Turkish Forum

Category: Regions

  • LECTURE- Armenia in Old Maps and Old Armenian Maps, Rouben Galichian, Oct. 29

    LECTURE- Armenia in Old Maps and Old Armenian Maps, Rouben Galichian, Oct. 29

    American University of Armenia Extension Program

    Presents

    Armenia in Old Maps and Old Armenian Maps
    Illustrated Talk in English by

    Rouben Galichian

    October 29, 18:30-20:00
    AUA, 5th floor, Small Auditorium

    Free Admission

    The presentation is prepared to give the layman an idea how
    non-Armenian mapmakers have shown Armenia in their maps, accompanied
    by the images of the important maps. Some common misconceptions
    generally used by many specialists regarding Armenia are also discussed.

    Armenia has existed for millennia and this fact is well displayed on
    the maps prepared by various mapmakers all over the world. The
    earliest map showing Armenia is in fact the oldest World Map, a
    Babylonian clay tablet displaying the known world and dating form the
    6th century BC.

    >From then on all major cartographers and mapmakers have shown Armenia
    in their maps, notwithstanding the fact that at certain times Armenia
    as an independent kingdom has not existed, but all that time the
    territory where the Armenian people lived has been entitled Armenia.
    Various maps of the Greek, Roman, early Christian, Latin, Assyrian and
    Islamic maps come to prove this fact.

    Samples of all these maps collected from major libraries and museums
    of the world are displayed, followed by maps made by Armenian authors,
    some of which are not well known.

    Speaker: Rouben Galichian has been seriously studying geography and
    cartography since 1970s. He is the author of three monographs:
    “Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage” (I. B. Tauris,
    London, 2004), “Armenia in World Cartography” (2005) and “Countries
    South of the Caucasus in Medieval Maps: Armenia, Georgia and
    Azerbaijan ” (2007). He represents the huge cartographical heritage
    related to Armenia not only by books and articles but also by public
    lectures     and speeches at different scientific conferences and by media
    in the USA and in Europe.

    About AUA Extension:

    American University of Armenia Extension Department (AUA Extension)
    serves as University’s principal interface with the community. At AUA
    Extension we plan, design, develop and deliver a number of quality
    courses to target certain sectors of government, academia, private
    organizations and individuals to help them fulfill professional and/or
    career goals through flexible and innovative adult and continuing
    education and training programs. We offer a comprehensive English
    Language Training Program    , a multitude of Computer Literacy and
    Information Technology training and a number of Leadership, Business
    and Entrepreneurial courses. Our mission is to foster individual,
    organizational, and community growth and transformation, through
    accessible, high-quality programs.  Our Vision is to become the
    Education and Training Organization of choice to meet the changing
    needs of those seeking the best in lifelong learning.

  • US helicopter attack on Syria kills eight

    US helicopter attack on Syria kills eight

    Correspondents in Damascus, Syria | October 28, 2008

    US MILITARY helicopters launched a rare attack yesterday on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the Syrian Government condemned as “serious aggression”.

    A US military official said the attack by special forces had targeted a network of al-Qa’ida-linked foreign fighters moving through Syria into Iraq. The Americans had been unable to shut down the network in the area because Syria was out of the US military’s reach.

    “We are taking matters into our own hands,” the official said.

    The cross-border raid came just days after the commander of US forces in western Iraq said US troops were redoubling efforts to secure the Syrian border, which he called an “uncontrolled” gateway for fighters entering Iraq.

    A Syrian government statement said the US helicopter gunships attacked Sukkariyeh Farm near the town of Abu Kamal, 8km inside the Syrian border. Four military helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction and fired on the workers inside, killing them. Four children were among the dead, the Syrians reported.

    A resident of the nearby village of Hwijeh said some of the helicopters landed and the US troops left the aircraft and fired at a building. He said the helicopters flew along the Euphrates River into the area of farms and several brick factories. Another witness said four helicopters were used in the US attack.

    Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, there have been some instances in which US troops crossed the 600km Syria-Iraq border in pursuit of militants, or US warplanes violated Syria’s airspace. But yesterday’s attack was the first conducted by aircraft and on such a large scale.

    Syria’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the US and Iraqi charges d’affaires to protest over the strike.

    “Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this attack and all its repercussions. Syria also calls on the Iraqi Government to shoulder its responsibilities and launch an immediate investigation into this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria,” a government statement said in Damascus.

    Syrian state television broadcast footage showing blood on the floor of the construction site.

    The area attacked is near the Iraqi border city of Qaim, which had been a major crossing point for fighters, weapons and money coming into Iraq to support the Sunni insurgency.

    The network of foreign fighters sends militants from North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East to Syria, where elements of the Syrian military are in league with al-Qa’ida and loyalists of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party, a US military official said.

    While US forces have had considerable success in shutting down the “rat lines” in Iraq, the Syrian area has been out of reach, the official said.

    US major general John Kelly said last week that Iraq’s western borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan were fairly tight as a result of good policing by security forces in those countries, but Syria was a “different story”.

    He said the US was helping construct a sand barrier and ditches along the border.

