Daily Archives: November 4, 2020

2020-11-04: News Headlines

South Front (2020-11-04). Video: Turkish Risk Investments in Local Conflicts and Prospects of Armenian Counter-offensive in Karabakh. globalresearch.ca In early November, the Azerbaijani-Turkish advance in the directions of the Lachin corridor and the town of Shusha in the Nagorno-Karabakh region slowed down. | The main factors are the fierce resistance of Armenian forces, the complicated terrain, deteriorating weather conditions …

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-11-04). Why Will Bulgaria Veto North Macedonia's EU Accession but Did Not Block Its NATO Membership? globalresearch.ca Bulgaria's veto against North Macedonia's accession into the European Union (EU) remains very likely despite initial speculations that it would not obstruct the former Yugoslav country from joining the bloc. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva said that her country would …

Ragip Soylu (2020-11-04). Turkey slaps social media networks with millions of dollars' worth of fines. middleeasteye.net Turkey slaps social media networks with millions of dollars' worth of fines | Ankara took the step after companies such as Facebook and Twitter failed to assign a legal representative in the country as new law requires | Wed, 11/04/2020 – 10: 21 | The Turkish government believes the social media network providers would eventually submit papers to assign legal representatives (AFP) | The Turkish governmen…

_____ (2020-11-04). Capitalism's Worst Nightmare. popularresistance.org On this week's show, Prof. Wolff explores what major social changes will flow from today's combination of major economic crash and the viral pandemic (capitalism's worst nightmare). To answer, we consider how European feudalism changed after its 14th century combination of economic decline and the bubonic plague. The two big changes then were (1) switching from a decentralized to a strong state, monarchical feudalism and (2) transition from feudalism to capitalism. The two big parallel changes now are…

news.un (2020-11-04). UN brings Cyprus leaders together, mulling future talks on divided island. news.un.org The leaders of the divided island of Cyprus have met in the capital Nicosia, in an encounter convened by the United Nations, the Secretary-General's Good Offices Mission in Cyprus said on Tuesday.

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-04). Iranian prisoners in Georgia repatriated to Islamic Republic. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 04 (MNA) — Georgia handed over 6 Iranian prisoners to the Islamic Republic on Wednesday due to the efforts made by the Iranian Embassy in Tbilisi.

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-04). Iranian envoy pays tribute to victims of Kabul terror attack. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 04 (MNA) — Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to France paid tribute to the victims of the brutal terrorist attack at Kabul University.

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-04). Baku 'highly values' Leader's remarks on Karabakh row. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 04 (MNA) — In a statement on Wednesday, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry appreacited the remarks of the Islamic Revolution Leader over the Karabakh conflict.

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-04). Bosnia & Herzegovina eyes developing parl. ties with Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 04 (MNA) — First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina emphasized the need for the expansion of parliamentary ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

_____ (2020-11-04). Is Adam Schiff an Anti-Semite? strategic-culture.org Is Adam Schiff an anti-Semite? | On its face, the question seems absurd. Not only is Schiff himself Jewish, but, as far as anyone knows, he's never uttered an unkind word in his life about Jews as a nation, religion, or ethnic group. So he seems to get a clean bill of health. Yet when it comes to Russia, his thinking hews so closely to the classic anti-Semitic model that one hesitates to let him off the hook. | Basically, Schiff obsesses about the Kremlin the way people used to obsess about a mythical entity known as the elders of Zion. According to the notorious czarist forgery known as the "secret protocols," t…

Staff (2020-11-04). Election Day Mayhem Began Two Years Ago With Massive Voter Purges. truthout.org You didn't hear this in the cable TV chatter: In the two years leading up to this election, Georgia's GOP secretary of state quietly wiped away the voter registrations of 198,351 voters — based on false information. | Call it "The Great Purge" — overwhelmingly wiping away the voting rights of young voters and voters of color. In other words, voters who might be more likely to vote blue. | I'm not guessing the number of wrongly purged voters. I directed a team of experts that identified each…

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-04). Russia Intl. ICT exhibition hosts Iran Knowledge-based firms. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 04 (MNA) — Some Iranian knowledge-based firms exhibited their latest achievements at the 32nd International Exhibition for Information and Communication Technology in Moscow.

