(2020-08-05). Iran to send 2000 humanitarian packs to Beirut. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — "2,000 packages weighing 9 tons of food, as well as medicine and medical supplies, will be sent to Lebanon by IRCS", Iranian Red Crescent Society spokesman announced.
(2020-08-05). Turkey 'neutralized' more than 100 terrorists in July. yenisafak.com Turkish security forces "neutralized" more than 100 terrorists in July, a government official said on Wednesday.Speaking at a monthly news briefing, Turkish Interior Ministry spokesman Ismail Catakli said the country "neutralized" 105 terrorists, including 80 PKK/KCK, 23 Daesh/ISIS, two leftist terror group members.Catakli added that five of them were on the gray category of the Interior Ministry's wanted terrorists list with up to a bounty of 500,000 Turkish liras ($71,246) on each head.The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and g…
(2020-08-05). After a lifetime of discrimination older women slip into poverty. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-08-05). Apartheid or One State: Has Jordan Broken a Political Taboo? zcomm.org Since the two-state solution is no longer workable, Palestine and Israel are now left with one of two options: a protracted, racist and violent apartheid or coexistence in a modern, democratic, and secular state, for all of its people…
(2020-08-05). Massive Explosion Destroys Beirut Harbor, Hundreds of Casualties. globalresearch.ca A massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut this afternoon Tuesday 04 August 2020, the center of the explosion was in the Beirut harbor. | The Lebanese people who lived through a lengthy civil war and several confrontations with Israel and …
(2020-08-05). Massive explosion in Beirut kills dozens and injures thousands. wsws.org A deadly explosion in the port district of Beirut, Lebanon Tuesday evening flattened buildings in the immediate vicinity and sent a shock wave across the city.
(2020-08-05). Iran, Afghanistan ink MoU in transit field: official. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — The Director General of Sistan and Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Department General revealed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Afghanistan's private sector in the field of transit via Chabahar Port.
(2020-08-05). Survey suggests 10m infected with COVID-19 in Afghanistan. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — A survey conducted by Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health suggests that some 10 million people may have contracted the novel coronavirus disease in the country.
(2020-08-05). 2,697 new COVID-19 cases registered in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has infected 2,697 people and claimed 185 lives in Iran in the past 24 hours, a senior health official said.
(2020-08-05). Iran standing by Lebanon: Ghalibaf. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Tehran stands by the government and nation of the Lebanon for getting through this crisis.
(2020-08-05). Zarif says Iran ready to assist Lebanon after explosion. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed the country's full readiness to render any necessary help to Lebanon after a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
(2020-08-05). Lebanon rejects Trump's claim over deadly blast in Beirut. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — Lebanon rejects President Trump's claims that the Tuesday's massive blast in Beirut was caused by enemy action rather than an industrial incident.
(2020-08-05). Demilitarize Kashmir for plebiscite: Diaspora groups. yenisafak.com The Kashmiri diaspora around the world has demanded the demilitarization of Jammu and Kashmir to pave way for a plebiscite in the disputed Himalayan region.In a joint statement marking a year since India scrapped the region's special constitutional status, 56 groups representing Kashmiris living overseas vehemently condemned New Delhi's "pernicious tyranny" and "imperialist" aims."[The Indian government] has unleashed a well-designed imperialist plan that seeks to forever change the political nature of the Kashmir dispute through demographic changes, political maneuverings, and administrative machinations," read…
(2020-08-05). Pakistani envoy calls for raising awareness on Kashmir. yenisafak.com Pakistani citizens living abroad should raise awareness about the plight of people in Jammu and Kashmir, which was annexed by India and reduced to a centrally administered territory a year ago, Pakistan's ambassador to Ankara said on Wednesday.Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi's comments came at an event held in the Pakistani Embassy in Ankara where Youm-e-Istehsal, or Day of Exploitation, was marked with participation of officials, journalists and diplomatic representatives.The Pakistani administration declared Aug. 5 as Youm-e-Istehsal to protest against the Indian government's actions in Jammu and Kashmir, which Isla…
(2020-08-05). Over 352 killed in Jammu and Kashmir in last 1 year: Report. yenisafak.com At least 352 people, including civilians and Indian soldiers, were killed in clashes and search operations across Indian-administered Kashmir in the last one year, according to a new report.The Kashmir's Statehood Abrogated — Legal Fact-Finding Report said New Delhi's Aug. 5, 2019 move, which revoked the disputed region's special status, dragged the valley into fresh violence.It said that 75 civilians and 196 militants — referred as "freedom fighters" — were killed at the hands of Indian security forces during the said period.Some 81 Indian soldiers and paramilitary personnel were also killed during clash…
(2020-08-05). France's Macron to travel to Beirut on Thursday. yenisafak.com Macron, who spoken to Lebanese President Michel Aoun shortly after the blast, has already ordered French emergency assistance be sent to Lebanon, a country with deep historical ties to France.
