Author: Antonian Lara

At 90, Turkish Armenian Yetvart Kovan prepared a comrehensive Turkish-to-Armenian dictionary which includes words, idioms and renowned book titles known to everyone in Turkey, Daily Sabah reports. 

The most comprehensive Turkish to Armenian dictionary has been published: “Deyimlerle Türkçe’den Ermenice’ye Güncel Sözlük” (Contemporary Turkish to Armenian Dictionary with Idioms).

The dictionary’s writer, Yetvart Kovan, 90, spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) and said that he published a dictionary for commerce and economic terms in 1996. “I always thought about publishing a dictionary that would be available for Armenians in Turkey as well as people who are interested in the Armenian language. This time, I studied more extensively and worked on idioms because idioms are rigid phrases, and they are easy to remember. Hence, I searched for the overlapping Armenian idioms for Turkish idioms by using articles in newspapers. It is not an ordinary dictionary as I enriched the text with idioms and useful information. My aim was to attract the attention of the reader and make it easy for people to read.”

To facilitate reading, Kovan provided the pronunciation of Armenian words in Latin lettering, which is a first in Turkish-Armenian dictionaries. “Contemporary Turkish to Armenian Dictionary with Idioms” is roughly 900 pages and features 30,600 lines, including words, sentences and phrases. Kovan explained the reason for the dictionary’s size is that the pronunciations of the Armenian words added extra pages to the dictionary. He also included English equivalents of some words and phrases, believing that they also will help.

Apart from words and idioms, he also included translations of renowned book titles, such as “Sinekli Bakkal” (The Clown and His Daughter), “Çalıkuşu” (The Wren), “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “Three Musketeers,” to encourage people to read more books. “Furthermore, I added the mottos of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, such as ‘Our true mentor in life is science’ and ‘Justice is the foundation of the state’,” Kovan said.

Kovan retired seven years ago after closing his public accountant office and had been working on the dictionary ever since. He said he wanted to make use of his free time and began studying dictionaries, but mostly focused on the Turkish Language Association’s (TDK) online dictionary. “There are Turkish-Armenian dictionaries that were written 100 years ago, and they are very hard to read now. I wanted to include contemporary phrases, words and idioms in my dictionary,” he said.

Kovan graduated from the Private Pangalti ArKovan worked as a certified public accountant for years.

Kovan’s dictionary is in Western Armenian, but he used Eastern Armenian equivalents of some words for a more thorough understanding.

“Unfortunately, the tradition of reading, writing and speaking in Western Armenian has weakened in Turkey as well as in other European countries,” Kovan said. “Turkish-Armenians speak Turkish in their homes and schools. Apart from being the official language of the Republic of Turkey, one of the main reasons for Armenians to speak Turkish is that Turkish became much easier following the alphabet reform. There are certain difficulties in grammar and writing in Armenian, so people find it easy to speak and write in Turkish.”

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received IMF Executive Director for Armenia Menno Snel.

Hailing the ongoing effective cooperation with the IMF, the Prime Minister said his government will make consistent efforts to implement the commitments assumed under the Extended Financing Facility, including the ones relevant to the structural reforms. Hovik Abrahamyan noted that the current pace of the program will allow the Government to complete all the planned reforms.

Dwelling on Armenia’s economic position, the Premier pointed out that despite the impact of adverse developments in the region, the Government managed to maintain macroeconomic stability and a relatively low level of inflationary pressure, which provided the opportunity to address many welfare problems.

As the Prime Minister noted, even in the face of the aforementioned unfavorable trends, GDP grew by three percentage points last year. The annual growth of economic activity was 5.6% in the first quarter of this year. Vigorous efforts are underway to promote exports.

Appreciating the effective cooperation between the Government of Armenia and the IMF, Menno Snel for his part expressed satisfaction with the pace of joint programs. He stressed the need for consistency and follow-up in pension reform. Highlighting the adoption of the new tax code, he noted that the Government has done a large amount of work in this direction. Armenia’s monetary policy was described as efficacious and conducive to macroeconomic stability and economic development.

The parties went on to exchange views on regional developments. Reference was made to other issues of mutual interest.

