Category: News

At least 25 inmates have been killed in clashes between two rival factions in an overcrowded prison in northern Brazil, the BBC reports, quoting local media.

Seven of the dead were beheaded and six others burned to death, a police official reportedly said.

The incident in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, happened during visiting hours.

Some 100 visitors who were taken as hostages have been freed and the riot has ended, the reports added.

The state government said it was waiting for a prisoner count to confirm the death toll.

The violence started when inmates broke into another section of the prison where members of a different faction were being held.

Reports say there are 1,400 inmates currently in the prison, which has a capacity of up to 740.

Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has applied to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, the European Ombudsman Institute, the International Ombudsman Institute and the leaders of the International Committee of the Red Cross with a request to ensure the safety of Armenians in Syria and provide them with assistance.

In a letter to international structures, the Ombudsman has expressed deep concern over the casualties among Armenians as a result of shelling over the past months and has asked for a practical support on the part of the above-mentioned international bodies.

Photo: AP

 

Pope Francis on Sunday canonized seven new Saints including Argentina’s “gaucho priest” Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, reports.

Know as “Cura Brochero”, the Argentinian who made it his mission to take the Gospel message of salvation to the peripheries, was proclaimed a Saint together with six others in a Mass in St. Peter’s Square.”

During his homily the Pope said “saints are men and women who enter fully into the mystery of prayer. Men and women who struggle with prayer, letting the Holy Spirit pray and struggle in them.”

The others to be canonized were  two Italians, two from France, a Spaniard and a young Mexican martyr, José Sanchez del Rio who died during the Cristero struggle upholding his faith.

Some 80,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for the occasion, including many flag-waving Argentinians who had made the journey to Rome to see Brochero elevated to sainthood.

Amongst them was also Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his family.

Two of the new Saints are martyrs:  José Sánchez del Río, a 14-year-old boy who was killed in 1928 in Mexico during the “Cristero” struggle which opposed the government’s anti-Catholic and anticlerical policies. Under torture José refused to disown his faith; a handwritten note addressed to his mother and found on his dead body read: “I promise that in heaven I will prepare a place for all of you. Your José dies defending the Catholic faith for the love of Christ the King and Our Lady of Guadalupe”.

The first martyr belonging to the La Salle Order, killed in 1792 during the French Revolution. His name is Salomone Leclercq; he too chose to die in the defense of his faith.

Then there is “Cura Brochero” (José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero), an Argentinean priest “’who smelt of sheep’ and travelled enormous distances on the back of a mule during the 19th century to bring consolation and Jesus’ message of salvation to the poorest of the poor.

The Spanish Bishop of Palencia Manuel González García, founder of the Congregation of the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth, the Disciples of Saint John, and the Children of Reparation.  He was known for his strong devotion to the Eucharist and became known as the “Bishop of the Tabernacle”. He died in 1940.

Father Lodovico Pavoni of the Italian city of Brescia, founder of the religious congregation ‘Sons of Mary Immaculate’ or ‘Pavonians’. During the industrial revolution of the 19th century he set up an Oratory for Christian education and together with his ‘labourer brothers’ he taught the poor and the marginalized trades and religious education in the belief that improving social conditions would  improve the spiritual life, and improving the spiritual life would improve social conditions..

Alfonso Maria Fusco, a priest from the southern Italian city of Salerno, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, commonly known as Baptistine Sisters. Their mission was to evangelize, educate and promote youth, especially those who were most poor, abandoned and at risk. He was particularly close to the impoverished and neglected farmers of the South of Italy after the unification of Italy in 1861.

Finally the French Discalced Carmelite mystic and writer Elizabeth of the Trinity who died aged just 26 in 1906 from Addison’s disease, which in the early 20th century had no treatment with which to cure or allieviate the suffering of its victims. Even though her death was painful, Elizabeth gratefully accepted her suffering as a gift from God. Her last words were: “I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!”

“Turkey has no place in and should be kept away from the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process,” Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

“The only positive impact Ankara could have on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is the opening of the border with Armenia and ceasing of encouraging Azerbaijan’s provocative and destructive steps,” Kocharyan said in comments to News.am.

The remarks come after some media reports quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying that “Turkey could play a positive role in the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“The statement on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue, adopted by the Presidents of the CSTO member-countries in Yerevan on October 14, expresses its support to the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg aimed at the prevention of escalation of situation in the conflict zone, stabilization of situation and creation of conditions for the advancement of peace process. The exclusively peaceful settlement should be based on the three well-known principles of International Law – non use of force or threat of force, the territorial integrity of states and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples,” Shavarsh Kocharyan added.

“The position of the Russian Federation on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is expressed by the abovementioned statement, not through the distortion of Sergey Lavrov’s words by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey as presented in the Azerbaijani media: a qualification, which previously was ascribed to the Azerbaijani side for its misrepresentation of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process,” the Deputy Foreign Minister stated.

Photo: AFP

 

An Iraqi operation to recapture the city of Mosul, the last stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country, has started.

Artillery began firing on the city early on Monday, in a long-awaited assault from Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi government and allied forces.

Tanks are now moving towards the city, which has been held by IS since 2014.

