(2021-04-24). The US To End Its War In Afghanistan, 'The Graveyard Of Empires' — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Somar Wijayadasa* | President Joe Biden of the United States announced that its war in Afghanistan, the US's longest war ever, will end on September 11, 2021. | A glimpse of Afghanistan's history—dubbed as "the country where Empires go to die" will help us understand why many empires failed in that country. | Afghanistan, rightfully called a "graveyard of empires", is a mountainous landlocked country located along the ancient Silk Road between Asia and Europe, and surrounded by powerful nations such as India, Pakistan, and Russia. | For centuries, it was a melting pot as new empires rose up and took c…
(2021-04-23). Biden's Appeasement of Hawks and Neocons Is Crippling His Diplomacy. counterpunch.org President Biden took office promising a new era of American international leadership and diplomacy. But with a few exceptions, he has so far allowed self-serving foreign allies, hawkish U.S. interest groups and his own imperial delusions to undermine diplomacy and stoke the fires of war. Biden's failure to quickly recommit to the Iran nuclear deal,
(2021-04-23). Russia Begins Withdrawing Forces Near Ukraine's Border. Shelling of Donbass by Ukrainian Forces. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | Russian forces near Ukraine's border have been engaging in regularly scheduled …
(2021-04-23). Russia's Red Lines, Weaponizing Ukraine for War. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | Ukraine is a virtual US military base along Russia's border — …
(2021-04-23). Syrian Missile strikes Near Israel's Nuclear Facility at Dimona, Which could have Turned into a Dirty Bomb. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The Israeli site i24 reports that on early Thursday morning, a Syrian missile slammed into the desert very near to the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona, which Israeli authorities have used to produce an arsenal of an estimated two hundred nuclear bombs. Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel. Explosions …
(2021-04-23). Scandalous Tape Of Palestinian President Cursing China, Russia, US & All Arab States Leaked Online. southfront.org 
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressing the Arab League in Cairo on Saturday, via APF. | On April 22, a tape of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine and the leader of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), cursing China, Russia, the US and all Arab states surfaced online. | The tape was reportedly recorded during Fatah Central Committee meeting, which was held on April 19. The source of the leak is yet to be determined. | In the short tape, one of the attendees informs Abbas tha…
(2021-04-23). Letters From Minsk: Coming in From the Cold War at Brest-Litovsk. counterpunch.org 
This is the seventh in a series about train and bicycle rides from Switzerland to Belarus, in those carefree days before pandemic lockdowns. My afternoon train to Terespol, on the Polish border with Belarus, left Warsaw central station around 2: 30 in the afternoon. Although I had my visa for Belarus, I didn't quite know how
(2021-04-23). Israel Seeks An Unchecked Nuclear Monopoly: Ex-Senate Candidate. southfront.org 
A former U.S. Senate Mark Dankof | Interview with Mark Dankof. Originally published at the A former U.S. Senate candidate says Israel resorts to assassination and sabotage because it needs an unchecked nuclear monopoly in West Asia."This demonic agenda involves the need for an unchecked nuclear monopoly in the Middle East (West Asia) and one not under the scrutiny of the Non-Proliferation Tre…
(2021-04-23). Bursting Pantsirs, Falling Bayraktars: Turkish-Russian Virtual War. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 22nd, Turkish defense company Roketsan released a video hyping up its Akƒ±ncƒ± UAV. | The video shows the drone use a MAM-T smart bomb, which hits a Russian Pantsir-S1 in a desert setting and destroys it. | Apparently, this is a kind of response to a video report on Russian TV, in which Russian "Lancets" destroy Turkish drones. | On April 18th, The Turkish media drew attention to the fact that in a report on military developments aired on the stat…
(2021-04-23). Japanese Militarism Redux: Russian Connection. southfront.org 
Ronin right and left. "Employed" samurai in middle.Popular TV actors in Edo Period drama | Submitted by Japan fought three wars with Russia in the 20th Century. It won one in 1905, and lost two. It was Russia that drove the Japanese Army from China, in a short, sharp campaign. The Japanese haven't forgotten that. Russia has won respect. The Chinese, by contrast, are still regarded as inferior. | The extreme Japanese rig…
(2021-04-23). The Rising Threat Of Nuclear War. popularresistance.org US Strategic Command, the branch of the US military responsible for America's nuclear arsenal, tweeted the following on Tuesday: | "The spectrum of conflict today is neither linear nor predictable. We must account for the possibility of conflict leading to conditions which could very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option." | The statement, which STRATCOM called a "preview" of…
(2021-04-23). 3 states to accelerate construction of Iraqi nuclear reactor. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 23 (MNA) — Three countries are holding talks with Iraq to help it accelerate the construction of its nuclear reactors.
