Category: News

The Armenia Aircompany carried the first passengers from Yerevan to Tel Aviv today.

The maiden flight was preceded by a presentation at Zvartnots Airport.

Attending the event were Sergey Avetisyan, Chief of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, Andranik Shkhyan, Deputy General Manager of Armenia International Airports and Robert Oganesyan, CEO of Armenia Aircompany, directors of tourism agencies and others.

Sergey Avetisyan emphasized the importance of Yerevan-Tel Aviv flights and wished the Air Company safe and effective flights.

The Yerevan-Tel Aviv flights will be run twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays.

A 10 member electoral assessment team from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe – headed by Liisa Ansala (Finland, ILDG) and including two representatives from the EU Committee of the Regions – concluded yesterday its mission to observe the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan which were held on Sunday in the Armenian capital. During this vote, held on the basis of the amended 2016 Electoral Code, Voter Authentication Devices (VADs) were in use for the second time, after the Parliamentary elections of 2 April, which allowed the Congress delegation to assess the implementation of both the new legal framework and the new electronic system to identify voters and prevent fraud.

On Election Day, four Congress’ teams visited some 100 polling stations in the different administrative districts of Yerevan(Kentron, Nork-Marash, Avan, Qanaqer-Zeyt’un, Nor-Nork’, Erebuni, Nubarashen, Malatia-Sebastia, Schengavit’, Davt’ashen, Achapnyak and Arabkir) where the VADs (which contained electronic copy of the voters’ lists and provided for the electronic registration, the printing of a voting pass and the scanning of the fingerprints) were functioning smoothly throughout the whole voting procedure. In addition to the VADs, web cameras were installed in all polling stations in order to prevent electoral fraud, notably multiple voting and family voting, and to ensure transparency during the opening of the polling stations and the counting of the ballots at the end of the E-Day. The amended Electoral Code provides also for the publication of the signed voters lists after the elections, since the accuracy of the voters’ lists and voter impersonation were among the long-standing challenges of the electoral management in Armenia.

In addition to the new technologies, the Congress observers were able to assess the quality of the election administration at the level of the Precinct Election Commissions (PECs) whose members, including the IT specialists in charge of processing the VADs, all received training by the Central Election Commission which was overall positively evaluated. In general, the Election Day was calm and orderly in Yerevan, with the exception of some incidents which were reported to the Congress’ members and include also allegations of vote-buying and double-voting.

“The amended Electoral Code and the new technical measures have certainly improved the situation inside the polling stations. However, there is further democratic consolidation needed also outside. As it was the case during the 2 April Parliamentary elections, also during the Yerevan elections our delegation heard allegations of vote-buying and bribes as a systemic problem in Armenia. In addition, there is the issue of pressure on public service employees and misuse of administrative resources. In the majority of places visited by our observers on Sunday there were groups of people loitering around outside the polling stations creating an overall atmosphere of controlled voting. This is also relevant with regard to the busses bringing groups of voters to polling stations which we have observed. All these issues need to be taken seriously by the authorities in order to increase the trust in elections and in the administration in general”, stated Congress’ Vice-President Liisa Ansala.

“The fact that on Sunday only some 40 percent of the voters participated in the Yerevan elections is an alarming sign and shows the high level of political apathy and mistrust in the political system. The improved electoral framework and the new technologies to prevent fraud on E-Day are very welcome by the Congress and have increased transparency. Nonetheless, much more needs to be done to address the root cause of apathy and frustration about politics in Armenia”, Liisa Ansala concluded.

Further to the electoral assessment mission of the Congress, a report will be prepared and discussed at the next meeting of the Monitoring Committee on 27 June 2017 in Kharkiv (Ukraine).

US soldier Chelsea Manning has been released from prison after serving seven years for leaking thousands of diplomatic cables and military files to Wikileaks, the BBC reports.

She has left Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas.

Most of what remained of her 35-year sentence was commuted by then-US President Barack Obama in January.

Her lawyer earlier said she was excited but likely “anxious”.

“She’s ready to finally be able to live as the woman that she is,” Nancy Hollander told the BBC. The 29-year-old soldier was born Bradley Manning.

Chelsea Manning was convicted of 20 charges in connection with the leaks, including espionage. She was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy.

She defended the leaking by saying she had wanted to spark a public debate in the US about the role of the military and US foreign policy, but later apologised for “hurting the US”, saying she had mistakenly believed she could “change the world for the better”.

Chelsea Manning will remain on active army duty while her military court conviction remains under appeal. She will have healthcare benefits but will be unpaid, the army says.

If the appeal is denied, she could be dishonourably discharged from the army, US media say.

Nikol Pashinyan will head Yelk bloc’s parliamentary faction, the bloc said in a statement today.

Gevorg Gorgisyan will be the secretary of the faction.

The National Assembly of 6^th convocation is expected to convene its first session on May 18.

Four political forces will be represented in the Parliament –Republican Party of Armenia, Tsarukyan alliance, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun and Yelk bloc.

The Manchester United Legends will be back in action this summer with a trip to Barcelona to take on the Catalan giants, according to Man United’s official website. 

The charity clash at the Nou Camp takes place on Friday 30 June, kicking off at 19:00 local time, and is sure to bring back plenty of memories for both sets of players.

“Barcelona is a special place to go and play,” commented ex-Reds star Paul Scholes. “I had some great nights there but also had some difficult nights there to be honest with you.

“I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to spend a weekend with the other players and the football is always the key part of it but I’ll tell you after the game if it’s enjoyable or not!”

