Latest news with #RadioLiberty
American Military News
2 days ago
- General
- American Military News
Armenia Is About To Put Its Ancient Manuscripts Online For Free
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. Among columns of exhausted ethnic Armenians fleeing the mass killings carried out by Ottoman Turks beginning in 1915, some hid books or ancient documents inside their clothing. For many survivors, the easily hidden manuscripts were the only remnant of their nation that they were able to smuggle to safety. Thousands of those books and documents eventually arrived in modern Armenia where today they are held in the purpose-built Matenadaran, a storehouse for the country's historic manuscripts. Many, however, remain in museums and private collections scattered throughout the world. Now experts at the Matenadaran are involved in a groundbreaking project to place all accessible Armenian manuscripts –- from ancient bibles to medieval cake recipes –- onto a searchable database. Emma Horopian, the head of public relations for the Matenadaran, told RFE/RL that the project — formally named the Armenian Manuscript Catalogue Access Platform — will 'store and present manuscript descriptions in a structured and searchable format.' Convincing all holders of Armenian manuscripts throughout the world to physically relinquish them to Armenia would be virtually impossible, so compiling a searchable database of the manuscripts in one place online is seen as the next best thing. Gurgen Gasparian, a staff member of the Matenadaran, told local media that the platform will allow 'any Armenologist, researcher, or scientist to find the information they are looking for within seconds,' once the database goes online. Thousands of manuscripts will become findable on the online platform with keywords that include physical descriptions and will be downloadable free of charge. The first stage of the project is planned to go live in early 2026. The online platform is being funded by a charitable institution set up by the late British-Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian. As the first nation to officially adopt Christianity, Horopian says, Armenia's manuscripts provide 'unique sources for the study of Christianity,' as well as 'medieval art, linguistics, and intercultural exchange in the Middle East and Caucasus regions.'
American Military News
2 days ago
- Politics
- American Military News
Russia Tones Down Naval Celebrations As Drones Fly Near Putin's Hometown
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. Russia held subdued ceremonies honoring its navy on July 27 in St. Petersburg, citing security concerns, and authorities in the surrounding region reported that air defense forces shot down several drones they said were fired by Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia kept up its assault on Ukraine, where officials said the military shot down 78 of the 83 attack drones or decoys fired overnight and into the morning, including several whose fragments damaged buildings in the Poltava region, which lies between Kyiv and the front lines in the east. Russian President Vladimir Putin revived a Navy Day parade of ships on the Neva River in his hometown of St. Petersburg in 2017, part of continuing efforts to celebrate the military and whip up patriotic sentiment. But the naval parade was canceled this year, a decision announced by local authorities late last week. On July 27, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that 'it's linked to the overall situation, security reasons, which are above all else.' Russian officials said more than 10 drones were shot down in the morning in the Leningrad region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, and the governor said one woman was slightly injured by falling debris. Dozens of flights were suspended at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport. Almost 100 drones were shot down in various Russian regions overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Putin was in St. Petersburg and received reports on a four-day naval exercise that ended on July 27 and involved vessels from the Baltic Sea, off St. Petersburg, to the Pacific. He pledged to build more warships and step up naval training, saying that 'the navy's strike power and combat capability will rise to a qualitatively new level.' Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv's forces have sunk or damaged several Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea, hampering its operations there and chasing it from the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula to a base in Russia, Novorossiisk. While nothing like the large, unrelenting air strikes that Russia has been unleashing on Ukrainian cities nationwide and stepped up in recent months, Kyiv has harried Russia with drone attacks. In a social media post on July 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian strikes on cities, towns, and infrastructure 'certainly cannot be left without response, and Ukrainian long-range drones ensure one. 'Russian military enterprises, Russian logistics, and Russian airfields must see that Russia's own war is now hitting them back with real consequences,' he wrote. 'The precision of our drones, the daily nature of Ukraine's responses — are some of the arguments that will surely bring peace closer.' Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made no visible progress toward peace at a brief third round of direct negotiations in Istanbul on July 23. Russia has rejected calls by the United States, European countries, and Ukraine for a cease-fire, and Kyiv and Moscow remain miles apart on key issues such as territory and security. Among other things, Russia says Ukraine must cede four mainland regions that it baselessly claims are now Russian, including the portions that its forces do not hold, and accept strict limits on the size of its armed forces and foreign military President Donald Trump, who has been seeking to broker a peace deal since he took office in January, threatened on July 14 to impose new sanctions on Moscow – and secondary sanctions punishing countries that buy Russian petroleum products — if Russia and Ukraine do not reach a deal by early an interview with Fox News broadcast on July 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump is becoming 'increasingly frustrated' that despite having good interactions with Putin during phone calls, 'it never leads anywhere.' Trump is 'losing his patience. He's losing his willingness to continue to wait for the Russian side to do something here, to bring an end to this war,' Rubio said, adding that there was 'no way that Putin could have sustained this war without Chinese support, particularly buying his oil.'
