2020-08-20: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-20). The Geopolitics Of The Belarusian Crisis: Anti-Russian, Neutral To China, Pro-Polish. thealtworld.com The Belarusian Crisis is an American Hybrid War against Russian interests in support of Poland's US-backed regional ones related to the "Three Seas Initiative", which won't harm China's interests even in the worst-case scenario despite Beijing's plans for the Eurasian Land Bridge to transit through the Color Revolution-beleaguered former Soviet Republic since the People's Republic has already pioneered several complementary East-West corridors that it could rely on instead. | Geopolitical Basics | The "

yenisafak (2020-08-20). Fourteen missing amid ship collision off Shanghai, China. yenisafak.com At least 14 crew members remain missing after two ships collided near the mouth of the Yangtze River early on Thursday, local media reports said.According to the Beijing-based daily Global Times, an oil tanker carrying 3,000 tons of gasoline collided with a gravel boat 1.5 nautical miles southeast of the estuary's lightvessel.The collision, which occurred near Shanghai, caused a major fire on the deck of the patrol tanker, while gravel boat sank.Rescue teams have so far saved three crew members of 17 who were onboard, while 14 are still missing, the newspaper reported.This was the first collision between ships ne…

Dilip Hiro (2020-08-20). Donald Trump is Losing His Tech War with China and Doesn't Even Know It. counterpunch.org For the Trump administration's senior officials, it's been open season on bashing China. If you need an example, think of the president's blame game about "the invisible Chinese virus" as it spreads wildly across the U.S. When it comes to China, in fact, the ever more virulent criticism never seems to stop. Between the end

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-20). The Hariri Assassination: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Verdict. Fake Justice on Behalf of Israel. globalresearch.ca In May 2007, Security Council Resolution 1757 established the STL "on the outskirts of the Hague." | Ten SC members voted "yes," none "no," Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, and Qatar abstaining. | Five judges were involved in proceedings, Judge David Re…

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-20). Trump Regime Further Escalates War on China's Huawei. globalresearch.ca Chinese tech giant Huawei calls itself "an independent, privately-held company that provides information and communication technology (ICT)…connect(ing) over three billion people in (over) 170 countries." | The company is leading the race to roll out 5G technology, its market potential worth …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-20). What's behind the US attack on China's tech sector. peoplesdispatch.org Charles Xu of the Qiao Collective talks about the context behind the US assault on China's technological sector, especially Huawei. He talks about the strategies of development deployed by China over the past few decades…

Finian Cunningham (2020-08-20). As US stalls on extension of New Start treaty seeking to gain control over China, the world is on verge of dangerous arms race. thealtworld.com After three rounds of talks with Russia wrapped up this summer, the US is still equivocating on …

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-20). No right for US to request snapback of UN sanctions on Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — China says the US has no right to request snapback of UN sanctions on Iran after pulling out from the JCPOA.

RT (2020-08-19). Trump demands full restoration of UN sanctions on Iran, as Pompeo warns Russia & China not to meddle. rt.com US President Donald Trump said the State Department will soon attempt to trigger a "snapback" of UN sanctions on Iran, as the top American diplomat threatened consequences for Moscow and Beijing if they try to block the effort. | "Today I'm directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the United Nations Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all of the United Nations sanctions on Iran — it's a snap back, not uncommon," Trump told reporters during a White House press conference on Wednesday. | When the United States entered into the Iran deal, it was clear the United…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-08-19). Trade Wars Threaten Post-pandemic Global Economic Recovery. globalresearch.ca The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop U.S. protectionism and its trade disputes with the rest of the world, especially with China and the European Union. In actual fact, it deepened the conflict. This behaviour anticipates very complicated post-pandemic international trade, …

Dilip Hiro (2020-08-19). Trump Is Losing the Tech War Against China. thenation.com Trump Is Losing the Tech War Against China…

Paddy Colligan (2020-08-19). Le Kha Phieu °presente! workers.org On Aug. 7, another of the heroic and determined generation of revolutionaries who guided Vietnam's liberation movement passed away. Le Kha Phieu was born in 1931 in Thanh Hoa province in the northern part of Vietnam (then French Indochina). At 15, he joined the revolutionary struggle to gain independence from . . . |

