19:51,
YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. By the decision of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a state commission on demarcation with Armenia has been established, ARMENPRESS reports, TASS agency informs that the relevant order of the President of Azerbaijan is published on his official website.
The chairman of the Commission is deputy PM of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev.
Head coach of Armenia’s boxing team Karen Aghamalyan has unveiled its lineup for the EUBC European Men’s Elite Boxing Championships.
The competition will be held in Yerevan, Armenia from 21 to 31 May and the event will confirm the 13 new European champions.
Armenian boxers are set to compete in all 13 weight categories, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports reports.
The team includes Baregham Harutyunyan (48 kg), Artur Hovhannisyan (51 kg), Janik Sahakyan (54 kg) Artur Bazeyan (57 kg), Karen Tonakanyan (60 kg), Hovhannes Bachkov (63.5 kg), Gurgen Madoyan (67 kg), Narek Zakharyan (71 kg), Vakhtang Harutyunyan (75 kg), Hambardzum Hakobyan (80 kg), Rafayel Hovhannisyan (86 kg), Narek Manasyan (92 kg) and super heavyweight fighter Davit Chaloyan.
11:04,
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan visited on May 19 the 3rd Army Corps, the ministry said in a news release.
Minister Papikyan got acquainted with the technical capacity of the border observation points and then held a consultation with the commanding staff discussing the Army reforms.
Suren Papikyan honored the memory of the 44-day war victims at the memorial wall in the territory of the Corps.
The minister also visited the military units of the 3rd Army Corps, got acquainted with the service conditions and the ongoing renovation works.
The minister discussed issues relating to the upgrading of the Armed Forces with the commanders and servicemen of the units, assuring that the military-political leadership of Armenia will take all efforts to raise the attractiveness of the military service and strengthen the combat readiness of the Army.
Suren Papikyan also visited the Defense Ministry’s Military and Sports College named after Monte Melkonian and met with the students. He said that large-scale reforms aimed at raising the quality of the military education are expected soon, and also a housing package for servicemen is being prepared aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the officer service.
NATO brings 42,000 troops to a high level of combat readiness
21:50,
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. NATO has brought to a high level of combat readiness 42 thousand servicemen, 120 aircrafts, ARMENPRESS reports, citing “RIA Novosti”, this was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the NATO Joint Forces in Europe, US General Tod Wolters at a press conference in Brussels.
“Under my leadership, as Commander-in-Chief in Europe, we now have more than 42,000 servicemen and 120 aircraft in high combat readiness, and more than 20 ships are in combat readiness,” he said.
Walters stated that NATO intends to implement a comprehensive containment concept, including in the Baltics and the Black Sea region.
ArmInfo.Amid the global geopolitical turmoil, replacing Armenia’s authorities with a provisional government of some sort would be the greatest act of folly to be committed, and Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan are perfectly aware of that, Aram Sargsyan, Chairman of the Republic party, said in an interview with ArmInfo.
“These people have passed a long way and been tested by power. They are experienced in carrying the burden of state rule. After all, they contributed to Armenia making a state. So they should be perfectly aware that, amid the current turmoil in international relations, with rules of the game in global politics being changed and specified – by means of wars – changing power in Armenia is not at all rational even in the interests of this same nationhood,” Mr Sargsyan said.
In this context, the politician welcomes all the calls for unanimity inside Armenia, including first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s proposal Nikol Pashinyan, Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan to meet and discuss the rather disturbing situation in Armenia and in Artsakh.
Mr Sargsyan is surprised at what has caused Ter-Petrosyan himself to refuse to get involved in this political discourse, whereas, in the interest of this very unity, he, as senior and founder of the Third Republic, should introduce the initiative.
“I think, regardless of the different political approaches and ‘camp’ affiliation, the current geopolitical situation is making it necessary for all the four Armenian leaders to meet and talk. And I do not at all think that Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan will not be able to calm down their ‘street’ supporters in case those show their discontent. It is they that are orchestrating the protests, with all the rest being just performers,” Mr Sargsyan said.
17:41,
YEREVAN, MAY 13, ARMENPRESS. Local Armenian political parties will participate in the May 15 parliamentary elections in Lebanon with their own candidates, editor-in-chief of the Lebanese “Azdak” daily Shahan Kandaharian told ARMENPRESS.
“Armenian political parties have formed an alliance with other Lebanese political forces and participated in forming the lists. Dashnaktsutyun nominated 5 candidates, Hunchakian party – 1 candidate. Apart from Armenian political parties, there are also Armenians who individually participate in elections with lists of civil movements. I think there is a wide choice,” Shahan Kandaharian said.
According to him, the current legislation has components form proportional, rank and community elections. Shahan Kandaharian noted that it is a complicated, tangled approach, which in a democratic sense does not correctly ensure the presence of the people.
“The elections are being held in a difficult financial and economic situation for the country. Initially, the expectations were that the turnout would not be high. However, as the election campaign intensifies, we see an increase in public interest. There are observations that it is possible, in any case, to have an active participation,” Shahan Kandaharian said.
Hard Rock Café Yerevan will open soon in the center of Yerevan. Back in December 2021, in an interview with Mediamax, Anibal Fernandez, Vice President for Franchise Operations at Hard Rock Café International, promised that Hard Rock Café Yerevan would please with novelties and surprises.
We will disclose one of these surprises today.
A source of pride for many Armenians is the Zildjian brand, which has been producing the legendary cymbals for already 400 years. And if before, Armenians were proud of Zildjian “at a distance”, now they can be proud of it directly in the capital of Armenia: the Zildjian family provided Hard Rock Café Yerevan with 80 hand-selected cymbals that will be used in an art installation of the cafe.
Cady Zildjian, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Zildjian, told Mediamax that the provided collection includes some larger cymbals that will be autographed by Zildjian family members and artists attending this year’s NAMM show in Anaheim, California. They will be displayed as Memorabilias – one of the hallmarks of the Hard Rock Café.
Hard Rock Café Yerevan is the joint project of the Food Republic and Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF).
Arsen Hovhannisyan, the Founding Director of the Food Republic, told Mediamax that it was important for them that Hard Rock Café Yerevan, being a member of a large international family, also had an Armenian identity. This is how the decision to come up with cooperation proposal to the legendary Zildjian brand was made.
“I think this is a good opportunity for Zildjian to reconnect with the homeland of their ancestors,” said Arsen Hovhannisyan.
He says the partnership with Zildjian can be expanded in the future in the form of support to young musicians and music schools. Cady Zildjian does not rule out this possibility either.
“We believe that the ability to express yourself through music is a gift that should be given to every child. Zildjian is involved in discussions with Hard Rock Café Yerevan about how we can help young musicians, and we are excited to support this initiative. At Zildjian we have the products and the learning tools available to help young percussionists in their musical education journey,” said she.
Katerina Danekina, Hard Rock Café Yerevan Project Manager, says that Cady Zildjian “was involved in the discussions from the very beginning and thanks to her personal involvement we have achieved such significant results.”
“It is amazing to see that Hard Rock Café Yerevan is becoming a point of attraction for international brands with such a phenomenal history and heritage as Zildjian,” said Katerina.
Cady Zildjian told Mediamax that in honor of 400th anniversary of the Zildjian family, which will be celebrated in 2023, they have also set up a scholarship to Berklee College of Music for an Armenian student.
Members of the Zildjian family are planning to visit Armenia – this will be their first visit to the homeland of their ancestors.
“My great grandfather emigrated to the United States in 1909. He would be very proud of his family returning on the 400th anniversary of his beloved cymbal company. This is a very symbolic trip for our family and our business,” Cady confesses in the interview with Mediamax.
She says that the events on the occasion of 400th anniversary of the Zildjian brand are still under preparation but “we will have several significant celebrations throughout 2023.”
Ara Tadevosyan
The Council of Europe (CoE) is awaiting a reply from the Armenian authorities regarding alleged disproportionate violence against journalists during anti-government protests in Yerevan, CoE Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić said in response to a request for comment from opposition With Honor faction MP Taguhi Tovmasyan.
“Regarding the cases on using disproportionate force by the police against citizens exercising their rights to peaceful assembly on April 29 and May 2, on the bodily injuries of people, also the cases on violence against journalists, I addressed the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić. In my letter I presented the situation in Armenia thoroughly, the evidently violent actions violating human rights. I requested my colleague to give relevant reaction to such cases as her public opinion may play a key role in the prevention of violence and protection of human rights,” Tovmasyan wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
Replying to her letter, the CoE chief says that freedom of peaceful assembly is one of the foundations of a democratic, tolerant and pluralist society. It is guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights including in cases concerning Armenia.
“CoE Secretary General expects the police in their actions to adopt a human rights-based approach to policing assemblies and the use of force by law enforcement agencies should be lawful, necessary, proportionate and limited to cases where it is strictly unavoidable. Force should only be applied to the minimum extent necessary,” Tovmasyan noted.
“Be assured that the Council of Europe and its relevant institutions will remain attentive to the situation and continue to work with the authorities in Armenia – as in other member states – to uphold these principles,” Burić said.
“As far as alleged disproportionate violence against journalists is concerned, an alert has already been posted on our Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. A reply from the authorities is awaited.”
The lawmaker promised to share the replies of other influential international organizations after achieving their consent for publicizing their opinions on such “pressing issues”.
11:04, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. The actual tax revenues and state fees paid to the state budget in April 2022 amounted to 231.3 billion drams, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan said in a statement on social media.
“The figure envisaged for April 2022 was overfulfilled by 31 billion drams or 15.5%. Compared to April 2021, the money collected is more by 51.2 billion drams or 28.4%”, he said, adding that the number of deals made by cash register receipts and other settlement documents has also increased compared to the same period of the previous year.
“The number of settlement documents (including cash register receipts) issued on January-April 2022 was 178.2 million and the money received was 2.6 trillion drams. The number of deals increased by 14.3 million or 8.7% compared to the same period of 2021, and in monetary terms, the increase comprised 526.3 billion drams of 24.9%”, he said.
13:55, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. This year Armenia and Japan are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. On this occasion, a delegation led by Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Taro Honda arrived in Armenia on a two-day friendly visit.
Mr. Taro Honda told Armenpress that he arrived in Armenia to strengthen the bilateral relations between Japan and Armenia.
“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Armenia, and I came here to strengthen the bilateral relations between Japan and Armenia. Armenia is very far from Japan, and we are not so well aware of the Armenian culture and traditions, therefore, I hope that we will be able to contribute to the development of bilateral relations through bilateral exchanges”, he said in an interview to Armenpress.
Accompanied by Ambassador of Japan to Armenia Masanori Fukushima, the Japanese delegation visited today the IT center in the village of Ghukasavan in Ararat province. The center has been established with the financial support of the Japanese government.
The diplomatic relations between Armenia and Japan were established on September 7, 1992. Protocol on establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Armenia was signed on that day. So far, Armenia and Japan have signed and adopted 10 statements and agreements.
Reporting by Aram Sargsyan