ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia July 13, 2017 Thursday On the section of the Yerevan-Artashat motorway of the transport corridor"North-South" found cracks: the Ministry of Transport has no complaints. Yerevan 13.07.17 Naira Badalyan. On the road sectionYerevan-Artashat transport corridor "North-South" found a crack.This was stated by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies Vahan Martirosyan on July 13 after the meeting of the government, stressing that the service contract with the construction company of the Spanish "Corsan Corviam" was not completed due to which the Ministry of Transport demanded restoration. Meanwhile, the Spanish company in Armenia, more precisely in road construction of the country, "became famous" for a long time. Back in July last year, former head of government Hovik Abrahamyan said that the Spanish construction company has become a real evil for the highway "North- South. "Abrahamyan said about the financial problems of the Spanish company and that the Ararat road is still" in the problems and made poor. "" There are some problems with this company and I do not know with whom: They say there is no money, They were just taken away, "Abrahamyan instructed, in addition to information in the media that because of the" Armenian traditional "corruption, the Spaniards are not able to carry out the construction of the North-South road, information has also appeared that against the Spanish organization A criminal case was opened, which was confirmed in the Ministry of Finance ac ross. The Ministry reported that "on October 10th 2014. On the second part of the 205th article of the RA Criminal Code, a criminal case was instituted in connection with tax evasion on a particularly large scale by the Armenian branch of the joint-stock company Corsan Corviam. At the same time, the Ministry of Transport recorded deficiencies for which the Spanish company was fined $ 5.7 million. Now the works are being carried out according to the schedule. However, today the Minister of Transport assures that today the quality of work of the construction company does not cause censures. The other day the minister visited the Ashtarak- Tallinn section and did not note any criticism from both engineers and specialists from the Ministry and the BCP. "Works on the Yerevan-Ashtarak section will be completed in autumn 2017," Vahan Martirosyan assured. It should be noted that on June 27 at the budget hearings in the parliament Gagik Grigoryan, the first deputy minister of transport, communications and information technologies of Armenia, stated that the North- South highway is ahead of schedule. According to him, instead of the planned 17.3 billion drams already used 24 billion drams. Work on the first tranche (Tranche 1), envisaged for the Yerevan-Artashat and Yerevan-Ashtarak sections is almost complete, on the route Ashtarak-Talin (Tranche 2) work is still under way. In the third section (Tranche 3) of Talin-Gyumri, excavation work is carried out and a trial laying of concrete is under way. The construction of the highway "North-South" with a total length of 556 km will provide access to the Black Sea and European countries through the territory of Armenia (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan- Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia. The $ 1 billion investment program is aimed at securing the connection between the north (the border with Georgia) and southern Armenia (the border with Iran) through transport communications that meet high international standards and access to world markets. The road will be covered with concrete. To implement the project, Armenia raised a loan from the Asian Development Bank in the amount of $ 500 million. Another $ 150 million will be provided by the Eurasian Development Bank. The Armenian side also attracted 60 million euros from the European Investment Bank for the implementation of the project. The construction of the corridor is planned to be completed in 2019. Under the "North-South" program, the Armenian government calculated the preliminary savings of $ 2.5 per hour for each passenger and $ 1 per hour for transporting a ton of cargo. As the authorities of Armenia expect, the program will allow the country in the future to mitigate the consequences of the blockade on the part of Azerbaijan and Turkey, to play the role of a transit state in the freight transportation of the countries of the region, and also to join the Black Sea ring highway.
