European Broadcasting Union joins Council of Europe platform to protect journalists
Strasbourg/30.06.17/Turan: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) today became a partner to a Council of Europe platform designed to track alleged violations of media freedom in member states. The platform was set up by the Council of Europe to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists.
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland signed the partnership agreement at the EBU"s General Assembly where he was speaking to leading broadcasters on the essential role of public service media in modern democracies.
"I am pleased to welcome the EBU to the platform and I am convinced that this partnership will strengthen the impact of the Council of Europe in addressing media freedom challenges. As the leading alliance of public service media, the EBU has unique expertise, working for almost 70 years for and with broadcasters. Our two organisations share a conviction that public service media needs to secure its editorial independence and institutional autonomy", said Thorbjørn Jagland at the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding.
EBU President Jean Paul Philippot said: "The Council of Europe is the guarantor of civil and human rights and freedom of expression throughout Europe and beyond. We are delighted to have them join us at our General Assembly and pleased to be able to support their efforts to protect journalists and an independent media. -0-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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