2020-10-14: News Headlines

F. William Engdahl (2020-10-14). The Malevolent Encirclement of Russia. globalresearch.ca Over recent weeks a series of events in the states surrounding the Russian Federation has erupted that certainly are not being greeted with joy in the Kremlin. Each crisis center of itself is not a definitive game-changer for future Russian …

Alan Macleod (2020-10-14). Western Anger as China, Russia Elected to UN Human Rights Council and Saudi Arabia Rejected. mintpressnews.com The rejection of Saudi Arabia, the only country that did not receive the required number of votes from UN member states, has been seen as a repudiation of the Kingdom's decreasing international support.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-10-14). US and France on the Brink of Trade War. globalresearch.ca The geopolitics of the cyber world is again influencing the global political and economic order. Now, a new international tension arises around a digital tax, known as the 'Google tax'. Such tension could trigger a trade war, this time between …

Liberation Staff (2020-10-14). Workers Party of Ireland on Denver organizers: "Stop U.S. Repression, Drop the Charges!" liberationnews.org The Workers' Party of Ireland expresses its extreme concern at the growing repression against those who stand up and speak out against the United States and their reactionary regime.

MEE and agencies (2020-10-14). Ban on Kurdish-language play in Istanbul sparks condemnation. middleeasteye.net Ban on Kurdish-language play in Istanbul sparks condemnation | Mayor of Istanbul slams governor's decision to ban satirical play over 'PKK propaganda' | Wed, 10/14/2020 – 10: 15 | Actor Ruges Kirici outside the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Theatre after authorities had banned a Kurdish-language play, 13 October 2020 (AFP) | Istanbul's governorate has banned a Kurdish-language play th…

Global Research News (2020-10-14). Selected Articles: The Malevolent Encirclement of Russia. globalresearch.ca By A recent RAND study prepared for the US Army suggests with remarkable accuracy who might be behind what will undoubtedly become a major threat to Russian security …

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-14). Trump Regime/Russia New START Talks at Impasse. globalresearch.ca As long as nuclear weapons exist, the chance of their use ahead — as once before unjustifiably — is ominously high. | Humanity has a clear choice. Eliminate these weapons entirely or risk their eliminating us. | The history of warfare shows …

Carla Stea (2020-10-14). Human Rights Debate at UN Security Council. Horrifying Social Consequences of US Sanctions Inflicted on North Korea. globalresearch.ca During the press briefing outlining Russia's program of work for their October Presidency of the UN Security Council, I mentioned the offer by Dr. Kee B. Park, Director of the Korea Policy Project at Harvard Medical School, and renowned …

Joseph Massad (2020-10-14). France's 'Crisis' with Islam: A Legacy of 200 Years of Colonial Brutality. globalresearch.ca France is in crisis. | Official and unofficial Christian French radical extremism, legitimising itself under the umbrella of what the French ostentatiously call laicité, continues to increase its attacks on French and non-French Muslims. |

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-10-14). Russia and the European Union Looking for Common Business Language. globalresearch.ca Despite the series of sanctions, corporate European businesses are still highly interested in Russia and Russia recognizes the enormous significance and invaluable contributions of these businesses in its economy. The stark reality is that there are more European businesses in …

_____ (2020-10-14). NATO, Energy Geopolitics and Conflict in Caucasus. strategic-culture.org Rarely are geopolitical events innocently coincidental, as an old saying goes. Let's look at a few recent upheavals. First we have the renewed pressure on Germany and Europe to abandon the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia, which the strange Navalny affair and his alleged poison-assassination conveniently gives cover to what would otherwise be an unprecedented backsliding on strategic energy trade. | Then we have the resurgence in armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed enclave territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. | A key factor in all this too is NATO's long-term plans to expand membership…

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-14). Iran ready to play role in solving Azerbaijan-Armenia dispute. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Iranian President's Chief of Staff said that Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to play a key role in resolving dispute between Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-14). 'Careless Crime' goes to Vinennale Film Festival. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Iranian film, Jenayat-e Bi Deghat (Careless Crime in English) has been accepted into the 2020 edition of Viennale Film Festival in Austria.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-14). Iran, Russia discuss bilateral trade cooperation. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Energy Reza Ardakanian and his Russian counterpart reviewed the latest status of Iran-Russia trade cooperation on Wednesday.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-14). Economic convict, corruptor extradited from Europe: Judiciary. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Following the notification of Judiciary Chief and for the first time, a major economic convict was extradited to the country from Europe.

