ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday Italian company IDS is ready to invest 10 million EUR for research laboratory opening in Armenia Yerevan July 14 Alina Hovhannisyan. The Italian multinational company IDS together with the "Technology and Science Dynamics" within five years is ready to invest 10 million EUR for the creation of a research laboratory (NRL) in Armenia. Vahan Shakaryan, the founder of the company "Technology and Science Dynamics", told during a press conference on July 14. According to him, the work in the laboratory will be aimed at researching technologies in the domain of forensic (computer forensics - Ed.). "Initially, specialists will conduct research in the field of forensic, as this segment is dynamically growing today and has a high potential for development," he stressed. According to him, at the start, the NRL will develop in the territory of the R & D center of TSD. In particular, he noted that the first meeting of the Armenian-Italian intergovernmental commission, which took place in June this year, helped to establish cooperation in Rome. For his part, Vice President of IDS Alberico Parente noted that the company's representatives have been investigating the Armenian market for several months already. In this regard, he stressed: "A good technological basis has been formed in Armenia. And in general, the state plays an important role in the region in terms of technological development. " Earlier on February 24, the government of the Republic of Armenia and the company Technology and Science Dynamics signed a memorandum of understanding "On stimulating the information technologies, informatization, promotion of innovative and telecommunication sectors", whose goal is to raise the investment rating of the Armenian IT industry. According to the document, representatives of the ICT sector will be opened in the embassies of 15 countries. To note, according to the estimations of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, the IT sector of the economy in the result of 2016 provided about 6% of Armenia's GDP. At the same time, as the executive director of the Union of IT Enterprises (UITE) of Armenia Karen Vardanyan stated in an interview with the ArmInfo correspondent, the IT sphere of Armenia can annually provide 45-50% growth, noting that in recent years the average IT sector provides a 20-25% annual growth with a turnover of $ 500 million.
Category: 2017
Armenian President is not satisfied with the level of Armenian-American economic cooperation
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday Armenian President is not satisfied with the level of Armenian-American economic cooperation Yerevan July 14 Mariana Mkrtchyan. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held today a meeting devoted to the development of the Armenian-American relations. ArmInfo was informed about this in the press service of the Armenian leader. Armenian Ambassador to the United States Grigor Hovhannisyan reported to the President on the activities of the Armenian Embassy aimed at implementing a number of short-term and medium-term goals in some promising spheres, current Armenian-American programs, achievements, and targeted cooperation directions. At the meeting, the Armenian President noted that over the 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have established successful cooperation in many key areas. "Since the moment of Armenia's declaration of independence, the United States has provided us with consistent support. The volume of American technical and humanitarian assistance over these years reached $ 2 billion. The United States assisted Armenia in carrying out numerous reforms. Unilateral assistance is gradually evolving into economic cooperation, and about 800 enterprises with American capital operate in Armenia today," the Armenian leader stressed. As a successful example, Sargsyan noted the sale of the American company "Contour Global" of the Vorotan cascade of HPPs - one of the largest energy assets in the republic. The deal amounted to $ 180 million. As the President noted, serious investment is also made by Lydian International, which is developing the Amulsar gold deposit, located in the Syunik region. Nevertheless, Sargsyan is convinced that the current level of cooperation is not satisfactory, since there is a great potential for developing the dialogue, taking into account the economic power of the United States, the readiness of this country for further enhancing cooperation and the presence of a large and influential Armenian community in the United States. After the meeting, the Armenian President gave appropriate instructions. To note, according to the National Statistics Service, the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and the US in January-December 2016 amounted to $ 126.9 million, with an annual decline of 21%. Export - $ 38.8 million with an annual decline of 26.7%, and imports $ 88.1 million, with an annual decline of 18.2%.
