  Karakakh to get part of $12 mln investment in mine clearance work April 5, 2017 - 11:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) will benefit from a UK goverment pledge - backed by Prince Harry - to invest £100 million (around $125 million) to rid the world of landmines by 2025. International development secretary Priti Patel said the three-year aid package would tackle the "global scourge" of unexploded landmines. Speaking at Kensington Palace, Patel said it would help 800,000 people. Prince Harry said the government had demonstrated "bold commitment" in pledging the money, but that "there is much more that needs to be done". He is supporting a bid by anti-landmine charities the HALO Trust and Mines Advisory Group to eradicate the explosives within eight years, following in the footsteps of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Since 2000, the HALO Trust has cleared over 445 minefields, 11,200 landmines, and over 25,300 cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance in Karabakh. To remove the remaining 70 civilian minefields, The HALO Trust has secured an anonymous donor who has committed $4M in match funding - specifically for Karabakh. He said it was "shocking" that an estimated 60 million people still lived with the threat of unexploded landmines. He said it would take an additional £100m each year until 2025 to rid the world of landmines - "the cost of a star signing for some professional football team". The HALO Trust on Tuesday, April 4 organized an event on the occasion of International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. A HALO Trust official said that if sufficient funds are raised, all minefields in Karabakh will be cleared by 2020.  Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency.   Partner news |  Latest news Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan  The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops.Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skillsArmenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi ArabiaPashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |
