The Armenian-Russian Margarita Gasparyan in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Tournament Limoges

November 12, 2015 By administrator

The young Armenian-Russian Moscow Margarita Gasparyan (20 years) is in the quarterfinals of the women’s tennis Limoges Tournament (France), an international competition with 125 000. Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) has emerged in the second round facing Marina Zanevska (Ukraine) on the score of 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 22 minutes. In the quarterfinals, the opponent will be the Margarita Gasparyan gagnate confrontation between Francesca Schiavone (Italy) and Mandy Minella (Luxembourg).

Krikor Amirzayan

A Tchankaya in the Ankara region, a photo exhibition of an Armenian family evokes genocide and creates anger nationalists

November 12, 2015 By administrator

A Tchankaya in the Ankara region, a photo exhibition of an Armenian family organized by the city authorities in the cultural center of modern art created anger among the Turkish nationalist organizations.

According to the Turkish website Memurlar.net telling through pictures the history of the Armenian family the exhibition presents the Armenian Genocide, which has angered some of the population of Tchankaya.

The opening of the exhibition was done by the deputy chairman of the party “Republican People” Sezkin Tanrekoulou, a former member of the same party Atila Kart, Professor Oran and former Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertogrul Gunay. Everensel The website writes that the exhibition represents the family of brothers and Tsolak Aram tells Dildilian genocide, exodus of Armenians and the life of the Armenian community from 1872 to 1973. The exhibition entitled “testimonies of the past defunct Armenian family “will continue until November 22, despite the anger of some Turkish nationalist circles.

Krikor Amirzayan

Russia to Focus Attention on Christians’ Concerns in Mideast, Says Foreign Minister

November 12, 2015 By administrator

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Source: Alexandr Sherbak/TASS)

MOSCOW (TASS)—Russia will increase its efforts in focusing attention on the concerns of Christians in the Middle East, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a meeting with the Syrian Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, TASS reports.

“Russia was among the initiators to hold a special event on the sidelines of the human rights council in Geneva this March, which was devoted to the Christians’ distress and beginning of their exodus from the region,” Lavrov said. “We will stand up for this direction and this position, and will promote it in international organizations.”

“The Middle East is a cradle of Christianity,” he went on to say. “Christians have been living there for 2,000 years. It should be done so that the civilizational tissue of that region would be preserved and would not be breached.”

It’s necessary to do everything possible to prevent interfaith and inter-civilizational split in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister went on to say.

“We have traditionally paid huge attention to close contacts with representatives of various faiths in the Middle East, taking into account the necessity to do everything to prevent an interfaith, inter-civilizational split in that key region of the world,” Lavrov said.

He also said Russia will continue actively defending the initiative to attract attention to problems of Christians in the Middle East.

According to UN statistics, fighting between Syrian government troops and militants has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions since the civil war’s start in 2011.

Russian MPs ask Putin to expand Russian flights ban to Tunisia & Turkey

November 12, 2015 By administrator

RT Russian MPs representing the Communist Party have written to the resident saying that the security situation in Turkey and Tunisia is just as dire as in Egypt, and therefore passenger flights to these countries should also be banned.

“We ask you to consider including the republics of Turkey and Tunisia in the list of territories where Russian airline companies were temporarily banned to deliver passengers by the presidential decree issued on November 8,” reads the letter signed by State Duma deputies Valeriy Rashkin and Sergey Obukhov.

The lawmakers noted in their message that the recent deadly crash of the Russian A231 airliner in Egypt could have been caused by a terrorist attack, adding that several leading politicians, including Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, British State Secretary Philip Hammond and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon named terrorism as a very probable reason behind the disaster.

Rashkin and Obukhov said they proposed Turkey and Tunisia to be included in the ban because these countries are within the Islamic State terrorist organization’s sphere of influence (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). “Seven terrorist attacks have occurred in Turkey in less than a year. Two coastal hotels were attacked in Tunisia in June,” the letter reads.
The Russian Foreign Ministry already lists some areas in Turkey and Tunisia as places not recommended for visiting. In Turkey this is the south of the country and in Tunisia – its whole territory “with the exceptions of safe tourist-oriented regions.”