By the end of 2017, the level of first aid services in all Armenian penitentiary institutions will be improved and modernized
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday By the end of 2017, the level of first aid services in all Armenian penitentiary institutions will be improved and modernized Yerevan July 14 17. ArmInfo, Ani Mshetsyan. By the end of 2017, the level of first aid services in all penal institutions in Armenia will be improved and modernized. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Suren Krmoyan on July 14 in Yerevan during the conference "Healthcare in the Penitentiary System: The Experience of Armenia and Georgia". According to him, the improvement of medical services in penitentiary institutions is a priority task in the program of the Armenian government. The Ministry of Justice of Armenia has already taken the necessary measures to improve the quality of medical services for prisoners, Krmoyan noted.. In turn, the representative of the Georgian branch of the organization "International Prison Reform" Bakar Jikia expressed satisfaction with Armenia's readiness for open cooperation. He expressed the hope that bilateral cooperation in this format will be productive and long-term. It should be noted that the conference is organized in connection with problems with medical assistance in the prison system of the two states. The participants of the event presented the reforms in the sphere of medical services in the criminal-correctional institutions of Armenia and Georgia, exchanged experience in this matter, listened to the special report of the Armenian Ombudsman on the implementation of the rights of prison inmates to health care.
The National Security Service of Armenia completed the preliminary investigation into the case of the ex- commander of the NKR Defense Army
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday The National Security Service of Armenia completed the preliminary investigation into the case of the ex- commander of the NKR Defense Army Yerevan July 14 Alexander Avanesov. In the Investigation Department of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, a preliminary investigation was completed with respect to 7 defendants in the criminal case under investigation on the facts of money laundering, as well as illegal acquisition, storage and transportation of ammunition. This was reported by the press center of the National Security Service of Armenia. According to the source, the investigation found that in July 2016 citizen Samvel Babayan reliably learned that people living in the Russian Federation have a large batch of money withdrawn from cash circulation and euro banknotes filled with special paint. He undertookMeasures for their acquisition, distortion through chemical cleaning and processing of their criminal origin and further introduction into circulation in the territory of Armenia. In these operations Babayan was assisted by a resident of Yerevan Karen Kocharyan, Andranik Kocharyan, a resident of the village of Buzhakan, who has knowledge of chemistry Zhor Zakaryan. In August-September 2016 Samvel Babayan, as the first party, purchased 100 banknotes in nominal value of 50 euros, paying for them 2900 dollars. Then Karen Kocharyan organized the transportation of these banknotes from Russia to Armenia by bus with the help of Yerevan resident David Harutyunyan. However, on September 20, 2016, banknotes were discovered and seized by NSS officers in Yerevan. As noted in the investigation of another criminal case, it became known that Samvel Babayan, planning to acquire MANPADS "Igla", promised in summer2016 Vaharshapat resident Sanasar Gabrielyan $ 50 thousand for his illegal acquisition, transportation and storage. Gabrielyan illegally acquired the complex through residents of Vagharshapat Armen Pogosyan and Hrachya Mailyana who traveled to Georgia and agreed to purchase the complex for $ 38,000 through a resident of the village of Vagharshapat RA living there. After the delivery to Armenia, Poghosyan and Gabrielyan photographed it to show Babayan. Samvel Babayan promised to pay 50 thousand dollars. On March 22, 2017, Mailyan voluntarily presented weapons to the National Security Service. On the same day after Gabrielyan's detention, Samvel Babayan tried to destroy photographs of weapons and eliminate all traces, but he was also detained. To implement a comprehensive, full and objective investigation, the above criminal cases were combined into one proceeding. Samvel Babayan charged with Part 1 of Art. 190 and Part 2 of Art. 38-235 of the RA Criminal Code. The charge of smuggling weapons was lifted. The criminal case against the indictment is sent to the prosecutor who oversees. It should be reminded that the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan's administrative districts Kentron and Nork-Marash granted an application for a 2-month detention in respect of the former commander of the Defense Army Artsakh Samvel Babayan within the framework of the criminal case on the smuggling of MANPADS "Igla" . The former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army Samvel Babayan was then charged on the grounds of Part 2 of Art. 235 and part 2 of article 235.1 of the RA Criminal Code. The press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia reported on March 25 that Samvel Babayan, the former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army (NKR), although he does not recognize the accusations brought against him in the case of the smuggling of the Igla to the Armenia, during interrogation in the status of the suspect, together with other Held in this case by suspects, acknowledged his involvement in the illegal trafficking in ammunition and reported on the incident.
