(2020-12-17). Video: Russian Forces Establish Presence on Syrian-Iraqi Border. globalresearch.ca Over the past weeks, the Syrian Army and its allies have intensified their operations against ISIS cells hiding in the Homs-Deir Ezzor desert. | According to pro-government sources, during the past few days, Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias carried out …
(2020-12-17). Beirut explosion: Judge suspends blast probe amid political pressure. middleeasteye.net 
Beirut explosion: Judge suspends blast probe amid political pressure | Two ministers charged in explosion investigation have requested that Judge Fadi Sawwan be removed from proceedings | Thu, 12/17/2020 – 18: 17 | Helicopter battles fire at scene of explosion at port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on 4 August (AFP/File photo) | The judge overseeing an investigation into the massive explosion…
(2020-12-17). France: President Macron Tests Positive for COVID-19. telesurenglish.net France's President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and will isolate himself for seven days. As a result, his to Lebanon scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday is canceled. | RELATED: | First Lady Brigitte Macron, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and does not present any symptoms, is also placed in self-isolation. | Prime Minister Jean Castex, who is considered "a contact case" of M…
(2020-12-17). History: Israeli Propaganda on the 'Expulsion' of Arab Jews. globalresearch.ca Israeli propaganda about the "expulsion" of Arab Jews from Arab countries in the late 1940s and early 1950s continues without respite. Earlier this month, Israel's UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan,
(2020-12-16). 14 convicted over Charlie Hebdo & Paris terrorist attacks in 2015, key suspect sentenced to 30 years in prison. rt.com 
A French court on Wednesday found 14 people guilty of being accomplices in the Paris 2015 terrorist attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket, with one person jailed for 30 years for funding the attacks. | Hayat Boumeddiene, the ex-partner of main attacker Amedy Coulibaly, was given a 30-year sentence after being convicted of financing terrorism and belonging to a criminal terrorist network. | She was among three suspects to be tried in absentia after the trio reportedly fled to Syria to join the Islamic State group (IS, formerly ISIS). Two of them are said to have been killed during…
(2020-12-16). Chicken run: Lebanese boy risks life and limb to rescue runaway fowl from Israel. middleeasteye.net 
Chicken run: Lebanese boy risks life and limb to rescue runaway fowl from Israel | Hussein Shartoony becomes an unexpected hero after Israeli soldiers fire bullets into the air as he attempts to rescue his friend | Wed, 12/16/2020 – 11: 59 | The reaction of the Israeli soldiers to Hussein and his chicken garnered ridicule online (Screengrab/Twitter) | Hezbollah may be Israel's most pressing threat on the Le…
(2020-12-16). Trump Is Prolonging the Civil War in Syria. progressive.org Under the Obama and Trump administrations, the unending war has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. But will Biden be any different?
(2020-12-16). Near 800 tons of drugs seized in Iran in 10 months: diplomat. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (MNA) — Iranian anti-narcotics forces confiscated close to 800 tons of different illegal drugs during January-October 2020, said the country's permanent ambassador to the International Organizations in Vienna.
(2020-12-16). Syria: Millions displaced, impoverished and traumatized, Security Council hears. news.un.org As the end of another year of war looms, "families in Syria remain without respite after almost a decade of conflict", the UN‚ÄØEmergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Wednesday.
(2020-12-15). The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War. counterpunch.org 
In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.
(2020-12-15). Aleppo's Liberation Three Years Ago Today: Anybody Ashamed? globalresearch.ca December 12, 2017, marks the anniversary of the liberation — the West called it fall — of Aleppo in Syria. What happened is conveniently forgotten today by the West. | Some of us can't and won't forget what was both world, …
(2020-12-15). Beirut explosion: Lebanon's investigation on edge following political backlash. middleeasteye.net 
Beirut explosion: Lebanon's investigation on edge following political backlash | Political figures have denounced the indictment of caretaker premier Hassan Diab and three former ministers in the legal inquiry into the August blast | Tue, 12/15/2020 – 16: 27 | A woman amid the rubble in her damaged house in Beirut on 6 August 2020, two days after a massive explosion shook the Lebanese capital…
(2020-12-15). Outgoing Syria Envoy James Jeffrey Reflects on "What Everyone Got Wrong" globalresearch.ca In a long-ranging interview with Al-Monitor, James Jeffrey looks back on his efforts to incorporate fragments of Obama-era initiatives into a cohesive Middle East policy. | *** | In August 2016, former US Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey James Jeffrey
(2020-12-14). Syria: Weapons Found, Including Israeli Made Ones, and a Drone Left Behind by Terrorists in Syria's Southern Region. globalresearch.ca Syrian authorities on Sunday found a quantity of weapons and ammunition, including Israeli-made weapons as well as a drone left behind by terrorists in Syria's southern region, SANA reporter said on Sunday, citing a source from authorities. | The source told …