Turkey halts flights for some Arab citizens traveling to Belarus

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Turkey
Turkey is halting the sale of airline tickets to Iraqi, Syrian and Yemeni citizens traveling to Belarus, in a bid to stop migrants and refugees from trying to enter the European Union. In a statement, Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia said it would stop allowing the travelers from boarding flights at the request of the Turkish authorities. EU leaders have been pressuring airlines to stop allowing travelers from the Middle East from entering Belarus. Thousands of people have managed to cross illegally into Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia since the summer, while others have been pushed back at border crossings.

Libya
France is hosting a peace conference of nearly 30 countries and organizations to discuss the situation in Libya in an attempt to ensure that planned elections are held in December and avoid further violence. The meeting is being co-hosted by Germany, France, Italy and the United Nations. Libya has been mired in a civil war since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Ahead of the Paris meeting, forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar said that about 300 of his mercenaries will be leaving the country at France’s request.

Myanmar
Myanmar has sentenced American journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison. Fenster has been detained since May and was convicted on three charges: breaching immigration law, unlawful association and encouraging dissent against the military. The ruling was made during a closed hearing in the city of Yangon, and his lawyer said it was the toughest possible sentence. Fenster was the managing editor of the online site Frontier Myanmar, which stated that he had previously worked for Myanmar Now, an independent news site that was critical of the military since its coup in February.

From The World

‘I had to burn a lot of my stuff’: Two Afghan women on what they left behind when they fled the Taliban

Thousands of Afghans rushed to leave Afghanistan when the Taliban retook control of the country. Many had to make split-second decisions about what to pack in a small bag or backpack.

‘Everything I am would not be the same without being a veteran,’ says soldier who served in Afghanistan

Yesterday was the first Veterans Day in 20 years with no US troops on the ground in Afghanistan.

The US lost 2,325 service members during that war. Afghan soldiers killed in action number about 100,000. That’s the human cost. The monetary cost of the US: about $2 trillion spent on the war in Afghanistan, a conflict that ended with the Taliban regaining control of the country this past August.

Matt Farwell, a veteran of Afghanistan who’s written extensively on the war, including his book, “American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the US Tragedy in Afghanistan,” reflected on his career and the US pullout from the country with The World’s host Marco Werman.

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Global Hit

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In case you missed it

Listen: EU countries consider border walls to deter migrants

The crisis along Poland’s border with Belarus has escalated over the last few days with thousands of migrants stranded there in near-freezing conditions. Barbed wire separates the two countries. Polish authorities are now planning to build an 18-foot wall along its border, and 12 other EU countries are also considering border walls. And, we take a look at a day in the life of a climate negotiator from the island nation of Palau, as he fights for his country’s future at the UN climate summit in Glasgow. Also, the US marks its first Veterans Day following the war in Afghanistan. We hear reflections from one US veteran who fought in the war there.

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