2021-02-05: News Headlines

Ralph Nader (2021-02-05). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. counterpunch.org Since 2015, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has ruled the Senate with an iron hand, describing himself as "the Guardian of Gridlock." He was Senator "NO," except for confirming over 200 mostly corporatist federal judges. Now comes a new challenge for Mitch McConnell as he leads 49 other Republican Senators, twenty of whom are up

RT (2021-02-04). Tehran slams Iranian diplomat's 20-year jail term for bomb plot as 'violation of international law'. rt.com The 20-year jail term handed down to an Iranian diplomat by a Belgian court for his role in a foiled bomb plot is illegal and a clear violation of international law, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. | Assadolah Assadi, 49, who served as Iran's envoy in Vienna, was given the maximum sentence on Thursday in Europe's first trial of an Iranian official on terrorism charges since the Iranian revolution of 1979. | "As we have stated many times before, Assadolah Assadi's detention, the judicial process and the recent sentencing are illegal and a clear violation of international law, especially t…

Adam Chamseddine (2021-02-04). Lebanon: Prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim found murdered. middleeasteye.net Lebanon: Prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim found murdered | Publisher and activist shot five times and discovered between the southern Lebanese villages of Tufahta and Adoussiyeh | Thu, 02/04/2021 – 09: 10 | Lokman Slim, who was found dead in his car in south Lebanon (AFP) | Lebanese activist and publisher Lokman Slim, a fierce critic of Hezbollah, was found shot dead in his car on Th…

Philip Giraldi (2021-02-04). Why Always Israel? Only One Country Matters to Congress and the Media. thealtworld.com Pandering to Israel as part of the political process in the United States has become part of the DNA of both major parties. | The job of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations must have some kind of curse on it as it seems to attract a type of woman who seeks to prove her suitability by running up a tally of how many wars she can start and how many people she can kill. One recalls fondly Bill Clinton's monstrous Madeleine Albright, who famously declared the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children as "worth it" due to the sanctions that Washington had imposed and enforced. And then there was Barack Obama's darling Samanth…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-04). Belgium court sentences Iranian envoy to 20 years in jail over Paris bomb plot. middleeasteye.net Belgium court sentences Iranian envoy to 20 years in jail over Paris bomb plot | Antwerp trial was the first of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution | Thu, 02/04/2021 – 14: 08 | A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp (AFP) | An Iranian diplomat accused of planning to bomb a meeting of an exiled opposition group was s…

Yves Engler (2021-02-04). Ottawa Should Apologize for Role in Agent Orange Use in Vietnam. dissidentvoice.org A French legal battle offers an opportunity to revisit Canada's role in chemical weapons use and whether Ottawa owes something to its Vietnamese victims. On the weekend activists gathered in Paris to support a court case launched by a woman exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. The group Collectif Vietnam Dioxine is supporting French-Vietnamese woman, …

yenisafak (2021-02-04). At least 24 irregular migrants held in Turkey. yenisafak.com At least 24 irregular migrants were held in different parts of Turkey on Thursday, sources said.Nine Iranian nationals were held in the Beyazkoy district of the northwestern Tekirdag province, close to the border with Greece.They were found on a bus stopped for a check by gendarmerie personnel, said the sources, asking not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The vehicle's driver, a Turkish national identified by the initials I.O., was arrested.In the central Nigde province, 15 Syrian nationals were held after police teams stopped and searched a bus on a highway connecting southeast Turkey to…

_____ (2021-02-04). Why Always Israel? Only One Country Matters to Congress and the Media. strategic-culture.org Pandering to Israel as part of the political process in the United States has become part of the DNA of both major parties. | The job of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations must have some kind of curse on it as it seems to attract a type of woman who seeks to prove her suitability by running up a tally of how many wars she can start and how many people she can kill. One recalls fondly Bill Clinton's monstrous Madeleine Albright, who famously declared the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children as "worth it" due to the sanctions that Washington had imposed and enforced. And then there was Barack Obama's darling Samanth…

yenisafak (2021-02-04). Turkey 'neutralizes' 5 YPG/PKK terrorists in N.Syria. yenisafak.com Turkish security forces "neutralized" five YPG/PKK terrorists in a protected area across Turkey's southern border with Syria, the National Defense Ministry announced Thursday.The terrorists were trying to infiltrate the area of Turkey's cross-border anti-terror operations — Peace Spring and Euphrates Shield — to disrupt peace and security in the region, the ministry said on Twitter, adding that they had also opened harassing fire.Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-ter…

Sophia Purdy-Moore (2021-02-04). Children in crisis don't need a celebrity ambassador, they need a fully funded mental health service. thecanary.co In response to Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, Boris Johnson

news.un (2021-02-04). End impunity for use of chemical weapons in Syria, UN disarmament chief urges Security Council. news.un.org The United Nations top disarmament official, on Wednesday, stressed the urgent need to not only identify those who have used chemical weapons in Syria, but also hold them accountable for their deeds.

