Author: Hambik Zargarian

Photo: Russian Emergency Situations Ministry

 

The Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai in October 2015 was downed by terrorists to harm Egypt’s tourism industry and ties with Russia, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Sisi said Wednesday, Sputnik News reports.

The statement was the first confirmation by Egyptian authorities, saying that the Russian-operated A321 had been brought down by terrorists.

On October 31, a Russian-operated airliner carrying 224 people crashed in the Sinai Peninsula en route from the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.

Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/ITAR-TASS

 

The first case of Zika virus has been registered on the territory of Russia, the consumer watchdog’s press service said on Monday, TASS reports.

“The person with the virus is currently at an infectious diseases hospital, her condition is satisfactory. Medical observation of family members was established, no clinical manifestations of the virus were registered among them, and they tested negative for the Zika virus,” the press service said.

The person infected with the virus previously went on vacation to the Dominican Republic.

The watchdog noted that all necessary measures were taken in regard to the passenger plane on which the infected Russian citizen flew home, and there is no threat to the health of other passengers.

On 28 January Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent congratulatory address on the Day of the Army to the Republic of Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan.
The address runs as follows:
“Honorable President Sargsyan,
On behalf of the Artsakh people, the authorities and on myself personally I would like to convey sincere congratulations on the Day of the Army, a holiday that is considered very important for all the Armenians.
The glorious Armenian army is the offspring of independence, the pride of the entire Armenian nation, which it loves and cherishes like its child. Its brave soldiers, following the lead of their ancestors, devotedly carry out the sacred duty of defending the Homeland, performing and displaying unique feats and courage.
You have had a great personal contribution in the establishment and formation of the Army, its ongoing enhancement and development. You are doing everything possible for consolidating defense capability of the two Armenian states, solving issues and reaching goals of nation-wide nature.
I once again congratulate You and the whole personnel of the Republic of Armenia’s armed forces on this cherished holiday and wish peace, good health and great success for the glory of Mother Armenia and the native people”.

The Armenian St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, located in the neighborhood of Palermo, Buenos Aires has been included in the official tour program of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires “Knowing BA” which proposes a circuit for tourists visiting the city, reports.

The program enables tourists to tour the city’s neighborhoods, parks, forests, monuments, theaters, to learn about the architecture, history, cultural heritage, accompanied by guides provided by the City Government.

Organizers of “Knowing BA” wanted to include the Armenian Cathedral as a sign of the significant presence of the Armenian community in Buenos Aires.

A group of tour guides involved in the program visited the church and were welcomed by Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church for Argentina and Chile, and employees of the institution in order to receive information and instruction they will need in their work. They also received literature on the Armenian Church.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of New Year and Holly Christmas to the leadership of a dozen of the Armenian educational establishments in Syria, which continue to function in war conditions, to their employees and students and wished them productive work and perpetual energy in their dedicated work for the benefit of the Armenian nation.

Turkey has entered the war on the side of the Islamic State, the Vice President of the Italian Senate Roberto Calderoli said after a Russian Su-24 jet was downed over Syria with an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 fighter, Sputnik News reports.

On Tuesday morning a Russian Su-24 fighter jet crashed in Syria with two people aboard. Ankara claims Turkish F-16s shot down the plane because it violated the country’s airspace. Contrary to Turkey’s accusations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the aircraft was 0.6 miles away from Turkey when it was shot down.

“Turkey has officially entered the war on the side of ISIS by downing at the order of [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan a Russian aircraft which has participated in operations against Islamic terrorists in Syria,” the leading member of the Northern League (Lega Nord) Party wrote on his Facebook page.

According to Calderoli, Turkey is a “’Trojan Horse’ with which assistance the Islamic fundamentalism would like to take a clear shot at the West.”

“Why is Turkey still in NATO after what happened? What else can be expected of the UN apart from taking a strong stand on ISIS and its allies?” Calderoli wondered.

The politician has also criticized Rome’s official stance.

“The Government [of Matteo Renzi] is on the wrong side with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, instead of taking the side of Putin in this war to defend our values, our freedom and our traditions,” Calderoli wrote.

PACE report on Sarsang Reservoir is only a grist for the mill of Azerbaijan’s propaganda machine, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

“Quite recently we witnessed the response of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the report of the British parliamentarian R. Walter presented to the PACE Committee on Political Affairs. The statement of the Co-Chairs, in particular, outlined that considering the sensitivity of the negotiations, attempts to create parallel mechanisms can disrupt the negotiation process and impede progress towards a settlement. Indeed, after this clear warning, presenting a draft of another report, which distorts the issues related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, this time, at the PACE Committee for Social Affairs is openly aimed at failing the efforts undertaken by the Co-Chairs in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue,” Kocharyan said in comments to News.am.

The draft report is only a grist for the mill of Azerbaijan’s propaganda machine and is in line with the logistics of Baku’s policy of undermining the negotiation process, unceasing efforts aimed at escalating the situation along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and on the Line of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh, shifting the discussions on the issue into other formats and constantly voicing criticism addressed at the Co-Chairs. Worrisome is the fact that some PACE parliamentarians intentionally or unintentionally are becoming tools of the Azerbaijani propaganda, and, by their vote distorting the reality, they first of all are discrediting themselves and trying to shadow the PACE authority.