(2020-08-05). Turkey stresses import of European watchdog reports. yenisafak.com Turkey values the Council of Europe's independent monitoring mechanisms and its cooperation with them, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.The assertion was part of a statement announcing the release of reports by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its 2017 and 2019 visits to Turkey.The ministry stressed that the reports, available on the CPT website, were released with Ankara's authorization and include the Turkish government's responses."Turkey attaches importance to the independent monitoring mechanisms of the Council of Eur…
(2020-08-05). Turkey: Auto sales rise 387.5% year-on-year in July. yenisafak.com Turkey's passenger car and light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales surged by 387.5% year-on-year in July, according to an industry group on Wednesday.Vehicle sales in the country totaled 87,401 last month, up from 17,927 in July 2019, the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) said in a statement.Some 17,974 light commercial vehicle and 69,427 passenger-car were sold in the month, rising 350.9% and 610.7% respectively year-on-year.In January-June, the automotive market also expanded 60.3% on an annual basis to 341,469.Passenger car sales posted a rise of 58.9% to 273,022, and LCV sales soared 65.8% year-on-year…
(2020-08-05). Turkey rescues 74 asylum seekers in Aegean. yenisafak.com Turkey on Wednesday rescued 74 asylum seekers, who were pushed back by Greek forces into Turkish territorial waters, according to security sources.In a rescue operation, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued the asylum seekers, who set off for the Greek island of Lesbos, off the coast of Ayvalik district in the northwestern Turkish province of Balikesir.They were on board two rubber boats that were pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cr…
(2020-08-05). Did the Atomic Bomb End the Pacific War? zcomm.org The use of the atomic weapon must be seen as a continuation and a start: the nuclear continuation of the conventional terror bombing of Japanese civilians, and the start of a new "cold war."
(2020-08-04). Armenia's Risky Tovuz Strategy Dramatically Backfired. thealtworld.com The latest clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan occurred along their shared border in Tovuz, north of Nagorno-Karabakh. Both sides blame one another but a compelling argument can be made that Armenia was the aggressor. Azerbaijan has no dispute with Armenia over this territory and has nothing to gain by destabilizing this strategy region through which important international energy pipelines and the BTK railway pass. The Mingachevir Dam is also located nearby, and if Armenia attacked it during another war, then the consequences would be disastrous for the millions of Azerbaijanis downstream. | It's actually…
(2020-08-04). U.S. Cold War China Policy will isolate the U.S. not China. dissidentvoice.org 
CODEPINK (Credit) Tensions between the United States and China are rising as the U.S. election nears, with tit-for-tat consulate closures, new U.S. sanctions and no less than three U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups prowling the seas around China. But it is the United States that has initiated each new escalation in U.S.-China relations. China's responses …
(2020-08-04). Philippines: UN and partners launch major COVID-19 response plan to aid 5.4 million. news.un.org Prioritizing the safety and well-being of women and girls, the UN and partners launched on Tuesday a COVID-19 humanitarian response plan to assist some 5.4 million of the poorest and most marginalized people in the Philippines.
(2020-08-04). John Pilger: Another Hiroshima is Coming, Unless We Stop It Now. mintpressnews.com 
75 years after Hiroshima, the US is making many of the same dangerous mistakes it did in the run-up to that disastrous moment, this time, with China.
(2020-08-04). China and the United States Could Avoid an Unnecessary War. zcomm.org Although few Americans seem to have noticed, China and the United States are currently on a collision course—one that could easily lead to war. Their dispute, which has reached the level of military confrontation, concerns control of the South China Sea. For many years, China has claimed sovereignty over 90 percent of this vast, island-studded
(2020-08-04). As fall semester approaches, students fret about their institution's safety. peoplesworld.org 
NEWMARKET, N.H. — Students across the nation are preparing for the most turbulent semester of their lives. Post-secondary school administrators have started rolling out their strategies to combat the surge of COVID-19 cases and prevent a public relations disaster as the result of subsequent cluster outbreaks on their campuses. While it's safe to say that …
(2020-08-04). Shadow Wars: Leaks by Mossad Point to Israeli Involvement in Deadly Attacks on Iran. mintpressnews.com 
The drumbeat for war with Iran seems to be intensifying as 2020 reaches its halfway point and the narrative that cyberattacks are to play an inciting role in the coming conflict is being drilled into the collective mind.
