*) Armenia reportedly assaults Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

Azerbaijan has said its forces thwarted an Armenian missile attack on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

The BTC pipeline delivers Azerbaijani light crude oil through Georgia to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan for export via tankers.

Azerbaijan described the attack that took place amid the ongoing conflict around the occupied Karabakh region as a “terrorist act”.

*) Trump halts virus stimulus talks until after election

US President Donald Trump has called off talks on a new stimulus plan to boost the coronavirus-ravaged economy until after the election.

Meanwhile, virus cases in Trump’s inner circle have been rising ever since the US president announced he was infected last week.

The Pentagon said that top US military leaders are under self-quarantine after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for the coronavirus.

*) Kyrgyz opposition faction claims state power in rift with allies

Kyrgyzstan's opposition faction has said it was assuming all state powers and dissolving parliament in a rift with its former allies.

Opposition groups took control of most of the government apparatus on Tuesday after storming buildings during protests over the October 4 parliamentary election.

Unrest over the vote killed at least one person and left almost 700 injured.

*) Deadly car bomb strikes Syria’s Al Bab

A car bomb has killed at least 14 people, mostly civilians, in the northern Syrian city of Al Bab.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but investigators are considering the possibility that the YPG/PKK terror group might be behind the attack.

Last month, an attack on a Turkish Red Crescent vehicle in Al Bab killed a member of the aid agency and wounded another.

And finally...

*) Deep ocean is a sink for 14 million tonnes of microplastics

The world’s sea floor is littered with an estimated 14 million tonnes of microplastics, according to Australia’s national science agency.

“Plastic pollution that ends up in the ocean deteriorates and breaks down, ending up as microplastics,” study lead Justine Barrett said.

Marine plastic pollution affects ecosystems, wildlife and human health.