Author: Arsine Chaltikian
Armenian scientist Armen Avagyan’s activity records new achievements of international recognition
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia July 13, 2017 Thursday Armenian scientist Armen Avagyan's activity records new achievements of international recognition YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenian scientist, Chairman of the Public Council's Economic Development and Investment Subcommittee Armen Avagyan has been awarded with "The Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement" highest award after the founder of “Marquis Who's Who” of the USA for the demonstrated leadership and excellence in his field. Earlier Armen Avagyan’s biography for 8 consecutive years was included (27-34 editions) in their yearbooks. His biography is also included in the United States’ and Great Britain’s (Cambridge) following books: “2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century”, “Dictionary of International Biography”, and "Great Minds of the 21st Century". This year Armen Avagyan was elected as a full member of the Greek ATINER Academy (Chemistry and Environmental Departments), uniting 2307 academicians from 115 countries. In addition, Avagyan is also a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Society of Chemical Industry (US, SCI), as well as he is an expert on the European Union Horizon 2020, ERA.NET and International Cooperation (InCo) programs and CIS countries. Armen Avagyan is the first Armenian scientist which was recognized as a genius by the American Biographical Institute being awarded with the "The Albert Einstein Award for Excellence" as one of the greatest and most influential leaders in history, as well as he is the first in the UK (Cambridge) being included in the list of world’s 100 professionals and awarded with "The International Presidents Award for Iconic Achievement.” Armen Avagyan's outstanding achievement is the“Theory of Global Sustainable Development based on use of microalgae in Bio and Industrial Cycles. New Design and Building of Biological System”. It is organically based on the properties of microalgae which create living conditions and focuses on key challenges such as global climate change, reducing waste, improving of wastewater treatment, biofuels, high quality nutrition, feed and perfumery additives as well as biopharmateuticals manufactirings. Theory has been published in the world’s largest “Amazon” publishing house. Its recommendations and technologies will enable Armenia to solve environmental challenges and at the same time to switch from the current backward economy to a modern science-based economy model by contributing to its energy and food safety and independence. The next book of the scientist “Biodiesel: From laboratory to engines” will be published in 2018 by the largest publishing house “Springer” according to the signed contract.
BAKU: MP: Iranian FM ignores Armenia’s crimes
news.az, Azerbaijan
July 9 2017
Sun 17:16 GMT | 13:16 Local Time
“No reaction to these crimes casts shadow on the spotless reputation of the Foreign Ministry of Iran and Mr.Zarif.”
Urmian MP in the Iranian parliament Ruhulla Hazretpur has accussed the Foreign Ministry of having no principled position on the crimes committed by Armenia against the Muslims of Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to Anadolu Agency, the due message addressed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has been read out at the open session in the Iranian parliament.
“No reaction to these crimes casts shadow on the spotless reputation of the Foreign Ministry of Iran and Mr.Zarif,” the message says.
The MP believes that the Iranian Foreign Ministry did not demonstrate a principled position on the crimes against Muslims of Nagorno-Karabakh.
News.Az
BAKU: Azerbaijanis protest outside UN headquarters against Armenian atrocities in Alkhanli
APA, Azerbaijan
July 8 2017
Azerbaijanis protest outside UN headquarters against Armenian atrocities in Alkhanli
Azerbaijan’s Permanent Mission to the UN staged a protest outside the organization’s headquarters in New York against the atrocities committed by Armenian armed forces in Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district, the State Committee for Work with Diaspora told APA on Saturday.
Representatives of the Azerbaijan New York Association, the Azerbaijani American Women Association of New York and other organizations took an active part in the protest.
The protesters demonstrated to foreign diplomats the banners reflecting the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijani civilians as well as photos of Zahra, the two-year-old victim of Armenia’s recent provocation. They also chanted various slogans such as “I’m Zahra”, “Justice for Zahra”, “Armenia – a child killer”, etc.
The protesters distributed booklets among foreigners, gave them detailed information about the Armenian aggression against the civilian population of Azerbaijan.
On July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Allahverdiyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, was injured.
Artsakh Retaliates as Azerbaijan Attacks Using Civilians as ‘Human Shields’
Asbarez Armenian News
July 5 2017
Artsakh positions being shelled from residential areas in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani Military Post Damaged, Soldiers Killed in Response to Heavy Shelling of Armenian Positions
STEPANAKERT—Artsakh Army responded to major shelling by Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday evening causing heavy losses for Azerbaijan that included fatalities as well as damage to a military post in the Azerbaijani village of Alkhanli, in the southwestern area of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, according the Artsakh Ministry of Defense.
Map shows close proximity of Azerbaijani forces to residential areas
According to the Artsakh Defense Ministry the retaliation resulted from an attack by the Azerbaijani forces, which used TR-107 rocket launchers, on Artsakh positions in Varanda, formerly Fizouli. The Artsakh Defense Ministry immediately reported the attack to relevant international bodies and warned that Azerbaijan was attacking Artsakh position from posts stationed within residential areas and using civilians as “human shields.”
