2020-10-14: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-10-14). Syria's Devastating Forest Fires. globalresearch.ca The Syrian people who have already been suffering from nearly a decade of externally waged Hybrid War are now forced to deal with the environmental devastation caused by the 156 forest fires that recently ravaged the Arab Republic, though most …

MEE and agencies (2020-10-14). Lebanon and Israel hold unprecedented talks on disputed maritime border. middleeasteye.net Lebanon and Israel hold unprecedented talks on disputed maritime border | The two countries, technically at war, are seeking to settle a maritime border dispute and clear the way for oil and gas exploration | Wed, 10/14/2020 – 11: 14 | Vehicles of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL are pictured in the southernmost area of Naqoura, by the border with Israel, where talks between Israel and Leb…

Joseph Massad (2020-10-14). France's 'Crisis' with Islam: A Legacy of 200 Years of Colonial Brutality. globalresearch.ca France is in crisis. | Official and unofficial Christian French radical extremism, legitimising itself under the umbrella of what the French ostentatiously call laicité, continues to increase its attacks on French and non-French Muslims. |

Steven Sahiounie (2020-10-14). All It Takes Is a Spark: Syrian Wildfires Turn Olive Trees into Ashes. globalresearch.ca Latakia: Friday morning in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria seemed normal at first. Even though the October weather was still far hotter than normal, not many noticed the unusually strong winds wiping through the countryside, filled with olives, citrus, …

_____ (2020-10-14). Two Massive New Leaks Show Dirty Underbelly Of Empire. popularresistance.org Most Americans don't know reality. | They know their personal reality, but unfortunately their reality is thoroughly detached from real pure, uncut reality. For example, do they know that police across the country work with corporations to criminalize journalism? Do they know that large PR companies created a false reality to justify U.S. intervention in Syria? Do they know the word "intervention" acts as a euphemism for "cold-blooded murder under false pretenses"? | Americans don't know these aspects of reality. You and I wouldn't know either if it weren't for leaks and whistleblowers.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-14). Security situation in world has worsened: Iran UN envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Iran's ambassador to the United Nations warned against return of Cold War-era mentality, stating that threat of weapons of mass destruction and outer space and cybernetic threats have worsened security situation in the world.

Max Blumenthal (2020-10-13). Why did Amnesty UK, Bellingcat and White Helmets sabotage Roger Waters webinar on corporate pollution? thegrayzone.com The Grayzone obtained audio of a call in which Roger Waters confronted Amnesty leadership over efforts by Syria regime-change operatives — including its own staff — to sabotage an Amazon Watch webinar on Chevron's pollution of Ecuador. The campaign manager of Amnesty International UK, Kristyan Benedict, appears to have removed an Amnesty International tweet announcing an Amazon Watch webinar to raise awareness both of Chevron's pollution of an indigenous region of Ecuador and the company's ruthless persecution of environmental lawyer …

Patrick Cockburn (2020-10-13). Wars and Pandemics Produce the Same Sort of Lethal Government Bungling. counterpunch.org Watching the antics of Trump and the blunders of Boris Johnson in failing to cope with the virus, I have the same feeling I had repeatedly over the last 20 years when reporting on wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya. In all cases, arrogant assumptions of competence and strength were brutally exposed by complicated and dangerous realities on the ground.

Nusrat Choudhury (2020-10-13). The Supreme Court to Decide Whether Chicago Can Keep Cars Locked Up When Debtors File for Bankruptcy. aclu.org

_____ (2020-10-13). The Correlation Between U.S. Democracy and CIA-Sponsored Terror in Cuba's Case. strategic-culture.org Fidel Castro had chartered a course for Cuba to ensure the island's complete liberation from U.S. colonial influence and interference. Participating at the UN's Sixth Committee during a debate on "Ways to Eliminate International Terrorism", Cuban Ambassador to the UN Ana Rodriguez

_____ (2020-10-12). VIDEO: Why is the British press sexing up stories on Hezbollah, Iran and China? strategic-culture.org

sputniknews (2020-10-12). Militants Conduct 15 Attacks in Syria's Idlib De-Escalation Zone, Russian Military Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Terrorists has carried out 15 attacks in Syria's northern province of Idlib, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Centre for Syrian Reconciliation said at a daily briefing on Monday.