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-10-13). Amazon Workers in Germany Strike on Prime Day for Better Pay and Right to Organize 'Without Big Brother Watching'. commondreams.org "While Amazon claims that they respect workers' right to join and form trade unions, it has not publicly disavowed… claims about surveillance and tracking of worker organizing and labor union activity." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/amazon_strike.jpg

_____ (2020-10-13). On Contact: Yugoslavia/USA Déjà Vu. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses what happened three decades ago in Yugoslavia when the country broke into brutal warring factions, and the parallels in the US today, with Croatian author and journalist, Slavenka Drakuliƒá. | Drakuliƒá's book 'They Would Never Hurt a Fly' is about the war criminals from the former Yugoslavia who were put on trial in the Hague. She explores not only the motivations of these killers and their sense of themselves, but also how such crimes were allowed to be perpetrated in her country.

Staff (2020-10-13). Headlines for October 13, 2020. democracynow.org Dems Warn of Threat to ACA, Roe v. Wade, as Hearing Begins for Trump SCOTUS Nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Trump Returns to Campaigning as COVID Status Remains Unclear, COVID-19 Cases Soaring in Europe, Russia, as India Becomes Second Country to Hit 7 Million Cases, Johnson & Johnson Halts Vaccine Trials; More Evidence of Reinfection Revealed, GA Early Voters Face Long Lines; CA Officials Warn GOP over Illegal Drop Sites, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Sues in Arizona over Voter Suppression Efforts, WH Moves Forward with Taiwan Weapons Sales as U.S. Officials Tell Taiwan to Ramp Up Defense, Bangladeshi Government Approves Death…

South Front (2020-10-13). Video: Azerbaijani Military Destroys Armenian S-300s as Humanitarian Ceasefire Nears Its Collapse. globalresearch.ca The Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the Nagorno-Karabakh region does not show signs of nearing its end despite the humanitarian ceasefire launched in the region. The ceasefire started in the Nagorno-Karabakh region at 12: 00 local time on October 10. The ceasefire deal …

Patricia Gorky (2020-10-13). What's behind the crisis in Belarus? liberationnews.org Anti-government protests in Belarus continue in the wake of the Aug 9 presidential election. Economic decline, coronavirus mismanagement and the government's response to the protests have driven many Belarusians into the streets, including youth and industrial workers. Pensioners joined the rallies over the weekend, calling for an end to President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year tenure and …

Dennis Broe (2020-10-13). Today's noir novel in Europe: Popular novelists from France and Iceland. peoplesworld.org Dominique Manotti, the majority of whose 13 novels have been translated into English, is a Parisian professor of economic history who writes about crime from a historical and global perspective. Her Lorraine Connection, which won top crime fiction awards in France and Britain, begins with a fire in what amounts to a sweatshop in a …

MEE staff (2020-10-13). UN rejects Saudi bid for human rights council but Russia and China are elected. middleeasteye.net UN rejects Saudi bid for human rights council but Russia and China are elected | Rights groups express alarm after Moscow and Beijing secure seats on UN's top human rights body | Tue, 10/13/2020 – 19: 34 | The UN General Assembly held elections on Tuesday for 15 vacant seats in the UN Human Rights Council (AFP/File photo) | Saudi Arabia failed in its bid to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Co…

