(2020-07-09). Deadly new sanctions on Syria. workers.org 
By Judy Bello This slightly edited guest article was originally published June 12 on the web site of the United National AntiWar Coalition (unac.notowar.net). On May 20, President Trump signed into law the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Embedded in this bill, a housekeeping bill of sorts where yearly . . . |
(2020-07-08). US affirms Lebanon support as Hezbollah steps up criticism. yenisafak.com A U.S. general voiced Washington's backing for Lebanese stability on Wednesday on a visit that triggered a protest by demonstrators including supporters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah against U.S. policies in the country.General Kenneth McKenzie's visit to Beirut, a big recipient of U.S. military aid, comes after Hezbollah stepped up criticism of U.S. ambassador Dorothy Shea on Tuesday, accusing her of blatant interference in Lebanese affairs.Lebanon is in throes of an acute financial crisis seen as the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil war.The heavily armed Hezbollah, founded by Iran's Revolu…
(2020-07-08). UN So-called Committee of Inquiry (COI) Casually Blames Bashar Al-Assad for US-Sponsored High Crimes Committed by Terrorist Proxies Against the People of Syria. globalresearch.ca Launched preemptively in March 2011 by the Obama regime, escalated by Trump, US direct and proxy aggression in Syria will likely continue indefinitely no matter which right wing of its war party is in charge ahead. | Formed in September 2011, …
(2020-07-08). Arrest of Shi'ite Militias in Iraq Is Part of Iranian-US Proxy Struggle. globalresearch.ca New Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi faces many challenges to his authority, including from powerful pro-Iranian Shi'ite militias like Kata'ib Hezbollah. On June 26, 14 militiamen of Kata'ib Hezbollah, commonly known as the Iraqi Hezbollah, were apprehended by Iraqi security …
(2020-07-08). Landmines in Syria's al-Bab pose risk to civilians. yenisafak.com Civilians in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab are awaiting help from authorities to clear the area from landmines, planted by Daesh/ISIS terror group.The landmines and other explosives are strewn across and have limited agriculture activities, besides endangering humans and livestock.Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Muhammed Kalso, whose son was injured from a landmine explosion last week, has urged for a large-scale mine-clearing operation in the area.His son was injured while walking in the middle of the village."If we had known there was a mine in the middle of the village, we would not have taken the kids out. I…
(2020-07-08). Turkey, Jordan reject Israeli move to annex West Bank. yenisafak.com Jordan and Turkey on Wednesday reiterated their rejection of an Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. | Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives (lower house of parliament), Atef Tarawneh, held talks in Amman with Turkish Ambassador Ismail Aramaz to discuss cooperation between the two countries in the parliamentary, economic and investment fields. | "Amman and Ankara have historic relations and bonds of friendship and cooperation which require maintaining coordination and consultation regarding the issues of mutual interest." Tarawneh said in a statement. | The Jordanian speaker reiterated hi…
(2020-07-08). Gen. Soleimani played key role in Lebanon's victories. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 08 (MNA) — Sheikh Naim Qassem said that Martyr General Soleimani had a significant role in the victories of Lebanon and Syria against terrorist groups.
(2020-07-07). Fresh evidence of war crimes committed by all sides in Syrian conflict, probe finds. news.un.org Hospitals, schools and homes have all been targeted during Syria's brutal and long-running conflict, said UN-appointed investigators, who on Tuesday condemned likely fresh war crimes committed by all parties.
