Pierre Balanian

This visit is first and foremost a way of sharing with the first Christian people in history, marked by the genocide. There is also the ecumenical value of fraternity with the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the prophetic quality for peace in the Caucasus, a crossroad between Asia and Europe. Here are the views of a Diaspora Armenian.

Human rights, visas, and migrants are becoming a wedge between Ankara and Brussels. Tomorrow the German Parliament is set to vote on the Armenian genocide. At home, Erdoğan is tightening his grip on power, going after followers of exiled leader Fethullah Gülen. His goal is to establish a "presidential regime" by eliminating all critical voices.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have funded the Taliban in Afghanistan (and still do). In ten years, Mullah Mansur frequently travelled abroad via Pakistan in violation of the UN embargo, including at least 18 trips to Dubai to meet Afghan and Arab businessmen.

The Supreme Council of the Revolutionary and Peaceful Southern Movement is set to announce South Yemen’s secession. Saudi and UAE interference hides hegemonic ambitions and fears. Some analysts, as well as some South Yemeni military, view the move as “premature and extreme”.

The child had been accused of "blasphemy." The execution took place in public in front of his parents and a crowd. A girl is locked in a cage with corpses and bones of the dead for being caught without a veil in her own home.

Analysts of the Arab world wondering "what is Islamic in the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation". The summit is a battlefield with even distant positions on combating terrorism. The interests of individual states prevail over dialogue. Iran’s president abandons summit, accusing Riyadh of maneuvering behind the scenes.

Egypt’s opposition plans protests this afternoon against the decision of the Sissi Government. The two islands, desert and uninhabited, lie in the Red Sea and are named in the Camp David agreements. Analysts believe that the ceding of the territories masks Saudi Arabia’s intention to deal openly with the Israeli government.

The Saudi king has made a "historic" five-day visit to Egypt, where he signed new trade agreements and proposed a peaceful future for Sunni nations. The Muslim Brotherhood unhappy: "We are being used to achieve political goals and then abandoned." Among the joint projects, a "bridge" across the Red Sea.

Whilst the ceasefire is holding, the war that restarted a few days ago marks a shift in the balance of power in the Caucasus. Recent killings and beheadings show a pattern similar to that of IS Jihadis. Azeri forces appear to include Jihadis and Turkish Grey Wolves. Russia is concerned about the war and IS fighters on its doorstep. The US, EU, and UN are absent from the picture.

Violent clashes and attacks on Armenian villages have caused civilian casualties. The victims include children. Nagorno-Karabakh, born from the dissolution of the USSR, like Azerbaijan, claims autonomy. In the past there have been massacres of Christian Armenians by Muslim Azerbaijanis. The area is rich in oil. Turkey and Russia vie for influence in the region.

It is the most prestigious form of recognition in the Middle East, awarded without any sort of discrimination in both humanistic and scientific fields. In recent years, it has been won by some scientists who have gone on to win the Nobel.

Exclusive interview with Sheik Al Shammari, Sunni religious leader