2020-10-15: News Headlines

Aaron Maté (2020-10-15). OPCW Syria whistleblower and ex-director attacked by U.S., UK, France at UN. mronline.org Ian Henderson, a veteran OPCW inspector who challenged a cover-up of his organization's investigation of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, recently testified before the United Nations Security Council.

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…

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, …

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. |

news.un (2020-10-14). Talks begin to resolve disputed Lebanon-Israel maritime border. news.un.org The UN Secretary-General has welcomed the launch of ground-breaking discussions on Wednesday, over the disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel in the eastern Mediterranean, following a framework agreement between the two nations at the beginning of the month.

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

Patrick Cockburn (2020-10-12). Is Syria's Idlib the Next Gaza Strip? counterpunch.org "Many relatives of mine were living in camps near the border with Turkey," says Huda Husein, a 25-year-old teacher living in the rebel-held enclave of Idlib in northwest Syria. "But last month they returned home [to the cities and villages] because they prefer dying under an airstrike to dying in the camps." A cousin told her that "we are just fleeing from danger to danger", explaining that the misery of trying to survive in cramped tents was worse than bombardment by Russia and Syrian government forces.

_____ (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.

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…

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…

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 …