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-04). Gen. Soleimani assassinators responsible for all "insecurity" en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 04 (MNA) — The Ambassador of Iran in Azerbaijan asserted that the responsibility for the insecurity of Kabul and Vienna lies with the perpetrators of the cowardly assassination of Lt. Gen. Soleimani, who fought bravely against ISIL.

Gareth Porter (2020-11-03). How DHS and FBI officials spun a dubious Russian election threat days before voting. thegrayzone.com A Department of Homeland Security election alert spawning new Russia fears was so incoherent and inconsistent with previous findings, it suggested a state of political panic inside the agency. Just days before the 2020 election the bureaucratic forces behind the original claim of Russian hacking of state election-related websites in 2016 launched a new drive to spawn fears of Moscow-made political chaos in the wake of the voting. The new narrative was not consistent with information previously published by the …

_____ (2020-11-03). 'The Coming War On China' — Watch John Pilger's Powerfully Relevant Documentary. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | "The aim of this film is to break a silence: the United States and China may well be on the road to war, and nuclear war is no longer unthinkable," Pilger says in his 2016 documentary The Coming War on China, which "In a few years China has become the world's second-biggest economic power," Pilger's introduction continues. "The United States is the world's biggest military power, with bases and missiles and ships covering ever…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-11-03). France and Turkey Not Embroiled in "Clash of Civilizations" but Rather Geopolitical Struggle. globalresearch.ca The horrific terrorist attacks in France and the confrontation that erupted between Paris and Ankara has questioned alliances and changed the geopolitical landscape in the East Mediterranean and Africa.

MEE and agencies (2020-11-03). Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict: Russia says will consider Iran's proposal to end fighting. middleeasteye.net Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict: Russia says will consider Iran's proposal to end fighting | Tehran has offered to take a leading role in negotiations to establish peace in Nagorno-Karabakh region | Tue, 11/03/2020 – 14: 08 | Reservists keep watch in the Shusha region on 31 October 2020, amid the ongoing military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. (AFP) | Russia is co…

RT (2020-11-03). UK raises terrorism threat to 'severe' after attacks in Austria & France. rt.com The UK has raised the country's terrorism threat level from "substantial" to "severe", meaning that British intelligence and security agencies now see an attack as "highly likely". | The decision, taken by the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), moves the terrorism threat back to its second highest level, having lowered it in November 2019 after the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. | The update comes less than 24 hours after an Islamist extremist killed four people in a shooting in Vienna, Austria before being killed by police, and in the wake of a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Franc…

RT (2020-11-03). Playing both sides: Russia has no plans to reduce natural gas production but also seeks to become world leader in hydrogen fuel. rt.com The share of natural gas on the world energy market will grow in the coming decades, and Russia has no plans to dampen down its fossil fuel production. That's according to Alexander Novak, the country's energy minister. | "I believe natural gas to be an eco-friendly energy source," Novak told the UK's Guardian newspaper. "We believe that the share of natural gas in the global energy mix will only increase. We believe this to apply not only to Europe, but globally too." | According to Novak, the world is far from reaching its "peak in production" of gas, and despite many countries setting renewable energy targe…

RT (2020-11-03). Personal data of 1 million Swedes leaked to Facebook, Google & Microsoft by country's biggest insurer. rt.com Sweden's largest insurer, Folksam, has revealed that it accidentally leaked sensitive private data from one million of its customers to some of the world's biggest tech companies. | Folksam The leaking of Folksam's data, including customers' social security numbers, has been going on as far back as 2005, according to local