It is noteworthy that the rapporteur, who has already visited Azerbaijan twice, even did not consider to visit Nagorno-Karabakh, where she would have an opportunity to get acquainted with the situation of the main subject of her report – the Sarsang Reservoir. It is obvious, that the rapporteur pursued other goals. Otherwise, she would not ignore the fact, that on November 18, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities answered positively to the written suggestion to arrange her visit, received two days before. Otherwise, the letters of the Head of the Armenian delegation to PACE on the readiness to receive the rapporteur in Armenia will not be left without notice. As a result, the rapporteur presented a report on the reservoir that she has not even seen; instead, she filled the report with falsified arguments.

Moreover, the hustle that accompanies the presentation of the report a few days before the completion of her mandate reveals the fact that the envy for “glory and honor” that Walter received in Baku has been haunting her.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas was unharmed after his car was hit by a bullet on Sunday in an apparent assassination attempt, a spokesman for his political party said, Reuters reports.

The rear window of Demirtas’s bullet-proof car was hit once as he and his security team were driving in the city of Diyarbakir in the largely Kurdish southeast of the country, the spokesman said.

Demirtas told the Firat News Agency that the bullet dent was noticed when they got out of the car. He also said the car was taken away by police, but no bullet cartridge was found.

“Death is God’s command,” Demirtas tweeted after the incident.

Demirtas led his People’s Democratic Party (HDP) through a highly successful election campaign in June, seeing it cross the threshold to enter parliament as a party for the first time and depriving the ruling AK Party of its majority. The AK Party won back a majority in a rerun this month, but the HDP remained above the 10 percent threshold to stay in parliament.

HDP supporters have been attacked three times over the past few months. One of the attacks, believed to have been carried out by Islamic State sympathizers, killed more than 100 people in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

A two-year ceasefire between the Kurdish militant group PKK and Turkey collapsed in July this year. The PKK insurgency, largely fought in southeastern Turkey, has killed some 40,000 people since 1984.

Demirtas’s party had been a facilitator in the ceasefire negotiations, which angered nationalist Turks who demanded a harsher military crackdown on the Kurdish militants.

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan received Eugene Kaspersky – the winner of the 2015 RA Presidential Award in the area of Information Technologies (IT). Eugene Kaspersky, who was bestowed the award for his global contribution to the IT area, has made a considerable input in the area of high technologies. He is also a world-class specialist in the area of cyber security and the Director General of Kaspersky Lab – one of the leading private companies in the area.

The President of Armenia welcomed Eugene Kaspersky and his spouse Khu Shirong and noted that Armenia attaches utmost importance to the development of the information technologies – one of the key branches of its economy. Serzh Sargsyan stressed that the Lab headed by Eugene Kaspersky is doing invaluable job in the area of cyber security and wished him every success in his very important work.

Eugene Kaspersky noted that this is his third visit to Armenia and each time he has been able to combine work with sightseeing and has wonderful impressions of our country. He stressed that Armenia’s progress in the IT area is noticeable.

“I am very happy to receive this prestigious award. I am also proud that I’ve joined the list of the awardees which comprises true legends of the IT community. I would like to thank the Executive Council for the award as well as for the opportunity to familiarize with the IT area in this country. The world is becoming more computerized and digitalized, and significance of the information technologies in economy and social life continues to grow.

We will undoubtedly continue to support Armenia’s initiatives aimed at the development of the IT area,” said Eugene Kaspersky during his meeting with the President of Armenia.

After the meeting, at the Presidential Palace there took place the ceremony of cancelling a postage card and special envelope dedicated to the awardees of the RA Presidential Award in the IT area.

Later, on the occasion of the 2015 RA Presidential Award ceremony, at the Presidential Palace there was also held a reception in honor of Mr. Eugene Kaspersky and Mrs. Khu Shirong.

Additional information about the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the area of Information Technologies

Evgeniy Kaspersky is the sixth winner of the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the area of Information Technologies. The first award was bestowed on the former President of the Board of Directors of the Intel Corporation Craig Barrett in 2010, the second was awarded Steve Wozniak – cofounder of the Apple Computers Corporation in 2011, the third went to the Honorary President of Synaptics Federico Faggine in 2012, the fourth – to the President of the Union of Semiconductors Manufacturers Experts, President of Techno Vision and former CEO of the Hitachi Company Tsugio Makimoto, and the fifth award went to Mario Mazzola – Chief Development Officer of Cisco Company.

The RA Presidential Award in the area of Information Technologies was established by the 2009 July 6 executive order of President Sargsyan and is intended to boost the development of the IT area. The annual award is bestowed on the individuals who have made outstanding contribution to the IT area, whose input – technological, educational, administrative, and financial or other has resulted in the significant advancement in the IT area.

The nomination is carried out by the Award Committee appointed by the President of Armenia and by the international selection commission. The Award comprises the Medal symbolizing Armenia and high technologies, a diploma and a symbolic souvenir.

The near-simultaneous attacks in Paris that killed at least 127 people and wounded more than 180 were an “act of war” carried out by Islamic State, says France’s President Francois Hollande, the BBC reports.

He said the attacks, carried out by eight gunmen and suicide bombers, were “organised and planned from outside”.

Busy bars and restaurants, a music concert and a high-profile football match were all targeted.

Mr Hollande has declared three days of national mourning.