Egypt beach resort attack kills two foreigners
Agence France Presse July 14, 2017 Friday 7:28 PM GMT Egypt beach resort attack kills two foreigners Cairo, July 14 2017 Two foreign women were killed on Friday and four others were wounded when an assailant stabbed them at an Egyptian Red Sea beach resort, officials said. The governor of Red Sea province, where the resort of Hurghada is located, said two "foreign residents" of the city were killed in the attack, a cabinet statement said. Although the attacker's motives were unclear, the stabbing will come as a blow to Egypt which has been trying to woo back tourists after years of unrest and deadly attacks. There was confusion about the nationalities of the victims, with Egyptian officials and state media initially saying the two women killed were Ukrainian which Kiev's ambassador to Egypt denied. An Egyptian health ministry official told AFP "the two foreigners killed earlier are Germans". But Germany's foreign ministry, which condemned the stabbing as "cowardly" in a statement, said it could not confirm or deny whether its nationals were among the victims. An Armenian foreign ministry spokesman said two Armenian women had been wounded in the attack, and the Czech foreign ministry tweeted that one of its nationals had been lighty injured. The interior ministry said in a statement that the attacker, who had swum ashore, was arrested and was being questioned. "We don't know his motives yet, he could be crazy or perturbed -- it's too early to tell," a senior interior ministry official told AFP. In January 2016, three tourists in Hurghada were wounded in a stabbing assault by two assailants with apparent Islamic State group (IS) sympathies. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's stabbing. Hurghada is one of Egypt's most popular beach resorts, especially with Ukrainians and European tourists. Security has been boosted in resorts around the country, as the tourism industry provides Egypt with much-needed revenues. An IS bombing of a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from a south Sinai resort in 2015 killed all 224 people on board and decimated the country's tourism sector. Russia suspended all flights to Egypt in response and has yet to resume them. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency based in the north of the Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers. - Policemen shot dead - Also on Friday, unknown assailants shot dead five policemen south of Cairo, in the latest of a series of attacks targeting the country's security forces. The ministry said three gunmen opened fire on a police car and then fled, killing a non-commissioned officer, three conscripts and a police employee. CCTV footage posted online by the Ahram newspaper showed the three assailants pretending to fix a motorbike before they opened fire on a passing police truck then looted it. The attack took place near Badrasheen, a town some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Cairo, where militants have also targeted police in the past. As with the beach stabbing, there has not yet been any claim of responsibility for the attack. The killings came as police and the army said they were closing in on militants and jihadists following a spate of deadly attacks in the Nile Valley and the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt has struggled to quell IS jihadists based in the Sinai and smaller militant groups in the mainland since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and cracked down on his supporters. IS jihadists killed at least 21 soldiers in restive north Sinai on July 7, the same day as the militant Hasam group claimed responsibility for shooting dead an officer with Egypt's secret police in an attack north of the capital. While smaller groups such as Hasam have mostly targeted policemen and government officials, IS has also attacked foreign tourists and Egypt's Coptic Christian minority. Dozens of Christians have been killed in church bombings and shootings since last December in attacks claimed by IS. The jihadists have threatened to carry out further attacks on Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 90 million people. burs-se/hkb
Armenian lobbying activity in France records progress over past years
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday Armenian lobbying activity in France records progress over past years YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian lobbying activity in France recorded progress both in political and public spheres over the past years, Murad Papazian- Co-Chair of the Coordination Council of the Armenian Organizations of France, told a press conference in Armenpress. He stated that the Turkish-Azerbaijani lobby put a goal to eliminate or weaken the Armenian community of France. “Contrary to this, I can state that we succeeded and they failed. By recording failure, the Ambassadors of Turkey and Azerbaijan have changed. For instance, when the bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide was put into circulation, the parliament has always voted in favor of us. Regardless of who were majority in the parliament, be the left-wing or right-wing parties, they always voted in favor of us. We have always benefited in the political field”, Murad Papazian said. Papazian added that despite the success active works must continue since the Turkish-Azerbaijani lobby tries to open new page. In particular, they have decided to greatly politicize their community in France. “In these circumstances we recorded success during the elections. We have established quite good ties with the newly-elected president, discussed a number of issues relating to the Armenian-French ties, the Armenian Genocide and Artsakh. The society, the political leadership have positive attitude towards Armenians. We are French-Armenians, citizens of France, they perceive us in this way, they know that we are not linked with Armenia’s government, the President of Armenia or the Prime Minister do not guide us. But in case of Turks and Azerbaijanis the situation is different. People in France know quite well that Erdogan, Aliyev guide their communities in France. This means that they interfere in the internal life of France, whereas Armenia doesn’t”, Murad Papazian added.
