Turkey asks US to ramp up air strikes against Islamic State

Turkey has asked the United States to step up air strikes to keep Islamic State militants (ISIS/ISIL) from seizing a key Syrian Kurdish border town, a senior Turkish official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"Our government and our related institutions have emphasized to US officials the necessity of immediately ramping up air bombardment in a more active and efficient way," Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said, according to comments published on the website of the television channel AHaber.

Major conference on biodiversity warns against 'business as usual' behaviour, consumption

 UN, 6 October 2014 – The parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity began meeting today as a new United Nations report on the status of biodiversity warned that much more efficient use of land, water, energy and materials are needed to meet globally-agreed targets by 2020.

“Bold and innovative action is urgently required if governments are to meet the globally-agreed Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its Aichi Targets by 2020,” the Montreal-based Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) said referring to the 20 biodiversity goals agreed upon in 2010 in the Japanese city of Nagoya in Aichi prefecture.

Russian scientists develop system for monitoring space junk

Scientists from St. Petersburg Polytechnic University have developed a monitor system to follow space junk.

The system is a set of monitoring meters intended for a spaceship to ensure its safety if established on board, Rector of the St. Petersburg university Andrei Rudskoi told TASS on Thursday.

The space litter monitoring project aroused interest at the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos). Chief of the Roscosmos agency Oleg Ostapenko has promised support to St. Petersburg Polytechnic University to enable it to test the litter monitoring meters on the orbit.

Turkish government gets OK for military operations in Syria, Iraq. The mandate to begin tomorrow will last for one year.

A comprehensive motion authorizing the government to deploy the Turkish army into Iraq and Syria and to allow the deployment of foreign troops on Turkish soil was approved Oct. 2 in Parliament, providing the necessary legality for Turkey’s potential contribution to the international coalition’s efforts to destroy jihadists.

The motion, based on Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution, received 298 votes in favor and 98 against.

With its mandate completed, OPCW-UN mission draws down in Syria

UN, 1 October 2014 – The joint United Nations mission to oversee the destruction of Syria’s stockpiles and production facilities has completed its mission and been shut down.
The Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN (OPCW-UN) drew to a close yesterday.
“The work of the Joint Mission has been vital to the success of international efforts to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme,” said OPCW Director-General, Ahmet Üzümcü.

Turkey’s ISIL mandate includes 'military action abroad, opening bases to foreign troops'

The mandate the Turkish government is seeking from the Parliament to authorize the army to send troops into Iraq and Syria to deal with growing threat of extremist jihadists does also include opening its bases to foreign troops, a senior government official has said, signalling about potential Turkish contribution to the international military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“The motion we are about to send the Parliament is going to be comprehensive and to deal today’s and tomorrow’s threats,” deputy Prime Minister and spokesperson of the government, Bülent Arınç told reporters Sept. 30 following weekly cabinet meeting.

US-led airstrikes fail to deter ISIS advance

US-led coalition air raids targeted areas in Syria controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group Monday, but the group continue to advance on the strategic town of Kobani.

Washington and its Arab allies opened their air assault against the Islamic State extremist group last week, going after its military facilities, training camps, heavy weapons and oil installations. The campaign expands upon the airstrikes the United States has been conducting against the militants in Iraq since early August.

Catalan president announces independence referendum

 Catalan President Artur Mas has signed a decree calling for an independence referendum on November 9, defying the Spanish national government’s vow to halt such a vote.

Mas said on Saturday that semi-autonomous Catalonia wanted to "vote and decide."

Calls for an independence vote have grown in the wake of fiscal crisis that hit Spain and led to austerity measures.

Abbas at UNGA: Israel perpetrated genocide in Gaza, we won't forget or forgive

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Friday of conducting a "war of genocide" during the 50-day summer conflict in Gaza but stopped short of saying he will pursue war crime charges against Jerusalem at the International Criminal Court...

In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Abbas also said he will seek a UN resolution to set a deadline for Israel to pull out of Palestinian lands captured in the 1967 war. He did not, however, include a three-year deadline as his aides had said he would, evidently due to concerns that the U.S. would veto such a resolution, Palestinian officials told Haaretz. 

G-7 Foreign Ministers' Joint Statement on Ukraine (U.S. State Department)

Office of the Spokesperson, New York City, September 25, 2014:

 

The text of the following statement was released by the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and High Representative of the European Union:

China, Japan restart maritime talks. (Chinese FM)

China and Japan have restarted high-level consultations on maritime affairs, according to a press release issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday.