(2021-04-23). China urges Japan to face oppositions home and abroad over water dump plan. ecns.cn Japan must sincerely face questions and objections from home and abroad over the government's decision to dump polluted nuclear water into the ocean and stop playing dumb on the issue, China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
(2021-04-23). 'We Didn't Feel Anything Right Away — These Weren't Bullets': True Stories of Chernobyl Liquidators. sputniknews.com Monday will mark the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster — one of the worst technogenic accidents in human history. The disaster sparked renewed public interest due to HBO's Chernobyl miniseries in 2019. However, the show, while being highly stylized and dramatic, was also filled with half-truths and even outright lies.
(2021-04-23). Biden's first trip outside the country will take him to NATO headquarters. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Biden's first trip outside the country will take him to NATO headquartersRick Rozoff White House Press Secretary Jen "Russia will be accountable by the international community" Psaki announced today that her boss, President Joe "I will continue with every fiber in my being to keep America involved with troops that can shoot and kill" Biden, …
(2021-04-23). Rules-based interplanetary order: U.S. Space Command takes conflict with China and Russia to the heavens. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Rules-based interplanetary order: U.S. Space Command takes conflict with China and Russia to the heavensRick Rozoff General James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM), testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 21 and laid out the purpose, progress and plans of the Pentagon's latest unified combatant command. SPACECOM in its current avatar …
(2021-04-23). NATO chief issues appeal to India to join global anti-Chinese, anti-Russian alliance. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com NATO chief issues appeal to India to join global anti-Chinese, anti-Russian allianceRick Rozoff Two days ago an opinion piece by North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appeared in the influential Times of India, the title of which is Deepening Nato's dialogue with India: To protect international rules-based order and address shared challenges to …
(2021-04-23). Russia to pull troops back from Ukranian border. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 23 (MNA) — Russia ordered its top military brass to return troops to their permanent bases from the Ukrainian border.
(2021-04-23). Russia summons Polish envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 23 (MNA) — Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Polish ambassador on Friday.
(2021-04-23). Two lose lives in Plane Crash in Russia's Irkutsk Region. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 23 (MNA) — Two people were killed when a light aircraft crashed in the Cheremkhovsky district of Irkutsk region.
(2021-04-23). UK Space Academy Chief Says Building ISS Without Russia Would Have Been Impossible. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) could not have built the International Space Station without Russia, Anu Ojha, director of the UK National Space Academy, said on Friday.
(2021-04-23). Mutual Political Will Required to Improve Moscow-Washington Relations, Kremlin Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Mutual political will is required to achieve improvement in relations between Russia and the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
(2021-04-23). Tensions Along Russian-Kazakhstan Border Over Territorial Shifts In Russia's Favor Growing — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Both the Russian and Kazakhstan governments agree that the way in which the border between their two countries was marked after the 2013 agreement about it was incorrect and that border posts, put up in the intervening time, need to be shifted from a few meters to a few kilometers into land that Kazakhs had come to view as theirs. | Russian officials have now begun that process, and at least some Kazakhs in the area over the past ten days have come to view their actions as both illegal and threatening. Adding fuel to the fire, several Kazakh nationalists have posted stories on line that there have been violent…
(2021-04-23). Russia's 'Reality-Czech' for European Provocation and Hysterics. strategic-culture.org There is a sense that Russia has reached the end of its patience over provocations and condescending sanctions imposed by the collective West. | The incendiary row between the Czech Republic, the European Union, and Russia flared last week and looked to be spinning out of control. Latest developments, however, suggest that a more sober view may prevail to tamp down unnecessary tensions. Russia's stern response seems to have forced a "reality-Czech". | Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek has
(2021-04-23). Does the NDP Want a War with Russia? globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | Does the NDP want to go to war with Russia? Unfortunately …
(2021-04-23). NATO Chief Issues Appeal to India To Join Global Anti-Chinese, Anti-Russian Alliance. news.antiwar.com Two days ago an opinion piece by North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appeared in the influential Times of India, the title of which is Deepening Nato's dialogue with India: To protect international rules-based order and address shared challenges to our security. The NATO 2030: United for a New Era document released last …
(2021-04-23). Biden's First Trip Outside the Country Will Take Him to NATO Headquarters. news.antiwar.com White House Press Secretary Jen "Russia will be accountable by the international community" Psaki announced today that her boss, President Joe "I will continue with every fiber in my being to keep America involved with troops that can shoot and kill" Biden, will make his first overseas trip in June; in fact his first trip …
(2021-04-22). The Real Story: The U.S. & Israeli War Against Iran. liberationnews.org 
The fate of the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement hangs in the balance.
