2020-08-05: News Headlines

yenisafak (2020-08-05). Turkey 'neutralized' more than 100 terrorists in July. yenisafak.com Turkish security forces "neutralized" more than 100 terrorists in July, a government official said on Wednesday.Speaking at a monthly news briefing, Turkish Interior Ministry spokesman Ismail Catakli said the country "neutralized" 105 terrorists, including 80 PKK/KCK, 23 Daesh/ISIS, two leftist terror group members.Catakli added that five of them were on the gray category of the Interior Ministry's wanted terrorists list with up to a bounty of 500,000 Turkish liras ($71,246) on each head.The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and g…

Shane Quinn (2020-08-05). Pentagon Plans to Destroy Dozens of Soviet Cities and the So-called Cold War. globalresearch.ca Though remaining unmentioned in official texts, the origins of the dubiously titled Cold War can be traced to policies pursued by American leaders during World War II itself. Following Nazi Germany's calamitous defeat at Stalingrad in early 1943, Washington's ongoing …

yenisafak (2020-08-05). Turkey stresses import of European watchdog reports. yenisafak.com Turkey values the Council of Europe's independent monitoring mechanisms and its cooperation with them, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.The assertion was part of a statement announcing the release of reports by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its 2017 and 2019 visits to Turkey.The ministry stressed that the reports, available on the CPT website, were released with Ankara's authorization and include the Turkish government's responses."Turkey attaches importance to the independent monitoring mechanisms of the Council of Eur…

yenisafak (2020-08-05). EU to send search and rescue teams to Beirut. yenisafak.com The European Union is sending search and rescue teams to Beirut after a deadly explosion at the city's port, it announced on Wednesday."The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is now coordinating the urgent deployment of over 100 highly trained firefighters, with vehicles, dogs and equipment, specialized in search and rescue in urban contexts," a statement on the European Council's website said.The 27-member bloc offered condolences to those who have lost their loved ones, and offered its full support to the Lebanese people."As an immediate first step, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated upon request o…

yenisafak (2020-08-05). France's Macron to travel to Beirut on Thursday. yenisafak.com Macron, who spoken to Lebanese President Michel Aoun shortly after the blast, has already ordered French emergency assistance be sent to Lebanon, a country with deep historical ties to France.

yenisafak (2020-08-05). Turkey: Auto sales rise 387.5% year-on-year in July. yenisafak.com Turkey's passenger car and light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales surged by 387.5% year-on-year in July, according to an industry group on Wednesday.Vehicle sales in the country totaled 87,401 last month, up from 17,927 in July 2019, the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) said in a statement.Some 17,974 light commercial vehicle and 69,427 passenger-car were sold in the month, rising 350.9% and 610.7% respectively year-on-year.In January-June, the automotive market also expanded 60.3% on an annual basis to 341,469.Passenger car sales posted a rise of 58.9% to 273,022, and LCV sales soared 65.8% year-on-year…

yenisafak (2020-08-05). Turkey rescues 74 asylum seekers in Aegean. yenisafak.com Turkey on Wednesday rescued 74 asylum seekers, who were pushed back by Greek forces into Turkish territorial waters, according to security sources.In a rescue operation, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued the asylum seekers, who set off for the Greek island of Lesbos, off the coast of Ayvalik district in the northwestern Turkish province of Balikesir.They were on board two rubber boats that were pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cr…

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-04). Armenia's Risky Tovuz Strategy Dramatically Backfired. thealtworld.com The latest clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan occurred along their shared border in Tovuz, north of Nagorno-Karabakh. Both sides blame one another but a compelling argument can be made that Armenia was the aggressor. Azerbaijan has no dispute with Armenia over this territory and has nothing to gain by destabilizing this strategy region through which important international energy pipelines and the BTK railway pass. The Mingachevir Dam is also located nearby, and if Armenia attacked it during another war, then the consequences would be disastrous for the millions of Azerbaijanis downstream. | It's actually…

WSWS (2020-08-04). Migrant farmworkers in Spain protest amid COVID-19 surge. wsws.org Low-paid agricultural workers are seen as an entirely dispensable workforce, forced to work back-breaking days in appalling conditions.