    The White House in August approved similar raids by US special forces from Afghanistan crossing the border into Pakistan to attack al-Qa’ida and Taliban fighters there.

    Most of the foreign fighters in Iraq enter through Syria, according to US intelligence. Foreign fighters carrying cash have been al-Qa’ida in Iraq’s chief source of income, contributing more than 70 per cent of the operating budgets in one sector in Iraq, according to documents captured on the Syrian border last year.

    Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem accused the US earlier this year of not giving his country the equipment needed to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq. He said Washington feared Syria could use such equipment against Israel.

    Although Syria has long been viewed by the White House as a destabilising country in the Middle East, in recent months Damascus has been trying to change its image and end years of Western seclusion.

    President Bashar Assad has pursued indirect peace talks with Israel, mediated by Turkey, and says he wants direct talks next year. Syria has also agreed to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon, a country it used to dominate, and has worked harder at stemming the flow of militants into Iraq.

    AP

    Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au, October 28, 2008

  • Saakashvili sacks Georgian PM, ambassador to Turkey to replace

    Saakashvili sacks Georgian PM, ambassador to Turkey to replace

    Georgia’s Saakashvili dismisses PM

    Mon 27 Oct 2008, 13:40 GMT

    By Margarita Antidze

    TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has dismissed reformist Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze, a senior government source said on Monday, under a government overhaul following war with Russia in August.

    The announcement will be made at 6.00 p.m. (2 p.m. British time), the source told Reuters, adding that Saakashvili would name Grigol Mgaloblishvili, Georgia’s 35-year-old ambassador to Turkey, as his choice for the post.

    Gurgenidze, a 37-year-old pro-Western technocrat and former banker, became prime minister of the former Soviet republic in November 2007 with the chief task of attracting foreign investment and keeping the country’s economic growth rates high.

    A five-day war in August, when Moscow sent troops and tanks into its southern neighbour to halt a Georgian offensive to retake breakaway South Ossetia, has hit investor confidence and reined in otherwise healthy growth forecasts.

    Georgia’s pro-Western president, who came to power in the 2003 “Rose Revolution,” is facing increasing criticism from opposition leaders. They accuse Saakashvili of walking into a war Georgia could not possibly win.

    Some opposition factions have announced a protest for November 7, the first anniversary of a police crackdown against opposition demonstrators.

    (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Dominic Evans)

    Source: www.reuters.com, 27 Oct 2008

  • BBC boss says Islam should be treated more sensitively than Christianity

    BBC boss says Islam should be treated more sensitively than Christianity

    Islam should be treated more sensitively by the media than Christianity, according to the director general of the BBC

    By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
    Last Updated: 2:39PM BST 15 Oct 2008

    Mr Thompson had earlier warned of a “growing nervousness about discussion about Islam” Photo: OLI SCARFF

    Mark Thompson claimed that because Muslims are a religious minority in Britain and also often from ethnic minorities, their faith should be given different coverage to that of more established groups.

    His comments come after the comedian Ben Elton accused the BBC of being scared of making jokes about Islam, while Hindus have claimed it favours Muslims over other religions.

    But Mr Thompson, speaking at the annual public theology lecture of the religion think-tank Theos, insisted the state broadcaster would show programmes that criticised Islam if they were of sufficient quality.

    The director general, whose corporation faced accusations of blasphemy from Christians after it allowed the transmission of the musical Jerry Springer -The Opera, also said his Christian beliefs guided his judgments and disclosed that he had never watched the Monty Python film Life of Brian which satirises the story of Jesus.

    In his speech last night, Mr Thompson claimed there are now more programmes about religion on BBC television and radio than there have been in recent decades, whereas coverage has declined on ITV.

    But asked whether it was correct that the BBC “let vicar gags pass but not imam gags”, as Elton claimed, he admitted it did take a different approach to Islam, which has 1.6million followers in Britain, compared to its approach to the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.

    Mr Thompson said: “My view is that there is a difference between the position of Christianity, which I believe should be central to the BBC’s religion coverage and widely respected and followed.

    “What Christian identity feels like it is about to the broad population is a little bit different to people for whom their religion is also associated with an ethnic identity which has not been fully integrated.

    “There’s no reason why any religion should be immune from discussion, but I don’t want to say that all religions are the same. To be a minority I think puts a slightly different outlook on it.”

    However he pointed out that he had commissioned the comedy series Goodness Gracious Me, which he claimed had made fun of many religions, and claimed the BBC had shown more of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed than other newspapers and television channels had done.

    Earlier this year Mr Thompson had warned of a “growing nervousness about discussion about Islam” and said no debate about religion should be censored.

    Mr Thompson said the broadcast of Jerry Springer – The Opera, which features Jesus as a talk show guest who admits to being “a bit gay”, had been the most controversial programme he had dealt with during his time at the corporation.

    “No political issue has so far come near Jerry Springer in terms of anger and emotion. It wasn’t politics that put a security guard outside my house, it was a debate about how the BBC handles religion.”

    However despite the storm over the programme, Mr Thompson, a practising Catholic, said his beliefs do play a part in the editorial judgments he makes and disclosed that he dislikes watching shows about the Bible.