On Wednesday, the Artsakh Defense Ministry released a video (see below) clearly showing Azerbaijan’s use of the TR-107 rocket launchers. Also on Wednesday, the Artsakh Defense Ministry refuted Azerbaijani media reports claiming that three Artsakh soldiers were killed during the July 4 attacks.
Another video released (see below) Wednesday by Arshak Zakaryan, a videographer who works with Armenia’s Defense Ministry, shows Azerbaijani attack on Artsakh from a residential area in the Alkhani village.
“Unlike Azerbaijan, the Artsakh Defnese Ministry Artsakh is committed to transparency and regularly provides information on the incidents taking place, whereas disinformation by the enemy is directed exclusively to a domestic audience,” said the Artsakh Defense Ministry.
In an audio recording (listen below), released separately by the Artsakh Defense Ministry on Wednesday, a conversation between Azerbaijani forces proves that the retaliatory fire from Artsakh forces were aimed at neutralizing Azerbaijani attacks. The audio recording also confirms that Azerbaijani forces regularly position themselves within residential areas, turning civilians into human shields.
Artsakh’s defense and foreign ministries on Wednesday touched on the Azerbaijani practice of using its civilian population as human shields with the foreign ministry issuing a statement saying, “in violation of all the norms of international humanitarian law, Baku does not disdain to use its civilian population as a human shield for shelling the territory of Artsakh.”
Artsakh Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan told Interfax Wednesday that “Hiding behind its own people Azerbaijan grossly violates norms of international law.”
Mnatsakanyan also added that Baku’s leadership has legitimized the practice of deploying its firing posts within residential areas and conducting its attacks on Artsakh posts.
“By hiding behind its own people and making them human shields the enemy grossly violates the norms of international law. If the Azerbaijanis really suffered civilian losses, then we have to express regret. But at the same time I announce with full responsibility that today and in the future the Armed Forces of Artsakh will continue to fully utilize their right to protect themselves and will give targeted and disproportionate response to the Azerbaijani attacks if necessary,” Mnatsakanyan told Interfax.
He also dismissed Azerbaijani claims that the Artsakh retaliation resulted in civilian casualties calling it another effort by Baku to mislead the international community.
“First of all I want to say that the Artsakh Army has never been the attacker; however, it is always ready to counter any provocative action launched by the enemy,” said Mnatsakanyan.
As for the Azerbaijani claims of civilian deaths after the retaliation on Alkhanlu village on July 4 Mnatsakanyan said: “this is nothing more than a cynical way to mislead the international community at the expense of the blood of its own innocent people. The Defense Army of Artsakh has never targeted civilian settlements, as it is typical to our adversary, our target has been and will always be those military positions from where the enemy opens fires toward Armenian positions.”
Mnatsakanyan urged Azerbaijan to refrain from further military attacks and find a solution at the “negotiating table.”
Also on Wednesday, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan said in a tweet that in order to prevent further Azerbaijani provocations and losses, Baku must agree to implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements. “To continue provocations on the LoC [Line of Contact], Azerbaijan’s [President] is blocking the establishment of investigation mechanism of incidents,” Balayan also tweeted. In a separate tweet, Balayan said that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen were briefed on the situation by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
This sentiment was echoed on Wednesday by Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan who said that Azerbaijan’s refusal to establish investigative mechanism serves its intention to put the blame for its continuous provocations on the Armenian sides.
“This is yet another crime committed by Baku’s hereditary regime, which is founded on hatred toward its neighboring nation and the blood of its own population,” Kocharyan said in the Orkarak program of Armenia’s Public Television.
“As long as Azerbaijan fails to implement its international commitments under the 1994 and 1995 trilateral agreements between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on a armistice and the ceasefire, and refuses to implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements aimed at the consolidation of the ceasefire and continues to initiate military provocations against Artsakh and Armenia, then the same leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for all human casualties of those provocations, regardless of their nationality,” said Kocharyan.
Kocharyan also commented on the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which chimed in on Wednesday to offer its support to its “Azerbaijani brothers” and to accuse Armenians of violence.
“During the last April aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan Turkey not only failed to condemn the targeting of civilian population of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, including the killing of children, the barbaric mutilation of elderly people, as well as the ISIS-style beheading of captured Armenian soldiers, but in fact, encouraged those war crimes,” said Kocharyan.
