Syrian Army takes full control of two strategic villages in Aleppo, key mountain in Lattakia

The Syrian army and popular forces made new military gains in the key provinces Lattakia and Aleppo over the past 24 hours, reports.

The Syrian troops captured two key villages near Bashkoy town in the Northern part of Aleppo while other army units seized back a strategic mountain in Lattakia province.

The army seized the Jabal al-Akrad (Kurds Mountain) near a region in Lattakia that borders Turkey to the North.

Meantime, the Syrian troops won back Doweir al-Zaytoun and Tal Jabin villages in Aleppo province.

The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria on Monday.

Lattakia

The Syrian army continued its military gains against the terrorist groups in Northern Lattakia province, killing scores of Ahrar al-Sham militants, including their top senior commander, in heavy clashes.

Khaled Deddew, a notorious commander of Ahrar al-Sham movement, and scores of his militants were killed in heavy clashes with the Syrian troops in Jabal al-Akrad (Kurds Mountain) region that borders Turkey to the North.

The Syrian army and popular forces launched a powerful operation in several directions in Jabal al-Akrad and captured the mountain.

“The Syrian soldiers are currently pressing North from the village of Touma towards the militant stronghold of Kinsibba, which is considered the terrorists’ last line of defense before the important city of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province,” the sources said.

“Liwa Suqour al-Sahra (Desert Hawks Brigade), the National Defense Forces (NDF), the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), and Muqawama Souri (Syrian Resistance) have joined the Syrian army in this phase of operations in the Northeastern part of the coastal province of Lattakia,” they went on to say.

“The main objective of this phase is to seal the Northeastern corner of the Lattakia province and build a frontline at the strategic city of Jisr al-Shughour,” the sources further added.

Aleppo

The Syrian army and popular forces seized back another strategic village near Bashkoy region in the Northern part of Aleppo province, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.

The Syrian troops won back Tal Jabin village about three kilometers from Bashkoy town in Aleppo province.

Scores of militants were killed and injured in heavy clashes with the Syrian troops.

The Syrian armed forces also killed Abu Saleh Al Dieri, a Jaish Al Sham military leader, in Tel Jibbin in the Northern parts of Aleppo province.

Also yesterday, the Syrian forces seized back strategic village of Doweir al-Zaytoun near Bashkoy, killing scores of militants.

The army units inflicted heavy losses on the militants in daylong fierce clashes.

The ISIL left behind tens of the dead and wounded members and fled the battlefront.

The army and its allies are now fortifying their newly captured positions in the battlefield.

Meantime, the Syrian Army announced that two main supply lines of the ISIL terrorist group in the Northern territories of Aleppo province were cut in Syrian air and artillery attacks.

“Masqan-Aleppo and Haras-Al-Bab roads used by the ISIL terrorists as two main supplying routs were cut in the attacks of the Syrian fighter jets and the army’s artillery units,” the army said.

Damascus

The Syrian army seized back several strategic buildings in Western Ghouta in Damascus countryside.

The Syrian forces regained control of an archaeological hall and a number of important buildings located alongside the railway between the towns of al-Moadhamiyah and Darayya in Western Ghouta.

Also on Monday, the Syrian forces took back a number of government buildings in Jobar town in the Eastern countryside of Damascus.

The army purged terrorists from four strategic building blocks in Jobar town in heavy clashes.

The Syrian troops had to explode a tunnel beneath one of the buildings as the terrorists were trying to flee through the tunnel.

Also on Monday, the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) continued to strike the militant groups’ defense lines in Eastern Ghouta.

The Syrian army troops and the NDF have gained more territories near the faculty of agriculture and SANA aerospace organization in Hawsh Kharabu in Eastern Ghouta following hours of tough battle with the militant groups.

At least 12 militants were killed and many more have been wounded in the pro-government forces’ offensives.

Homs

The Syrian fighter jets, in over 30 combat sorties, bombed heavily the ISIL concentration centers in the Central province of Homs and inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists.

The Syrian army’s aircrafts struck the ISIL strongholds near the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur), al-Maqaleh region and near the village of Um Sahrij, which left tens of the terrorists dead or wounded and destroyed their military grid.

Meantime, the Syrian Army and Air Force continued to target ISIL and Al-Nusra Front concentration centers in different parts of the Central province of Homs, inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists.

