Category: News

A Saudi prince and four others were detained on Monday in the largest drug bust in the history of the Beirut airport, a security source said.

Saudi prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz and four others were detained by security at Rafik Hariri International Airport while allegedly “attempting to smuggle about two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine,” a security source told AFP.

“The smuggling operation is the largest one that has been foiled through the Beirut International Airport,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

Captagon is the brand name for the amphetamine phenethylline, a synthetic stimulant. The banned drug is consumed mainly in the Middle East and has reportedly been widely used by fighters in Syria.

The security source said the drugs had been packed into cases that were waiting to be loaded onto a private plane that was headed to Saudi Arabia.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs James Warlick, Igor Popov and Pierre Andrieu.

The parties continued the discussions on furthering the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.

The Armenian Foreign Minister called the attention of the mediators to the fact that Azerbaijan continues to violate the ceasefire at the line of contact with Artsakh and the shared border with Armenia even after the two statements the Co-Chairs issued last month.

“The border provocations by Azerbaijan are accompanied by belligerent statements and threats in Baku on the highest level, the propaganda of enmity and hatred,” Minister Nalabndian said.

“Azerbaijan’s rejection of the Co-Chairs’ proposal to create a mechanism of investigation of border incidents testifies to the fact that Baku wishes to foil the efforts of Armenia and the co-chairing countries aimed at peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict,” the Armenian Foreign Minister stated.

The agreement on the Iranian nuclear program opens new prospects for strengthening regional and international cooperation, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said on Friday, TASS reports.

“This agreement is important not only from the point of view of strengthening stability and security, but it also paves the way for developing mutually beneficial regional and international cooperation,” Nalbandian said at the opening of III International Forum of MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) Graduates.

“We are now working with Iranian colleagues in several promising spheres,” the foreign minister said. “Iran’s more active international economic involvement can make the region much more attractive from the economic point of view,” he stressed.

On 23 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia, Yervand Zakharyan and his deputy Levon Shahverdyan, Central Information Department of the Office of the NKR President reported.

A wide range of issues related to the economic cooperation between the two Armenian states were discussed during the meeting.

NKR minister of economy Andranik Khachatryan partook in the meeting.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today Anatoly Torkunov, rector of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MSIIR), who has arrived to Yerevan to take part in the 3rd International Forum of the MSIIR Alumni. The meeting was also joined by RF Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Nebenzya.

The president welcomed the guests, noting that he is glad to host them within the frames of the abovementioned prestigious international forum being held I Armenia. Serzh Sargsyan attached great importance to the MSIIR special role in training qualified cadres, experts in international relations and diplomats, including for Armenia, many of whom, according to the president, have achieved great success in public policy, social and scientific spheres.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed Anatoly Torkunov’s weighty contribution to the maintenance of the institute’s best traditions.

At the meeting, the president awarded academician Anatoly Torkunov, rector of Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the RA high state decoration, the Order of Honor, for his activities aimed at the strengthening and development of the Armenian-Russian friendship, as well as at the deepening of scientific and educational ties.

Rector Anatoly Torkunov thanked the RA president for recognizing his activities, as well as for praising his educational institution.

During the conversation, the RA president and MSIIR Rector stressed the major role of education and science in the development of states and their societies.

At least 42 people are feared dead in a traffic accident involving a truck and bus in south-west France, the BBC reports.

The two vehicles are reported to have collided head-on near Libourne, in the Gironde region, east of Bordeaux.

A fire official told the Agence France Presse that the dead were mostly adult passengers on the bus. The lorry driver was also killed.

Both vehicles are said to have caught fire after the collision.

newspaper says the bus was carrying elderly people who were setting off on holiday, adding that there were just five survivors.

 

 

 

Turkish author Pinar Selek’s book titled “Because they are Armenian” has been published in Armenian. The book reflects the author’s stance on the Armenian Genocide and the approaches of the Turkish public.

The French translation of the book was released in Strasburg in February.

“In the book I have written what it means to be Armenian in Turkey,” she told a press conference in Yerevan today.

In 1998 Pinar Selek was prosecuted in connection with an explosion that occurred at the Spice Bazaar, but was acquitted by the Istanbul High Criminal Court of Istanbul 16 years later. She had to move to France because of persecutions in Turkey.

The author said she faced the 1915 massacre of Armenians too late. “There can be nothing more precious than the struggle for truth,” Selek said.

When writing the book she was inspired by her late friends, who lived in Turkey. “They can’t speak today, and I’m speaking for them.”

“I have problems with justice, and I’m struggling for my own justice. That’s why I know how important every testimony is for achieving justice,” the author said.

“Believe, I’m not alone. I’m a representative of a whole generation, which questions many truths we have been taught in Turkey,” Selek added.

Florida Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Ted Deutch (D-FL) have signed a letter that will be sent to U.S. Ambassador James Warlick later this week calling for increased security measures and confidence building mechanisms along the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan border, reported FLArmenians.com. Congressman Bilirakis serves as Co-Chair of the Hellenic Caucus, Co-Chair of the Hellenic Israel Alliance Caucus, and Vice-Chair of the Armenian Caucus.

