Driven by health concerns, most European capitals have mothballed their public events for this Christmas. But even in the absence of traditional fairs, their symbolic centerpiece stands tall and bright everywhere, in defiance of the coronavirus – the Christmas tree.

And speaking of Christmas trees, the Lithuanian capital leads the pack and even rivals grudgingly acknowledge this. Just days ago, for the second year in a row, the Vilnius entrant was picked by the European Best Destinations organization as the Most Beautiful Christmas tree in Europe, leaving Strasbourg (second) and Prague behind.

This year’s Vilnius Christmas tree is indeed a jaw-dropping surreal creation combining tradition, modernity, and sustainability. The conic-shaped installation, arranged next to the Bell Tower of St. John’s Church, is designed so that it can be safely marveled at from a distance.

The 24 m tall composition is made up of metal panels adorned with color-changing lights on the outside and mirrors on the flip side. Here, as in previous years, the metal frame is decorated with real spruce branches collected from fallen trees in nearby forests.

The multifaceted modern facade opens up just enough to reveal a live and sprightly decorated spruce inside. The homely interior ensures that the spirit of Christmas lives on despite the pandemic.

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan shared a video from Shelli village of Aghdam district.

Note, Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. On November 10, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement to end six weeks of fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Under the agreement, Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh and the corridor between the region and Armenia.

A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh under a five-year mandate.

Also, according to the agreement, on 20 November, Armenia handed over the Aghdam region which lies to the east of Nagorno-Karabakh, to Azerbaijan. This followed on 25 November by the Kalbajar region to the northwest of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Muslim call to prayer, known as the adhan, was heard Sunday  in the cemetery in Kalbajar district for the first time in 27 years. 

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan shared a video from Hajikend village of Kalbajar district.

Note, Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. On November 10, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement to end six weeks of fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Under the agreement, Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh and the corridor between the region and Armenia.

A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh under a five-year mandate.

Also, according to the agreement, on 20 November, Armenia handed over the Aghdam region which lies to the east of Nagorno-Karabakh, to Azerbaijan. This followed on 25 November by the Kalbajar region to the northwest of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Operational Headquarters under the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers is holding a coronavirus press briefing.

Assistant to the President, Head of the Economic Affairs and Innovative Development Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Shahmar Movsumov, ABIB department head Yagut Garayeva and Seymur Musayev, Head of the Health Organization Department of the Ministry of Health attend the press briefing.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday received the first dose of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine at Ankara City Hospital in Turkey’s capital Ankara.

Turkey began administering the shots developed by China’s Sinovac to health workers on Thursday, as it rolls out a nationwide vaccination programme against the disease that has killed more than 23,000 people in the country. It has so far vaccinated more than 200,000 health workers.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and members of the ministry’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board were the first to get shots late Wednesday. In the early hours of Thursday, mass vaccination started for thousands of health care workers across the country.

The country’s Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TITCK) on Wednesday approved the emergency use of the vaccine. The approval came after a 14-day testing period, which began when the first shipment of the vaccine, containing 3 million doses, arrived in the country on Dec. 30.

Last month, Turkish researchers said CoronaVac showed a 91.25% efficacy based on an interim analysis of 29 cases. A fuller analysis can take place when they reach 40 cases.

The vaccine will be administered by the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 vaccine application units, which will be established in family health centers, as well as in private and university hospitals, according to the Health Services Directorate.

Daily Sabah

The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Thursday for delegation-level talks. Report informs referring to the Dispatch News Desk (DND).

The Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will lead the Pakistani Side in the delegation-level talks, whereas Jeyhun Bayramov will lead Azerbaijan’s Side.

The talks will focus on Pakistan-Azerbaijan bilateral relations, promoting cooperation in multilateral fields, and adopting a joint strategy on key regional and global issues.

Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Ali Alizada, was also present in the talks.

Following the talks, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and Azerbaijan will also be signed in a Ceremony.

Earlier upon his arrival, Shah Mahmood Qureshi warmly welcomed the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister planted a sapling at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Lawn and prayed for the two countries’ prosperity and stability.

Jeyhun Bayramov is in Islamabad on a two-day visit from January 13 to 14, 2021, as the first Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan to embark on a visit to Pakistan since 2010.

Last evening, he participated in the 2nd Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan Trilateral Meeting in Islamabad.

Armenian invaders destroyed small hydropower plants in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories, particularly in Kalbajar, Lachin, and other regions, dismantled their sound equipment, burned or blew up what they could not carry.

At present, none of these power plants is in good condition and they are all damaged, Report states, citing Azerenergy OJSC.

However, to achieve the goals set by President Ilham Aliyev to turn the liberated lands into a green energy zone, Azerenergy has repaired the 8-megawatt Gulabird Small Hydroelectric Power Station in the Lachin region.

Equipment damaged during the fighting – machine rooms, units, generators, control panels, and transformers – is replaced or renewed with new ones. Simultaneously, the pipe that transports water from the Hakari River to the hydraulic units, which exploded during the fighting, is rebuilt.

As a result of rapid work carried out on a rotating basis, Azerenergy plans to put into operation the Gulebird Small Hydroelectric Power Station soon. The company has attracted brigades, contractors, and specialists to these activities.

