(2021-08-04). One year since the Beirut blast: Lebanon's social, economic, and political crisis deepens. wsws.org In recent years, US imperialism, along with Saudi Arabia and France, has piled on pressure as part of its broader campaign to isolate Iran and Syria, widening its sanctions on Hezbollah and Syria, with whose economy Lebanon is closely connected.
(2021-08-04). Lebanon: one year after Beirut explosion, failing state struggles amid poverty and sectarianism. juancole.com 
By John Nagle | — ( The Conversation) — Twelve months on from the disastrous port explosion which killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and left an estimated 300,000 people without homes, Lebanon's dramatic descent into economic and political crisis deepens. So grave has been Lebanon's economic collapse that the World Bank ranks it …
(2021-08-04). Syrian Army Shot Down US MQ-4C Triton High-Altitude Drone Over Aleppo — Report. southfront.org 
Illustrative image. | The Syrian military had shot down an American MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long endurance surveillance drone over the countryside of the northern governorate of Aleppo, the U-News reported on August 4. | An informed source told the news agency, which is known to be close to Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Syrian state, that the drone was shot down with a missile fired by a Russian-made Buk-M2E air-defense system of the Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces (SyAADF). | "The American plane took off from Martyr Muwaffa…
(2021-08-04). Israeli Army Escalates Artillery Strikes On Lebanon In Response To Recent Rocket Attack (Videos, Photos). southfront.org 
Israeli soldiers and IDF Artillery at a staging area in Southern Israel, near the border with neighbouring Palestinian Gaza Strip on November 13, 2019. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 | On August 4 noon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) escalated their artillery strikes on Lebanon in response to the recent Earlier, three rockets were launched from South Lebanon…
(2021-08-04). Massacre In Northeastern Syria: Father, Three Children Killed In Turkish Shelling (Photos). southfront.org 
Image: aa.com.tr | Late on August 3, a civilian man and three of his children were killed as a result of Turkish shelling on the northern countryside of Raqqa in northeastern Syria. | 54-year old Zidan Khalad al-Issa and his children, Ziad, Muna and Huda, were killed when Turkish shells hit their house which is located in the village of al-Safawiyah to the east of the town of Ain Issa. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control the area. | A nurse in the Martyr Omar Alloush Hospital in A…
(2021-08-04). SDF Position In Deir Ezzor Attacked By Suspected ISIS Cell. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Injuries were reported among the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as a result of an attack on one of its headquarters in the Deir Ezzor countryside. | A number of SDF members were injured in an attack by unknown gunmen on one of their military headquarters in the town of Abu Hamam in the eastern Deir Ezzour countryside. | Unidentified militants in three pickup trucks opened heavy fire on the SDF position located near the water station in the town. | Following…
(2021-08-04). Daraa's Former Rebels Blow Up Abandoned Syrian Army Posts As Talks Go On (Videos). southfront.org 
Illustrative image. | Tensions continue in Daraa, despite ongoing talks between Syrian authorities and local leaders to resolve the governorate's crisis. | On August 3, pro-opposition sources in Daraa al-Balad, the southern part of Daraa city, said that local leaders had accepted some of the authorities' demands. | The local leaders informed the authorities that they will allow the deployment of units from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the military intelligence in the area, but only with local fighters from the Russian-backed…
(2021-08-04). Military Situation In Iraq On August 4, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On August 1, a logistical convoy of the US military was targeted by an IED attack in the Diwaniyah area | On August 1, two logistical convoys of the US military were targeted by an IED attack in the Hillah area | On August 3, more than 30 trucks belonging to the US coalition entered Syria throughthe illegal Al-Waleed crossing | On August 3, unknown gunmen in military uniform kidnapped a Kurdish civilian in Debs area in Kirkuk province | On August 4, Iraqi security for…
(2021-08-04). Military Situation In Syria On August 4, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On August 3, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 37 times: 19 — in Idlib province, 11 — in Latakia province, 4 — in Hama province, 3 — in Aleppo province | On August 3, SAA artillery shelled positions of former rebels in Daraa al-Balad | On August 3, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled SDF positions near Ain Issa | On August 4, one person killed and at least three were wounded in an explosion o…
(2021-08-04). UK Decision to Blame Iran for Ship Attack Premature Reaction. orinocotribune.com The Iranian Ambassador to the UK Mohsen Baharvand, in an interview with Financial Times, criticized the UK's recent accusations against the Islamic Republic over a strike on the ship Mercer Street, stressing that escalation "doesn't help anybody." | London's decision to blame the Islamic republic for last week's assault on Mercer Street was a "very premature reaction," Baharvand highlighted. | Baharvand was summoned to the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Monday. In reaction to the summoning Iran's ambassador, Iran's foreign ministry summoned the British Chargé d'Affaires to lodge an offici…
(2021-08-04). Video: Daraa's Rebels Refuse Settlement and Clashes Continue with Support from Greater Idlib. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-03). Is Russia Recalibrating Its De Facto Alliance with Israel in Syria? globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-03). Uncovering Reason Preventing Daraa Al-Balad Agreement. southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | Written by Khaled Iskef. | ISIS armed group, holed up in the outskirts of Daraa al-Balad, refused to implement the agreement concluded between the Central Committee with the Syrian state. | The sources indicated that the deployed armed groups in Daraa Al-Balad had agreed to implement the terms of the agreement, which stipulated to temporarily stop the Syrian army operations in the region, and return to negotiation in exchange for the release of two wanted men, one of them is called Hafu and anot…
(2021-08-03). Military Situation In Syria On August 3, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | — On August 3, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 37 times: 19 — in Idlib province, 11 — in Latakia province, 4 — in Hama province, 3 — in Aleppo province | — On August 2, the rebels central committee in Daraa rejected the demands of the SAA to hand over weapons and enter military checkpoints to Daraa al-Balad | — On August 3, clashes between former rebels and the SAA were reported in…
(2021-08-03). Reminder: The U.S. Gov't Lies, Manipulates, and Kills Without Remorse. dissidentvoice.org 
On July 25, 1990, Saddam Hussein entertained a guest at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie. She told the Iraqi president: "I have direct instructions from President (George H.W.) Bush to improve our relations with Iraq. We have considerable sympathy for your quest for higher oil prices, the immediate cause …
(2021-08-03). Russian Ambassador Claims U.S. Expelling 24 Diplomats, State Department Denies. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On August 2nd, the Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, condemned what he called "expulsions" of Moscow's diplomats, saying the United States had become "persistent and creative in this business" by uniquely limiting Russians to three-year visas."We received a list of 24 diplomats who are expected to leave the country before September 3, 2021. Almost all of them will leave without replacements because Washington has abruptly tightened visa-issuing procedures," he told US mon…
(2021-08-03). Global Britain Slashes International Aid. counterpunch.org "Decisions on aid are eroding trust and eroding relationships between the UK and developing countries." — Abby Baldoumas, Financial Times, July 15, 2021 Politics is not merely the art of the possible but the pursuit of concerted hypocrisy. When it comes to that matter of funding good causes — foreign aid, for instance — wealthy
(2021-08-03). The Russia -U.S. Strategic Dialogue and the Putin-Biden Relationship: Diplomacy, Strategic Stability and Cybersecurity. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-03). The Jailing of Craig Murray: Another Move to Snuff Out Independent Journalism. counterpunch.org Craig Murray, a former ambassador to Uzbekistan, the father of a newborn child, a man in very poor health and one who has no prior convictions, will have to hand himself over to the Scottish police on Sunday morning. He becomes the first person ever to be imprisoned on the obscure and vaguely defined charge of "jigsaw identification".