Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed in a phone conversation on the issues concerning further steps of co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)’s Minsk Group (Russia, France, the US) on the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh following the meeting of the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg on June 20.

Lavrov and Kerry also focused on cooperation in fight against terrorists in Syria, TASS reports.

 

At least 79 people have been killed by lightning strikes in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, officials say, the BBC reports.

Fifty three people died in Bihar. Ten people were killed in the eastern state of Jharkhand, and at least 16 died in Madhya Pradesh.

Most of the people who died were working on farms during torrential rains on Tuesday, reports said.

Lightning strikes are common in India during heavy monsoon rains.

In Bihar, the deaths occurred in Nalanda, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Purnea, Munger, Gaya, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Banka and Kaimur.

Photo: Getty Images

In a triumphant win for the thousands of Yazidi women who have been enslaved by the Islamic State, Amal Clooney has confirmed that she will represent victims of the Yazidi genocide, including ISIS survivor and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Nadia Murad, the reports.

“The European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the U.S. government and the U.K. House of Commons have all recognized that there is a genocide being perpetrated by IS against the Yazidis in Iraq,” Clooney said in a statement to Women in the World.

“How can it be that the most serious crimes known to humanity are being carried out before our eyes but are not being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague?”

Clooney, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers specializing in international law and human rights law, will act as their counsel to achieve accountability for the genocide, sexual enslavement and trafficking of Yazidi girls and women by the Islamic State in Iraq. They plan to seek an International Criminal Court investigation and prosecution of the crimes committed against Nadia Murad and the Yazidi community.

After months of traveling around the globe and imploring political leaders to help her cause, Murad told Women in the World that Clooney has given her confidence. “Amal and George received me at their home and opened for me their hearts,” said Murad. “They listened passionately to my story, and Amal gifted me by representing my case. Amal gave me renewed hope by being my voice.” Murad also called Clooney “an incredible, passionate woman,” who embraced her story and her pain. “She did not talk to me as a well-known world figure that people would love to take a photo with, she talked to me as a sister and guardian. She has immense power that made me proud of being a woman.”

Murad views Clooney as a formidable legal force. “It is important to establish justice, and Amal being a life-long defender of justice, it was a natural bond between her and I to be established. We are both defenders of justice, and peace seekers through justice,” Murad said. “The final goal for us all is accountability to perpetrators of genocide, and justice for victims like myself.”

Clooney also represents Yazda, a non-profit organization that has been helping the Yazidi community since the genocide began during ISIS’s attacks in August of 2014. The raids led to the deaths of an estimated 5,000 civilians, the enslavement of more than 2,000 women and girls, and the displacement of 400,000 people from the Yazidi homelands in Sinjar, the Ninevah plain, and Syria.

Nadia Murad of Iraq to participate in the Second Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide

Photo: REX FEATURES

 

The four members of Abba have appeared together in Sweden, and surprised fans with an impromptu singalong, the BBC reports.

The stars gathered on Sunday at a private party to celebrate the 50-year partnership between songwriters Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.

During the gala, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad performed the Abba song The Way Old Friends Do.

Ulvaeus and Andersson joined in at the end of the song, marking the band’s first public performance in 30 years.

Footage of the performance has yet to surface, but images of the quartet have appeared on social media.

Since winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, Abba have sold almost 400 million albums around the world. Mamma Mia!, the musical based on their hits and produced by Ulvaeus and Andersson, has been seen by more than 50 million people.

During their most successful period, the band survived marriage break-ups between Ulvaeus and Faltskog, and Lyngstad and Andersson, but they finally called it a day in 1983.

Their last public performance came three years later, on the Swedish version of TV show This Is Your Life, which was honouring their manager Stig Anderson.

On May 24-25, Ambassador of Armenia to Sweden Artak Apitonian visited the Östergötland county of Sweden.

Ambassador met with the Governor of Östergötland Elizabeth Nilsson. During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the prospects of development of direct cooperation between the regions of Armenia and Sweden, as well as shared views on the agenda of Armenian-Swedish bilateral relations and their enhancement.

