Category: News

Photo: Sputnik/ Konstantin Chalabov

 

According to Russia’s Minister of Agriculture, Moscow will boost control over the delivery of agricultural and food products from Turkey, Sputnik News reports.

Away fans have been banned from all football matches in France until mid-December following the Paris attacks, the BBC reports.

On 13 November, 130 people died in attacks across Paris, with three suicide bombs outside the Stade de France where France took on Germany.

French league games went ahead the following weekend without away fans.

The Interior Ministry has extended the ban due to a “lack of police forces available” during the ongoing state of emergency and upcoming Climate Summit.

The lead singer of Eagles of Death Metal says he wants to be the first person to play the Bataclan theatre when it reopens, the BBC reports. 

Three gunmen stormed the gig they were playing at the venue in Paris, killing 89 people.

Speaking to Vice, singer Jesse Hughes said he “cannot wait to get back to Paris and play”.

“Our friends went to see rock and roll and died. I want to go back there and live.”

The group have described – in detail – what happened on the night of the attacks.

Hughes says he came face to face with one of the gunmen as he was trying to escape.

“I saw the shooter,” he said. “He turned and brought the gun down on me but the barrel hit the doorframe.”

In an emotional interview, Hughes said: “I want to be the first person to play in the Bataclan when it opens up.”

All band members escaped unhurt.

Guitarist Eden Galindo said he initially thought the gunshots were the PA “cracking” but then realised “pretty quick” that it wasn’t.

“Jesse ran towards me and we went into the corner. We weren’t sure if they were targeting us.”

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said that will continue to respond the same way it did when it downed the Russian Su-24 Fencer bomber if its airspace is violated, Sputnik News reports.

 

Photo:  Sputnik/ Dmitry Astakhov

 

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that Moscow has already taken and will take diplomatic and military measures after the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber by Turkey, Sputnik News reports.

The Russian prime minister said that the downing of the Russian warplane over Syria was an “act of aggression” committed by Turkey.

“This was certainly an act of aggression against our country by Turkey, our neighbor and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

“Military and diplomatic measures with regard to this crime have already been taken and more will be taken,” Medvedev said during a governmental meeting on Thursday.

On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 jet crashed in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plane was downed over Syrian territory by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet, and fell 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Turkish border. Putin described the Turkish attack as a “stab in the back” carried out by “accomplices of terrorists.”

Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the Russian government on Thursday to work out measures against Turkey after Tuesday’s downing of a Russian military jet.

Moscow may freeze economic cooperation, limit trade spheres as possible measures against Ankara, Medvedev said.

“[The measures include] the suspension of the implementation of programs of economic cooperation, restrictions on financial transactions and on foreign trade transactions, changes in customs duties of import and export, measures in the tourism sector, with regard to transportation, including transit.“

Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow’s response actions would not contradict WTO norms.

According to Medvedev, measures taken by Russia will be temporary and depend on the development of Moscow-Ankara relations and international situation.

The prime minister said that Russian authorities were considering the introduction of bans on Turkish companies’ activities in the country.

A Russian pilot who went missing after his jet was shot down by Turkey over Syria was rescued by the Syrian army, Russia’s ambassador to France said, the BBC reports.

Alexander Orlov told Europe 1 radio the pilot had been taken to a Russian base. However, this report has not yet been confirmed by the authorities in Moscow.

The second pilot, and a marine involved in their rescue operation, were killed, Russia’s defence ministry says.

NATO’s chief said it stood by member Turkey but echoed calls for calm.

Nato’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he backed the Turks’ assessment, but added “diplomacy and de-escalation are important to resolve this situation”.

Turkey said the jet had strayed into its airspace but Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the Su-24 had been hit by an air-to-air missile while flying over Syrian territory.

President Putin described the downing of the plane as a “stab in the back.”

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Tbilisi on November 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

Minister Nalbandian will participate in the non-official meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Eastern Partnership countries.

The Armenian National Security Service task force combating terrorism (Alfa) and representtaives of the Armenian Police’s head department combating organized crime have reportedly “neutralized” a group of armed people in Yerevan that allegedly planned to carry out terrorist acts in the Armenian capital.

According to the report, the group of ten people was armed with modern weapons. ammunition and explosives and was planning large-scale terrorist acts in accress Armenia. Three of the alleged terrorists were female, seven were male, most of them foreign citizens.

The group illegally bought and stored the weapons in one of the houses in the capital’s Nork Marash district. The group was headed by RA citizen Arthur Vardanyan, who returned to Yerevan in 2015 after years abroad.

Members of the armed group “neutralized” in one of the houses in Nork Marash district of Yerevan have been taken to a detention facility.

The Armenian National Security Service task force combating terrorism (Alfa) and representatives of the Armenian Police’s head department combating organized crime have reportedly “neutralized” a group of armed people in Yerevan that allegedly planned to carry out terrorist acts in the Armenian capital.

The group illegally bought and stored the weapons in one of the houses in the capital’s Nork Marash district. The group was headed by RA citizen Arthur Vardanyan, who returned to Yerevan in 2015 after years abroad.

On November 25, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, received Bratislav Gašić, Defence Minister of Serbia.

Minister Nalbandian emphasized the dynamically developing relations between Armenia and Serbia during the recent years and outlined the need for additional steps towards further development of cooperation. In this context, Edward Nalbandian attached importance to the developing cooperation between the Defense Ministries of Armenia and Serbia.

Minister Gašić thanked for the reception and ensured that Serbia considers Armenia a friendly country and is interested in the further development and enlargement of relations with the Republic of Armenia. He expressed gratitude for Armenia’s principled stance on the Kosovo issue, which has recently been reflected also by the vote on Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO.

Edward Nalbandian presented the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.