teleSUR (2021-02-04). Cuba Appoints Ambassador To the Eurasian Economic Union. telesurenglish.net Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla on Thursday appointed a permanent Ambassador to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). | RELATED: | The appointment was preceded by the acceptance of Cuba as an observer member on last Dec. 11, which proved that the country's application was positively received by the EEU countries. | Russian President Vladimir Putin considered Cuba's designation a very positive develop…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-03). Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. middleeasteye.net Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon | Lebanese security sources say the anti-aircraft missiles failed to hit target, which returned to Israel | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 14: 35 | Naqura, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre, which is controlled by the United Nations peacekeeping force (Unifil), on the border with Israel (AFP) | Anti-aircraft missiles were fired at an Isra…

MEE staff (2021-02-03). 'Still waiting for answers': Beirut port blast victims denied justice, says HRW. middleeasteye.net 'Still waiting for answers': Beirut port blast victims denied justice, says HRW | Rights group says stalled investigation is 'riddled with serious due process violations', as well as political leaders' attempts to stop probe | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 18: 45 | Beirut port explosion killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000 (AFP) | Lebanon's political leaders are "stalling" an investigation into a massiv…

MEE staff (2021-02-03). 'Still waiting for answers': HRW says no justice served after Beirut port blast. middleeasteye.net 'Still waiting for answers': HRW says no justice served after Beirut port blast | Rights group says stalled investigation is 'riddled with serious due process violations', as well as political leaders' attempts to stop probe | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 18: 45 | The Beirut port explosion killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000 (AFP) | Human Rights Watch has accused Lebanon's political leaders of "stalli…

RT (2021-02-03). Syrian air defenses respond to 'Israeli aggression' near Golan Heights — state media. rt.com Syrian air defenses have responded to an Israeli missile attack near al-Quneitra, according to reports in the country's state media. | The missile strikes were launched late on Wednesday night around al-Quneitra, a city south of Damascus and just outside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. | Footage circulating online purported to show the attack in progress. | Syria's air defenses were also activated near Damascus, according to i24news and the Times of Israel. There were no casualties in either city, but the strikes did inflict unspecified "material damage," accord…

yenisafak (2021-02-03). Top Turkish, Norwegian diplomats discuss relations. yenisafak.com Turkish and Norwegian foreign ministers on Wednesday met virtually and discussed bilateral relations, regional and global developments.In a Twitter post, Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu said he discussed bilateral relations and recent developments in Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Libya, the US, and the East Mediterranean with his Norwegian counterpart Eriksen Soreide.Turkey and Norway maintained its "bilateral trade volume despite the pandemic," Cavusoglu noted, and wished "further cooperation in every field, particularly energy."Meanwhile, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a Twitter post that Soreide had a "good and f…

MEE staff (2021-02-03). Rights groups condemn Turkey's 'illegal' transfers of detainees out of Syria. middleeasteye.net Rights groups condemn Turkey's 'illegal' transfers of detainees out of Syria | Sixty-three Syrian Arabs and Kurds have been transferred to Turkey over suspected links to 'terrorist' organisations | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 12: 03 | Turkey-backed Syrian rebels take part in a military exercise in Ghandoura, in the northeastern countryside of Syria's Aleppo province, on 14 January 2021 (AFP) | Human rights groups have c…

Harun al-Aswad (2021-02-03). Arrests in Syria's Latakia signal discontent among pro-Assad communities. middleeasteye.net Arrests in Syria's Latakia signal discontent among pro-Assad communities | Many of the president's most loyal supporters in his stronghold have started speaking out against corruption and poverty | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 17: 39 | A handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on 13 October 2020 shows President Bashar al-Assad touring the village of Kafr Dabil in Syria's Latakia pro…

Ralph Nader (2021-02-03). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. commondreams.org Allowing the Trumpian half of his brain to overpower his judgment and vote to acquit Dangerous Donald would spell disaster for the Republican Party (assuming the Democratic Party doesn't go to sleep as it did after Obama's win in 2008). | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mcconnell_biden_0.jpg

Mehr News Agency (2021-02-03). 'Martyr Soleimani expanded Iran's experience in resistance'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General said that Lt. General Soleimani internationalized the Iranian experience in resisting oppression.

sputniknews (2021-02-03). Russia Urges New UNSC Members to Objectively View Syrian Chemical Dossier, Envoy to UN Says. sputniknews.com UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Russia called on the five new UN Security Council member states to objectively treat the Syrian chemical dossier and note the country's readiness to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said.

Marwa Osman (2021-02-03). Kurdish Contras Besiege Al-Hasakah—MES EP.92. thealtworld.com The siege imposed by the Kurdish contras known by the name "Syrian Democratic Forces" on the neighborhoods under the control of the Syrian army in the cities of Al-Hasakah and Qamishli continues in light of the escalation of the suffering of the people and the faltering of Russian efforts to find a settlement that ends the siege and restore matters to their previous state. This situation is prompting scores of Syrian residents to walk great distances to bypass the SDF checkpoints especially after one Syrian security officer was killed by the Kurdish Contras in Hasakah city. | To discuss this issue with us from Pe…

MEE staff (2021-02-02). UAE confident F-35 jets sale will go through despite Biden review, says ambassador. middleeasteye.net UAE confident F-35 jets sale will go through despite Biden review, says ambassador | UAE ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, says if US plans to pivot from Middle East to China it cannot 'take tools away from your partners' | Tue, 02/02/2021 – 15: 52 | The US agreed to sale of F-35 jets to Abu Dhabi following normalisation agreement between UAE and Israel (AFP) | The United Arab Emirates is confident t…