(2020-08-04). ATOMIC BOMBINGS AT 75: Scholars speak out against 'unnecessary' attacks. mronline.org 
Japan was ready to surrender, making the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and Nagasaki two days later, totally unnecessary and morally indefensible, say a panel of scholars in two video discussions.
(2020-08-04). U.S. using Kurds to steal Syria's oil. peoplesworld.org 
Kurdish forces were accused of "aggravated theft" and stealing from the Syrian people today after the semi-autonomous region known as Rojava signed an oil deal with the U.S. last week. The move, which has been portrayed as a necessity by Kurdish officials, has been widely criticized as evidence of support for the U.S. regime-change agenda …
(2020-08-04). Both Israel AND Hezbollah deny devastating Lebanon blasts were a rocket attack. rt.com 
The Israeli Defense Force has denied responsibility for two massive explosions in Beirut that killed at least 10 people on Tuesday and injured hundreds more. Hezbollah has also denied the blasts were the result of a rocket attack. | The huge explosions took place shortly after 6pm local time in a port area of Beirut where highly explosive materials are stored, according to Lebanon's internal security chief. Local media have reported the explosion took place at a fireworks depot near the port, while Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan initially said a ship carrying fireworks exploded in the port. | In a st…
(2020-08-04). Netanyahu calls anti-govt rallies 'BIZARRE' as he defends his son Yair's 'alien protesters' comment. rt.com 
Yair Netanyahu didn't mean to be offensive when he called anti-government protestors "aliens," Benjamin Netanyahu said, jumping to his son's defense. The Israeli PM added that some rallies against him have taken a "bizarre" form. | "There are also strange phenomena there, apart from on the political side, and, really, the relentless incitement against me, against my wife, against my family…" Netanyahu said of the ongoing demonstrations, which have been attended by thousands of people demanding his resignation. | I think [the protests are] a political thing which also has bizarre phenomena, and I think that's…
(2020-08-04). BEIRUT BLAST AFTERMATH: Parts of Lebanon's capital lay in ruins after explosions leave dozens dead & buildings destroyed (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Videos obtained by RT show areas around Beirut's port reduced to rubble and ruins after explosions near the city's docks destroyed nearby buildings and blew out windows more than 10 kilometers away. | Free-lance journalist Owen Holdaway sent videos from Beirut Thursday evening showing the aftermath of the blasts. "A large part of the area has been completely devastated,"
(2020-08-04). 'Catastrophe': Lebanese PM pleads for help as 70+ confirmed dead & thousands injured in Beirut blasts. rt.com 
Lebanon's health minister has confirmed over 70 deaths following explosions in the country's capital, with thousands more injured. The blasts are under investigation with early reports linking it to stored fireworks and chemicals. | Two blasts struck the port area of Beirut, with the first hitting at around 6pm local time. The second appeared much stronger, sending a huge mushroom cloud-shaped plume of smoke and debris high overhead. | Also on rt.com | | Sp…
(2020-08-04). Hundreds injured in Beirut explosions so powerful they turned streets into wasteland (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Huge explosions in the Lebanese capital Beirut have killed at least 10 people, local security and medical sources told Reuters. The blasts smashed buildings and turned the city's streets into a debris-strewn wasteland. | An explosion rang out at Beirut's port shortly after 6pm local time on Tuesday, followed immediately by another, deafening blast. The explosions obliterated buildings at the port and shattered windows several kilometers away, sending a mushroom cloud towering up into the sky. Health Minister Hamad Hassan has blamed the explosion on a fireworks accident. | As the dust settled, Hassan ordered al…
(2020-08-04). Ticking time bomb? Explosive stash that devastated Beirut was there since 2014, PM says, vowing to punish those responsible. rt.com 
As Lebanon's PM Hassan Diab picked through the rubble in his Beirut office, he promised that those responsible for a devastating warehouse explosion that destroyed much of the city would "pay the price." | A devastating explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday evening, killing more than 70 people and injuring at least 2,700. Large swathes of the Lebanese capital were damaged by the blast, including the offices of Prime Minister Hassan Diab. | Pictures of the damage at Lebanon's PM Hassan Diab's office
(2020-08-04). 'Erotic mind control community has a racism problem': BLM activists go after hypnotists in latest bizarre witch hunt. rt.com 
As street battles between murky federal agents, Antifa and various mom'n'pop protest groups over systemic racism continue in Portland, it appears a similar, but more insidious war is underway… in the erotic mind control community. | A seemingly never-ending thread, posted to Twitter by a self-professed 30-something white woman, who is part of the ultra-niche sexual "So, I want to address something that will probably surprise no one: The…
(2020-08-04). Back to normality? With Covid-19 measures removed, Russian demand for cash falls to pre-crisis levels. rt.com 
