Month: April 2016

Members of parliament unanimously approved the motion – which is not binding on the government – by 278 votes to zero.

The vote in the 650-seat lower House of Commons calls on ministers to accept formally that IS actions against Christian, Yazidi and other religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq constitute genocide.

But Foreign Office junior minister Tobias Ellwood, who has specific responsibility for the Middle East, said it was up to the courts rather than the government to make such a judgement.

“I believe genocide has taken place, but as the prime minister (David Cameron) has said, genocide is a matter of legal rather than political opinion,” Ellwood said.

MPs from all parties urged Britain to use its position as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to get the situation referred to the International Criminal Court.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow received today Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan.

Among other issues the parties referred to the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

“There can be no military solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” NATO Deputy Secretary General said.

“Nagorno Karabakh conflict urgently requires de-escalation and diplomatic progress under the auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” Mr. Vershbow said.

Celebrations are taking place around the country on the day the Queen turns 90, the reports.

Crowds lined the streets in Windsor as the monarch took part in a walkabout, and royal gun salutes have been fired from each of the UK’s capital cities.

The Queen, who was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh during her walkabout in Windsor, was presented with a birthday cake at the Guildhall by the Great British Bake Off champion Nadiya Hussain, who had created an orange drizzle cake with a butter cream and marmalade filling.

The monarch unveiled a plaque marking The Queen’s Walkway – a 6.3km trail that links 63 significant points in Windsor.

The trail was designed to recognise the moment the monarch broke the record on 9 September 2015 held by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria by being on the throne for 63 years and seven months.

The Queen will light symbolic beacons in Windsor later.

The Queen had been “a rock of strength for our nation” and the Commonwealth, Prime Minister David Cameron said, as he and fellow politicians paid tribute in the House of Commons.

Mr Cameron said: “Her Majesty The Queen has lived through some extraordinary times in our world.

“From the Second World War… to the rations with which she bought the material for her wedding dress.

“From presenting the World Cup to England at Wembley in 1966 to man landing on the moon three years later.

“From the end of the Cold War to peace in Northern Ireland.

“Throughout it all, as the sands of culture shift and the tides of politics ebb and flow, Her Majesty has been steadfast – a rock of strength for our nation, for our Commonwealth and on many occasions for the whole world.”

Earlier, a photograph was released showing the monarch with young members of the Royal Family.

The image, one of three taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, shows the Queen surrounded by her five great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren.

The other Leibovitz photographs show the monarch walking in the grounds of Windsor Castle with four of her dogs and sitting with her daughter, the Princess Royal.

On April 20, Council of City and County of Honolulu, state of Hawaii, adopted a resolution 16-78, CD1, encouraging and supporting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic s continuing efforts to guarantee its citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent society and urging the president and congress of the united states to support the international community’s efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to security issues in the South Caucasus region.

WHEREAS, Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is a land-locked region in the South Caucasus that historically has been Armenian territory and is populated by an ethnic Armenian majority; and

WHEREAS, in 1921, the region was severed from Armenia and placed under the Soviet Azerbaijani administration as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region; and

WHEREAS, February 20,1988, marked the beginning of the national liberation movement in Nagorno-Karabakh, as the elected legislature representing the people of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted a resolution returning Nagorno-Karabakh to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia; and

WHEREAS, on September 2,1991, in accordance with its enacted law, the legislature of Nagorno-Karabakh declared formation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; and

WHEREAS, on December 10,1991, the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic voted in favor of independence, and on January 6,1992, the democratically elected legislature of the republic formally declared independence; and

WHEREAS, since proclaiming independence, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has built a democratic nation with a free-market-oriented economy and a vibrant civil society that has held presidential and parliamentary elections that have been assessed by nongovernmental international monitors as free and fair; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that it encourages and supports the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s continuing efforts to guarantee its citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent society; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council urges the President and Congress of the United States to support the international community’s efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to security issues in the strategically important South Caucasus region; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation.

Some recent reports in Russian media claim the negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh settlement are going to enter a more intensive stage with a focus on territories and the status of Nagorno Karabakh.

Spokesman for the NKR President David Babayan says the “publications pursue no geopolitical objective.” “The media outlets are thus trying to make a sensation, to publish information of great interest to the society, taking into consideration  the existence of large Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in Russia and the importance of the South Caucasus region.”

“What the Russian press writes about is not new. They just present the Madrid Principles and try to manipulate the issue by discussing unrealistic scenarios,” David Babayan told .

The Spokesman reminded that “the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries are mediators, not judges; therefore, they cannot impose any decision.”

As for the Madrid Principles, Babayan said “it’s just a working document, where the suggestions of the parties are being taken into consideration. The only issue Azerbaijan is interested in is territories, that’s why they have to make such offers, and the mediators have to include them in the working document. The Armenian side also makes proposals, which the co-chairs take note of. This is not an ultimatum, a final deal,” the Spokesman said.

