2020-09-27: News Headlines

yenisafak (2020-09-27). Over 35 kg of heroin seized in eastern Turkey. yenisafak.com Turkish forces on Sunday seized over 35 kilograms of heroin in the eastern Van province, security sources said.Acting on a tip off, the anti-narcotics team carried out a raid in the Baskale district, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.A sniffer dog helped the search and a total of 35.83 kg (79 pounds) of heroin hidden in 70 packages were seized, it said.Efforts are underway to track and arrest the suspects, it added.

yenisafak (2020-09-27). World's silent on Armenian attacks, laments envoy. yenisafak.com The Azerbaijani ambassador to Ankara lamented on Sunday the international community's silence on Armenia's border violations.Armenia continues its attacks because there is no world reaction to its aggression, Khazar Ibrahim told CNN Turk news channel. | Border clashes broke out earlier in the day when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, causing casualties. | Ibrahim termed the cease-fire violation an "act of terrorism," saying Armenia seeks provocation. | He added that recently a large number of weapons were sent to Yerevan, the Armenian capital.‚Ä®&sbq…

yenisafak (2020-09-27). Armenia targets Turkish news team in Azerbaijan. yenisafak.com A team from Turkey's state-run news agency on Sunday came in the line of fire during a cross-border attack by the Armenian army on Azerbaijan.Anadolu Agency reporters went to the border areas in the wee hours of the morning to monitor the attacks on Azerbaijani civilian settlements.Two drones were spotted near the Kapanli village where the reporters were working.Shortly after, the Armenian army fired mortar shells which landed within a 100-meter radius from the reporters' work station.The team also had reporters from TRT, Turkey's state-run news channel.The reporters who threw themselves behind a vehicle escaped…

yenisafak (2020-09-27). Erdogan calls on Armenians to stand against leadership amid clashes with Azerbaijan. yenisafak.com Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on Armenia's people to take hold of their future against "leadership that is dragging them to catastrophe and those using it like puppets", following clashes between Armenian and Azeri forces over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.Armenia on Sunday declared martial law and mobilised its male population after the clashes. Turkey has condemned Armenia for what it said were provocations against Azerbaijan."While I call on the Armenian people to take hold of their future against their leadership that is dragging them to catastrophe and those using it like puppe…

Andrew Korybko (2020-09-26). Eurasian Geopolitics: US' Hybrid War on Russian Energy Targets Germany, Belarus, and Bulgaria. globalresearch.ca The US is ruthlessly waging an intense Hybrid War on Russian energy interests in Europe by targeting the Eurasian Great Power's relevant projects in Germany, Belarus, and Bulgaria, banking on the fact that even the partial success of this strategy …

M.K. Bhadrakumar (2020-09-26). The Sino-Russian Alliance Comes of Age — Part 3. mronline.org Soon after becoming the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping is known to have spoken about the former Soviet Union. The first time was in December 2012, when, in comments to party functionaries, he reportedly remarked that China still had to "profoundly remember the lesson of the Soviet collapse."

Juan Cole (2020-09-26). Russia tells Trump to Jump in Lake. zcomm.org Commits 80,000 Personnel to War drill alongside Iran, China…

Eds. (2020-09-26). The Sino-Russian alliance comes of age—Part 2. mronline.org The Russian diplomacy, which has a glorious tradition in modern history, does not make its moves accidentally or impulsively. The historical consciousness is intense.

RT (2020-09-26). Worrying times in Kiev as Ukraine hits daily record of Covid-19 cases, while infections in Russia also continue to rise. rt.com As Western European countries, such as the UK and France, face a likely second wave of Covid-19, Eastern Europe — less severely hit in spring — may be following in tow. Russia and Ukraine are now seeing an uptick in infections.

RT (2020-09-26). BBC apologizes after map showing Crimea as part of Russia prompts Ukrainian embassy backlash. rt.com The BBC has apologized after a map it used in a report on a deadly plane crash in Ukraine depicted Crimea as part of Russia, provoking anger from Ukrainian diplomats and social media commenters. | The The rest of the map was grey, including Crimea, which Kiev still considers part of Ukraine despite the peninsula rejoining Russia following a referendum in 2014. The Ukrainian authorities didn't re…

teleSUR, ce (2020-09-26). International Peace Forum Opposes US-Led New Cold War on China. telesurenglish.net Peace activists from China, the US, Britain, South Africa, India, Morocco, Bolivia and Belgium have come together for an international forum to discuss the US-led New Cold War and how to oppose it. | RELATED: | The event, organized by the No Cold War campaign, was chaired by Vijay Prashad, Director of the Tricontinental Institute and Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. | Deputy General Se…

WSWS (2020-09-26). Record growth of COVID-19 infections in Eastern Europe. wsws.org The numbers of new COVID-19 infections in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary are breaking previous records.