When Russians saw the destructive potential of the Covid-19 pandemic, many rushed to the bank to take out their cash. Now, just a few months later, the demand for physical money is back to levels last seen before lockdown. | In July, about 179 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) were put into circulation — a steep drop from the whopping 700.9 billion ($9.5 billion) in March. | Banks began to experience a rapid outflow of customer funds in March after a collapse in oil prices, the Ruble exchange rate, and the first phase of Covid-19 measures. According to Russia's Central Bank, the combination of financial crisi…
(2020-08-04). All volunteers in Russian Covid-19 trials in good health as tests suggest new drug 'Avifavir' capable of suppressing virus. rt.com 
Some good news in the fight against coronavirus. A vaccine trial in Novosibirsk has reported that none of its participants have suffered side effects. Meanwhile, a new Russian medicine appears to be effective against Covid-19. | All volunteers inoculated by the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, in the Siberian capital, are in good health, it was announced on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards. Russian medics revealed the results of the pilot part of phases two and three of clinical trials of Avifavir, a domestic favipiravir-based drug capable of suppressing the coronavirus. | Avifavir accele…
(2020-08-04). Truman's 'Human Sacrifice' to Subdue Moscow. strategic-culture.org 
Peter KUZNICK | Sumiteru Taniguchi was one of the "lucky" ones. He lived a long and productive life. He married and fathered two healthy children who gave him four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He had a long career in Japan's postal and telegraph services. As a leader in Japan's anti-nuclear movement, he addressed thousands of audiences and hundreds of thousands of people. He traveled to at least 23 countries. The organizations in which he played a prominent role were nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize. | Many of the more than 250,000 who lived in Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 were not so…
(2020-08-04). 'Optimism of the Will': Palestinian Freedom is Possible Now. counterpunch.org In a recent TV discussion, a respected pro-Palestine journalist declared that if any positive change or transformation ever occurs in the tragic Palestinian saga, it would not happen now, but that it would take a whole new generation to bring about such a paradigm shift. As innocuous as the declaration may have seemed, it troubled
(2020-08-04). "ChinaGate" in the Making: US Hostility Toward China Is Bipartisan. globalresearch.ca A key factor behind Trump regime hostility toward China is election year politics. | But what's going on largely relates to China's growing political, economic, industrial, technological, and military prominence on the world stage. | The US dominated the 20th century — …
(2020-08-04). China, the New Cold War Threat That Wasn't. progressive.org The United States manufactures reasons to keep military spending as high as it can be.
(2020-08-04). Empire Is the Root of U.S.-China Hostilities. globalresearch.ca The biggest factor that has led the U.S. government to initiate a hostile relationship against China involves the concept of empire. An empire wants to be the only empire or at least the dominant empire. That is, it wants to …
(2020-08-04). Federal Government Releases Bipartisan Anti-China Plan for Artificial Intelligence. mintpressnews.com A Washington think tank and Congress issued a bipartisan plan for AI, which utilizes the veneer of technology to formally cast China as the number one obstacle to US hegemony…
(2020-08-04). Imperialist Iran becomes anti-imperialist 1/2. thealtworld.com The history of Iran in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries corresponds neither to the image that Westerners have of it, nor to the image that the official discourse of Iranians gives of it. Historically linked to China and for the past two centuries fascinated by the United States, Iran is struggling between the memory of its imperial past and the liberating dream of Rouhollah Khomeiny. Considering that Shiism is not only a religion, but also a political and military weapon, it hesitates between proclaiming itself the protector of the Shiites or the liberator of the oppressed. We publish a two-part study by…
(2020-08-04). U.S. Cold War China policy will isolate the U.S, not China. nationofchange.org The U.S. must stop pursuing its counterproductive effort to undermine China, and instead work with all our neighbors on this small planet.
(2020-08-04). Reckless President Trump: Escalation of US Aggressive Posturing against China. globalresearch.ca The dramatic escalation in America's aggressive posturing was not to be unexpected. On the question of relations with Beijing, there certainly have been intra-elite battles on whether to treat China as an essential trading partner massively bolstering the US economy …
(2020-08-04). Despite Official Reports, China Has Been Importing Millions of Barrels of Iranian Crude Oil. globalresearch.ca A number of high-profile reports last week cited data released on 26 July by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) as clear evidence that China did not import any crude oil from Iran in June 'for the first time since …
(2020-08-04). ArcelorMittal lays off hundreds of steelworkers in Indiana, Ohio. wsws.org The layoffs in Indiana and Ohio are part of an ongoing global assault on steelworkers' jobs.
(2020-08-04). L'Iran impérialiste devient anti-impérialiste 1/2. thealtworld.com