Author: Hunanian Jack

David Cameron says air strikes against Islamic State militants Syria would be in the UK’s “national interest,” the BBC reports.

The prime minister denied claims it would make the UK a bigger target for terror attacks, as he made the case for military action in the Commons.

He told MPs the UK was already a target for IS – and the only way to deal with that was to “take action” now.

The UK could not “outsource our security to allies” and it had to stand by France, he added.

A Commons vote is expected within weeks on whether to authorise air strikes.

The prime minister is urging MPs to back military action as he sets out a “comprehensive strategy” to tackle IS.

On November 21, presentation of unique series of seven-volume set of books by Father Georges-Henri Ruyssen was held in the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The event was organized by the Embassy of Armenia in the Holy See.

Rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute David Nazar, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio Andrea Riccardi, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio Marco Impagliazzo, clergymen of Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches, representatives of public and political sector, members of Armenian community in Italy were among the participants of the event.

The publication presents all the documents on the Armenian Genocide from the period of the Hamidian massacres till the post-Genocide years of Kemalist rule, which were preserved in the Vatican closed archives, and gives a full picture of all the stages of this crime, from planning to implementation of the genocide.

During his speech Ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See Mikael Minasyan particularly stressed the fact that this seven-volume set is a significant achievement for Genocide studies and is a history which also that of the Turks. “The work by Father Ruyssen helps us to trace back the facts. It helps us to read the past thus learning the lessons for the future.”

At the event Ambassador Minasyan handed over to Father Georges-Henri Ruyssen the Order of Honour awarded by the President of Armenia for the development of the Armenian studies and for his significant contribution to dissemination of spiritual values.

FIFA will announce the names of 2015 FIFA Baloon d’Or winners and Coach of the year on January 11, 2016. The sports journalists, head coaches and captains of all national teams from FIFA member countries take part in the voting. Interim head coach of the Armenian national team Sargis Hovsepyan and captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan have also announced their votes.

Sargis Hovsepyan

Player of the year: 1. Lionel Messi, 2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 3. Luis Suarez

Coach of the year: 1. Pep Guardiola, 2. Louis Enrique, 3. Unai Emeri

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Player of the year: 1. Lionel Messi, 2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 3. Zlatan Ibrahimovich

Coach of the year: 1.Louis Enrique, 2. Unai Emeri, 3. Pep Guardiola

Photo: AFP 2015/ GEORGE OURFALIAN

 

The past 24 hours have seen the Syrian Army’s ongoing advance on Islamic State militants in Aleppo province, where Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have taken back a number of villages, reports.

The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces, supported by Russian and Syrian airstrikes, have managed to liberate an array of villages from Islamic State militants in Aleppo province, where the jihadists suffered heavy losses, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

A number of the ISIL militants’ strongholds and ammunition depots in Shamer village and the city of al-Bab were reportedly destroyed by Syrian warplanes, leaving dozens of militants killed or wounded.

Additionally, the Syrian fighter jets launched a series of airstrikes on the militants’ positions in the villages of Abu Jaloul, Jub al-Kaf and Tibeh in Aleppo, inflicting heavy losses on the jihadists.

Additionally, the Syrian bombers staged airstrikes against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists near Rasm al-Abd, Deir Hafer and Najara, leaving many of them dead or injured.

In a separate development, Russian Air Force warplanes bombed the ISIL-held Jirah Airbase in the eastern part of Aleppo province, killing dozens of militants.

According to sources, it was the first time since the beginning of the Russian air force’s aerial operation against ISIL in Syria that the Islamic State positions inside and outside of the Jirah airbase had been heavily bombarded by Russian fighter jets.

Sources said that the Russian airstrikes on the Jirah airbase may pave the way for the Syrian army’s massive ground operation, which is aimed at liberating the third key airbase in the country after Kuweires and Marj al-Sultan airbases in Aleppo and Damascus provinces, respectively.

Gunmen have launched an attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in the centre of Mali’s capital, Bamako, witnesses say, the BBC reports.

“Apparently it’s an attempt to take hostages. The police are there and are sealing off the area,” a security source told Reuters news agency.

Automatic weapon fire could be heard from outside the 190-room hotel, AFP reports.

“It’s all happening on the seventh floor, jihadists are firing in the corridor,” a security source told AFP.

Witnesses say the police have surrounded the hotel and are blocking roads leading into the neighbourhood.

The Rezidor Hotel Group, which owns the Radisson Blu, said it was aware of “the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today”.

“As per our information two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees,” AFP quotes its statement as saying.

A hearing on “Journalists’ Eyewitness Accounts on Armed Conflicts: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh” was held in the European Parliament with the participation of a large number of guests, Members of the European Parliament from different political groups and countries as well as Belgian Members of Brussels Parliament.

The hearing was co-organized by the EU-Armenia Friendship Group in the European Parliament and the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD)  under the patronage of MEP Dr. Eleni Theocharous (EPP, Cyprus). Dr. Theocharous was in Artsakh several times during the war and volunteered in the hospital of Stepanakert as a surgeon.

Dana Mazalova from the Czech Republic, Tsevatana Paskaleva from Bulgaria and Anna Karapetyan from Armenia presented their eyewitness accounts on the liberation war in Nagorno-Karabakh. All these three journalists were on the ground in Artsakh during the different stages of the war, from the days of the armed conflict to the signing of the cease-fire agreement.

Bedo Demirdjian of the European Armenian Federation responsible for public relations and communications opened the hearing and welcomed the participants. Dr. Theocharous reiterated her support for the people of Artsakh and their right for self-determination. Tatoul Markarian, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary stated that not only the negationist policy of the Turkish authorities but also the official policy of Azerbaijan of distorting facts and reality needs to be combated. He spoke highly of the role of journalists on the panel as well as their devotion and the professionalism of their work.

