Author: Liana Toganian

On December 18, 2015, President Serzh Sargsyan will conduct a working visit to Bern, Switzerland where on December 19 he will meet with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev. The meeting is mediated by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

As Russia has detained eight commercial ships flying Turkish flags in the Black Seasince the jet crisis erupted between the two countries, Turkey has detained a total of 27 Russian ships in a retaliatory move, as reported by daily Habertürk on Dec. 16, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

According to the source, Turkish officials have detained a total of 27 ships with Russian flags as of Dec. 15 due to missing documents or transactions in line with the Mediterranean and Black Seamemoranda.

Authorities from both countries have started to discuss the issue via e-mail, and Russia has given Turkey green light to talk about the issue.

“It is not clear where or when to meet. The parties have showed their intention to overcome the issue,” sources said.

Los Angeles schools have been closed as an unspecified threat emailed to the school district is being investigated, the BBC reports.

The threat against the second largest school system in the US led to 640,000 pupils being told to stay away, while school buses were returned to depots.

A school district spokesman said it involved rucksacks, and they were exercising “an abundance of caution”.

New York City officials said they received the same threat that closed LA schools but concluded it was a hoax.

The city’s police commissioner, William Bratton, said an emailed threat came from overseas, purporting to be from jihadists, but was not considered credible.

He said he thought Los Angeles officials overreacted.

But LA Police Chief Charlie Beck responded by saying it was “irresponsible” to criticise when you didn’t have the responsibility of safeguarding three-quarters of a million lives.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has more than 1,000 schools, which all still being searched.

“Earlier this morning we did receive an electronic threat that mentions the safety of our schools,” said Steven Zipperman, chief of the Los Angeles school police department.

“We have chosen to close our schools today until we can be absolutely sure that our campuses are safe.”

The email, which was sent to several school districts across the US late on Monday, is believed to have come from an IP address in Frankfurt, Germany.

Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, 82, has been sentenced to six months in prison for tax evasion after taking a deal in which she plead guilty to the charges, reports.

The Spanish opera star, who rose to fame after duetting with Freddy Mercury on the 1987 hit Barcelona, did not declare her earnings in 2010, listing her official residence as being in the tiny Pyrenean country of Andorra “for the sole purpose of not paying her taxes” according to the prosecution.

She appeared via video link in the Barcelona court on Tuesday morning, from her living room, allowed to plead from home by the judge because of “health reasons” according to Europa Press.

As well as accepting the six month suspended sentence, the singer was also ordered to pay a fine of €254,231 ($280,000) and was banned from receiving any public subsidies for a period of 18 months.

During the brief video conference, the soprano admitted that despite living in Spain in 2010 she registered in Andorra to avoid paying tax in Spain.

Companies from Turkey, China and Taiwan are to be strongly represented at InnoTrans 2016, which will also include exhibitors from Armenia and Vietnam for the first time, reports.

Armenian company Thermorex specialises in manufacturing of bimetal thermostats and temperature limiters, while Vietnamese firm Petech will present its wastewater and toilet systems.

More than 90% of the exhibition space at InnoTrans 2016 has now been booked ahead of the January 7 deadline, and over 200 companies will be exhibiting at InnoTrans for the first time.

InnoTrans 2016 will be held at the Messe Berlin exhibition centre from September 20 to 23 2016.

High-level climate talks have begun in Paris, aimed at signing a long-term deal to reduce global carbon emissions, the reports.

More than 150 world leaders have converged to launch the two-week talks, known as COP21.

The last major meeting in 2009 ended in failure. But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is chairing the meeting, said a deal was within reach.

Most of the discussions are expected to centre on an agreement to limit global warming to 2C (35.6F).

Assessments of the more than 180 national plans that have been submitted by countries suggest that if they were implemented the world would see a rise of nearer to 3C.

Peruvian Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal declared this year’s meeting open on Monday.

Strong action on carbon emissions is essential for multiple reasons, said Mr Vidal, who hosted last year’s UN climate conference in Lima.

Mr Vidal said a deal would show the world that countries can work together to fight global warming as well as terrorism.

Christiana Figueres, the head of the UN’s climate change negotiations, addressed delegates at the start of the summit.

“Never before has a responsibility so great been in the hands of so few,” she said. “The world is looking to you. The world is counting on you.”

COP 21 – the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties – will see more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming due to human activities.

The talks are taking place amid tight security, two weeks after attacks in Paris claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

Negotiators from 195 countries will try to reach a deal at the meeting.

Photos:Instagram/David Beckham  

David Beckham has made the latest stop on his global tour by reaching Antarctica, where he plans to play what will likely be the coldest football game of his career, according to .

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man is currently jetsetting across the planet as he looks to play a game of football on all seven continents as part of a BBC documentary on grass roots football across the globe.

And the 40-year-old has taken to Instagram to post a selfie, where the wrapped up former England skipper marvelled at his latest setting.

“Just marked the pitch out … Anyone see the corner flag behind me ?? game 5 Antartica WOW no words !!!!,” he wrote.

A special event took place at Buckingham Palace on 27th October 2015. HRH Prince Charles hosted a charitable Gala Evening for the benefit of British-Armenian charitable projects, Assadour Guzelian reports from London.

The Gala Evening was attended by many dignitaries, including President of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sargsyan, His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians.

The Gala Evening started with a reception followed by a special concert by the world famous Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra from St. Petersburg, conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev. The Orchestra performed  Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres midi d’un faune, which Maestro Gergiev dedicated to the memory of Contessa Yoko Nagae Ceschina (5 April 1932 – 10 January 2015), a noted patroness of classical music. She was born in Japan and long-time lived in Italy.

Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations was breathtakingly performed by the orchestra and young soloist (cellist) Narek Hakhnazaryan, 1^st Prize Gold Medal winner of XIV International Tchaikovsky Completion, 2011.

Accompanied by the orchestra the Grand Prix winner of XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, July 2015, Mongolian baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar sang Tchaikovsky’s Yeletsky’s aria from Queen of Spades.

After Verdi’s Overture to La Forza del destino and Wagner’s Prelude to Lohengrin, Act I, masterfully performed by Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under the magical baton of Maestro Valery Gergiev, the artistic part of the evening concluded.

In his speech Dr. Armen Sarkissian thanked HRH Prince Charles for his untiring efforts and dedication to both The Saving of Dumfries House and Yerevan My Love projects. He also thanked everyone attending the Gala Evening for their generous donations.

In his turn HRH Prince Charles expressed his gratitude to Dr. Armen Sarkissian and all the benefactors, particularly Haik and Elza Didizian and Vatche and Tamar Manoukian.

“Yerevan My Love” (YML) is a heritage-led regeneration project dedicated to preserving architecturally significant buildings in Yerevan and, by adaptive reuse, to improve the life experience of disabled children, young people and disadvantaged families.

Following the successful charity evenings in Windsor Castle (2010), Buckingham Palace (2011) and Yerevan (2013), Yerevan My Love has been working on restoring and revitalising the oldest neighbourhoods of the city.

The proceeds of this year’s fundraising will be dedicated to helping Syrian Armenian children and their educational needs. Thousands of families have escaped the devastating war in Syria and have found refuge in Armenia. Beyond reconstruction, a key dimension of YML is social impact: to improve the education and life experience of children and young people, especially orphans and those who come from disadvantaged communities.

Photo was taken during the first “Yerevan My Love” Gala Evening

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night, NKR Ministry of Defense reported.

The rival fired more than 1,000 shots from weapons of different caliber, including 60mm mortars, in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continue with their military duty and resort to retaliatory measures if necessary.