Armenia Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with his French counterpart French Jean-Marc Ayraul in Paris.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and France discussed issues related to the political and economic, humanitarian cooperation on the state, parliamentary and decentralized level.

Ministers Nalbandian and Ayraul hailed the high level of bilateral relations. They referred to the perspectives of further development and expansion of cooperation. Minister Nalabndian stressed that there are about 160 companies with French capital are operating in Armenia, and noted that our country welcomes the growth of French investments and new initiatives in that direction.

The process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict was high on the agenda of the meeting.

Minister Nalbandian briefed his French counterpart on the situation created as a result of Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions against Nagorno Karabakh, and stressed the importance of the consistent efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards excluding the reoccurrence of events that happened in early April and solving the conflict exceptionally in a peaceful way.

The interlocutors agreed that the use of force is unacceptable, and there is no alternative to peaceful settlement. They emphasized the importance of the 1994 and 1995 agreements on ceasefire and stressed the need for their full implementation.

In this context they attached importance to the creation of the mechanism of investigation of ceasefire violations and border incidents and the extension of liabilities of the team of eth Personal representative of the OPSCE Chairman-in-Office.

Minister Nalbandian reiterated that if favorable conditions are created, Armenia will continue to work jointly with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards solving the issue through negotiations.

Edward Nalbandian invited Jean-Marc Ayraul to Armenia.

In a statement released today the Armenian Ministry of Defense reconfirmed that Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan exchanged bodies of the soldiers killed between April 2 and 5 as a result of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan. Eighteen bodies of the soldiers of the NKR Defense Army were handed over to the Armenian side.

Taking into consideration that there were signs of torture and mutilation on the bodies, a fact registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Ministry declares that the actions of teh Azerbaijani armed forces amount to a gross violation of the international humanitarian law.

The authorities in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, in cooperation with international organizations, are collecting proofs of the crimes and launching criminal cases.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense pledges to be consistent in raising the facts of violation of the international humanitarian law (of armed conflict) and various conventions in different international structures with a view of holding Azerbaijan accountable for the crimes.

The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic issued the following statement today:

On April 10, in accordance with the arrangement reached earlier, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, carried out the exchange of bodies of the deceased between the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan near the Bash Karvend settlement. The bodies of 18 servicemen of the NKR Defense Army, fallen as a result of the large scale military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in April 2-5, were transferred to the NKR side during the exchange.

At the presence of the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the NKR State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons registered that all bodies of the deceased transferred by the Azerbaijani side had signs of torture and mutilation.

Those acts, being a flagrant manifestation of inhumanity, run counter to the laws and customs of war and are in grave violation of the international humanitarian law, in particular, the Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (1949), Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1949) and the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).

The Karabakh side will seek to ensure that such behavior of the Azerbaijani side is condemned in strongest terms by the international community and the specialized agencies, and those responsible are brought into account.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Switzerland on March 29 to participate in a high-level meeting dedicated to the support to Syrian refugees to be held in Geneva, Press Service of the Ministry of Defense reports.

On March 30 Minister Nalbandian will join the delegation headed by President Serzh Sargsyan to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.

 

 

 

The gas price for consumers will be reduced, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan has assured.

“The issue has been discussed by the Presidents of Armenia and Russia, and the relevant structured have been instructed to continue talks on the cut of gas price,” PM Abrahamyan told reporters today.

As for the perspectives of transit of Iranian gas through Armenian territory, the Prime Minister said “the issue will be finally determined by the end of the year.”

Hovik Abrahamnyan said many issues will be clarified during his forthcoming visit to Iran.

There are five Armenians on 2016 World’s Billionaires list published by Forbes on March 1.

Founder and CEO of Magnit, Russia’s biggest supermarket chain and owner of football team Krasnodar (Arutyunyan) (219th) is the world’s richest Armenian with an estimated net worth of $$5.7 billion.

Other Armenians on the list include head of Taship Group  (549th), Argentinean Armenian businessman (810th), and (1275th), CEO of Rosgosstrakh Insurance Company.

