Cincunri Sakia

Kamis, 01 Oktober 2020

Macron claims Syrian fighters operating in Nagorno-Karabakh - Al Jazeera English

Macron said he had evidence that ‘militants’ travelled through the Turkish city of Gaziantep on their way to the conflict in the Caucasus.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is sure Syrian fighters were operating in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in heavy fighting.

Macron said he has evidence that fighters have travelled through the Turkish city of Gaziantep on their way to the conflict in the South Caucasus, where the fiercest clashes in years have killed nearly 130 people.

“We have information today that indicates with certainty that Syrian fighters from jihadist groups have transited through Gaziantep to reach the theatre of operations in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Macron said as he arrived for a summit with the European Union leaders in Brussels.

“This is a very grave new development,” Macron warned, saying he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump “to exchange all the information [they] have about this situation and draw all necessary conclusions”.

Armenia has accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to back its ally, Azerbaijan, and on Monday the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Ankara had dispatched at least 300 proxies from northern Syria.

Turkey has pledged to support Azerbaijan by all means but has so far denied direct involvement in the conflict.

Macron this week condemned what he called Turkey’s “reckless and dangerous” statements backing Azerbaijan.

Claims of Turkish involvement in the conflict look set to colour Thursday’s EU summit in Brussels, which is expected to cover the bloc’s relations with Ankara as Greece and Cyprus push for a tough line against their old enemy over disputed east Mediterranean waters.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that it had been informed of claims that mercenaries, sent from Libya and Syria, were involved in the fighting over the disputed territory.

The presence of such “illegal armed units” would pose a long-term security risk for all nearby countries, Russia’s Foreign Ministry added.

France, Russia and the US are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, set up in 1992 to mediate in the decades-old conflict over the mountainous enclave.

On Thursday, they appealed for peace as the death toll rose in the heaviest clashes since the 1990s around Nagorno-Karabakh – part of Azerbaijan, but run by its mostly ethnic Armenian inhabitants.

“We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces,” the joint French, Russian and US statement said.

They urged the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan to “commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions” under what is called the Minsk process.

The recent fighting has raised concerns that the flare-up could escalate into an all-out war, as the combatants look to regional powers Turkey, which supports Baku, and Russia, which maintains a military base in Armenia, for support.

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2020-10-01 15:30:07Z
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Alexei Navalny blames Vladimir Putin for poisoning him - BBC News

Navalny sits on a park bench in a photo uploaded to his Instagram account

Leading Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny says he believes President Vladimir Putin was responsible for his poisoning.

"I assert that Putin is behind this act, I don't see any other explanation," he told German news magazine Der Spiegel in an interview.

Germany, where Mr Navalny is recovering, says he was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent. Its findings were confirmed by labs in France and Sweden.

The Kremlin denies any involvement.

Responding to the interview on Thursday, Mr Putin's spokesman said there was no evidence that Mr Navalny had been poisoned with a nerve agent, and said CIA agents were working with the opposition leader.

Mr Navalny collapsed on a flight in Russia's Siberia region on 20 August. He was transferred to the Charité hospital in the German capital Berlin two days later.

In an interview published by Der Spiegel on Thursday - the first since he fell ill - Mr Navalny said the order to use Novichok could only have come from the heads of three of Russia's intelligence services, all of whom work under Vladimir Putin.

"If 30 people have access to a [chemical] agent, and not three, then it's a global threat," the 44-year-old told the magazine.

His supporters initially believed his tea had been spiked at Tomsk airport but traces of the nerve agent were later found on water bottles at the hotel where he stayed the previous night.

Speaking of his experience, Mr Navalny said: "You feel no pain, but you know you're dying. Straight away."

Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya pose for a picture at Charite hospital in Berlin, Germany

It was only because of "a chain of lucky circumstances" that he had been able to receive urgent medical care and survive, he said. Otherwise, "it would have just been a suspicious death".

Kremlin's 'extreme measures'

Asked why the Russian president would target him, Mr Navalny spoke of recent unrest in the far eastern province of Khabarovsk.

"The Kremlin realises that it must take extreme measures to prevent a 'Belarus situation'," the opposition leader said, in reference to weeks of mass anti-government protests there following a disputed election.

"The system is fighting for its survival and we've just felt the consequences."

Mr Navalny was released from hospital in Berlin last week and is still receiving physiotherapy to aid his recovery.

His spokeswoman said last week that his bank accounts had been frozen and his flat seized but Mr Navalny told Der Spiegel he still planned to return to Russia.

"Not going back would mean that Putin had achieved his goal... I will not give Putin the gift of not returning to Russia."

