News / News Bulletin

German parliament recognizes Armenians' killing as genocide

Thursday, 02 June 2016 1:21 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 02 June 2016 1:21 PM ]

German deputies attend a plenary session of the German lower house of parliament Bundestag. (AFP photo)

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian woman at a security checkpoint in the occupied West bank. Israelis says she was about to stab a soldier. Reports say soldiers prevented an ambulance from reaching her. This brings to 215 the number of Palestinians killed by Israelis since October 2015.
The German parliament has overwhelmingly approved a motion labeling the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide. The resolution was put forward by Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government. It was passed with support from all the parties sparking anger from Ankara.
Turkey says the German parliament’s genocide resolution is a historic mistake and Ankara considers it null and void. Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Berlin in reaction. The Armenian foreign minister hailed the resolution, calling it a contribution to the universal fight for prevention of genocides.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said his country’s armed forces will liberate Fallujah from Daesh in the next few days. Abadi described minimizing casualties among civilians and troops as the main goal of the military operations. Iraqi forces have been trying to flush out the terrorists from the city.
Iran’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says Tehran exported over two-million barrels of crude oil per day in May, putting the country’s current production level at over 3.8 million barrels. He added that Iran has held discussions with international oil companies to increase its crude production and exports.
French workers are planning to stage a rolling walkout at all 19 nuclear power plants countrywide to protest the government’s proposed labor reforms. All the nuclear plants have supported the strike which will start later Thursday. France has been the scene of numerous violent protests against the reforms in recent weeks.
The Chinese government has urged the United States to remain neutral in the dispute over the South China Sea. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said the US is not a party in the dispute, so it should take no position in the territorial row.
Thousands of people have staged a rally in the Venezuelan capital Caracas to protest against what they call foreign meddling in their country. Supporters of President Nicolas Maduro slammed the Organization of American States over its call for an urgent meeting on the Venezuelan crisis.