(2020-07-07). 'Solidarity selfie' campaign draws support for persecuted Kurdish mayors, MPs in Turkey. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-07-07). Video: Syrian Army Fights ISIS in Homs. SDF Rejects Deal with Damascus. globalresearch.ca Clashes between government forces and ISIS terrorists have continued in central Syria since July 2, when ISIS cells stormed army positions in eastern Homs. In response, the Syrians supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a security operation in the …
(2020-07-07). Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Tests Positive for Covid-19. commondreams.org The announcement comes three days after the right-wing leader was photographed without a mask with the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-12177721131_0.jpg …
(2020-07-07). Guaido Representative Threatens FBI Investigation Into Journalists. popularresistance.org Vanessa Neumann, the U.K. ambassador of self-declared President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, claims that she is working closely with the FBI in an investigation exposing a "transnational criminal network" of journalists, including John McEvoy, Pablo Navarette, independent outlet Venezuelanalysis and former MintPress News contributor Camila Escalante. | From the Twitter account of her communications firm, Asymmetrica, Neumann said that the four sources were involved in a "criminal conspiracy" supporting Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodriguez. "There is a price on your head" she informed them, "welcome to the rule…
(2020-07-07). Effective steps taken to lift visa between Iran, Iraq: envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 08 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Iraq said that drastic measures have been adopted to lift visa requirements between Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq.
(2020-07-07). Iran, France able to boost bilateral cooperation. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 07 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Paris Bahram Ghasemi said that Iran and France can undoubtedly boost bilateral cooperation in all the fields.
(2020-07-07). Iran trade with EAEU hits over $2bn :Envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 08 (MNA) —Iranian Ambassador to Moscow said that "Since 2019, following the implementing of Iran and EAEU trade agreement, the volume of Iran's foreign trade with the EAEU has reached to more than two billion and 417 dollars."
(2020-07-07). Iran is a self-sufficient model: Nasrallah. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 07 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in a televised speech said Iran is a self-sufficient model which is ready to sell oil to Lebanon with Lebanese pound.
(2020-07-06). The Battle of Seattle was Fought by the Pro-war "Left" in Northern Syria. dissidentvoice.org 
The ongoing series of protests, riots and unrest following the death of George Floyd culminated in the establishment of a self-declared "autonomous zone" by activists in Seattle, Washington, after police abandoned a local precinct in the city's Capitol Hill district. Lasting just three weeks until law enforcement retook the six block territory from occupants on …
(2020-07-06). Lebanese block roads in Beirut amid economic woes. yenisafak.com Lebanese protesters blocked several roads in the capital Beirut on Monday, amid growing anger over deteriorating economic conditions in the country. | In a statement, Lebanon's traffic control room said demonstrators burned tires and blocked roads in the capital in protest of frequent power blackouts. | Drivers also staged a protest outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in the Sanayeh area of Beirut to demand the cancellation of mechanics and inspection fees. They also called for reducing fuel prices. | Lebanon's currency has taken a nosedive, losing around 70% of its value in recent months. Lira was…
(2020-07-06). Ambassadors Are Not Completely Useless, It Seems. Many Are Getting Their Hands Dirty in New Diplomacy. strategic-culture.org Diplomacy is in a crisis, re-emerging as something else more sinister and darker for its ambassadors. From Venezuela to Lebanon though, their time is up. Their dirty game is no longer a secret and it will be the starving Lebanese who will unseat them. | Diplomacy has been in the news quite a bit in late June. Yet it has still left many of us wondering if there is ever a real role for diplomats to play in this junk-news, social media-obsessed world which has reduced them to mere "waiters who are occasionally allowed to sit down" as Peter Ustinov once put it. | But Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro, who the We…
(2020-07-06). Washington Threatens Military Action Against Iran After UN Meeting. popularresistance.org "The international community in general – and the UN Security Council in particular – are facing an important decision: do we maintain respect for the rule of law, or do we return to the law of the jungle by surrendering to the whims of an outlaw bully?" Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said of Washington's recent moves. Several delegates at the Security Council meeting criticized US President Donald Trump for pulling out of the Obama-era nuclear accord, challenging its ability to legally trigger the deal's sanctions "snapback". Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, called the US campaign "a maxim…
(2020-07-06). Libya arrests Daesh/ISIS cell west of Tripoli. yenisafak.com Libyan forces have dismantled a Daesh/ISIS cell in Az-Zawiyah city, west of the capital Tripoli, according to the Interior Ministry on Monday. | A ministry statement said the cell was planning "to carry out terrorist attacks and plots to harm security and stability and spread chaos in the country". | The statement, however, did not specify how many cell members were arrested. | On Sunday, the Joint Security Operations Room in Misrata city, 200 km east of Tripoli, announced the arrest of a Daesh/ISIS militant, who arrived in the country from Syria in 2016. | Earlier Monday, local Syrian sources said 300 mercenarie…
(2020-07-06). PKK/YPG forcing children to join terror group in Syria. yenisafak.com The PKK/YPG terrorist organization has been trying to forcibly recruit children who lost their parents in the Syrian civil war, Turkish security sources told Anadolu Agency on Monday.Having suffered severe blows in recent years, the PKK/YPG has established teams to seek out and brainwash such children and teenagers, threatening them to join the terrorists' ranks if they did not cooperate.According to reports by security forces, these teams have pursued Syrian orphans between the ages of 10 and 15 and kidnapped them to terror camps to indoctrinate them with their ideology and train them for armed combat after turn…
(2020-07-06). FM spokesman, Chinese envoy meet in Tehran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 06 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi met and held talks with Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua on Monday in Tehran.
