Author: Boris Nahapetian

Photo by Sputnik

 

Syrian military, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces and local militia, took control of the Ghmam settlement some 16 miles northeast of Latakia, a RIA Novosti reports.

In early October, the Syrian army regained control of the Ghmam settlement, but Nusra Front militants later seized it. The settlement was recaptured from the militants last week.

A Syrian army general responsible for the liberation of Ghmam told Russian journalists the settlement’s capture was complicated, as deep tunnels made by the militants surrounded it. Russian Aerospace Forces’ powerful bombs significantly damaged terrorist fortifications, according to reports.

Russian aircraft damaged militant artillery and prevented reinforcements, weapons and food from reaching the terrorist groups.

Ghmam’s strategic location allows for the control of a road connecting the Turkish border and the large Syrian cities of Idlib and Aleppo.

Photo by Charles Lomodong, AFP

 

Five members of the crew of the cargo plane that crashed in South Sudan today were citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

“According to a preliminary information from the Armenian Embassy in Egypt, five crewmembers were citizens of the Republic of Armenia,” the Ministry said.

Further information about the identity of the victims will follow.

A cargo plane that was reportedly overloaded crashed along the banks of the Nile River after taking off from the South Sudan’s capital.

Arzu Geybullayeva (photo from PEN International)

 

Azerbaijan-born journalist and blogger Arzu Geybullayeva has written for major news outlets like Foreign Policy and al-Jazeera. Yet it’s her work for Agos, a Turkish-Armenian newspaper, that has led to threats from her native land, according to the

For the Istanbul-based Geybullayeva, the criticism of her work for Agos began with small Azeri outlets, and spread to Azerbaijan’s state-owned media. Eventually, Geybullayeva, who frequently blogs about human rights in Azerbaijan, received death threats online. By 2014 she realized it was no longer safe for her to return to her home country.

Among the tactics the Azeri government has used against Geybullayeva is to apply pressure to her family in Azerbaijan, a strategy it has used against other journalists and dissidents.

Armenian Grand Master Levon Aronian has retained the 7th spot in the November ranking of FIDE.

World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) tops the ranking, followed by Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Viswanathan Anand (India).

Armenia’s Gabriel Sargissian and Sergey Movsesian are ranked 52nd and 76th respectively.

China has decided to end its decades-long one-child policy, Xinhua news agency.

All couples will now be allowed to have two children, the state-run news agency said, citing a statement from the Communist Party.

The controversial policy was introduced nationally in 1979, to reduce the country’s birth rate and slow the population growth rate.

However, the policy led to concerns over China’s ageing population.

Nepal’s parliament has elected women’s rights campaigner Bidhya Devi Bhandari as its first female president, in a move hailed as a milestone, the BBC reports.

She is the second person to hold the mainly ceremonial role.

The 54-year-old is currently the vice-chair of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist).

Ms Bhandari was defence minister from 2009 to 2011. As president, she has promised to champion minority and women’s rights in Nepal.

Earlier this month, Nepal’s parliament chose its new prime minister, KP Sharma Oli.

Nepal’s parliament has elected women’s rights campaigner Bidhya Devi Bhandari as its first female president, in a move hailed as a milestone.

She is the second person to hold the mainly ceremonial role.

The 54-year-old is currently the vice-chair of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist).

Ms Bhandari was defence minister from 2009 to 2011. As president, she has promised to champion minority and women’s rights in Nepal.

Earlier this month, Nepal’s parliament chose its new prime minister, KP Sharma Oli.

A whale-watching boat has sunk off the coast of British Columbia in western Canada, leaving at least five people dead, the BBC reports.

The boat carrying 27 people sank near Tofino on Vancouver Island, the coastguard said. Sea conditions at the time were reported to be calm.

Emergency officials said 21 people had been rescued and one other person was still missing.

The nationalities of the victims are not yet known.

The boat, Leviathan II, made a mayday call late on Sunday afternoon, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre said.

At least 42 people are feared dead in a traffic accident involving a truck and bus in south-west France, the BBC reports.

The two vehicles are reported to have collided head-on near Libourne, in the Gironde region, east of Bordeaux.

A fire official told the Agence France Presse that the dead were mostly adult passengers on the bus. The lorry driver was also killed.

Both vehicles are said to have caught fire after the collision.

newspaper says the bus was carrying elderly people who were setting off on holiday, adding that there were just five survivors.

U.S. authorities charged a former president of the United Nations General Assembly, a billionaire Macau real estate developer and four others on Tuesday for engaging in a wide-ranging corruption scheme, Reuters reports.

John Ashe, a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who was general assembly president from 2013 to 2014, was accused in a complaint filed in federal court in New York of taking more than $1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen, including developer Ng Lap Seng.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who announced the arrests of Ashe and the other defendants, said the investigation could result in more charges as authorities examine whether “corruption is business as usual at the United Nations.”

“If proven, today’s charges will confirm that the cancer of corruption that plagues too many local and state governments infects the United Nations as well,” Bharara said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “shocked and deeply troubled” by the allegations, said his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. The U.N. had not previously been informed of the probe, Dujarric said, but would cooperate if contacted.

Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has bought a new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Pirelli Edition, Bild reports.

According to the German tabloid, Borussia Dortmund is racing with breakneck speed through the season, winning everything on the pitch. But not just on the court has the BVB mighty power, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have bought mega expensive high-speed cars.

Mkhitaryan, who previously drove Mercedes-Limousine, has reportedly paid  400,000 euros for his Pirelli-special edition.