MEE and agencies (2020-11-03). Turkey earthquake: Rescue workers pull four-year-old girl from rubble as death toll rises to 102. middleeasteye.net Turkey earthquake: Rescue workers pull four-year-old girl from rubble as death toll rises to 102 | Four-year-old Ayda Gezgin was trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in Izmir for four days | Tue, 11/03/2020 – 08: 12 | Death toll increased to 102 as rescue continues to search for survivors after Turkey suffered its most devastating earthquake in a decade (Reuters) | Turkish resc…

RT (2020-11-03). In major rule change, Russian intelligence officers to be allowed to take foreign citizenship & residency as part of missions. rt.com Russia's State Duma has moved to roll back rules that prevented many of the country's intelligence and security officers from holding residence permits, and even the citizenship, of other countries as part of their service. | Until now, employees of these agencies, like military personnel, federal civil servants, and other senior officials, had been banned from possessing these documents, and being a foreign resident or citizen constituted official grounds for dismissal. | However, a new bill introduced earlier this year by President Vladimir Putin would allow agents of the FSB and SVR, Russia's domestic and o…

RT (2020-11-03). 'End to misunderstood tolerance': Austria's Kurz doubles down on vow to fight 'political Islam' following Vienna attack. rt.com Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said he expects Europe to abandon what he called "misunderstood tolerance" in the wake of a terrorist attack in Vienna while calling for an EU-wide effort to combat "political Islam." | "I expect an end to the wrongly understood tolerance … in all European countries," Kurz

Ragip Soylu (2020-11-03). 'We can only pray': Four Turkish citizens held by Haftar in eastern Libya. middleeasteye.net 'We can only pray': Four Turkish citizens held by Haftar in eastern Libya | Nothing has been heard from the dessert shop workers since they were seized by the LNA in Sirte in February | Tue, 11/03/2020 – 07: 27 | A member of Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Khalifa Haftar, points his gun to the image of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hanged on a Turkish military armored vehicle (Reuters) | Yakup…

RT (2020-11-03). Erdogan announces 10pm closure for restaurants, cinemas & Turkish baths as country sees Covid-19 spike. rt.com All businesses in Turkey, including restaurants and cinemas, must close at 10pm local time in a bid to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced. | Addressing the nation after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Erdogan said the new curfew would also include Turkish baths, wedding halls and concert venues, although food takeaway services would be exempt. | Governor of Istanbul has s…

RT (2020-11-03). Argentina to get 25 million doses of Russia's pioneering Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine — president. rt.com Millions of doses of the world's first Russian-made vaccine against Covid-19 are set to be received by Argentina in the coming months, the country's president has announced. It comes as the pandemic shows no signs of abating. | Some 10 million doses are expected to arrive in Argentina in December, President Alberto Fernandez told RIA news agency on Monday as his nation was holding talks with Moscow on the Sputnik V vaccine supplies. Another batch of 15 million doses is scheduled for early January. The leader later again confirmed the information in a separate tweet. | Como señalé en una entrevista periodística…

RT (2020-11-03). Would life be better if Gorbachev's Perestroika reform never happened? Almost half of today's Russians say yes, reveals new poll. rt.com Praised in Washington, President Gorbachev's 1985 flagship Perestroika policy was welcomed with open arms by the West. Now, in 2020, almost half of Russia believes that the country would be better off if it had never happened. | According to a poll by the Levada Center, 47% of Russians believe that life in the country was better before Perestroika, with just 39% disagreeing. When isolating the responses of those over the age of 55, all of whom were adults when the reforms began in 1985, almost two-thirds (61%) agreed that life was better before. | Perestroika, which means "restructuring," was a package of refo…

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2020-11-03). Deconstructing France's Emmanuel Macron. The Surge of Islamophobia. globalresearch.ca The Modi government has earned the distinction as the "first non-western" voice to come out in support of French President Emmanuel Macron over the recent

WSWS (2020-11-03). Teachers strike across France against first day of deadly school reopenings. wsws.org Government policy means that schools will act as vectors for the transmission of the virus, countless children will become infected, and will infect family and friends.

WSWS (2020-11-03). Spain's PSOE-Podemos government rejects calls for shelter-at-home policy. wsws.org The "left populist" Podemos party is helping keep workers at work and children at school so that profits can continue accruing to major banks and investors.