During the visit, Ambassador met with the heads of several machinery production, agricultural and other companies of the region, which presented the main areas of their operations. Ambassador introduced the investment climate in Armenia to the Swedish businessmen providing relevant information materials. The parties shared views on the prospects of cooperation with the Armenian counterparts.

Ambassador Apitonian also visited the Linköping University and met with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Folke Sjöberg. Ambassador expressed his gratitude for the continued cooperation of the Linköping University with several higher educational institutions of Armenia within the framework of the EU Erazmus+ and TEMPUS ARMENQA program of Implementation of National and Sectorial Qualifications Frameworks in Armenia. Ambassador suggested to further develop the cooperation between the universities with particular focus on advanced training of teachers, student exchange programs as well as arrangement of joint scientific conferences and exchanges.

During the visit Ambassador met also with the Director of Mjärdevi Science Park of Linköping Ms. Lena Miranda. The prospects of cooperation with the ICT sector of Armenia were discussed during the meeting.

Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian met with Jean Bize, Chairman of the French Senate European Affairs Committee, in Paris.

The sides discussed efforts towards overcoming the consequences of large-scale military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh, possibilities of resumption of the negotiations.

Regarding that, Edward Nalbandian attached significance to addressed statement, issued by Jean Bize on April 7, assessment of the situation and proposed steps towards settlement of the issue. Necessity of implementation of a mechanism for investigation of the cease-fire violations was stressed.

During the meeting, Armenia-European Union relations, negotiations on a new legal framework for cooperation, start of the dialogue on visa liberalization were reflected on.

On the same day, Edward Nalbandian met members of Parliamentary Friendship Groups of the Senate of France and National Assembly of Armenia, with whom discussed a range of issues on the development of the Armenian-French relations, cooperation between legislative bodies of the two states, cooperation within Parliamentary Assemblies.

Overcoming of consequences of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh was in the center of the meeting. Edward Nalbandian thoroughly presented to the French Senators efforts exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in this direction.

During the meeting, developments unfolded in the Middle East, fight against terrorism, migration crisis were touched upon

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has awarded the serviceman, who beheaded Karam Sloyan, private of the NKR Defense Army.

Aliyev handed in the award as he visited the frontline, accompanied by his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva.

 

“There is no military solution to the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh,” Stat Department Deputy Spokesman Mark C. Toner told a daily briefing.

“We have remained in contact with both governments, all sides in this conflict, and our message has been consistent, which is that we condemn in the strongest possible terms any violence along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of conflict and we need to see the peace process back up and running and as soon as possible,” Toner said.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed decrees today, dismissing three high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

Major General Komitas Muradkhanyan was relieved of the duties of the Head of Signal Troops.

Major General Arshak Karapetyan was dismissed from the post of the Chief of the Department of Intelligence of the Armed Forces.

Lieutenant-General Alik Mirzabekyan was relieved of the duties of Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the Logistics Department.

On April 20, Council of City and County of Honolulu, state of Hawaii, adopted a resolution 16-78, CD1, encouraging and supporting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic s continuing efforts to guarantee its citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent society and urging the president and congress of the united states to support the international community’s efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to security issues in the South Caucasus region.

WHEREAS, Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is a land-locked region in the South Caucasus that historically has been Armenian territory and is populated by an ethnic Armenian majority; and

WHEREAS, in 1921, the region was severed from Armenia and placed under the Soviet Azerbaijani administration as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region; and

WHEREAS, February 20,1988, marked the beginning of the national liberation movement in Nagorno-Karabakh, as the elected legislature representing the people of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted a resolution returning Nagorno-Karabakh to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia; and

WHEREAS, on September 2,1991, in accordance with its enacted law, the legislature of Nagorno-Karabakh declared formation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; and

WHEREAS, on December 10,1991, the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic voted in favor of independence, and on January 6,1992, the democratically elected legislature of the republic formally declared independence; and

WHEREAS, since proclaiming independence, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has built a democratic nation with a free-market-oriented economy and a vibrant civil society that has held presidential and parliamentary elections that have been assessed by nongovernmental international monitors as free and fair; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that it encourages and supports the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s continuing efforts to guarantee its citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent society; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council urges the President and Congress of the United States to support the international community’s efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to security issues in the strategically important South Caucasus region; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation.