Author: Torgomian Varazdat

Photo:  Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

 

A group of Russian journalists came under fire in Syria on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Three were lightly injured and one shell-shocked, TASS reports.

“On September 23, when a group of Russian journalists visited the Syrian government army’s frontline positions in the area of Dagmashliya their vehicles were attacked with a guided anti-tank missile. Three Russian journalists were lightly injured and one of them shell-shocked.

“The group of Russian journalists has already returned to the Hmeimim airbase to get qualified medical aid,” the ministry said.

TASS correspondent Alexander Yelistratov and also correspondents of Russia Today international TV channel’s Arab-language service Sargon Khadaya and English-language service Roman Kosarev were among those who came under fire and were slightly injured.

Kosarev was also shell-shocked. The journalists’ health condition is not life-threatening.

Photo: Reuters

 

One of the world’s last four remaining northern white rhinos has died in a zoo in the United States, teh BBC reports.

The condition of Nola, a 41-year-old female, had deteriorated after surgery and she was put down on Sunday.

Nola had been a popular attraction at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park since 1989.

The remaining three northern white rhinos – all elderly – are kept closely guarded at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

Nola underwent surgery on 13 November to drain a hip abscess. However, her health deteriorated a week ago and worsened again over the weekend and it was decided she should be put down.

The northern white rhino population was decimated by poachers seeking their prized horns, and was declared extinct in the wild in 2008.

San Diego zoo has recently brought in six southern white rhinos, hoping to use them as surrogate mothers for northern white rhino embryos.

There are about 20,000 southern white rhinos in the world, but studies are still taking place to determine whether the subspecies are genetically similar enough for the surrogacy to work.

Zoo researchers say that, if successful, the programme could see a northern white rhino calf born within 10 to 15 years.

 

With a score of 28 Armenia is ranked as a free country in a fresh released by the Freedom House.

Georgia is another post-Soviet country rated as “free.” Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan are partly free, while Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are rated as “not free.”

The report says the internet penetration rate in Armenia has continued improving over the past few years, alongside improvements in the stability of the internet’s infrastructure and relatively few restrictions on online content. Additionally, citizen groups and NGOs have made use of online communication tools to promote and organize campaigns, particularly surrounding the protests in Yerevan against hikes in electricity prices in mid-2015.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the internet penetration rate reached 46 percent by the end of 2014, compared with 42 percent in 2013 and just 15 percent in 2009. The Public Service Regulatory Committee of Armenia estimates the rate slightly higher, at 50 percent in 2014.

The mobile penetration rate in Armenia was 116 percent as of 2014,and the number of mobile broadband subscriptions is also growing. As of December 2014, broadband subscriptions reached 257,610, an increase of 16,934 compared with of the same period in 2013

There have been no reports of restrictions on internet access imposed by the government or temporary disconnections from the internet since June 2014. In practice, the Armenian government and the telecommunication regulatory authority, the PSRC, do not interfere with or try to influence the planning of network topology. Operators plan and develop their networks without any coordination with either the government or the regulatory authority. Moreover, the regulatory authority requires service providers to indicate any technological restrictions in their public offers. Armenian internet users enjoy access to internet resources without limitation, including peer-to-peer networks, voice and instant messaging services.

Armenian internet users are able to access a wide array of content online, though online media outlets based within the country are subject to financial and political pressures. Currently, self-censorship is not a widespread practice in the online sphere. The Armenian government and the ruling political elite have not applied extralegal measures to prevent political opponents or independent internet resources from publishing online content.

Technical attacks against government websites and civil society groups continue, with most of the attacks originating from the “Anti-Armenia” group based in Azerbaijan.

In addition, Turkish hackers from the Turk Hack Team group claimed that they launched DDoS attacks against websites of the Armenian government, as well as Armenian business and media sites, causing disruptions on April 24, the Armenian Genocide commemoration day. However, there were no interruptions recorded by these entities.

Freedom on the Net 2015 finds internet freedom around the world in decline for a fifth consecutive year as more governments censored information of public interest while also expanding surveillance and cracking down on privacy tools.

President Serzh Sargsyan will pay a working visit today to the Republic of Kazakhstan to participate in the session of the CIS Council of Heads of State and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

The Armenian Catholic Church in Diyarbakir became the target of attacks by Turkish policemen during the curfew announced in Sur municipality of Diyarbakir, Akunq.net reports, quoting Turkish Dicle News Agency.

According to the source, the policemen not only attacked the church, but also stole some historic items.

Armenians are going to take the case to court, President of the Armenian Association of Mesopotamia Arat Karagozyan told the agency. He said the loss amounts to 300 thousand Turkish liras.

Karagozyan added that the Police broke the historic doors to enter the church. He said six large historic faience pictures and a number of carved stones were stolen.

Remind that the as a result of clashes between PKK and the Police.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today the delegation of the French National Assembly headed by President of the Socialist faction Bruno Le Roux.

The parties attached importance to the frequent reciprocal visits and contacts, which further reinforce the Armenian-French friendship and provide an opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The interlocutors agreed that inter-parliamentary cooperation comprises a significant part of inter-state relations, and emphasized the role of Armenian-French Friendship Groups established in the Parliaments of the two countries in their development.

Bruno Le Roux conveyed the warm greetings of French President Francois Hollande.

The lawmakers also attached importance to their visit to Nagorno Karabakh. They assured that France is interested in the continuation of dialogue towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

President Sargsyan briefed the guests on the process and goals of constitutional reforms. Bruno Le Roux underlined that any constructive change targeted at establishing the best government system is welcome and added that “it’s a sign of political maturity of a state.”

 

 

 

The Azerbaijani side kept shelling in the direction of Armenia’s frontline villages in Tavush province yesterday.

The rival used weapons it had never applied before, head of Koti village Felix Melikyan told Public Radio of Armenia. He said mother and son were wounded as a result of firing.

“They are getting treatment at Noyemberyan Medical Center. The wounds are not life-threatening,” he said.

Melikyan added that the windows of houses were broken, a barn was burnt.

Head of Chinari village Samvel Saghoyan said the shelling started at about 7 p.m. and continued through midnight. He said the morning was peaceful, despite the unprecedented activeness of the rival.

Firing was reported in the direction of Nerkin Tsakhkavan and Sevkar villages, as well.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime at the Line of Contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani forces for about 130 times on July 22 and over the night.

More than 1500 shots were fired in the direction of the Armenian defense guards from weapons of different caliber including mortars and grenade launchers.

The Defense Army frontline units keep the operational situation under control and take appropriate actions, if necessary.

Plans by the leader of Nagorno Karabakh to visit London have sparked fury in Baku, with the foreign ministry summoning the British ambassador in protest, Agence France-Presse reports.

“Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest to Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office,” the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The previous day Azerbaijan called in British ambassador Irfan Siddiq to attack a plan by the leader of Nagorno Karabakh to travel to London for a speaking engagement.

President Bako Sahakyan  is due to visit the London think tank Chatham House next Wednesday to brief an invitation-only audience on “the domestic political situation and share his views on regional security and relations,” the organization said.

British authorities sought to distance themselves from the visit, saying the Sahakyan leader was travelling to Britain independently.

“The UK does not recognise the self-proclaimed Nagorny Karabakh republic and the UK government has no contact with any of its representatives,” ambassador Siddiq told journalists in the capital Baku.

In May, Baku summoned France’s ambassador and handed him a protest note over a French visit by Sahakyan.