Author: Jhanna Virabian

Astronomers have seen what could be the most powerful supernova ever detected, the BBC reported.

The exploding star was first observed back in June last year but is still radiating vast amounts of energy.

At its peak, the event was 200 times more powerful than a typical supernova, making it shine with 570 billion times the brightness of our Sun.

Researchers think the explosion and ongoing activity have been boosted by a very dense, highly magnetised, remnant object called a magnetar.

This object, created as the supernova got going, is probably no bigger than a major city, such as London, and is likely spinning at a fantastic rate – perhaps a thousand times a second.

Photo: AFP

A teacher has been attacked in a preschool class in Aubervilliers, a suburb of the French capital, Paris, by a man citing so-called Islamic State, the BBC reports.

The attacker shouted: “It’s Islamic State. It’s a warning”, stabbing the teacher with a box cutter or scissors before fleeing.

The life of the teacher, 45, who was alone in the room, is not in danger.

France remains on high alert after the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November that left 130 people dead.

Evidence of quarrying for Stonehenge’s bluestones is among the dramatic discoveries leading archaeologists to theorise that England’s greatest prehistoric monument may have first been erected in Wales, reports.

It has long been known that the bluestones that form Stonehenge’s inner horseshoe came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, around 140 miles from Salisbury Plain.

Now archaeologists have discovered a series of recesses in the rocky outcrops of Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin, to the north of those hills, that match Stonehenge’s bluestones in size and shape. They have also found similar stones that the prehistoric builders extracted but left behind, and “a loading bay” from where the huge stones could be dragged away.

Carbonised hazelnut shells and charcoal from the quarry workers’ campfires have been radiocarbon-dated to reveal when the stones would have been extracted.

Prof Mike Parker Pearson, director of the project and professor of British later prehistory at University College London (UCL), said the finds were “amazing”.

“We have dates of around 3400 BC for Craig Rhos-y-felin and 3200 BC for Carn Goedog, which is intriguing because the bluestones didn’t get put up at Stonehenge until around 2900 BC,” he said. “It could have taken those Neolithic stone-draggers nearly 500 years to get them to Stonehenge, but that’s pretty improbable in my view. It’s more likely that the stones were first used in a local monument, somewhere near the quarries, that was then dismantled and dragged off to Wiltshire.”

The dating evidence suggests that Stonehenge could be older than previously thought, Parker Pearson said. “But we think it’s more likely that they were building their own monument [in Wales], that somewhere near the quarries there is the first Stonehenge and that what we’re seeing at Stonehenge is a second-hand monument.”

There is also the possibility that the stones were taken to Salisbury Plain around 3200 BC and that the giant sarsens – silicified sandstone found within 20 miles of the site – were added much later. “Normally we don’t get to make that many fantastic discoveries in our lives,” Parker Pearson said. “But this is one.”

The National Assembly of France voted today to send the bill on criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial proposed by MP Valérie Boyer back to the Justice Commission, Hilda Tchoboian, Member of the French Rhône-Alpe Regional Parliament told .

The decision was made on grounds that more time was needed to make the text more precise.

Explaining the reasons behind the decision, Hilda Tchoboian said: “Valérie Boyer is an opposition MP in the National Assembly. The Socialist majority of the Parliament objected that the proposal was brought on the floor at an inappropriate time, and had to be completed in order not to be rejected by the Constitutional Council.”

She added that regional elections are expected in France next Sunday, and the Left and the Right are trying hard to prevent each other from realizing the expectations of the Armenian community to secure their votes.

The bill was discussed by the parliamentary Justice Commission on Nov. 25.

Turkey had suspended military, economic and political ties with France when the lower house of the French Parliament passed a similar bill in December 2011.

The French Senate then also passed the bill in January 2012, ignoring warnings from Turkey that passage of the legislation would lead to additional sanctions.

A month later, France’s Constitutional Council overturned the bill.

Expert of Turkish studies Gevorg Petrosyan advises to look back at the start of the Syrian crisis in order to understand why Turkey shot down the Russian jet.

