(2020-08-25). 'Is this a parody account?' UN ambassador draws ire after claiming US 'will not abandon' people of Iran. rt.com 
Ambassador Kelly Craft's effort to beautify a US push to trigger the return of UN sanctions on Iran and frame the move in humanitarian terms was met with mockery as observers contrasted her statement with Washington's actions. | "The United States will not abandon the people of Iran or the region," Craft said Tuesday on Twitter, in support of a US request to "snap back" sanctions on Iran. "We will never allow Iran, the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism, to freely buy and sell weapons of war," she said, and accused other UN Security Council members who do not support US efforts of standing "in the compan…
(2020-08-25). Syria Faces Calamity as Trump's New Sanctions Combine With Surging Coronavirus. counterpunch.org 
"If I don't buy masks or medicine, I may die or survive, but if I don't buy bread for the family, we will all die of starvation," says a retired 68-year-old teacher in Damascus, explaining why he does not have masks, sterilisers or medicines. "We need two bundles of loaves every day which costs us at least 600 Syrian pounds (24 US cents), but if we buy masks, they will cost us about 1000 SP (40 cents). The choice is between bread and masks."
(2020-08-25). To Capture and Subdue: America's Theft of Syrian Oil Has Very Little To Do With Money. mintpressnews.com 
Years of US support to Al-Qaeda and ISIS and efforts to effect regime change in the country have culminated in the theft of Syria's oil, but is that really America's coup de gras in Syria?
(2020-08-25). Syria's Face Calamity as Trump's New Sanctions Combine With Surging Coronavirus. counterpunch.org "If I don't buy masks or medicine, I may die or survive, but if I don't buy bread for the family, we will all die of starvation," says a retired 68-year-old teacher in Damascus, explaining why he does not have masks, sterilisers or medicines. "We need two bundles of loaves every day which costs us at least 600 Syrian pounds (24 US cents), but if we buy masks, they will cost us about 1000 SP (40 cents). The choice is between bread and masks."
(2020-08-25). FM Zarif bids farewell to outgoing Chilean envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday received Chilean Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Ignacio Janus at the end of his mission.
(2020-08-25). US Sanctions Are Starving Syria. popularresistance.org In June, the US imposed its harshest sanctions on Syria to date, prompting the World Food Programme to warn of "mass starvation or another mass exodus." The US sanctions law known as the Caesar Act openly states that its strategy is to prevent reconstruction in government-held areas where most Syrians live, in which the Syrian government now controls after defeating a decade-long, devastating proxy war waged by the US and its allies. | In a new article for Foreign Affairs, scholar Joshua Landis and former Obama administration official Steve Simon write that the current US sanctions policy, quote, "further immiser…
(2020-08-25). Video: IDF Says 'Security Incident' Has Unfolded Along Israeli-Lebanese Border. sputniknews.com Flares were spotted Tuesday around Manara, a kibbutz in northern Israel, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed there was a "security incident" along the country's border with Lebanon.
(2020-08-25). Syria's Assad designates Arnous to form a new government, presidency says. yenisafak.com Syrian President Bashar al-Assad designated Hussein Arnous to form a new government, the Syrian presidency said on Tuesday, following a parliamentary election in July.Hussein Arnous was prime minister in the outgoing government, appointed by Assad in June to replace Imad Khamis as Syria grappled with a major economic crisis and plunging currency.
(2020-08-25). Pakistani charity builds school in southeastern Turkey. yenisafak.com A Pakistani charity has helped establish a school for Syrian children in southeastern Turkey.The primary school, which opened on Monday in the Gaziantep province near the Syrian border, has been funded by Pakistan's Baitussalam Welfare Trust with the support of Kuwait's Said association, said Ali Sahin, the chairman of Turkey-Pakistan Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group."Thanks for my Pakistani brothers for being in Gaziantep," he tweeted.The project is part of the "100 philanthropists in the 100th year" campaign which marks the centenary of Gaziantep's liberation.Gaziantep Governor Davut Gul said nearly 500,000…
(2020-08-24). Video: Syrian Forces Are Hunting Down ISIS Terrorists in Desert. globalresearch.ca The military situation in Syria continued deteriorating in recent days. | On August 21, the Syrian Army and its allies increased their anti-ISIS raids in the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor-Al-Mayadin triangle. According to pro-government sources, these efforts are being actively supported by …
(2020-08-24). Swiss ready to invest in Iran: envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (MNA) — Swiss Ambassador to Iran Marcus Leitner expressed his country's willingness to invest in the Iranian economic sector.
(2020-08-24). VIDEO:Firefighters extinguish gas pipeline explosion in Syria. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (MNA) — The Syrian Minister of Electricity announced on Monday that the explosion in the gas pipeline in Rif Dimashq province which caused a power outage in the country has been extinguished.
(2020-08-23). Hezbollah brings down Israeli drone in south Lebanon. fightbacknews.org The news outlet Al-Manar is reporting Hezbollah announced Saturday, August 22 that it downed an Israeli drone in the southern town of Ayta Al-Shaab. | According to a statement from Hezbollah "The drone is now in the hands of Islamic Resistance fighters." | In September, 2019, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said that every Israeli drone which violates the Lebanese airspace will be a target for the resistance, after an attack by Israeli drones laden with explosive materials on the Beirut media office belonging to the Lebanese party. | Israel occupies Lebanese territory and frequently enters the…
(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). 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). 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…