Category: News

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has conducted its first combat operation against ISIL targets in Syria, Sputnik News reports.

Photo: AFP 2015/ GEORGE OURFALIAN

 

The past 24 hours have seen the Syrian Army’s ongoing advance on Islamic State militants in Aleppo province, where Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have taken back a number of villages, reports.

The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces, supported by Russian and Syrian airstrikes, have managed to liberate an array of villages from Islamic State militants in Aleppo province, where the jihadists suffered heavy losses, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

A number of the ISIL militants’ strongholds and ammunition depots in Shamer village and the city of al-Bab were reportedly destroyed by Syrian warplanes, leaving dozens of militants killed or wounded.

Additionally, the Syrian fighter jets launched a series of airstrikes on the militants’ positions in the villages of Abu Jaloul, Jub al-Kaf and Tibeh in Aleppo, inflicting heavy losses on the jihadists.

Additionally, the Syrian bombers staged airstrikes against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists near Rasm al-Abd, Deir Hafer and Najara, leaving many of them dead or injured.

In a separate development, Russian Air Force warplanes bombed the ISIL-held Jirah Airbase in the eastern part of Aleppo province, killing dozens of militants.

According to sources, it was the first time since the beginning of the Russian air force’s aerial operation against ISIL in Syria that the Islamic State positions inside and outside of the Jirah airbase had been heavily bombarded by Russian fighter jets.

Sources said that the Russian airstrikes on the Jirah airbase may pave the way for the Syrian army’s massive ground operation, which is aimed at liberating the third key airbase in the country after Kuweires and Marj al-Sultan airbases in Aleppo and Damascus provinces, respectively.

The Russian Insider presents a report on massacre in Kessab, a town in Syria populated mostly by ethnic Armenians.

The reports says Damascus’ jihadists crossed from over the Turkish border to target civilians, launching mortar attacks in the town and surrounding villages. Hundreds of families were forced to flee.

Photo: Donat Sorokin/TASS

 

Iran’s ambassador to Russia said on Monday that Moscow had started the procedure of supplying Tehran with S-300 anti-missile rocket system, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Russia and Iran signed a contract for Moscow to supply Tehran with S-300 surface-to-air missile systems on Nov. 9.

“Iran and Russia signed a new contract and the procedure of delivery of S-300 has started,” Iran’s Ambassador to Russian Mehdi Sanaei was quoted as saying by Tasnim.

Celine Dion brought the theatre to tears at the American Music Awards as she performed a tribute to the victims of the terror attacks in Paris earlier this month, the Daily Mail reports.

The French-Canadian sang Edith Piaf’s Hymne a l’Amour as a montage showing of Paris landmarks, including the the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe, and the French capital uniting in the wake of the attacks, played behind her.

Several audience members at at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, were visibly moved as Celine sang the emotional French classic in honour of the 130 people who died in the attacks on November 13. 

Piaf wrote Hymne a l’Amour in 1949 for the love of her life boxer Marcel Cerdan, who was killed only months later while flying to New York from Paris to visit her.

Photos by: Hrafn Jökulsson

 

The Armenian men’s team claimed the second place in the European Team Chess Championship held in Iceland.

Russia won the tournament with 15 points. Hungary and France came third and fourth respectively. Defending champion Azerbaijan finished seventh.

Armenia had last become Vice-Champion of Europe in 2007.

About 80 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan over the weekend.

The rival used artillery weapons of different caliber as it fired more than 1,300 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep the situation at the line of contact under control and take necessary measures to organize the protection of the military positions.

French President Francois Hollande has said his country will intensify air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and Iraq, the BBC reports.

Speaking in Paris after talks with UK PM David Cameron, Mr Hollande confirmed French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle would join the military action.

It comes as the Belgian capital, Brussels, remains on the highest level of terror alert for a third day.

Suspected Paris attacks gunman Salah Abdeslam remains at large.

The two leaders agreed to step up co-operation on countering international terrorism, including increased data-sharing and sharing of airline records.

The Islamic State group has said it was responsible for the Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.

“I firmly support the decisive action taken by President Hollande to strike Isil [IS] in Syria, it is my firm belief that we should do so too,” Mr Cameron said in a statement at a news conference.

Mr Hollande said: “We will intensify our strikes, choosing targets that will do the most damage possible to this army of terrorists.”

Earlier, Mr Hollande and Mr Cameron visited the Bataclan concert hall, where at least 89 people were killed.

Mr Hollande will be meeting the US and Russian presidents later this week.

Mr Cameron said he had offered the French air force the use of the RAF Akrotiri base on Cyprus to mount strikes on IS as well as RAF air-to-air refuelling support.

FIFA will announce the names of 2015 FIFA Baloon d’Or winners and Coach of the year on January 11, 2016. The sports journalists, head coaches and captains of all national teams from FIFA member countries take part in the voting. Interim head coach of the Armenian national team Sargis Hovsepyan and captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan have also announced their votes.

Sargis Hovsepyan

Player of the year: 1. Lionel Messi, 2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 3. Luis Suarez

Coach of the year: 1. Pep Guardiola, 2. Louis Enrique, 3. Unai Emeri

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Player of the year: 1. Lionel Messi, 2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 3. Zlatan Ibrahimovich

Coach of the year: 1.Louis Enrique, 2. Unai Emeri, 3. Pep Guardiola

Conservative Mauricio Macri has been confirmed as the winner in Argentina’s presidential elections after his ruling party opponent conceded, the BBC reports.

With almost all votes counted, Mr Macri led Daniel Scioli by 51.5% to 48.5%.

He danced on stage at a victory rally at his Buenos Aires headquarters and thanked his staff for their support.

Mr Macri’s victory is the first in more than a decade for Argentina’s centre-right opposition and ends the 12-year rule of the Peronist Party.

“Today is a historic day,” said Mr Macri, addressing thousands of cheering supporters. “It’s the changing of an era.”

Sunday’s victory completes a turnaround for Mr Macri, who is currently mayor of Buenos Aires, after he lost in the first round of voting to Mr Scioli.

But Mr Scioli, who is the governor of Buenos Aires province, did not command enough of a lead to win the vote outright, forcing a run-off – the first in the country’s history.