Chris Cole (2020-11-03). Announcing a New Initiative: UK Drone Watch. globalresearch.ca Since 2010, Drone Wars UK has been shining a spotlight on the military's use of drones and the impact on peace and security around the globe. Now, both in the US and in Europe, large military-grade drones which fly 'beyond …

sputniknews (2020-11-03). Terrorist Threat in Switzerland High, No Data About Possible Attacks, Intelligence Service Says. sputniknews.com GENEVA (Sputnik) – A terrorist threat in Switzerland remains high, but there is no information regarding an actual attack, Isabelle Graber, a spokeswoman for the country's Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), told Sputnik.

_____ (2020-11-03). DHS And FBI Spun A Dubious Russian Election Threat Days Before Voting. popularresistance.org Just days before the 2020 election the bureaucratic forces behind the original claim of Russian hacking of state election-related websites in 2016 launched a new drive to spawn fears of Moscow-made political chaos in the wake of the voting. | The new narrative was not consistent with information previously published by the the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), however. It was so incoherent, in fact, that it suggested a state of panic on the part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials worried about a possible transition to a J…

news.un (2020-11-03). Belarus targets women human rights defenders after disputed August elections. news.un.org Independent UN experts criticized Belarus on Tuesday for persecuting women human rights defenders, who have been involved in the mass protests underway in the country since August's controversial presidential election.

teleSUR (2020-11-03). Austria: Authorities Link Vienna Shooting To the Islamic State. telesurenglish.net Austria's Interior Minister Karl Nehammer on Tuesday noted that one of the responsible for the Vienna shooting terrorist was a person who felt particularly attached to the Islamic State. | RELATED: | Authorities have pointed out that numerous house searches and several arrests have been conducted, while also revealing that the attacker was very well prepared. | This was evidenced by the semi-automatic assault rifle, th…

WSWS (2020-11-03). Ukraine, Turkey deepen military alliance in Black Sea region. wsws.org The systematic NATO encirclement of Russia has turned seemingly isolated conflicts in the region into dangerous flashpoints that threaten to spark a major war involving the US, nuclear-armed Russia and countries such as Turkey.

teleSUR (2020-11-03). Palestinian Prisoner Hits 100 Days of Hunger Strike in Israel. telesurenglish.net The 49-year-old Palestinian Maher Al Akhras reached 100 days on a hunger strike in protest against Israeli administrative detentions, which have hundreds of Palestinians arrested without charge, trial, or release date. | RELATED: | At the end of July, Maher Al Akhras, a father of six, was working as a farmer in a village near Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Today, his name is pronounced by people like Josep Borrell, Europea…

WSWS (2020-11-03). Mass protests against anti-abortion law in Poland develop into a revolt against government. wsws.org Confronted with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, the PiS government and opposition are working feverishly to end the social revolt.

WSWS (2020-11-03). Death toll rises to 87 after earthquake in Aegean Sea. wsws.org The death toll has risen to 87 after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake near the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea hit both Turkey and Greece.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-03). Swiss health workers organize week-long protest demanding pay rise and recruitment. peoplesdispatch.org Protests were organized across Switzerland by health workers with the support of trade unions and progressive political groups. The protesters demanded pay rise, bonus, safer working conditions and more recruitment…

teleSUR (2020-11-03). Austria: Investigation Continues Into the Terrorist Attack. telesurenglish.net Austrian authorities have deployed large police forces units and the military on the street of Vienna in order to reinforce the security and to continue the investigations into the incident. | RELATED: | The government has noted that the situation in Vienna continues to be extremely difficult, asking citizens to remain in their homes. Meanwhile, schools will be closed on Tuesday. | The attack, which saw several armed men opened fire in 6 locations…

