Category: News

Over 30 Iraqi soldiers killed in US Air Force strike, 20 others injured

Emil Lazarian 
AP Photo

At least 30 Iraqi soldeirs were killed and 20 others injured in US air strike, Hakim al-Zamili, the head of Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee said, Sputnik News reports.

“Thirty soldiers from the Iraqi Army’s 55 brigade were killed and 20 were injured in a US airstrike on the town of al-Naimiya in the al-Fallujah province,” al-Zamili’s statement obtained by Sputnik reads.

The politician stated that he demanded “the [Iraqi] prime minister to conduct an investigation into the airstrike against the 55 brigade, which had previously had huge success in the fight against IS terrorists.”

Israel and Turkey reach ‘understanding’ on restoring ties

Hambardsumian Paul

Israel and Turkey have reached a preliminary agreement on normalising relations, an Israeli official said, the BBC reports.

Ties broke down after the Israeli navy raided a flotilla trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza in 2010. Ten Turkish activists were killed.

The deal will see Israel compensate families of those killed while Turkey will drop all claims against Israel, the unnamed official said.

There has been no official confirmation yet from either side.

The agreement is reported to have been reached at a meeting between senior Israeli and Turkish officials in Switzerland.

According to the official, the deal will also see the renewed exchange of ambassadors.

Talks will also begin on laying down a natural gas pipeline from Israel to Turkey, the official added.

Russian soldier goes on trial for murdering a family in Gyumri, Armenia

Khoyetsian Rose

Valery Permyakov, Russian soldier charged with murdering a family Gyumri, stood befor the Armenian court today.

Permyakov was provided an interpreter and advocate. The sitting was attended by relatives of the Avetisyan family.

On January 12, 2014 private of the Russian Military Base #102 in Gyumri Valery Permyakov killed seven members of the Avetisyan family, after which he tried to illegally cross the Armenian state border.

In August Permyakov was already tried by Russia’s military court and sentenced to 10 years in prison on desertion and arms and ammunition stealing charges.

The next sitting in the case will be held on January 18.

President Sargsyan holds consultations at the Ministry of Defense

Edgar Tavakalian

Today, President of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief Serzh Sargsyan held consultations at the Ministry of Defense. Present at the consultations held at the administrative complex of the Ministry were the Prime Minister, Ministers of Defense and Finance, other officials, as well as the senior staff of the Ministry and commanding officers of the RA Armed Forces. The participants of the consultations summarized the results of the Defense Strategic Review process carried out in 2014-2015. In the framework of the agenda, discussed were plans for the development of the Armed Forces in 2016-2020, as well as the state program on the Development of arms and military equipment.

At the meeting presented were possible modes and means to conduct warfare, the commanding structure of the Armed Forces and main areas of its development, and the works aimed at the continuous augmentation of the Armed Forces with modern weaponry and defense technology. Reference was made to the results of the implementation of the previous 2011-2015 state program, for the Development of arms and military equipment, and it was noted that the plan was carried out in its entirety.

The President of Armenia underscored that along with the process of equipping the Armenian army with supermodern technologies, it is necessary to pay due attention to a continuous improvement of the professional skills for their proper use. President Sargsyan issued instructions related to the implementation of the results of the Defense Strategic Review, setting deadlines and procedure for reporting on the execution of the main guiding documents.

The leadership of the Ministry of Defense assured the President of Armenia that the execution of the development plan and arms program, as well as the adoption in the Armed Forces of new approaches and principles will allow to significantly increase the combat readiness of the Army, provide for the advancement in line with the modern standards, and will allow to continue to ensure the infallible defense of Armenia and Artsakh.

Armenia condemns aggravation of situation by Azerbaijan ahead of presidential meeting

Hambardsumian Paul

We strongly condemn the unprecedented aggravation of the situation at the line of contact, which led to a number of human losses on the threshold of the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents scheduled for December 19, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said.

“We express our deep condolences to the relatives of the killed soldiers of the NKR Defense Army,” Minister Nalbandian said.

