Azerbaijan is building walls along the Armenian border in Tovuz’s Alibeyli village, APA reports.
A 500m wall has been constructed in the Hajalli village of Tovuz.
In the Alibeyli village, the wall is 700 to 800m in length but the construction process there still continues.
The walls are 4m in height and 80cm in width.
Tovuz’s Alibeyli village is the closest to the shared border with Armenia.
Jihadist militants from Islamic State (IS) have blown up three funerary towers at the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria’s antiquities chief has said, the BBC reports.
Maamoun Abdul Karim told the AFP news agency that “the best preserved and most beautiful” had been destroyed.
The multi-storey sandstone monuments, standing outside the city walls in an area known as the Valley of the Tombs, belonged to rich Palmyrene families.
Their demolition comes only days after IS blew up Palmyra’s two main temples.
The group, which captured the Unesco World Heritage site from government forces in May, has previously destroyed two Islamic shrines near Palmyra, which they described as “manifestations of polytheism”.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will speak at the Chatham House on September 10, reads a statement on the official website of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Minister Nalbandian will discuss Armenia’s foreign policy priorities.
He will offer introductory remarks for approximately 20 minutes, followed by an hour for questions and discussion.
Hundreds of people are feared dead after two boats carrying about 500 migrants sank off Libya, officials say, the BBC reports.
The first boat, which capsized early on Thursday, had nearly 50 people on board. The second, which sank later, was carrying about 400 passengers.
A Libyan official told the Reuters news agency that about 200 people had been rescued but this is unconfirmed.
The UN says about 2,400 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year.
More than 100,000 others have landed in Italy, whilst another 160,000 have crossed to Greece.
Instagram has a new queen.
Kim Kardashian has finally won the popularity contest by unseating Beyonce as the most followed person on the picture sharing app, according to the Daily Mail.Â
The 34-year-old reality star has defeated the pop star by a slim margin of just over 70,000 followers.
Kim has racked up over 44 million Instagram acolytes compared to Queen Bey’s 3.9 million legion of social media disciples.
It was just two weeks ago that Kim was ranked in the number two spot with only 42million followers.
That means she has gained over 2 million followers in the past 14 days.
The Russian and German translations of the collection of works by martyred writers were presented at the Union of Writers today. The books include works by 10 authors – Daniel Varuzhan, Siamanto, Ruben Sevak, Grigor Zohrap, Ruben Zardaryan, Erukhan, Tlkatintsi, Gegham Barseghyan, Tigran Chyokyuryan and Artashes Harutyunyan.
The books published at the initiative of the Union of Writers of Armenia NGO are dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The German publication has already been presented to readers in Germany and Austria, Chairman of the Writers’ Union Edward Militonyan said at the presentation. He also informed that the two publications have been presented at international festivals and expos.
On July 23 Armenian Minister Hranush Hakobyan received today Shake Mangasaryan, the founder of Radio AYK (United Arab Emirates), her sisters Seda and Lusin, and other members of the Radio AYK Board.
Minister Hakobyan hailed Radio AYK’s contribution to the preservation of the Armenian identity and national values.
“I’m glad to  note your successful cooperation with the Hayern Aysor (Armenians Today) electronic paper, as well as the Armenian media outlets, namely Yerkir Media and Armenia TVs and the Public Radio of Armenia,” she said.
Hranush Hakobyan awarded Radio AYK with a prize for “Best publication ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.”
Shake Mangasaryan said the visit to the Motherland and the award will give new impetus to the whole staff of Radio AYK.
It is high time to intensify efforts for settling the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during his talks with the Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov on Friday, TASS reports.
“We have been working in line with the agreements in the framework of co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group with our American and French counterparts,” the Russian foreign minister said. “Our contacts with them are permanent, and their contact us regularly, too.”
“I believe the common approach is to move towards results,” Lavrov said. “We shall be able to achieve progress of the kind in near future.”
The opening ceremony of the Golden Apricot 12th International Film Festival took place at the Opera and Ballet Theatre after Alexander Spendiaryan Sunday.
Armenian Americans from the Greater Washington DC area condemned ongoing Azerbaijani aggression and honored the memory of its latest victim, Arman Yepremyan, at a June 28th protest in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy, set to coincide with the closing ceremonies of the European Games in Baku, reported the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF).
“We gathered at the Azerbaijani Embassy today to denounce Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev’s repeated attacks against Armenia and Artsakh, and to remember Arman Yepremyan and all the young men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure peace and freedom for the Armenian Homeland and stability in the Caucasus region,” said ARF Sebouh Gomideh Chairman Aram Sarafian, Esq. Â “No amount of public relations spending, or the extravagant hosting of the first European Games, can whitewash Azerbaijan’s crackdown against journalists and rights activists in their own country and ongoing ceasefire violations, which undermine prospects for a lasting Karabakh peace.”
Arman Mayisi Yepremyan was killed on the Nakhichevan border on Friday, June 26th, raising concerns about yet another Azerbaijani escalation of violence this summer. Hundreds have been killed as a result of the Aliyev regime’s ceasefire violations over the past 20 years, with 2014 being among the bloodiest.
Yepremyan’s death came one day after President Aliyev made outlandish statements laying claim to all of Armenia, stating, “Not only Nagorno Karabakh is ours, but even the present-day Armenia was created on historical Azerbaijani lands. We all know that. Already the world knows about it. Irevan [Yerevan] khanate, Goyche, Zangezur Mahal – these are our historical lands, and we, Azerbaijanis, must return to this land.”
“President Aliyev’s warmongering should be publicly condemned by the OSCE Minsk Group, charged to mediate a lasting Artsakh peace,” continued Sarafian. Â “Similarly, the European Olympics Commission and other international sporting organizations must not allow brutal dictators to use athletes to cover up atrocities and human rights violations.”
Over the past two weeks, Baku’s bid to boost its international image by spending billions hosting the European Games largely backfired, with a steady stream of articles and op/eds spotlighting Aliyev’s arrest and incarceration of journalists and human rights leaders appearing in top international publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post, New York Times, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and lampooned on John Oliver’s ‘Last Week Tonight’, available here – .