The EU and a number of governments have called for Russia to investigate Mr Navalny's poisoning.

A nerve agent from the Novichok group was also used to poison Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England in 2018. They both survived, but a local woman, Dawn Sturgess, died after coming into contact with the poison.

Britain accused Russia's military intelligence of carrying out that attack. Twenty countries expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats and spies. Moscow denied any involvement.

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US election 2020: Debate rules to change after chaotic Trump-Biden exchange - Sky News

Debate rules will be changed to avoid a repeat of the chaotic first meeting between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the US presidential debate commission has said.

The ill-tempered debate on Tuesday between the US president and his Democratic challenger descended into chaos, with personal insults thrown and frequent interruptions - mainly from Mr Trump.

Chris Wallace, the moderator, had few options other than pleading with the candidates when rules both campaigns had agreed to were not followed.

What is being planned for future debates?

One option being discussed is allowing the moderator to cut off microphones when a candidate violates rules, CBS News reported.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said in a statement that the first debate had "made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues".

"The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly."

It added: "The commission is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night's debate and intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates."

CBS News reported that the next 48 hours would be spent drawing up new guidelines and rules for future debates, according to a source.

The rules will not be negotiable, the source said.

How have both campaigns reacted?

Mr Trump, retweeting a story about the planned debate changes, said: "Try getting a new Anchor and a smarter Democrat candidate!"

His team have criticised the plans for future debates.

Tim Murtaugh, communications director of the campaign, said: "They're only doing this because their guy got pummelled last night.

"President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs. They shouldn't be moving the goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game."

Mr Biden called the debate "a national embarrassment."

The deputy manager of his campaign, Kate Bedingfield, said the former vice-president will "be focused on answering questions from the voters there, under whatever set of rules the Commission develops to try to contain Donald Trump's behaviour".

What happened at the first debate?

Wednesday's debate saw constant interruptions from Mr Trump which led to bickering, with both candidates talking over each other.

Mr Trump questioned Mr Biden's intelligence, saying: "There's nothing smart about you Joe. 47 years, you've done nothing,"

He later bought up Mr Biden's son Hunter, raising questions about his links with Ukraine as well as mentioning his drug problems.

The pair also clashed about Mr Biden's now deceased son Beau and his military service.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden called Mr Trump "the worst president this country has ever had", dubbed him a "clown", and at one point asked, "Will you shut up, man?"

:: Subscribe to Divided States on Apple podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Spreaker

What about the next ones?

Both campaigns have said they expect to attend future debates, with the next one scheduled for 15 October in Miami.

The second debate will be in a town hall format, meaning half the questions to both candidates will come from voters in the hall while the other half will be influenced by voter concerns on social media.

The last debate is on 22 October - less than two weeks before the election on 3 November.

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2020-10-01 12:19:30Z
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Nagorno-Karabakh: Deadly fighting spills into fifth day - Al Jazeera English

Azerbaijan and Armenia refuse international appeal to hold dialogue, deepening fears of an all-out war.

Heavy shelling between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has been reported around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as fighting raged for a fifth day, with both sides refusing to back down and heed international calls for talks.

The fiercest clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in years over the breakaway region were ignited on Sunday, leaving scores from both sides dead.

Azerbaijan’s general prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that Armenian shelling killed a civilian in its city of Terter, about 90km from Nagorno-Karabakh, in the morning and badly damaged the train station there.

Separately, the country’s defence ministry said its forces had carried out “crushing artillery strikes against Armenian forces’ positions in the occupied territories”, throughout the night.

In the city of Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh, known also as Khankendi, two explosions were heard around midnight as sirens sounded, the AFP news agency reported, adding that residents claimed the city had been attacked by drones.

Ethnic-Armenian officials in the region described the overnight situation along the front line as “tense” and said both sides exchanged artillery fire.

“The enemy attempted to regroup its troops, but Armenian forces suppressed all such attempts,” they said.

Armenian authorities also claimed that two French nationals working as journalists for Le Monde were injured on Thursday during shelling by Azeri forces in the Armenian town of Martuni, west of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The reporters were being taking to hospital, authorities said in a statement.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s declaration of independence from Azerbaijan sparked a war in the early 1990s that killed 30,000 people, but it is still not recognised as independent by any country, including Armenia.

Armenia and the breakaway region declared martial law and military mobilisation last week, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.

Talks to resolve the conflict have largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire agreement. France, Russia and the United States have mediated peace efforts as the “Minsk Group”, but the last big push for a peace deal collapsed in 2010.

