Author: Karapet Navasardian

Yerevan school named after fallen hero Gevorg Arshakyan

Karapet Navasardian
Panorama
Armenia –


The Yerevan City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a decision to name Basic School No. 22 in the Armenian capital after Senior Lieutenant Gevorg Arshakyan, who was killed in the 2020 war in Artsakh.

The petition was submitted by the school administration after being approved by school students, teachers and parents.

Even though Gevorg had finished his two years of compulsory military service, he joined the Artsakh army as a volunteer immediately after Azerbaijan waged a war against Artsakh on September 27.

The senior lieutenant lost his life in the defense of Shushi on November 7.

He was posthumously awarded the First Class Combat Cross Order of Armenia and the Medal for Combat Service of Artsakh.

Gustavo Petro wins presidential election in Colombia

Karapet Navasardian

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 09:49,

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. Senator Gustavo Petro, leader of the left-wing “Historic Pact” coalition, wins the second round of presidential elections in Colombia, according to the results of counting of 98.22% of ballots, reports TASS.

According to the National Civil Registry, 50.51% of voters favored Petro. His rival Rodolfo Hernandez received 47.22% of votes.

“It is a celebration for the people today. Let the people celebrate the first popular victory. Let so much experienced suffering be softened by the joy that fills the heart of the homeland,”Petro tweeted after the vote outcome was announced.

Hernandez has not yet commented on the outcome of the vote that took place Sunday.

Armenia: Potato prices up due to excess exports

Karapet Navasardian
June 17 2022

Potato prices in Armenia are up due to excess exports, according to former Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Armenia, Harutyunyan. Every year, farmers left some potatoes for the next spring: some as seed potatoes, some for sale in the spring to meet the demand of the population. However, so much was exported last year that there was almost none left for early spring, Harutyunyan added.

“The Ministry of Economy reported record potato exports of 35-40 tons, but this export also had a side effect that we all have to experience now: in the absence of potatoes, prices for it have risen sharply,” Harutyunyan stated. Diesel fuel, day labor prices (due to general inflation), and fertilizer prices have risen in price. All this increases the cost of field work, and hence the price of this year’s potatoes, Harutyunyan added.

According to the National Statistics Committee, the price of potatoes in May 2022 doubled as compared to May 2021 (by 101.5%).

Source: 

Newspaper: What tactics has Armenia opposition developed?

Karapet Navasardian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
10:04, 14.06.2022

YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: [Ex-President] Serzh Sargsyan’s statement the other day has increased the interest in today’s [opposition] rally [in downtown Yerevan].

On June 14, [opposition Resistance Movement coordinator] Ishkhan Saghatelyan [the National Assembly deputy speaker from the opposition “Armenia” Faction and a representative of the Supreme Body of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun Party of Armenia] will not only sum up what has been done or not done [by this movement] in the past nearly two months, but will also announce the tactics to continue the series of rallies with longer intervals. Earlier, the agreement was reached at one interval per week.

Tent protests will also be discussed; they will probably urge to remove the tents from France Square [in downtown Yerevan], proposing to continue the struggle in other ways.

[Opposition MP] Agnesa Khamoyan conveyed to us: “Wait for Ishkhan Saghatelyan’s speech on the future tactics and future steps of the [Resistance] Movement.”

Asbarez: Moscow, Baku Disagree on Artsakh’s Parukh Situation

Karapet Navasardian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 June 9, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

The village of Parukh in Artsakh’s Askeran region


 disagreement on approaches between Russia and Azerbaijan surfaced regarding the Parukh village in Artsakh’s Askeran region, where Azerbaijani forces in March breached the line-of-contact and advanced their positions in the Armenian-controlled portion of Artsakh.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is visiting Yerevan, told reporters Thursday that stabilizing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is among the priorities of the Russian peacekeepers stationed in Artsakh since the 2020 war.

Lavrov, who was speaking at a press conference with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, was specifically asked what the Russian peacekeepers were doing to de-occupy Parukh and push Azerbaijani forces back to their initial positions, since 400 residents of the area are unable to return to their homes because of Azerbaijan’s continued aggression.

“As for the situation [in Parukh], it is one of the priorities of the Russian servicemen, and our Armenian friends are very well informed about that,” said Lavrov. “There are also some results in terms of easing of tension on the ground, and we view that these issues will be observed and will be definitely solved within the launching substantive border delimitation efforts.”

Mirzoyan told reporters that Russia was instrumental in stopping the aggression and the further escalation of the issue. He also said that Yerevan continues to believe that the Russian peacekeepers are able to restore the status quo in the region.

“The deployment of peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh as a factor to prevent provocations and ensure the security of the people of Artsakh is aimed at creating conditions for restoring the normal life and ensuring stability and security in our region,” Mirzoyan said.

Official Baku was quick to counter Lavrov’s statements, insisting that the Parukh region “has no connection with the border demarcation issues with Armenia” since it is located in Azerbaijan’s Khojalu region,

“The commissions created by Azerbaijan and Armenia are aimed at delimitating and demarcating of borders between the two countries,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdulayeva said in a statement.