Falsely incriminated scholar Sevan Nishanyan escapes prison in Turkey
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday Falsely incriminated scholar Sevan Nishanyan escapes prison in Turkey YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. Istanbul-based ethnic Armenian scholar and linguist Sevan Nishanyan, who has been serving a 17-year prison term since 2014 in Turkey, has escaped from the correctional facility, Turkish media reported. Nishanyan exited the minimum security (open regime) prison in the morning of July 14 and hasn’t returned. A tweet later appeared on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, saying: “The bird flew away: Same wishes to the remaining 80 million”. Turkish historian and scholar Taner Akcam, a strong supporter of the Armenian Genocide recognition, reacted to Nishanyan’s tweet by saying: “Sevan Nishanyan has escaped by saying “the bird flew away”. With expectations of a free world for all birds….”, he said. Nishanyan was arrested and imprisoned in Turkey for carrying out “illegal” construction in his own garden. Even Turkish media said the arrest was an obvious framing by Turkish authorities, because Nishanyan has publicly criticized Turkey’s government’s mistakes. Numerous activities and individuals have called for his release, saying that the true reason of his arrest is the fact that he dared to criticize the official history of Turkey by writing the “False Republic” book.
We have sufficient arsenal to neutralize threats to Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, says President Sargsyan
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday We have sufficient arsenal to neutralize threats to Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, says President Sargsyan YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. The self-determination right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh is a right granted from above, a right defined under the charters of international structures, a principle adopted by international rights and it must be exercised, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to Armenia TV’s “Revolution” program. “What can guarantee the continuity of any solution or what guarantee can there be that if a political solution happens, then the conditions will be maintained. I have said numerously, and I will repeat now: the number one guarantee is having own combat-worthy armed forces. This is the number one guarantee and the most-trusted guarantee. We have sufficient arsenal to be able to eliminate the danger which threatens Nagorno Karabakh or Armenia with the combat capabilities of our troops. Whoever thinks that Iskander’s have only moral or psychological significance, he doesn’t understand what Iskanders are. When he knows, he will understand what destructive force this weapon has”, the Armenian president said.
Two Armenian citizens wounded in Egypt knife attack
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday Two Armenian citizens wounded in Egypt knife attack YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. Two Armenian citizens have been wounded as an unknown knife-wielding assailant attacked tourists in a Hurghada hotel in Egypt. “According to preliminary information two citizens of Armenia have been wounded in the Hurghada incident”, Armenian foreign ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan said on Twitter. An unknown individual attacked tourists in a hotel in Hurghada, Egypt. The assailant was armed with a knife. Two tourists, presumably Ukrainians, have been killed. Reports suggest four others have been wounded. The attacker entered the hotel and randomly attacked the tourists. At the same time, the country’s interior ministry said six people have been wounded in the attack and their citizenship is being clarified. The victims have been hospitalized.
Armenia is our second defense echelon, says Zhirinovsky
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday Armenia is our second defense echelon, says Zhirinovsky YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. On July 14, the Russian State Duma ratified the Russian-Armenian agreement on creating a joint troops formation, Russia media reported. Speaking on the agreement, Russian lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, president of the Liberal-Democratic Party, mentioned that Russia and Armenia have always had strong friendly relations, which stems from the interests of both countries. “Armenia is our second defense echelon and it has always been. We have an agreement on creating a joint defense area with Armenia, which we will prolong further”, he said. The agreement on forming the joint troops was signed in Moscow on November 30, 2016.