle on Friday on a final "safe list" of countries whose residents could travel to the bloc from July, with the United States, Brazil and Russia set to be excluded.Ambassadors from the 27 EU members convened from Friday afternoon to establish criteria for granting quarantine-free access from next Wednesday.A redrawn text of 10-20 countries was put to them, but many said they needed to consult first with their governments, diplomats said. The list did not include the United States, Brazil or Russia, one diplomat said.Discussions were continuing overnight, with the EU countries…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-27). EU rejects US lawmakers' call to designate Hezbollah as terrorist org. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 27 (MNA) — European Union has rejected the call by a group of US senators to designate all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization and ban its activities in the continent.

South Front (2020-06-26). Video: Clashes Rage Between Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and Other Al-Qaeda Groups in Idlib. globalresearch.ca After two days of fighting with militants from the rival militant coalition Fa Ithbatu, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has launched a large-scale attack in order to put an end to the resistance to its dominance in Greater Idlib. | According to pro-militant …

news.un (2020-06-26). Syrians 'face unprecedented hunger amid impending COVID crisis'. news.un.org Syrian communities devastated by years of civil war now face an "unprecedented" hunger crisis, just as urgent action is needed to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

Steven Sahiounie (2020-06-26). MSM "Fake News" Against Syria. Describe Al Qaeda as "Rebels", Elected President as "Dictator" globalresearch.ca The Editorial Board of They call the Assad government of …

IMEMC Staff (2020-06-26). Israeli Settlers Assault Palestinian Man, Place Caravans near Nablus. imemc.org Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian resident, on Friday morning, beating him severely in the Douma village, south of the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian chief of the file on illegal Israeli settlement activities in the northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told media outlets that Israeli colonists assaulted Palestinian civilian, …

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Syria's hunger crisis worsens, COVID outbreak could intensify. yenisafak.com Syria faces an unprecedented hunger crisis with over 9.3 million people lacking adequate food while the country's coronavirus outbreak, though apparently controlled for now, could still accelerate, U.N. aid agencies said on Friday.The World Food Programme (WFP) told a briefing in Geneva that the number of people short of essential foodstuffs had risen by 1.4 million in the past six months.Food prices had also soared by more than 200% in less than a year due to the freefall in neighbouring Lebanon's economy and COVID-19 lockdown measures in Syria, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said.After nine years of armed confl…

Max Blumenthal (2020-06-25). How a US & Qatari regime change deception produced the 'Caesar' sanctions driving Syria towards famine. thegrayzone.com Like the mysterious figure it is named for, the Caesar sanctions bill is the product of an elaborate deception by…

Max Blumenthal (2020-06-25). How a US and Qatari regime change deception produced 'Caesar' sanctions driving Syria towards famine. thegrayzone.com Like the mysterious figure it is named for, the Caesar sanctions bill is the product of an elaborate deception by…

RT (2020-06-25). Iraqi forces raid HQ of Iran-backed militia as US coalition denies any involvement. rt.com Iraqi security forces have raided the headquarters of Kataib Hezbollah, capturing several leaders of the militia at the heart of US-Iranian conflict early this year. The US coalition rushed to distance itself from the operation. | Special forces from the Counter Terrorism Service carried out the raid in the early hours of Friday local time, at a base south of Baghdad, reportedly arresting nearly two dozen militiamen and several commanders. | Their fate remains unclear, however, as government officials insist they are in the custody of security services, while paramilitary sources claim all those detained have…

South Front (2020-06-25). Video: Infighting Among Idlib Al Qaeda Radicals Resumes with Renewed Energy. globalresearch.ca Late on June 23, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes on alleged Iranian-linked targets near al-Sukhna and Kabajab in central Syria and near Tel Al-Sahn in the countryside of as-Suwayda in southern Syria. A second wave of Israeli strikes early …

Elijah J. Magnier (2020-06-25). The US "Soft War" on Iran and Its Allies Turns Against Washington. globalresearch.ca The US administration under Barack Obama drafted "Caesar's Law" in 2016 to subdue Syria but kept it in the drawer. President Donald Trump and his administration dusted it off and are now implementing "Caesar's Law". In fact, Trump's policy is …

yenisafak (2020-06-25). Daesh/ISIS suspect going on trial in Paris. yenisafak.com A man accused of being a so-called "emir" of the terror group Daesh/ISIS is due for his day in court in Paris on Thursday, facing trial for his alleged offenses in Syria.Tyler Vilus, a.k.a., Abou Hafs, is accused of leading a terrorist group and committing murders in an organized gang in Syria in 2013-2015, among other offenses.Vilus was arrested on July 2, 2015, nearly five years ago to the day, while boarding a plane to Prague at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, and was later extradited to face trial.Turkey has long championed the repatriation of European nationals found to belong to terrorist groups.Vilus' phone,…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-25). UNSC calls for implementation of JCPOA: Iran's amb. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 26 (MNA) —Iran's ambassador to the UN said that the UNSC members states unanimously called for full implementation of the JCPOA.

RT (2020-06-24). Kosovo 'president' cancels US trip after war crimes indictment but Trump-sponsored talks still on. rt.com Talks sponsored by US President Donald Trump between Serbia and its breakaway province of Kosovo will still take place but without Kosovo leader Hashim Thaci, who was indicted for war crimes by an international court in The Hague. | Thaci has notified the White House that he was not coming, Ambassador Richard Grenell, Trump's special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia talks, confirmed on Wednesday. | "I respect his decision not to attend the discussions until the legal issues of those allegations are settled," Grenell added. | The President of Kosovo has just informed us that he has canceled his trip to Washington, D.C.

Yves Engler (2020-06-24). Canada's Security Council Defeat is a Win for Palestine. dissidentvoice.org Canada's defeat in its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council is a major victory for Palestinian solidarity. It also puts Canada's Israel lobby on the defensive. Israeli politicians and commentators have begun to publicly bemoan the loss. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the Jerusalem Post, "we are disappointed …

South Front (2020-06-24). Video: "Militants" Launch Massive Drone Attack on Russian Airbase in Syria. globalresearch.ca Late on June 22, Russian air defense units repelled a massive drone attack on Russia's Hmeimim air base in Syria. According to local sources, Russian Pantsir and Tor systems launched almost two dozen missiles at unmanned aerial vehicles launched by …

yenisafak (2020-06-24). Turkey remands Iraqi national over links to Daesh/ISIS. yenisafak.com A Turkish court on Wednesday remanded an Iraqi national into custody over links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, according to a security source.The suspect was arrested from a cell house in the western Denizli province where he was hiding after participating in terrorist activities in Syria, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The operation was launched as part of the investigation against Daesh by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Denizli, the source added.Many digital materials were also seized from the address raided.Turkey was one of the first countries…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-24). US has made UNSC 'ineffective' against crimes of Zionist regime. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 25 (MNA) — Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that the United States has made the United Nations Security Council [UNSC] 'inefficient' against the atrocities and crimes committed by Israel.