The Syrian fighter jets, in a fresh round of combat flights, targeted the ISIL gatherings and positions near Quaryatayn, Sha’er oilfield and al-Bayarat in the Eastern and Southeastern parts of Homs province, which left tens of the militants dead or wounded and destroyed their military hardware in large scale.

Several ISIL militants, meantime, were killed or wounded in the attacks of the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces near the village of Um Sahrij East of Homs.

A depot of the ISIL weapons and ammunition was also targeted and exploded in the Syrian pro-government forces’ offensives in al-Rumeileh near the road of Maheen towards Quaryatayn, and near Tuloul al-Soud in the Southeastern part of the province.

The Syria government forces also raided gathering centers of al-Nusra terrorists near Um Sharshouh, Abu al-Snasil hill in the Northern territories of Homs province.

In the meantime, the Nusra positions in Kafr Laha and al-Taybeh al-Gharbiyeh in al-Houla region came under the assaults of the Syria army and the NDF, which claimed the lives of many terrorists.

Quneitra

The Syrian Army pushed back an ISIL offensive on its positions in a mountainous area in Quneitra province.

The terrorists attempted to capture a strategic hilltop in Korom Jaba region in Quneitra province, but the Syrian troops pushed them back after inflicting heavy casualties on them.

The Syrian army destroyed the terrorists’ vehicles equipped with heavy and high-caliber machine guns.

Scores of terrorists were killed and injured in the Syrian army’s pursuing counterattack.

The Syrian air force backed the army during its ground operations.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) fende
d off ISIL’s offensives on government forces’ defense lines in the Northwestern part of the city of Deir Ezzur, killing scores of the terrorists, including one of their top commanders.

Abu Hadhefah al-Maghrabi, one of the notorious commanders of the ISIL in the Eastern battlefield of Deir Ezzur, was killed by the Syrian army near Deir Ezzur.

Al-Maghrabi possessed an identification card that was issued to him by the so called “Caliphate”.

The ISIL’s large-scale offensives on the pro-government forces’ positions near the village of al-Baqaliyeh near the Western bank of the Euphrates River, targeting the al-Jazeera University campus, al-Rawad Hill and the Firat al-Sham Hotel for the 3rd time in the last 4 days were thwarted by the Syrian army and the NDF.

The ISIL began its assault by storming the important hilltop of Tal al-Rawad, where they were confronted by the Syrian soldiers at the Northern perimeter. The ISIL failed to breakthrough the Syrian Armed Forces’ 1st line of defense.

Sweida

The Syrian Army announced on Monday that the county’s fighter jets have bombed a column of ISIL oil tankers in the Southern province of Sweida.

“The Syrian Air Force strikers bombed a convoy of ISIL oil tankers in the Southeastern part of the village of Sha’ef,” the army said.

“In addition to explosion of most of the oil tanker, the ISIL militants guarding the convoy were also killed in the attack,” the army added.

Pope Francis to make movie debut playing himself in children’s gospel film

Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

 

Pope Francis, the head of the global Catholic church, is to be the first pope to appear in a film, reports.

The pontiff will play himself in Beyond the Sun, an Italian-made family movie based on the gospels, which was inspired by the Pope’s call for film-makers to cater for children when thinking about how Jesus’s message should be communicated through cinema.

All profits from the film are to be donated to two Argentinian charities that help at-risk children and young adults. Shooting is due to begin imminently in Italy.

Andrea Iervolino, co-founder of AMBI Pictures, who will fund and distribute the film, said:

Our excitement and gratitude toward His Holiness, Pope Francis, participating in this film is beyond words. This is not just a movie for us, it’s a message, and who better to have on your side to deliver an important societal and spiritual message than the Pope?

However, there are conflicting reports about the scale of Pope Francis’s involvement in the project. Initial indications suggested he would figure significantly through the movie; information on AMBI’s site mentions only “an epilogue from Pope Francis telling children how and where to find Jesus”.

“The pope is not an actor,” a Vatican spokesman said, downplaying suggestions that Francis would be making any kind of film debut.

AGBU launches new WebTalks video series on Armenian arts, history and more

The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) has  launched its latest in Education Innovation, the AGBU WebTalks online video series. AGBU WebTalks aims to capture and preserve the insights of engaging, dynamic thinkers from around the world, speaking on a wide range of Armenian topics.

