Category: News

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Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters and protesters are travelling to Washington DC for the event.

Thousands of police have been deployed and many kilometres of crowd barriers set up as part of a vast security operation, according to the

Addressing supporters on Thursday night at a pre-inaugural concert, Mr Trump pledged to unify America, bring change and make the country great “for all of our people”.

Meanwhile in New York, thousands of people attended a rally where dozens of celebrities and politicians voiced their concerns about the president-elect.

Mr Trump will be sworn in before midday local time (17:00 GMT) by Chief Justice John Roberts, and make his inaugural speech.

The ceremony will be attended by former presidents and first ladies, including Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, Mr Trump’s opponent in the recent election.

The only absences will be 92-year-old George Bush Senior, who is in hospital being treated for respiratory problems, and his wife Barbara.

Atıf Çiçekli, the trustee appointed to Van’s Edremit district has ordered to remove the signs in Armenian, reports.

Van’s Edremit District Municipality used signs in Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and English in busy parts of the district as part of efforts for a multilingual life. These efforts were especially prominent in Edremit as it is a touristic district. The second trustee Atış Çiçekli made a name for himself first with firing the workers and implementing bans, and now he had the signs in Armenian removed.

The Edremit district is by the Van Lake and has a high potential for nature and tourism. The district is also the closest to the Akhtamar Island where Armenian ceremonies are held every September. Edremit is filled with remnants of Armenian legacy. There is a fountain in the district made by the Armenian artist Arshile Gorky, which had been restored by the DBP municipality.

Armenians hold ceremonies on Akhtamar Island in Van Lake on the first week of every September. As a service to Armenians coming to the island for the ceremony, the Edremit Municipality had put up signs in Armenian in various places in the district as per a decree by the municipal council. But the trustee Atıf Çiçekli removed these signs, without citing a reason.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence has appointed Ken Nahigian to replace Rick Dearborn as executive director of the Trump-Pence presidential transition, the transition team said in a press release on Wednesday.

Nahigian, who served as the head of strategic planning and support for President-elect Donald Trump, will now support Trump’s nominees through their confirmation hearings.

“In the days following the election, [Nahigian’s] role evolved to not only manage President-elect support, but also prepare our great cabinet designees for their hearings,” Dearborn was quoted as saying in the release. “The transition is in capable hands with Ken Nahigian, who has tirelessly supported it from day one and will carry it through the finish line.”

“Ken has been a tremendous and critical asset to the Transition,” said Mr. Dearborn.  “In the days following the election, his role evolved to not only manage President-elect support but also prepare our great cabinet designees for their hearings.  The Transition is in capable hands with Ken Nahigian, who has tirelessly supported it from day one and will carry it through the finish line.”

Throughout the pre-election and Transition periods, Mr. Nahigian served as the head of President-elect support, the body that oversees all strategic planning and support to the President-elect, Vice President-elect, their families, and nominees, where pre-planning is critical to ensure a strong foundation is built for a successful transition minutes after the election is called.  In this role, Mr. Nahigian and his team led the organization of critical functionality of the Transition pre-election, which included the creation of GreatAgain.gov, the structuring of a communications strategy post-election, the building of the resources infrastructure to be ready on day one, and creation of a network for public engagement during the Transition period.

“I’m honored that the President-elect, Vice President-elect and Rick Dearborn have entrusted me with this responsibility and it is my honor to continue my service to this new administration,” said Mr. Nahigian. “It has been a tremendous honor to be part of this historic and successful process of building our government.”

While not working on the Presidential Transition, Mr. Nahigian serves as a principal in a 17-year old public relations and communications planning and strategy firm.

Dearborn is leaving the post to assume his role as White House deputy chief of staff.

Trump’s inauguration will be held January 20 in Washington, DC, in front of the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress.

Six people have been found alive in Italy’s Rigapiano hotel, two days after it was buried in an avalanche, the BBC reports.

Rescuers said the six survivors had been discovered buried under snow, but had not yet been extracted.

