Author: Ophelia Vardapetian

“Who Killed the Armenians?”- the first Arabic film devoted to the Armenian Genocide, will be presented in the feature/documentary film category at the Socially Relevant Film Festival to be held in New York, member of the Armenian National Committee of Egypt Armen Mazlumyan told .

The film was produced by director Muhammad Hanafi and journalist and host Myriam Zaki. The film presents the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turks 100 years ago, also as several archival photos and materials, most of which are released for the first time and affirm the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

The survivors’ eyewitness accounts affirm that the Genocide was previously planned. The shootings took place in Armenia, Egypt and Lebanon.

The first screening of the film took place on November 8 in Cairo.

The relative calmness was maintained at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night.

The rival fired about 500 shots from weapons of different caliber in the direction of the Armenian positions, the NKR Ministry of Defense said.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army remained committed to the ceasefire regime and confidently continued with their military duty all along the line of contact.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named ‘s Person of the Year.

Merkel’s selection was announced Wednesday morning on NBC’s “Today” show.

“Leaders are tested only when people don’t want to follow,” Time editor Nancy Gibbs said in a statement issued Wednesday. “For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, Angela Merkel is TIME’s Person of the Year.”

She’s the first individual woman to be recognized since 1986.

Photo: AFP 2015/ GEORGE OURFALIAN

The past 24 hours have seen the Syrian Army’s ongoing advance on Islamic State militants in Aleppo province, where Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have taken back a number of villages, reports.

The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces, supported by Russian and Syrian airstrikes, have managed to liberate an array of villages from Islamic State militants in Aleppo province, where the jihadists suffered heavy losses, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

A number of the ISIL militants’ strongholds and ammunition depots in Shamer village and the city of al-Bab were reportedly destroyed by Syrian warplanes, leaving dozens of militants killed or wounded.

Additionally, the Syrian fighter jets launched a series of airstrikes on the militants’ positions in the villages of Abu Jaloul, Jub al-Kaf and Tibeh in Aleppo, inflicting heavy losses on the jihadists.

Additionally, the Syrian bombers staged airstrikes against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists near Rasm al-Abd, Deir Hafer and Najara, leaving many of them dead or injured.

In a separate development, Russian Air Force warplanes bombed the ISIL-held Jirah Airbase in the eastern part of Aleppo province, killing dozens of militants.

According to sources, it was the first time since the beginning of the Russian air force’s aerial operation against ISIL in Syria that the Islamic State positions inside and outside of the Jirah airbase had been heavily bombarded by Russian fighter jets.

Sources said that the Russian airstrikes on the Jirah airbase may pave the way for the Syrian army’s massive ground operation, which is aimed at liberating the third key airbase in the country after Kuweires and Marj al-Sultan airbases in Aleppo and Damascus provinces, respectively.

Photo: AFP

Malian special forces have entered the Radisson Blu Hotel in the centre of Mali’s capital, Bamako, where suspected Islamists are holding dozens of guests and staff hostage, the BBC reports.

At least three people were killed after gunmen entered the hotel shooting, and shouting “God is great!” in Arabic.

The hotel is popular with expat workers.

A Malian army commander told the AP news agency that about 20 hostages have been freed.

Hostages able to recite verses of the Koran were being released, a security source has told Reuters news agency.

Six staff from Turkish Airlines are staying at the hotel, and a Chinese guest told China’s state news agency Xinhua that he was among about seven Chinese tourists trapped there.

A French presidential source said French citizens were in the hotel, Reuters news agency reports.

President of the Nagorno Karabakah Republic Bako Sahakyan has turned down the reports on alleged pressure on Armenia and Karabakh with a view of forcing the Armenian side to concede several liberated territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh, Russian RBC reports.

“The reports on alleged pressure on Armenia and Karabakh do not correspond to reality,” Sahakyan told a press conference in Moscow.

According to the President, the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is impossible without the direct participation of Nagorno Karabakh. “This should be the starting point. There has been no precedent in the world of a destiny of a whole nation determined without its participation.” Therefore, he said, the format of negotiations determined at Budapest summit in 1994 needs to be restored.

Sahakyan reiterated his earlier position that the return of Nagorno Karabakh under Azerbaijani jurisdiction is impossible.

The NKR President blamed Baku for the escalation of situation at the line of contact. He said Baku’s actions should be taken seriously. “We cannot view this as a simple game. Unfortunately, many people are dying.”

Photo by NASA/JPL-CALTECH/R.HURT

Astronomers have identified the most distant object yet in the Solar System, the BBC reports.

Observations with Japan’s Subaru telescope reveal the likely icy body to be some 15.5 billion km from the Sun – about three times further away than even far-flung Pluto.

Scientists say their initial studies suggest that the object – catalogued as V774104 – is some 500-1,000km across.

It will need to be tracked over time to learn the shape and extent of its orbit through the Solar System.

The discovery was announced at the 47th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences, taking place in National Harbor near Washington DC.

The team behind the find is led by Scott Sheppard, from the Carnegie Institution for Science, and Chad Trujillo, from the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.

FIFA World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, has premiered his personal portrait film “Ronaldo” in London, reports. 

Posing with a line of fans, Ronaldo sought to break a selfie record upon arrival and was also awarded certificates for other Guinness World Records he had, including “most ‘liked’ person on Facebook”.

His agent, and close friend, Jorge Mendes also said that the documentary film was for Ronaldo’s millions of fans who will now get a chance to see the “real Cristiano”.

Ronaldo is also captain of Portugal’s national team, which in October secured its spot for Euro 2016 in France.

Asked if after his soccer playing career he might eye a position as head of FIFA or UEFA, the Real Madrid striker responded with a joke.

The film, made by the team behind documentaries on Racing driver, Ayrton Senna and singer, Amy Winehouse, looks at his professional side as well as shows tender moments between Ronaldo and his young son.

Photo by George Ourfalian, AFP

With the support of Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Army has taken control of approximately 250 square kilometers in Aleppo province, reports.

Photo from AFP

A major rescue operation is under way to save dozens of people thought to be trapped in rubble after a factory collapsed in Lahore, Pakistan, the BBC reports.

At least 17 people died when the factory, which was under construction, collapsed on Wednesday.

Cranes and bulldozers are being used and the army is assisting in the rescue efforts.

The cause of the collapse is still unknown. Building safety levels are often below standard in Pakistan.

Two floors of the factory, in the Sundar Industrial Estate on the outskirts of the city, were operational, while a third was being built.