Abdul Rahman (2020-09-26). Diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks helped CIA torture victim get justice. peoplesdispatch.org Wikileaks strengthened the case of Khalid El-Masri in the European Human Rights Court which handed first ever punishment to CIA operatives involved in rendition in 2012.

WSWS (2020-09-26). Spain's PSOE-Podemos government assaults protests vs. herd immunity policy. wsws.org As 7,500 army troops deploy to Madrid amid a Europe-wide resurgence of COVID-19, this crackdown is a threat aimed at the entire working class.

WSWS (2020-09-26). Renewed mass arrests target Kurdish-nationalist HDP in Turkey. wsws.org There is growing speculation that the Turkish government is preparing a renewed military offensive against US-backed Kurdish-nationalist forces in Syria.

news.un (2020-09-26). Belarusian Minster denounces Western attempts to sow 'chaos', says threats against his country must end. news.un.org Political and economic threats against Belarus "must end" the Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, accusing Western nations of trying to sow "chaos and anarchy" in the country.

news.un (2020-09-26). 'We must open our eyes to the weaknesses this pandemic has laid bare', Belgium leader tells UN General Assembly. news.un.org As the world continues to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftershocks, we cannot 'turn our back' to other pressing global concerns, Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès told the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

WSWS (2020-09-26). A murderous pact: The European Union to deport refugees. wsws.org Wrapped up in sugary phrases about "values," "responsibility" and "solidarity," the EU Commission president has presented a plan that spells deportation, misery and certain death for hundreds of thousands.

teleSUR (2020-09-26). Portugal: Workers Demand Gov't Action Against Unemployment. telesurenglish.net Portuguese workers protested on Saturday to demand better salaraies and governmental action on employment protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) organized and convened peaceful demonstrations to demand that the government to raise the minimum salary from 635 euros to 850. Participants maintained social distance and wore masks. | "Workers' ri…

Arzu Geybullayeva (2020-09-26). In Turkey, women rise up to stop withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. zcomm.org The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe treaty designed to prevent violence against women…

Rebeccah Slater, Fiona Moultrie, Ralph Bax, John van den Anker, Aomesh Bhatt (2020-09-26). [Comment] Preterm health: time to bridge the evidence gap. thelancet.com Despite the development of revolutionary life-sustaining advances in neonatal medicine, medications are frequently administered in an ad-hoc and suboptimal way. Most drugs prescribed in neonatal care have not been submitted to the stringent regulatory processes of drug licensing that are standard in adult medicine.1 Although clinical research and licensing regulations differ between countries, the scarcity of licensed medications and inevitable use of off-label drugs in neonates are universal problems1 (countries reporting these issues include the USA, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Australia, India, and Brazil).

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-26). Iranian short 'Talker' wins at Tirana Intl. FilmFest. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 27 (MNA) — Iranian short film, 'Talker' directed by Mehrshad Ranjbar, has won the best film award at student film competition in the 18th edition of the Tirana International Film Festival (TIFF) in Albania.

sputniknews (2020-09-26). What We Know So Far About AN-26 Military Plane Crash in Ukraine's Kharkov Region. sputniknews.com An AN-26 military plane crashed in Ukraine's Kharkov region on late Friday. Of the 27 on board – 20 cadets and seven officers – only two survived the crash.

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate resigns. yenisafak.com Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib resigned Saturday after failing to form a new government.Adib announced his resignation in a televised address after meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace in Beirut."I excuse myself from continuing the task of forming the government," Adib said.On Aug. 31, Adib, a former ambassador to Germany, was tasked with forming a new government after his predecessor Hassan Diab resigned in the wake of Beirut's port explosion, which caused a massive destruction in the capital.Adib secured 90 votes out of 120 in the parliamentary consultations to form the…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Over 70 kg of heroin seized in eastern Turkey. yenisafak.com Over 70 kilograms (around 156 pounds) of heroin were seized in Turkey's eastern Van province, police said on Saturday.The drugs were found in 70 packs in three sacks hidden in a streambed in Baskale district, read a police statement.Efforts are underway to track and arrest the suspects responsible, it added.