Abdulayeva emphasized that it is not envisioned that the border process will address areas outside of the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, including those areas where Russian peacekeeping forces are temporarily being stationed.

Matena School’s new program to make municipal management in Armenia more effective

Karapet Navasardian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – June 6 2022
June 6, 2022, 11:40

 

On June 4, professional development program for municipal authorities “Effectively Managing Communities in Armenia” by the Matena International School was launched in Dilijan. Around two dozen mayors, municipal executives and local councilors from 15 communities of Armenia participated in the program. The program, which aimed to significantly develop the professional and leadership skills of municipal leaders, was jointly developed by Matena and SKOLKOVO schools.

During the first module, the participants will be provided with comprehensive knowledge about modern municipal management, the role of a community leader, team management skills in complex situations, methods of strategic decision-making, key success factors, skills of building an effective team and managing it, peculiarities of external and internal communication and other important skills. 

The next two modules of the program will be held in July and August, respectively, in Yerevan and in Moscow (SKOLKOVO School of Management).

“The consolidation of communities has led to serious changes in terms of control and implementation of the community development programs. Thus, the goal of this program is to bring the best world experience to Armenia so that community leaders and the council members have the opportunity to gain new knowledge. The successfulness of a nation depends on the quality of its managers; and the development of communities is fundamental for the development of a country,” said Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of Matena International School, Founding Partner of UWC Dilijan International School and the SKOLKOVO School of Management.

One of the exceptional components of the program is the co-financing of the best individual projects. Those community leaders, who come up with the best community development projects at the end of the program, will be co-financed by Matena for the implementation of their projects.

“It would be very hard to find an educational program of comparable level for community leaders in any management school in the world, moreover, a program that, in addition to transferring international best practices, is specifically designed and best considers the local governance peculiarities of Armenia. It is important that the participants of the program will not only learn, but will also act, because, at the end of the program, based on the knowledge and skills they have acquired, they will submit projects on effectively managing their communities, the best of which will be co-financed by Matena,” said the Co-Founder and CEO of Matena Ruben Hayrapetyan.

“The research on the competencies of public managers clearly demonstrated that there is a great demand for new knowledge on the development of team and territorial management skills. We see a high interest among the audience. We hope that the program in this format will help to solve the most acute problems and satisfy the demand of municipal authorities,” said Marina Veldanova, Professor of Business Practice, and Director of the Healthcare Development Centre of the SKOLKOVO School of Management.



Armenpress: NATO military drills to be held in Turkey

Karapet Navasardian

NATO military drills to be held in Turkey

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 20:47, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. NATO military exercises will be held in Turkey on June 20-28, ARMENPRESS reports RIA Novosti informs, citing the Turkish Defense Ministry.

The equipment was transferred to Turkey on June 5.

It is noted that the exercises will be conducted in conjunction with the “Anatolian Eagle 2022” international training course, which provides a unique training opportunity in the context of air operations.

Why I Love ‘Mannix’

Karapet Navasardian
Media Post
May 31 2022
  • by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, May 31, 2022

Stay up late enough on any weeknight and you might have the good fortune to stumble upon “Mannix” on MeTV at 2 a.m.

To which you might ask: With all of the tonnage of high-quality, provocative TV shows in production today and running by the hundreds on our TV networks and streaming services, why single out some old show from the ’70s (1968-75 to be exact) for discussion in this TV Blog

The answer is that I have come to appreciate the way TV shows were once produced and presented — precisely as a result of my immersion in the new world of television we are in now.

There is nothing wrong with the current era, of course. The choices we have are infinite (or sometimes feel that way), and much of it is very well worth watching in small doses or in binges.

In addition, when you think about it, the streaming services are not all that expensive for what you get for your monthly subscription when compared with typical monthly cable bills.

I won’t say how much my household pays for cable TV every month in New York City, but it far exceeds what we would pay if we subscribed to a half-dozen of the top streaming services.

Having said all that, “Mannix” — a show about a private eye with tousled hair and fists of fury — represents what I like to think of as “TV” in all its glory.

The majority of TV shows today are simply not made like the shows of the “Mannix” era. Shows today aim higher, you might say.

They deal in “important” subjects, and strive to delve deeper into subjects related to a wide range of human experiences.

The dramas made for the streaming services are arranged in episodes, but in their look and feel, they play more like small-screen cinema than the TV shows of a bygone age.

In the “Mannix” era, TV shows had a straight-ahead, what-you-see-is-what-you-get quality. They gave you very little to really think about, but that was an asset, not a defect.

Moreover, they were designed specifically to accommodate commercial breaks, something that the buzzy, attention-getting scripted shows presented today on pay-cable and the subscription streaming services obviously do not need to do.

“Mannix” was a case in point. Played by Mike Connors (photo above), Joe Mannix was a relentless private investigator in L.A. who got into fights, gun battles and car chases just about every week.

The action sequences were exciting. No story ever went unresolved by the end of each hour. And Mannix always won, no matter how banged up he became.