Volatile stock markets, cratering oil prices and a stronger dollar led to a dynamic reshuffling of wealth around the globe and a drop in ten-figure fortunes for the first time since 2009. For our 30th annual guide to the world’s richest, the Forbes found 1,810 billionaires, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. Their aggregate net worth was $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year.  It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year.

remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75 billion, despite being $4.2 billion poorer than a year ago. He has been No. 1 one for 3 years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years.  Also holding steady is at No. 3. Zara ’s moves up to No. 2 for the first time, displacing Mexico’s Carlos Slim, who slips to No. 4. Slim’s fortune fell $27.1 billion to $50 billion in the past year, as shares of his telecom business América Móvil tumbled.

Facebook’s had the best year of all billionaires. The 31-year-old added $11.2 billion to his fortune and moved up to No. 6 from 16. He and Amazon’s both make their first appearance in the top ten of Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest.

On 15 February Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations, Ambassador Zohrab Mnatsakanyan delivered a statement during the Security Council Open Debate on “Respect for the Principles and Purposes of the Charter of the United Nations as a key element for the maintenance of international peace and security.”

In his statement, Ambassador Mnatsakanyan expressed appreciation to the Secretary General for his continued contribution to a comprehensive and consolidated approach to the trinity of peace, development and human rights. He noted that the history of humanity has indeed been marked by conflicts, conquests and wars; yet, the same history is overwhelmed with continued struggle of oppressed people for their freedom, self-determination and independence. Ambassador Mnatsakanyan furthermore reminded that the Charter is based on the reaffirmation of the faith in basic human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and it is exactly due to these fundamental principles of the Charter that 193 free nations are gathered under the roof of the United Nations.

The Ambassador of Armenia referred to fundamental difficulties that often arise when the voice of the affected people is drowned in the justification and abuse of the principles of sovereignty, non-interference and territorial integrity, leading to political culture of repression, systematic violation of human rights and disregard of the rule of law. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have effectively won their right to self-determination and freedom, yet, the continued cultivation of hatred and aggression, the entrenched culture of systematic violations of human rights in Azerbaijan, their continued war-mongering and effective refusal to achieve a swift and negotiated peace agreement, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, represent an actual physical threat to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ambassador Mnatsakanyan explained. He furthermore stressed that consolidated support of the international community to the negotiating process within the agreed format is of uttermost importance, “not least in order to deny the unwilling party the privilege of procrastination, deviation from agreed principles of the settlement and forum shopping.”

Referring to the principles of sovereignty, the Ambassador of Armenia noted that sovereignty entails responsibility, whereas irresponsible sovereignty represents a threat to international peace and security. Building peaceful and inclusive societies is, therefore, as much about responsibility of government, as it is about sovereignty. In this regard, Ambassador Mnatsakanyan emphasized that enhanced international co-operation to this end is, therefore, compelling, not least when viewed strictly through the prism of maintenance of international peace. “The function of prevention and elaboration of early warning mechanisms and capacity to channel early signs of deteriorating situations into the UN system remains a vital objective,” – suggested Ambassador Mnatsakanyan, recalling the Framework Analyses for Atrocity Crimes as an important tool in this regard.

The Open Debate was presided by H.E. Delcy Rodríguez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela. Representatives of about seventy state members, including Deputy Foreign Ministers of Angola, Spain, Guyana, Argentina and El Salvador, as well as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and a number of senior UN officials participated in the Open Debate.

Photo: Mikhail Sokolov/TASS

Three people were killed when a minivan carrying civilians was blown up by a landmine at a Ukrainian checkpoint near the contact line early on Wednesday, the speaker of the Donbass special operation, Andrey Zadubinny, has said, TASS reports.

“There were five people in the Volkswagen Transporter car (minivan) that struck a mine this morning at the Novomikhailovka checkpoint. Two were killed at the scene and another one died on the way to a hospital,” Zadubinny said.

The speaker said the minivan had arrived from the territory not controlled by Kiev. “It tried to bypass a line 600 meters from the checkpoint having ignored all the road signs and hit a mine,” he said.

Ukraine’s national police in the Donetsk region have confirmed the fact.