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Skilled, speedy translators give Turkish book lovers the best of both worlds. yenisafak.com Publishers in Turkey translate books in foreign tongues for the benefit of eager readers in record time, and their work finds an attentive and appreciative audience, according to industry experts.Turkish publishers are "very speedy" at producing translations of foreign works, Aslihan Dinc, an editorial coordinator at Yapi Kredi Publishing, told Anadolu Agency ahead of Sept. 30, International Translation Day. "After signing a contract with [authors] abroad and getting the text to be translated, the work begins immediately, and with excitement," she said.Whenever the book hits the shelf in its original language, th…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Erdogan says Turkey's Teknofest will foster innovations. yenisafak.com Groundbreaking innovations, from artificial intelligence (AI) to blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), will take root and grow at Teknofest, Turkey's biggest aerospace and technology event, the nation's president said on Saturday.Teknofest is a place for young people who want to show their abilities in technological fields such as rockets, robotic, and aerospace, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed at the event, held in the southeastern metropolis of Gaziantep.Technology's most important capital is productive brains, and Turkey needs successful young people to reach its goals, he added.He also said that while in…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Turkey condemns Boko Haram terror attack in Nigeria. yenisafak.com Turkey on Saturday condemned a deadly attack by the Boko Haram terror group in Nigeria that claimed over a dozen lives."We are deeply saddened to receive the news that many people lost their lives in a terrorist attack that took place in Baga region of Nigeria targeting the convoy of Borno Governor," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement."We condemn this heinous terrorist attack. We convey our sincere condolences to the people and Government of Nigeria, wish Allah's mercy upon those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured," it added.At least 15 people were killed on Friday as the Boko Ha…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Turkish forces make major drug bust. yenisafak.com Turkish forces seized a large cache of drugs in the southeastern Diyarbakir province, local officials said on Saturday.The gendarmerie seized 1.7 tons of marijuana and 587,704 cannabis roots as part of Operation Yildirim-7 in Lice district, according to a statement from the governor's office.Five suspected drug traffickers were also arrested in the operation, it added.Turkish authorities have been confiscating narcotics shipments owned or operated by the PKK terrorist organization since the 1980s, with the country seizing over 40 tons of marijuana in 2019 alone.Turkey's ongoing crackdown on drugs has helped it fi…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Archeologists discover sun disk in NW Turkey. yenisafak.com Archeologists in northwestern Turkey discovered a sun disk on a rock altar Friday in the ancient Thracian settlements.Engin Beksac, head of the art history department at Trakya University told Anadolu Agency that the Thracian rock altar, discovered in Edirne, dates to 3,500 years ago.Explaining the sun disk on the rock altar was used to observe the movements of the moon and the sun, Beksac said Thracians carried out works in astronomy.In his examination of the rock altar where the Thracians performed religious rituals and worship, he said: "The rock altar is a type of temple that hosts rituals and prayers held on…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). 'Turkey will protect its rights with unshakable faith'. yenisafak.com Turkey continues to protect its maritime rights and interests "with a strong will and unshakeable faith," the country's president said on Saturday."With the awareness of how important it is to defend our Blue Homeland, we continue to protect our rights and interests in our seas with a strong will and unshakable faith," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a message ahead of the Turkish Naval Forces Day, marked every year on Sept. 27, the anniversary of the Battle of Preveza."Turkey will continue to strengthen its Naval Forces to protect the Blue Homeland, ensure safety, and deter those who have designs on the country's r…

yenisafak (2020-09-26). Boosting infrastructure, Turkey poised to be global tech leader. yenisafak.com With its solid technology infrastructure and great potential at its bag, Turkey is going to be racing to the top within 10 years, the deputy technology and industry minister expressed his strong belief during Teknofest, Turkey's largest aerospace and technology event.The National Technology Move under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has boosted Turkey's technology infrastructure and environment, Mehmet Fatih Kacir told Anadolu Agency in Gaziantep, a southern city hosting four-day event through Sunday.The National Technology Move refers to the transformation of Turkey's technology industry through…

