Author: Boris Nahapetian

The City Court of Minsk has rejected the appeal of Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, Sputnik reports.

Lapshin had appealed the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus on his extradition to Azerbaijan.

The hearings were held behind closed doors. Journalists were allowed in only during the proclamation of the court ruling. Photo or video shooting was prohibited.

Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, was detained by Belarus authorities in December 2016 at the request of Azerbaijan. Earlier this month the Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus decided to satisfy the request of the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan on the blogger’s extradition.

By Chad Pawson, – Ara Strak says he and his family are marking Orthodox Christmas with prayers of gratitude even while the memory of fleeing from his bombed-out apartment in Aleppo is still fresh in his minds.

He and a handful of other Syrian refugees sponsored by Richmond B.C.’s St. Gregory Armenian Church attended services there this weekend.

“We are here … safe, and that’s the biggest thing that we needed in our life,” said Strak.

The church has sponsored 35 families over the past year.

“A lot of adjustments that they have to do, culture is different, the language is different, education system is different, settling really nicely, a lot of them are relieved they are out of Syria,” said Eddie Papazian who works with the sponsorship committee for the church.

The church hopes to support more refugees and has plans to welcome another 20 people in the next few months.

“If you live in the war, you see that the important thing in your life is your safety and your family’s safety is the first,” said Strak in thanks to his new congregation.

He along with other refugees hope they can play a role in welcoming the next wave of refugees sponsored by the church.

“To help others and feel comfortable, like others, how they helped us,” said Rita Koujian.

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement, strongly condemning the Azeri infringement attempt at the Armenian state border, which resulted in human losses.

“Under the conditions, when the serious damage caused to the negotiation process as a result of the Azeri aggression unleashed against Artsakh in April, Baku resorts to new adventurism, harshly violating the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg and ignoring the commitment to solve the issue in a peaceful way. This is the way Baku responds to the requirement of the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries to unconditionally respect the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“The international community, in the face of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, has on many occasions urged to respect the ceasefire, especially on holidays. By resorting to an act of sabotage at the threshold of the New Year and Christmas, Baku goes against universal human values,” the Ministry said.

“The international community, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries should sober the Azerbaijani leadership, which stubbornly ignores their calls and requirements and which has lost the sense of reality,” the statement reads.

The fifth round of the negotiations on the EU- Armenia new framework agreement on trade and investment launched in Brussels on December 13, the Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments informs.

The Armenian delegation is headed by Garegin Melkonyan, the First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments.

The following directions are on the agenda of the fifth round of negotiations: “Trade”, Dispute settlement”, “Transparency”, “Technical barriers to trade,” “Sanitary and phytosanitary measures”, “Custom matters (including a protocol on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters)”, “Protection of intellectual property rights” , “Trade in services” and “Investments.”

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

 

The planned evacuation of rebel fighters and civilians from devastated eastern Aleppo has been delayed, the BBC reports.

Government buses have been brought in but none have left yet, reports say.

The Syrian government is said to be demanding the simultaneous evacuation of its own injured fighters and civilians from nearby towns that are encircled by opposition forces.

A ceasefire between government troops and the rebels was declared in Aleppo on Tuesday.

Eastern Aleppo has been held by the rebels since 2012. But the rebels had been squeezed into ever smaller areas of the city in recent months by a major government offensive, backed by Russian air power.

The newly-appointed Interior Minister of France, Bruno Le Roux, is on the blacklist of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, ministry spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told APA.

Le Roux visited Nagorno Karabakh as member of the French National Assembly in September 2015 and was subsequently blacklisted by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry

Le Roux is a member of the French-Artsakh friendship circle.

Thirteen Aleppo Armenians have arrived in Yerevan under the IDeA Foundation’s “Support to Syrian Armenians” program.

On October 15 the IDeA Foundation announced a $250 000 contribution to Syrian Armenians. The sum will be allocated through the strategic partner AGBU that has been involved in relief efforts from early days of the conflict and other non-governmental organizations who currently implement Syrian Armenian support projects in Armenia – RepatArmenia, Mission Armenia, Aleppo NGO, and the funds will be aimed at planning and implementing the following:

– aid to those who continue to remain in Syria

– aid to those who seek temporary refuge outside Syrian borders

– aid to those who have decided to relocate to Armenia

– aid to those who want to work and live in Armenia

“The IDeA Foundation is committed to improving the lives of Armenia’s citizens. Yet, we do not do this in isolation. We are aware of what is happening in the world around us and we feel an obligation to participate in doing what can be done to alleviate pain and suffering wherever possible,” the IDeA Foundation said in a statement today.

“As we watch the continuing violence in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, we feel compelled to offer financial support to bring Syrian-Armenian refugees to Armenia. We are prepared to join other organizations and individuals around the world in this effort. This is something that must happen now. Even those who stayed and continued to stay throughout the years of fighting are now looking for safe haven elsewhere. We believe it is our duty as Armenians to help them.

We are joined in this by several private foundations and we are working with the Armenian government to ensure that those who come are offered the basic official facilitation necessary to be able to legally seek refuge in Armenia.

In the years following the Genocide, the Armenians of Aleppo were the first-line saviors for Armenian survivors in Anatolia. Today, they are looking for first-line saviors themselves”, the statement reads.

A number of Turkish officers posted to Nato have sought asylum since the country’s failed military coup in July, Nato’s secretary-general has said, the BBC reports.

Jens Stoltenberg said the officers had requested asylum in the countries where they had been posted but gave no names, numbers or reasons for the requests.

The countries involved will consider the cases individually.

Turkey has dismissed, suspended, detained or arrested tens of thousands of people since the July coup attempt.

Many have been in the military, although others are teachers, policemen, judges and journalists.

Mr Stoltenberg said on Friday that “some Turkish officers working in the Nato command structure… have requested asylum in the countries where they are working”.

German media have carried reports that some members of the Turkish military have requested asylum in Germany.

Also on Friday, the UN rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, warned of a “grim” climate in Turkey since the failed coup.

He said: “The conclusions I would say are fairly grim and reflect what I think is a deep sense of restriction on freedom of opinion and expression throughout the country.”

Photo: AFP

 

A suicide bomber has rammed a truck into a German consulate in Afghanistan, killing at least four civilians and wounding 120, officials said, the BBC reports.

Gunman attacked the building after the blast, in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, battling with German and Afghan forces.

The Taliban said it carried out the attack in retaliation for air strikes last week in Kunduz province.

Local police said at least one suspect had been arrested in connection with the bombing.

A Nato spokesman said there was “massive damage” to the consulate.

At least one car packed with explosives was rammed into the wall surrounding the compound, the spokesman said. Officials were also investigating whether a second car bomb was involved.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the fighters had been sent “with a mission to destroy the German consulate general and kill whoever they found there”, Reuters reported.

All German consulate staff were “safe and uninjured”, the German foreign ministry said, adding that troops were on site preparing to evacuate staff.

Germany leads the Nato diplomatic mission in northern Afghanistan and has nearly 1,000 troops stationed in the country.

Photo: AP

 

Two people have been killed and two injured in a shooting near a California polling station, the BBC reports.

However police say the incident in Azusa, about 25 miles (40km) east of Los Angeles, “had nothing to do with the ballot or voting”.

Officers were called to the scene following reports of a shooting and exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

After securing the area, police discovered a body, who they believe was the gunman, inside a house.

The man has not been identified. Police say another person was killed and two other wounded during the shooting incident but gave no details.