With these short videos, AGBU WebTalks seeks to create a rich repository of knowledge and provide easy access to reliable information to meet the demands of an increasingly connected and visual world. This new platform will bring together expertise on Armenian topics in one easily accessible online resource.

“Every generation has its own approach to dealing with questions of identity and community. This multigenerational sharing and learning platform focuses on access, dissemination and preservation of the knowledge and insight of scholars, intellectuals, artists and many others on topics pertaining to the Armenian reality. The curated content allows individuals to navigate and explore their Armenianness through different perspectives shared by leading experts and opinion makers,” says Lena Sarkissian, AGBU Central Board Member and Director of Program Development at the Zoryan Institute’s International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights.

AGBU WebTalks debuts with five videos, produced in partnership with the Zoryan Institute, an international academic and scholarly center devoted to the documentation, study and dissemination of material related to issues of universal human rights, genocide, diasporas and Armenia. The videos were filmed during the “Responsibility 2015” international conference held in New York in March 2015 as part of the centennial commemorations of the Armenian Genocide and feature interviews with journalists Laure Marchand and Guillaume Perrier; human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson; historian Raymond Kévorkian; psychologist Israel Charny; and professor of history Richard Hovannisian. The themes of the aforementioned videos revolve around politics and the Armenian Genocide. The videos currently in production explore a diverse array of topics from art and architecture to classical, jazz and folk music.

“AGBU remains committed to enhancing education with innovation. With high quality, accessible content, we can not only ensure that Armenians have an archive of our history, but we can utilize these tools to further our mission by promoting Armenian subjects to be used in non-Armenian universities and schools. Now, with AGBU WebTalks, we can encourage professors of art, architecture, history and linguistics to incorporate the Armenian story into their syllabi, giving us a new platform for integrating our heritage in classrooms around the world,” added Ani Manoukian, AGBU Central Board Member.

AGBU WebTalks is part of a larger multimedia platform currently in development. Set to launch later this year, this online platform is a global access point offering innovative multimedia educational tools to foster and promote the learning of Armenian language, history and culture. “As part of this larger platform,” added Lena Sarkissian, “the WebTalks series provides a living repository of our distinguished minds as well as a living archive of our community activities. It is all about making connections-to knowledge, to leading experts, to one’s history, to one’s culture, to one’s identity, to being Armenian. Thus, AGBU provides one more opportunity to help forge the future of the Armenian world.”

To learn more about the AGBU WebTalks series, please visit www.agbuwebtalks.org.

US election: Ted Cruz wins Iowa Republican vote

Photo: Reuters

 

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Republican caucuses, the first vote of the US 2016 presidential election, the BBC reports.

“Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives,” he declared, to great applause, as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media.

He took 28% of the Republican vote, beating his rival, the once frontrunner Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio.

Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, and some US media have declared it a dead-heat.

With 95% of results confirmed, Hillary Clinton clung to the narrowest of leads over Bernie Sanders and told supporters she was “breathing a sigh of relief”.

The former secretary of state and first lady stopped short of declaring victory, and her rival, a 74-year-old senator from Vermont said it was a “virtual tie”.

Al-Nusra Front destroys Armenian churches in Al-Ghanimeh village

The Al-Nusra Front has destroyed the churches in the Armenian populated village of Al-Ghanimeh to the north of Lattakia, reports, quoting the Lebanese Al-Manar TV.

Footage shows that the Armenian and Evangelical Churches in the village have been destroyed, the cemeteries have been desecrated.

“The roots of this evil come from Turkey, they have destroyed churches. The rebels follow the example of Turks, who have no religion,” says a man, who visited Al-Ghanimeh after the Syrian forces pushed the terrorists back from the village.

EIB supports with EUR 51m upgrade of strategic transport infrastructure in Armenia

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 51 million to the Republic of Armenia to finance rehabilitation of the M6 interstate road, the crucial transport corridor in Armenia representing the interconnection of the country with Georgia and thus the EU and being significant particularly for Armenia’s exports and imports.

The EIB funds will support the rehabilitation and upgrading along some 90 km of the M6 road between Vanadzor in central Armenia and Bagratashen at the North eastern border between Armenia and Georgia. The road follows a deep valley and features several hairpin bends, steep inclines, narrow bridges and three tunnels which will be upgraded. The M6 rehabilitation will help to improve traffic fluidity, levels of service, time savings and increase overall road safety, expected to result in a reduced number of road accidents, injuries and fatalities.