A meeting was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, with Yi Xianliang, deputy director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Makita Shimokawa, deputy director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, as the chief representatives from both sides.

Obama vows more strikes on ISIL in Syria. (the US is not fighting alone)

US President Barack Obama has said that the participation of five Arab nations in Syria airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters "makes it clear to the world this is not America's fight alone".
In a short statement on Tuesday, hours after the first US-led airstrikes hit the group's headquarters in eastern Syria, Obama vowed to continue the fight, which he said was vital to the security of the United States, the Middle East and the world.

US, EU interference in other countries’ affairs unacceptable (Russia's ambassador to OSCE)

US and EU interference in other countries’ affairs is unacceptable, Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Andrei Kelin said on Monday.

“The US claims to be monitoring the human rights situation in other countries, which no one has asked it to do. At the same time, it cannot solve its own human rights problems. Unlike other countries, the US has not expanded its participation in international treaties and conventions over the past several years,” Kelin said at the Warsaw Human Dimension Session of the 2014 OSCE Review Conference.

Ahead of summit, UN Headquarters complex becomes canvas inspiring action on climate change...

UN, 20 September 2014 – In the lead-up to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Climate Summit, the United Nations lit up its iconic Headquarters complex in New York with a spectacular 30-story architectural projection show aimed to inspire global citizens to take climate action.

Entitled “illUmiNations: Protecting Our Planet”, and organized in partnership with the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) and Obscura Digital, the projections were shown on the white marble west facade of the UN General Assembly Hall and north facade of the Secretariat building from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday evening.

Parties at Minsk Talks Agree on Memorandum Regulating Ukrainian Ceasefire Implementation (MINSK MEMORANDUM, 20.09.14)

Kiev authorities and pro-independence fighters in southeastern Ukraine have agreed on complete ceasefire, establishment of the buffer zone, withdrawal of heavy weapons away from the contact line on both sides, and deployment of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission.

Early Saturday morning parties at the talks in Minsk – Russia, Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – aligned positions and formulated a memorandum of nine provisions that will regulate the implementation of a ceasefire agreement between Kiev and independence supporters in eastern Ukraine. Leonid Kuchma, former Ukrainian president representing the country at the talks, read out the provisions of the memorandum at the conclusion of the talks.

Ukraine: UN political chief says adverse security conditions hampering full access to crash site

 UN, 19 September 2014 – Two months after the crash of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine that killed 298 people on board, the top United Nations political official updated the Security Council on developments related to the investigation of the incident.

“While the cease-fire in south-eastern Ukraine, thus far, is holding, contributing to a marked de-escalation on the ground, the conditions are still not conducive for investigators to have full and unfettered access to the site,” said Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

No matter the outcome, ‘Scotland will never be the same again’

Just a day before Scotland votes on the most important decision to face the country in centuries, people in the capital Edinburgh, like the rest of the UK, await the outcome of the referendum with a tangible mix of hope, fear, and apprehension.

In the historic city’s bustling pubs and cafés, the talk is of little else. Local radio and TV coverage is blanket, and tabloid headlines scream from newsagent windows. Hardly a wall in the capital isn’t covered with the now iconic “yes” and “no” posters, and on each of the capital’s cobbled streets are enthusiastic campaigners brandishing placards for both the rival camps.

US to strike ISIL 'sanctuaries' in Syria

US plans to carry out air strikes against Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria and will target the group's sanctuaries, command centres and logistic networks, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel has told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel told the Committee on Tuesday.
But the US military's top-ranking officer, General Martin Dempsey, told the same hearing that the bombing would not resemble the large-scale raids that accompanied the start of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Cameron warns of 'painful divorce' for Scotland

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would be "utterly heartbroken" if Scotland votes to leave the UK.
Mr Cameron issued a warning that Thursday's referendum is a "once and for all" decision as he made a last-ditch trip north to urge voters to save the union.
Speaking in Aberdeen, the prime minister warned that if Scots vote for independence it would result in a "painful divorce".

He said: "On Thursday, Scotland votes, and the future of our country is at stake.

Already fragile ceasefire under strain in east Ukraine

Fighting flared near an airport in eastern Ukraine in breach of a fragile eight-day ceasefire as the prime minister accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of planning to destroy his country.
Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said only membership of NATO would enable Ukraine to defend itself from external aggression.