Author: Emma Nadirian

On 28 January Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory address to President Serzh Sargsyan of the Republic of Armenia. The address runs as follows:
“Honorable Mr. President,

On behalf of the people and authorities of the Artsakh Republic and on my own behalf, I cordially congratulate You on the 25th anniversary of the formation of the heroic Armenian army, a holiday that is dear and memorable to all of us. The Armenian army has passed a glorious way and is the pride of all the Armenians, the main guarantee of our people’s security, one of the significant factors of maintaining peace and stability in the region. The Armenian soldier with his unwavering spirit and invincible might brilliantly performs the Motherland defender’s.
Respectful Mr. Sargsyan,
Having been standing at the origins of the Army’s formation, You have done everything possible for its development and strengthening. In Artsakh we know and appreciate Your contribution and patriotic efforts.

In connection with this cherished holiday I once again congratulate You, the whole personnel of the Republic of Armenia’s Armed Forces and our entire people, wishing peace, great successes and new victories on the way of solving national issues and strengthening the Armenian statehood”.

Gladys Berejiklian has outlined her priorities and praised her Armenian migrant parents, saying she “will be governing for everyone”, during her first speech after being voted in as the new leader in New South Wales, reports.

The 46-year-old was sworn in as 45th Premier of NSW this afternoon after being elected unopposed as Liberal leader in an early morning partyroom meeting this morning, replacing Mike Baird.

The meeting lasted 10 minutes and also saw Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet voted in as deputy party leader.

In her first press conference as leader, Ms Berejiklian praised her parliamentary colleagues for putting their trust in her.

“I thank them for determining, based on my performance, that I am best for the job and I am so excited that the party has come together united in support of my Premiership,” she said.

The Premier spoke movingly of her upbringing.

“I haven’t talked about this much previously but my father was a boilermaker, a welder, and one of the first jobs he did in Sydney was working on the Sydney Opera House, which is a great sense of pride for my family,” she said.

“My mum left school at 15 to support her family and became a nurse.

Ms Berejiklian said she would be governing “for everyone” in NSW.

She said her policy priorities as Premier would be:

• local infrastructure;
• housing affordability;
• and building a strong economy, with an emphasis on more jobs.

When a reporter asked whether she would be able to answer private questions, such as former prime minister Julia Gillard, about her single status, she laughed.

“I have been in public life for a long time. I have been a senior minister for six years. I am ready for anything,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Ms Berejiklian has been the member for the Sydney north shore electorate of Willoughby since 2003.

Mr Baird resigned as Premier on Thursday, citing the ongoing illnesses of close members of his family as the cause for his early exit from the leadership role.

The Premier spoke about her upbringing on 2GB just after her successful partyroom meeting.

“I want everyone in NSW to feel that they can do what I’ve done, that there’s no challenge too big and that our state has those opportunities,” she told the Sydney radio station.

“I remember my mother saying to me: ‘Glad, even if you’re not quite sure what the teacher’s asking you, put your hand up and have a go’… I just remember that like nothing else and that’s kind of kept me going for all my life.”

Vache Kahramanian from the Sydney-based Armenian National committee of Australia said it is a wonderful day for all the community.

“Gladys Berejiklian, [who] is the daughter of migrants who came to Australia with limited English and survivors of the Armenian genocide, today has reached the highest office in our state of NSW and this is a monumental and proud achievement for our community and also a proud day for NSW as well.”

Vice President-elect Mike Pence has appointed Ken Nahigian to replace Rick Dearborn as executive director of the Trump-Pence presidential transition, the transition team said in a press release on Wednesday.

Nahigian, who served as the head of strategic planning and support for President-elect Donald Trump, will now support Trump’s nominees through their confirmation hearings.

“In the days following the election, [Nahigian’s] role evolved to not only manage President-elect support, but also prepare our great cabinet designees for their hearings,” Dearborn was quoted as saying in the release. “The transition is in capable hands with Ken Nahigian, who has tirelessly supported it from day one and will carry it through the finish line.”

“Ken has been a tremendous and critical asset to the Transition,” said Mr. Dearborn.  “In the days following the election, his role evolved to not only manage President-elect support but also prepare our great cabinet designees for their hearings.  The Transition is in capable hands with Ken Nahigian, who has tirelessly supported it from day one and will carry it through the finish line.”

Throughout the pre-election and Transition periods, Mr. Nahigian served as the head of President-elect support, the body that oversees all strategic planning and support to the President-elect, Vice President-elect, their families, and nominees, where pre-planning is critical to ensure a strong foundation is built for a successful transition minutes after the election is called.  In this role, Mr. Nahigian and his team led the organization of critical functionality of the Transition pre-election, which included the creation of GreatAgain.gov, the structuring of a communications strategy post-election, the building of the resources infrastructure to be ready on day one, and creation of a network for public engagement during the Transition period.

“I’m honored that the President-elect, Vice President-elect and Rick Dearborn have entrusted me with this responsibility and it is my honor to continue my service to this new administration,” said Mr. Nahigian. “It has been a tremendous honor to be part of this historic and successful process of building our government.”

While not working on the Presidential Transition, Mr. Nahigian serves as a principal in a 17-year old public relations and communications planning and strategy firm.

Dearborn is leaving the post to assume his role as White House deputy chief of staff.

Trump’s inauguration will be held January 20 in Washington, DC, in front of the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress.

The Armenian airports report 10.4 percent growth in passenger flow in 2016.

The passenger flow reached 2,105,540 people in January-December 2016, which means a 12% growth as compared to 2015.

According to the data of the General Department of Civil Aviation, 1,057,387 passengers left Armenia in due period, while 1,057,387 arrived in the country.

Zvartnots International Airport reported 90.4 percent growths in the cargo shipments last year. Besides, 2.8 percent growth was registered in the number of flights and landings.

“Shirak” Airport in Armenia’s second city of Gyumri was reopened after a break of eight months. The passenger flow here reached 12,421, the cargo shipment exceeded 4.2 tones.

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The rival fired over 900 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions. More intensive firing was reported in the eastern (Martuni) direction of the line of contact.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continue with their military duty and resort to response actions in case of extreme necessity.

Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Yeritsyan passed away today at Nairi Medical Center.

He was admitted to the hospital in grave condition earlier today.

Armen Yerityan would turn 56 on December 25.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has handed in his resignation to Italy’s president, three days after losing a referendum he had staked his career on, the BBC reports.

He had promised to wait until the Senate passed the 2017 budget, which it did earlier in the day.

President Sergio Mattarella will start consultations with political parties over forming a caretaker government at 18:00 (17:00 GMT) on Thursday.

In the meantime, Mr Renzi is to act as a “caretaker prime minister”.

The consultation, which is due to end on Saturday afternoon, will look at where support lies for a new government, a presidential aide, Ugo Zampetti, told reporters on Wednesday.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to Giorgi Kvirikashvili on his re-appointment as Prime Minister of Georgia.

The President of Armenia expressed hope that the readiness of the two friendly countries to strengthen the existing potential of cooperation and partnership will allow to continuously develop the brotherly relations of the Armenian and Georgian peoples and will give a new impetus to the mutually beneficial cooperation.

On November 17, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Dr. Jamie Shea and Responsible Representative for Armenia in NATO International Staff Gwen Vamos visited the National Defense Research University (NDRU) of the Armenian Ministry of Defense within the framework of “NATO Week” events. They were accompanied by Gagik Hovhannisyan, PhD in Political Science, Head of the Arms Control and International Security Department (ACISD) of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Karen Israyelyan, PhD in Philology, Head of NATO Division of the ACISD, MFA, and Serob Bejanyan, Deputy Head of Permanent Mission of the RA in NATO.

The guests were hosted by the Head of the NDRU, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, LTG Hayk S. Kotanjian.

NDRU’s Deputy Head for Research – Head of the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), PhD in History Beniamin Poghosyan, Head of the Center for Regional Strategic Analysis of the INSS, PhD in History Davit Manasyan, and NDRU Research Fellows also attended the meeting.

LTG Hayk S. Kotanjian introduced to the guests the mission, goals and primary tasks of the NDRU. During conversation, Dr. Kotanjian and NDRU Research Fellows presented in detail the research and educational programs of the NDRU. They noted that significant attention is paid to the fields of cybersecurity and information resources’ management. The program of establishing the Institute of Cybersecurity and Information Resources Strategy (ICIRS) on the basis of the NDRU’s Center for National Security Policy and Information-Communication Technologies (CNSPICT) is focused on these fields. Head of the CNSPICT Arman Grigoryan presented the programs aimed at the development of the sphere.

Dr. Shea praised research and educational programs at the NDRU and expressed confidence that they would significantly contribute to the modernization of Armenia’s defense security system.

Argentine Armenian tennis player, former World No.3 David Nalbandian has somehow walked away from a spectacular crash during a rally car event in Argentina, according to Yahoo Sport.

Nalbandian was taking part in the Copa Maxi Rally when he lost control of his car after it hit a cross-road in the track.

The Chevrolet Agile vaulted into the air and into a series of potentially deadly flips.

Nalbandian, the 2002 Wimbledon runner up to Lleyton Hewitt, and his co-driver were helped from the wreckage by spectators and managed to escape injury.

“As you know, we had an accident in the Rally of Entre Ríos. Both my co-driver and I, are perfectly well. Thank you for concern,” the 2002 Wimbledon runner-up wrote on Twitter.

Nalbandian has previously said his foray into motorsport was just a “hobby.”

“I don’t have pressure here,” Nalbandian said.

“I am learning and trying to do my best but not as a professional.”

He retired from professional tennis in 2013.