MEE staff (2020-10-13). US slams Turkey over renewed seismic surveys in Eastern Mediterranean. middleeasteye.net US slams Turkey over renewed seismic surveys in Eastern Mediterranean | Meanwhile, Ankara rebuffs Washington remarks and says Greece and Greek Cypriot administration are the ones escalating tensions | Tue, 10/13/2020 – 21: 06 | Turkish seismic research vessel 'Oruc Reis' near Antalya on the Mediterranean Sea on 12 August (AFP/File photo) | The United States said it "deplores" Turkey's decision to renew geologi…

_____ (2020-10-13). How Azerbaijan Is Lobbying Washington to Sanitize Its War. strategic-culture.org Documents reveal a flurry of activity to convince beltway elites that Armenia is the aggressor and the U.S. should favor Azerbaijan. | Barbara BOLAND | As conflict heats up over Nagorno-Karabakh, a tiny Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, a covert battle is taking place on Capitol Hill to win the hearts and minds of lawmakers in Washington. | Since hostilities began on September 27, hundreds of lives have been lost as Azerbaijani drones have flown within 20 miles of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and an Armenian strike was carried out on a military base in Azerbaijan's second city, Ganja. | "The next targets could be…

The Canary (2020-10-13). Lack of interpreter at coronavirus briefings leaves deaf 'isolated and misinformed'. thecanary.co Deaf people have said the lack of a sign language interpreter at coronavirus briefings in England is leaving the community "isolated" and allowing misinformation to spread.Lacking: British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters attend briefings in Scotland, Wales, and the north of Ireland, but have yet to appear with experts and politicians in England. The BBC provides a superimposed translator on the BBC News channel during briefings, who also appears on Downing Street's live Twitter feed.An interpreter from the BBC is used for Downing Street's Twitter feed of the coronavirus briefing (Screengrab/Twitter)Howeve…

The Canary (2020-10-13). Activists board supertrawler to prevent it from fishing in 'protected waters'. thecanary.co Greenpeace activists have boarded a supertrawler in the North Sea and prevented it from fishing in what it claims are protected waters.The environmental group said the Helen Mary vessel was fishing in the Central Fladen protected area, east of Scotland.Activists from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza boarded the 117 metre-long vessel and hung a banner reading: Ban supertrawlers now!Greenpeace activists board the Helen Mary supertrawler (Greenpeace/PA)Protected areas: They placed fishing deterrents in the supertrawler's nets before the Germany-registered Helen Mary left the area.In 2019, the same vessel was deta…

RT (2020-10-13). Blast from the past: 5.4-ton British WW2 bomb explodes underwater while being defused by Polish sappers. rt.com A massive 'Tallboy' bomb dropped during a British Royal Air Force attack on a Nazi warship in 1945 has exploded underwater while being defused in northern Poland. No one was hurt, but buildings ashore were shaken by the blast. | Navy sappers were trying to neutralize the 5.4-ton device — found last year at the bottom of the Piast Canal, which connects the Baltic Sea with the Oder River — by burning out its explosives, but something went wrong and the bomb detonated. | Fatalities and injuries were avoided because the divers were already at a "safe distance" when the device went off, military spokesman…

RT (2020-10-13). US & 7 friendly nations sign Artemis Accords to carve up moon — but satellite is hard to reach without Russia's help. rt.com The US has signed a treaty with seven countries governing exploration and exploitation of the Moon and its resources. While many signatories never even landed there, Russia and China were — perhaps unsurprisingly — not invited. | The Artemis Accords, proposed in May to set reasonable boundaries for the growing number of countries eager to stake a claim to Earth's only satellite, have been officially

RT (2020-10-13). Head of Russia's national health watchdog says shutting down economy to prevent spread of Covid-19 is pointless & makes no sense. rt.com The top official at Russia's state health watchdog believes that there is no point in suspending the economy to fight coronavirus. Anna Popova's comments came after the Kremlin said a second lockdown isn't even being considered. | Speaking at a coronavirus event at well-known university RANEPA, on Tuesday, Rospotrebnadzor boss Anna Popova explained that Russia has quite a low rate of Covid-19 per capita, and therefore there is no sense in taking drastic measures. Currently, there are few restrictions in the world's largest country with bars, restaurants, and shops open as usual. | "Despite the fact that we see…

RT (2020-10-13). Gender & language spat in Germany after Justice Ministry drafts bill that uses only feminine endings. rt.com Germany's Interior Ministry has demanded a bill drafted by the Justice Ministry that uses only feminine endings be revised over concerns the legislation might apply exclusively to women when brought into force. | Campaigners in the country have been demanding for years that the tradition of legal texts using the masculine versions of words to cover both men and women should be changed. They may finally be appeased with the appearance of a new draft law on insolvency and company restructuring which reverses the practice and uses feminine endings instead. | At least the legislation will kick off a discussion on…

RT (2020-10-13). Dutch PM closes pubs, restaurants and cafes as coronavirus cases rise. rt.com Bars, restaurants and cafes in the Netherlands will close their doors as the Dutch government tries to control the spread of Covid-19. Unlike many of its European neighbors, the Netherlands has thus far avoided harsh lockdowns. | Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the "partial lockdown" on Tuesday evening, after health officials in the Netherlands reported a record 7,393 new cases of Covid-19 that day. A total of 43,903 new infections were recorded in the preceding week, along with 150 deaths. | The new measures, which come into effect on Wednesday, will see all bars, restaurants and cafes close, and the sale…

RT (2020-10-13). Eight Legged Freaks in Sochi? Residents share photos of large wolf spiders as they head indoors to get jiggy in fall mating season. rt.com It's not quite on the level of the movie 'Eight-Legged Freaks," yet, but residents of Russia's subtropical southern city Sochi are expressing their fears online after local homes experienced an invasion of large wolf spiders. | Much larger than the average critter you might find in your house, the abdomen of a wolf spider is longer than three centimeters, but, despite their appearance, they are not dangerous to humans. | Writing on popular Instagram account @love.sochi, the page administrator explained that the spider is not threatening to humans, with a bite like a bee sting. In fact, the invasion of huge…

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-13). Trump Seeking New START Deal Pre-Election? globalresearch.ca Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has been a deal-breaker, not maker. | Hardliners surrounding him obstructed efforts to extend New START. | The last remaining Russia/US arms control agreement expires on February 5, 2021. | Unacceptable US demands on extending New …

WSWS (2020-10-13). Russian-brokered ceasefire in Azeri-Armenian war collapses. wsws.org Conflicts are escalating across the region, as Turkish officials supporting Azeri forces threatened to restart Mediterranean oil drilling, prompting warnings from Greece.

Frances Madeson (2020-10-13). Cameroonian Asylum Seekers Said to be One Day Away From Deportation Back to the Oppression They Fled. counterpunch.org There is a peaceful room in a safe, joyful home in the Washington metro area waiting for Micah, an English-speaking Cameroonian refugee who spent his 20th birthday on hunger strike in Pine Prairie Detention Center. His 19th birthday was also spent in ICE detention. His uncle, who raised him, has been counseling patience while waiting

WSWS (2020-10-13). Coronavirus infections threaten Germany's hospitals with overload. wsws.org In the last months, protective measures against the virus have been almost completely dismantled. The government has done nothing to prepare hospitals for the inevitable rise in serious cases.

