When visitors arrive it is a basic norm to extend hospitality. But for Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States next month, the American response seems to be one of extending sumptuous hostility.

No doubt, US President Barack Obama will greet his guest with smiles and handshakes, red carpet and banquet at the White House. However, the official American reception barely conceals the seething hostility that Washington is harbouring for the Chinese leader. Duplicitous, schizoid, two-faced, are some of the phrases to describe Washington's mindset.

Cast your mind back to how Obama was courteously received when he visited Beijing in November 2014. The American leader addressed the Great Hall of the People, with gratitude to President Xi, thanking him for the «extraordinary hospitality that you and the Chinese people have shown to me on this state visit». Obama went on to say: «And it is a fact that when we work together, it's good for the United States, it's good for China, and it is good for the world».

Now that President Xi is visiting the US on his first state visit, the American «reception» is certainly going to be «extraordinary» - but not in a complimentary meaning.

Ground troops from the United Arab Emirates have landed in the central Yemeni province of Ma'rib to support forces loyal to Yemen's government in their fight against the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents, sources say.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition targeting the Houthis in Yemen, which includes the UAE, confirmed that Emirati forces have arrived in the central oil-rich province.

"What is happening in Ma'rib is an on-the-ground operation to support Yemeni forces comprising the Popular Resistance [a coalition of volunteer forces loyal to the government] and the Yemeni army," Asiri said.

"They are being supported by air cover [from the coalition] as well as information and experts on the ground," he added.

We witnessed something truly historic happen on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 530 points, and that followed a 358 point crash on Thursday. When you add those two days together, the total two day stock market crash that we just witnessed comes to a grand total of 888 points, which is larger than any one day stock market crash in U.S. history. It is also interesting to note that this 888 point crash comes in the 8th month of our calendar. Perhaps that is just a coincidence, and perhaps it is not. It just struck me as being noteworthy.

This is the first time that the Dow has dropped by more than 300 points on two consecutive days since November 2008, and we all remember what was happening back then. Overall, this was the worst week for the Dow in four years, and there have only been five other months throughout history when the Dow has fallen by more than a thousand points (the most recent being October 2008). Of course we still have six more trading days left in August, so there is plenty of time remaining for even more carnage.

It had to happen, sooner or later. The seeming diffidence of the Syrian brass had to transform into a bolder and more pugnacious articulation of Syria's right to self-defense. With Russia now inevitably bound to the Syrian government for reasons discussed at length on our website; and Iran, now dazzled by a new role to play in regional politics; the green light turned on, finally, with Moscow withdrawing all restrictions on the use of advanced weaponry sold to the Syrian military. If you want to know what the former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Martin Dempsey, meant when he told Congress Syria had a "robust air defense system", the Zionists just found out for themselves.

The Shanghai composite has closed down 8.5 percent in a brutal selloff, as Beijing's measures have failed to ease investor concerns about the slowdown of the world's second-largest economy. China's stocks are now down for the year after being up 60 percent in June.

"This is a real disaster and it seems nothing can stop it," Chen Gang, Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Heqitongyi Asset Management Co., told Bloomberg. "If we don't cut holdings ourselves, the fund faces risk of forced closure. Many newly-started private funds suffered that recently. I hope we can survive."

Asian markets followed China with a broad selloff.

Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria killed six people and wounded seven, Syrian state TV reported Friday, in retaliation for a rocket attack on Israel the previous day that Israeli officials blamed on militants backed by Iran.

Four rockets exploded in an open field in northern Galilee on Thursday. There were no injuries but it was the first time since the 1973 Mideast war that rockets from Syrian territory have slammed into Israel. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Syrian state TV said an Israeli drone strike on Friday targeted a "civilian car" close to a busy market in the village of Kom, killing five people. Ahmad Sheikh Abdul-Qader, governor of the southern region of Quneitra, said the attack happened on the road leading to the village of Khan Arnabeh, near Kom, and destroyed the car.

ONE HAS to choose: Binyamin Netanyahu is either incredibly shrewd or incredibly foolish.