Upper house MP Igor Morozov, a member of the chamber’s International Relations Committee, supported the Communists’ idea.

“Turkey and Tunisia remain among the few destinations of mass tourism today, but the security situation there leaves a lot to be desired,” Morozov told RIA Novosti. “The main task the Russian government must pursue through canceling flights to Turkey and Tunisia is to make the governments of these countries take a more serious approach to security in the tourist sector – airports, hotels and major places of interest,” the senator said. “The main task for Russia is to keep its citizens safe and not to replenish the state budgets of some foreign countries,” he added.

WAN-IFRA expresses concern over G-20 Turkey accreditation restrictions for media outlets

November 12, 2015 By administrator

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum have expressed their concern over the government’s refusal to grant accreditation to some media outlets for the Nov. 15-16 G-20 Summit in Antalya, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Daily Zaman, Today’s Zaman and the Cihan News Agency have not been granted accreditation, while daily Taraf did not apply, the statement issued on WAN-IFRA’s website said.

“WAN-IFRA and WEF are seriously concerned that the Turkish government may be using journalists’ accreditation as a tool of censorship. A government should not deny access to media seeking to report on an event of immense national and international importance to punish them for their editorial opinions. In doing so, it is denying journalists their right to do their job and is preventing the free flow of information in the public interest,” the statement said.

The organization also urged authorities to take necessary steps over accreditation problems at the summit, pointing to freedom of expression along with the deteriorating state of press freedom in the country amid recent attacks on media outlets and the detention of journalists.

“The organizations calls on Turkish authorities to take all possible steps to ensure that accreditation is not used as a tool to censor critical media. WAN-IFRA calls on the government to respect the universal right of freedom of expression,” the statement added.

Captured Armenian woman returned to Armenia tells about her adventures in Azerbaijan

November 12, 2015 By administrator

76-year-old Lusik Abovyan, resident of the Armenian Koti village, who was captured by Azerbaijan on their state border, told about her adventures today.

Governor of Armenia’s Tavush Province came to Ijevan city hospital today to visit Lusik Granny, who was returned to Armenia today. Lusik Granny told him, the doctors and her relatives that during her stay in Azerbaijan, she was provided with everything, although she refused to eat. The Granny isn’t complaining of health.

Lusik Abovyan said that on November 6 she got lost in the fog and appeared on the Azerbaijani side. “I was lucky; nobody opened fire,” she said.

Currently Lusik Granny is in Ijevan city hospital, where she is undergoing examination.

Top UK School Defends ISIL by Banning Pro-Kurdish Speaker From Public Talk

November 11, 2015 By administrator

Britain’s University College London (UCL) banned a former student from speaking about his experience fighting alongside with Kurdish troops against ISIL in the Middle East, thus censoring the criticism of the notorious terrorist organization in public.

The UCL’s decision was called a controversial act and sparked accusations that one of the top British public universities acts like an ISIL PR-manager, not willing to spread the truth about the terrorist organization to the British public.

Macer Gifford, a former UCL student, joined the ranks of Kurdish fighting units who stopped the spread of ISIL in northern Syria. As Gifford returnd to Britain, Britain’s Kurdish society invited him to talk about his first-hand experience fighting against ISIL at UCL.

