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North Korea cancels talks with South, threatens to pull out of U.S. summit: Report

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By Guy Taylor – The Washington Times

North Korea has suddenly canceled high-level talks with South Korea that were planned for Wednesday and threatened to pull out of the upcoming summit with President Trump amid frustration in Pyongyang over ongoing joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, according to report in Seoul.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the North’s main state-controlled media outlet, the KCNA, announced that the annual “Max Thunder” joint drills underway between the South Korean and U.S. air forces are a rehearsal for an invasion of the North and a provocation.

Yonhap issued a separate news bulletin that the North had also threatened to “cancel the U.S. summit,” an apparent reference to the June 12 meeting slated to occur between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, because of the ongoing drills.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the report, “The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.” She did not elaborate.

President Trump didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions about the fate of the North Korea summit as he left the White House late Tuesday afternoon.

State Department officials responded cautiously, with department spokeswoman Heather Nauert telling reporters

Cyprus: President cancels a meeting on reunification of the island

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Cyprus cancelNicosia – Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Tuesday canceled a meeting scheduled in the framework of peace talks, denouncing what he sees as an attempt to recognize the northern part of the island, occupied by Turkey.

The decision comes after Mr Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, had given up attending a dinner in Istanbul for heads of state which was also invited at the last minute the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, who has no rank of president.

This is the first serious snag in the peace negotiations launched one year ago between Mr. Anastasiades and Akinci and to reunify the Mediterranean island divided since 1974.

With regret, President Anastasiades has established that the land was not suitable to hold a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader on May 27, said in a statement the government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides.

While he was on Monday in Istanbul to attend the World Humanitarian Summit, Mr. Anastasiades has decided not to attend the dinner when he learned that Mr. Akinci there would also be present, calling it unacceptable invitation.

Mustafa Akinci heads the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed and recognized only by Turkey.

The invitation to Mr Akinci by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been seen, the Greek Cypriot side as an attempt to undermine the authority of the President of Cyprus and to give more credit to the Turkish Cypriot leader.

In New York, the deputy spokesman Farhan Haq UN stressed that it was an invitation from the Turkish authorities and that the UN was not involved.

The UN has not been formally informed of the decision of the Greek party not to participate in the next round of negotiations, he said.

At this important stage of the process, the secretary general (Ban) wishes to emphasize that the two leaders have shown great courage and great perseverance in the process and have made much progress, so it encourages them to redouble efforts, added the spokesman.

Mr. Anastasiades said he was determined to continue the peace talks provided there is mutual respect (…) and not unilateral decisions to raise the status of a pseudo-state.

Such decisions (…) not only does not help the ongoing process but harm it, the statement said.

After several failures the past 40 years of peace talks under the auspices of the UN were relaunched in May 2015 and are seen as the last chance to reunify the island.

Many feel that the good relations between the two leaders, who meet on a regular basis, can create a climate of confidence in the conclusion of a peace agreement but this latest incident may burden the atmosphere of the negotiations.

Cyprus has been divided in two since the invasion in 1974 of its northern part by Turkey in response to a coup aimed at connecting the country with Greece.

The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise authority on the Greek Cypriot side of the island, or two-thirds the south.

Thursday, May 26, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Mourning and Praying: Armenia’s Eurovision participant cancels performance over Karabakh

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Iveta-Mukuchyan_1Armenia’s 2016 Eurovision participant Iveta Mukuchyan has canceled her upcoming performance in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for the “Eurovision in Concert” event over the deadly fighting that erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh and resulted in the deaths of soldiers and civilians earlier this month.

The Germany-based Armenian singer, who is to represent Armenia at Europe’s biggest pop music contest, which is due to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, in May, said in a Facebook post: “I mourn and pray for the peaceful Armenian people, who were horribly tortured and killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”

“I pray for the bravest soldiers, who died while defending our kids, our parents, our independence. War crimes are a result of hate, indifference, lack of love and understanding. It is our duty to condemn such brutal aggression and preach for love and peace,” the 29-year-old singer concluded.

A number of pubs in Yerevan have cancelled their entertainment events and singers and artists have canceled their upcoming performances over the latest escalation of violence in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict zone. Several Armenian artists, meanwhile, have said that the proceeds from their concerts will go towards helping the people affected by the conflict.

Dozens of Armenian soldiers were killed and scores were injured after Azerbaijan unleashed a new aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh on April 2. A number of civilians, including a 12-year-old child and a 92-year-old woman, were killed in Azerbaijani bombings and commando raids inside populated areas in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The hostilities during which heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft were used came to a halt on April 5 after a tentative ceasefire agreement was reached by the warring sides. The loss of life in cross-border fire and skirmishes has continued since then, however.

Russia cancels nuclear training deals with Turkish universities

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n_93565_1ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Russia’s National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) has canceled planned training programs with four Turkish universities, which had been part of a multibillion nuclear power plant development deal between the countries that is now under threat following Turkey’s Nov. 24 downing of the Russian jet.

Ankara University had a direct deal for raising the manpower for Turkey’s first planned nuclear plant, Akkuyu, in the southern province of Mersin, while Hacettepe University and Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) had separate deals in the educational, scientific and social fields.

Niyazi Meriç, the head of the Ankara University Nuclear Sciences Institute, told Anadolu Agency that his school and MEPhI had signed a deal on April 13 to offer exchange and double masters degrees to their students.

As part of the deal, the students would have studied for six months in Ankara before spending one year at Moscow’s MEPhI. Some 1,000 engineers who to work at Akkuyu would have been educated in both countries, Meriç said, adding that the university would now be looking for new partners in nuclear education.

Tension between Moscow and Ankara has been high since Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane on Nov. 24 for violating Turkey’s border with Syria. Since then, Russia has announced a raft of economic sanctions on Turkey and cancelled many joint projects, but Akkuyu has not been officially halted.

January/07/2016