Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

ArmHiTec-2016 first international exhibition of Arms and Defense Technologies will take place in Armenia from October 13 to 15.

The exhibition aims to present the advanced weapons and military technologies, the latest military-technical innovations of Armenia and other countries.

The exposition will feature advanced weapons and military technical equipment, security systems, special police equipment. Its main sections: armored vehicles, missile armament and equipment, military aircraft, small arms and ammunition, unmanned aerial vehicles and systems, communications, automated command and control systems and robotic systems, means of protection and personal protective equipment, laser, information and telecommunication technologies, information protection systems, outfit, equipage medical support plus some more.

A number of events, conferences, sittings and round-table discussions are planned to be held within the framework of the exhibition.

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – has recognized Dilijan, Armenia among its Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC).  Dilijan joins a dynamic network of cities worldwide that support and accelerate the practice of lifelong learning in the world’s communities, while promoting policy dialogue and peer learning among member cities through forged links and fostered partnerships that promote the progress of the learning cities.

“It is a great honor for the all Dilijan residents to receive such a coveted recognition from UNESCO as Dilijan continues to offer pioneering educational programs for preparing our citizens for the 21^st century learning,” said Dilijan Community Center Program Director, Rubina Ter-Martirosyan who was instrumental in Dilijan’s selection as a GNLC.

“Dilijan has become the designated site for such local and international learning centers as UWC Dilijan College, Central Bank of Armenia’s Training and Research Center, American University of Armenia, Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, the Dilijan Community Center as well as many artistic venues which culminated in the launch of the first Dilijan Arts Observatory this year,” Dilijan Mayor, Armen Santrosyan added.

Arne Carlsen, Director, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, commended Dilijan’s “vision, planning and implementation of the learning city concept” in a letter of recognition and expressed eagerness to learn about Dilijan’s future developments.

Veronika Zonabend, co-founder of UWC Dilijan and the Dilijan Development Foundation which supports Dilijan Community Center and other regional projects stated: “The goal of our foundation is to return to Dilijan its fame and further develop it into an educational, cultural and recreational regional hub. And this international recognition is an important step towards this goal.”

Inclusion in the Network will help Dilijan achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education while promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all its citizens.  Additionally, Dilijan will be listed amongst other world cities recognized as a UNESCO GNLC.

Gagik Adibekyan, co-founder of the Dilijan Development Foundation and founding-partner of UWC Dilijan College stated, “We live in a complex, fast changing world, in which the competitiveness and economic growth of the country depend heavily on the quality of education.  I am certain that Dilijan’s entry into the Global Network of Learning Cities will contribute to solving the important task of turning Dilijan into the educational hub of Armenia.”

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visited one of the military units of the NKR Defense Army to meet with the commanders and soldiers.

The Catholicos was welcomed by NKR Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan.

“We have come to express our appreciation and love to you, and bring our tribute for your feats we witnessed during the April war. We saw how you rebuffed the attack of the Azeri troops and drove them sway from our borders. We bring our tribute to the brave soldiers –the hero sons of our nation, who defended our Motherland at the cost of their lives,” His Holiness Karekin II said at the meeting.

Noting that the protection of the Motherland is a sacred mission for every son of the nation, His Holiness stressed the importance to the power of faith.

The informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Potsdam tomorrow will discuss the Karabakh issue, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter- Steinmeier has said in a statement issued ahead of the meeting.

“In the crisis-ridden world of today, the OSCE is perhaps more important than ever – in crisis management in eastern Ukraine, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflicts in Europe as well as in the maintenance of peace and security,” he said.

Mr. Steinmeier added that reference will be made to the strengthening of fundamental freedoms and democratic standards and will address new challenges such as international terrorism or the consequences of flight and migration.

An important issue on the agenda is the arms control. “I think now is the right time to gain a momentum for more transparency, risk prevention and confidence building here,” the OSCE Chairman-in-Office said.

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale

 

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United States Attorney Richard Hartunian, the Albany-based federal prosecutor for the Northern District of New York, was appointed Monday to lead an advisory committee on policy for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

It is the first time a prosecutor in charge of the 32-county district, which includes the Capital Region, has been named to head the panel.

Hartunian, 55, of Delmar, who graduated Georgetown University in 1983 and Albany Law School in 1986, became vice chair of the panel in January 2015. Now he will head a panel that is tasked with establishing policies for the U.S. Department of Justice, fostering cooperation with state attorneys general and promoting consistency in the application of legal standards.

The panel dates to 1973. Hartunian succeeds former U.S. Attorney John Walsh of Colorado. Hartunian will be joined by a new vice chair, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, who heads the Eastern District of Michigan.

“The attorney general’s Advisory Committee plays an essential role in shaping the Justice Department’s policies, implementing its programs, and ensuring that equal justice and the rule of law are upheld throughout the United States,” Lynch said in a statement. “As a former chair of the AGAC, I know firsthand the significant duties required of the committee’s leaders, and I am certain that U.S. Attorneys Richard Hartunian and Barbara McQuade are ready to assume the responsibility of chairing such an important and distinguished body. They are both seasoned prosecutors, exemplary law enforcement officers, and devoted public servants, and I look forward to benefiting from their long experience and wise counsel as we advance the department’s vital work in the months ahead.”

Hartunian, a one-time Albany County prosecutor and a frederal prosecutor in Albany since 1997, served as coordinator of his office’s Organized Crime Drug Task Force from 2006 until his appointment to U.S. attorney in 2010.

Hartunian has been on the committee since 2013 when he was appointed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

He has co-chaired the panel’s Border and Immigration Subcommittee and has sat on subcommittees focused on Native American issues, health care fraud and environmental crimes.

President Serzh Sargsyan has offered condolences to his French counterpart Francois Hollande over the deadly attack in Nice.

“I’m deeply shocked by the reports of the terrible crime in Nice that claimed the lives of dozens of innocent people.

France has been a target of terrorist attacks trice in the course of the past 1.5 years. The attacks are a blow not only to France, but also all humanity. This is also a message of being more decisive in uniting our efforts in the fight against international terrorism.

I express deep condolences to you, the French government and the relatives of the victims on this tragedy that befell your country. I assure that Armenia and the Armenian people stand by friendly France at this moment of grief,” President Sargsyan wrote.

The NKR Defense Ministry reports 14 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side at the line of contact with the Armed Forces of Nagorno Karabakh overnight.

The rival fired more than 100 shots in the direction of the  Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the situation at the frontline and confidently continue with their military duty all along the line of contact.

Armenia expects more countries to recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire a century ago as genocide after remarks by Pope Francis and the stance taken by Germany’s parliament, President Serzh Sargsyan has said.

Germany’s lower house adopted a resolution this month declaring the killings of Christian Armenians by Ottoman forces in World War One a “genocide.”

During a visit to Armenia on Friday, the pope departed from his prepared text to use the term, angering Turks.

“The principled position of the pope and the views expressed by the Bundestag will pave the way for new recognitions by other nations,” President Serzh Sargsyan told in an interview.

“Germany is a very important and significant actor on the international stage and this decision will serve as a good example for other nations to follow and to learn from it,” he said.

Sargsyan criticized Turkey’s position over its aspiration to join the European Union, saying Ankara was trying to use a policy of dictatorship to bring pressure to bear on the bloc.

“I don’t think that Turkey is … an actor that can impose its views, or exercise pressure, on the European Union,” he said.

“I don’t honestly see any prospects that would pave the way for Turkey joining the EU.”

Investigation has been launched against a Turkish judge for posting photos with Armenian writer on Facebok and Twitter, reports, quoting the Turkish Hurriyet daily.

The Turkish Council of Judges and Prosecutors opened investigation against Cemal Sain, a member of the Istanbul Court of Appeals after the judge posted a photo of himself, his two daughters and Armenian writer Migirdic Margosyan on social media. He’s also condemned for criticism of the Turkish state and its law-enforcement system.

The judge has refused from giving testimony, saying he has not violated any law with the publications, especially considering that no charge has been filed.

“Where there is no charge, there is no defense,” Sahin said.

DHA photo

 

At least fourteen people were killed in southern Turkey on June 5 when a bus carrying schoolchildren on an excursion plunged off the road and into a canal, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The bus had been bringing the pupils back from an excursion to the well-known archaeological site of Karatepe outside the city of Osmaniye when it flipped over into the canal.

It said that the driver had lost control of the vehicle and an investigation was underway.

Twenty four people were being treated for injuries in hospital. Of those killed, three were female pupils, three were boys and eight were adults.

Pictures showed a crane hoisting the bus out of the water watched by horrified onlookers.