The UN has expressed “extreme concern” for the safety of up to 1.5 million people in the area.

The solemn opening of the fourth international conference of Armenian libraries was held at Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Manuscript Depository (Matenadaran) at the Mother See of Hoply Etchmiadzin today.

The conference titled “Preserving the past for the sake of future” is dedicated to the 350^th anniversary of publishing of the first Armenian Bible.

The event has been organized by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Ministry of Culture and the National Library.

The opening ceremony was attended by His Holiness Karenin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan.

“The anniversary of  publishing of the Armenian Holy Book is a remarkable opportunity for the Armenian people to once again value their written legacy and the tireless efforts and dedication our devotees have demonstrated to create this heritage. Printing is one of the greatest achievements of mankind, which made it possible for the achievements of human brain to disseminate and reach all layers of society. Printing became one of the favorable conditions shaping the modern civilization,” His Holiness Karekin II said in his opening remarks.

Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan voiced hope that the conference would serve its goals – to support the centers of Armenology, to help libraries register the Armenian printed heritage, to contribute to the long-term maintenance and popularization of the Armenian legacy.

“I hope new routes of cooperation will be found as a result of discussions, new models of digitization and preservation will be offered,” Armen Amiryan said.

The Dresden Symphony Orchestra will present the “Aghet” program dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the German Consulate General in Istanbul on November 13, the Turkish service of reports.

“Aghet” caused tension between Turkey and Germany last year, as the orchestra commemorated the Armenian Genocide centennial in .  Turkey attempted to pressure it and the EU to keep the term “genocide” out of a concert.

The concert was sponsored by European Union’s Creative Europe program. Turkey’s delegation to the European Union demanded the European Commission withdraw 200,000 euros ($224,500) in funding for the concert.

Earlier this month . Accoridng to reports, the pullout was in response to a concert, supported by Creative Europe and performed in April by Germany’s Dresdn Symphony Orchestra in commemoration of the Armenian genocide.

Conducted by Andrea Molino, the Dresden Symphony is joined by musicians from Turkey and Armenia as well as members of the “No Borders Orchestra.”

“Aghet” was initiated by Marc Sinan together with the orchestra from Dresden. Sinan’s Armenian grandmother lost her parents in the events following the deportations that began on April 24, 1915. The guitarist of German, Armenian and Turkish heritage performs the solo part in Helmut Oehring’s piece “Massaker, hört ihr MASSAKER!” (Massacre, do you hear MASSACRE!) for guitar solo, voice, women’s chorus and strings.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended today the opening of the Fifth Armenian-Russian Inter-Regional Forum and International Forum of Eurasian Partnership.

Greeting the participants, the Prime Minister said “the Fifth Armenian-Russian Inter-Regional Forum is a useful platform for the deepening of bilateral ties.”

“Despite the high level of the Armenian-Russian relations, there is still an unprecedented potential for their deepening, and the international integration processes taking place with the Eurasian framework can only contribute to this,” PM Karen Karapetyan said.

Referring to the International Forum of Eurasian Partnership, the Prime Minister wished productive work to the participants. “There are many similarities and there is willingness to reinforce the existing close business ties,” he said.

A number of agreements on Armenian-Russian cooperation were signed within the framework of the forums.

The Fifth Armenian-Russian Inter-Regional Forum aims to reveal potential partners interested in the export of goods and products, making investments and implementing joint programs.

The International Forum of Eurasian Partnership held with the support of the Armenian Government and the Eurasian Economic Commission aims to contribute to the development of integration processes targeted at the expansion of bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation.

Armenia has welcomed the French bill making it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide.

“We welcome the adoption by the French Senate of a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide, which had been approved by the National Assembly in summer,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

“With this step France once again reiterates its valuable role in the condemnation of genocides committed in the past, the fight against denial and the prevention of new crimes against humanity,” Minister Nalbandian said.

The French Senate  voted 156 to 146 today to pass a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

The joint sitting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Minister, Council of Defense Ministers and Council of National Security Secretaries was held at the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

“Armenia has always been active in improving the collaboration within the framework of the CSTO, deepening the cooperation between the member states, development of mechanisms of coordination of foreign policies, promotion of defense cooperation,” FM Edward Nalbandian said in his opening remarks.

The Armenian FM presented the situation established as a result of Azerbaijan’s April aggression against Artsakh and the agreements reached at Vienna and St. Petersburg summits, underlining Baku’s unwillingness to call them to life.

Edward Nalbandian referred to the Syrian crisis and the need to take immediate steps to normalize the situation. He also spoke about the migration crisis and the fight against terrorism and

During the sitting reference was made to the work of the statutory bodies, intensification of cooperation between CSTO member states within the framework of different international formats, the schedule of political, defense and security consultations planned for 2016 and 2017.

The participants of the joint sitting approved of the “CSTO collective security strategy until 2025,” the final statement of the Collective Security Council session and the statement on the “Settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict” to be considered at the CSTO Collective Security Council later today. About 30 documents were signed upon the conclusion fo the meeting.

At the end of the sitting Armenia handed over the chairmanship of the CSTO statutory bodies o Belarus.