“While Russia was backing Assad from day one, Turkey was doing its best to overthrow him, Petrosyan said.

He added, however, the discrepancies never halted the economic cooperation between the two countries.

“Ankara could no longer tolerate Russia’s military presence in Syria, because it was against Turkey’s interests, which was, in turn, trying to reinforce its positions in Syria and support the forces fighting against Bashar Al-Assad,” the expert said.

How will the escalation of tension in Russian-Turkish relations affect Armenia? According to Gevorg Petrosyan, any “extremity” in those relations goes against Armenian interests. The expert said, however, he does not see a threat of large-scale war between Russia and Turkey, but added that Moscow will definitely find a way to hit back, e. g. by downing a Turkish jet crossing the Syrian border.

According to Petrosyan, Turkey will suffer serious losses on the economic front, particularly in the fields of energy and tourism.

“This country has found itself in a difficult situation, as the West has changed its attitude towards the warm relations between Turkey and the Islamic State after the Paris attacks,” the expert said.

What is the supreme interest that unites Turkey and the Islamic State? Petrosyan says it’s the factor of Kurds, which both are fighting. “Turkey’s ultimate goal is to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state close to its border.”

Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

An explosion in the Nigerian city of Yola has caused multiple deaths and injuries, with some reports saying more than 30 people may have died, the BBC reports.

The blast appears to have struck a busy market area where traders were closing up for the day.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited Yola on Saturday, declaring that the Islamist militant movement Boko Haram was close to defeat.

Yola has twice been hit by deadly bomb attacks this year.

The city lies in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, one of the worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency

Two people injured in a bus crash in Russia’s Tula region are in grave condition, Armenian Minister of Healthcare Armen Muradyan told reporters today. He noted that their transportation to other medical institutions is now impossible.

“Doctors  have arrived at Tula hospital with all necessary equipment to organize their treatment,” the Minister said. He added that Russia covers all costs of the treatment in Russia, while the Armenian Government takes the expenses in Armenia.

Armen Muradyan said 10 people were taken to St. Gregory the Illuminator Medical Center in Yerevan last night, five are still in hospital. He informed that twelve of the injured passengers continue the treatment in Russia, two are in grave condition.

“Vladimir Kocharyan” theatre group from New York will stage “You Rejoice my Heart” drama in Armenia from October 14 to 17. The play is based on German-Turkish writer Kemal Yalcin’s book. On this occasion the writer has arrived in Armenia.

After earning degrees in education and philosophy, Mr. Yalcin went on to become a journalist and was the editor of the Halkin Yolu (The way of the people) newspaper in Turkey until he was forced to flee to Germany in 1981 for political reasons.

Speaking to reporters in Yerevan Mr. Yalcin said he had never heard about the Armenian Cause during the years of his study in Turkey. It was only in 1990 that he learnt about the Armenian history from an Armenian teacher in Germany.

The writer has already published 5,000 pages about the Armenian-Turkish issue. “This is a drop in the sea of sufferings of the Armenian people. The pain of Armenians is mine. This is the reason why I called my book “You Rejoice my Heart.”

The book was translated into Western Armenian by Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan, leader of the German Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and was later translated into Eastern Armenian by Larisa Gevorgyan.

Kemal Yalcin said it’s an honor to see his play staged in Armenia. “I’m looking forward to reactions,” he said.

The play is expected to be taken to Turkey in 2016. The writer has one wish – to contribute to the establishment of friendship between the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

Iran’s parliament has approved a deal on its nuclear programme agreed with six world powers, the BBC reports.

The deal was passed with 161 votes in favour, 59 against and 13 abstentions, the official IRNA news agency said.

However, parliament insisted that international inspectors would have only limited access to military sites.

The agreement, struck in July, authorises the lifting of sanctions in return for Iran curbing sensitive nuclear activities.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

The deal between Iran and the so-called P5+1 – the US, UK, France, China and Russia plus Germany – was reached after 20 months of negotiations.