Category: News

A Turkish tribunal has confirmed a medical diagnosis that Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Mesrob II of Constantinople is no longer capable of making his own decisions because of advancing dementia, and a guardian should be appointed to handle his duties, according to .

Patriarch Mesrob has been suffering for years from Alzheimer’s disease, and since 2008 a patriarchal vicar has been handling the daily affairs of the Armenian Church in Constantinople. But other Armenian prelates have been reluctant to elect a successor while the Patriarch is alive.

In November 2014, during his trip to Turkey, Pope Francis made an unscheduled private visit to meet with Patriarch Mesrob. The Armenian prelate’s physical health, as well as his mental condition, has reportedly been deteriorating since that time.

Shares of Twitter fell in after-hours trading as the company’s quarterly results showed user growth faltering, the BBC reports.

Twitter reported a net loss of $90m for the last three months of 2015 versus a loss of $125m a year ago.

The social media site saw its user growth stall, with 320 million average monthly active users – the same number as the previous quarter.

This is the first quarter in Twitter’s history that the number of monthly active users has not grown.

Revenue for the quarter rose by 48% to $710m compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, matching analysts’ expectations.

Immediately after the results were announced, Twitter shares fell 10% in after-hours trading, before recovering to a 3% loss.

“With no increase in new users, but otherwise good financial performance, Twitter hasn’t yet shown how it can rise from the troubling spot of not being able to grow the business,” said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner.

Azerbaijan will have to recognize Artsakh, if it wants to get rid of the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said in a Twitter post.

“To get rid of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs format, Baku should recognize the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and determine the borders between the two countries through direct negotiations with Karabakh,” Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

To get rid of Co-Chairmanship format, shd recognize & through direct negotiations w/ determine borders btw 2 countries

— Shavarsh Kocharyan (@Sh_Kocharyan)

On 11 February Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received defense minister of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, Central Information Department of the Office of the NKR President reported.

A number of issues related to army building and cooperation between the two Armenian states in this sphere were discussed during the meeting.

NKR Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan was present at the meeting.

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader of Iran Sayyed Ali Khamenei on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

A surge in fighting in Syria’s Aleppo province has displaced about 50,000 people, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned, the BBC reports.

The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly, the ICRC added, with water supplies to Aleppo city cut.

The Syrian government is attempting to recapture rebel-held parts of the major city backed by Russian air power.

Turkey is under pressure to allow in 30,000 Syrian refugees stranded on its border.

In a statement, the ICRC said supply routes for aid had been cut, putting civilians under “enormous pressure”.

“The temperatures are extremely low and, without an adequate supply of food, water and shelter, displaced people are trying to survive in very precarious conditions,” said the head of the ICRC in Syria, Marianne Gasser.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has warned that fighting in Azaz, near the Turkish border, has left health systems “close to collapse”.

Arthur Abraham: As an Armenian, I have two values to fight for – pride and honor

WBO super middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham, who will defend his world title against undefeated WBO #1 super middleweight contender and mandatory challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on April 9 in Las Vegas, wasn’t able to make today’s Los Angeles Pacquiao-Bradley undercard presser. However he did send a statement from his training camp in Germany. The statement reads:

“This fight is a dream come true for me. I fought in Hollywood, Florida vs. Edison Miranda, against Andre Dirrell in Detroit and vs. Andre Ward in Carson, California. But the flair of a big-time event was missing. I was at Manny’s fight vs. Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in 2011 and the atmosphere captured my imagination. Afterwards, it was my wish to one day step into this very ring and on April 9 I will finally get the chance to share the spotlight with the “Pac-Man.”

I do not take a win that night for granted, as Gilberto Ramirez is a young upcoming boxer from Mexico, one of the greatest fighting countries. He wants to write history by becoming the first Mexican to win a world championship at super middleweight.

But myself being an Armenian, living and fighting out of Germany, I have two values to fight for: pride and honor. I will go into this fight with the following words on my mind: “Mejor morir de pie que vivir arrodillado!” This is going to be my greatest victory. Thank you!”

PHOTO: REUTERS/HAMID KHATIB

 

Kurdish-led fighters aided by Russian bombing captured a rebel-held former Syrian military airport near the border with Turkey, a monitor and rebels said on Thursday, reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy fighting took place between Kurds and Syrian insurgents around Menagh airport and Russian warplanes staged at least 30 raids against the rebels holding out there.

Rebels say the Kurdish YPG militias have been taking advantage of their preoccupation with fending off a Syrian army ground offensive launched last week in the northern Aleppo countryside to gain ground in the area near a main border crossing with Turkey.

Kurdish fighters based in their stronghold in the city of Afrin, south of rebel-held Azaz, have grabbed a string of villages that rebels have been forced to evacuate to confront advancing Syrian troops coming from the south.

Russian bombing had allowed Syrian troops supported by Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias to reach almost 25 km  from the Turkish border, the closest they have come in more than two-and-a-half years.

This allowed them to rupture a main rebel supply line between the border and portions of the city of Aleppo which insurgents control. The army with the help of its allies is now seeking to regain full control of what was once the country’s most populous city.

A 94-year former Nazi SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp has gone on trial in Germany over the murder of at least 170,000 people, the BBC reports.

Prosecutors say Reinhold Hanning met Jewish prisoners as they arrived at the camp in occupied Poland and may have escorted some to the gas chambers.

Mr Hanning has admitted being a guard but denies involvement in mass murder.

He is being tried in the city of Detmold, in what is likely to be one of the last cases of its kind.

Mr Hanning is one of four elderly former Nazi guards – three men and a woman – who are due to go on trial in the coming months.

The Nazis killed about 1.1m people at Auschwitz, most of them Jews.

Liverpool’s owners have scrapped their controversial £77 ticket and apologised for the “distress caused” by last week’s pricing announcement, the BBC reports.

Thousands of fans left 77 minutes into Saturday’s draw with Sunderland at Anfield in protest at the planned top-price £77 ticket in the new main stand.

In reversing their decision, club owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) told disgruntled fans “Message received.”

Liverpool’s dearest matchday ticket will now stay at £59.

The highest season-ticket price is also frozen.

Liverpool’s principal owner John W Henry, chairman Tom Werner and FSG president Mike Gordon issued an open letter detailing the changes, following what they described as a “tumultuous week”.

“The three of us have been particularly troubled by the perception that we don’t care about our supporters, that we are greedy, and that we are attempting to extract personal profits at the club’s expense,” it said.

“Quite the opposite is true.”

The club has also ended game categorisation – meaning fans will pay the same price for matchday tickets regardless of the opposition.