“The rise of tensions ahead of every high-level meeting has become usual. Baku cherishes the illusion that it can negotiate with the power of weapons. Despite the calls of the co-chairing countries to exclude the use of force, Azerbaijan resorts to new adventurism. Baku is thus trying to divert the negotiation process away from the goals of establishment of peace and settlement of the conflict,” Minister Nalbandian said in comments to Radio Liberty.

“In this situation the steps targeted at easing tension proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs are a must,” the Foreign Minister said, adding that the proposals include creation of a mechanism for investigation of border incidents, reinforcement of the mission of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the increase of the number of his Field Assistants.

“We expect the co-chairing countries to take practical steps in that direction,” Edward Nalbandian concluded.

Russian warplanes destroy IS tanker column, 100 fuel-transfer stations in Syria

Emil Lazarian
The Russian Air Force has conducted 59 combat missions hitting 200 ISIL targets in 7 Syrian provinces over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense ministry said.

“Over the past 24 hours Russian warplanes have conducted 59 sorties, hitting 212 ISIL targets in the Syrian province of Aleppo, Idlib, Lattakia, Hama, Homs, al-Hasakah an Raqqa,” the Defense Ministry spokesman told journalists.

Aircraft from Russia’s Aerospace Forces in Syria have also destroyed more than 300 militants and scores of armored vehicles over the last 24 hours, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday, Sputnik reported.

“More than 320 militants and 34 armored vehicles of terrorists, including two tanks, one infantry fighting vehicle, 15 jeeps equipped with large-caliber guns were destroyed,” Konashenkov told journalists in Syria’s Lattakia.

In the past 24 hours, Russian jets have also destroyed a column of tanker trucks and more than 100 fuel-transfer stations used by terrorists, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov added.

“In order to disrupt terrorists’ sources of income, Russian Su-34 bomber jets destroyed 94 fuel-transfer stations near Deir Ezzur,” he said.

According to Konashenkov, in the al-Hasakah province during the “free hunt” mission Su-34 has destroyed column of 15 fuel tankers which were carrying oil in northern direction extracted from terrorist-controlled areas.

Having received the intel from the Syrian opposition, the Russian aviation has destroyed an ISIL base in the Homs province and terrorists’ stronghold in the Aleppo province, Igor Konashenkov said.

“Near the Al-Qaryatayn in the Syrian province of Homs Su-24M destroyed a hidden ISIL base. In the dungeons terrorists have organized a command post, arm depot and outqaurters,” Maj. Gen. Konashenkov added.

He noted that terrorists’ objects were destroyed using direct strikes.

A Russian Su-25 fighter jet has destroyed a major military base of ISIL terrorists in Maarrat al-Nu’man, Syrian province of Idlib, the General said.

Konashenkov said all Russian aircraft had successfully returned to the Hmeymim air base after the mission.

Russia has been assisting both the government and civilians in the war-torn Syria. Since September 30, Moscow has been conducting precision airstrikes on terrorists positions in Syria, following a request from president Bashar al-Assad.

Mother Teresa to be canonised in Rome in September

Kajoyan Gevork 
Photo: Getty Images

 

Pope Francis has recognised a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for the Roman Catholic nun to be made a saint next year, the BBC reports.

The miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian man with several brain tumours, the Vatican said.

Mother Teresa died in 1997 and was beatified – the first step towards sainthood – in 2003.

She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor in the slums of Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta).

“The Holy Father has authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of blessed Mother Teresa,” the Vatican said on Friday.

She is expected to be canonised in Rome in September.

Beatification requires one miracle by the Catholic Church, while the process of becoming recognised as a saint requires proof of at least two miracles.

100 years after Armenian Genocide, photographer brings survivors into the light

Kajoyan Gevork

Sara Elkamel

The 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide this year has been an opportunity for historians, writers and artists to revisit the memory of the massacres and deportations carried out by the Ottomans beginning in 1915. Exhibitions around the world revisited the archives, exploring Armenian culture, resistance during the genocide and the immediate aftermath of the genocide.