(2021-04-22). Fake News Reports. is Russia Preparing to Invade Ukraine? Zelensky Ready for War? globalresearch.ca When major media operate exclusively as press agents for wealth, power, …
(2021-04-22). Prague's Call for EU "Solidarity Expulsions" Against Russian Diplomats Falls on Deaf Ears. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | The U.S. failed to impose new sanctions on Russia and expel …
(2021-04-22). Vienna Talks Reveal Biden Team's Attachment to Sanctions that Would Torpedo Iran Deal. orinocotribune.com By Gareth Porter — Apr 18, 2021 | Biden's foreign policy team refuses to relieve Iran from sanctions illegally imposed by the Trump administration, setting the stage for the collapse of negotiations and a major crisis. | The Biden administration signaled once again at the April 9 Vienna meeting on the Iran nuclear deal that it intends to maintain Trump-era Iran sanctions in an effort to win political and military concessions going well beyond the original deal itself. Team Biden continued to insist during the conference that Iran return to full compliance with the nuclear agreement without any reciprocal US…
(2021-04-22). Putin Condemns 'Regime Change' Attempts in Belarus and Venezuela. orinocotribune.com This Wednesday, April 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his annual message to the Federal Assembly of Russia in which he condemned the attempts to change governments by force, such as those that occurred in Belarus or Venezuela. | "You can have any opinion about, for example, the former president of Ukraine [Victor] Yanukovych or [President of Venezuela, Nicolás] Maduro (…) have any point of view about the president of Belarus, [Alexandr] Lukashenko, but the practice of organizing coups, plans for political assassinations, including those of high-ranking officials, exceed all limits," Putin said, as rep…
(2021-04-22). Pfizer Says Identified Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccines in Mexico, Poland — Reports. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has identified fake doses of its vaccine against COVID-19 in Mexico and Poland, The Wall Street Journal reported.
(2021-04-22). Clashes Between SDF, NDF Renew In Al-Qamishli Despite Russian Efforts (Videos). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image. | Clashes between the pro-government Syrian National Defense Forces (NDF) and Asayish, the security wing of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are still ongoing in the city of al-Qamishli in northeastern Syria. | The clashes came to a temporary halt on April 22 morning. A delegation of the Russian Military Police and the Syrian Arab Army met with representatives of Asayish in the Tayy district, where the clashes first broke out. | The two sides reportedly agreed on a ceasefire to de-esca…
(2021-04-22). New F-35 Program Contract Excludes Turkey. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 21st, Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported that the US and eight other countries have abolished the 2006 deal regarding the F-35 program and signed a new agreement that has excluded Turkey. | The state outlet cited an unnamed Pentagon official. | Washington removed Turkey from the F-35 Lightning II jet program in 2019, arguing that S-400 air missile systems acquired by Turkey could be used by Russia to covertly obtain classified details on the Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and is incompatible…
(2021-04-22). Military Situation In Syria On April 22, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 22, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 39 times: 6 — in Idlib province, 27 — in Latakia province, 1 — in Hama province | On April 22, Israeli warplanes attacked Damascus city with several missiles. SAA air defense systems reportedly intercepted a number of missiles. 4 SAA soldiers were wounded when an Air Defense Battery was hit | On April 21, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled SDF positi…
(2021-04-22). Israel Bombs Syria Twice In One Evening, After SAM Lands Near Dimona Nuclear Reator. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Just after midnight on April 21st, Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of strikes on unknown targets near Damascus. | They did so from the air above occupied Golan Heights. | Most of these were intercepted by Syrian Air Defense, but an errant missile landed in a field in southern Israel, near the nuclear center in Dimona. | The Israeli army said the missile landed in the Negev region and the air raid sirens were sounded in Abu Krinat, a village just a few k…
(2021-04-22). Israel Bombs Syria Twice In One Evening, After SAM Lands Near Dimona Nuclear Reactor. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | Just after midnight on April 21st, Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of strikes on unknown targets near Damascus. | They did so from the air above occupied Golan Heights. | Most of these were intercepted by Syrian Air Defense, but an errant missile landed in a field in southern Israel, near the nuclear center in Dimona. | The Israeli army said the missile landed in the Negev region and the air raid sirens were sounded in Abu Krinat, a village just a few k…