Karin Leukefeld (2020-08-19). After explosion, imperialists pressure Lebanon; Iran, China send aid. workers.org From jungewelt.de, Aug. 18. The author has been covering Syrian, Lebanon and Palestine for progressive German-language publications for decades. Translation by John Catalinotto. It was only last January — in response to the street protests — that the technocratic government of the engineer and former university professor Hassan Diab was . . . |

teleSUR (2020-08-19). China: Thousands Evacuated Due to Flooding in Sichuan Province. telesurenglish.net Over 100,000 people Tuesday were evacuated from their homes in the Sichuan province due to floods hitting the region, which has triggered the highest level of emergency response. | RELATED: | Continued rains caused 22 major rivers to exceed their flood alert threshold, flooding urban areas in cities such as Ya'an and Leshan. | In Yibin city, where 26,000 people have also been evacuated, it is feared that the rains will overflow the Min Riv…

WSWS (2020-08-19). Chinese prime minister: 600 million people earn less than $145 a month. wsws.org While almost half of its population earns less than $145 a month, China recorded 373 billionaires in 2020, the second highest figure in the world.

Dilip Hiro (2020-08-19). China vs. America, Whose Century Is It? Don't Ask Donald Trump: "The Invisible Chinese Virus" globalresearch.ca For the Trump administration's senior officials, it's been open season on bashing China. If you need an example, think of the president's blame game about " When it …

yenisafak (2020-08-19). Brent oil price down with halt in US-China trade talks. yenisafak.com Oil prices eased on Wednesday after stagnant US economic stimulus talks, and with US President Donald Trump postponing US-China trade talks.International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $45.05 per barrel at 0614GMT for a 0.9% decrease after closing Tuesday at $45.46 a barrel.American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $42.56 per barrel at the same time, down 1.3% after ending the previous session at $43.12 a barrel.Trump on Tuesday said he postponed trade negotiations with China, commenting that he does not want to talk to China "right now."Scheduled talks between representatives from the US and China…

WSWS (2020-08-18). Responding to US provocations, Chinese officials appeal for "peaceful coexistence" wsws.org Chinese Foreign Minister Wang warned that relations between the US and Beijing were facing "the gravest challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties" in the 1970s."

_____ (2020-08-18). Jimmy Lai Arrested, And Long Live Hong Kong. popularresistance.org The 71-year-old Lai, originally from Mainland China, owns a right-wing tabloid Apple Daily. He is known for dutifully echoing media salvos that are being fired by Western governments and media outlets, salvos against Beijing, and SAR administration, which in turn gained him, in the West, of course, various flattering and unreal titles such as 'an outspoken pro-democracy figure in Hong Kong who regularly criticizes China's authoritarian rule' (CBS News). Lies, of course. Obvious lies.

_____ (2020-08-18). 'What Happens If Julian Assange Dies In A British Prison?'. popularresistance.org For Assange however, justice delayed is not only justice denied. With global attention shifting from Wuhan to Washington, from Minneapolis to Lebanon, the father of two young children has spent another five months in incarceration without access to lawyers or family visitations. It follows what is approaching ten years of what the United Nations has repeatedly labeled arbitrary detention — the British government has so far failed to respond to three separate U.N. reports and correspondences on the matter. | Serena Tinari, a Switzerland-based investigative journalist, condemned Britain's handling of the case…

Anand Naidoo (2020-08-18). The Heat: U.S.-China Trade. america.cgtn.com Despite escalating diplomatic and political tensions between the United States and China, both sides remain committed to a trade deal. At the beginning of 2020 the U.S. and China signed Phase One of a bilateral trade agreement. It signaled a truce in their bruising dispute …

RT (2020-08-18). Australian police raid fishing boat and find 1 TON of cocaine, worth up to $180 MILLION. rt.com Australian law enforcement has seized around a ton of cocaine after dramatically raiding a moving vessel which had received the major transfer of drugs from another boat, about 200 nautical miles off the coast of Newcastle. | Saturday's raid followed an Australian border force investigation, which began last week after authorities spotted a ship moving in an unusual trajectory from the coast of China. A fishing vessel named the Coralynne approached the boat from China and allegedly performed an "at-sea transfer of illicit drugs bound for Australia," New South Wales Police reports. Police posted a video of the…

