Category: News

Stolen relics from Turkish-occupied north Cyprus went on exhibit today at the Byzantine Museum, Gibrahayer E-magazine reports.

Among them was a 14th century Armenian Gospel that was stolen by Turkish Cypriots in 1963 from Sourp Asdvadzadzin Church in Victoria street.

The Church of Cyprus that 34 treasures that had been stolen from the island’s Turkish-occupied areas, returned to Cyprus following a decision by the Munich Court of Appeals, on March 16, in the case of Turkish art smuggler Aydin Dikmen.

Among the artifacts, 24 are Byzantine relics and some prehistoric antiquities coming mostly from the collection of Chr. Chatziprodromou, from Ayios Epiktitos Church. Among the Byzantine relics there are three pairs of bema doors (Monastery of Antiphonitis Christ, Virgin Mary Monastery in Kantara), wall paintings from the Monastery of Antiphonitis Christ, the church of Agia Solomoni in Coma tou Yialou and the Monastery of Panagia Apsinthiotissa in Sychari. Also the treasures include a hand written manuscript of 17th century (omilario) from the Monastery of the Panagia Trooditissa, and the hand written gospel of the Armenian community of Cyprus stolen during the Turkish mutiny in 1963.

Over its presidency in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Armenia will pay special attention to the development of the peacekeeping component and strengthening of the CSTO defense, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on Tuesday at an extended meeting of the CSTO summit, TASS reports.

“Such tasks as further improvement of control over the collective security system, including collective regional forces, promptness in taking and implementing decisions, holding joint drills, such as the Opyt-2016 (Experience) exercises due in Armenia, are coming to the fore,” he said. “Of great importance is joint effort to develop the system of CSTO crisis management.”

The Armenian President stressed that over his country’s presidency in the CSTO “big attention will be also paid to the organization’s peacekeeping component.” “It is time to set up a basic organization to train CSTO peacekeepers,” Sargsyan said. “We suggest the center for training Armenian army’s peacekeeping brigade be considered as a base for such organization.”

“Our efforts should be rooted in due account of joint liabilities and opinions of the partners,” the Armenian president stressed. “Another topical task is to expand CSTO’s cooperation with the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).”

“The Armenian Presidency “will also focus on joint struggle against international terrorism and radicalism, neo-fascism, chauvinism and other expressions of xenophobia,” President Sargsyan told journalists following the summit of the CSTO member states in Tajikistan, President’s Press Office reported.

“In this context we attach importance to the intensification of joint efforts to tackle cybercrime,” the Armenian President said.

Armenia takes over presidency in the Collective Security Treaty Organization after today’s session of the CSTO Collective Security Council.

 

Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Moscow-led security alliance of former-Soviet republics, signed an agreement on military contingent and cargo transportation, Serzh Sargsyan, the president of Armenia, said on Tuesday, TASS reports.

“An agreement was signed on cooperation in the sphere of transporting military contingent and moveable property as well as military-purpose products,” Sargsyan told journalists following the summit of the CSTO member states in Tajikistan.

The Armenian leader added that the CSTO members also decided to extend an agreement on the logistics and technical support of railways in the countries of the post-Soviet security bloc.

Member-states the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have approved a decision on introducing rotation of the post of the secretary general, CSTO chief Nikolay Bordyuzha said on Tuesday.

“It was considered useful to switch in the future to the rotation system of the general secretary’s post. The heads of states set the task to devise a respective draft decision by December and introduce changes to the legal basis and the CSTO Charter, what we will do now,” Bordyuzha said.

The Collective Security Treaty was signed in 1992 and the organization itself was set up 10 years later. Russia, which held the presidency in the CSTO, passed the rotating chair this year to Tajikistan.

The CSTO, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, regularly holds military drills on the territories of its member states.

A boat has capsized off the coast of Turkey drowning at least twenty two migrants attempting to reach the shores of the Greek island of Kos, Euronews reports.

The Turkish Coastguard says it was able to rescue a further 200 people and bring them back to shore.

