(2021-07-03). [Correspondence] The Beirut Port explosion: injury trends from a mass survey of emergency admissions. thelancet.com On Aug 4, 2020, 1807 h, one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history rocked Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, with a population of 2 million. The Beirut Port ammonium nitrate explosion (BPANE) happened when a fire set off 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored inside the port for 6 years. Soon after the explosion, we surveyed all patient admissions to emergency departments to analyse the pattern of injuries caused by the explosion.
(2021-07-02). Pressed for answers on Syria cover-up, OPCW chief offers new lies and excuses. thegrayzone.com Facing growing outcry, OPCW Director General Fernando Arias went before the UN and told new falsehoods about his organization's Syria cover-up scandal — along with more disingenuous excuses to avoid addressing it. Part one of two In the two years since the censorship of a Syria chemical weapons investigation was exposed, the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Fernando Arias, has vigorously resisted accountability. Arias has refused to investigate or explain the extensive manipulation of …
(2021-07-02). Syrian Army Bracing For New Ground Operation In Greater Idlib (Video). southfront.org 
ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Sputnik/Mikhail Alaeddin | The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is preparing to launch a new ground operation in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib where many terrorist groups are present, Syrian pro-government journalist Mazen Ibrahim reported on July 1. | Ibrahim shared a video showing a gathering of SAA troops who will supposedly take part in the upcoming operation in Greater Idlib. | In the last few months, Greater Idlib militants, led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), carried out doze…
(2021-07-02). Syrian Authorities, Turkish-Backed Militants Swap Prisoners Under Russian-Brokered Deal (Video, Photos). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image. Source: RT. | On July 2, Syrian authorities and Turkish-backed militants swapped prisoners as a part of a deal that was brokered by the Ministry of Defense of Russia and backed by Turkey. | The prisoners swap took place on the Abu al-Zandin crossing which links Turkish-occupied areas in northern Aleppo with areas held by Syrian government forces. The United Nations and the Red Crescent oversaw the deal. | Turkish-backed militants released five soldiers and officers of the Syri…
(2021-07-02). Central Syria: Chief Of ISIS Oil Smuggling Operations Killed In Recent Russian Airstrikes. southfront.org 
File image. | The chief of ISIS oil smuggling operations has been reportedly killed in a Russian airstrike that hit his hideout in Syria's central region. | Iraqi sources affiliated with the group mourned the terrorist leader who is commonly known as "Sami al-Ajouz" on July 1. It remains unclear if al-Ajouz was killed on the very same day or in an earlier date. | Al-Ajouz was reportedly responsible for ISIS oil smuggling operations in both Iraq and Syria. The terrorists leader is originally…
(2021-07-02). You Ordered Healthcare, You Got Airstrikes. strategic-culture.org 
By Caitlin JOHNSTONE | Biden: Sorry, did you say airstrikes on Iraq and Syria? | Americans: no, healthcare | Biden: Alright, you drive a hard bargain, but here are your airstrikes on Iraq and Syria. | ‚ùñ | It is journalistic malpractice to parrot US government claims about acts of military mass murder on the other side of the planet being "defensive". The only strikes near the Iraq-Syria border that could accurately be called "defensive" are those launched by the inhabitants of those nations upon the invading western military occupation. The only actual defensive action that the US could legi…
(2021-07-01). Jabhat al-Nusra Arrests Civilians For Bombings And Links To Syrian Government. southfront.org 
Illustrative image | Written by Khaled Iskef. | Over the past two days, Jabhat al-Nusra's patrols in Idlib launched a campaign of arrests targeting a number of civilians on charges of affiliation with the Syrian government. | Local sources said that Al-Nusra militants had arrested 3 people on charges of forming a cell affiliated with the Syrian state. They were accused of carrying out bombings in Al-Jalaa Street in Idlib city, targeting weapons store last January, which resulted in the killing of two people and woundin…
(2021-07-01). 50 Syrian Air Force Cadets Completed Training With Russian Instructors (Videos). southfront.org 