WSWS (2020-10-13). Poverty in Germany: Power cuts for 289,000 households. wsws.org Hundreds of thousands had no lights, no warm water, could use neither stoves nor refrigerators, could not do laundry and had no access to radio, television or the internet.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-13). Ukrainian government targets media outlet for broadcasting communist leader's message. peoplesdispatch.org The GolosUA media platform has been summoned by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice for broadcasting the Victory Day message of Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) secretary Petro Symonenko…

Ethan Huff (2020-10-13). Belgian Health Experts Demand Full Investigation into WHO for Faking COVID-19 Pandemic. globalresearch.ca A coalition of doctors and other health professionals in Belgium has issued an

Andrew Neil (2020-10-13). Video: Is There a Second Wave? The Lockdown, Ireland, Statement of WHO COVID-19 Expert. globalresearch.ca In this Spectator report, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) states the need to combat the virus while restoring economic activity. | The Irish government dismissed the recommendations of the medical experts who are calling for restoring the lockdown. …

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-13). Iranian, Serbian wrestling federations sign MoU. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Iranian Wrestling Federation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Serbian Wrestling Federation on Tuesday.

sputniknews (2020-10-13). DoJ Ignores Trump Call to Declassify All Russiagate Docs After Failing to Receive Official Order. sputniknews.com Lawyers from the US Department of Justice told a federal judge on Tuesday the department had no intention of totally declassifying documents related to the Russiagate investigation, despite US President Donald Trump's tweets to that effect, since it hadn't been given an official order to release unredacted files.

sputniknews (2020-10-13). France Cancels Paris International Agricultural Show 2021 Due to Pandemic – Reports. sputniknews.com MOSCOW 13 (Sputnik) – The French authorities have cancelled the Paris International Agricultural Show 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RTL radio broadcaster reported on Tuesday.

WSWS (2020-10-13). Irish government rejects medical experts as coronavirus infections spiral out of control. wsws.org Ireland's coalition government has scorned advice from scientists and medical experts to impose a full lockdown.

Andrew Korybko (2020-10-12). A New Wall for a New Cold War? globalresearch.ca The head of the prestigious Munich Security Conference warned late last month against efforts to "build a new 'wall' between Russia and the West" in light of the Navalny incident and the many other disagreements between both sides, and while …

Andrew Korybko (2020-10-12). The Russia Brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan Ceasefire. globalresearch.ca It was a diplomatic coup for Russia to broker a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan since it restored Moscow's relevance to the conflict, but for as positive of a development as this was, it's uncertain whether it'll last and will …

Patrick Cockburn (2020-10-12). Is Syria's Idlib the Next Gaza Strip? counterpunch.org "Many relatives of mine were living in camps near the border with Turkey," says Huda Husein, a 25-year-old teacher living in the rebel-held enclave of Idlib in northwest Syria. "But last month they returned home [to the cities and villages] because they prefer dying under an airstrike to dying in the camps." A cousin told her that "we are just fleeing from danger to danger", explaining that the misery of trying to survive in cramped tents was worse than bombardment by Russia and Syrian government forces.

Abdel Bari Atwan (2020-10-12). Nagorno-Karabakh: the bigger picture. thealtworld.com A tangled web of alliances and realignments is forming over the latest conflict in the Caucasus | The wars that have afflicted our 'Middle East' region incessantly since the start of the last century have taught us two things: that 'dormant' ethnic and religious conflicts can be reawakened at any moment; and when truces are agreed they prove unreliable and short-lived so long as the underlying causes are not tackled. | The breakdown of the Russian-brokered humanitarian cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh — where hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced on both sides in the…

teleSUR (2020-10-12). October 12 Declared Black and Indigenous Liberation Day. telesurenglish.net The Black and Indigenous Liberation Movement (BILN) declared this October 12 as Black and Indigenous Liberation Day, in contrast to the other names and types of the commemoration of the date that remembers the beginning of the European conquest of America in 1492. | RELATED: | The BILN describes itself as "a coalition of solidarity-based organizations committed to anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles in six cou…

G. Dunkel (2020-10-12). Trial finds fascists 'Guilty!' in Greece. workers.org A blow to neo-Nazi organizations — particularly in Europe, but also throughout the world — was dealt in Athens, Greece, on Oct. 7. After 400 court sessions, over 100 witnesses and five years of prosecution, the fascist Golden Dawn political party was convicted of being run as a "criminal enterprise." . . . |