The two sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on opposing forces in the conflict that carries the threat of drawing in regional powers Turkey and Russia, which support opposing sides.

Yerevan, which is in a military alliance of former Soviet countries led by Moscow, has accused Turkey of dispatching mercenaries from northern Syria to bolster Azerbaijan’s forces in the conflict, adding it was concerned that members of illegal armed groups, including from Syria and Libya, were being deployed to the fight. The claims were refuted by Azerbaijan.

Yerevan also said earlier this week that a Turkish F-16 flying in support of Baku’s forces had downed an Armenian SU-25 warplane, but Ankara and Baku denied the claim.

Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from the Armenian capital, said that there were fears that the clashes could lead to full-scale war.

“There have been already clashes beyond Nagorno-Karabakh, in the border areas between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Smith said.

Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the claims made by both sides.

Despite mounting international pressure, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have both rejected the idea of holding talks, even as calls for a halt in the fighting mount.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, in a telephone conversation late on Wednesday, issued the most recent call for a complete halt to fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and said they were ready to intensify diplomatic efforts to help resolve the conflict.

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2020-10-01 11:54:32Z
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Dozens arrested as Hong Kong marks China’s National Day - Al Jazeera English

Hong Kong riot police patrolling the route of a banned anti-government march arrested dozens of people on Thursday, stopping crowds from gathering as Chief Executive Carrie Lam hailed the city’s “return to peace” at China national day celebrations.

The People’s Republic of China marks its founding on October 1 with a holiday and choreographed festivities, but last year’s events were marred by fierce clashes between protesters and police in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory where China imposed sweeping national security legislation in June.

And while police refused a permit for a proposed march, riot police were on Thursday conducting stop-and-search operations along what was expected to be the route.

Police were seen rounding up more than 50 people downtown and binding their wrists with plexicuffs before putting them on buses. Police said in a Facebook post that they were looking for two men who threw petrol bombs to bloc traffic in another area of the city.

In the air, helicopters flying the Chinese and Hong Kong flags hovered above the harbour where Lam, the territory’s chief executive, and senior mainland officials, were attending an official National Day ceremony amid tight security.

“Over the past few months, an indisputable fact in front of everyone is that our society has returned to peace,” Lam said.

“Our country’s national security has been protected in Hong Kong and our citizens can again exercise their rights and liberties in accordance with laws,” she added.

Anti-government protests, which often turned violent in 2019, have been smaller and fewer this year thanks to coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings and the national security law that was imposed by Beijing on June 30.

“Protesting conventionally in Hong Kong is now essentially over, the combined effects of coronavirus as well the new security law means that we do not see a repeat of the large protests of a year ago,” said Al Jazeera’s Adrian Brown, remembering the level of violence during demonstrations in October 2019 when an activist involved in anti-government protests had been shot at the chest by the police.

“We are not seeing anything like this now, but the sentiment behind the movement is still pretty much there,” said Brown, reporting from Hong Kong. “It’s just that people have to be more creative and inventive in the way they demonstrate,” he added, pointing at people holding up the city’s most popular newspaper owned by a man recently arrested due to the new security law.

A defiant protester said she will try to keep fighting.

“It’s China’s national day but this is Hong Kong’s death day,” said Jay, a woman dressed in black, the city’s protest attire, as she walked past police. “Hong Kong people are under a lot of pressure but we have to try and keep fighting for freedom.”

No surrender

On the rare occasions when there are protests, police swoop in quickly – on one day last month nearly 300 people were arrested, according to AFP news agency.

More than 10,000 people have been detained since the 2019 protests began, and the courts are now jammed with cases related to the demonstrations and the pro-democracy campaign.

“Even if they try to arrest us, prosecute us and lock us up in prison there is no reason for us to surrender,” activist Joshua Wong told reporters on Wednesday.

There have been calls online for protests in several districts after the police rejected the request from the Civil Human Rights Front, which mobilised million-people marches last year, to hold a rally citing COVID-19 and violence at previous marches.

It was unclear how many people would join any demonstrations.

“I don’t think protesting is an effective way to express my opinion, because the government tries every method to suppress protests,” said 22-year-old Lee as she looked at a group of police officers across the street.

The Hong Kong government has also blamed the pandemic for its decision to delay by a year legislative council elections that were due to take place last month and in which pro-democracy candidates were expected to do well.

Four members of the League of Social Democrats, led by veteran activist Leung Kwok-hung, known as Long Hair, marched. holding a banner reading: “There is no national day celebration, only national mourning.” Four is the maximum number of people allowed to gather under coronavirus restrictions.

