Category: News

Photo by NASA/JPL-CALTECH/R.HURT

Astronomers have identified the most distant object yet in the Solar System, the BBC reports.

Observations with Japan’s Subaru telescope reveal the likely icy body to be some 15.5 billion km from the Sun – about three times further away than even far-flung Pluto.

Scientists say their initial studies suggest that the object – catalogued as V774104 – is some 500-1,000km across.

It will need to be tracked over time to learn the shape and extent of its orbit through the Solar System.

The discovery was announced at the 47th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences, taking place in National Harbor near Washington DC.

The team behind the find is led by Scott Sheppard, from the Carnegie Institution for Science, and Chad Trujillo, from the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.

A Russian manufacturer has designed an advanced new system protecting any channels of telephone communication against wiretapping, media reports said on Thursday, Sputnik News reports.

“This is a very interesting solution and we hope there will be a great demand for it on the market,” Interstate Corporation of Development general director Ivan Polyakov said.

He added that components for the new system were produced directly at the company’s enterprises in Russia.

The ICD was prompted to develop the system by the need to ensure its own security.

Established in 2011, the Interstate Corporation of Development is engaged in scientific, industrial and high-tech cooperation in countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

It is one of the main designers and producers of protected systems of communication and control in the former Soviet Union.

FIFA said on Thursday it had admitted five candidates to stand for the world football body’s presidency at a Feb. 26 election, Reuters reports.

In a statement, Zurich-based FIFA said the candidates were: Prince Ali Al Hussein, Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Jerome Champagne, Gianni Infantino and Tokyo Sexwale.

Of the seven potential candidates named last month, Michel Platini and Musa Hassan Bility were not admitted. The decision can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

President of the Nagorno Karabakah Republic Bako Sahakyan has turned down the reports on alleged pressure on Armenia and Karabakh with a view of forcing the Armenian side to concede several liberated territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh, Russian RBC reports.

“The reports on alleged pressure on Armenia and Karabakh do not correspond to reality,” Sahakyan told a press conference in Moscow.

According to the President, the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is impossible without the direct participation of Nagorno Karabakh. “This should be the starting point. There has been no precedent in the world of a destiny of a whole nation determined without its participation.” Therefore, he said, the format of negotiations determined at Budapest summit in 1994 needs to be restored.

Sahakyan reiterated his earlier position that the return of Nagorno Karabakh under Azerbaijani jurisdiction is impossible.

The NKR President blamed Baku for the escalation of situation at the line of contact. He said Baku’s actions should be taken seriously. “We cannot view this as a simple game. Unfortunately, many people are dying.”

“Attempts to change the format of negotiations on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict or create parallel mechanisms can disrupt the negotiation process and impede progress towards a settlement,” the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs said in a statement today. The statement reads:

“In response to questions received by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group about the report and draft resolution currently under discussion in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), we take note of the attention paid by PACE to a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. We share concerns, expressed in the resolution, regarding an increase of tensions along the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan and along the Line of Contact. We deeply regret the loss of lives, including civilians.

We agree that the conflict has lasted too long. The sides should undertake all measures necessary to expedite a peaceful settlement.

We are convinced that measures to reach a negotiated settlement should be based on mutual agreement between the sides as emphasized in the Joint Statements made by the Presidents of France, the Russian Federation, and the United States, and supported by the international community.

The Co-Chairs will continue to render assistance to the parties, taking into consideration our mandate, approved by the OSCE. According to the OSCE mandate, our task is to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict and in particular to facilitate negotiations on a comprehensive settlement.  We are neither judges nor advocates for particular positions.

There are proposals to create new negotiating formats and working groups on the settlement of the conflict. We believe that in the framework of the Minsk Group there is unique mediation experience. The Minsk Group format is accepted by the parties and has the full confidence of all OSCE participating States. Considering the sensitivity of the negotiations, attempts to change the format or create parallel mechanisms can disrupt the negotiation process and impede progress towards a settlement. At the same time, we are prepared to cooperate with all international organizations, which demonstrate an interest in finding a just and sustainable settlement to the conflict.”

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have addressed the OSCE Permanent Council on Nagorno Karabakh conflict, US Co-Chair James Warlick tweeted.

On Wednesday the Co-Chairs held consultations with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier connected with the forthcoming German presidency of the OSCE.

Photo by The Dailly Star

At least 25 people have died and as many as 40 have been wounded in a suspected twin suicide attack in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, the Associated Press reports.

The explosion is believed to have taken place in a predominantly Shia neighbourhood Burj al-Barajneh, to the south of the city, a city official – speaking on condition of anonymity – said.

Witnesses said that there were only minutes between the two blasts.

According to Al Jazeera, security forces have urged residents in the area to stay away from the targeted sites.

Coffee shops and stores suffered extensive damage from the two blasts.

The area, located off a main highway leading to Beirut’s airport, is a well-known commercial and residential area in the capital’s southern suburbs.

Much of southern Beirut is a Hezbollah stronghold, which witnessed a string of deadly suicide explosions in 2014.

Azerbaijan asks Interpol to find and arrest Swiss citizen Vartan Sirmakes, the CEO of Franck Muller Group, abc.az reports.

According to the source, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan informs that the national central bureau of Interpol under the Ministry of Internal Affairs has already started these activities.

“Yesterday, the Nasimi district court of Baku chose for Sirmakes a measure of restraint in form of detention in connection with a criminal case initiated against him under three articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.

Sirmakes is charged under Article 281.2 (public calls against the state), 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan) and 192.2.2 (illegal business). The charges were brought on the fact that Sirmakes, without official permission of Azerbaijan, visited Nagorno Karabakh, where, as the Prosecutor’s Office said,  he was involved in an illegal business and made open calls against the Azerbaijani state.

Photo by Natalia Garnelis/TASS

Russia is not doing anything that could harm Armenia or Azerbaijan in the issue of settlement in the mostly Armenian populated Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno Karabakh, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, TASS reports.

“We maintain very close contacts on Nagorno Karabakh settlement with our Armenian and Azerbaijani colleagues, and we do nothing that could damage the sides,” she said.

Zakharova replied to a journalist’s request to comment on media reports claiming that during his visit to Yerevan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had allegedly urged a return to some areas to Azerbaijan.

“I can confirm that our position on Nagorno Karabakh remains invariable,” she said. Focusing on how the matter was discussed at talks in Yerevan on November 9, she referred reporters to at the news conference after the talks.

“Minister’s commentaries were rather detailed and were made at an open news conference,” she said.