(2020-08-23). Tehran not allow others to manage IAEA-Iran relationship. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) — Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Kazem Gharibabadi said that Tehran will not allow other countries to manage the IAEA-Iran relationship.
(2020-08-23). Kuwait to rebuild Lebanon's only large grain silo after blast. yenisafak.com Kuwait said it will rebuild Lebanon's only large grain silo that was destroyed by the massive Beirut port explosion, raising fears of food shortages in a country already in financial meltdown.The destruction of the 120,000-tonne capacity structure at the port, the main entry point for food imports, meant buyers must rely on smaller private storage facilities for their wheat purchases with no government reserves to fall back on.Kuwait's ambassador to Lebanon, Abdulaal al-Qenaie, said in comments to local radio VdL at the weekend that the silo was first built in 1969 with a Kuwaiti development loan.The Gulf monarch…
(2020-08-23). Lebanon's challenge: Prioritize reforms or keep peace. yenisafak.com More than two weeks after devastating explosion here, the situation in the Lebanese capital remains critical, with a pervasive culture of negligence, corruption and complacency by rulers becoming more visible.The destruction of the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4 left more than 170 dead, greater than 6,000 injured and 300,000, or 5% of residents homeless.Once considered the Paris of the Middle East, Beirut now looks like a scene from a horror movie, with collapsed buildings, unsurpassable roads and broken glasses scattered everywhere.The damage caused is estimated at more than $7 billion, equivalent to 14% of the countr…
(2020-08-22). Crushing US sanctions devastate Syria's people and post-war reconstruction. thegrayzone.com Leading Syria scholar Joshua Landis on how crippling US sanctions are devastating Syria's people and hindering post-war reconstruction. In a new article for Foreign Affairs, scholar Joshua Landis and former Obama administration official Steve Simon write that US sanctions on Syria "further immiserates the Syrian people, blocks reconstruction efforts, and strangles the economy that sustains …
(2020-08-22). Greece denying pushbacks despite evidence: Rights group. yenisafak.com In a recent interview with CNN, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis denied the accusations, saying: "They are an insult to the Greek Coast Guard that has saved tens of thousands of migrants and refugees."However, evidence and reports describing the abuses are too many to be ignored, Eva Cosse, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a report.Cosse, after interviewing victims and witnesses, said that Greek authorities have been seen forcibly pushing back migrants and asylum seekers from Rhodes, Samos, and Symi islands in small inflatable boats.A victim from Syria, who used the pseudonym of Marwan, describ…
(2020-08-22). Board of Britain's biggest Muslim charity resigns over posts calling Hamas 'great men' and Israel 'Zionist enemy'. rt.com 
The entire board of the biggest Muslim charity in Britain is set to resign following anti-Semitic social media posts by its director, who was already a replacement for a trustee who had also resigned over controversial comments. | Almoutaz Tayara, the board director of the charity Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) based in Birmingham, had posted on his Facebook page in 2014 and 2015 a cartoon that depicted former US president Barack Obama wearing the Star of David with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Assad of Syria on his lap, saying, "Death to America!" | Other posts called leaders of the Palestinian milit…
(2020-08-22). The verdict on Rafik Hariri's assassination. peoplesdispatch.org The UN-backed International Special Tribunal for Lebanon said it found no evidence of Hezbollah or Syria's involvement in the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri. However, this verdict may not mark the end of the issue…
(2020-08-22). Iranian envoy warns on weakening UN position. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (MNA) — The Iranian Ambassador to France warned about undermining and weakening the international status of the United Nation in international bodies.
(2020-08-22). Nasrallah chastises US warmongering across world. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Hassan Nasrallah has severely rebuked the United States' warmongering against other countries across the world.
(2020-08-22). Islamic Revolution lovers' presence in Syria defeated US. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (MNA) — Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that the defeat of the US and its allies in Syria is due to the presence of the lovers of the Islamic Revolution.
(2020-08-22). Iranian Envoy to Russia Says Tehran-Moscow Military Cooperation 'Will Reach New Levels'. sputniknews.com The announcement comes as a UN embargo on weapons sales to the Islamic Republic is about to expire amid continuing opposition to the move by the United States.
(2020-08-21). Israel launches airstrikes against Gaza and threatens war. wsws.org Israel is preparing for war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, even as it ups the ante against Hezbollah in Lebanon and its primary target, Iran.