Diana Markosian, an Armenian-American photographer whose work has included topics such as the lives of young Muslim girls in Chechnya and the legacy of the Virgin Mary, took the retrospective moment to stage confrontations between the past and the present. Her project, “1915,” currently exhibited at New York University’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, profiles three living survivors of the genocide as they revisit memories of what they left behind, and what they lost. 

 
A portrait of 110-year-old Armenian genocide survivor Yepraksia Gevorgyan. (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)

In October 2014, Markosian set out to find genocide survivors residing in Armenia. She met 10 survivors, but only three — Movses Haneshyan, Mariam Sahakyan and Yepraksia Gevorgyan — still had memories predating the genocide.

Markosian retraced their steps, traveling back to sites they fled and still remembered. In an attempt to retrieve pieces of their lost homelands, she brought back mural-sized panels capturing potent landscapes from Turkey, and displayed them in the places these survivors now live in Armenia.

When Haneshyan, who is now 105 years old, looked at the photograph of his childhood home, “he paused and started dancing towards this image,” Markosian recounts. It was the sort of moment the photographer had hoped to capture when embarking on this project. She went on to photograph all three survivors’ encounters with images from their past.

“They’ve been in exile,”Markosian said of her project, “and a century later they are being confronted with their home, and they are recognizing it.”Movses Haneshyan says he still remembers the moment Ottoman soldiers entered his village. (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)

  • Movses Haneshyan, 105, with a life-size landscape of his hometown, Musa Dagh. (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)
    A photograph of Movses Haneshyan at the ruins of his church in Kebusie, Turkey. (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)
    When asked about 1915, Yepraksia Gevorgyan told Markosian: "You're lucky you didn't see it."€ (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)
    Yepraksia Gevorgyan still remembers the Akhurian River, which runs along the border between present-day Turkey and Armenia. (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)
    A collection of family photographs belonging to Yepraksia Gevorgyan. (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)
    Mariam's one request was: "Go to my village and bring back soil for me to be buried in." (Photo copyright: Diana Markosian)
    Mariam Sahakyan is now 101 years old, but she still recalls hiding  from Turkish soldiers when she escaped from her homeland. (Photo  copyright: Diana Markosian)

Three Armenian servicemen killed, as Karabakh forces repel Azeri attack

Garnik Zakarian

Privates of the NKR Defense Army Aghasi Grigoryan and Ruben Aleksanyan (both born in 1996) were killed in a clash with Azeri forces, the NKR Ministry of Defense reports.

Contract serviceman Gor Ohanyan (born in 1992) was fatally wounded under unknown circumstances in of the military units located in the northern direction of the Defense Army.

Special forces of the Azerbaijani army undertook two acts of sabotage in the northeastern and northern direction of the line of contact last night.

The front troops of the NKR Defense Army were quick to spot the advancement of the rival and force it to retreat, incurring losses.

The NKR Defense Ministry said in a statement it shares the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses its support to the families and friends of the killed soldiers.

The Ministry vows retaliation for the provocative actions of the adversary. “The response is going to be painful and irreversible,” the statement reads.

International recognition of Artsakh is the solution: Shavarsh Kocharyan

Emil Karabekian

 

 

 

The essence of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is being distorted in the negotiation process, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters today, following the government sitting.

“Azerbaijan has adopted a policy of force in the Karabakh conflict, which began with the Sumgait massacres and continues into today. Any progress in the talks is impossible unless Azerbaijan refuses from this stance,” Kocharyan said. He added that “the international community should come to understand that the international recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is the solution.”

Referring to the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group, the Deputy Foreign Minister said “they are the beginning of a direction.”

“The mediators are always trying to put an equation mark between the parties, but some change is obvious. According to my assessment, that’s not enough, but the change in the statements is apparent. This will further deepen, if Baku fails to return to a pragmatic field,” Shavarsh Kocharyan said.