(2021-04-22). Japanese Communists denounce plan to dump radiation-tainted water into ocean. peoplesworld.org 
TOKYO—In defiance of strong opposition from local fishermen and the National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations (JF Zengyoren), the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on April 13 decided to release radiation-tainted water into the ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Regarding this decision, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira in …
(2021-04-22). Tomgram: Nina Burleigh, The Pandemic Memory Hole. warisacrime.org This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. World War I was, however faintly, still part of my life when I grew up in the Cold War years. I can remember being hoisted on my father's shoulders to see the aging American veterans of that global …
(2021-04-22). US Joins Past Empires In Afghan Graveyard. popularresistance.org An Afghan taxi-driver in Vancouver told one of us a decade ago that this day would come. "We defeated the Persian Empire in the eighteenth century, the British in the nineteenth, the Soviets in the twentieth. Now, with NATO, we're fighting twenty-eight countries, but we'll defeat them, too," said the taxi-driver, surely not a member of the Taliban, but quietly proud of his country's empire-killing credentials. | Now, after nearly twenty years of a war that has been as bloody and futile as all those previous invasions and occupations, the last 3,500 U.S. troops and their NATO brothers-in-arms will be coming home f…
(2021-04-22). Progressives condemn Japan's decision to release contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear plant. peoplesdispatch.org The incumbent conservative government in Japan led by Yoshihide Suga has decided to release contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors into the Pacific ocean…
(2021-04-22). Iran nuclear negotiator says Vienna talks 'progressive' despite difficulties. ecns.cn Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tuesday that the latest round of the talks in Vienna are "progressive" despite "the existing difficulties."
(2021-04-22). Iran Installs Advanced Uranium Enrichment Centrifuges in Natanz, Reports Say. sputniknews.com Iran has been partly violating the terms of its nuclear agreement, known as the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after it was abandoned by the US in 2018. Tehran and the European parties to the deal held negotiations to revive the JCPOA, but Washington has so far refused to remove sanctions from the Iranian economy.
(2021-04-22). IDF Investigating Why Its Cutting Edge Air Defences Failed to Shoot Down Rogue Syrian Missile. sputniknews.com Israel's Defence Forces announced on Thursday that they had attacked missile batteries in Syria in response to the launch of a Syrian surface-to-air missile that landed near the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Centre — suspected birthplace of Israel's first nuclear bomb. The launch took place right after a separate Israeli attack on Syria.
(2021-04-22). Democrats Must Stop Sacrificing Good American Nuclear Jobs For Cheap Chinese Solar Panels — OpEd. eurasiareview.com The Biden Administration is
(2021-04-22). Israel Bombs Southern Syria After Missile Landed Near Nuclear Site. news.antiwar.com A new round of Israeli attacks on Syria took place Wednesday evening, after a Syrian air defense system was activated and fired at an Israeli warplane. The missile did not hit the plane, Israel's attacks centered on military targets in southern Syria, and they hit a number of Syrian air defense batteries. This is just the latest in common Israeli attacks on Syria, which leave Syria's air defenses constantly ready to try to defend sites. | Complicating matters were that Israel was bee…
(2021-04-22). Seoul: US Is Reviewing Peace Declaration That Would Officially End Korean War. news.antiwar.com The US is Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Moon's peace proposal would replace the 1953 Armistice and officially end the war. While Chung said the US was reviewing the proposal, he also said he believes the Biden administration might want to make progress towards "denuclearization" before signing it. | The Biden administration says it is conducting a review of its North Korea policy but has als…
(2021-04-22). Putin delivers annual State of the Nation address. ecns.cn Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual address to the Federal Assembly, or the State of the Nation address, in Moscow on Wedn…
(2021-04-22). Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Reveals Only Factor Deterring Western Politicians. sputniknews.com In a speech to lawmakers on Wednesday, President Putin compared those who seek to bully or intimidate Russia to the tiger Shere Khan and the jackal Tabaqui from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, and warned nations not to cross Moscow's "red lines." On Thursday, the Kremlin specified that these "red lines" are tied to Russia's national interests.