Scholes is likely to be joined by former colleagues such as Jesper Blomqvist, Ronny Johnsen and Dwight Yorke in the showpiece occasion. Barcelona will be coached by Jose Mari Bakero and could include Miguel Angel Nadal, Ludovic Giuly and Juliano Belletti in their line-up.

On 18-19 May, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian will visit Nicosia to participate in the 127th Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Germany’s foreign minister has said Berlin may pull its troops out of a base in Turkey if lawmakers aren’t allowed to visit. The latest spat comes as two Turkish generals reportedly applied for asylum in Frankfurt, reports.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel sharply criticized Turkey’s decision to block a parliament delegation from visiting Bundeswehr soldiers stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik base in an interview on Wednesday.

If “the German parliament is to be blackmailed, then the limit of tolerance has been reached,” Gabriel told German newspaper the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.

“I can only hope that the Turkish government will change its mind in the coming days,” he said. “Otherwise, the German Bundestag will certainly not leave soldiers in Turkey.”

Gabriel noted that if cooperative work is no longer possible out of Incirlik, including that members of parliament can visit soldiers at the base, “then we have to consider alternatives.”

On May 16 Aurora Humanitarian Initiative opened the photo exhibition “Capturing Humanity” at Dalan Art Gallery in Yerevan, where a selection of the photos submitted for the Aurora Photo Exhibition are displayed. At the opening of the exhibition the Initiative announced the winners of the Aurora Photo and Short Film Competitions.

Areg Balayan from Artsakh wins the photo competition with the photo “Finally, some rest”. Sargis Bulghadaryan (Armenia) took the second place with “Everyday water issue in Tlik village” photo, while Visarut Sankham (Thailand) took the third place with the photo “Behind Tin Walls”. Aurora Humanitarian Initiative granted special awards to Anahit Hayrapetyan (Armenia) for “Refugee father and son in Artsakh” photo and Ana Caroline de Lima (Brazil) for “Rajashtani boy” photo.

“Provoking, compassionate and impassioned, the images submitted for the first Aurora Photo Contest were compelling. Thought provoking. Having judged many contests over the years, the caliber and quality of the photography submitted was stellar for an award that recognizes issues of acute importance to all of us around the world,” said John Stanmeyer, the chairperson of the Aurora Photo Competition jury.

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative awards US$2,500 to the photographer of the best image. Second and third places receive awards of US$1,500 and US$1,000 respectively.

The winner of the Aurora Short Film Competition is the animated film “The desire” by Maria Fernanda Moreno Beltran (Colombia), “The Youngest Girl in the Minefield” by Aza Andreasyan (Armenia) takes the second prize and “Father” by Yevgeni Vasiltsov (Ukraine) took the third place. As per the professional jury’s decision, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative granted special awards to two participants: Hayk Kbeyan for “Christmas Tree” (Armenia) and Santiago Arcos Veintimilla for “The Skin of Palestine” (Ecuador).

“This competitions has broadened the humanitarian movement initiated by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. We are joined by thousands of talented young people from over 50 countries who illustrated their own vision on the ideas of humanity and gratitude,” said Arman Jilavian, a jury member of both competitions and CEO of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.  “I thank all participants who helped us to visually reflect our mission and ideas at the eve of the 2017 Aurora Prize Events.”

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative awards US$4000 to the director of the best film. Second and third places will receive US$2000 and US$1500 award respectively. 10 awardees of two competitions get unique opportunity to be present at the 2017 Aurora Prize Award Ceremony on May 28, 2017 in Yerevan, Armenia.

Aurora Photo and Short Film Competitions were launched on December, 2016. 1237 photos from 48 countries and 184 films from 27 countries were submitted for the competitions.

“Capturing Humanity” exhibition presents 28 photos of 23 photographers from 13 countries. It will be open for the visitors until June 6, 2017 at Dalan Art Gallery in Armenia.

Arsen Poghosyan, Deputy Head of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, received a delegation led by Eamonn Brennan, Chief Executive of the Irish Aviation Authority.

The meeting addressed a wide range of issues related to air cooperation between Armenia and Ireland, including the perspective of establishing direction air communication between the two countries, which will have a positive influence on the development of interstate relations.

 

 

 

Iranians will be electing the country’s new President on May 19. Five candidates will be running in the election after Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf withdrew from the race, urging voters to cast their ballot for conservative cleric Ebrahim Rais.

At a meeting held last week representatives of the Armenian community compiled a two-page petition addressed to Iranian presidential hopefuls.

“Iranian Armenians are free to opt for any candidate. We have no lobbying in its classical sense. Most Armenians back the reformists. This does not mean, however, that there are no supporters of conservatives,” Armenian member of the Iranian Majlis Karen Khanlaryan said in an interview with .

The community, however, shares common concerns, which have been presented to the candidates.

“We have raised the issue of Armenian Genocide recognition, and demanded material and moral support for the development and preservation of the Armenian community,” Karen Khanlaryan said.

Speaking about the concerns, the lawmaker said: “A number of churches and schools need to be protected, but the Armenian community is unable to cover the costs by itself. The budget allowances provided to the community are not enough,” he said.

For Karen Khanlaryan, recognition of the Armenian Genocide is of primary importance and should be on the agenda of the elected President.

“The issue of Armenian Genocide recognition should come on the agenda, considering the regional developments,” the MP said, adding, however, that “it’s hard to predict the results.”

The community has also demanded to involve Armenians in government activities. “We have not had any representative in the executive. There have been office employees, but no has been appointed to a political post,” Khanlaryan said.

The petition has been sent out to all candidates, even the one who withdrew from the race. There has not been any response.

Karen Khanlaryan noted that “the incumbent President has spoken about minority rights,” and the MP sees this as a hint.