During her brief speech addressed to the European Parliament, Tsvetana Paskaleva emphasized that the aggressive policies of Azerbaijan need to stop since it can unleash another war any time. Ms Paskaleva stated that the people of Artsakh won the war at the expense of high sacrifice and claimed their right to peaceful life. Her speech was followed by the screening of one of her documentaries which started with depicting the turbulent days of the armed conflict and ended with the current peaceful life.

Czech journalist Dana Mazalova focused on the events in Khojaly, on the current misleading propaganda of Azerbaijan, on her interview with the President of Azerbaijan at the time Ayaz Mutalibov as well as on her meetings with Azerbaijani journalist Cengiz Mustafayev. Mazalova also mentioned about the current anti-Armenian and antidemocratic reality of Azerbaijan.

Journalist Anna Karapetyan elaborated on the ceasefire-agreement signed in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in May 1994 where she was present as a journalist. Ms Karapetyan focused on the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh Republic officially co-signed the cease-fire agreement – something that Azerbaijan tries to hide.

The eyewitness accounts of the three journalists were followed by a question and answer session. The MEPs present expressed their support for Artsakh and the right of its people for self-determination.

Kaspar Karampetian, President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, emphasized the importance of such hearings. “The European Institutions as well as various European countries need to be informed appropriately about the truth on the conflict in Artsakh. This is essential in order to combat Azerbaijani state propaganda. Today these courageous journalists raised their voice in the center of Europe against caviar diplomacy,” said Kaspar Karampetian.

French President Francois Hollande said Wednesday that a broad coalition with the participation of Washington and Moscow should be formed to fight against ISIS, Sputnik News reports.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has announced that it would be leading a Business Delegation to Yerevan, Armenia between 27 November-1 December 2015, from Chennai, News Today reports.

FICCI head, Tamilnadu State Council, Ruban Hobday, said, ‘The delegation would focus on education, film shooting, hospitality, gem and jewellery, infrastructure,  IT products and services, drugs, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, handicrafts, minerals and mineral products, textile yarns and cotton fabrics, processed and semi processed food items, marine food, fruits and vegetables, stones and other construction material, leather product and non ferrous metallurgy among other sectors of mutual interest. The visit shall also aim at creating awareness among Armenian companies regarding the policy initiatives undertaken by our Government to enhance trade and investment ties between the two economies.

During the visit FICCI would be organising the business-to-business meeting, factory visits and meetings with government authorities concerned. The meeting would serve as a platform to interact with senior businessmen from Armenia.

The representatives of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan agreed on multilateral cooperation, an interstate system for space monitoring of emergency situations, as well as an interregional satellite communication system, according to Roscosmos, Sputnik News reports.

A protocol on CIS countries cooperation that includes an agreement to establish a Joint Institute for Space Research, was signed on Friday, Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.

“One of the key decisions is the agreement of the partners to start preparing a project on the establishment of an international intergovernmental research organization [called the] Joint Institute for Space Research,” the statement reads.

The space agency noted that the final protocol was signed in Minsk, Belarus, following a two-day meeting of representatives from the CIS countries’ executive authorities devoted to the cooperation in space.

According to Roskosmos, the representatives of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan agreed to create a new contract-legal basis for multilateral cooperation, an interstate system for space monitoring of emergency situations, as well as an interregional satellite communication system.

On Thursday, the sixth conference devoted to cooperation in space for CIS countries opened in Minsk. The main objective of the event is to discuss acute issues of multilateral interaction in the sphere of research and how space can be used in the interest of CIS member states.

The has published an article titled “Armenian Genocide and Beyond: The Road to Deir al-Zor,” in which author Benny Morris refers to the Armenian Genocide, the comemoration of its centennial, Turkey’s move to mark Gallipoli anniversary on April 24. Below is an excerpt form the article:

This year Turkey moved its Gallipoli anniversary commemoration, traditionally marked on April 25—the day the Allies landed on the peninsula just west of Istanbul—to April 24. April 24, of course, is the day on which Armenians around the world have traditionally commemorated the slaughter of their forefathers by the Ottoman Turkish government. That day, in 1915, the police in Constantinople rounded up some 250 Armenian leaders for deportation and death. This act was followed by systematic mass deportations and massacres.

This year was the centenary of both World War I events. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with his wonted crudity and cynicism, moved the Gallipoli remembrance by a day in order to overshadow the Armenian commemoration and divert international attention away from the Turks’ crime against humanity, considered by most historians to be the first genocide of the twentieth century.

All Turkish governments since World War I have denied Turkish responsibility for the mass murder and, indeed, have usually denied that it actually took place, explaining that a much smaller number of Armenians had died (much, incidentally, as Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian “president,” in his PhD thesis claimed that “only” several hundred thousand Jews had died during the Holocaust). Instead, Turkish governments have claimed that the Armenians, a disloyal people, had rebelled against the country and tried to stab it in the back during the war; that the Armenian victims were the result of clashes between armed rebels and the empire’s security forces; and that, if massacres occurred, they were the doing of overzealous local officials and/or Kurdish tribesmen, rather than a product of the policy of the central government, which had merely ordered the removal of Armenians from war zones.

Few, if any, of the foreign dignitaries who attended Erdogan’s festivities at Gallipoli, including princes Charles and Harry from Great Britain and the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, whose troops had participated in the landings on the peninsula, were probably aware of the grim irony that undercut the Turkish celebrations.

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