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Syria begins implementation of state program to restore Aleppo governorate

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Syria’s authorities have begun implementation of the state program for the restoration of populated localities in the Aleppo governorate that were liberated from militants, deputy governor of the province, Hamid Kenno, said on Thursday, TASS reports.

“The state program includes three stages. First, we must restore infrastructure, as people cannot live without water and electricity. Stage two provides for targeted assistance – we collect information about the needs of each family. Stage three is to encourage people to return to their homes. We must explain to them that now it is safe here,” he said.

By now, more than one million people have returned to the governorate, both from other Syrian governorates and from neighboring countries – Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

The Aleppo governorate was liberated from militants in late 2016. More than six million civilians fled the governorate when it was controlled by militants.

Russia, Iraq restore air travel after 13-year freeze

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This file photo taken on August 05, 2014 shows an Iraqi Airways Boeing 747 sitting at Baghdad International Airport. (Photo by AFP)

Russia and Iraq restored scheduled commercial airline services on Sunday for the first time since 2004, in what officials hailed as a sign of stability returning to the war-torn country.

An Iraqi Airways plane left Baghdad at 10.31 am (0731 GMT) and was expected to arrive at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport at 2.19 pm (1119 GMT), according to the Russian airport’s online departure and arrival timetables.

“The first commercial flight arrives today,” Sergei Izvolsky, spokesman for Russia’s civil aviation authority, told AFP.

“It is a signal on the part of the Iraqi authorities that Russian nationals can safely visit Iraq.”

The two countries may also later agree on air travel to the Iraqi city of Basra, Izvolsky said.

Russia suspended regular flights to Iraq in 2004 after the US-led invasion in 2003 plunged the Arab country into war.

(Source: AFP)

University of Mosul students volunteer to restore library

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Volunteers clean debris from the library at Mosul’s university. Photos: Mustafa Khaled

Citing inaction by the Iraqi government and politicians, a group of student volunteers came together this weekend to clean the debris from the University of Mosul’s Ibn Khaldun Center Library.

“We are young, we saw our city destroyed and the government is unable to help,” the organizer of the volunteer group, Mustafa Khaled, told Rudaw English of their work on Saturday and Sunday.

“So we decided to rebuild it and prepare it to be the beautiful university it once was.”

Much of the University of Mosul was destroyed either under ISIS control or by coalition airstrikes in the operations to retake the city from the militant group.

Some 150,000 books were destroyed inside the Ibn Khaldun Center, according to the group.

“We were only able to save about 2,000 books,” said Khaled, a 21-year-old Computer Engineering student.

Several libraries across Mosul were targeted by ISIS and the books inside burned.

The University of Mosul is one of the largest education compounds in Iraq and is situated in the eastern part of Mosul that was announced fully liberated on January 24. The entire city was declared liberated on July 10.

ISIS used the university’s facilities to manufacture weapons and drones. The campus was also one of the group’s main command and control centres in eastern Mosul. In early 2016, coalition warplanes bombed the university, targeting ISIS’ headquarters there.

Khaled is calling for support in the restoration process of the University of Mosul, as the group of volunteers took it upon themselves to do the clean-up without funding.

UNDP stated it July it is helping to rehabilitate the university by providing 50 generators, deploying “cash-for-work” teams to clean the university grounds and clear debris as well as rebuilding dormitories, although Khaled’s group was not a part of such an UN-sponsored team.

“But we are far from the government and the politicians,” he said. “Most of the meetings are politicized and we want our support to be civil or international, not political.”

The UN has requested $707 million for stabilization programs in western Mosul, $174 million in eastern Mosul and another $232 million to stabilize other areas of Iraq.

Armenian Church Helps Restore Jesus’ Tomb in Jerusalem

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Clerics from the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches have recognized the need to repair Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem. (Photo: AP)

Clerics from the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches have recognized the need to repair Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem. (Photo: AP)

JERUSALEM (BBC) —A team of experts has begun restoring the ancient tomb in Jerusalem where Christians believe Jesus was buried, in the first such works for 200 years.

The renovation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre aims to reinforce and conserve the structure.

Rivalry between the three denominations that run the church has delayed work.

But clerics from the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches have put aside their differences, recognizing the need to begin repairs.

The work will focus on the Edicule, the ancient chamber housing Jesus’s tomb which Christians say stands above the spot where Jesus’s body was anointed, wrapped in cloth and buried.

The last restoration work to take place there was in 1810 after a fire.

The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian authorities are responsible for running different parts of the church but share responsibility for the shrine.

Relations between them can be tense – in 2008, an argument between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks escalated into a brawl – but they have decided to act jointly after Israel’s antiquities authority last year said the church was unsafe and Israeli police briefly closed it.

“We equally decided the required renovation was necessary to be done, so we agreed upon it,” said Samuel Aghoyan, the top Armenian Church official there.

The scientific coordinator for the repairs, Antonia Moropoulou, said the tomb was stable but warped and needed attention after many years of exposure to water, humidity and candle smoke.

“The structure also needed to be protected from the risk of earthquake damage,” she said.

Work is expected to take between eight and 12 months and during that time pilgrims will be able to continue visiting the site, church officials said.

Each denomination is contributing funds for the $3.3m (£2.3m) project. In addition, King Abdullah of Jordan has made a personal donation.

Jordan controlled Jerusalem’s Old City, where the church is located, until the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and continues to play a role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian holy sites there.

Iran to restore 3 Armenian churches

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June 3, 2014 – 16:37 AMT

Iran is ready to launch works for restoration of 3 Armenian churches in the Tghmut river basin.

179529The Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Atrpatakan, Supreme Archimandrite Grigor Chiftchyan addressed the Aras economic zone department for protection of cultural and religious monuments with a request to observe the norms of Armenian church construction, Blagovest-Info reported.

Iran has 7 free economic zones, with the Republic’s government planning to use them for development of economy and tourism. Extensive grounds owned by Armenian Church, as well as 3 churches – St. Gregory the Illuminator, St. Sargis and St. George are situated in Aras.

As Iranian authorities are preparing for restoration, Armenian Eparchy suggested involvement of Armenian experts, with the offer to be taken into consideration.

As agreed with Armenian side, upon completion of restoration, the churches will be included into the Aras tourist routes.

Currently, there are 25 Armenian churches in Iran, with 11 of them operating mainly in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan.

Source: PanARMENIAN.Net