He reminded the consensus principle, according to which “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

“What final resolution can we talk about, when the war is just over? Today the efforts are focused on maintaining peace and stability,” Babayan said.

Speaking about the exchange of territories for status, the Spokesperson said “it’s not realistic today.” According to him, the two issues are on different levels. “Let’s assume we give territories in return for status. What if Azerbaijan refuses to recognize the status of independent Artsakh? Will we then be able to regain any land?” Babayan said, adding that “there can be no return to the borders of 1988, Karabakh will never be an enclave.”

He stressed that even if Artsakh is granted the status of an independent state, there are no guarantees that Azerbaijan, which glorifies an axe-murderer, tortures 95-year-old civilians and beheads soldiers, will not unleashnew  aggression.”

“Therefore, exchange of territories for status is impossible. There are a number of security, humanitarian, geopolitical issues, which are not easy to solve,” David Babayan concluded.

Hundreds gathered at the Republic Square in Yerean to protest against Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Armenia.

The participant of the rally marched to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed fo the Russian Embassy in Armenia.

Prince has died aged 57 at his estate in Minnesota.

Sources told TMZ that his body was found this morning at his Paisley Park studio.

Paramedics were called out at 9.43 this morning and Carver County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that there had been a fatality.

Prince – full name Prince Rogers Nelson – was hospitalized six days ago with flu symptoms.

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan disseminated yet another cynical statement turning obvious facts upside down in an attempt to put the responsibility for military actions, unleashed on April 2 by itself against Nagorno-Karabakh, on the Armenian side, the purpose of which is to avoid responsibility for the committed war crimes.

It is not for the first time that Baku makes futile attempts to distort the obvious reality. During communications our international partners have also confirmed that, beyond any doubt it was Azerbaijan, which initiated the large-scale offensive along the entire Line of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in hundreds of killed and maimed, and committed war crimes.

Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s futile attempts to cast doubt on the trilateral ceasefire agreement of 1994, signed by Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, that does not have time limitations. It is a dangerous step which threatens with further destabilization of the situation in the region. The aggressive military actions launched by Azerbaijan at the beginning of April could not result in the cessation of the 1994 agreement, rather they raise the liability of the party which violated it.

All of this shows that, despite the calls of the international community to continue the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, Baku’s real intention is to undermine the settlement process. The fact that the lengthy statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry does not contain any reference not only to the statements of the heads of the Co-Chair countries on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution but it also lacks any mentioning of the only internationally mandated mediation format of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs whatsoever, clearly demonstrates that.

Azerbaijan strives to portray the negotiations as a kind of a process that discusses solely those issues which fit Baku’s interests.

It is obvious that calls and appeals are not sufficient anymore to bring Baku back to senses. Decisive steps are needed to bring Azerbaijan to order and into a constructive mood.

Analysis of a windfall of data from inside Islamic State shows fighters of more than 70 nationalities joined the ruthless jihadist group, researchers said after examining thousands of records, AFP reports.

The analysis conducted by the provided not only a composite picture of the fighters but also an insight into how IS is “attempting to vet new members, manage talent effectively… and deal with a diverse pool of recruits,” said the report, which is available on the CTC website.

The recruits ranged in age from 12 to nearly 70, although the average age was 26 or 27.

Only 400 were under 18 upon entering the self-declared IS “caliphate.”

The leading nationality with 579 new fighters, was Saudi, followed by Tunisian (559), Moroccan (240), Turkish (212), Egyptian (151) and Russian (141).

There were 49 from France, 38 from Germany, 30 from Lebanon, 26 from Britain, 11 from Australia and seven from Canada, but none from the United States.

Azerbaijan is 11^th in the list with 122 fighters. According to the study, fighters have joined the Islamic State from Georgia, 1 – from Armenia.

Thirty percent said they were married, while 61 percent were single, with another eight percent unknown.

Some 1,371 said they had finished high school while 1,028 said they had attended university.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to the Yazidi community of Armenia on the occasion of Melek Taus.

“I cordially congratulate Yazidi of Armenia on the occasion Melek Taus – the New Year. For the Yazidi community of Armenia, as well as for our entire nation, this bright New Year holiday was darkened by war actions and suffered losses. The Armenian people always share with their Yazidi brothers joy, sorrow, and the pain of loss. Brotherhood of the Armenian and Yazidi peoples withstood the test of centuries and became only stronger.

Dear Yazidi Compatriots,

I wish that New Year bring you only bounty and happiness, and that finally peace prevails on the borders of our country. I am confident that together we will build a thriving and secure country where all live in prosperity and dignity,” reads the congratulatory message of President Serzh Sargsyan.