“When violence and aggression become a pattern in a historically turbulent region, we, as American policy leaders, should speak out strongly to dispel further hostilities,” Congressman Bilirakis told FLArmenians.com.  “That is why I joined my colleagues in a letter to James Warlick, U.S. Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group urging a just and peaceful resolution to the conflict. Azerbaijani aggression must stop so that peace and security can return to the region as swiftly as possible,” he said.

Congressman Deutch, whose Palm Beach County district is home to the largest Armenian community in Florida, serves with Bilirakis as the Co-Chair of the Hellenic Israel Alliance Caucus.

“I want to thank our Florida Representatives, Gus Bilirakis and Ted Deutch, for their support in calling for an end to the escalating violence against Armenia and Karabakh,” stated District 21 resident and Florida Armenians Boca Raton Chair George Sarkisian.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) are circulating a bipartisan letter asking their Congressional colleagues to support renewed U.S. leadership in the South Caucasus.

The two senior legislators are currently collecting signatures on a letter addressed to Ambassador James Warlick, U.S. representative to the OSCE Minsk Group which is responsible for mediating a resolution of the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. The Royce-Engel letter specifically calls for the U.S. and OSCE to abandon the failed policy of false parity in responding to acts of aggression, noting that: “The longstanding U.S. and OSCE practice of responding to each new attack with generic calls upon all parties to refrain from violence has failed to de-escalate the situation. Instead, this policy of artificial evenhandedness has dangerously increased tensions. There will be no peace absent responsibility.”

The legislators propose three concrete steps that would, “in the short-term, save lives and help to avert war. Over the longer term,” the letter says, “these steps could contribute to a comprehensive and enduring peace for all the citizens of the region:”

Specifically, the letter calls for:

1.     An agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along the line of contact;

2.     The placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact; and

3.     The deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations.

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the governments of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh have both pledged their support for these confidence-building measures, while Azerbaijan has repeatedly opposed them.

Over fifty-five members of Congress have signed the Royce-Engel letter to Ambassador Warlick. In addition to the House Foreign Affairs Committee leadership, the letter has the support of House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY), and former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Steve Israel (D-NY).

Congressman Schiff wrote a separate letter to Ambassador Warlick earlier this month warning, “unwillingness to speak plainly about the aggressor in this conflict sends the message to Azerbaijan that it can act with impunity.” “I do not believe the cause of peace is served by ignoring Azerbaijan’s increasing belligerence and the suggestion that both parties are equally to blame for violence along the Line of Contact when that is not the case,” Schiff’s letter states.

Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia has launched the new round of Acceleration Program, targeting startups with innovative solutions. 14 teams, presenting various solutions have been selected out of more than 50 applicants in the result of strict selection and interview. In line with the tendencies, currently dominating in the international market, teams in Armenia offer solutions in such areas as e-commerce, B2B solutions, video editing, social solutions etc.

Artashes Vardanyan, the head of Acceleration Program of Microsoft innovation center mentions that the startups, involved in the program are at different stages of development. There are teams at the idea or prototype stage, at the same time under the Acceleration Program assistance will also be provided to startups, which already have users and ensure stable retention rate, as well as have managed to attract their first investments.

Under the 12-week acceleration program startups will work on the development of their products, powered by mentorship from experienced specialists. This round of the program will involve specialists from Silicon valley, Israel, Australia, Russia, who have huge experience in turning idea into a product. Armenian experts will work with the teams and provide professional and business consultancy. In addition, the participating teams will receive working space and other facilities in the center. They will be able to participate in all events, training courses and seminars, organized by MIC Armenia. Taking into account that some of the teams have already their products developed, the Acceleration program will try to make some connections with investors and venture funds. The program will culminate in the MIC Demo Day, where a global audience will witness the product demonstrations and startups will receive feedback from experts. 4 startups: Solo Learn, Forkize, Flaxton և Penny, involved in the previous rounds of the Acceleration program attracted more than 350,000 USD for the further development and marketing of their products.

The teams, participating in this round of the Acceleration program are the following:

• BeeCart – an online system of on-demand grocery delivery
• Archimedes – a solution, intended to automate lessons scheduling process at higher educational institutions
• Challenger – an app, intended to help people to achieve their procrastinated goals, by creating challenges and competing with each other
• CPU panda – an online CPU retailer with worldwide shipping
• Follow My Youtube – a web solution, allowing to watch youtube videos together with friends at the same time but from different places
• Friendhub – a mobile application, intended to help people to socialize in real life
• Homesweet – an on-demand cooking order of your favorite food
• Helpie  – a solution to make better UX and to help and support communications
• gShop – an automated delivery of household goods, based on consumption behavior
• Masoor solutions –  a smart medical scheduler to help patients to take medicine and treatment in time
• NeedChange – an app, that will help to avoid inconvenience while visiting places of entertainment and make reservations.
• Renderforest – a free online video making tool
• New life – an e-commerce platform/aggregator of clothes stores
• Filmer – a mobile app intended to help you find your next favorite movie for watching

Three people have been shot and one is reported to be critically wounded at Tennessee State University in Nashville, US police say.

The entrance to the university is reported to have blocked off. There is no indication that an attacker is still active, AP news agency reports.

The gunfire is reported to have started on Thursday night.

The latest incident comes a week after three people were wounded by gunfire at an off-campus party near the college.