They have now requested rescue helicopters to help with the efforts, Italian media reported.

At least four people have been confirmed dead, and about 20 are still missing, as the rescue effort continues in difficult conditions.

European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) also known as ANC-Europe Chair Kaspar Karampetian and EU Affairs Officer Heghine Evinyan visited Berlin to personally deliver the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) 2016 Freedom Award to German Parliament Member Cem Ozdemir and the entire German Bundestag. Also delivered were congratulatory certificates of support and solidarity from various American federal, state and local elected officials and bodies, including the California State Legislature, and the County and City of Los Angeles.  Ozdemir and the Bundestag were honored during the 2016 ANCA-WR Annual Gala back in October for their courage in resisting pressure from the government of Turkey to introduce and pass a resolution formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide as well as Germany’s complicity in this crime against humanity.

In her remarks introducing the award in front of a crowd of over 1,000 elected officials, supporters and activists at the Gala, ANCA-WR Board Member Souzi Zerounian-Khanzadian stated, “630. That’s the number of members of the German Bundestag. Mr. Ozdemir attained a majority of votes out of 630 members of Parliament, standing up against threats both to his government and himself, and relieving his government of the gag rule Turkey had imposed on them. The U.S. Congress is comprised of 435 members, 195 less than the Bundestag, yet the Speaker of our House of Representatives and speakers before him have cowered at the idea of bringing the Armenian Genocide to a floor vote. Our Presidents have cowered behind cheap excuses, refusing to address the issue of the Armenian Genocide.

 

“When the coup took place and President Erdogan used excessive force, the White House did not reprimand or comment. When Turkey provided assistance to ISIS, the U.S. still stood by Turkey. For fear of what? That the Ambassador to Turkey will be recalled? It only took 127 days before the German ambassador was returned; France and other countries have gone through the same routine,” continued Zerounian-Khanzadian.

Ozdemir, who was unable to attend the Gala due to election season back home, accepted the award and expressed appreciation for the recognition with a video message.

In his remarks, Ozdemir noted, “The fight for minority rights has been a cornerstone of my career in the past. …Since then we have seen commemorations of the Genocide and academic conferences on the subject in Turkey. What we have not seen, unfortunately, is any movement on the political level. Instead, the Turkish government is putting more and more pressure on the Turkish civil society that so bravely started the debate about the genocide. This is why we, as members of the German Bundestag, wanted no longer to wait for movement in Turkey.  However, the most important motivation for us to act now was the fact that Germany was guilty too. The German Kaiserreich was the closest military ally of the Ottomans at that time. Through diplomats, through missionaries they were well informed about what was going in Turkey at that time. Yet they decided not to intervene and let over one million innocent people die.

“The resolution clearly recognizes co-responsibility of Germany, even speaking of guilt. The fact that the Bundestag almost as a whole embraced the Armenian Genocide resolution shows that Germany is ready to accept this dark chapter of its history. The award you are giving me means a lot to me. It will serve as a reminder that we need to learn from the past in order to do what’s right in the present. Unfortunately, we still live in a world full of conflicts and violence. When I think of Syria, I also think of how places like Aleppo and Deir el-Zor — one hundred years ago these were the destinations of those Armenians who survived the death marches. Now Christians and countless more people in the Middle East have to flee again. So we still have a lot of work to do to make this world a better place for all of us,” concluded Ozdemir.

 

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

The Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus has decided to satisfy the request of the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan on the extradition of Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, Chairman of the Armenian Chamber of Advocates

The ruling can be appealed within ten days, he said.

The Armenian Chamber of Advocates has set up a task force to provide professional assistance to Alexander Lapshin within the limits of its capacity.

The Danish Parliament is set to vote on an Armenian Genocide bill on January 26.

The lawmakers had 2.5 hours of discussions on the issue on January 19. Danish Foreign Minister Aners Samuelsen said in his opening remarks he stands against adoption of the documents and urged to leave the issue to historians, President of the National Press Club Narine Mkrtchyan reported from Copenhagen.

