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Russian envoy to UN: Western sanctions against Syria hurt common Syrian people the most

syria humanitarian aid
© SputnikThe distribution of humanitarian aid from various religious communities of Russia, in Damascus
Russia supports the creation of a UN workgroup for studying the effect of the Western sanctions of Syrian economy as currently the restrictions hurt mostly common people, a Russian envoy to the UN has said.

"Common Syrian people are the main victim of the one-sided western restrictions. This is why we completely support the initiative of UN's Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, to set up a workgroup that would discuss the consequences of the unilateral coercive measures on implementation of the human rights," Russian representative in the United Nations' Geneva Office, Gennady Gatilov, said in comments with RIA Novosti.

"Such a step would significantly improve the humanitarian situation in the region," the Russian diplomat added.

Attention

'They only kicked out black people': Indianapolis man kicked out of his own pool by overzealous property manager

poolside
© Samrang Pring/ Reuters
One man's relaxing afternoon at his building's pool spiralled into a tense standoff as he was told to leave in what appears to a racially profiled incident.

Shayne Holland was sitting by the pool at the River Crossing at Keystone apartment complex when an off-duty Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer who was working as a security guard asked if he lived there.

Holland began filming the exchange after he showed the woman his key but told her he didn't want to give his full address, and she had asked him to leave.

The property manager, Candice Clingerman, comes outside and after a few minutes of back and forth, tells Holland there is a sign that says she can "ask anybody to leave at any time."

Arrow Up

Amid trade war, China's trade surplus with US hits record high

geisha
© Jim WATSON / AFP
As the US-China trade war escalates, the latest trade numbers appear to back Washington's biggest gripe with Beijing. China's trade surplus with the US has grown to a record high of nearly $29 billion in June.

Analysts expect to see the impact of the tariffs in the coming months, warning of a less favorable trade balance for China.

"We expect the trade numbers for July to disappoint since that's when the first round of US tariffs took effect," China analyst at Nordea Bank in Singapore Amy Zhuang told the BBC.

"Still, we do not expect a plunge because those tariffs only targeted $34 billion worth of goods which is fairly small compared to China's total trade," she said.

Attention

The devil's drug: Meth is back and it's deadlier than ever

meth mouth
© Kimberly Smith / AJC staffA Georgia meth user being examined by a dentist in 2007.
Before news of an opioid crisis tore through national media, Tori Holcomb knew the dangers of painkillers. She got addicted after a softball injury at North Gwinnett High and saw others around her struggling, too.

Before the resurgence of heroin caused alarm, Holcomb knew it was getting more popular. She fell into the drug, and the bleak new world that came with it, when doctors stopped writing her prescriptions for Percocet.

It is the afflicted who are first to know about every epidemic.

Now, Holcomb knows something else most people don't: Methamphetamine, a drug that lawmakers fought with success in the 2000s, is back - and it's more popular, plentiful and lethal than ever.

While the opioid crisis takes the spotlight, prosecutors and police say they also have been coming to grips with the devastating rebound of meth, which is killing more people in America today than in the mid-2000s when it was the national problem everyone was talking about.

Biohazard

Libyan nuclear energy advisor: NATO used depleted uranium munitions in 2011 Libya airstrikes

A civilian fighter
© AP Photo / Mohammed el-ShaikyIn this Feb. 23, 2016 file photo, a civilian fighter holding the Libyan flag stands in front of damaged buildings in Benghazi, Libya
A military operation against the government of Muammar Gaddafi, conducted by NATO in 2011, led to a civil war and split the country into three parts with different governments and various militant groups.

A report, made by a group of Libyan nuclear experts, says that NATO forces missiles with depleted uranium.

"We conducted a study at one of the headquarters of the Libyan army, which was bombed by NATO. There were places with increased levels of radiation. After precise measurements we found that this radioactivity was a result of using an assembler with depleted uranium," Nuri al-Druki, an advisor to the Libyan committee for the environment and nuclear energy told Sputnik.