RT (2020-08-18). More than 100,000 evacuated as southwestern China stricken by worst floods in decades (VIDEO). rt.com Authorities in China's southwestern Sichuan province have raised the flood emergency alert to the highest level for the first time on record as local rivers broke their banks and flooded the cities, sparking massive evacuations. | Continuous rainfall has caused the worst flooding in Sichuan in some 70 years. More than two dozen of the region's major rivers overran their banks with muddy swelling waters flooding urban areas. The streets of Leshan — a major provincial city located at the confluence of two rivers — have been almost entirely submerged by water. | Footage published by the Ruptly video…

Eds. (2020-08-18). Oil spill threatens disaster for Mauritius. mronline.org The Japanese-owned (Mitsui-operated) MV Wakashio was en route to Brazil from China to fetch iron ore from a port owned by the notorious mining company Vale. Here the ship is seen having run aground near Blue Bay, one of the area's most pristine sites for coral, already threatened by bleaching due to the climate crisis. …

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-18). Trump Gives Chinese Parent Company 90 Days to Divest from TikTok. globalresearch.ca US cold war on China risks turning hot if bipartisan hardliners in Washington push things too far. | Their hostile actions are all about wanting China's development, growth, and prominence on the world stage undermined. | Since Trump took office, scores of …

teleSUR (2020-08-18). China Demands US To Cancel Measures Against TikTok. telesurenglish.net China's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the announcement to ban TikTok and WeChat in the United States made by President Donald Trump's administration. | RELATED: | He said that TikTok follows the U.S. regulations, its managers are U.S. citizens, and its servers are outside of China. | Zhao also affirmed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has confirmed that China…

Larry Wilkerson (2020-08-18). The Danger of War With China is Real and Insane. zcomm.org China and the U.S. must work together to solve the climate crisis, but the power of the militaries and national security states on both sides is making that impossible…

teleSUR (2020-08-17). China Announces Its First COVID-19 Vaccine Patent. telesurenglish.net China's National Intellectual Property Administration Monday granted the first patent to a COVID-19 vaccine developed in the Asian nation. | RELATED: | The Ad5-nCoV vaccine was co-developed by CanSino Biologics, the Beijing Biotechnology Institute, and a People's Liberation Army (PLA) team. | During the next year, the vaccine will be for the military forces' exclusive use. However, the military high command will be responsible for autho…

WSWS (2020-08-17). US-backed opposition in Solomon Islands opposes ties to Beijing. wsws.org A provincial administration in Malaita insists that it has the right to maintain its own relations with Taiwan and refuses to recognise Beijing.

Xinhua (2020-08-17). Xi's article on Marxist political economy in contemporary China to be published. mronline.org An article by President Xi Jinping on opening new horizons of the Marxist political economy in contemporary China will be published Sunday.

Finian Cunningham (2020-08-17). US Snapback From Humiliation. thealtworld.com American President Donald Trump has darkly warned of something big this week, vowing to apply "snapback" international sanctions on Iran. It would be a drastic move and likely to further isolate Washington in the eyes of the world. | But the real snapback is Washington's fury after the United States was subjected to a humiliating diplomatic defeat at the UN security council last week. | A proposal by the US for the United Nations to extend an arms embargo on Iran was decisively rejected by the security council comprised of five permanent members and 11 non-permanent members. Russia and China voted against the…

yenisafak (2020-08-17). US imposes further sanctions on China's Huawei. yenisafak.com US President Donald Trump's administration on Monday expanded restrictions on Chinese telecom company Huawei over the company's alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party.Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business that Huawei's access to semiconductor chips is banned, and new limitations will further prevent it from getting around the bar."On May 20, we issued an order that prevented American technology from being used in Huawei-designed chips. That led them to do some evasive measures. They were going through third parties," Ross said. "The new rule makes it clear that any use of American software or Am…