Category: News

South Korean tech giant Samsung has urged owners of the Galaxy Note 7 to turn off its high-end smartphone while it investigates new reports of the device catching fire.

The firm also said in a statement it would stop all sales of the phone.

Samsung recalled 2.5 million phones in September after complaints of exploding batteries, and later insisted that all replaced devices were safe.

But there are now reports that even those phones were catching fire.

“Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place,” the company said.

“Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or replacement Galaxy Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available,” it added.

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – has recognized Dilijan, Armenia among its Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC).  Dilijan joins a dynamic network of cities worldwide that support and accelerate the practice of lifelong learning in the world’s communities, while promoting policy dialogue and peer learning among member cities through forged links and fostered partnerships that promote the progress of the learning cities.

“It is a great honor for the all Dilijan residents to receive such a coveted recognition from UNESCO as Dilijan continues to offer pioneering educational programs for preparing our citizens for the 21^st century learning,” said Dilijan Community Center Program Director, Rubina Ter-Martirosyan who was instrumental in Dilijan’s selection as a GNLC.

“Dilijan has become the designated site for such local and international learning centers as UWC Dilijan College, Central Bank of Armenia’s Training and Research Center, American University of Armenia, Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, the Dilijan Community Center as well as many artistic venues which culminated in the launch of the first Dilijan Arts Observatory this year,” Dilijan Mayor, Armen Santrosyan added.

Arne Carlsen, Director, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, commended Dilijan’s “vision, planning and implementation of the learning city concept” in a letter of recognition and expressed eagerness to learn about Dilijan’s future developments.

Veronika Zonabend, co-founder of UWC Dilijan and the Dilijan Development Foundation which supports Dilijan Community Center and other regional projects stated: “The goal of our foundation is to return to Dilijan its fame and further develop it into an educational, cultural and recreational regional hub. And this international recognition is an important step towards this goal.”

Inclusion in the Network will help Dilijan achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education while promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all its citizens.  Additionally, Dilijan will be listed amongst other world cities recognized as a UNESCO GNLC.

Gagik Adibekyan, co-founder of the Dilijan Development Foundation and founding-partner of UWC Dilijan College stated, “We live in a complex, fast changing world, in which the competitiveness and economic growth of the country depend heavily on the quality of education.  I am certain that Dilijan’s entry into the Global Network of Learning Cities will contribute to solving the important task of turning Dilijan into the educational hub of Armenia.”

System Of A Down is headed back on the road in 2017 with more than three weeks planned in Europe, according to

The first gig is scheduled June 7 at Zenith de Nancy in Nancy Maxeville, France. French festivals set to host System in 2017 are Download Festival in Paris, and the last scheduled date, Main Square Festival in Arras June 30.

There are actually only three non-French dates in the whole routing, including the solo show at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Poland and Spain also get performances from the rockers, on June 17 and 23 at Impact and Download festivals, respectively.

System played its first show in Armenia last year to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The Armenian-American band has been involved in many efforts to raise awareness about the genocide.

Lead singer Serj Tankian in which he said: “Commemorating the anniversary of the deaths of so many Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians is not just about remembering genocide 100 years back.

“That’s what people need to realize: It’s not an ancient problem. It’s a modern one that still seems to persist because we’re using genocide as political capital in our geopolitics and not really paying attention to humanitarian loss and the damage that we’re doing to each other.”

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

There is widespread dissatisfaction and mistrust among the American public toward the two main presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Armenian-Americans likewise are negatively disposed toward these candidates. More specifically, on Armenian issues Mrs. Clinton has shown that she cannot be trusted, while Donald Trump’s position is unknown.

Strangely, neither Clinton nor Trump has made any effort to win over Armenian-American voters, despite the close presidential race. The two candidates have not attended any Armenian events, held no meetings with members of the community, nor sought to raise any funds from them. It is preferable that presidential candidates make no promises that they do not intend to keep, thereby deterring Armenian-Americans from wasting their money and votes, and after the election, saving them from much aggravation and disappointment.

Of course, everyone is free to vote for the candidate of his or her choice. One is also free to vote for third party candidates or not to vote at all.