American Military News
4 days ago
- Politics
- American Military News
At Least 6 Dead In Militant Attack On Courthouse In Southeast Iran
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. At least six people were killed and 22 injured after three Jaish al-Adl militants attacked a courthouse in Zahedan, the capital of the restive province of Sistan-Baluchistan in southeast Iran. The Iranian judiciary in a statement on July 26 called the assault a 'terrorist attack.' Jaish al-Adl, a Baluch separatist militant group that is believed to be operating out of neighboring Pakistan, claimed the attack in a statement on its Telegram channel. The group warned the judiciary's personnel that Sistan-Baluchistan is 'no longer a safe place' for them. Iranian media said all three attackers were killed in the attack. This marks the militant group's deadliest attack in Iran since October 2024, when Jaish al-Adl militants ambushed a police convoy, killing 10 officers. Jaish al-Adl, which is designated as a terrorist group by both Iran and the United States, has repeatedly clashed with security forces and Iranian border guards in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, at times taking them hostage or killing them. Members of the Baluch minority, many of whom are Sunni Muslims in Shi'ite-majority Iran, have long faced disproportionate discrimination and violence at the hands of the authorities. The area has also long been a key transit route for narcotics smuggled from Afghanistan to the West and beyond.
American Military News
6 days ago
- General
- American Military News
49 Feared Dead In Passenger Plane Crash In Russia's Far East
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. A passenger plane carrying 49 people, including five children, crashed in Russia's Far East on July 24, with all onboard believed to be dead. The Antonov An-24 aircraft, operated by the regional airline Angara, was en route from Khabarovsk to Tynda via Blagoveshchensk in Russia's Amur region when it lost contact with air traffic control near its final destination. 'Shortly before reaching Tynda, the plane failed to check in. Communication was lost,' emergency services told the Interfax news agency. Hours later, an Emergencies Ministry helicopter located the aircraft's burning fuselage on a remote mountain slope. Rescue teams at first were unable to land due to the area's rugged terrain, but eventually reached the site. 'A ground rescue team from the Russian Emergencies Ministry is surveying the scene of the incident and conducting search operations. As of now, there are no survivors,' the ministry said. Initial reports suggest the crash may have been caused by pilot error during a second attempt to approach the airport in Tynda in poor visibility. The plane reportedly failed to land on its first attempt and was circling back when it lost radar contact. Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case, citing violations of air traffic safety rules resulting in multiple fatalities. Investigators are conducting searches and interrogations at the Angara airline office as part of the probe. The An-24, a Soviet-era twin turboprop still used on regional routes, has long faced scrutiny over safety concerns. This latest incident is likely to intensify calls for stricter oversight of aging aircraft and regional air carriers operating in Russia's vast and often treacherous territories.
