Category: News

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.

Photo: Reuters

 

A car bomb outside the governor’s office in the Turkish town of Adana has killed two people and injured 16, the governor has told state-run media, the BBC reports.

The vehicle exploded in the car park close to the office entrance in the southern town, Mahmut Demirtas told Anadolu news agency.

He said the suspect’s car license plates had been identified and a female attacker was suspected.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Kurdish, Islamist and leftist militants have all carried out bombings in recent years.

Chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, the government held today another discussion on information and communication technology (ICT) sector. During the discussion projects related to the reform of vocational education and ICT sector workforce development were presented to the Prime Minister.

In this context, the meeting focused on the formation of an environment conducive to a technological university, educational incubators, and other issues related to current and prospective engineering educational programs.

The Prime Minister instructed the responsible ministers to work with the representatives of the ICT sector and submit program proposals with applicable results.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Kosovo Enver Hoxhaj on the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference of the International Organisation of la Francophonie held in Antananarivo.

The parties attached importance to the conduct of periodic meetings for getting to know each other’s approaches and continue the cooperation on a number of issues.

 

 

 

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan will join the Republican Party of Armenia. The Head of Government announced the decision at the beginning of the regular sitting of the executive today.

“I think the step was predictable and logical to many,” Karen Karapetyan said and explained the reasons behind his decision.

“First, I have been invited to the Prime Minister’s post by President Serzh Sargsyan. Second,   any government should have a political support, and our government has first of all been a Republican government. Third, establishment of a new party that could serve as political support would not be justified. With the Artsakh issue and the challenges facing our country we have to avoid any destabilizing processes and developments,” PM Karapetyan said.

Fourth, he said, it is the Republican Party that can be the political basis for implementation of reforms. “The conservative ideology of the party is dear to me, and there are a number of people in the party acceptable to me. From the first day of my term in office I have been tasked with bringing changes to the economic and social life and the system of state governance. This means we must start the changes from ourselves,” he added.

“Fifth, by assuming the post, I became the participant of the process of changing and being changed. Taking note of all of the above, I decided to join the Republican Party of Armenia,” the Prime Minister stated.

Karen Karapetyan said, “the Republican Party has not been always effective because of some objective and subjective reasons, but the RPA is the party that, being aware of its responsibility for security and development, has made the decision to change and has the potential to do so.”

Photo: AP

 

Tokyo experienced its first November snowfall in 54 years on Thursday, the BBC reports.

Residents of the Japanese capital were taken by surprise, as the temperatures around this time of the year usually range from 10C to 17C.

The snow was caused by an unusual cold front over the city, but above-freezing temperatures kept the snow from sticking.

The unexpected weather meant longer commuting trips because of public transport delays.

The Japan Meteorological Agency also warned of possible icy roads, snow on electric wires and trees, and the collapse of plastic greenhouses, according to the Japan Times.