Initially, the 10 kV generator voltage at the Gulebird Small Hydroelectric Power Station will be transmitted to nearby military units in Lachin and Gubadli, and in the future, via a high voltage line to a new 110 kV s / s to be built in Gubadli.

The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Wednesday evening for bilateral talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported.

Upon his arrival, the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood welcomed the visiting dignitary.

In a Twitter statement, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Azerbaijan is Pakistan’s long-standing friend and partner. “Pakistan and Azerbaijan are bound by a relationship anchored on common historical, religious and cultural links,” he said.

The participants in meeting will exchange views on global and regional issues, including new and emerging threats to regional peace and security, and will discuss challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental issues and climate change.

Besides holding bilateral talks with Pakistani leadership, including President Dr. Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Azerbaijani foreign minister will also participate in the 2nd Round of Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan Trilateral Meeting.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense has released video footage of Ashaghi Shurtan village of Kalbajar district.

Kazakh film directors produced a documentary dedicated to Azerbaijan’s 44-day Patriotic War.

The documentary, titled “Karabakh – Return to Happiness”, was aired on Azerbaijan’s CBC TV channel. It is the first such comprehensive documentary made by Kazakh film directors in Kazakh and Russian languages about the causes, course and consequences of the Karabakh conflict.

The plot of the screenplay is distinguished by its sequence and dynamic and contains accurate and complete information that can convey Azerbaijan’s just position on the conflict to the wider audience. The documentary also provides detailed information about “Khari Bulbul”, which is considered the symbol of Karabakh’s freedom.

The documentary, authored by Kazakh journalist Almas Altay, was produced on the basis of videos made during the visits of a 10-member delegation of Kazakh politicians, journalists and bloggers to Azerbaijan’s Baku, Barda, Ganja and Shamakhi cities.  

The Kazakh delegation’s visit to Azerbaijan was organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Kazakhstan with the support of the Azerbaijani community in Almaty. Earlier, the documentary was screened in Nur-Sultan and Almaty cities.

The activities on improving the military personnel’s social and living conditions of the Azerbaijan Army Units in the liberated territories are underway, Report states, citing Defense Ministry.

Military service is conducted according to the daily routine, and combat duty is organized in the units stationed at the positions in these regions and high-mountainous areas.

Azerbaijan’s Azerenerji OJSC has started overhaul and restoration work at the Sugovushan-1 and Sugovushan-2 small hydropower plants with a total capacity of 7.8 megawatts, which are located in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation, according to the company.

During the Armenian occupation, spare parts for small power plants with a capacity of 4.8 and 3 megawatts were dismantled, and what couldn’t be removed was destroyed, the company said. 

“At the same time, the stations were badly damaged during the hostilities for the liberation of territories from the occupation. Therefore, the machine rooms, the building of the control center are being repaired, the boards, equipment, voltage and current transformers of the substation at the small Sugovushan-1 and Sugovushan-2 HPPs are also being repaired or replaced with new ones,” it noted.

“The work is scheduled to be completed in the coming months. Upon completion of the work, electricity will be supplied primarily to the surrounding areas, including the Sugovushan settlement, Talysh village, and then to other directions through the newly created power transmission lines of the distribution grid,” Azerenerji added. 

Within the framework of close bilateral cooperation, the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergency Situations, and Disaster Management of the Russian Federation sent 15 mobile containers for field use to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES).

Ten of the containers delivered to the Karabakh Regional Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan are intended for residential use and five for office use.

Appropriate conditions for living and working activities have been created in the containers.

Russian law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the Armenian embassy in Moscow due to security measures, Report states, citing Armenian press.

On January 11, the Union of Armenians of Russia organized a campaign before the embassy to collect signatures against the participation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the talks. Currently, there are many Armenian protesters in front of the embassy. However, Pashinyan is already in Moscow. He left for the Kremlin for trilateral talks.

Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will hold trilateral talks in Moscow today. The parties plan to review the implementation of the tripartite statement signed on Movember 10, 2020 by the three countries’ leaders on Nagorno-Karabakh, and discuss further steps to address the region’s problems.

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan shared a video from Dashbulag village of Kalbajar district. 

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.

On November 10, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement to end six weeks of fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Under the agreement, Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh and the corridor between the region and Armenia.

A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh under a five-year mandate.

Also, according to the agreement, on 20 November, Armenia handed over the Aghdam region which lies to the east of Nagorno-Karabakh, to Azerbaijan. This followed on 25 November by the Kalbajar region to the northwest of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Finally, on 1 December, Armenia handed over the Lachin District, over which the Lachin pass connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia passes.

Protesting supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.

‘Attack on democracy’: European leaders express shock at storming of US Capitol

There was confusion in the House chamber as the Capitol doors were locked and the debate over the electoral count was suspended.

A representative from the Capitol police spoke from a lectern on the dais and told lawmakers to remain calm, and that more information would be available soon.

The protesters stormed the Capitol shortly after Trump addressed thousands of his supporters, riling up the crowd with his baseless claims of election fraud.

Protesters could be seen marching through the Capitol’s stately Statuary Hall shouting and waving Trump banners and American flags.

Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices.

Police regained control a few hours later and Trump accepted that his term in office was coming to a close, while still maintaining claims of electoral fraud.

EuroNews