(2020-07-05). US Builds New Air Base in Syria. dissidentvoice.org 
The United States has built a new military base, including an airport for military aircraft, for its occupying forces in Syria's northeastern province of Hasakah. Local sources told Syria's state news agency SANA on Wednesday that the new base and its airport had been established in Jazira Region, located between Um Kahif Village and Tal …
(2020-07-05). Video: String of ISIS Attacks Continues in Syrian Desert. globalresearch.ca Since the start of the week, the Syrian Army has repelled several ISIS attacks on its positions in the desert in central Syria. | The most recent attack took place in eastern Homs early on July 2 and became the largest …
(2020-07-05). Hezbollah between two fires: its own society and its domestic allies. thealtworld.com Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah enjoys unparalleled support among Shia in Lebanon and more broadly among the "Axis of the Resistance" he is leading. He is the most famous leader in Lebanon and is highly respected and heeded by both followers and enemies, particularly Israel. However, since the financial situation in Lebanon has sharply deteriorated, he is no longer in an enviable position and will need exceptional skills to keep Lebanon united at a time when his supposed political allies are exhibiting unfriendly behaviour. Hezbollah's followers and Hezbollah's political allies are no…
(2020-07-05). The Return Of The Anti-Antiwar Left. popularresistance.org In the writings of Dreyfuss, The New York Times' Michelle Goldberg, Mother Jones' David Corn, The Atlantic's Franklin Foer, New York magazine's resident dolt Jonathan Chait, and many more besides, we can see the emergence of the anti-anti-Cold War Left, there has also reemerged alongside it the very vocal and ravenously unscrupulous anti-antiwar Left. And it is on the issue of the Syrian war on which the anti-antiwar Left has coalesced, inexplicably arguing for the wholesale takeover of a secular police state by the very same Islamist radicals who, if given the chance, would turn around and immediately kill them…
(2020-07-04). Antifa, YPG/PKK ties threaten national peace in West. yenisafak.com Many Western countries support the idea of backing the YPG/PKK in Syria but Turkish officials reject aiding a terror group to beat another, ISIS/Daesh. A recent report released by the Turkish National Police Academy warned that countries of origin might face serious security challenges once foreign fighters in Syria return home.The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group that has the blood of tens of thousands of Turkish citizens on its hands. But warnings by Ankara have fallen on deaf ears and the YPG continues to recruit more and more foreign fighters. The report written by academics Murat Tinas and…
(2020-07-04). Russia says China would be needed in expanded G7 summit. yenisafak.com Russia is not in talks with Washington about its potential role at an expanded Group of Seven summit later this year, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday, insisting that China should also be included in the event.His comments to TASS news agency countered those of John Sullivan, U.S. ambassador to Russia, who told RBC TV on Friday that Washington was "engaged with the Russian Foreign Ministry and with the other G7 governments about whether there is an appropriate role for Russia at the G7."U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of Russia's return to the group, which includes the w…