(2020-08-21). Syrian NHS cleaner's plea on Channel-crossing refugees beamed onto White Cliffs of Dover. thecanary.co 
An emotional plea for compassion for refugees crossing the English Channel has been beamed onto the White Cliffs of Dover.The landmark was lit up with a giant video of NHS cleaner Hassan Akkad, a Syrian refugee who crossed to Britain several years ago.He highlighted the "terrifying and devastating" journeys that so many people are undertaking to reach the UK by boat. He also blamed the government for using the crisis as a distraction from the coronavirus pandemic.The giant projection is the latest stunt by Led By Donkeys, a group of activists famed for their giant billboards of politicians' tweets. | A message fr…
(2020-08-21). Chinese Peacekeepers Provide Aid After Explosion In Beirut. popularresistance.org Chinese peacekeepers will provide medical aid to Beirut following the deadly explosion on Tuesday | that killed at least 135 people and injured 5,000 others. | Upon the request of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the 18th batch of Chinese peacekeeping troops to Lebanon organised an emergency team of nine medical personnel from fields including surgery, internal medicine, burns and anaesthesiology, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. | The personnel and vehicles would head to Beirut, carrying medical supplies and protective equipment, the medical unit said.
(2020-08-21). Video: Idlib Is Burning. New Proxy War in Deir Ezzor. globalresearch.ca The series of unfortunate events involving the US-led coalition, Turkey and Turkish proxies continues in Syria's Greater Idlib. | Late on August 19 and early on August 20, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) shelled positions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham near Haranabush …
(2020-08-21). UN refugee chief underlines continued support to Lebanon. news.un.org The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday urged the international community to continue to stand by the people of Lebanon as they recover from the blast that devastated the capital, Beirut, earlier this month.
(2020-08-21). Rockets hit U.S. base in Syria. fightbacknews.org According to Iran's authoritative FARS News Agency, several rockets exploded on Tuesday, August 18 at a U.S. military base north of Syria's Deir Ezzur province. The base is located near the Conoco oil field controlled by American troops. | "This is the first-ever attack on one of the 12 military facilities, created by the United States since 2015 in Syria's provinces of al-Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir Ezzur. U.S. forces, together with Kurdish groups, control oil-rich areas on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, including the oil fields of Al-Omar, Tanak, Al-Jafra and Conoco, which accounted for 80% of all oil pro…
(2020-08-21). The End Of The Hariri Trial. popularresistance.org Judges at a U.N.-backed tribunal said Tuesday there was no evidence the leadership of the Hezbollah militant group and Syria were involved in the 2005 suicide truck bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. … | The trial centered on the alleged roles of four Hezbollah members in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others and wounded 226 people. Prosecutors based their case largely on data from mobile phones allegedly used by the plotters to plan and execute the bombing. Based on that 'almost entirely circumstantial' evidence the tribunal found that only one of the accu…
(2020-08-20). How the US Helped Push Lebanon to the Brink of Collapse, and Now Threatens More Sanctions. globalresearch.ca While the media blames the crisis in Lebanon solely on corruption, the US government unleashed a "maximum pressure" campaign to push regime change and crush Lebanese resistance with sanctions and aggressive hybrid warfare. | *** | As the people of Lebanon suffer …
(2020-08-20). The Assassination of Yasser Arafat was Ordered by The Israeli Cabinet: "We will Choose the Right Way and the Right Time to Kill Arafat." globalresearch.ca First published on November 19, 2013. | Author's Note | Who killed Hariri, Who killed Arafat? | According to the August 18, 2020 verdict by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Hague Salim Ayyash was found guilty of killing Prime Minister …
(2020-08-20). Battelships in Beirut —MES EP.68. thealtworld.com Several European navies have deployed vessels to Beirut port under the pretext of providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance following the catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut. The French Marine Nationale, British Royal Navy, German Deutsche Marine and Hellenic Navy have all dispatched vessels to Beirut as Lebanese people fear the return of 1982. To discuss this issue with us from Paris is Jean Pierre Duthion, political commentator. | Iraq cancelled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey's ambassador last week as it blamed Ankara for a drone attack that killed two high-ranking Iraqi military o…
(2020-08-20). Hands off Lebanon: Macron's Self-serving 'New Pact' Must Be Shunned. counterpunch.org 
French President, Emmanuel Macron, is in no position to pontificate to Lebanon about the need for political and economic reforms. Just as thousands of Lebanese took to the streets of Beirut demanding "revenge" against the ruling classes, the French people have relentlessly been doing the same; both peoples have been met with police violence and arrests.
