Category: News

Photo: REUTERS/SANA

 

Syrian soldiers advanced slowly in heavy fighting with Islamic State fighters near Palmyra’s ancient ruins on Friday, state media and a monitoring group said, in an offensive which could open up swathes of eastern Syria to government forces, reports.

The recapture of Palmyra, which the Islamist militants seized in May 2015, would mark the biggest single gain for President Bashar al-Assad since Russia intervened in September and turned the tide of the five-year conflict in his favor.

Syria’s SANA news agency said that the army and an allied militia took more high ground overlooking the city, while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported advances by the army amid what it said were heavy clashes.

Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said the fighting had reached Palmyra’s Roman-era ruins, located in the southwest of the city, where he said the army could not rely on air cover because of the risk of further damage to the ancient site.

Islamic State has blown up ancient temples and tombs since capturing Palmyra, something the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO has called a war crime.

The agency welcomed the prospect of Palmyra’s recapture, saying it “carries the memory of the Syrian people, and the values of cultural diversity, tolerance and openness that have made this region a cradle of civilization.

“For one year, Palmyra has been a symbol of the cultural cleansing plaguing the Middle East,” UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement.

Armenia will host Belarus in a friendly today. The match will be held at the Republican Stasium after Vazgen Sargsyan, the kickoff is at 7 pm.

The fixture will be the farewell match of Armenia’s long-time goalkeeper Riman Berezovsky.

The legendary keeper decided to quit international football after a Euro-2016 qualifier against Portugal.

Berezovsky had been playing for the Armenian national team since 1996. On club level he played for Russian “Zenit,” Torpedo” and “Dinamo” and holds the Russian and USSR record of denying penalties.

Armenia and Belarus played a goalless draw in a friendly match held in Yerevan’s Republican Stadium.

The fixture was a farewell match for Armenia’s long-time goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky.

“There was some tension in the first half, but we played more attacking football in the second half and created more chances,” Armenia head coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan said after the match.

On April 15, George and Amal Clooney will host a fundraiser for the Hillary Victory Fund, reports.

For two seats at the head table with Clinton, George Clooney and his wife, attorney Amal Clooney, at an April 15 fundraiser, a couple must contribute or raise a whopping $353,400 — a huge ticket price for a hard-dollar fundraiser.

The Bay Area fundraiser, hosted at the home of venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar, is one of two events starring the Clooneys. On April 16, Clinton and the Clooneys will reunite at the Clooney Los Angeles mansion, where tickets cost $33,400 per person to dine at the table with one of Hollywood’s most glamorous couples.

Both events raise money for the Hillary Victory Fund. While the maximum donation to a presidential campaign is $2,700 for the primary elections (plus another $2,700 for the general), the Hillary Victory Fund can accept much larger contributions because it is a so-called joint fundraising committee that is comprised of multiple committees.

In addition to Hillary for America, which is Clinton’s main campaign committee, the Hillary Victory Fund also includes the Democratic National Committee and 32 state party committees.

The maximum donation to the DNC is $33,400 a year, while the state parties each can accept donations of $10,000 a year into their federal accounts.

Ten more suspects have been arrested in three European countries as police step up efforts to prevent further attacks after the Brussels bombings, the BBC reports.

Seven were detained in Brussels, two reportedly in Germany and one in Paris.

An investigation is continuing into Tuesday’s bomb attacks, which killed 31 people in Brussels and have been linked to November’s Paris attacks.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Brussels, said that so-called Islamic State (IS) would be destroyed.

Standing alongside Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, he expressed condolences for the victims and solidarity with Belgium, declaring “Je suis Bruxellois”.

The Western alliance would continue its fight to destroy IS, Mr Kerry said.

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be deterred.”

Armenia welcomes Georgia’s support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group – the only format with an international mandate to mediate the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a joint press conference with his visiting Georgian counterpart Mikheil Janelidze.

Speaking about the Armenian-Georgian relations, Minister Nalbandian said the friendship based on mutual respect has been checked by time. “There are no problems between Armenia and Georgia, there are issues that can be solved with joint efforts,” Minister Nalbandian said.

At a meeting in Yerevan the Foreign Ministers of the two countries discussed issues related to the development of transport infrastructures, cooperation in the fields of energy, trade, finances, education and tourism.

“We continue the cooperation with Georgia to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage,” Minister Nalbandian said.

Asbarez – Cambridge University professor and specialist in Armenian linguistics and dialectology Dr. Bert Vaux presented a lecture on “The Armenian Dialect of Salmast” at the 2nd Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian Conference organized by Professor S. Peter Cowe of the Narekatsi Chair of Armenian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, which focused on Armeno-Persian Relations and the Persarmenian Community Throughout the Ages.

Professor Vaux explained that despite the Salmast region’s historical importance in Armenian culture, its dialect has yet to receive a proper linguistic treatment, normally being omitted from the standard manuals of Armenian dialects and at-best mentioned as a subdialect of Khoy / Urmia.

He provided an overview of the Salmast dialect and its place in the world of Armenian varieties (particularly, as compared to Khoy, Urmia, and Maragha), and illustrated phonological, morphological, and lexical features of the dialect using traditional riddles and sayings.

Some of the many distinctive Salmast forms discussed included väv ‘who’, khäyir ‘100’, talv‘husband’s sister’, lapəstrak lapəstrak ‘hare’, votəpöpikʸ ‘barefoot’, and the use ofwas ēr as a past tense marker, as in ēnēnts’ ēnk’ ēr ginäli = thus we knew.

Professor Vaux mentioned that the greatest Armenian linguist, Hrachea Adjarian, had collected a large corpus of Salmast dialect material during his time teaching in Iran 100 years ago, but was unable to assemble this material into a book-size treatment before his death in 1953.

Professor Vaux hopes to collate the Salmast materials in Adjarian’s Armenian Etymological Dictionary (1926-35) and Complete Grammar of the Armenian Language (1952-71); and, combine them with new words, phrases, texts, and video recordings collected from the last remaining Salmastsi speakers to produce a book-length grammar and lexicon of the Salmast dialect (taking account of its descendants in Karabagh and Armenia, particularly in Vayots‘ Dzor, as well).

Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today. The Foreign Minister laid a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims and paid tribute to their memory with a minute of silence.

Deputy Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute Suren Manukyan briefed Minister Janelidze on the tragic episodes of the Armenian Genocide, the history of construction and the architecture of the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial.

Suren Manukyan accompanied the Georgian Foreign Minister to the Memory Wall to introduce him to the humanitarian pages of the Armenian Genocide history.

Jars with soil taken from the graves of public and political figures, witnesses of the Armenian Genocide and friends of the Armenian people, are buried behind the Memory Wall.

The AGMI Deputy Director gifted some English and French publications to Mikheil Janelidze.

 

 

 

The gas price for consumers will be reduced, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan has assured.

“The issue has been discussed by the Presidents of Armenia and Russia, and the relevant structured have been instructed to continue talks on the cut of gas price,” PM Abrahamyan told reporters today.

As for the perspectives of transit of Iranian gas through Armenian territory, the Prime Minister said “the issue will be finally determined by the end of the year.”

Hovik Abrahamnyan said many issues will be clarified during his forthcoming visit to Iran.

Today, on the death anniversary of the former Prime Minister of Armenia, state and political figure Andranik Margarian, President Serzh Sargsyan, accompanied by the highest leadership of the country, visited the Komitas Pantheon and paid tribute to the memory of Andranik Margarian, President’s Press Office reported.