Category: News

Turkey could hold a referendum on whether to continue membership talks with the European Union next year, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, repeating his warning to Brussels that it needed to “make up its mind” on Turkish accession, reports.

In a speech in Ankara broadcast on television, Erdogan urged Turks to be patient until the end of the year and then said a vote could be held on EU membership.

Erdogan also said that he would approve reinstating the death penalty – a move that would likely end any hope of Turkish membership of the EU – if parliament passed a law on it, and said that too could be part of a referendum.

Turkey is expected to hold a national vote on constitutional changes next spring, including boosting the powers of Erdogan’s office to create a presidential system akin to that of the United States or France.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is determined to prove his worth at Manchester United.

Mkhitaryan, who played in the whole of his country’s dramatic World Cup qualifying win over Montenegro in Yerevan on Friday, says he will not give up his quest to impress his new boss.

In an interview on the , Mkhitaryan said: “I know I can succeed at Manchester United, and I want to show everyone that I deserve to be a key player in this team and this league.”

“Today I don’t have enough playing time, so I have to do my best so the coaching staff give me the chance to play,” he said.

“There are no disappointments, just challenges. I never give up when I encounter obstacles in my way. I just continue going until I reach my career objectives,” Mkhitaryan added.

Mkhitaryan went on to hail Mourinho’s “fantastic record” as a coach.

He added: “Regarding Jose Mourinho, I hope I can learn a lot from him – he is a coach with a fantastic record.

“I saw the move to Manchester United as an opportunity to grow as a player and as a person.

“It was definitely not the salary that made me join Manchester United, I went for football reasons – for the history of the club, the fans and the coach because he is one of the best in the world.

“The EPL is the best league in the world and it gives me something different, a new challenge. I think I can become stronger by playing there.”

Germany‘s ruling coalition has backed Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the country’s next president, party sources said Monday, paving the way for a sharp critic of Donald Trump to become head of state, AFP reports.

Party leaders have been wrangling for months over whom to nominate as a potential successor to President Joachim Gauck, a 76-year-old former pastor from the ex-communist East Germany who is stepping down due to his advanced age.

On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) agreed on Germany‘s most popular politician, Steinmeier, whose name had been put forward by his Social Democratic Party (SPD).

The third party in the coalition — the CDU’s Bavarian allies CSU — backed the decision soon after.

“Now it’s official,” a CSU party source told AFP.

The new president — a figure who is meant to transcend party politics and serve as a moral standard bearer for the nation — will be elected on February 12 by a special assembly of MPs, delegates from Germany‘s 16 federal states and other notables.

Ex-President of France Nicolas Sarkozy had a meeting with the Armenian community at the premises of the National Center of Armenian Memory in the city of Decines last week, Nouvelles D’Armenia reports.

Speaking about the Christians in the Middle East, Sarkozy said “the word genocide must not be trivialized. Its negation is a crime against intelligence and morality. The situation for Christians in the East is genocide.”

Referring to the perspectives of Turkey’s EU membership, Sarkozy said: “I went to Ankara to say on the spot that Turkey is certainly a great civilization, but that its place is not in Europe, and also that a great country must recognize the glorious hours as the dark hours in its history.”

With data from just the first nine months, scientists are 90% certain that 2016 will break the global record for the warmest year, the reports.

Temperatures from January to September were 1.2C above pre-industrial levels.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says they will remain high enough for the rest of the year to pass the mark set in 2015.

El Nino has had an impact, but the most significant factor driving temperatures up continues to be CO2 emissions.

While there are still a couple of months to go this year, a preliminary analysis of the October data indicates that 2016 is very much on track to surpass the 2015 level, which in turn broke the previous high mark set in 2014.

 

 

 

“NATO and Armenia have a very reliable, steady and substantial partnership,” James Appathurai NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said in a video message on the occasion of the NATO Week in Armenia.

According to him, the most obvious element of that long-standing cooperation is Armenia’s contribution to NATO peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

He pointed to other non-military fields of cooperation, such as defense education, fight against corruption, science for peace programs. “It’s a very good two-way, mutual relationship, which benefits both parties,” he said.

“Armenia has a balanced foreign policy,” he said, adding that Armenia-NATO cooperation is in no way detrimental to Armenia’s other bilateral or multilateral relationships,” James Appathurai said.

The NATO Week that kicked off in Yerevan today will continue through November 18 and will be accompanied by a number of events. It’s aimed at raising awareness about Armenia-NATO relations among the society.

German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler considers that NATO Week is yet another opportunity to discuss important issues of bilateral interest.

The Armenian Defense Minister initiates public discussions featuring NGO representatives, journalists and intellectuals, the Ministry’s Press Service informs.

The program of increased state insurance fees to be paid to the families of servicemen killed or handicapped during military actions or military service will be presented to the discussions, which will be followed by exchange of views on the issue.

On Friday morning the scheduled meeting between the Pope and the Catholicos was held at the Papal office in the Vatican.

After sharing greetings, Catholicos Aram I expressed his great appreciation for the Pope’s two pronouncements on the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as the first genocide of the 20th century, which he had made in 2015 at the Vatican and in 2016 in Yerevan. His Holiness Pope Francis reiterated his conviction on this matter.

Scholar George Gawrych got through no more than five sentences during his presentation on his book about Turkish army officer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk before students raised their voices in protest Thursday at the Aronstam Library in Manzanita Hall, according to the website of the.

Over 20 protesters stood up from their seats, turned their backs on Gawrych and repeatedly chanted “Turkey guilty of genocide” and “genocide denialist.”

Gawrych waited briefly as other attendees voiced their opinions to let him speak, until he began walking up and down the aisle trying to get the protestors to face him.

Two police officers who guarded the entrance escorted Gawrych, a Baylor University Boal Ewing chair of military history, out of the library to sounds of chanting protesters.

“Our initial message was to stop the denial of genocide that cost the lives of millions,” said Eric Badivian, an Armenian protestor.

Many Armenians feel that Gawrych’s book “The Young Atatürk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey” praises a leader who played a role in the Armenian genocide.

“This man coming here and claiming these claims that genocide didn’t happen is completely absurd and people know,” Badivian said. “There’s factual evidence to this happening all around.

Gawrych was unable to speak about his book or comment on the protest once police had him leave the library.

The Armenian Student Association, Alpha Epsilon Omega and Alpha Gamma Alpha sent a protest-letter to William Watkins, dean of students, expressing their concern and disappointment in having the guest lecturer at CSUN.

“It is quite bizarre that an event revolving around the ignorance and injustices against humanity is being allowed to take place on campus,” as stated in the letter to Watkins.

Watkins later replied in an email sent to the organizations, addressing their concerns.

“The university shares your commitment to the pursuit of truth about all aspects of Armenian history and to never forgetting those who have suffered from the tolerance and actions of others,” Watkins wrote in the email.

The heavy shelling of the Karabakh military positions in the northeastern (Yarimja) and northern (Talysh) directions of the line of contact continue until 15:30, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The Azerbaijani forces fired 37 shells in the direction of the Armenian positions from 60 and 82 mm caliber mine throwers.

The rival also used firearms of different calibers and large-caliber Instiglal sniper rifles.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army closely follow the actions of the rival and take corresponding measures, when necessary, to ensure the inviolability of the state border.

The situation is relatively calm at this point, the Ministry said.