Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group addressed the Foreign Minister of Canada, Marc Garneau calling for Canada’s support for return of Armenian prisoners and captives held in Azerbaijan. As the Armenian Embassy to Canada reported, the statement addressed to the Prime Minister calls specifically for full re-engagement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries and resumption of negotiations in that framework, return of all Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan and protection and safeguarding of all Armenian cultural heritage sites under Azerbaijani control.

As the authors of the letter said, the only way to find a lasting and fair solution to the conflict is through the principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, and includes the principle of self-determination.

Due to threats and entries from pro-Turkish organizations, the silent demonstration to demand the returnn of Armenian PoWs  under the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been canceled.  As Polish politician Tomasz Lech Buczek informed that action was supposed to take place on PAril 15 at 1.00 p.m. local time. 

“Safety is paramount.This is another act of hatred against the Armenians and the intimidation-based policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Free the Armenian prisoners of war!” Buczek  wrote on his Facebook page. 

To remind, a worldwide silent demonstration is being held on April 15 demanding to help return over 300 Armenian POWs and citizens kept in hostage in Azerbaijan following the Artsakh war in October 2020.

Protests are expected to take place in Toronto, Montreal, Berlin,  Rome, LA, New York, Geneva, Houston, Paris. In Yerevan, the action is taking place at the UN Offices  

The Union of Journalists of Armenia has issued the following statement:

“Yesterday one of the members of a pro-government group referring to itself as “Guardians of the Revolution” disseminated on his Facebook page the personal social network page of journalist for Antifake.am Mari Amirjanyan and the latter’s photo, ‘spicing it up’ with a satirical and vulgar comment and generating hatred against the journalist’s persona, as well as insulting, threatening and using swear words against her.

Today, another member of this group targeted journalist for Tert.am Ani Gevorgyan by disseminating her and her child’s photos with swear words. Ani Gevorgyan reported this.

According to news circulating in the media, various users directly or indirectly linked to the authorities have made similar threats against the journalist.

Let us remind that this group is the same group that attacked Hayeli Press Club with eggs and remained unpunished.

These people even targeted the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, threatening to use violence against him, and again, there was no legal evaluation of this practice.

The Union of Journalists of Armenia strictly condemns such unlawful acts targeted against the professional activities of journalists, especially when the children of journalists are targeted. This contradicts human morality, professional ethics and, at the same time, it is a criminally punishable act, the perpetrators of which must be held liable in order for such incidents to be ruled out in the future.

The Union of Journalists of Armenia demands that the law-enforcement authorities investigate what happened. Any attempt to obstruct the professional activities of a journalist is a criminally punishable act, and there needs to be an appropriate evaluation.

Simultaneously, we demand that government officials suppress people associated with them and not use them when carrying out the disgusting act of settling scores with undesired journalists.”

The remains of 201 military officers are currently being identified, he said

YEREVAN, April 14. /TASS/. Armenia has lost about 4,000 troops during the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday addressing the Armenian parliament.

“Currently, there are 3,621 casualties whose names we know, and 321 are missing in action. The remains of 201 military officers are currently being identified. Another 100 bodies were identified, however, for one reason or another, their relatives refuse to collect their remains, they do not believe expert conclusions. The total number of casualties is about 4,000 people,” he said, offering to honor their memory with a minute of silence.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them.

On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed. Russian observation posts have been set up along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

One of the survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide Ovsanna Mirkhanyan has passed away at the age of 106 in Lenughi village of Armenia’s Armavir province, her son Sargis Mirkhanyan told Armenpress.

“She has undergone a complex surgery. Besides, she could not get out of bed because she fell in the yard. We are 5 children. My mother had 2 daughters in Syria, they both died”, Sargis Mirkhanyan said.

Ovsanna Mirkhanyan was the last Armenian Genocide survivor of the province. She was one of the heroes of the Eyewitness project of ARMENPRESS.

YEREVAN. – They say [ex-President] Serzh Sargsyan handed over “Lele Tepe.” I said, “Go, capture [it],” and in this context there were 700 casualties? This is complete nonsense. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday stated this at the National Assembly of Armenia while presenting the report on the implementation and results of the government program for 2020, referring to a question by independent MP Taguhi Tovmasyan about the Armenian side’s shortcomings during the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war.

 Referring to the “Lele Tepe” issue, Pashinyan said: “The author of the proposal for that operation was a general [of the army], the proposal was considered acceptable by a general, the assessment of the possibility of implementing that proposal was carried out by a general, and the decision was made by a general; moreover, by generals who had the opportunity to implement that decision at that time. Yes, I was present at a part of the conversation, I moderated the discussion, and I did not express my opinion at all. I asked the highest-ranking [general]: ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘It’s a good idea.’ He assessed the situation and reported that it should and can be done. “

Pashinyan stressed that all episodes of the recent war should be investigated, starting with his own actions, but it should be an objective investigation.

Member of the European Parliament François-Xavier Bellamy has called on Europe to break the silence and not leave Armenia alone against Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In an article for Le Figaro newspaper, MEP François-Xavier Bellamy notes that as a result of the 2020 Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression Armenia suffered thousands of victims. 

The MEP also wrote about Azerbaijan’s refusal to hand over Armenian prisoners of war, noting that this kind of an inhumane blackmail by Azerbaijan must not continue for long and that Europe must show that it hasn’t completely lost its principles.

The EU countries have elaborated sanctions against Turkey if it demonstrates aggressive behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean or other regions, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, French Minister of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune said in a speech at the National Assembly.

‘’We have reached a point where Europe has adopted a firm, joint and clear position for Turkey. We do not strive for escalation, but we protect our interests’’, Clément Beaune said.

According to him, Turkey should make a choice between de-escalation or remaining faithful to its aggressive behavior.

‘’We have prepared measures, including sanctions in case there is the necessity’’, the French politician said.

It could prevent the transmission of coronavirus. For those infected it could shorten the duration of the illness and reduce the severity of symptoms.

The spray, developed by Canadian company SaNOtize, kills the bug in the upper airways, preventing it from incubating and going to the lungs, lab tests in the US and Britain showed.

Patients treated with spray saw an average viral log reduction of 1.362 in the first 24 hours, which shows a decline of around 95 per cent of the virus.

Within 72 hours the viral load plummeted by more than 99 per cent.

Dr Stephen Winchester, chief investigator of the UK trial, said: “I expect this to be a major advance in the global battle against the pandemic.

“Simply stated, I think this could be revolutionary.”

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/2689351/nasal-spray-kills-off-covid/