PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos has reacted to the announcement by the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan that certain members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will be considered as personae non gratae in the country. The press handout from PACE press office reads Rousopoulos as saying: “This is a more…
The arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, on suspicion of allowing criminal activity on his platform has nothing to do with the company’s obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a spokesperson for the European Commission told Euronews on Monday, Euronews reports. “Criminal prosecution is not…
Ukraine is preparing a response to today’s massive Russian shelling, which killed and injured civilians, says Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov on Facebook. “Russia struck our cities again overnight. Civilians were injured, homes were destroyed, and critical infrastructure was damaged,” he said. The minister adds this is another proof of Ukraine’s…
Ahead of the COP29 climate summit, Azerbaijan has banned several dozen PACE deputies from entering the country. Baku explained that those deputies voted in favor of limiting the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan announced that 76 politicians from…
On August 19-22, Lilit Makunts, Ambassador of Armenia to the US, attended the National Convention of the US Democratic Party held in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to participating in the main program of the Convention, Ambassador Makunts attended the discussions on the domestic and external political priorities of the Democratic Party, organized for representatives…
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday (August 24) that the perpetrator of a stabbing rampage in the western town of Solingen must be punished to fullest extent of the law, Reuters reports. “One thing is very clear: such acts must be harshly punished,” Scholz said. “We must never accept this in our society…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday (August 24) held a meeting with top military officials ‘on countering the enemy forces that invaded the territory of the Kursk Region and the measures taken to destroy them,’ the Kremlin press-service said, Reuters reports. In a video released by the Kremlin, Putin was seen receiving reports from…
The Ukrainian parliament on Aug. 20 passed a bill banning activities of religious organizations connected to Russia, The Kyiv Independent reports. The legislation, supported by 265 lawmakers in its second and final reading, could effectively prohibit the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). The UOC-MP’s clergy has been…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Ukraine, officials said Monday, weeks after he made his first trip to Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, CNN reports. His forthcoming visit to Ukraine — also his first since the start of the war – comes at a crucial moment, as Kyiv’s troops push…
The first supermoon of 2024 was visible over Germanan city of Dortmund on Monday (August 19), Reuters reports. A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the time of year when the Moon is closest to the Earth. A blue moon happens once every two or three years on average, according to…
A bid to break up Alphabet Inc.’s Google is one of the options being considered by the Justice Department after a landmark court ruling found that the company monopolized the online search market, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations, Bloomberg reports. The move would be Washington’s first push to dismantle a company…
Reuters. Ukraine has the right to defend itself and thus conduct a military operation in Russia’s Kursk region, said Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, backed by Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal, at a press conference in Helsinki on Wednesday (August 14). “Ukraine has the right to self-defence and it’s clear that they can do…
Turkey is preparing a bill on making fingerprinting mandatory for foreigners entering the country. The Minister of Internal Affairs Ali Yerlikaya told Sabah. He also announced plans to chip the ID cards of people, who have received temporary protection status in the republic, especially Syrians. Yerlikaya said that it is impossible to forge such…
President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen referred to the transfer of more than €4 billion to Ukraine. “Today, we’re disbursing nearly €4.2 billion to Ukraine from the €50 billion Ukraine Facility. To keep the Ukrainian state running as you fight for your survival. With our Member States, we’ve provided support of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Mahmoud Abbas during his official visit to Russia. In addition to discussing current issues of further development of bilateral cooperation, Putin and Abbas exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East in light of the current aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the…
Reuters. Ukraine has received a new 4.2 billion euro tranche from the European Union’s lending facility, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday. Shmyhal said that the government expected to receive one more tranche from the EU’s four-year facility by the end of this year and would channel the funds to finance social and…
Reuters. Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed anger that Vice President Kamala Harris had been swapped in for Biden on the Democratic ticket during his Monday (August 12) interview with Elon Musk. “She hasn’t done an interview since this whole scam started,” Trump said, claiming that Biden dropping off the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who is paying an official visit to Moscow, having arrived on the previous day, TASS reports. In addition to pressing issues of bilateral cooperation, the sides are expected to exchange views on the situation in the Middle East in light of the…
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement. “Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about the importance of Hamas’ return to negotiations on August 15 to finalize the framework for achieving an…
Reuters. Ukraine detained one of its four deputy energy ministers and three other suspects as they were caught “red-handed” receiving a tranche of a $500,000 bribe, state prosecutors and anti-graft police said on Monday. Ukraine has stepped up a wartime campaign against official corruption to prove the country’s credentials for joining the European Union,…
Turkish Foreign Ministry said Gaza school attack by Israel is a crime against humanity. “Israel has committed a new crime against humanity by massacring more than a hundred civilians who had taken refuge in a school building in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City. This attack demonstrated once again that the Netanyahu Government…
Russian units have prevented attempts by Ukrainian mobile armed groups to penetrate deep into Russian territory in the Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. According to it, units from Battlegroup North and reserves have been thwarting Ukrainian attempts to break through with army aviation and artillery near Ivashkovskoye, Malaya Loknya and Olgovka in…
On August 9, the Ambassador of Armenia to India, Vahagn Afyan had a meeting with the Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Kumar Tuhin, Armenian Embassy in India reports. At the meeting, it was mentioned about the side event of Armenian painter Sargis Katchadourian’s works depicting the murals of Ajanta…
Lithuania will send additional military assistance to Ukraine, the Baltic country’s Defence Ministry said in a statement. “Lithuania continues to provide essential military aid to Ukraine: Lithuanian Ministry of Defence is preparing another significant support package. In August, we will deliver combat equipment, anti-drone systems, transportation and logistical resources, also, some really necessary weaponry”,…
Yerevan joined the call by Washington, Cairo and Doha to Israel and Hamas to resume ceasefire talks. “Profoundly realizing importance of ceasefire and hostage release when human lives and regional peace are at stake, Armenia welcomes initiative by leaders of US, Egypt & Qatar. Hopefully, tangible outcome will be achieved during next discussions to…
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said the EU is joining Washington Doha and Cairo in their call to Israel and Hamas to resume ceasefire talks. “The EU joins Egypt, Qatar and the US in their call for concluding, without delay, the ceasefire & hostages release deal….
Reuters. Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump 42% to 37% in the race for the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, according to an Ipsos poll published on Thursday. The poll found Harris had widened her lead since a July 22-23 Reuters/Ipsos survey, which found her up 37% to 34% over Trump. The…
Reuters. U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Kamala Harris will debate on Sept. 10 on ABC, the network confirmed on Thursday, while Trump said he wants to add two more debates that month on Fox and NBC. In a rambling news conference at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, Trump said he…
Washington has warned Turkey that there will be “consequences” if the country does not curtail its exports to Russia of US military-linked hardware, Financial Times reports. Matthew Axelrod, assistant commerce secretary leading US efforts to keep sensitive technology out of the hands of America’s adversaries, recently met Turkish officials and executives in Ankara and…
Reuters. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Thursday (August 8) that Russia’s aggression was the reason for any escalation, including events in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions. “The root cause of any escalation, shelling, military actions, forced evacuations, and destruction of normal life forms, including within (Russia’s) own territories like Kursk and Belgorod…
