Daily Archives: December 2, 2020

2020-12-02: News Headlines

Ali Harb (2020-12-02). US senators and activists push to block huge arms deal with UAE. middleeasteye.net US senators and activists push to block huge arms deal with UAE | Legislators in Washington introduce resolution against $23bn arms package for Abu Dhabi that includes killer drones and F-35 jets | Wed, 12/02/2020 – 23: 20 | Saudi Arabia and UAE have been accused of war crimes in Yemen (Reuters/File photo) | Opposition in Washington is mounting against an enormous arms deal with the United Arab Emirates that woul…

Gareth Porter (2020-12-02). How Israel deployed an intelligence deception to justify killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. thegrayzone.com Israel's Mossad has spent years on a propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the world Iran possessed a nuclear weapons program — and legitimizing its assassinations of Iranian academics. The Israeli assassination of Iranian defense official Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is being treated as a triumph of Israeli intelligence, with ubiquitous references in the New York Times and other major media outlets to the killing of "Iran's top nuclear scientist". In fact, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency eliminated Fakhrizadeh, a defense official, despite the …

Nicolas J S Davies (2020-12-02). Eisenhower's ghost haunts Biden's foreign policy team. nationofchange.org The most serious challenge facing President-elect Biden's foreign policy team, which is not a threat from a hostile country, but the corruption of U.S. policy by powerful corporate interests, is the "unwarranted influence" of the Military-Industrial Complex.

Elise Swain (2020-12-02). Joe Biden's Silence on Ending the Drone Wars. The So-called "Targeted Killings" globalresearch.ca President-elect Joe Biden has maintained silence for years on the controversial and continued use of so-called targeted killings — lethal strikes by drones, cruise missiles, and occasionally military special operations raids. Biden has never publicly disavowed or criticized former President …

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

RT (2020-12-01). Nuclear war between US & Russia more likely as Americans 'share' bombs with European NATO members — Deputy FM Ryabkov. rt.com Russia has called for the US to halt the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of NATO's European members, arguing it both violates the terms of existing treaties and makes a devastating conflict more likely to happen. | Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told a meeting sponsored by energy companies Chevron and Transneft on Monday that Moscow "hopes that the United States will stop 'sharing' nuclear weapons with its allies, and stop deploying nuclear weapons in countries that do not possess such weapons… Obviously, this leads to destabilization, in addition, new risks appear," he added, "and thi…

Eds. (2020-12-01). Trump is showering Saudi Arabia with last-minute gifts. mronline.org Saudi Arabia's use of American diplomatic cover and weapons alike has taken on a fevered pace as the Kingdom deepens the tragedy it has afflicted upon Yemen.

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-12-01). Warning of International Law Violations, Rights Groups Demand Halt to Trump Weapons Sale to UAE. commondreams.org "In Yemen, airstrikes by the Saudi- and Emirati-led Coalition are responsible for the majority of civilian casualties," 29 groups write in a new letter. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/f35_1.jpg

sputniknews (2020-12-01). Australia Joins Forces With US to Develop Hypersonic Weapons Amid Continuing Spats With China. sputniknews.com Canberra's relations with its overseas neighbour, which is already testing its first hypersonic armaments, have been deteriorating over the course of 2020 in light of disputes over the coronavirus pandemic and trade disagreements.

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-01). Saudis call for restraint after Iranian scientist terror. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 01 (MNA) — Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations reacted to the Friday assassination of Iran's prominent nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, calling on Tehran to practice restraint.

Ahmed Abdulkareem (2020-11-30). Yemen: Trump is Showering Saudi Arabia with Last-Minute Gifts. mintpressnews.com Saudi Arabia's use of American diplomatic cover and weapons alike has taken on a fevered pace as the Kingdom deepens the tragedy it has afflicted upon Yemen.

Aaron Maté (2020-11-30). Questions for BBC on new White Helmets podcast series attacking OPCW whistleblowers. thegrayzone.com A new BBC podcast, "Mayday," uses smears, gaping omissions, leaps of logic, and factual errors in a desperate attempt to repair the image of late White Helmets founder James Le Mesurier, and discredit the OPCW inspectors who challenged a cover-up of their Syria chemical weapons probe. Mayday's producer has failed to answer the following questions. The new BBC podcast Mayday covers the life and death of James Le Mesurier, the former UK military officer who founded the group The White Helmets, …

NIAC Action (2020-11-30). The Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientist. Setting the Stage for War? globalresearch.ca Ryan Costello, Policy Director of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), issued the following statement on reports of the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who led Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program until it was shelved in …

news.un (2020-11-30). Consign chemical weapons to history, UN chief urges, honouring victims. news.un.org The United Nations Secretary-General has called for "renewed determination" to eliminate chemical weapons from the world.

Staff (2020-11-30). Progressives Demand a Pentagon Chief Outside of Military-Industrial Complex. truthout.org A coalition of progressive anti-war groups on Monday "We urge Pre…

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-29). Turkey dispatches drones to battle against UAE in Yemen. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 29 (MNA) — Informed sources claim that Turkey has dispatched advanced drones to the battle line in southern Yemen to confront UAE-backed forces.