Erdogan:Muslims Treated Like Jews before WWII; Says Muslims in Europe Attacked, Face Genocide

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today (October 26, 2020) that Islamophobia in Europe has reached levels comparable to the treatment of Jews before World War II, according to the Euro News website.

He suggested that Europe was accustomed to "relocations, inquisitions, and genocides," and that Muslims across the continent were being attacked. 

In the same speech, Erdogan called for a boycott of products from France amid a spiralling row with Emmanuel Macron over the French president's perceived attitude toward Islam and Muslims. 

"The rising Islamophobia in the West has turned into a wholescale attack on our book, our prophet, we consider holy," he said. 

Biden May Name Past Pres.Obama to High Court; May Also Raise Size of Supreme Court to Refine It

According to CNN, Joe Biden has said that he would "nominate former President Barack Obama to the highest court," the Political Press website reports today (October 25, 2020). 

And it would not be an unprecedented move, as former President William Howard Taft was the 27th president and then became the 10th chief justice of the Supreme Court. 

Biden admitted today on the "60 Minutes" program that if he is elected President on November 3, he plans to establish a committee made up mostly of legal scholars to scrutinize the Supreme Court and institute its long-overdue reforms to improve it.

Bishops Slam Pope's Backing Gay Civil Unions; Say View Is Contrary to Catholic Belief,Doctrine

 Several senior American bishops have spoken out against Pope Francis for his endorsement of same-sex civil unions, saying that his views "do not correspond to the constant teaching of the Church," the Newsmax website reports today (October 24, 2020).

Francis said in a recent TV documentary that "homosexuals have a right to be part of the family" and noted that he "stood up for" a "civil union law" to protect same-sex couples. 

Cardinal Raymond Burke condemned the pope's remarks: "Such declarations generate great bewilderment and cause confusion and error among Catholic faithful, inasmuch as they are contrary to the teaching of the Church," Burke said. 

Trump Plays a Key Role in New Sudan-Israel Ties; Sudan Joins UAE, Bahrain with a Diplomatic Pact

 President Donald Trump announced today (October 23, 2020) that Sudan will start to normalize ties with Israel, making it the third Arab nation to do so as part of U.S.-brokered deals in the run-up to election  day, according to the Euro News website. 

The deal, which would deepen Sudan's engagement with the West, follows Trump's conditional agreement this week to remove the North African nation from the list of state sponsors of terrorism if it pays compensation to American victims of terror attacks. 

It also delivers a foreign policy achievement for Trump just days before the U.S. election and boosts his ally, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Recently, the U.S. brokered diplomatic pacts between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. Jordan recognized Israel in the 1990s.

Senate Committee OKs Barrett for Supreme Court; Democrats Boycott Vote, Desired It after Election

The Senate Judiciary Committee today (October 22, 2020) pushed through President Donald Trump's conservative pick for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, as Democrats boycotted the vote saying it was too close to the November 3 election, according to the AFP website.

The unanimous vote, with all Democrats absent, sets the stage for full Senate approval early next week on Barrett, who will tilt the high court firmly to the right.

Yesterday, Democrats labelled the nomination process a "sham" that broke former Republican promises to never vote on a Supreme Court nominee so close to a presidential election.

"My Democratic Senate colleagues and I boycotted the Supreme Court nominee committee vote today," Senator Kamala Harris, a committee member who is the Democratic nominee for vice president, said. 

Pope Calls for Civil Union Laws for Gay Couples; OKs Major Departure from Set Vatican Doctrine

 Pope Francis called for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples in a documentary that aired in Rome today (October 21, 2020), in a major departure from the position held by the Vatican doctrinal office, according to the NBC News website. 

""Homosexuals have a right to be part of the family," the Pontiff said in "Francisco," a documentary about his life.

"They're children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or made miserable because of it."

"What we have to create is a civil union law." he added. "That way, they are legally covered. I stood up for that."

Greece Decides to Build a Wall on Turkey Border; Will Cost Some $74M, Completed by End of April

 Greece's government has finalized plans to build a 15-foot-high wall along its northeast border with Turkey, over concerns that migrants may try to stage mass crossings into the European Union country, the ABC News website reports today (October 20, 2020).

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said that 16 miles of wall would be added to an existing six-mile section of fence in a $74 million project due to be completed by the end of April.

A standoff occurred at the border earlier this year after Turkey said it would no longer prevent migrants trying to reach the EU, and tens of thousands tried to cross into Greece. 

The two countries are also at odds over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean in a dispute that has triggered a dangerous military buildup in the region and fears of conflict.