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Propaganda

Ukraine attacks journalists for reporting on Israeli weapons flow to its neo-Nazi militia

Ukrainian using Israeli weapon
Ukraine's embassy in Israel has attacked Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal by name and indirectly implicated this writer, Grayzone contributor Ben Norton, for reporting on Israel's arming of Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

While the Ukrainian government has falsely accused us of spreading "fake news," it has ironically spread fake news itself, incorrectly alleging that Blumenthal has been writing under the pseudonym "John Brown" - based on a "quick search on the internet."

The Ukrainian government has also denied that Israel has armed Ukraine's neo-Nazi militia the Azov battalion, even after Azov posted a video on its own YouTube channel showing it using unmistakably Israeli weapons.

On June 10, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel published an open letter to Aluf Benn, the editor-in-chief of the major Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Kiev condemned Haaretz for publishing a June 9 news report titled "Rights Groups Demand Israel Stop Arming neo-Nazis in Ukraine."

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Arrow Up

Russian government issues decree allowing young Syrians to study in Russian military schools for free

Cadets of the Ussuriysk Suvorov military school during the graduation ceremony
© Vitaliy Ankov / SputnikCadets of the Ussuriysk Suvorov military school during the graduation ceremony
The Russian government has issued a decree allowing young Syrians to study in Russian military schools for free if they have sufficient knowledge of Russian and pass the necessary exams.

New Syrian cadets "will be accepted in military schools after a competition, within the limits allowed by the Russian law and in line with the procedure applied to Russian citizens," reads the document published on the official web portal for legislative information on Friday.

The decree says the Syrian side should select future cadets and conduct necessary medical tests. Applications will then be forwarded to the Russian state agency responsible for the project (most likely the Defense Ministry - the body usually responsible Russian military schools) before January 15 of the year candidates wish to begin studies. The Russian side will then decide on the number of successful candidates.

Attention

African-American leaders on Capitol Hill call for House Speaker Ryan to censure Maxine Waters

maxine waters
© Monica Almeida / ReutersCongresswoman Maxine Waters speaks at an immigration protest in Los Angeles
A group of conservative African-American leaders informed House Speaker Paul Ryan Thursday morning on Capitol Hill that they wanted him to censure Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) for her controversial speech last month encouraging supporters to harass Trump officials.

Maxine "is the unchallenged face of the Democratic Party," said Johms Gool of the Victory Christian Center, in Charlotte, NC. "She represents half of the U.S."

As such, he "encourages her to respect our liberty and issue a retraction" to her call to followers to harass Trump supporters.

"Reverse, retract and call for an end to this activity now."

Eye 2

Peter Strzok rolls eyes and smirks while Trey Gowdy destroys him in opening statement

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

Strzok Gowdy
On Thursday the House Oversight Committee and House Judiciary Committee held a joint hearing with former top FBI invesigator Peter Strzok.

Chairman Gowdy destroyed Peter Strzok in his opening comments describing the undeniable bias of Peter Strzok in the Clinton email investigation and the Russian collusion investigation against President Trump.

Strzok sent several messages to hie lover Lisa Page admitting his bias and hatred against Donald Trump.

While Gowdy was speaking you could see Peter Strzok roll his eyes at one point and smirking.

Strzok was a top agent at the Obama FBI.


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Eye 2

Peter Strzok's bizarre, creepy smirk goes viral on Twitter

strzok smirk hearing
Peter Strzok
While Peter Strzok's marathon Congressional testimony was full of bickering, chaos and drama - mostly between members of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees - a clip of the disgraced FBI agent's seemingly giddy reaction after answering a question is creeping people out.


Comment: Psychologist Paul Ekman defines "duping delight" as:
[T]he near irresistible thrill some people feel in taking a risk and getting away with it. Sometimes it includes contempt for the target who is being so ruthlessly and successfully exploited. It is hard to contain duping delight; those who feel it want to share their accomplishments with others, seeking admiration for their exploits.

It is hard to contain duping delight; those who feel it want to share their accomplishments with others, seeking admiration for their exploits.

The presence of others witnessing the successful liar typically intensifies the delight experienced and increases the chances that some of the excitement, pleasure, and contempt will leak, thus betraying the liar.