While Presidential candidates are constantly covered by the media, there are many local and state elections that hardly make the news. For example, there are 435 Members of Congress and a third of the 100 U.S. Senators who are up for election or reelection on November 8.

As opposed to White House candidates who may or may not support Armenian issues after the election, most House and Senate members have already served in Congress for several years and therefore, their positions on Armenian issues are well-known. Thus, voting for them is not a guessing game! They have a proven track record — positive, negative or in between.

Below is the list of only those House and Senate members who have received either an excellent (A) or extremely bad (F) grade from the Armenian National Committee of America after a thorough review of their positions on a broad range of Armenian-American issues in the last two years. Those who have earned the grade A deserve the Armenian community’s support. Those who have an F after their names have had a very negative position on Armenian causes, and therefore, should not be supported. The letters D and R denote Democrat or Republican. To review the complete list of all members of Congress and their grades, please visit: .

Alaska: Don Young (R) F.

California: Jeff Denham (R) A; Barbara Lee (D) A; Jackie Speier (D) A; Jim Costa (D) A; Anna Eshoo (D) A; Zoe Lofgren (D) A; David Valadao (R) A; Devin Nunes (R) A; Judy Chu (D) A; Adam Schiff (D) A; Tony Cardenas (D) A; Brad Sherman (D) A; Grace Napolitano (D) A; Ted Lieu (D) A; Karen Bass (D) A; Linda Sanchez (D) A; Edward Royce (R) A; Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) A; Alan Lowenthal (D) A; Dana Rohrabacher (R) A. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D) A (running for Senate and endorsed by ANCA).

Colorado: Sen. Cory Gardner (R) A; Jared Polis (D) A; Mike Coffman (R) A; Edwin Perlmutter (D) A.

Florida: Sen. Marco Rubio (R) A; Gus Bilirakis (R) A.

Georgia: Doug Collins (R) F.

Illinois: Sen. Richard Durbin (D) A; Sen. Mark Kirk (R) A; Daniel Lipinski (D) A; Mike Quigley (D) A; Janice Schakowsky (D) A; Robert Dold (R) A.

Maryland: John Sarbanes (D) A; Christopher Van Hollen (D) A (running for Senate and endorsed by ANCA).

Massachusetts: Sen. Edward Markey (D) A; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) A; James McGovern (D) A; Niki Tsongas (D) A; Joe Kennedy (D) A; Katherine Clark (D) A.

Michigan: Sen. Gary Peters (D) A; Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) A; Sander Levin (D) A; David Trott (R) A; John Conyers (D) A.

Minnesota: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) A; Betty McCollum (D) A; Collin Peterson (D) A.

Montana: Ryan Zinke (R) F.

Nevada: Dina Titus (D) A; Joe Heck (R) A (running for Senate and endorsed by ANCA).

New Jersey: Sen. Robert Menendez (D) A; Christopher Smith (R) A; Scott Garrett (R) A; Frank Pallone (D) A; Donald Payne (D) F.

New York: Sen. Charles Schumer (D) A; Grace Meng (D) A; Carolyn Maloney (D) A; Eliot Engel (D) A; Paul Tonko (D) A.

North Carolina: Virginia Foxx (R) F.

Ohio: Michael Turner (R) F; Tim Ryan (D) F.

Pennsylvania: Scott Perry (R) F; Bill Shuster (R) F.

Rhode Island: Sen. Jack Reed (D) A; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) A; David Cicilline (D) A; James Langevin (D) A.

Tennessee: Stephen Ira Cohen (D) F.

Texas: Joe Barton (R) F; Pete Olson (R) F; Henry Cuellar (D) F; Gene Green (D) F; Pete Sessions (R) F.

Virginia: Dave Brat (R) A; Gerald Connolly (D) F.

In addition, there are two Armenian-American candidates who are worthy of your support: 1) Those who live in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District are urged to vote for Danny Tarkanian (Republican); 2) Those who live in California’s Assembly District 43 should vote for Ardy Kassakhian (Democrat).

On October 14 in Yerevan will host the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which will be chaired by the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Armenia has been presiding in the Organization for the period of time between the sessions of years 2015-2016, President’s Press Office reports.

At the session discussed will be the process of implementation of the decisions adopted at the previous summits, as well as the priorities set by the Republic of Armenia during the country’s presidency at the CSTO.