The national day holiday is resented by many democracy supporters in Hong Kong who say Beijing is eroding the wide-ranging liberties the former British colony was promised for at least 50 years when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

For pro-Beijing supporters, it is an opportunity to drum up patriotism in China’s most restive city.

Police honoured

The South China Morning Post newspaper reported earlier this week that some 6,000 police officers would be deployed in case of protests on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government honoured many of police officers in its Honours List including awards for bravery in their handling of the protests.

The government gave out a total of 687 awards – almost 300 more than last year – and about a dozen officers received bravery medals for their response to what was described as “ferocious assaults” by “rioters”, according to public service broadcaster RTHK reported.

More than 50, including senior officers Rupert Dover and David Jordan who stayed on after British rule came to an end, were given the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Public Service for their “outstanding contributions in relation to the handling of social incidents”.

David Jordan and Rupert Dover awarded Commendation for Government/Public Service with 92 others riot police #HongKongProtests https://t.co/9qTd4ruBRo pic.twitter.com/UfKjqqXVxN

— Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng) September 30, 2020

An independent investigation into policy brutality during the pro-democracy rallies, is one of the protesters’ five key demands.

Benedict Rogers, the London-based founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch, described the awards to the officers as an “outrage”.

“These senior cops should be prosecuted & sanctioned, not honoured,” he wrote on Twitter.

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2020-10-01 11:26:15Z
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Alexei Navalny blames Vladimir Putin for poisoning him - BBC News

Leading Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny says he believes President Vladimir Putin was responsible for his poisoning.

"I assert that Putin is behind this act, I don't see any other explanation," he told German news magazine Der Spiegel in an interview.

Germany, where Mr Navalny is recovering, says he was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent. Its findings were confirmed by labs in France and Sweden.

The Kremlin denies any involvement.

Mr Navalny collapsed on a flight in Russia's Siberia region on 20 August. He was transferred to the Charity hospital in the German capital Berlin two days later.

"If 30 people have access to a [chemical] agent, and not three, then it's a global threat," the 44-year-old told the magazine.

His supporters initially believed his tea had been spiked at Tomsk airport but traces of the nerve agent were later found on water bottles at the hotel where he stayed the previous night.

Speaking of his experience, Mr Navalny said: "You feel no pain, but you know you're dying. Straight away."

It was only because of "a chain of lucky circumstances" that he had been able to receive urgent medical care and survive, he said. Otherwise, "it would have just been a suspicious death".

Kremlin's 'extreme measures'

Asked why the Russian president would target him, Mr Navalny spoke of recent unrest in the far eastern province of Khabarovsk.

"The system is fighting for its survival and we've just felt the consequences."

Mr Navalny was released from hospital in Berlin last week and is still receiving physiotherapy to aid his recovery.

His spokeswoman said last week that his bank accounts had been frozen and his flat seized but Mr Navalny told Der Spiegel that he still planned to return to Russia.

"I will continue to travel through Russia's regions, to stay in hotels and drink the water in the rooms. What else should I do?"

The EU and a number of governments have called for Russia to investigate Mr Navalny's poisoning.

Britain accused Russia's military intelligence of carrying out that attack. Twenty countries expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats and spies. Moscow denied any involvement.

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2020-10-01 11:03:00Z
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Under-fire Trump seeks to qualify far-right remarks - BBC News - BBC News

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Under-fire Trump seeks to qualify far-right remarks - BBC News BBC News
Presidential debate: Rules to change after Trump-Biden spat BBC News
Trump now tells far right to 'stand down' amid white supremacy row BBC News
Joe Biden failed to convince in the first presidential debate Telegraph.co.uk
The Guardian view on the US presidential debate: a bad night for the world | Editorial The Guardian
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2020-10-01 06:58:36Z
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Cincunri Sakia

Kamis, 01 Oktober 2020

Macron claims Syrian fighters operating in Nagorno-Karabakh - Al Jazeera English

Alexei Navalny blames Vladimir Putin for poisoning him - BBC News

Kremlin's 'extreme measures'

Related Topics

More on this story

US election 2020: Debate rules to change after chaotic Trump-Biden exchange - Sky News

Nagorno-Karabakh: Deadly fighting spills into fifth day - Al Jazeera English

Dozens arrested as Hong Kong marks China’s National Day - Al Jazeera English

No surrender

Police honoured

Alexei Navalny blames Vladimir Putin for poisoning him - BBC News

Kremlin's 'extreme measures'

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Under-fire Trump seeks to qualify far-right remarks - BBC News - BBC News

Kamis, 01 Oktober 2020

Kremlin's 'extreme measures'

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No surrender

Police honoured

Kremlin's 'extreme measures'

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