Watching “Mannix” and other vintage TV shows makes it possible to peer through a window at TV history that still lives on film and videotape.

All that and action too. When it’s 2 o’clock in the morning, what more do you want?

Sports: Why Scotland must look beyond Ukraine to Armenia and the echoes of Albania in 2018

Karapet Navasardian
June 2 2022
By Alan Pattullo

That question is a very simple one to answer on this occasion. They head back to Hampden Park next Wednesday night for a game against Armenia that, right now, many cannot see far enough. The players will likely fall into this camp too.

Let’s hope the collective hangover following such a bitterly disappointing defeat to Ukraine is of the Andy Robertson variety. Quick to clear.

We will never know what might have happened had the play-off semi-final, rightly delayed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, been played when originally scheduled in March.

Nathan Patterson may well have been able to play though match fitness might still have been an issue. More significantly, Kieran Tierney, who it’s been proved time and time again is such an important cog in Steve Clarke’s favoured system, would likely have been available.

Even then, there is no guarantee Scotland would have overcome a clearly talented Ukraine team. Defeat, though, might have been easier to stomach in the Spring. The Scotland players would have dispersed back to their clubs after a meaningless friendly against Austria. Life would have gone on. Domestic issues would quickly dominate the agenda again. Semi-finals, finals. Relegation, promotion. It would not have stung so much.

It feels like a form of torture to be locked inside an international window while trying to cope with the realisation that it will be 2026 at the very least until Scotland appear at another World Cup. That’s a gap of almost 30 years. A couple of generations. Those who attended the Morocco game in St Etienne in 1998 while young, free and single could easily be grandparents now.

The next World Cup is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States. The number of competing teams has been increased to 48, with Europe handed three extra qualifying spots. Whether Clarke will still be around to make up for his exclusion from the squad for Italia ’90 in his playing days – he was included in the original pool – remains to be seen. His current contract extends only to the end of qualifying for Euro 2024.

Whether he likes it or not, the focus has returned to the manager in the aftermath of such a comprehensive defeat to Ukraine. As much as Scotland’s improvement under Clarke is undeniable, Wednesday was the third time in just 12 months that his side have been well beaten on a big occasion at Hampden.

All three games might have been against quality opposition, but they are the type of teams who Scotland need to overcome to make an impact at international level. Czech Republic, Croatia and Ukraine are all ranked higher than Scotland. However, they should not have been allowed to pick off the hosts as easily as they did.

Clarke will have regrets. As against Czech Republic, when he sent on Lyndon Dykes for Ryan Christie with Scotland trailing by a goal, he felt compelled to change things at half-time against Ukraine. This time the switch was reversed – Christie for Dykes. Goals were lost shortly after the interval on both occasions.

He opted for two strikers against Croatia in the last, must-win group fixture and the Scots were never in it.

He did the same on Wednesday – Dykes and Che Adams again – and the game ran away from the hosts once more. There is much for Clarke to ponder in the coming days. The next games in Scotland’s summer programme are against lower quality opponents. A trip to Dublin to face Republic of Ireland is bookended by home and away clashes with Armenia.

There is the prospect of players developing niggles and dropping out. The scrutiny on those such as Andy Robertson and Scott McTominay, the property of Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, will be intense.

Everyone will require some time to process this latest disappointment. A promising campaign that finished on such a high against Denmark unravelled in 90 minutes – or around 48 minutes in truth.

Ukraine’s second goal at Hampden was the ultimate buzzkill. Scotland did show signs of life in the last half an hour and might well have forced extra-time at least had John McGinn not somehow managed to skew his header wide when it seemed easier to score.

Callum McGregor’s goal with 11 minutes left brought Hampden to life. But Ukraine still looked just as likely to score as Scotland and the visitors did help themselves to another goal with the game’s last kick.

The Ukraine tie has dominated the national side’s calendar for the past six months. The play-off draw was made as long ago as November. It’s been difficult to look beyond a match on which so much hinged. But now we must. We must.

The format for Euro 2024 is not yet confirmed. Information detailing how teams might earn play-off spots from the 2022/23 Nations League is still to be announced. Uefa are expected to provide further details in the coming days.

But Scotland are already aware of its possibilities. Last summer’s Euro 2020 adventures were on the back of finishing top of Group C in the inaugural edition of the Nations League. The upcoming games might seem like a chore, but they need to be treated the same as qualifiers. Because that, effectively, is what they are.

Who now remembers a 2-0 win at Hampden Park against Albania in September 2018? Only 17,500 turned up to watch what proved an important stepping stone on the way to Scotland’s first major finals for 23 years.

Next Wednesday’s meeting with Armenia could provide a similar springboard before an always competitive fixture in Dublin against Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland three days later.

Armenia parliamentary staff to receive another bonus

Karapet Navasardian
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 1 2022
13:30, 01.06.2022

President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan signed a decree, according to which the state employees and the parliament staff will be rewarded with a one-time cash bonus, the National Assembly press service informed NEWS.am.

The awards will be paid on the occasion of Republic Day.