Daily Archives: September 3, 2013

Tensions rise in the Mediterranean as U.S. and Israel test fire two missiles into the sea while America considers attack on Syria

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Israel and the U.S. carried out a joint missile testIsrael and the U.S. today carried out a joint missile test in the Mediterranean, firing two rockets which later fell into the sea.

News of the secret drill came this morning when the Russian defence ministry reporting that a radar system had detected the launch of two ‘ballistic objects’.

Later today, Israel’s defence ministry revealed that it had conducted a test of missile designed to be used as a target in an anti-missile system funded by the U.S.

A Russian official said that the launch was detected at 6.16am GMT by an early warning station near the Black Sea, designed to detect missiles fired from Europe and Iran.

A spokesman for the U.S. Navy said that American forces did not fire any missiles, but did not confirm whether or not the U.S. was involved with the Israeli operation.

‘No missiles were fired from U.S. ships in the Mediterranean,’ he said.

Officials within Syria said there were no signs of any missile attacks in Damascus.

 

South Africa President Pleased Mandela Is Home

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mandelaSouth Africa’s president said Tuesday that he was pleased Nelson Mandela had gone home from a hospital, saying it indicated the progress that the anti-apartheid leader had made even though he remains in critical condition.

An ambulance returned 95-year-old Mandela to his Johannesburg house on Sunday, and the office of President Jacob Zuma said he will receive the same level of care there that he did in the hospital, administered by the same doctors.

“He remains critical but stable, responding to treatment,” Zuma said in a meeting with journalists in Pretoria, the South African capital. “I think we feel very good that he reached a point where the doctors who were treating him felt he could now leave the hospital to his home, which indicates the progress he had made.”

Mandela was admitted to the hospital on June 8 for what the government described as a recurring lung infection. Legal papers filed by his family said he was on life support.

 

UN: Iran Exile Camp in Iraq Unsafe After 52 Killed

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mek1_0The United Nations mission to Iraq says a camp north of Baghdad where 52 Iranian dissidents were killed this week is unsafe and is urging Iraqi officials to do more to protect dozens of remaining residents.

The statement Tuesday follows a visit by U.N. officials to Camp Ashraf the previous day. It says members of the delegation saw the bodies of 52 victims with apparent gunshot wounds, confirming death tolls provided by backers of the exiles and an Iraqi official.

Before the killings, Camp Ashraf had been home to about 100 followers of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, an Iranian dissident group that opposes Tehran’s clerical regime.

The MEK blames Iraqi security forces for the killings. Iraq denies that, and some Iraqi officials say there was an internal camp dispute.

 

2013-09-03 / President Serzh Sargsyan met in Moscow with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin

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President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the Russian Federation on a working visit met today in Moscow with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

Before the negotiations with his counterpart, President Serzh Sargsyan in his opening remarks first expressed gratitude to Vladimir Putin for the invitation and noted that that are many issues to be discussed. These issues can be talked over and decided upon for furthering the bilateral relation and, certainly, the integration processes.

“Relations between Armenia and Russia are based on the centuries-long traditions of friendship and brotherhood of our two nations. I am confident that these relations will continue to develop in the spirit of mutual understanding, in line with the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. I am certain that each generation of the Armenians and citizens of the Russian Federation should bring their contribution to the history of these relations. We cherish these relations and we will do our best to develop them. It’s an absolute priority of us. Nevertheless, there are, of course, issues which should be solved in a manner which will elevate our relations to a new, higher level, and that’s the purpose of my visit to Moscow,” President Serzh Sargsyan said.

Welcoming his colleague to Moscow, the President of Russia V. Putin thanked President Sargsyan for accepting the invitation and for the visit. “This is your second visit in recent times. I am very glad that our relations are developing dynamically on almost every direction. Our parliaments, governments and business structures also maintain frequent contacts. Honestly, in this regard too, I hope the results are positive. The turnover in our economy has reached 23 percent. Russia remains Armenia’s number one trade partner, and that tendency continues,” the President of the Russian Federation said.

Statement by the Chairman of CoE Committee of Ministers, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention on Human Rights

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399. Comments by Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, on the Enniskillen Joint Statement on Nagorno-Karabakh by the Heads of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries 18.06.2013Sixty years ago, on the 3 September 1953, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, better known as the “European Convention on Human Rights”, entered into force. This treaty is undoubtedly the cornerstone of the human rights protection in Europe. Over sixty years, persons within the jurisdiction of the member States of the Council of Europe have benefited from this unique legal instrument. Several landmark judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, guardian of the Convention, have helped to significantly strengthen the rule of law and democracy across the European continent.

As Pierre-Henri Teitgen, one of the founding fathers of the European Convention, pointed out more than sixty years ago, democracies do not go bad in one day; nor can rule of law be put in place overnight. The promotion of human rights is an ongoing process and it is our common responsibility to ensure that the European Convention remains the effective constitutional instrument of European public order that it has become over the years.

That is why the Armenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe highly values the recent adoption of Protocols No. 15 and 16 to the Convention, which reinforce the ability of the Court to deal with incoming cases and strengthen application of the Convention at national level. No less than 22 member States have signed Protocol No. 15 since its opening for signature at the end of June. The opening for signature of Protocol No. 16 on 2 October will be another important step.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will continue to do its utmost to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Convention are respected and protected across Europe.

Karabakh Telecom is pleased to announce the continuation of the 50% discounted internet service to all DSL and Fiber Optic delivered subscribers

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 On the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Karabakh Telecom is pleased to announce the continuation of the 50% discounted internet service to all DSL and Fiber Optic delivered subscribers.

In addition, on September 3rd, 2013, in recognition of the New School Year and Day of Knowledge, Karabakh Telecom is pleased to donate free mobile telephones with prepaid SIM cards to all students who will be graduating this year from the School in Machkalashen Village in Martuni Region.

The ultimate skywalkers: Daredevil pair conquer 12 cities across seven countries in just a month in quest to scale world’s most famous buildings

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Daredevil pair 6Daredevils Vitaliy Raskalov, 20, and Vadim Makhorov, 24, have scaled some of the most recognisable tourist attractions on the planet and captured every moment.

Fed up with queues and typical tours, the thrill-seeking duo have taken to the rooftops of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, Cologne’s Cathedral, and the EiffelTower and Notre Dame in Paris.

Also taking on Giza’s pyramids and Dubai’s latest skyscrapers, the Russian travellers have been labelled ‘The Skywalkers’.
In just one month the pair, from Novosibirsk and Moscow, conquered 12 cities in seven countries including Stockholm, Warsaw, Prague, Frankfurt, Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Benidorm, Lisbon, Porto and Madrid and have seen the world like no one else.

Mr Raskalov said: ‘We are just chasing the dream and always looking to go to the next highest point to see the things no one else gets to see.

The pair regularly stake out locations in the early hours of the morning, waiting for guards and security staff to turn their back.