Author: David Nargizian

The battle to drive so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters out of the centre of Ramadi is entering its second day as Iraqi special forces fight the militants street by street, the BBC reports.

Officials are optimistic that the city will be recaptured by the weekend.

But a spokesman for the US-led coalition has been more cautious, saying a tough fight is in prospect.

Iraqi forces are heading towards the main government complex, and have come up against snipers and suicide bombers.

Ramadi fell to IS in May in an embarrassing defeat for the Iraqi army.

On December 10 Turkish publisher, human rights defender Ragip Zarakolu was awarded PL Foundation Peace Prize for his extraordinary efforts in the areas of freedom of thought and expression. Zarakolu is an author of a number of works on Armenian Genocide.

The prize amounting to 100 thousand Danish krone is awarded to organizations and people who struggle for democracy without resorting to violence within the scope of United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

President of the PL Foundation Paul Sogaard noted in his opening remarks that Ragip Zarakolu was chosen as a recipient of the prize for his long struggle for the freedom of thought and human rights, as well as for his efforts targeted at raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide committed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago. Zarakolu has been persecuted and arrested several times for his activity.

Zarakolu said, in turn, he dedicates the award to the memory of Hrant Dink, the slain editor-in-chief of the Turkish Armenian Agos weekly, and Armenian linguist and architect Sevan Nisanyan, who’s currently serving a term in Turkey.

He urged to do the utmost to speak out against and condemn the radical intolerance in Turkey and contribute to the release of detained intellectuals.

The event was attended by First Secretary of the Armenian Embassy in Denmark, a number of Turkish intellectuals and human rights defenders living in different countries, who have been exiled from Turkey for their activity.

Photo: Getty Images

 

Germany’s parliament has voted to send German military support to the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, the BBC reports.

MPs approved the controversial plan for a German non-combat role.

Tornado jets – for reconnaissance – a naval frigate and 1,200 soldiers will be sent to the region.

The vote comes after a French request following last month’s Paris attacks. Ministers believe Germany is now an IS target too.

On Thursday, British warplanes carried out their first air strikes on IS targets in Syria after the country’s parliament authorised the military operation.

 

Photo: News Youm777/ YouTube

 

At least 16 people have been killed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after firebomb was thrown into a restaurant, the BBC reports.

The attack happened in the Agouza area, in the city centre.

The Cairo Post newspaper said three masked men threw the device into the venue before fleeing. Reports say the target also contained a nightclub.

Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed security official as saying one of the suspects is a disgruntled ex-employee.

The agency said the restaurant was in the basement of the building, making it harder for people to escape.

The victims died from burns or the effects of inhaling smoke, it said. At least five other people were injured.

Cairo has previously been rocked by a series of attacks on security forces and civilians carried out by suspected Islamist militants.

An Islamist insurgency intensified in the wake of the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) charged in a damning report on Monday that Turkey’s election was marred by a media crackdown, violence and other security concerns, AFP reports.

It said the campaign for Sunday’s vote was characterised by “unfairness” and “fear” after a surge in violence.

The election delivered a clear victory to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a dramatic turnaround after it lost its parliamentary majority in June.

“While Turkish citizens could choose between genuine and strong political alternatives in this highly polarized election, the rapidly diminishing choice of media outlets, and restrictions on freedom of expression in general, impacted the process and remain serious concerns,” Ignacio Sanchez Amor, special coordinator and leader of the OSCE observer mission, said in a statement.

Concerns over media freedoms were already running high in the run-up to the poll after riot police last week stormed the Ankara and Istanbul offices of two television stations critical of the Turkish strongman.

“Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the southeast, further imposed restrictions on the ability to campaign,” Amor added.

A massive suicide bombing on a peace rally in Ankara last month killed 102 people in the worst attack in the country’s history, with political parties temporarily suspending campaigning.

“Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear,” said Andreas Gross, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) delegation.

He called on Erdogan to work for an “inclusive political process” to deal with challenges facing Turkey.

The elections were also held against a backdrop of a military campaign against Kurdish rebels in the southeast of Turkey and in northern Iraq after attacks on security forces by the militants.

Observers said the army’s operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeast hampered the ability of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to campaign.

“For an election process to be truly democratic, candidates need to feel that they can campaign and voters need to feel that they can cast their ballots in a safe and secure environment,” said Margareta Cederfelt, head of the OSCE parliamentary assembly delegation.

Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia has launched the new round of Acceleration Program, targeting startups with innovative solutions. 14 teams, presenting various solutions have been selected out of more than 50 applicants in the result of strict selection and interview. In line with the tendencies, currently dominating in the international market, teams in Armenia offer solutions in such areas as e-commerce, B2B solutions, video editing, social solutions etc.

Artashes Vardanyan, the head of Acceleration Program of Microsoft innovation center mentions that the startups, involved in the program are at different stages of development. There are teams at the idea or prototype stage, at the same time under the Acceleration Program assistance will also be provided to startups, which already have users and ensure stable retention rate, as well as have managed to attract their first investments.