EIB Vice-President László Baranyay, responsible for EIB operations in Armenia commented: “The EIB loan will support the upgrade of Armenia’s priority M6 road infrastructure representing connection of Yerevan with Tbilisi. This transport infrastructure serves as major link of Armenia with Europe and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States through Georgia’s Black Sea ports carrying over 60% of Armenia’s international traffic”.

In addition to EIB, the Asian Development Bank is expected to provide support to the project. The total costs of the project that will be promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Communication is EUR 102 million.

Currently, the EIB lending commitment in Armenia covers twelve projects, most of them supported by EU grants, and amounts to some EUR 270 million. It supports a well-diversified investment portfolio important for the country’s development in the areas of transport, energy, water and solid waste sector infrastructure and indirectly financing the undertakings of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through EIB partner financing institutions. Both parties have ongoing discussions regarding the future priorities of EIB activities in Armenia and the promising pipeline of new operations for the upcoming years.

Armenia ranked 54th in 2016 Index of Economic Freedom

With an overall score of 67.0 is ranked 54th in the released by the Heritage Foundation. Placed two positions lower than last year, Armenia is rated as “moderately free” country.

Other countries in the region are ranked as follows: Georgia – 24, Azerbaijan – 91st, Turkey -79th, Iran 171th.

Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Belarus are placed 153rd and 157th respectively, Kazakhstan is 68th, Kyrgyzstan is 96th.

Hong Kong tops the rating, followed by Singapore and New Zealand.

According to the report, considerable diversification of the economic base has increased economic dynamism in Armenia. Broad simplification of business procedures has facilitated regulatory efficiency. Following expansionary fiscal policies in recent years, steps have been taken to limit the cost of government through more prudent management of public finance.

The Index of Economic Freedom focuses on four key aspects of the economic environment over which governments typically exercise policy control: Rule of law, Government size, Regulatory efficiency, and Market openness.

In assessing conditions in these four categories, the Index measures 10 specific components of economic freedom, each of which is graded on a scale from 0 to 100. Scores on these 10 components of economic freedom, which are calculated from a number of sub-variables, are equally weighted and averaged to produce an overall economic freedom score for each economy.

Pep Guardiola agrees three-year deal with Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has signed a three-year contract with Manchester City after Manuel Pellegrini confirmed he is leaving at the end of the season, the Daily Mail reports.

Pellegrini broke the news at his press conference ahead of Tuesday night’s clash at Sunderland, while City affirmed they had discussed the job with Guardiola in 2012.

City’s desire to appoint Guardiola had been an open secret and they released a statement on Monday stating he will join the club.

Pellegrini said the club did not go behind his back and the statement read: ‘Manchester City can confirm that in recent weeks it has commenced and finalised contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to become MCFC Head Coach for the 2016/17 EPL season onwards.

‘The contract is for three years. These negotiations were a re-commencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012.

‘Out of respect for Manuel Pellegrini and the players, the Club wishes to make its decision public to remove the unnecessary burden of speculation.

‘Manuel, who is fully supportive of the decision to make this communication, is entirely focused on achieving his targets for the season ahead and retains the respect and commitment of all involved with the leadership of the Club.’

Pellegrini will be confident of leaving Manchester on a high with his side currently in with a shout in several competitions this season.

Messi seeks to meet Afghan boy in plastic jersey

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is hoping to arrange a meeting with an Afghan boy who shot to fame after pictures of him dressed in a striped plastic bag jersey went viral, Kabul’s football federation said Monday, Agence France-Presse reports.

Five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi idolises the Argentine soccer star but a jersey of his favourite player is beyond the means of his poor family in the volatile province of Ghazni near Kabul.

His elder brother Homayoun, 15, made him the blue-and-white-striped plastic shirt with Messi’s named scrawled in marker pen and posted the photos of Murtaza wearing it on Facebook in mid-January.

Jorge Messi, Lionel’s father, told AFP on Saturday that the footballer was aware of the photos that made waves on social media and “wants to do something” for his young fan.

The Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) on Monday said Messi was keen to meet Murtaza as soon as possible, though no date or venue has so far been finalised.

“Messi has been in communication with the federation to set up a meeting with the young boy,” AFF spokesman Sayed Ali Kazemi told AFP.

“We are working to see whether Messi will come to Afghanistan or the five-year-old will travel to Spain or they will meet in a third country.”

There was no immediate comment from FC Barcelona.