In the framework of over two dozen issues on the agenda of the session the parties will discuss the international situation and current issues related to the collective security, drafts of the decisions on the creation before 2025 of the CSTO collective security strategy and CSTO emergency response center, issues related to the improvement of the works of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well implementation of the decision related to the fight against international terrorism.

The parties are expected to make a number of political statements.

Considering the fact that for years 2016-2017 the presidency of the CSTO will be assumed by the Republic of Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko will present to the Collective Security Council the priorities of his country, which are to be implemented during the country’s presidency, in the period between the sessions.

In the framework of the agenda of the Collective Security Council emphasized will be the military element of the Organization and training of the military personnel. The parties will sign documents related to the development of the response structure of the CSTO member states.

The Heads of the CSTO member states are also expected to make a decision on the Secretary General of the CSTO.

At the invitation of the President Serzh Sargsyan, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev will arrive to Armenia on official visit on October 13 ,President’s Press Office informs.

Photo: REUTERS/Nicolas Asfonri

 

– Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is being treated for a cold, his office said on Tuesday, prompting speculation that the illness was diplomatic.

The announcement was unusual because the presidential office rarely provides any comments on the state of the 76-year-old leader’s health, which is a state secret under Kazakh law.

But some, including Kazakh political analyst Aidos Sarym, say it was most likely an excuse to avoid visiting Armenia where the office of President Serzh Sarksyan had said earlier on Tuesday it expected Nazarbayev to visit on Oct. 13.

Armenia will host a top-level meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) on Oct. 14.

But Astana’s ties with Yerevan have been strained since April, when during the renewed military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan insisted on holding a meeting of another regional body, the Eurasian Economic Union, outside of Armenia which was due to host it.

Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim nations. Azerbaijan also tranships a significant share of Kazakh oil exports.

Still, Nazarbayev’s genuine health is a matter of concern for many, including energy majors who have invested billions of dollars in the country.

Photo:Getty Images

Twenty two people have been confirmed dead after a group of residential buildings collapsed in eastern China, the BBC reports.

The incident on Monday saw four buildings in Wenzhou in Zhejiang province reduced to rubble, reported the Xinhua news agency.

The buildings were reportedly built by villagers in the 1970s and were in a poor condition.

Most victims were migrant workers who had been renting cheap rooms.

“They lost their lives to take advantage of cheap rent. It is horrible,” Guo Lin, a witness told news outlet China News Service.

Six people have been pulled out of the rubble alive.

Tumi, a village in Artsakh’s Hadrut Region, is the site of the latest multifunctional community center to be built by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. The project is sponsored by the fund’s French affiliate, with additional support from the government of Artsakh.

Within the last three years, along with other infrastructures, a dozen of similar community centers have been built in Artsakh with the financial assistance of French-Armenians. Ara Vardanyan, the executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, said that ongoing French-Armenian support for the construction of such centers is a testament to the immense improvements they have brought to the daily lives of communities across Artsakh.

The future two-storey community center of Tumi will house key civic and cultural facilities including the mayor’s office, a medical clinic, a library, a game room, a computer room, and a 150-seat hall designed for a broad range of arts events and gatherings.

Commenting on the benefits that the community center will bring, Tumi mayor Edik Mosiyan said, “Given our community’s considerable distance from Hadrut City, the closest metropolitan area, our existing medical clinic must often provide the services of a maternity ward as well, which is why it’s doubly important to have a truly modern clinic. As for community events, we sorely lack a proper space, because our former club is now so run-down that it’s no longer usable.”

Previous Hayastan All-Armenian Fund development projects implemented in Tumi, which has a population of 768, include the reconstruction of the community’s water network, and the furnishing of its school and kindergarten.

Tumi is located 31 kilometers from Hadrut City, the regional center. The community is home to a number of historic and cultural monuments, and the remains of various other antiquities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Armenia on October 14 to participate in the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Kremlin confirms.

The participants are expected to discuss the situation in the CSTO area and the further improvement of the collective security system in the organization.

In line with the decisions adopted at the CSTO summit in Moscow in December 2015, special attention will be paid to the measures of fighting international terrorism.

During the CSTO session Armenia will convey the presidency of the organization to Belarus.