The mountain of Noah's Ark, a biblical symbol of ancient Armenia, remains an unresolved issue in the ongoing attempts to revive relations between Ankara and Yerevan. Turkey claims that Kurdish armies are organised on its slopes and does not want to grant any rights to others. And Pašinyan would like to remove the Armenian flags so as not to pursue ‘dreams of the past’.
From Istanbul, the director of the Dominican Study Institute spoke to AsiaNews with a mixture of "exaltation" and "surprise” at the fall of the Assad regime. Turkey has denied rumours that it was directly involved in the regime’s overthrow, highlighting the "need for a transition". For Iran’s Khamenei, the fall is part of a "plan" by the US and Israel (and Turkey, without naming it).
Yesterday the Pontiff accepted the prelate's request for resignation, appointing auxiliary Msgr Ilgit as apostolic administrator. Satisfaction for the growth of a reality ‘of Turkish language and culture’. The earthquake of February 2023 still an open wound, need to rebuild from ‘living stones’. The testimony of refugees and displaced persons who broaden horizons on a ‘cultural, spiritual’ level.
A Greenpeace Turkey report revelas that for the fifth consecutive year, the country is confirmed as the main destination for waste: 456,507 tonnes from the EU and the UK alone in 2023, equivalent to 125 lorries of waste per day. Global Plastic Treaty to be discussed by the end of the month.
The place of worship, dating from the 4th century AD, was found in Artaxata. The discovery is the result of joint work of archaeologists from the University of Münster and the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. For experts, it is also a "significant" find because the kingdom was the first in history "to adopt Christianity as its official religion”.
The deadly attack against an aerospace firm near the capital followed reports that Öcalan might address Turkey’s parliament, and that dialogue with the Kurdish movement might resume. Turkish authorities blame rebels, but no official claim has been made. Turkish warplanes retaliated targeting scores of sites across the border in Syria and Iraq, causing many deaths, including civilians.