Max Parry (2020-09-26). The False Flag Poisoning of Alexei Navalny, aka 'Russia's Trump'. globalresearch.ca On August 20th, Russian opposition figure and self-styled "anti-corruption" activist Alexei Navalny fell seriously ill while in mid-flight from Tomsk, Siberia to the Russian capital. The Moscow-bound plane was abruptly re-routed to make an emergency landing in the Siberian city …

WSWS (2020-09-26). New bailout for UK corporations as COVID-19 infections rocket. wsws.org Chancellor Sunak's announcement was unveiled outside his office in Downing Street, flanked by Trades Union Congress General Secretary Frances O'Grady and Confederation of British Industry Director General Dame Carolyn Fairbairn.

news.un (2020-09-26). Repair ugly rifts and unite against common foe, COVID-19, 'or everyone will lose', warns UK's Johnson. news.un.org COVID-19 has "united humanity as never before", the United Kingdom Prime Minister told the UN General Assembly's annual high-level session on Saturday.

RT (2020-09-25). Russia has no xenophobia problem, Kremlin says, as poll shows 73% of Russians want restrictions on labor migrants. rt.com Russia has no issues with xenophobia, the Kremlin insisted on Friday. The statement came in response to a new study which discovered that 19 percent of citizens support the concept of "Russia for Russians." | Speaking to the press, President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said the government doesn't "encounter any problems" regarding the hatred of foreigners. | According to the Levada Center survey, the percentage of Russians believing the country should just be for ethnic Russians has fluctuated over the last 18 years. At its lowest point in July 2017, 10 percent of people held that opinion.

Sandy Smith-Nonini, Olivia Paschal (2020-09-25). As COVID-19 hit Georgia Meatpacking Counties, Officials and Industry Shifted Blame. counterpunch.org Hall County in north central Georgia is home to Gainesville, a town of about 43,000 where a large chicken-topped monument in its center declares it the "Poultry Capital of the World." There are more than a dozen meat processing plants in Hall County, and several others in surrounding counties. But Hall County is also home to

MEE and agencies (2020-09-25). Turkey orders scores of arrests over 2014 pro-Kurdish protests. middleeasteye.net Turkey orders scores of arrests over 2014 pro-Kurdish protests | Demonstrators had accused Turkey's army of standing by as Islamic State besieged Kobane, just over the Syrian border | Fri, 09/25/2020 – 09: 36 | The demonstrations led to the deaths of 37 people, with many more injured (AFP) | Turkish authorities on Friday issued arrest warrants for 82 people, including a mayor, over pro-Kur…

Eve Ottenberg (2020-09-25). Provocation on the High Seas: U.S. Naval Adventures Near the Shores of Russia, China and Iran. counterpunch.org The war on terror is slowly ending. The U.S. military will try to keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with most troops gone in the next few years, the lives of the few who remain will be at constant risk. Pressure will mount to get those soldiers out. But Pentagon bureaucrats and brass are masters of institutional infighting, and, apparently, ignoring presidential orders they don't like, so who knows how that will turn out? One thing is sure: the military's focus has shifted, from the Middle East to Russia and China. That means U.S. soldiers and materiel will continue to be in places they shouldn't, in ever g…

Staff (2020-09-25). Representative for whistleblower in ICE detention centers sterilization case talks. therealnews.com Transcript: | Dawn Wooten: I became a whistleblower. Now I'm a target. But I'll take a target any day to do what's right and just, than sit and be a part of what's inhumane. | Eddie Conway: Nurse Dawn Wooten has emerged as a whistleblower in the state of Georgia after she reported in the ICE detention centers, some of them are privately owned. They had been sterilizing women for any reason whatsoever. | Speaker 3: You talk about, in the complaint, hearing from women who are detained there talking about a specific doctor performing hysterectomies, referring to him as a "uterus collector." Tell us about how y…

Ragip Soylu (2020-09-25). Tensions between Turkey and Russia rise in Idlib following failed talks. middleeasteye.net Tensions between Turkey and Russia rise in Idlib following failed talks | Turkish officials are preparing for the worst case scenario as talks in Ankara made clear that Moscow doesn't want a new deal | Fri, 09/25/2020 – 13: 06 | Smoke billows from the villages of Jabal al-Zawiya region in the northwest province of Idlib following shelling by pro-Syrian government forces on 15 September 2020 (AFP) | After…

MEE staff (2020-09-25). US cuts $20m in funding for group helping pro-democracy efforts in Iran. middleeasteye.net US cuts $20m in funding for group helping pro-democracy efforts in Iran | Open Technology Fund supports activists operating in Iran, Belarus and Hong Kong, helping them bypass internet censorship and state surveillance | Fri, 09/25/2020 – 16: 33 | Iranian protesters run for cover from riot police (unseen) during an anti-government demonstration in Tehran in 2011 (AFP/File photo) | The Trump administration bloc…

Anand Naidoo (2020-09-25). The Heat: Brexit Controversy. america.cgtn.com The controversy over Brexit is back. Why does the United Kingdom want to tear up parts of an international agreement with the European Union?

RT (2020-09-25). 43-year-old Antonov military transport plane crashes in north-eastern Ukraine; killing 26, mostly young cadets (VIDEO). rt.com Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that the crash of an Antonov-26 plane, on Friday night, killed 26. Dramatic footage from the scene has surfaced online, showing the aircraft in flames as it lies by the side of the road. | The turboprop crashed as it was about to land at an airfield outside the town of Chuguev, close to Kharkov. According to information from the State Emergencies Service (SMS), in Kiev, 26 of the 27 people on board were killed, with one injured. The dead were mostly young cadets. | Two initial survivors managed to jump out of the doomed Antonov, before impact. However, one of them succumbed…

RT (2020-09-25). Good & bad news for bloggers: 40% of Russians watch or read them, but don't want their kids to join their ranks, new survey says. rt.com Seventy-five percent of Russians do not want their children or grandchildren to become bloggers, believing they are "parasitic" and "not serious," and spend too much time operating "in the virtual world," divorced from reality. | That's according to a new survey by state-owned pollster WCIOM, which revealed that almost half (46 percent) of the Russians who use the internet (86 percent) watch or read content by bloggers. Awareness of bloggers has blown up in the last three years, with just 14 percent now saying they have heard the word but don't know what it means. In 2017, this was the response of over a quart…

RT (2020-09-25). Attack outside former Charlie Hebdo office in Paris 'clearly act of Islamist terrorism' — French interior minister. rt.com A meat cleaver attack that seriously injured two people outside the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris is being treated as an act of Islamist terrorism by French authorities. | "Obviously this is an act of Islamist terrorism," Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told France 2 on Friday evening. | Obviously the threat of terrorism on this street has been underestimated. | Two employees of the Premieres Lignes news production agency were outside their office in the 11th arrondissement on Friday when they were attacked by a knife-wielding man. They were "very badly wounded," Premiere…

RT (2020-09-25). After an almost 30-year run, legendary-but-seedy Moscow nocturnal institution Night Flight is no longer 'doing it tonight'. rt.com Does the unexpected closure of a nightlife staple known as a place for "gentlemen" to pick up "professional" ladies, suggest that women in the Russian capital have been liberated enough to stop sleazy foreigners from running amok? | On the last day of March, one of Moscow's oldest — and most questionable — expat haunts, Night Flight, locked shut its heavily mirrored doors for the first time since they opened in 1991. The club was founded around the time of the Soviet collapse by Swedish businessmen Sonny Lundkvist and Hokan Polhammar, alongside their Russian partner Yury Giverts. It occupied a prime…

Christian Noakes (2020-09-25). In Ireland / Palestinian and Irish prisoners go on hunger strike. workers.org Issam Hijjawi-Bassalat, a Palestinian doctor and dedicated ant-imperialist, was arrested on Aug. 24 along with nine members of the Irish Republican Party Saoradh, as a result of entrapment by the British police agency MI5. These arrests are part of the ongoing repression of the Irish Republican movement* by British military . . . |

MEE and agencies (2020-09-25). Turkey condemns Pelosi's 'ignorance' about Erdogan and democracy. middleeasteye.net Turkey condemns Pelosi's 'ignorance' about Erdogan and democracy | US House speaker says President Donald Trump is trampling on democracy as if he were in Turkey | Fri, 09/25/2020 – 23: 27 | Pelosi suggests that Turkey is not democratic country in criticism of Trump (AFP/File photo) | Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday slammed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "blatant igno…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-25). Hamas and Fatah agree to hold elections in Palestine in six months. peoplesdispatch.org Representatives from both the groups met in Turkey and finalized the deal to hold the first Palestinian elections after 2006. The voting will take place in all occupied territories, including eastern Jerusalem.