_____ (2020-11-02). 'Let The World Remember How We Lost Palestine'. popularresistance.org Occupied Palestine – Today, Palestinians and human rights advocates around the world are marking 103 years since the Balfour Declaration was issued on November 2, 1917. | Using the hashtag #Balfour103, Palestinian and pro-Palestine activists have called to participate in a campaign they launched to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, rejecting the ominous promise. | The Balfour Declaration was issued by Britain when Arthur James Balfour, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, sent a letter to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, one of the leaders of the World Zionist movement…

news.un (2020-11-02). UN rights chief warns of possible war crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. news.un.org The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of possible war crimes in the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

MEE and agencies (2020-11-02). France set to ban Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves. middleeasteye.net France set to ban Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves | The move comes as tensions between Turkey and France are at a high over a range of issues | Mon, 11/02/2020 – 16: 08 | A French army soldier stands guard as a police officer walks by outside the National Armenian Memorial Centre in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon, on 1 November 2020 (AFP) | France is set to ban the Turkish ultra-nationa…

Areeb Ullah (2020-11-02). Uighur scholar fears deportation from Saudi Arabia. middleeasteye.net Uighur scholar fears deportation from Saudi Arabia | Aimidoula Waili was arrested twice in China and fears he will be sent to a 're-education' camp if taken back | Mon, 11/02/2020 – 14: 28 | Waili said he was unable to fly back to Turkey where he has residency due to fears of possible deportation if taken to the airport (Supplied) | Activists fear that a Uighur religious scholar who travelled to Saudi Ar…

RT (2020-11-02). France sparks outrage in Turkey with plans to outlaw 'Grey Wolves' nationalist group. rt.com Turkish members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have condemned the French government's decision to ban a pan-Turkish nationalist group known as the 'Grey Wolves.' | On Monday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced during a National Assembly meeting about the country's fight against Islamist militants that the cabinet will consider banning the Turkish right-wing group when it meets on Wednesday. | Huseyin Sozlu, a member of the MHP,

RT (2020-11-02). Vatican walks back Pope's comments on civil unions. rt.com The Vatican has attempted to clarify comments made by Pope Francis on civil union laws in a recently aired documentary, claiming his apparently supportive remarks were taken out of context. | A new documentary, 'Francesco', made headlines last week because it included a remark from the pontiff stating that "homosexual people have a right to be in a family." | Even though he made clear he was speaking in his own capacity, rather than the Vatican's, many saw the comments as a sign that the Holy See was departing from its historic stance on homosexuality. | The statement gained instant praise from many,who saw it…

RT (2020-11-02). 'This is our Europe': Macron voices 'shock & grief' over Vienna terror attack, warns 'enemies' will be dealt with. rt.com French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that Europe will not give into terror following a deadly attack in Austria's capital, voicing support for a "friendly country" while threatening retaliation for their shared "enemies." | "We French share the shock and grief of the Austrian people struck this evening by an attack in the heart of their capital, Vienna. After France, a friendly country is attacked," Macron said in a pair of tweets on Monday evening — one in French, the other in This is our…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-02). Turkey: Three-year-old girl rescued from collapsed building days after deadly earthquake. middleeasteye.net Turkey: Three-year-old girl rescued from collapsed building days after deadly earthquake | The 6.9 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 85 people in Turkey and Greece since Friday | Mon, 11/02/2020 – 09: 26 | Three-year-old Elif holding the finger of a rescue worker on Monday after she was found under the rubble of a collapsed building, 65 hours following the earthquake struck Izmir (R…

RT (2020-11-02). Discrimination against men? Navalny-ally Milov challenges law preventing mothers of young kids being imprisoned, but not fathers. rt.com Russian activist Vladimir Milov has complained to the Constitutional Court about sexism against men embedded in the country's laws. In Russia, women with young children cannot be jailed for administrative offenses, but men can. | As per the country's legal code, certain sections of society cannot be detained for administrative offenses, such as pregnant women, people under 18, and women with children under the age of 14. In 2019, Milov was jailed for 30 days despite having a two-year-old son, and now wants the law to be changed to include fathers with children under 14, as well as mothers. | According to the T…