However, the university’s students’ union rejected the idea, banning Gifford’s planned talk, arguing that “in every conflict there are two sides, and at UCLU we want to avoid taking sides in conflicts.”
“Basically like everyone else I was watching the rise of Islamic State, utterly horrified… I was even more horrified that the British and the American governments weren’t doing much to help. They didn’t have a coherent and coercive policy then, and they don’t particularly have one now. So I decided to go out and join the YPG, and to fight myself,” Gifford told RT in an exclusive interview.
Well, it looks like the British institution decided not to take sides in the ongoing Syrian conflict and is in fact trying to censor the criticism of ISIL.
Of course, there are two sides of the story: one side is that the people of Kurdistan are fighting to resist the brutal ISIL regime; and the other side is Caliphate-seeking Islamic fundamentalists, who cut off the heads of their prisoners, burn people in cages, trade slaves, stone adulterers, and kill everyone who doesn’t agree with their crazy ideology. It looks like a pretty easy choice to pick a side on this one, eh? But apparently not for UCL officials, who chose to keep their moral “neutrality.”

Breaking News: Kurds and U.S. Open Offensive to Cut ISIS Supply Route

November 11, 2015 By administrator

Wednesday, November 11, 2015 11:55 PM EST
Backed by American air power, Kurdish officials early Thursday morning announced the start of a ground offensive to retake the western Iraqi town of Sinjar from Islamic State fighters and cut a major jihadist supply line between Syria and the Iraqi city of Mosul, The Associated Press reported.
The plan called for American airstrikes to open the campaign. Meanwhile, thousands of Kurdish pesh merga fighters, joined by Yazidi forces, prepared to sweep down from Mount Sinjar and attack fighters for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, on multiple fronts.

These Two Countries Get 75% of US Military Aid

November 11, 2015 By administrator

Israel and Egypt received roughly 75% of the $5.9 billion the United States handed out in foreign military aid last year, according to the government’s 2015 Foreign Assistance report.

Israel, the United States’ top ally in the Middle East, received $3.1 billion, while Egypt received $1.3 billion, the report says.

The United States dedicated 64% of its foreign military spending to countries in the Middle East, with Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon also among the top 10 recipients.

Colombia led the Americas with $29 million, enough for ninth overall on the list. Africa accounted for 23% of all US foreign military financing last year.
The top five recipients of foreign military financing in 2014, according to the report:
1. Israel: $3.1 billion
2. Egypt: $1.3 billion
3. Iraq: $300 million
3. Jordan: $300 million
5. Pakistan: $280 million
The $5.9 billion for military funding represents 17% of the roughly $35 billion the United States spent on foreign aid in 2014, according to the report.

source: sputniknews.com

U.S. offers $27 million in rewards for information on al Shabaab commanders

November 11, 2015 By administrator

Tert.am report The United States has announced rewards worth a total $27 million for information on six top commanders in the Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which has launched attacks across East Africa, Reuters reports.

The U.S. Department of State said on its website that this included up to $6 million for information on Abu Ubaidah, the al Shabaab leader who took command in September 2014 after his predecessor, Ahmed Godane, was killed by a U.S. missile strike.

The United States, other Western powers and countries in the region see the fight against the al Qaeda-aligned group as a vital part of the battle to prevent Islamist militancy spreading in East Africa and beyond.

Under the Rewards for Justice program, up to $5 million was also offered for information on three other commanders, including Mahad Karate, also known as Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, who is accused of playing a major role in the Garissa university attack in Kenya in April that killed almost 150 people.

The two others, Maalim Daud and Hassan Afgooye, were behind activities, such as training, recruiting and financing for the group, the State Department said.

Al Shabaab ruled Somalia for several years until 2011, when its forces were driven out of the capital Mogadishu by African Union troops. Since then, it has lost most of its main strongholds but still controls swathes of countryside and still launches attacks.

Among its most high-profile assaults was a raid on Westgate shopping mall in Kenya’s capital Nairobi in September 2013, that left 67 people dead. It also launched attacks in 2010 in Uganda, which, like Kenya, has troops in Somalia fighting the group.

The U.S. program offered up to $3 million each for information on two other senior figures in the group.

The U.S. State Department has offered rewards for other al Shabaab leaders in the past under its Rewards for Justice program.

The program, launched in 1984, has paid more than $125 million to more than 80 individuals who provided “actionable information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide”, the State Department said.