Category: News

The European Parliament has voted to suspend Turkey’s EU membership talks because of the Turkish government’s crackdown since a coup attempt in July, the BBC reports.

The MEPs’ non-binding vote has already been dismissed as “worthless” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The MEPs asked the European Commission and 28 national governments to impose a “temporary freeze” on the talks.

EU-Turkish ties have soured after years of stop-start negotiations, which are likely to go on, albeit very slowly.

The International Olympic Committee has required Armenian weightlifter Hripsime Khurshudyan to return the bronze medal of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

“It’s painful to return the medal four years later, a medal that had been won as a result of hard work, but there are rules we have to obey,” Hripsime told a press conference in Yerevan today.

As for her future plans, Khurshudyan said “everything depends on the decision of the International Olympic Committee.”

“There is no decision on the terms of disqualification. I will continue to train until the decision is made.  If it is a long-term disqualification, I will end my career,” the weightlifter said.

Hripsime Khurshudyan said she would like to become an international referee in the future.

PHOTO: XINHUA

At least 40 people have been killed when a platform collapsed at a construction site in China’s Jiangxi province.

The accident took place at a power plant in Fengcheng where a cooling tower was under construction.

There were a number of people still trapped at the scene, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Jiangxi province’s fire services said 32 fire trucks and 212 soldiers had been deployed.

A total of 68 people were at the construction site at the time of the accident.

On the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference of the International Organisation of la Francophonie being held in the capital of Madagascar, on November 23, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, met with Michaëlle Jean, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF).

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the outcomes of the OIF Ministerial Conference held in Yerevan last year. Within this context Michaëlle Jean mentioned that she recalls with warmth her visit to Armenia and the high level of organization of the Conference.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia and the OIF Secretary-General discussed steps being taken towards strengthening of the Organization and enhancing its reputation.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the preparatory works of the Ministerial Conference and the upcoming OIF summit.

Photo: EPA

An Iraqi paramilitary force says it has seized a key road west of Mosul, effectively encircling the city controlled by so-called Islamic State, the BBC reports.

The Popular Mobilisation (Hashd al-Shaabi) declared it had taken control of the road between Tal Afar and Sinjar after linking up with Kurdish forces.

IS militants still control the section of the road between Tal Afar and Mosul.

Meanwhile, an air strike reportedly hit another bridge in Mosul, as troops advanced further into eastern areas.

There is now only one functioning bridge left spanning the River Tigris, which flows through the city.

About 50,000 Iraqi security forces personnel, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen are involved in the five-week-old offensive to drive IS militants out of their last major urban stronghold in the country.

Photo: Getty Images

Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed what they describe as a city that dates back more than 5,000 years, containing houses, tools, pottery and huge graves, the BBC reports.

It lies by the river Nile, close to the Temple of Seti the First in Abydos.

Experts say the size of the 15 newly discovered graves indicates the high social standing of those buried.

It is believed the city was home to important officials and tomb builders and would have flourished during early-era ancient Egyptian times.

Experts say the find could be a boost for Egypt’s struggling tourism industry which has been in the doldrums since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011.

Archaeologists have made a range of finds in the newly-discovered city including buildings, shards of pottery and tools.

Armenia is ranked 87th (up from 38) in this month’s FIFA World Ranking. Armenia’s 3-2 win against Montenegro helped the team jump the largest number of places in the ranking table.

There has been plenty of movement in the latest edition of the FIFA World Ranking thanks largely to the 63 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualification matches played, but also to 71 other qualifiers and international friendlies that took place over the past few weeks.

Argentina remain top for November, but have seen their command on the summit weakened by close rivals Brazil (2, up 1). After a good run of form in FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, A Seleção have surpassed Germany (3, down 1) and closed the distance to their South American neighbors, as the year-end approaches. Chile, meanwhile, climbed into fourth place.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been handed a chance to impress Jose Mourinho as Manchester United take on Feyenoord in the Europa League.

The Armenian has only made one start for the club this season.

His only start came against Manchester City in a 2-1 loss and he was hooked off at half-time.

Mourinho named a strong team with Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata all starting.

Man Utd: Romero, Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Pogba, Mata, Rooney, Mkhitaryan, Ibrahimovic

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has issued a message for the International Day to end Violence against Women and Girls:

At long last, there is growing global recognition that violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, public health pandemic and serious obstacle to sustainable development.  Yet there is still much more we can and must do to turn this awareness into meaningful prevention and response.

Violence against women and girls imposes large-scale costs on families, communities and economies.  When women cannot work as a result of violence, their employment may be put at risk, jeopardizing much-needed income, autonomy and their ability to leave abusive relationships.  Violence against women also results in lost productivity for businesses, and drains resources from social services, the justice system and health-care agencies. Domestic and intimate partner violence remains widespread, compounded by impunity for those crimes.  The net result is enormous suffering as well as the exclusion of women from playing their full and rightful roles in society.

The world cannot afford to pay this price. Women and girls cannot afford it – and should not have to.  Yet such violence persists every day, around the world.  And efforts to address this challenge, although rich in political commitment, are chronically under-funded.

Since 2008, I have led the UNiTE campaign to End Violence against Women, which calls for global action to increase resources and promote solutions.  I call on governments to show their commitment by dramatically increasing national spending in all relevant areas, including in support of women’s movements and civil society organizations.  I also encourage world leaders to contribute to UN Women and to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.  We look as well to the private sector, philanthropies and concerned citizens to do their part.

Today, we are seeing the world lit up in orange, symbolizing a bright future for women and girls. With dedicated investment, we can keep these lights shining, uphold human rights and eliminate violence against women and girls for good.