News in Brief

Date: 16 May 2021 - 21:41

News ID: ۹۰۲۶۲

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry believes tensions on the border with Armenia could be ironed out through bilateral contacts on the basis of a constructive dialogue between the sides, Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva told reporters on Sunday. "Armenia’s attempts to use this issue as a political means are unacceptable. ... We advise Armenia’s political and military circles ... not to stir up the situation in the region unfoundedly and solve border issues via bilateral channels based on constructive work with the Azerbaijani side,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson voiced regret that "a technical issue is whipped up by provocative statements and a smear campaign against Azerbaijan.” According to her, shortly after tensions flared up on the border the Azerbaijani Border Service’s leadership headed to the region and launched talks with the border guards of the opposite side. "Currently, certain steps are being taken in order to normalize the situation,” the spokesperson said. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry believes that "such cases can and should be solved between the two countries’ border services on the basis of mutual contacts.” On Wednesday, the Armenian Defense Ministry claimed that Azerbaijan’s armed forces had tried to carry out "certain work” early in the morning in one of the border districts of the Syunik Province. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry stated that its troops were moving "on the positions controlled by Azerbaijan.”

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SANTIAGO (AFP) – Chileans headed to the polls Sunday in a second day of voting to elect 155 people who will rewrite the country’s dictatorship-era constitution in a bid to address deep-seated social inequality that gave rise to deadly protests in 2019. Some 14 million people are eligible to vote this weekend in what many consider to be Chile’s most important election since its return to democracy 31 years ago. More than three million people, or approximately 20.4 percent of the electorate, cast their ballot Saturday, according to the country’s Electoral Service. "I hope that we have a constitution that captures the soul of our nation,” President Sebastian Pinera said after casting his ballot in the capital Santiago. Chile’s constitution dates from 1980, enacted at the height of dictator Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 rule, and is widely blamed for blocking equitable progress in a country ranked as one of the most unequal among advanced economies. This inequality was one of the main drivers of the October 2019 protests, resulting a month later -- after 36 deaths -- in the government agreeing to a referendum on a new constitution.

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LONDON (Press TV) – The British media has been at pains to overplay the reported success of British troops in Mali against supposed terrorist elements. The state broadcaster, BBC, quoted the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in claiming that 100 British soldiers had taken part in an operation against suspected Daesh terrorists close to Mali’s border with Niger. For its part, the MoD tweeted that British forces had dealt a blow to Daesh in the "middle of a sandstorm”. But all the British forces have to show for the success in this search operation is mostly some AK47 rifles and "hundreds of rounds of ammunition”. Nor is it clear which local or transnational group the British forces were targeting. The MoD claims it is Daesh but there is no independent verification of that.

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LONDON (Sputnik) – Prince Harry’s latest bombshell interview has horrified royal experts and members inside the Firm’s inner circle, who have railed at him for "throwing” Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II "under the bus”. The Royal Family is still reeling from the fallout from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first tell-all sit-down with Oprah Winfrey on 8 March, when they made several sensational allegations. In that two-hour TV special the couple who had taken the controversial decision to quit royal life last year, delivered accusations of racism allegedly directed towards their son Archie from within the royal fold, and shed light on the Duchess of Sussex’ suicidal mood during her pregnancy. In Prince Harry’s latest outpourings he blasted his father, Prince Charles, for parenting methods that resulted in him "treating me the way he was treated”. He also likened life as a full-time royal to living in a zoo and the Truman Show.

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AHMEDABAD (AFP) – At least four people have died in torrential rain and winds as virus-hit India braces for a powerful cyclone, officials said Sunday, with tens of thousands set to be evacuated from their homes. Cyclone Tauktae -- India’s first major tropical storm this season -- is moving northwards in parallel with the country’s western coast, bringing heavy rains, thunderstorms and strong winds to several states, the meteorological department said. It is expected to make land in coastal Gujarat as early as Monday night, bringing wind speeds of around 150-160 kilometers per hour (93-99 miles per hour), the weather bureau added. Four people lost their lives on Saturday as torrential rain and winds battered Karnataka state, the disaster management authority said Sunday. Several towns and villages were flooded and properties damaged, officials added.