Cameron Hughey (2020-08-04). As fall semester approaches, students fret about their institution's safety. peoplesworld.org NEWMARKET, N.H. — Students across the nation are preparing for the most turbulent semester of their lives. Post-secondary school administrators have started rolling out their strategies to combat the surge of COVID-19 cases and prevent a public relations disaster as the result of subsequent cluster outbreaks on their campuses. While it's safe to say that …

RT (2020-08-04). Greece reports highest single-day increase in virus infections in weeks. rt.com The top scientific adviser in Greece has warned against complacency over continuing risks from coronavirus, after the country reported its highest single-day increase in infections in weeks. | Authorities reported 121 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday after a steady rise over the past 10 days. Tuesday's tally was the highest since April 22, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4,855 since the start of the outbreak in late February. There have been 209 deaths recorded in total, Reuters said. | Professor Sotiris Tsiodras, who gave his first public briefing after a more than two-month hiatus, sai…

RT (2020-08-04). 'We can't risk going backwards': Ireland to take very cautious approach to easing coronavirus restrictions, Varadkar says. rt.com Ireland plans to take "a very cautious approach" to easing Covid-19 restrictions in the coming weeks, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said. | Tuesday's statement came ahead of a government meeting that will decide whether to reopen bars or ease travel restrictions, Reuters reported. | "I know that is going to come as a further blow to some of the sectors that are not being reopened, but we just can't risk going backwards," he told reporters in Dublin, following advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team.

RT (2020-08-04). All volunteers in Russian Covid-19 trials in good health as tests suggest new drug 'Avifavir' capable of suppressing virus. rt.com Some good news in the fight against coronavirus. A vaccine trial in Novosibirsk has reported that none of its participants have suffered side effects. Meanwhile, a new Russian medicine appears to be effective against Covid-19. | All volunteers inoculated by the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, in the Siberian capital, are in good health, it was announced on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards. Russian medics revealed the results of the pilot part of phases two and three of clinical trials of Avifavir, a domestic favipiravir-based drug capable of suppressing the coronavirus. | Avifavir accele…

RT (2020-08-04). Back to normality? With Covid-19 measures removed, Russian demand for cash falls to pre-crisis levels. rt.com When Russians saw the destructive potential of the Covid-19 pandemic, many rushed to the bank to take out their cash. Now, just a few months later, the demand for physical money is back to levels last seen before lockdown. | In July, about 179 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) were put into circulation — a steep drop from the whopping 700.9 billion ($9.5 billion) in March. | Banks began to experience a rapid outflow of customer funds in March after a collapse in oil prices, the Ruble exchange rate, and the first phase of Covid-19 measures. According to Russia's Central Bank, the combination of financial crisi…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-08-04). Lithuania's Alleged Involvement in 2014 Ukraine Maidan Coup. globalresearch.ca New scandalous information about the 2014 Maidan coup d'état in Ukraine has emerged that implicates Lithuania's important role in instigating the violent events. David Zhvania, a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, revealed on his

Rep. Ron Paul (2020-08-04). Europeans Are Waking Up to Government COVID Tyranny. Why Are We Still Asleep? globalresearch.ca Tens of thousands of Germans marched through Berlin on Saturday, proclaiming a "Day of Freedom" and demanding an end to government-mandated face masks and "social distancing." The UK and Netherlands also saw large protests against their governments' tyrannical actions in …

teleSUR (2020-08-04). Belarus: Early Voting for Presidential Elections Begins. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, citizens of Belarus began voting in advance for the August 9 presidential elections, in which President Alexander Lukashenko hopes to be reelected to continue to his sixth consecutive term. | RELATED: | The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) reports that 9.5million citizens have been called to vote and 5,767 polling stations have been installed. | Until August 8, citizens will be able to cast their votes in th…

WSWS (2020-08-04). The US troop withdrawal and the return of German militarism. wsws.org The American withdrawal plans serve the ruling class in Europe and Germany as an excuse to accelerate their own rearmament plans.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-08-04). Pulling Out of Germany: Trump Adjusts the Military Furniture. counterpunch.org One noisy theme in the Donald Trump Disruption Show in an otherwise chaotic assemblage of messages has remained fairly constant: winding back US troop commitments. The US has fought its complement of wars, bloodied and bloodying. Time to up stakes and head home. It was a message that sold in 2016 across the aisles of

Esmeralda Chang (2020-08-04). The Confessions and Polemics of Esmeralda "The Red" Chang. dissidentvoice.org On American Democracy In American political discourse we frequently hear the term "our democracy." For example, the Russiagaters are fond of this term. The term grates. The sound of the utterance "our democracy" is not as bad as the sound of fingernails scratching a chalkboard, but it's reminiscent. It's been said that a great advantage …

teleSUR (2020-08-04). King Juan Carlos I Flees to the Caribbean to Evade Justice. telesurenglish.net King Juan Carlos I Tuesday arrived in the Dominican Republic after abandoning Spain amid a judicial investigation into possible illegal financial operations. | RELATED: | The member of the royal house left Spain amid a trial in which authorities inquire about the commissions that Saudi Arabia's King gave Juan Carlos I during the construction of a high-speed train. | The King's decision to escape his country has revitalized intern…

sputniknews (2020-08-04). Education in COVID-19 Era; Protests in Bolivia; America's Obsession With Russia. sputniknews.com As US schools reopen, will COVID-19 lead to more elitism and systematic disparities in education?