Under the 12-week acceleration program startups will work on the development of their products, powered by mentorship from experienced specialists. This round of the program will involve specialists from Silicon valley, Israel, Australia, Russia, who have huge experience in turning idea into a product. Armenian experts will work with the teams and provide professional and business consultancy. In addition, the participating teams will receive working space and other facilities in the center. They will be able to participate in all events, training courses and seminars, organized by MIC Armenia. Taking into account that some of the teams have already their products developed, the Acceleration program will try to make some connections with investors and venture funds. The program will culminate in the MIC Demo Day, where a global audience will witness the product demonstrations and startups will receive feedback from experts. 4 startups: Solo Learn, Forkize, Flaxton և Penny, involved in the previous rounds of the Acceleration program attracted more than 350,000 USD for the further development and marketing of their products.

The teams, participating in this round of the Acceleration program are the following:

• BeeCart – an online system of on-demand grocery delivery
• Archimedes – a solution, intended to automate lessons scheduling process at higher educational institutions
• Challenger – an app, intended to help people to achieve their procrastinated goals, by creating challenges and competing with each other
• CPU panda – an online CPU retailer with worldwide shipping
• Follow My Youtube – a web solution, allowing to watch youtube videos together with friends at the same time but from different places
• Friendhub – a mobile application, intended to help people to socialize in real life
• Homesweet – an on-demand cooking order of your favorite food
• Helpie  – a solution to make better UX and to help and support communications
• gShop – an automated delivery of household goods, based on consumption behavior
• Masoor solutions –  a smart medical scheduler to help patients to take medicine and treatment in time
• NeedChange – an app, that will help to avoid inconvenience while visiting places of entertainment and make reservations.
• Renderforest – a free online video making tool
• New life – an e-commerce platform/aggregator of clothes stores
• Filmer – a mobile app intended to help you find your next favorite movie for watching

Five former police officers recently detained on the charge of “negligence on public duty” have been released, and four others under arrest have been cleared of charges of “committing deliberate murder,” “forming an illegal organization,” and “membership of an illegal organization to commit crime” in the murder case of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the reports.

The nine suspects are reported to have been on duty in police departments in Istanbul, Ankara and the Black Sea province of Trabzon when Dink was murdered on Jan. 19, 2007.

Former head of the Trabzon Police Department Intelligence Unit Faruk Sarı, along with former police officers Yılmaz Angın, Bülent Demireleski, Osman Gülbel, Mehmet Ayhan, and Onur Karakaya, were all released on a ruling issued by the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of Peace early Oct. 8 after being detained Oct. 7  on the charge “negligence on public duty.”

The court ruling also suggested the dismissal of the charges “committing deliberate murder,” “forming an illegal organization,” and “membership of an illegal organization to commit crime” against four former police officers under arrest in the case, Ramazan Akyürek, Ercan Demir, Özkan Mumcu and Muhittin Zenit.

Akyürek, Zenit, Mumcu and Demir were previously arrested for negligence on duty that caused Dink’s murder and were sent to prison as the ruling suggested keeping the four under arrest on the charge “negligence on duty that caused death.”

At the time of Dink’s murder, Akyürek was the head of the Turkish National Police (EGM) Intelligence Directorate and Demir was the head of the police department in the Cizre district of the southeastern province of Şırnak.

The ruling came hours after Istanbul Police Department Counterterrorism Unit officers detained seven former police officers on Oct. 7, upon Gökalp Kökçü, the chief public prosecutor heading the investigation, issuing of detention warrants for nine police officers, including Sarı, Angın, Demireleski, Gülbel, Ayhan and Karakaya.
Dink, who was editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Agos, was shot dead outside its office building in Istanbul’s Şişli district on Jan. 19, 2007 by a 17-year-old named Ogün Samast.

Relatives and followers of the case have claimed government officials, police, military personnel and members of Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT) played a role in Dink’s murder by neglecting their duty to protect the journalist.

Armenia is ranked 82nd (up from 85^th last year) in the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 released by the World Economic Forum today.

Switzerland tops the ranking followed by Singapore and the United States. Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 66^th, Azerbaijan – 40^th, Turkey 51^st, Iran – 74^th.

Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Kazakhstan are ranked 45^th and 42^nd respectively. Kyrgyzstan is 102^nd, no data is available for Belarus.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 140 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. The Report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide.

A consultation on constitutional amendments was held today at the Presidential Palace. For that purpose, President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with the representatives of the United Labor Party, Gurgen Arsenyan, Vigen Khachatryan, Hripsime Avetisyan, Valeri Nazaretyan, Artur Movsisyan and Vahe Manukyan.

Clashes erupted outside parliament in Kiev on Monday as lawmakers gave initial approval to consitutional changes granting more autonomy to separatists in eastern Ukraine, AFP reports.

A blast was also heard outside parliament, although the cause was not immediately known, the agency said. About a dozen people were reportedly injured.

A total of 265 lawmakers voted in favour of the reforms at a stormy session of parliament in Kiev, with protests both inside and outside the buidling.

 Photo: Reuters