The group was reportedly attempting to cross the Aegean Sea when it went down near the Datcha peninsula, not far from Bodrum, where Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi’s body washed up two weeks ago.

Greece is on the frontline of the migration crisis sweeping Europe.

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan on Sept. 15-16, the Foreign Ministry has announced.

During his visit, Sinirlioğlu will discuss Turkish-Azerbaijani relations and regional and international developments, including the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, with his counterpart Elman Memmedyarov, the ministry said in a statement.

Sinirlioğlu is also expected to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade.

Australia will get its fifth prime minister in eight years after the ruling Liberal Party on Monday voted out Tony Abbott in favor of longtime rival Malcolm Turnbull, following months of infighting and crumbling voter support, Reuters reports.

Turnbull, a multi-millionaire former tech entrepreneur, won a secret party vote by 54 to 44, Liberal Party chief whip Scott Buchholz told reporters after the meeting in Canberra.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was elected deputy leader of the party which, with junior coalition partner the National Party, won a landslide election in 2013.

“Ultimately, the prime minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs,” Turnbull told reporters at parliament house ahead of the vote.

“We need a different style of leadership.”

Abbott pledged to fight the challenge but was ultimately unsuccessful in overcoming the “destabilisation” that he said had been taking place within the party over months.

Armenian-American Mark Moogalian, one of the heroes, who helped tackle gunman Ayoub El-Khazzani on August 21 aboard the Amsterdam-Paris train, was handed a Legion of Honour at the Élysée.

French President Francois Hollande hosted Moogalian and his wife at the Élysée yesterday.

During the high-speed train ride, Moogalian tackled El-Khazzani, who was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. It is reported that he instinctively acted to protect his wife Isabella Risacher, and managed to take the assault rifle away from El-Khazzani. The assailant drew another gun and shot Moogalian in the neck, revealed the professor’s sister, who was also on the train.

Moogalian’s heroism, along with the actions of Americans Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, and Anthony Sadler, and Briton Chris Norman, helped save many lives. Skarlatos, Stone, Sadler, and Norman were awarded the Legion d’Honneur, soon after the attack. Hollande had announced that he would award Moogalian the Legion d’Honneur once he had recuperated.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent today a congratulatory message to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, on his birthday.

“Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich,

Accept my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of your 50th birthday.

Your statesmanship has earned you the respect of your compatriots, has made a weighty contribution to the development of Russian statehood and to the reinforcement of country’s positions in the international arena.

Armenians hold you in high regard and greatly appreciate your consistency aimed at the development of allied collaboration between Armenia and Russia.

I honestly value our mutual understanding and trust, and I am ready to continue our constructive dialogue to further enrich the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership with new initiatives and mutually beneficial programs in the interests of prosperity of our countries and brotherly peoples.

I cordially wish you good health, happiness, well-being and further success in all of your undertakings,” reads the RA president’s congratulatory message.

On September 17-19, “French Days in Artsakh” festival will be held in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. In the framework of the festival a range of events presenting France and its culture will take place in Artsakh. The festival’s aim is to strengthen and broaden friendly ties, dialogue and cooperation between Artsakh and France.

Around 200 guests from France, representing France-Karabakh Friendship Circle, municipalities of French towns twinned with Artsakh communities, Support to Karabakh association and Armenian community of France, as well as artists and journalists will visit Artsakh in the framework of the festival.

The ceremonies of gala opening of the “Eternity” sculpture (by Toros) in the Stepanakert square of France and laying the foundation of The House of Paul Eluard francophone center, festive event in Stepanakert school N1, the demonstration of Artsakh and French cuisines, ceremony of the opening of Yeznik Mozyan vocational school in Shushi, the presentation of animation films of Folimage French studio at the State Museum of Fine Arts of Shushi, contest on making postcards symbolizing the Karabakh-France friendship in Stepanakert’s Shahumian Square are included in the program of “French Days in Artsakh” festival. A concert at Stepanakert Revival square on September 19 by French-Armenian singer Patrick Fiori will conclude the festival.