teleSUR (2020-08-04). Ireland: PM Announces Precautionary Measures Close To Reopening. telesurenglish.net Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin announced Tuesday that pubs, hotels bars, and nightclubs would not reopen on Monday, August 10, despite lockdown easing plans. | RELATED: | "I know that this will come as a blow to pub owners, and I want them to know I have enormous sympathy for their plight. This virus is taking away their ability to earn a living, to provide a key service in the heart of many communities," Martin said. | Besides, gatherings up to 200 people…

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-03). Poland's "Lublin Triangle" Will Create Lots of Trouble for Russia-Belarus Relations. globalresearch.ca Poland's ambitions to restore its long-lost Great Power status in Europe received a fresh impetus following the establishment of the so-called "Lublin Triangle" between itself, Lithuania, and Ukraine that de-facto aims to revive the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as the core of …

RT (2020-08-03). Former president Medvedev warns Russia set to make it harder for migrants to get work permits as Saudi-style system on cards. rt.com In a surprise move, Russia may tighten visa rules for foreign workers. Former President Dmitry Medvedev says the measure is being considered in response to law and order issues exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. | He told a meeting in Moscow that the possibility of moving to the system favored in Saudi Arabia, where the employer is fully responsible for labor migrants, is being discussed. | "[The expert community] proposes changing the order of entry for migrant workers to Russia," Medvedev explained, the TASS news agency reported. "This means giving such permission to a foreign citizen only in the case of an u…

RT (2020-08-03). Brexit to blame? Britons miffed after poll shows most EU citizens WOULD NOT help UK in a crisis. rt.com A new YouGov survey suggests it's a case of unrequited love between the UK and EU member states. A majority of European participants said they'd be unwilling to help Britain in a crisis — much to the annoyance of many Britons.

RT (2020-08-03). France won't ratify extradition treaty with Hong Kong, Foreign Ministry says. rt.com Paris has decided not to ratify an extradition agreement with Hong Kong after China's central government in Beijing imposed a new national security law on the city. "In light of the latest developments, France won't proceed with the ratification" of the 2017 extradition agreement with Hong Kong "as it stands," AP quoted the French Foreign Ministry's spokesperson as saying in a written statement on Monday. | Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong last month amid fears that the central Chinese government was infringing on the city's freedoms and loca…

RT (2020-08-03). Poland's top court confirms Duda as president, declares complaints insufficient to void election results. rt.com The Supreme Court of Poland on Monday upheld the re-election of President Andrzej Duda. The court decided that complaints about the validity of the presidential election did not necessitate a rerun. | The ruling paves the way for Duda to take the oath of office before both chambers of parliament on Thursday, AP reports. The court evaluated some 6,000 election complaints from voters as well as from the team of the candidate that Duda faced in a runoff, the liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. | Duda won 51.03 percent of the vote and Trzaskowski 48.97 percent in the July 12 election. | Ninety-two alleged viol…

RT (2020-08-03). Russia could produce MILLIONS of Covid-19 vaccines every single month by 2021 — Trade & Industry Minister. rt.com Production of Russia's homegrown coronavirus vaccine is due to begin in September, and by the start of 2021, the country could be creating several million doses a month. That's according to Russia's Minister of Trade and Industry. | Denis Manturov told news agency TASS that the vaccine will be produced in three Russian regions – Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Moscow Oblast – with a view to a widespread immunization campaign starting in October. | Moscow's Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which led the research of the domestic drug, has partnered with companies Generium, R-Pharm, and Binnopharm, wit…

RT (2020-08-03). Putin signs law legalizing Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies, lifting them out of Russian legal 'grey-zone'. rt.com Digital financial assets, including cryptocurrencies, will be permitted to —Åirculate legally in Russia soon, but if you're planning to go shopping with bitcoin, or other variants, forget it. They won't be legal tender. | According to the new rules, due to come into force in January 2021, Russian citizens will be allowed to buy and sell bitcoin and other digital denominations. Until now, various cryptocurrencies have been in a "grey zone," as the state did not recognize their existence, but no penalties for mining or buying them existed either. | The law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Friday…