Rania Khalek (2020-10-11). Aaron Maté On Western Countries Attacking OPCW Syria Testimony At The UN. thealtworld.com OPCW whistleblower Ian Henderson and former OPCW director José Bustani, who testified before the UN Security Council, were attacked by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany during two UN Security Council meetings in which they provided testimony. | Bustani was blocked from reading his prepared statement on the OPCW's cover-up of what they uncovered when investigators examined the scene of an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, in April 2018. | Henderson was accused of being part of a "disinformation exercise," even though he was personally involved as an investigator, and physicist Ted Posto…

MEE and agencies (2020-10-11). Iraqi armed groups agree conditional suspension of attacks on US targets. middleeasteye.net Iraqi armed groups agree conditional suspension of attacks on US targets | Spokesperson for Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah says worse attacks could follow unless US withdraws its forces from Iraq | Sun, 10/11/2020 – 13: 54 | Mask-clad members of the Popular Mobilisation Front paramilitary force take part in a military parade in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on 14 June 2020 (AFP) | Several…

Abdel Bari Atwan (2020-10-11). The Saudi campaign against the Palestinians. thealtworld.com A concerted effort is underway to prepare public opinion for normalization with Israel | In June 2006, about a week after Israel's assault on Lebanon began, a Saudi delegation visited Washington and met with President George Bush Jr., who made an exception to receive them at the White House on a Sunday. The delegation was led by the then foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, and included the national security advisor and former ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, and the serving ambassador and ex-intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal. | The day after that meeting, the three princes sent a…

Elijah Magnier (2020-10-11). Difficult negotiations between Lebanon and Israel ahead. thealtworld.com Amid the domestic split between members of different political groups in Lebanese society, the country is preparing to start an indirect negotiation with Israel, pursuing a decades-old border dispute. After nine years of indirect discussion, both sides have agreed on a road map negotiated by the Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri. The negotiations over the final borders are expected to begin in the week starting 14 October in the neighbouring Lebanese city of Naqoura at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and under its auspices. The negotiation is far from being a Lebanese normalisa…

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-11). Iran, Afghanistan discuss strengthening bilateral relations. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 12 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Kabul Bahador Aminian voiced Iran's readiness to expand bilateral relations with Afghanistan in various fields.

Professor Piers Robinson (2020-10-11). The War on Truth, Dissent and Free Speech. globalresearch.ca On Saturday 13 June 2020 the Times newspaper published its third attack on academics associated with researching British government propaganda and the war in Syria. This time the attack focused on smearing myself and Professor David Miller with the objective …

Sondoss Al Assad (2020-10-10). Yemen's Ongoing Slaughter Needs to be Looked at from a Saudi Oil-Interest Perspective Says Yemeni Activist Mohamed Alzubaidi. thealtworld.com Exclusive- Impoverished Yemen has been devastated by an ongoing bloody war since March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and …

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-10). NAM urges Zionists' withdrawal from occupied Golan territory. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 10 (MNA) — It its latest political declaration, the 120 member-strong Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has urged the Tel Aviv regime's withdrawal from occupied Syrian territories in the Golan Heights.

sputniknews (2020-10-10). Iranian Diplomat Held for Trial in Belgium Over Alleged Bomb Plot Reportedly Warned of 'Retaliation'. sputniknews.com In July 2018, Assadollah Assadi, a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat, was arrested in Germany on a European warrant over charges of allegedly plotting to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris. He was later extradited to Belgium, where two alleged co-conspirators had been arrested with explosives in their possession.