Photos by Armine Gevorgyan/Public Radio of Armenia
Opposition groups in Armenia rally in capital Yerevan today against the proposed constitutional amendments.
Leader of the Heritage Party Raffi Hovhnnisyan offered opening remarks at the rally organized by New Armenia movement, which brings together representatives of different opposition groups.
The protests come ahead of the Constitutional Referendum scheduled for December 6.
Armenia’s leading Grandmaster Levon Aronian has went one position and is currently placed 6th in new FIDE ranking released today.
Magnus Carlsen of Norway tops the ranking followed by Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Viswanathan Anand (India.)
Armenia’s Gabriel Sargissian and Sergei Movsesian are ranked 43rd and 88th respectively; Hrant Melkumyan is placed 95th.
Istanbul will host the presentation of the book “Genocide complicity: Germany’s role in the Armenian Genocide” by German journalist and writer Jurgen Gottschlich on December 2, Ermenihaber.am reports, quoting Turkish Demokrat haber.
The author will read out excerpts from the book and answer the questions of the attendees.
The volume unveils the story of how Germany – which wanted to establish a strong presence in the East during the WWI – lured Turkey into the war. The German officers, who served in the Ottoman army, characterized Armenians as spies and traitors. And when the forced deportations of Armenians turned into genocide, the German government thought it was a “harsh, but productive measure.” According to the author, Germany turned a blind eye to the concerns of diplomats and clergymen about the atrocities perpetrated against the Armenians.
When writing the book, Gottschlich visited the sites of those events, met with descendants of Genocide survivors, simultaneously studying German and Turkish archives.
Photo: Getty Images
The German cabinet has backed plans for military support in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, the BBC reports.
Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, a naval frigate and a 1,200-strong force will be sent to the region under the proposals – expected to go for a parliament vote as early as Wednesday.
Germany decided to join the fight against IS after an appeal by French President Francois Hollande in the wake of the 13 November Paris attacks.
Its forces will not engage in combat.
MPs are expected to back the mission, which would become Germany’s biggest current military operation abroad.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the implementation of special economic measures against Turkey, the press service of the Russian government said Tuesday.
“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the measures to implement the Decree of the President of Russia ‘On measures to ensure national security of the Russian Federation from criminal and other illegal activities and the use of special economic measures against the Republic of Turkey’,” the statement reads.
The resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers adopted on November 30 approves the list of agricultural products, raw materials and food originating from Turkey that will be prohibited from being imported to Russia beginning on January 1, 2016.
Russia will also ban charter flights with Turkey from December 1, 2015, with the exception of flights returning Russians home from holidays, the Russian government’s press service said.
“The Transport Ministry has been instructed to ban charter flights between Russia and Turkey from December 1, 2015, with the exception of special flights returning Russian tourists who are currently in Turkey,” according to the statement.
The ministry was also instructed to strengthen security measures in regard to regular flights between the countries.
– Famous Istanbul-based photojournalist Ara Guler has cancelled an agreement, under which he was to transfer the archive of the photos he has taken over 70 years to Dogus Holding, cumhuriyet.com reported.
In accordance with the agreement signed on November 18 between Ara Guler and Dogus Holding closely connected with Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, 3 million euros worth of the archive, the building of Ara Kafe, and a collection of photographic cameras and devices were transferred to a company set up by Dogus for the purpose of managing the archive and the property.
As a result of the transaction, Guler and his heirs were to be paid 50,000 liras a month. Guler would only have a 40% stake in the newly-established company’s shares.
Ara Güler is an Armenian-Turkish photojournalist, nicknamed “the Eye of Istanbul” or “the Photographer of Istanbul”. He is considered one of Turkey’s few internationally known photographers.
In the 1970s he held photographic interviews with politicians and artists such as Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi, Maria Callas, John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Willy Brandt, Alfred Hitchcock, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso.Some critics consider his most renowned photographs to be his melancholic black-and-white pictures taken mostly with a Leica camera in Istanbul, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, a golden age of photojournalism.
Güler’s work is collected by the National Library of France in Paris; the George Eastman Museum inRochester, New York; University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery; Museum Ludwig Köln, and Das imaginäre Photo-Museum, Köln.
Armenia and Greece have signed the 2016 military cooperation plan.
Within the framework of military cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Hellenic Republic the delegation headed Levon Ayvazyan, Head of the Defense Policy Department of the Ministry of Defense, paid a visit to Athens on November 30.
As part of the visit he had meetings with Rear Admiral Ioannis Pavlopoulos and Brigade General Miltiadis Grilakis.
Issues related to the development and deepening of military cooperation were discussed. Reference was made to the situation in the region and other issues of reciprocal interest.
“This year, we mark World AIDS Day with new hope. I applaud the staunch advocacy of activists. I commend the persistent efforts of health workers. And I pay tribute to the principled stance of human rights defenders and the courage of all those who have joined forces to fight for global progress against the disease.
World leaders have unanimously committed to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September. This commitment reflects the power of solidarity to forge, from a destructive disease, one of the most inclusive movements in modern history.
We have a lot to learn from the AIDS response. One by one people stood up for science, human rights and the empowerment of all those living with HIV. And this is how we will end the epidemic: by moving forward together.
The window of opportunity to act is closing. That is why I am calling for a Fast-Track approach to front-load investments and close the gap between needs and services.
To break the epidemic and prevent it from rebounding, we must act on all fronts. We need to more than double the number of people on life-changing treatment to reach all 37 million of those living with HIV. We need to provide adolescent girls and young women with access to education and real options to protect themselves from HIV. And we need to provide key populations with full access to services delivered with dignity and respect.
Every child can be born free from HIV to mothers who not only survive but thrive. Ending AIDS is essential to the success of Every Woman Every Child and the Global Strategy I launched to ensure the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents within a generation.
Reaching the Fast-Track Targets will prevent new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths while eliminating HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
I look forward to the 2016 High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on AIDS as a critical chance for the world to commit to Fast-Track the end of AIDS.
On this World AIDS Day, let us pay tribute to all those who have lost their lives to this disease by renewing our resolve to stand for justice, access and greater hope around the world.”
Bulgarian authorities discovered an explosive device on Tuesday in a van parked just outside the capital Sofia’s international airport, Reuters reports.
“An explosive device had been found in the van,” Sofia airport spokeswoman Daniela Veleva said, adding that police were still trying to dispose of the device.
Bulgarian police had earlier evacuated a section of the airport’s Terminal 1 while bags seen in the van were checked.
AP Photo/ Alexander Kots
The strategic hilltops in south-western Syria’s Daraa province have reportedly been seized by the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces during their ongoing advance on Al-Nusra Front militants.
The Syrian Army, jointly with the country’s National Defense Forces, have managed to capture the strategic hilltops of Koum Aqre, located in south-western Syria’s Daraa province, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.
Dozens of Al-Nusra terrorists were killed during heavy clashes with Syrian troops who stormed the militants’ positions on the Koum Aqre hilltops near the strategic towns of Kufer Shamis and Al-Shaykh Maskin.
The seizure of the hilltops paved the way for opening a new front against the militants in Syria’s western areas, FARS reported.