(2020-09-04). France Aims to Counter Turkish Influence in the Middle East by Gaining a Foothold in Lebanon. globalresearch.ca French President Emmanuel Macron has visited Lebanon for the second time in less than a month following the terrible blasts that destroyed Port Beirut. Macron first visited Lebanon on August 6, two days after a warehouse with 2,750 tons of …
(2020-09-04). Video: Israeli Forces Rain Down Missiles on Syria. globalresearch.ca The Israeli Air Force conducted a second round of missiles strikes on Syria in less than a week. | Late on September 2, Israeli warplanes launched missiles at the T4 airport in the province of Homs. According to Syria's state media, …
(2020-09-04). US' Theft Of Syrian Oil Has Very Little To Do With Money. popularresistance.org Near the end of July, one of the most important recent developments in U.S. foreign policy was quietly disclosed during a U.S. Senate hearing. Not surprisingly, hardly anybody talked about it and most are still completely unaware that it happened. | Answering questions from Senator Lindsey Graham, Secretary of State Pompeo confirmed that the State Department had awarded an American company, Delta Crescent Energy, with a contract to begin extracting oil in northeast Syria. The area is nominally controlled by the Kurds, yet their military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was formed under U.S. auspices and…
(2020-09-04). Iran, Russia seeking to facilitate economic relations. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 04 (MNA) — Iranian Ambassador to Russia met and held talks with the Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade on Thursday.
(2020-09-04). Iran, Azerbaijan seeking to develop bilateral ties: Envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 04 (MNA) — Iran's newly-appointed Ambassador to Baku Abbas Mousavi says that his talks with Azeri officials have focused on expanding bilateral relations.
(2020-09-04). World Bank Cancels Loan for Bisri Dam Project in Lebanon. sputniknews.com The Washington-based lender explained that Lebanon has not completed the tasks required for construction to begin and said it has notified the Lebanese government of its decision.
(2020-09-04). Lebanese struggle to rebuild homes: UK-based charity. yenisafak.com The destruction of the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4 left over 190 dead, more than 6,000 others injured, and 300,000, or 5% of residents homeless.According to the latest report by Oxfam in Lebanon, harsh economic conditions have made it almost impossible for tens of thousands of people to recover.The cost of replacing one window, the charity noted, is now nearly ‚Ǩ420 ($498) and a door up to ‚Ǩ845 ($1011), while the minimum wage is just under ‚Ǩ380 ($449) a month."Huge inflation has meant the cost of basic materials needed to rebuild homes and businesses is out of…
(2020-09-03). UN sends 65 trucks with aid to Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com The UN on Thursday dispatched 65 trucks with humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, where millions of people remain in need of assistance due to internal conflict.The trucks crossed over into Syria's Idlib province from the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province.Some 1,625 tons of basic food supplies will be distributed among residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.
(2020-09-03). Alleged poisoning of activist Navalny could be classed as 'a use of chemical weapons' & violation of international law — OPCW. rt.com 
In response to Germany's insistence that Alexey Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok-like nerve agent, the primary international watchdog has warned that such a "reprehensible" act would be considered "a use of chemical weapons" | The International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also labelled it "a violation of international law." The strong reaction came in a
(2020-09-03). French President Macron lays down the law in Lebanon. wsws.org Macron's aim was to create the conditions for the return to power of a French puppet, billionaire Sa'ad Hariri, and to eliminate the power of Hezbollah.
(2020-09-03). Kurds have a message on World Peace Day. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-09-03). Lebanon struggles to rebuild after Beirut blasts. peoplesdispatch.org Lebanon has a new prime minister in Mustapha Adib but to many, he is part of the same corrupt and inefficient old leadership that created the crisis in the country…
(2020-09-03). The US Expeditionary Kleptocracy. popularresistance.org Of course, a desperate US military — and its Washington masters — had an expedient solution for the ethno-sectarian strife they'd catalyzed: consider it the Lebanon formula. So America's orientalist ambassadors — most, staggeringly young Republican stalwarts with no knowledge of the Mideast — imported France's imperial Levantine blueprint. Essentially, this meant sectarian quotas and preferences for political office: a Kurdish president, Sunni parliamentary speaker, and Shia prime minister. The French have actually added the term for this disastrous recipe — libanisation — to t…
(2020-09-03). Russian FM praises 3rd round of Syrian peace talks. yenisafak.com Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised on Thursday the results of the third round of the Syrian peace talks in Geneva."Not everything was resolved, not everything was agreed upon, but in general, we consider the meeting fruitful and meaningful," Lavrov said at a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen in Moscow.He urged Pedersen to step up efforts in repatriation of Syrians who want to return, saying it will help ease "the unbearable burden borne by the refugees host countries, primarily Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey".In turn, Pedersen joined Lavrov's assessments, saying he did not expect "mira…
(2020-09-03). Alleged poisoning of Russian opposition leader a 'grave concern', says chemical weapons watchdog. news.un.org The allegation that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by a Cold War-era nerve agent is "a matter of grave concern", the head of the UN-backed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Thursday.
(2020-09-02). Hamas chief to visit Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. yenisafak.com "Haniyeh will meet Lebanese officials from the presidency, government, parliament and parties," Maher Salah, the head of Hamas' Diaspora Office, told Anadolu Agency. | He reiterated his movement's support to the Lebanese people in their current crisis in the wake of the Beirut port blast. | Salah added the Hamas leader, who arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday, will also meet Palestinians in Lebanon and in the refugee camps. | "Our people in the camps have a distinguished history in the resistance for the liberation of Palestine," he said, adding that Haniyeh's talks in Lebanon will focus on the rights and interests of…
(2020-09-02). Video: Israeli Missiles Target Iran-Hezbollah backed Forces in Southern Syria. globalresearch.ca Late on August 31, air defense forces of Syria were activated to repel Israeli missile strikes on the countryside of the Syrian capital of Damascus and the southern part of the country. According to reports, Israeli missiles targeted positions of …
(2020-09-02). In Syria, White Helmets to be supplanted by trafficking cartel's members. thealtworld.com A journalist closely probing the criminal activities of so-called civil defense forces, known as the White Helmets that has been deployed to Syria by the West, says the group is to be ousted for members of a still Western-backed international cartel that makes money from human and organ trafficking. |
(2020-09-02). France Pressures Lebanon To Implement Modernizing Reforms. telesurenglish.net The Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon Mustapha Adib began consultations to form a new government amid international pressure to form his administration in less than six weeks. | RELATED: | During the commemorations for the centenary of the founding of Lebanon, France's President Emmanuel Macron asked local authorities to "accelerate internal reforms." | On Monday, Libanon's President Michel Aoun declared that his country w…
(2020-09-02). Iranian short 'Tumor' nominated for award at Syrian filmfest. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 02 (MNA) — Iranian short film 'Tumor' has been nominated for an award at the first edition of the Afrin International Short Film Festival in Syria.
(2020-09-02). The Disturbing Story Behind the Beirut Port Explosion. thenation.com The Disturbing Story Behind the Beirut Port Explosion…
(2020-09-01). Macron says need to know 'truth of numbers' in Lebanese banking crisis. yenisafak.com "There is today a Lebanese central banking crisis, a Lebanese banking system in crisis. A lot of funds were likely taken out," Macron said in comments while on a visit Beirut."Today everything is blocked and Lebanon can no longer finance itself, so there needs to be an audit … there is likely money that has been diverted. So we need to know the truth of the numbers and then that judicial actions are taken," he said.