Category: News

In the framework of his official visit to the State of Qatar, President Serzh Sargsyan met today with the CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker.

The parties discussed the process of the Armenian-Qatari cooperation in the area of aviation and prospects for development. President Sargsyan spoke about the significant role of the flights carried out by Qatar Airways in the expansion of the agenda of the interstate bilateral cooperation. Qatar Airways entered the Armenian aviation market in May 2016 and is carrying out Doha-Yerevan-Doha regular flights.

According to the President, the increase of the number of tourists from the countries of the Persian Gulf, including Qatar, is also conditioned by the existence of direct flights.
Noting that Armenia adopted Open Sky policy in 2013, President Sargsyan underscored that Armenia’s policy in the area of civil aviation and air communications provides new opportunities to the Armenian and foreign companies and ensures equal and free competition field for all.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia will encourage and support Qatari investors to make investments in different areas of the Armenian economy, including the aviation area.

The CEO of Qatar Airways informed President Sargsyan that he has already received instructions from His Majesty the Emir of Qatar to develop cooperation with Armenia in the area headed by him and assured that he would do his best to fulfill the task.
Akbar Al Baker noted that his company sees prospects for the development of  cooperation and is striving to promote the mutually beneficial cooperation.

Photo: Reuters

 

A cyber-attack that has hit 150 countries since Friday should be treated by governments around the world as a “wake-up call”, Microsoft says, the BBC reports.

It blamed governments for storing data on software vulnerabilities which could then be accessed by hackers.

It says the latest virus exploits a flaw in Microsoft Windows identified by, and stolen from, US intelligence.

There are fears of more “ransomware” attacks as people begin work on Monday, although few have been reported so far.

Many firms have had experts working over the weekend to prevent new infections. The virus took control of users’ files and demanded $300 payments to restore access.

The spread of the WannaCry ransomware attack slowed over the weekend but the respite might only be brief, experts have said. More than 200,000 computers have been affected so far.

On an official visit to the State of Qatar, President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Noting that the Middle Eastern region is of great significance for Armenia’s foreign policy and Armenia enjoys special relations with the Arab world based on centuries-old friendship, President Sargsyan said “Armenia is interested in intensifying the high-level political dialogue with the State of Qatar and deepening of cooperation in all spheres.”

The interlocutors voiced hope that the first-ever visit of the Armenian President would have a serious impact on the further development of bilateral ties.

Hailing the increased number of tourists from the Gulf states visiting Armenia, the parties discussed the opportunities of visa liberalization between the two countries, as well as the perspectives of development of cooperation with the Qatar Airways.

Reference was made to the perspective of using Armenia as a transit route to the Eurasian Economic Union.
The opportunities of development of cooperation in multilateral format were also discussed.

President Serzh Sargsyan and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also referred to the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict. In this context the Emir attached importance to the establishment of stability and peace in the region, stressing that there is no alternative to a peaceful negotiated solution.

The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. This year’s observance focuses on the role of families and family-oriented policies in promoting education and overall well-being of their members. In particular, the Day is to raise awareness of the role of families in promoting early childhood education and lifelong learning opportunities for children and youth.

The Day highlights the importance of all caregivers in families, be it parents, grandparents or siblings and the importance of parental education for the welfare of children. It focuses on good practices for work-family balance to assist parents in their educational and caregiving roles. Good practices from the private sector in support of working parents, as well as youth and older persons in the workplace are also highlighted.

The Day also aims to discuss the importance of ‘knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development’

An Armenian orphanage in Istanbul’s Tuzla district, which was demolished on April 8 to prepare for the construction of a new building, will be rebuilt as a social and cultural facility, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The orphanage was built in 1962 by the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church, as a former building on the site could not host the increasing number of Armenian students arriving from various parts of Anatolia.

Known as the orphanage where Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007, and his wife, Rakel Dink, studied, it was expropriated by the Turkish state in 1987 on the basis of a 1936 bill preventing minority foundations from acquiring property.

Although the Turkish government signed a historic decree in 2011 to return property taken away from minority foundations, the camp was omitted, alongside hundreds of other properties.

Fatih Ulusoy, the land owner, had initially tried to demolish Kamp Armen in May 2015, but the controversial plan was later shelved as Ulusoy said he would donate it to the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation.

Efforts to demolish the camp received widespread attention once the news broke on social media. The demolition was subsequently stopped when many people, including activists and leading figures from the Armenian community, rushed to the area to protest the demolition work.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s municipal council on May 12 unanimously accepted the construction plan regarding the orphanage, which will be rebuilt taking the original building into account. The Kamp Armen area was taken under “Social and Cultural Facility Area” category in line with the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation’s will.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, a council member from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Hüseyin Sağ, said Kamp Armen was significant since Hrant Dink was raised there.

“It became a social and cultural facility area. Now, Armenian citizens, non-Muslims or our Muslim citizens, we will all go there and sit. We will benefit from the social and cultural facility. This is a place where a person like Hrant Dink stayed in the orphanage. It’s also important because of that,” Sağ said.

According to the construction plan regarding the plot, which is owned by the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation and Tuzla Municipality, the area will include vocational courses, movie theaters, exhibition and conference halls, a library, a dormitory, a nursing home and an orphanage.

The plan will also ensure the protection of green areas.

Residents of Yerevan are heading to polls to elect the City Council. All polls opened at 8:00 and will close at 20:00.

Three political forces are running in the elections –  Yelk bloc, Yerkir Trirani Party and Republic Party of Armenia.

Seventeen organizations with 5,136 observers are carrying out an observation mission.

Photo: Reuters

 

Friday’s cyber-attack has affected more than 200,000 victims in 150 countries, Europol chief Rob Wainwright says, the BBC reports.

Speaking to Britain’s ITV, he said the world faced an escalating threat, and there was concern about the level of potential attacks on Monday morning.

The virus took control of users’ files, demanding payments; Russia and the UK were among the worst-hit countries.

Security experts have warned that another attack is imminent and could be unstoppable.

Mr Wainwright said he was concerned that the numbers of those affected would continue to rise when people returned to work on Monday morning.

“We’re in the face of an escalating threat, the numbers are going up,” he said, adding that the current attack was unprecedented.

“We are running around 200 global operations against cyber crime each year but we’ve never seen anything like this.

“The latest count is over 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries. Many of those victims will be businesses, including large corporations. The global reach is unprecedented.”

He said the ransomware was unique because it was used in combination with a worm – allowing it to spread through an infected computer through an entire network.

However, Mr Wainwright said that so far “remarkably few” payments had been made by victims of the attack.

Salvador Sobral from Portugal won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Amar Pelos Dois’.

This is the country’s first time taking home the trophy. After 53 years of trying they had never even made it to the top five.

Bulgaria and Moldova came in the 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Armenia was placed 18th.

Incumbent Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan cast his ballot at polling station 1/19 in Avan administrative district.

Speaking to reporters after the voting, Taron Margaryan said he voted “for better Yerevan, for a more prospering capital.”

The Mayor said they managed to present the development program for the coming five years to the residents of Yerevan.

He also thanked reporters for their good work during the election campaign.

Candidate for the Mayor of Yerevan Nikol Pashinyan cast his ballot at polling station 8/16 in Shengavit district.

Pahsinyan said he’s confident of the victory in the City Council elections. He pledged to fight for changes in Armenia.

“We’ll not let down any vote cast for us,” he said.

Pashinyan complained of wide-spread vote-buying.