Part of the MPs backed the Foreign Minister’s stance, urging not to put the bill on a vote at the plenary sitting.

Others agreed with the bill, but called to think about the consequences. A third group of lawmakers expressed their unequivocal support for the adoption of the resolution.

The Parliament is proposed to adopt the following text:

“The Parliament confirms its decision no. V 54 of 19 May 2015 on the tragic and bloody events that took place in eastern Anatolia in the period 1915-1923. The Danish Parliament finds that the best path to reconciliation will be an open dialogue about the story on the basis of a free and uncensored history research, including the release of all official documents from the period. The Parliament regrets that Turkish law prohibits citizens and media to use the term “genocide” about the events, and considers this to be an unreasonable restriction of both academic freedom as freedom of expression relates to the use of this term. Parliament maintains its parliamentary tradition not to issue judgments about historical events.”

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Friday, succeeding Barack Obama and taking control of a divided country in a transition of power that he has declared will lead to “America First” policies at home and abroad.

At Trump’s side was his wife, Melania Trump.

The transition from a Democratic president to a Republican took place on the West Front of the domed U.S. Capitol before a crowd of former presidents, dignitaries and hundreds of thousands of people on the grounds of the National Mall. The crowd stretched westward on a cool day of occasional light rain.

 – New South Wales Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian confirms she will stand for the state’s top job, as outgoing Premier Mike Baird says: “I haven’t backed anyone”.

Mike Baird announced his resignation, citing the need to support his family.

A partyroom meeting is planned for Monday and a leadership spill is expected to happen on Tuesday, but it is unlikely there will be a ballot, as the ABC has been told the leadership positions will be decided by the partyroom earlier.

On ABC News, Mr Baird said he had not backed anyone.

“Gladys Berejiklian would be outstanding, no doubt about it,” he said.

“There is an incredible, talented group of ministers, many have huge potential both short-term and long-term.”

In a statement confirming she would run for the top job, Ms Berejiklian said she was “deeply saddened” by Mr Baird’s decision to retire.

“Mike has been an inspiring leader and a man of enormous integrity who has left an outstanding and indelible mark on the state of NSW,” she said.

“Today is Mike’s day — but I would like to make it clear that I will be standing for the leadership.”

It is likely that Dominic Perrottet will be the deputy leader of the NSW Liberal Party.

The ABC understands Transport Minister Andrew Constance is also considering running.

While it was expected that Planning Minister Rob Stokes would also run for the leadership, he has since confirmed he will bow out of the race.

These are the likely frontrunners who may contest the leadership positions:

Treasurer and the Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal Party, Ms Berejiklian is considered the frontrunner to be the next Premier.

Ms Berejiklian is part of the Liberal Party’s moderate faction and was elected unopposed as Mr Baird’s Liberal deputy in April 2014.

The 46-year-old former Commonwealth Bank executive was elected the Member for Willoughby, on Sydney’s lower north shore, in 2003.

She was appointed transport minister after Barry O’Farrell led the Coalition to a landslide win in 2011, a position she held until Mike Baird appointed her Treasurer after the 2015 election.

She is NSW’s first female Treasurer.

In October 2016, Ms Berejiklian declared the state debt free with a final surplus for the 2015-16 financial year of $4.7 billion.

Labor attributed the debt-free status to the sale of infrastructure assets including the partial sale of Ausgrid, but the Government pointed to investment in other projects such as Sydney’s WestConnex and the light rail.

Ms Berejiklian is the daughter of Armenian migrants and a granddaughter of victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

Islamic State militants have destroyed one of the most famous monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra, the Tetrapylon, and the facade of its Roman Theatre, Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told on Friday.

Islamic State control the Palmyra site after capturing it in December for a second time from Syrian government forces.

Government forces and their militia allies, backed by Russian air power, had taken back the city from Islamic State last March after first losing it in 2015.