“On the other hand, Turkey declares that it condemns the casualties among the Azerbaijani civilian population suffered as a result of the provocation initiated by the very same Azerbaijan, without even mentioning that the main reason for those casualties was the official Baku’s policy to use its civilian population as human shields. It seems that Turkey’s condemnation or sympathy is conditioned by the national identity, which is far beyond the remits of civilized commentary,” added Kocharyan.
Minsk Group co-chairman urge end to military action
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – Ambassador Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Stephane Visconti of France, and Ambassador Richard Hoagland of the United States – have received information of renewed violence late in the evening on 4 July at Alkhanli village of Fizuli region that resulted in casualties, including civilians.
The Minsk Group Co-Chairs urgently call upon the sides to cease military action. Violence only begets further violence and accomplishes nothing. The only responsible and humane way to resolve this long-standing conflict is for the sides to return to the negotiation table in good faith.
The Co-Chairs extend their condolences to the families of the victims.
California State Senators Portantino and Wilk Urge Senate Support for Turkey Divestment
Armenian Weekly
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California State Senators Anthony Portantino and Scott Wilk sent a letter to their colleagues in the California State Senate on June 27, urging them to support AB 1597, which calls for the divestment of California’s public pension funds from investment vehicles that are owned, controlled or managed by the Turkish government.
(L to R) California State Senators Anthony Portantino and Scott Wilk.
The State of California, through its Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and its State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS), directly invests public funds in the government of Turkey, which then reaps profits while actively denying the Armenian Genocide, funding its continued campaign of denial, at least in part, through these investments in its economy. AB 1597 will prohibit CalPERS and CalSTRS from investing in Turkey.
“We are committed to seeing this bill progress through the legislature this year. California has led efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide and we understand the destructive and divisive consequences of denial. Now, it is the time to ensure that our taxpayer funds are no longer used to aid Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide,” Senators Portantino and Wilk said.
AB 1597 is authored by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian. It passed the State Assembly with strong bipartisan support and is headed to the Senate Standing Committee on Public Employment and Retirement (PERS). Portantino is a member of the PERS committee. Senators Portantino and Wilk are continuing the spirit of bipartisanship by jointly authoring the support letter.
Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Verne, Lake View Terrace, Los Feliz, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.
Azerbaijan’s forces destroy Armenian drone, Defense Ministry says
TASS, Russia
World
June 22, 9:56 UTC+3 BAKU
“Late on June 21, an unmanned aerial vehicle of Armenia’s Armed Forces was destroyed,” the ministry said in a statement. The drone “attempted to carry out reconnaissance flights over positions of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces in the Tertersky direction of the front.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry reported on rising tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday.
The highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh (Mountainous Karabakh) is a mostly Armenian-populated enclave inside the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. It was the first zone of inter-ethnic tensions and violence to appear on the map of the former USSR.
Even almost a quarter of a century after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Karabakh remains a so-called ‘frozen conflict’ on the post-Soviet space, as the region is the subject of a dispute between Azerbaijan and the local Armenian population that draws on strong support from fellow-countrymen in neighboring Armenia.
Candidates with Armenian origin lead in first round of French parliamentary elections
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia Monday Candidates with Armenian origin lead in first round of French parliamentary elections YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The En Marche! (On the Move) party of French President Emmanuel Macron sets for big win in the first round of parliamentary elections, reports Armenpress. The election results were also quite positive for candidates with Armenian origin who are mainly nominated by En Marche! and the center-right Republicans. Pascal Chamassian (En Marche!) is leading in first electoral district of Bouches-du-Rhône community of Marseille with 29.43% of votes, and the second candidate is Valérie Boyer(Republican) with 24.68%. Danièle Cazarian (En Marche!) leads in Bouches-du-Rhône’s 13 electoral district, 33.99%, and Philippe Meunier (Republican) with 20.81% of votes. Coming to d’Eure-et-Loir first electoral district, again candidate of Armenian origin Guillaume Kasbarian is leading with 37.12% of votes, and the second is Republican candidate Franck Masselus with 22.15% of votes. Jacques Marilossianfrom En Marche!-received most of the votes (48.48%) in 7th electoral district of Hauts-de-Seine Rueil, and Republican Eric Berdoatireceived 27.91% of the votes.
