(2020-08-27). After Beirut Blast, Israel Revives Tales of Hezbollah Ammonium Nitrate Terror Plots. globalresearch.ca Israeli intelligence is polishing off a dubious propaganda campaign to suggest Hezbollah was to blame for the recent catastrophe in Beirut. But the factual record either contradicts Israeli claims or reveals a complete dearth of evidence. | *** | Israeli officials have …
(2020-08-27). Video: Russian, Syrian Forces Operation against ISIS Terrorists. globalresearch.ca Russian and Syrian forces eliminated 327 ISIS militants during a joint security operation that took place in the desert areas of Homs and Deir Ezzor from August 18 to August 24. | According to the Russian side, strikes of the Syrian …
(2020-08-27). Lebanon: Inconvenient Truths About Syria, Iran, Hezbollah And The Shia 'Street'. popularresistance.org There's been a lot of nonsense passing as truth in post-blast Lebanon reporting. Most centers around alarmism about Hezbollah's nefarious influence, the West's "opportunity" to destroy it, and the supposed struggle with Russia, China, and Iran for paternalist-preeminence in a country that isn't ours (or theirs) to preside over in the first place. There's little discussion in most mainstream reporting on the minor matter of why Hezbollah gained influence in the first place. Shia Muslims are difficult to provoke and almost impossible to suppress once aroused. Long led by a more "quietist" strand of conservative, ap…
(2020-08-27). French Foreign Minister Warns Lebanon May Disappear as State Unless Urgent Reforms Made. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Lebanon should form a new government and implement a series of urgent reforms, as it is currently on the verge of distress and disappearance due to the consequences of both the Beirut blast and a political crisis in the country, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday.
(2020-08-26). Video: Massive Explosion Rocks Syria's Arab Gas Pipeline. Terrorist Attack. globalresearch.ca A large explosion rocked the Arab Gas Pipeline in Syria on August 24 causing a blackout in the country's capital Damascus and multiple other cities and towns. | The explosion occurred between the towns of Ad Dumayr and Adra the a …
(2020-08-26). Iranian envoy to UK reacts to UNSC's rejection of US bid. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (MNA) — The Iranian ambassador to London has reacted to the isolation of the United States at the UN Security Council for the second time and said there is no consensus on US bid to return Iran's sanction.
(2020-08-26). Hezbollah chief salutes resistance members, their families. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah expressed deep gratitude to those wounded during the resistance against the arrogance.
(2020-08-26). Iraq continuing anti-ISIL fight with Iran, Syria & Russia. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (MNA) — The spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji informed that the 'quadruple security center' comprised of Iraq, Iran, Russia and Syria, is continuing its fight against the ISIL.
(2020-08-26). Syrian conflict the focus of redesigned global health degree. imperial.ac.uk Collaborations with on-the-ground expertise helped refocus Imperial's Global Health BSc on one of the world's worst health crises.
(2020-08-26). Might Belarus Become The Next Syria? popularresistance.org There are signs that Russia is intervening in the Belarusian crisis (finally!) | First and foremost, we can see a truly radical change in Lukashenko's policies: if his initial instinct was to unleash brutal repression of both the violent rioters and the peaceful demonstrators, now he has made a 180 and the outcome is quite amazing: on Sunday there were large anti-Lukashenko demonstrations yet not a single person was detained. Not one. Even more amazing is this: the Polish-run Nexta Telagram channel (which is the main medium used by the Empire to overthrow Lukashenko) initially called for a peaceful protest, but a…
(2020-08-26). Russia, Iran, Turkey Issue Joint Statement on Syria Condemning Israeli Attacks, US Theft of Oil. sputniknews.com The statement was formulated on the sidelines of the meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, a United Nations-facilitated negotiating platform aimed at reconciling the Syrian government and the opposition and establishing an enduring peace in the war-torn country.
(2020-08-26). France's Macron to travel to Beirut on Sept. 1. yenisafak.com French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Beirut in Lebanon on Sept. 1, his office said on Wednesday.Macron was the first foreign leader to visit Beirut after a massive blast destroyed parts of the Lebanese capital in early August.
(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). 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). Reports of gunfire & explosions as IDF launches flares in response to 'security incident' at Lebanese border (PHOTO, VIDEOS). rt.com 
The Israeli military said it responded to a "security incident" along the border with Lebanon, firing off a barrage of flares amid reports of explosions and gunfire in the area. | The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Following a…
(2020-08-25). US stages military buildup to enforce deal to steal Syria's oil. wsws.org The handing over of Syria's oil fields for exploitation by a US company constitutes a war crime, and has escalated dangerous tensions between American and Russian military forces.
(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.