    “I’ve never seen Life of Brian,” Mr Thompson said. “I’ve taken a personal choice very seldom to watch programmes that have depictions of Jesus.

    “I’m very sensitive about depictions of the Gospel story.”

    He also dismissed the idea that television is a “wellspring or accelerant” of immorality in society, and also that the BBC gives too much weight to the secular ideals of science or employs “moral relativism” when covering contentious issues such as medical ethics.

    Mr Thompson defended programmes that have been accused of promoting selfishness or nastiness, such as The Apprentice and The Weakest Link, claiming that viewers know they are only entertainment and do not ape the behaviour shown on them.

    He said that programmes such as EastEnders and The Archers deal with the consequences of people’s actions, even when they cover controversial topics, and claimed even science-fiction series such as Doctor Who have a moral backbone.

    “Doctor Who is not just about Daleks and Cybermen, it is about mothers and families and friendships,” he said.

    However Mr Thompson did admit the corporation had given over too much coverage last month of the launch of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

    “I must say that by the end of that week, even for those of us who share my love of the Higgs-Boson, there did seem to be an awful lot of it on the air.”

    A BBC spokesman said Mr Thompson did not mean Islam should be given preferential treatment, just that all religions are different.

    He said: “People should look at his actual comments rather than trying to infer additional meaning that isn’t there. What Mark Thompson said is that all religions are not the same – he did not say Islam, or indeed any faith, should be treated more sensitively than Christianity. In fact he made it crystal clear that no religion should be regarded as off limits for the BBC.”

    Source: www.telegraph.co.uk, 15 Oct 2008

  • Sulaimani: PUK officials meet with a US diplomat

    Sulaimani: PUK officials meet with a US diplomat

    PUKmedia    2008-10-26    20:41:38

    PUK politburo active member, Omer Said Ali attended by several other PUK politburo members including Jalal Jawhar and Mustafa Saaid Kadir met with a US official from the US Embassy in Baghdad- Head of US diplomatic representation   in Sulaimani province David Wsikler – on Sunday.
    During the meeting, the political and economical conditions in Iraq and the Kurdistan region were discussed.
    Omer Saaid Ali explained that there are political and economical stability in the Kurdistan region which is a good opportunity for foreign investment in the region.
    The US official expressed the readiness of the US Embassy to enhance support between the US Embassy in Iraq and the Kurdistan region especially in aspects of joint American- Kurdish investment, importing high-quality technology and getting benefit from the American investment system.
  • EU agrees “Blue Card” to lure high skilled migrants

    EU agrees “Blue Card” to lure high skilled migrants

    Wed 22 Oct 2008, 8:43 GMT

    (adds details, analyst, link to factbox)

    By Ingrid Melander

    BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (Reuters) – European Union envoys agreed on Wednesday on a fast-track “Blue Card” scheme to attract high skilled migrant workers from developing countries in a bid to compete with the U.S. Green Card, the French EU Presidency said.

    The Blue Card, valid for a maximum of four years, will offer candidates speedier work permits and make it easier for migrants’ families to join them, find public housing and acquire long-term resident status.

    It aims to make the bloc more competitive in a battle with the United States and other ageing Western societies for coveted technology workers and hospital staff from the developing world, increasingly needed to plug labour gaps.

    Highly-skilled foreign workers make up 1.7 percent of migrant workers in the EU, compared with 9.9 percent of migrants to Australia, 7.3 percent to Canada and 3.2 percent to the United States, EU data show.

    Analysts say the Blue Card scheme will not be enough to lure top-end staff and compete with the U.S. Green Card because it offers access to only one EU state at a time, not free mobility within the European single market.

    After 18 months of working with a Blue Card in one EU state, an immigrant would be allowed to move with his family to work in another EU state, but he or she would still have to apply for a new Blue Card there within a month of arrival.

    This provision was required by countries which are determined to maintain national sovereignty over their labour market, such as Germany.

    NATIONAL QUOTAS

    The fact that a Blue Card is not automatically valid for the whole of the EU takes away most of the advantage of having an EU-wide scheme because it gives access to a much smaller market and fewer opportunities, says Jakob von Weizsaecker, from the Brussels-based Bruegel economic policy think-tank.

    “It is clearly a step in the right direction but I don’t expect it to be a big success because if you compare it to the United States, a similar title gives access to the whole U.S. market,” the German labour-market specialist said.

    The Blue Card will be issued to highly skilled workers who have obtained a contract paying a gross annual salary of at least 1.5 times the average wage in the EU state concerned. The figure can fall to 1.2 times average salary in sectors with big labour shortages.

    Governments may refuse to issue Blue Cards citing labour market problems or if national quotas are exceeded.

    The new scheme enters into force 30 months after EU ministers endorse it in the coming weeks, an EU official said.

    The delay was required by new member states such as the Czech Republic, who insisted existing curbs on their citizens’ working freely throughout the bloc be lifted first.

    For a related Factbox click on: [LP656113]

    (Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Paul Taylor and Richard Balmforth)

    Source: africa.reuters.com, 22 Oct 2008