(2020-08-20). US imposes sanctions on Syrian military commanders & officials 'for their efforts to prevent a ceasefire'. rt.com 
Washington has announced sanctions on senior Syrian government officials and the leaders of several military units, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing top National Defense Forces members of subverting a ceasefire. | In a statement on Thursday, the US State Department said it was imposing sanctions on the leadership of a number of Syrian military units, including National Defense Forces commander Fadi Saqr. | The US and its allies are "united in continuing to apply pressure" on the Syrian president and his government "until there is a peaceful, political solution to the conflict," Pompeo said in th…
(2020-08-20). Video: In Mysterious Incident US Military Lost Two MQ-9 Reapers over Idlib. globalresearch.ca The shaky stability established in Syria after the end of the Turkish attack on the Syrian Army in Idlib in February and March of 2020 has collapsed. | Just a day after the confrontation between the US military and the Syrian …
(2020-08-20). The Hariri Assassination: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Verdict. Fake Justice on Behalf of Israel. globalresearch.ca In May 2007, Security Council Resolution 1757 established the STL "on the outskirts of the Hague." | Ten SC members voted "yes," none "no," Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, and Qatar abstaining. | Five judges were involved in proceedings, Judge David Re…
(2020-08-20). The Hariri Assassination: Israel 's Fingerprints. globalresearch.ca This incisive article by Rannie Amiri focussing on Israel's spy ring in Lebanon was first published by Global Research on July 23, 2010. The article also addresses the role of the UN sponsored Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) | Is it …
(2020-08-20). Israeli regime biggest threat to region: Nasrallah. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Hassan Nasrallah said that the Israeli regime is the biggest threat to the West Asia (Middle East) region.
(2020-08-20). It's Not Happening: The Mainstream Media Is the Enabler of American Dysfunction. strategic-culture.org Has anyone seen anywhere in the mainstream media a serious discussion of Israel's possible role in the Beirut bombing? I am not suggested an evidence-free indictment of Israel but rather just a review of Israel's possible motive and a consideration of its capability to carry out such an attack without having to directly do it itself with one of its bombs or missiles. Given the Jewish state's unrelenting hostility towards Hezbollah and its repeated violations of Lebanese territory and airspace, it would seem to me that it would at least merit a sentence or two in the New York Times or Washington Post. | Or how abo…
(2020-08-20). Turkey helps South Sudan produce face masks. yenisafak.com Turkey's state-run aid agency TIKA has provided South Sudan sewing machines and cloth rolls for making masks to help it respond better to the coronavirus pandemic.The 30 sewing machines, and 1,000-meter cloth roll will help in the production of about 15,000 face masks, the Turkish ambassador to South Sudan said while handing them over to the Ministry of Labor in the capital Juba on Thursday."We are ready to support South Sudan whenever needed," Tugrul Biltekin said."We are working closely with the South Sudanese government, and have divided our aid into five phases. This is the last phase, to provide masks," he s…
(2020-08-19). Rania Khalek: 'Sadistic' U.S. Policy Sees Beirut Blast as Opportunity. thealtworld.com Rania Khalek explains that a corrupt neoliberal government is responsible for the catastrophe in Beirut and how Western powers are deepening the crisis with "monstrous" sanctions that block trade with neighboring Syria.
(2020-08-19). The Hariri Assassination Verdict. The Geopolitical Implications. globalresearch.ca On February 14, 2005, an explosion rocked Beirut killing and injuring hundred of people chief among them the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik al-Hariri. The West was quick to blame Hezbollah and Syria. In 2006, Israel and its …
(2020-08-19). UN Tribunal finds only one guilty of Hariri assassination and no evidence of Syrian or Hezbollah involvement. wsws.org The ruling is a setback for the US and its local stooges, who planned on using a damning verdict to further its bid to eliminate Hezbollah as a political force in Lebanon.
(2020-08-19). Lebanon: Poverty Increases at Alarming Rates-Report. telesurenglish.net The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) warned on Wednesday that the population living under poor conditions has doubled in 2020 compared to the same period last year. | RELATED: | ESCWA's latest report indicates that the poverty rate reached 55 percent in 2020, whereas in 2019, it stood at 28 percent. | The organization explains that "massive explosion and an accelerating increase i…
(2020-08-19). Chief Defendant in Rafik Hariri Killing Convicted on All Counts by UN-backed Tribunal. globalresearch.ca The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Tuesday found Salim Jamil Ayyash guilty of conspiracy to kill former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others in a 2005 bombing. | There was insufficient evidence against three other men charged …
(2020-08-19). Lebanon: The Top Ten Myths About The Country And Its Conflicts. popularresistance.org Plenty of folks finally know the CIA-Soviet-Afghan thread of that backstory; fewer are familiar with the Lebanese layer. They should be. After all, an impressionable young Saudi named bin Laden tuned in to America's dastardly dalliances there in the 1980s, and vowed revenge. | Then as now, the US was hardly alone among the opportunist foreign vultures who've picked the Lebanese carcass throughout its centenary existence. However, Americans — those most confidently uninformed and incurious of peoples — keep proving those repeatedly-wrong-on-the-Mid-East New York Times editors right: Lebanon does remain…
(2020-08-19). Syria's Idlib records first coronavirus death. yenisafak.com The first coronavirus death in Syria's northwestern Idlib province was recorded, according to health officials. | "A female patient in her 80s died from the virus," the interim government's Health Minister, Maram al-Sheikh, said in a statement late Tuesday. | He indicated that the patient had suffered from a chronic kidney failure. | A total of 54 virus infections have been recorded in areas under the Syrian opposition, of which 46 recovered as of Wednesday.