Take his Iran policy. Actually, there is little to choose from. Netanyahu has no other policy to speak of.

According to him, Iran constitutes a mortal danger to Israel. If it obtains a nuclear weapon, God forbid, it will use it to annihilate Israel. It must be stopped by any means, preferably by American armed intervention.

This may be quite wrong (as I believe). But it makes sense. So what did Netanyahu do?

FOR YEARS, he alarmed the world. Every day the cry went out: Save Israel! Prevent the destruction of the Jewish State! Prevent a Second Holocaust! Prevent Iran from producing The Bomb!

The world did not take any notice. It was busy with many other matters. There are crises galore everywhere, all the time. Economic depressions. Plagues. The warming of the earth.

But Netanyahu did not let off. He used every rostrum, from the Knesset to the United States Congress, to shout his message.

At long last, a weary world paid heed. OK, the Jews warn of the Iranian bomb? So let's do something to prevent it. Not just something. No. Let's get all the great powers of the world together to compel Iran to end this nonsense.

And they did. The USA, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- practically the whole world -- commanded Iran to start negotiations.

There was only one single issue: preventing Iran from getting The Bomb. Nothing else mattered. Compared to this giant issue, everything else was insignificant.

And then something unexpected happened. Iran's political system replaced their loudmouth president with a very different one: a soft-spoken, eminently reasonable politician. Negotiations started, and Iran sent an even more soft-spoken, eminently reasonable diplomat to conduct them. The foreign ministers of the world were enchanted.

After playing a little hard-to-get, Iran accepted an agreement. The World got, more or less, everything it wanted. No bomb for a long time. Very intrusive inspection procedures. (They were not really needed. Up-to-date espionage techniques can quickly detect any movements toward a bomb.)

EVERYBODY WAS happy. Everybody, that is, except Netanyahu. He was furious.

What kind of an agreement is this?

For months we have been warning that "Vegas is screwed" as water levels continue to plunge in its most crucial reservoirs. Non-government experts are waving red flags that something must be done (and even NASA scientists fear the worst) while the government remains quiet. And then just 3 months ago, Lake Mead water levels mysteriously plunged to levels that were perilously close to emergency for Vegas water supply, then quickly reverted after the government confirmed that a malfunctioning indicator was at fault.

Now, we note, having given them time to 'fix' whatever problem there may be, Lake Mead water levels have not been reported since July 9th - six weeks??!!

This week on 'Behind the Headlines', your hosts are joined once more by Amari Roos, Dutch editor for Sott.net sister site, nl.sott.net. Amari has also written English articles on Sott.net, focusing on blowback from anti-Russian sanctions. We'll be asking her about her research into the real causes of the EU's immigration crisis - not least, NATO's wars.

We'll also be looking at what happened in the 'foiled' terror attack in France, Thailand's worst ever such attack, and some of the latest extreme weather events from around the world.

Tune in for all that and more this Sunday 23rd August 2015, from 2-4pm EST / 7-9pm GMT / 8-10pm CET

Running Time: 01:53:00

Download: MP3

The 'immigration crisis' in Europe continues to worsen as a result of Western-instigated chaos in the Middle East and African countries. Several EU nations are facing a drastic influx of desperate people, with little resources available to help them.

Approximately 39,000 migrants, mostly Syrians, passed through Macedonia in July - twice June's figures. This is an alarming number and Macedonia is running out of trains to transport these people onward to the European Union. Not that they will fare much better there. On Thursday the country declared a state of emergency and Macedonian police used tear gas and stun grenades against these desperate people, injuring several. The border has been sealed with razor wire around the town of Gevgelija, where approximately 3,000 to 4,000 people, including children, are stranded. Is this how desperate men, women and children from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq - countries that have been ravaged by NATO's wars of aggression - should be treated by NATO member states?

"Several people were injured when hundreds of men, women and children tried to board a train to Serbia, the nearest country to the European Union (EU) member-state of Hungary, at the station of Gevgelija in Macedonia, Friday."