Azerbaijan defends freeing convicted killer as Armenians protest

Ramil Safarov had been sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars after killing an Armenian officer with an ax in Budapest, Hungary. Instead he is back in his home country of Azerbaijan -- and free.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev pardoned the convicted killer last week after Hungary agreed to return him to Azerbaijan, outraging Armenians in the midst of tense negotiations over a disputed territory once wracked by a bloody war and now occupied by Armenian forces.

Eight years ago, Safarov killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an ax while he slept, nearly decapitating him. The two were in Budapest for an English course sponsored by NATO. Safarov claimed that Margaryan had insulted him and the Azerbaijani flag.

The court found no evidence of such an insult, according to Amnesty International, which says Safarov stated he was sorry he had not had the opportunity to kill any Armenians earlier.

Israeli lawmakers discuss commemorating Armenian genocide

JERUSALEM -- Israeli lawmakers dedicated a session of parliament Tuesday to discussing whether to commemorate the Armenian genocide, a controversial and sensitive issue that could further aggravate the country's strained relations with Turkey.

When ties were stronger, Israel refrained from official recognition of the killings of minority Armenians early in the 1900s as genocide, citing diplomatic reasons. But diplomatic relations have been strained since Israeli soldiers killed nine Turkish activists in 2010 during an attempt to block a flotilla of aid bound for the Gaza Strip.

Some Israeli lawmakers say the time has come for their nation to finally divorce the issue from diplomatic concerns and take a clear, moral stance.

"The Armenian genocide has been swept under the rug" for fear of upsetting foreign relations, said Zehava Galon, who initiated the debate. "We must not politicize this matter," said Reuven Rivlin, the Knesset speaker, a longtime supporter of Israel making a clear statement of recognition.

The Knesset came to no decision on the motion Tuesday but plans to hold another session on the issue.

Balloons expode at Armenia rally; more than 140 injured

MOSCOW -- More than 140 people suffered burns or other injuries Friday in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia,  when bunches of balloons at a concert and political rally exploded.

The balloons were supposed to be filled with helium but may have instead been filled with methane, said  Aghasi Yenokyan, director of the Center for Political and International Studies, a Yerevan-based think tank.

The incident occurred in downtown Republic Square during events organized by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia as part of the parliamentary election campaign.

During the concert, teenagers were holding hundreds of balloons in their hands when they suddenly exploded in a huge ball of fire. Dozens of people were taken by ambulances to various city hospitals, and then the show went on again.

Nikolay Grigoryan, deputy chief of the Armenian Emergency Service, told Russian RIA Novosty agency that the balloons may have been ignited by a cigarette.

“At first I thought that it was part of the show when I saw a huge halo of fire over the crowd in front of the stage, but then I saw people running and screaming,” said Yelena Manukyan, a 36-year-old office manager. “On some of them,  the clothes were burned and they were holding their hands over their heads and faces.”

Fragments of burned balloons flew in all directions over the dense crowd and caused burns to many people, Manukyan said.  

 A representative of the Armenian Health Ministry, Shushan Unanyan, told RIA Novosti that some of injured suffered burns and others were hurt during the panic in the square. 

After the accident,  Armenian President Serge Sargsyan briefly addressed the remaining audience, then left to visit injured people in hospitals, Yenokyan said.

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-- Sergei L. Loiko