RT (2020-08-03). Spain plans to roll out its Covid-19 tracing app in September. rt.com Authorities in Spain aim to roll out a contact-tracing app across the country in September. They said on Monday that a pilot showed it could detect almost twice as many potential infections as human trackers during a simulated outbreak on La Gomera, an island next to the tourist hotspot of Tenerife in the Canary archipelago. | Spain used a new system developed by Google and Apple, which holds data on individual devices to ensure privacy, to build an app that it tested in July, Reuters reports. | Now the government aims to offer it to regional health authorities who could have it ready by mid-September, and fro…

Philip Giraldi (2020-08-03). American Troops to Leave Germany: Is It Goodbye or Just Auf Wiedersehen? globalresearch.ca The continued presence of tens of thousands of American military personnel in Europe seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War is rarely questioned either by politicians or the mainstream media. Currently there is little recollection of how, …

WSWS (2020-08-03). This week in history: August 3-9. wsws.org 25 years ago: Croatia launches ethnic cleansing of Serbs On August 4, 1995, the Croatian Army launched Operation Storm, one of the last major campaigns of the Bosnian War. It was orchestrated by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman against the Serbian-inhabited Krajina region, which in 1991, during the initial breakup of Yugoslavia, had declared its independence from Croatia.

WSWS (2020-08-03). European economy collapses as EU bails out the super-rich. wsws.org Eurostat economic figures for the second quarter of 2020 show that Europe saw its deepest and most sudden economic collapse in history.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-08-03). Pulling US Troops Out of Germany: Trump Adjusts the Military Furniture. globalresearch.ca One noisy theme in the Donald Trump Disruption Show in an otherwise chaotic assemblage of messages has remained fairly constant: winding back US troop commitments. The US has fought its complement of wars, bloodied and bloodying. Time to up stakes …

Matthew Ehret-Kump (2020-08-03). The Spirit of Apollo-Soyuz Is Alive… With the Russia/China Space Alliance. globalresearch.ca Forty five years ago, Cold Warriors in the Pentagon and CIA shook their fists angrily at the stars- and for good reason. | On July 17, 1975 the first international handshake was occurring in space between Russian Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and …

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-08-03). Reviving Soviet-era Confrontation with the United States, Russia Exposes Its Weakness in Africa. globalresearch.ca In her weekly media briefing July 23, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized United States support for educational programs, media and NGOs in Africa. In addition, Zakharova said | "the allocation of grants fits into the White House's efforts to promote …

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-03). 'US unilateral anti-Iranian sanctions unfair'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 03 (MNA) — Naming the unilateral US sanctions against Iran 'unfair', the Austrian Ambassador to Iran Stefan Schulz voiced readiness of 250 Austrian firms for establishing economic relations with Iran.

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-03). Ulyanov reacts to Dubowitz's remarks on Iran nuclear deal. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 03 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said that the atomic opportunities were given to Iran by NPT are absolutely legitimate.

yenisafak (2020-08-03). French PM Castex urges vigilance as COVID-19 'is not on holiday'. yenisafak.com Prime Minister Jean Castex urged France on Monday to remain as vigilant as possible against COVID-19, which has shown signs of a resurgence in the country, as the virus was "not on holiday"."We must not let our guard down," Castex told reporters in Lille, where masks are now compulsory in many of the northern city's pedestrian areas and parks."The virus is not on holiday, and neither are we," he said, adding it was vital that France avoided another nationwide shutdown.The southern city of Nice on Monday also made wearing masks outdoors compulsory in many areas, including parts of the Promenade des Anglais, a popu…

yenisafak (2020-08-03). Nobel laureate, former N.Ireland party leader John Hume dies. yenisafak.com Nobel peace laureate and former leader of Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDPL) John Hume has died on Monday, according to a statement from his former party."We are deeply saddened to announce that John passed away peacefully in the early hours of the morning after a short illness," a statement from the SDLP said.Hume was born in Northern Ireland in 1937 and he was regarded as an important figure in recent political history in the region.Hume, as the leader of the SDLP, was one of the key architects of the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement that ended decades of sectarian violence in North…

yenisafak (2020-08-03). Eat before you die! Try out these mouth-watering Turkish Eid | dishes. yenisafak.com After celebrating Eid al-Ahda, the Muslim holiday of Sacrifice, we've tried out Turkish cuisine once more. And once more, we have fallen in love with the luscious flavors.As we have every year during Eid, we invite you to try out the unique flavors of Turkey's diverse cities. This year, we are pleased to share two new recipes with you and your family.Lamb neck soup (Gerdan Paàßasƒ±) from the Adana provinceINGREDIENTS2 pieces lamb neck 5 garlic cloves5 tablespoons oil3 tablespoons flour3 tablespoons butter1 lemonStale bread2 liters water 1 teaspoon black pepper1 teaspoon red pepper1 dessert spoon…

yenisafak (2020-08-03). Turkey regrets US firm's signing oil deal with YPG/PKK. yenisafak.com Turkey Monday denounced a US firm's signing a deal with YPG/PKK-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to extract, process and produce oil in northeastern Syria."We deeply regret the US support to this step, disregarding international law, violating territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty of Syria, as well as being considered within the scope of financing terrorism. This act, which cannot be justified by any legitimate motive, is utterly unacceptable" the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.Turkey's remarks came after media reports that the US-based company Delta Crescent Energy LLC signed a contract wi…

Steven Singer (2020-08-03). We're Talking About Human Life Here. Unsafely Reopening Schools Is No Solution at All. commondreams.org Schoolchildren wearing protective mouth masks and face shields attend a course in a classroom at Claude Debussy college in Angers, western France, on May 18, 2020 after the country eased Covid-19 lockdown measures. (Photo: Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-12134174981.jpg

yenisafak (2020-08-02). Eid al-Adha: Turkey donates meat to needy Gazans. yenisafak.com Palestinian authorities on Sunday began distributing meat from livestock sacrificed with donations from Turkey on the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival to hundreds of families in need in the Gaza Strip.During the four-day holiday, the Ministry of Foundations and Religious Affairs aims to provide as many as 4,500 families with meat, Eshref Ismail, the director of the projects department at the ministry, told Anadolu Agency.The Turkiye Diyanet Foundation is financing the initiative.Most of the Muslim-majority countries around the world, including Turkey, are observing the four-day holiday that started on Friday.On Eid al…

RT (2020-08-02). Two guards stabbed during Georgia prison riot. Purported footage of violent uprising spreads on social media (VIDEOS). rt.com Two guards have been injured in a riot at Georgia's Ware State Prison, local media reported. Purported videos of the chaotic rebellion show inmates covered in blood, holding tasers, and even frog-marching handcuffed prison staff. | The situation is now under control and the facility, located near Waycross, has been put on lockdown, according to local media, citing a statement from the Georgia Department of Corrections. | "Two staff members received minor, non-life-threatening injuries and there are no reported inmate injuries at this time," the statement read. | Local reports also shared a statement from the W…

RT (2020-08-02). Members of Congress returning to DC from Lewis funeral in Georgia won't have to follow quarantine rule made for everybody else. rt.com Politicians who attended the funeral of Congressman John Lewis in Georgia won't have to worry about Washington's new quarantine rules as they return to the city because they're deemed too essential to lock down. | A 'Who's Who' of Democrat politicians attended Thursday's funeral in Atlanta, despite a state ban on gatherings of more than 50 people. Some 50

RT (2020-08-02). Mask madness is causing Kens & Karens everywhere to beat the cr*p out of each other (VIDEOS). rt.com The efficacy of mandatory mask rules is debatable, but a series of viral videos provide ample evidence that the guidelines have helped make 2020 one of the most absurd and painfully idiotic years in recent memory. | Mid-flight fisticuffs over maskless passengers: | The latest incident in the saga of mask-related assaults kicked off on a flight from Amsterdam to Ibiza. Two passengers on the KLM flight reportedly became physical after refusing to wear masks during the journey to Spain. Passengers and crew worked together to restrain the two men, who reportedly had been drinking. | Footage of the insane m…

_____ (2020-08-02). U.S. Troop Removal From Germany: a NATO-Skeptic POTUS Always Wins. strategic-culture.org Is there any good reason why Germany is still occupied by the United States? After 75+ years one could make a strong argument that the Nazi threat is over. Donald Trump would seem to agree with this sentiment and directly stated that he wants to continue to reduce the number of American soldiers on the territory of today's friendlier tolerant and geopolitically submissive Deutschland. The logic by which U.S. forces are stationed across the globe has been called into question many times and very often has no sellable answer. Trump himself agrees with the dubious nature of the need to have an American army base in…

_____ (2020-08-02). Are Russia And US Different When It Comes To Election Meddling? popularresistance.org On this week's installment of "Scheer Intelligence," Robert Scheer challenges guest David Shimer on the fundamental conclusions of his new book, "Rigged: America, Russia and 100 Years of Covert Electoral Interference," regarding the "intentions" for US covert operations versus those of the Soviet Union/Russia. | Excerpted and lauded in the New York Times and elsewhere in the mainstream media, "Rigged" outlines covert operations in various countries by both nation-states, including American interference in 1970s Chile and post-World War II Italy, among others, but has been best reviewed for its deep dive into Russ…