News Headlines - 20 September 2020

▽Thai protesters petition king for monarchy reform, political change - The Mainichi

Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied for a second day Sunday to demand monarchy reform and political change, submitting an open letter to Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn before peacefully dispersing.
The letter contains three major key demands: monarchy reform, the resignation of Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government, and the drafting of a new, more democratic constitution to replace the current one drafted under military rule.
The student-led protesters, breaking a long-standing taboo on openly challenging the monarchy, also installed a "people's plaque" at a square outside the Grand Palace, inscribed with the words "this country belongs to all people, not to the monarch as they have deceived us."

▽Turkey condemns Greek newspaper headline abusing Erdogan

The Turkish government has condemned a headline in a Greek newspaper that insults President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging Athens to take action.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had already summoned Greece’s ambassador over the headline in Dimokratia newspaper, also available on its website.
The headline “Siktir Git Mr. Erdogan,” which means “f*** off” in Turkish, appears next to a photo of the president in the Greek newspaper, which also added the English translation.

▽PM considering new restrictions amid second coronavirus wave - BBC News

Boris Johnson is spending the weekend considering whether to tighten Covid-19 measures in England, after saying the UK was "now seeing a second wave".
The government is understood to be looking at a ban on households mixing, and reducing opening hours for pubs.
At least 13.5 million people, roughly one in five of the UK population, are already facing local restrictions.

▽CaixaBank and Bankia merge to create Spain's largest lender - CNN

CaixaBank said in a statement on Friday that it will buy state-owned Bankia in an all-share deal that will help the companies tackle falling profitability as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The deal values Bankia, which was bailed out by the government during Spain's banking crisis in 2012, at €4.3 billion ($5.1 billion), according to Jefferies analysts.
The new entity will have 20 million customers and a quarter of all loans and deposits in Spain. Total assets will exceed €664 billion ($786.6 billion), making it the largest bank in the domestic market, the companies said. Santander (SC) and BBVA, which have extensive overseas operations, are Spain's largest banks.

▽All passengers on Epstein's flight logs to be named 'sparking panic among rich pals' - Mirror Online

The Attorney General for the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home, has demanded logs for his four helicopters and three planes, from 1998 to his suicide last year.
Denise George has filed a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate, alleging 22 counts, including aggravated rape, child abuse and neglect, human trafficking, forced labour and prostitution.
As well as the passenger lists, Ms George is seeking any “complaints or reports of potentially suspicious conduct” and any personal notes the pilots made.