American Military News
7 days ago
- Business
- American Military News
Tensions High As EU Leaders Head To China For Pivotal Summit
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will meet with the Chinese president and prime minister in Beijing on July 24 in what is expected to be a tense EU-China summit with the war in Ukraine and a potential transatlantic trade war looming large in the background. Brussels will raise the usual concerns about human rights in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong with Beijing expected to quickly bat away any form of criticism. Instead, the most heated discussions will likely center around China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine and what the EU views as unfair Chinese trade practices, which have led to a ballooning deficit in Sino-European trade in favor of Beijing. Briefing the media before the summit, European Union officials underlined that the EU presidents are expected to be 'direct, open and constructive' but are also 'ready to defend our interest.' 50 Years Of Diplomatic Ties The summit was meant to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and the bloc, but don't expect too many niceties or concrete deliverables of any kind. Given that both sides are keen to showcase their green credentials, there were hopes in the EU that they would at least agree on a common declaration on the climate, but it is very uncertain if even this will materialize. This stands in sharp contrast to the EU-Japan summit held the day before in Tokyo, where a 24-page declaration covering a broad policy agenda was expected, including progress on bilateral security ties and a rare earths deal. The key meeting to look out for in Beijing is the morning session, when von der Leyen and Costa will have a 'geo-strategic' discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Have The Gloves Come Off Regarding Ukraine? Ukraine will take up a big part of the meeting, which comes just a few weeks after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told European diplomats in Brussels that his country could not accept a Russian defeat in the war. Brussels has long sought not to antagonize China too much on the issue, but the gloves appear to have come off, at least to a certain extent. EU officials now say openly that 80 percent of dual-use items used by Russia in its war effort originate from China. Brussels has also criticized Beijing's continued export of components like drone engines to Moscow. China has also been targeted — both directly and indirectly — in the latest EU sanctions package on Russia agreed last week. Several Chinese companies and a handful of financial institutions are now blacklisted, with the Chinese Commerce Ministry already criticizing the move. The fact that Brussels now feels confident and can find unanimity to target Beijing in this way is something new. New EU restrictions, such as a ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and processed in third countries, are also expected to affect China indirectly. An EU official involved in summit preparations told RFE/RL that no major shift is expected in Beijing's 'no-limits partnership' with Moscow, but Brussels hopes for modest steps, such as tighter customs and financial controls on dual-use goods. Trade Deficit The afternoon discussion with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will focus on the economic relationship and is expected to be equally delicate. The EU and China are each other's second biggest trading partners with trade reaching $2.3 billion daily. But it's the trade deficit that is irking Brussels. Compared to last year, it has doubled to the current $350 billion, with subsidies, procurement barriers, and export controls cited by the EU as real irritants. No major breakthroughs are expected in Beijing, but EU officials hope China might at least acknowledge the concerns and take steps to stimulate domestic demand or address imbalances. Brussels will also hint at possible reciprocal measures, referencing past actions against Chinese electric vehicles and dairy products. But the question is how far the bloc is really ready to go. It does rely on China for critical minerals and permanent magnets — items that are essential for pretty much all modern technologies. And, despite the EU's best efforts to strike new trade deals with the likes of Australia, India and Indonesia to 'de-risk' from China, the shortfall will not be covered immediately. Beijing knows this as well. And then there is the delicate issue of EU-US relations. Unless a deal can be found in the coming days, American tariffs of 30 percent will hit the EU on August 1 with Brussels poised to strike back with countermeasures on US products worth billions in a move that will derail transatlantic trade. One EU diplomat told RFE/RL that this was 'a prospect that has the Chinese rubbing their hands in sheer delight,' as Beijing has long sought to drive a wedge between Brussels and Washington. So, expect China in the next few days to very much push the narrative that it, together with Europe, now represents the rules-based international trade order and that the real distorter of commerce and protectionism isn't to be found in Beijing but in Washington. Depending on what is happening with the transatlantic trade talks, the EU might just be tempted by such rhetoric.