Education: Genocide Survivor Testimonies Enrich Learning at NSU
IT Business
—
ANN ARBOR, Mich., /PRNewswire/ –�Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is one of a growing number of institutions offering access to University of Southern California (USC) Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive� database via ProQuest.
This fully streaming primary source archive includes 55,000 testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to some of humanity’s most serious and solemn events, including the Holocaust, and the Armenian, Cambodian, and Guatemalan genocides, the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and the Nanjing Massacre. The testimonies speak to the profound, far-reaching impact of genocide, as well as the political, cultural, and social context surrounding these atrocities.
“When ProQuest announced it would be distributing the Visual History Archive to colleges and universities, we were designing The Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Room (HRRR), here in the Alvin Sherman Library,” said James Hutchens, M.S.L.S., NSU Interim Vice President of Information Services and University Librarian. “Telling stories of the Holocaust is extremely important to the NSU Libraries. It is clear to us that the Visual History Archive will be a great complement to the HRRR. It provides incredible opportunities for faculty, student, and community research, while reflecting on the Holocaust as well as other crimes against humanity.”
The largest digital collection of its kind in the world, Visual History Archive contains interviews conducted in 62 countries and 41 languages, providing an unedited recollection of life before, during, and after the interviewee’s experience with genocide. Using standard indexing methodology for each interview, the result is over 115,000 hours of video, fully searchable with over 64,000 index terms at the one-minute segment level. Visual History Archive also provides tools to help with the study and sharing of testimonies, including: bookmarking segments; saving and sharing projects; and the option to embed testimony durable URLs in LMS course packs.
USC Shoah Foundation and ProQuest launched an exclusive partnership in 2016 to expand, enrich, and simplify access to Visual History Archive in the academic market. This streaming version surfaces the library’s related ProQuest� content, which can encompass more than a billion searchable items spanning dissertations, news and historical newspapers, periodicals, scholarly journals, and primary source materials a combination that improves contextual discovery while viewing the video testimonies.�In addition, USC Shoah Foundation is engaged in a large project to create transcripts for all the testimonies, beginning with those in English and then adding other languages.
“Our goal is to curate and provide content that puts researchers inside the pivotal moments of history, empowering them with the tools they need to gain insights they aren’t going to find anywhere else,” said Susan Bokern, ProQuest Vice-President, Product Management. “ProQuest is honored to be entrusted with connecting students, faculty and researchers with such a unique and valuable resource as Visual History Archive.”
About Nova Southeastern University (www.nova.edu)
Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution.
About ProQuest (proquest.com)
ProQuest is committed to supporting the important work happening in the world’s research and learning communities. The company curates content that matters to the advancement of knowledge, assembling an archive of billions of vetted, indexed documents. It simplifies workflows so that people and institutions use time effectively. And because ProQuest connects information communities, complex networks of systems and processes work together efficiently. With ProQuest, finding answers and deriving insights is straightforward and leads to extraordinary outcomes.
ProQuest and its companies and affiliates Ex Libris, Alexander Street, Bowker stand for better research, better learning, better insights. ProQuest enables people to change their world.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genocide-survivor-testimonies-enrich-learning-at-nsu-300473097.html
SOURCE ProQuest
Large-scale war over Karabakh not in Turkey’s interests – ARF-D politician
Tert, Armenia
13:22 • 13.06.17
A large-scale war over Nagorno-Karbakh would not be in Turkey’s interests at the moment as a confrontation with Azerbaijan (which may also involve Armenia) might require intervention also by other states, including Russia, according to Giro Manoyan, the political affairs director of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D).
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“Turkey may offer its assistance at certain points to keep the Azerbaijani leader in a good frame of mind so to speak, but I don’t think a large-scale war would be in Turkey’s interests,” he told a news conference on Tuesday.
The politician made the remark as he addressed the recent regional developments and several countries’ move to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar. Manoyan said he positively evaluates Armenia’s decision to meet the country half-way and deepen the relations.
He also commented upon the situation in Syria. “The developments around Syria underlie the deepened tension among the Arab countries. The moment has arrived for the Arab states to eventually decide what they are going to do with respect to Syria,” he said, noting that superpowers’ involvement in the Syrian crisis signals the regional if not global (vs domestic) significance of the problems in the country.
“The end to the crisis in Syria is visible,” he said, ruling out the possibility of a higher tension over the country.