Screen grab from the Russian MoD video. | On July 1, 50 cadets of Syria's Kuweires Military Aviation Institute, which reopened in 2018 after remaining closed for years due to the war, completed training with help from Russian instructors. | The Ministry of Defense of Russia and TV Zvezda shared footage of Syria's new pilots flying on L-39 Albatros high-performance fighter jet trainers. The Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) has been using this type of warplanes in close air support and ground attack missions since 2012. | R…
(2021-07-01). Albania Becomes Turkey's Newest Bayraktar Customer. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On June 29th, Turkish "drone magnate" Baykar revealed another customer of its Bayraktar TB2 combat UAV. | Its none other than powerhouse Albania. | Albania is the latest customer interested in striking a deal to procure this particular combat drone, which is already owned by Azerbaijan, Qatar, Ukraine and will be delivered to Poland under a recently inked deal. | The combat drone has been operated by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Syria and Libya in various roles, from neutralizing enemy ai…
(2021-07-01). Russian Airstrikes Killed Or Wounded Over 50 Terrorists In Central Syria In June: Monitoring Group. southfront.org 
2712070 10/04/2015 Russian servicemen attach a Kh-25 high-precision missile to a Su-24 aircraft at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Dmitriy Vinogradov/RIA Novosti | At least 23 ISIS terrorists were killed and 31 others were wounded in Syria's central region in June as a result of Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on June 30. | According to the London-based monitoring group, Russian warplanes carried out more than 1,350 airstrikes on the terrorist group's cells in the…
(2021-07-01). Biden Justifies Bombing Of Syria By "Protecting American Forces" southfront.org 
Illustrative image | Written by Khaled Iskef. | US President Joe Biden justified the bombing operations carried out by US aircraft on sites in Syria and Iraq, saying that they targeted facilities used by pro-Iranian factions. | Biden said in a letter he addressed to Congress that on June 27, he had ordered the operation to be carried out, as US forces launched strikes targeting two sites in Syria and a site in Iraq near the Syrian border. | Biden added that the targeted sites were used by factions linked to Iran that par…
(2021-07-01). Military Situation In Syria On July 1, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On July 1, Russian Army launched a naval drill on the Syrian coast, including exercises on the search for enemy submarines and repelling air attacks | On June 30, the Syrian and Jordanian sides reached an agreement that would solve the crisis of Syrian refrigerators stuck at Nassib border crossing | On June 30, clashes between SDF and Turkish-backed forces were reported near Ain Issa | On June 30, SAA artillery shelled positions of Turkish-backed forces in Kafr Nuran vi…
(2021-07-01). Israeli Military Warned Syrian Soldiers Against Using Equipment Supplied By Hezbollah. southfront.org 
An old military vehicle can be seen positioned near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. IMAGE: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS | On July 1, the Israeli military dropped leaflets over the western countryside of Daraa in southern Syria warning Syrian Arab Army (SAA) service members against using devices and equipment which were recently supplied to them by Lebanon's Hezbollah. | The leaflets were dropped over an army base located a few kilometers away from the separation line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. | ÿ…
(2021-07-01). Demonization of Iran Is a "Mistake" That Has Trapped the U.S. in Perpetual Middle East Conflict. democracynow.org 
After the Biden administration launched airstrikes targeting an Iranian-backed militia in Syria and Iraq, military historian Andrew Bacevich says the United States needs to reassess its decades-long hostility toward Iran. "The demonization of Iran is now a well-established reality of our contemporary politics. It's a mistake," he says. "Over the past 40 years or so, we've decided that Iran needs to be classified as an evil power, and I think that that inclination makes it very difficult for us to come to a reasoned understanding of how we got so deeply enmeshed in the Persian Gulf and how it is that we end up bas…
(2021-07-01). Vaccines and the Blockade 'Virus'. orinocotribune.com By Ociel Alí López — Jun 27, 2021 | VA columnist Ociel López looks at some of the consequences of the recent payment block of Venezuela's COVAX vaccine purchase. | Héctor Constant Rosales, Venezuela's ambassador to the United Nations, received a