Category: News

In the morning of October 10, President Serzh Sargsyan met in New York with the members of the Board of Directors of the Armenian Assembly of America.

The parties discussed agenda items of pan-Armenian importance, priorities of the activities of the Armenian Assembly of America, dynamically developing Armenian-American relations and possibilities for their further strengthening and deepening. Views were also exchanged on the pressing international problems, challenges existing in the South Caucasus region, the current stage of the NK peace process and existing issues, as well as the refugee problems which emerged as a result of the ongoing military activities in Syria. In this context, the President of Armenia and members of the AAA Board of Directors discussed issues pertinent to the assistance provided through the joint efforts by the Republic of Armenia and various Armenian structures to our compatriots in Syria as well as to the friendly people of Syria, who are suffering as a result of military actions.

Serzh Sargsyan also responded to the questions raised by the participants of the meeting, presented the process and prospects of Armenia’s economic development, and expectations from the new government of Armenia.

In the framework of his working visit to the United States, in the evening President Sargsyan will participate at the Armenia Investment Forum.

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival fired more than 430 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army remained committed to the ceasefire regime and resorted to response actions in case of extreme necessity.

A group of statues of the legendary “Ararat-73” football team players was solemnly unveiled in Yerevan today.

Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, President of the Armenian National Olympic Committee Gagik Tsarukyan, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Hrachya Rostomyan and members of “Ararat-73” – USSR Champion and Cup winner – were present at the opening ceremony.

Yerevan’s chief architect Tigran Barseghyan is the author of the statues erected in the neighborhood of Hrazdan Stadium.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held consultations on the issue of supportto Syrian Armenians. The meeting featured heads of interested state bodies.

The Prime Minister was briefed on the distribution of humanitarian aid sent to Syria upon the instruction of President Serzh Sargsyan.

The educational, healthcare and social programs of support to Syrian Armenians here in Armenia implemented over the past five years were presented. Reference was made to the perspectives of furthering the integration and business programs.

PM Karen Karapetyan instructed the relevant state bodies to continue the coordinated work in this direction in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Diaspora.

Photo: AFP

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said he will donate the money from the Nobel Peace prize to help the victims of the 52-year conflict in his country, the BBC reports.

He was awarded the prize for reaching a peace agreement with the Farc rebel group last month.

The deal was rejected a few days later by Colombian voters in a referendum.

About 260,000 people have been killed and more than six million internally displaced in Colombia.

“Last night, I met with my family and we have decided to donate those eight million Swedish krona ($925,000) to the victims,” said Mr Santos.

He made the announcement in the city of Bojaya, in the north-western region of Choco, after taking part in a religious ceremony for people affected by the conflict.

On 9 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan accompanied by the country’s high ranking officials visited the trade fair organized in the Stepanakert city in connection with the Day of Agricultural Worker, NKR President’s Press Office reported.

The President noted with satisfaction that Harvest festival had already become traditional in our republic underlining that good undertakings should be maintained and consistently developed.

Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, chairman of the National Assembly Ashot Ghoulyan, premier Arayik Haroutyunyan and other officials partook in the event.

The fourth Václav Havel Human Rights Prize – which honours outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights – has been awarded to Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad. The €60 000 prize was presented at a special ceremony today at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg, on the opening day of the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

At the age of 21 (in 2014), Nadia Murad was kidnapped by ISIS in northern Iraq together with thousands of other women and children. She was kept in slavery and abused for three months until she managed to escape and flee to Germany. Since then, she has become a human rights activist, bringing the plight of the Yazidi community, in particular the forced sexual enslavement and human trafficking of women and children captured by ISIS, to the forefront of international attention. She was a candidate for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize; in September 2016, she was appointed as the first United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.

The two other shortlisted nominees – Gordana Igric, a journalist from Serbia and an active defender of human rights and media freedom, and the International Institute of Human Rights/René Cassin Foundation, which has worked since 1969 to promote human rights and peace through teaching and research, also received diplomas during the ceremony.

“This year would have marked the 80th anniversary of Václav Havel. He is not with us any more, but his legacy is more relevant than ever,” PACE President Pedro Agramunt said during the ceremony. “Through his writing and his political activity, he forewarned about the danger of hatred and prejudice, and the importance of tolerance, co-existence, and respect for human rights and the rule of law. In times when we are facing renewed challenges to the unity of Europe, when diversity is becoming a dividing element, and people are starting to look at each other with suspicion and mistrust, we must turn back to his message,” he underlined.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by the Parliamentary Assembly, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation, to reward outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights in Europe and beyond. Nominations of any individual, non-governmental organisation or institution working to defend human rights are taken into consideration. The Prize consists of a sum of € 60 000, a trophy and a diploma.

The Prize is awarded in memory of Václav Havel, playwright, opponent of totalitarianism, architect of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, President of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic and an enduring symbol of opposition to despotism.

On October 10, Ayb School and Goethe-Institut signed a memorandum of cooperation, which confirms Ayb School as Goethe-Institut partner school, within the framework of “Schools: Partners for the Future” (PASCH) initiative. The solemn ceremony took place at Ayb school.

PASCH is a network, which spans over 1800 schools from around the world that place high value on German. The initiative is carried out by Goethe-Institut along with the Federal Foreign Office, Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Pedagogic Exchange Service (PAD) of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.

“Ayb School has simply impressed me. It’s a school that shows me once again that Armenia has great hidden potential. The Embassy is overly happy for the cooperation Goethe-Institut and Ayb School will carry on in the future, within the framework of PASCH initiative. I believe this joint project of strengthening German will yield positive results,” said Ambassador of Germany to Armenia Bernhard Matthias Kiesler.

“Our being selected as a partner school means we are an institution that places high value on German and its instruction. This grants our students broader opportunities to pursue higher education in Germany. Knowledge of German is something that students need to have today as German-language education ensures high-quality professional capacity for the European economy and professional capacity is a prerequisite for economic development,” said Head of Ayb School Aram Pakhchanian.

“By selecting Ayb School and integrating it into the PASCH network we have enriched it with a top-notch school with methodological and pedagogical teaching concepts, that serves as a lighthouse in Armenia. The fact that the far stretching mission the school has undertaken is related to German language is important for Ayb and not only – it creates long-term prospects for the development of German language in other schools in Armenia as well,” stressed expert in instruction, representative of Goethe Institute Georgia in Armenia Julia Kramer.

Goethe-Institut Deputy Director Gerlinde Massoudi, Ambassador of Germany to Armenia Bernhard Matthias Kiesler, RA Deputy Minister of Education and Science Manuk Mkrtchyan and Chairman of Ayb School Board of Trustees Fr. Mesrop Aramian and a number of other high-ranking officials attended the ceremony.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the BBC reports.

Judges in Norway praised him for his peace deal with Farc rebels, signed last month after four years of negotiations.

But the agreement was narrowly rejected by Colombians in a referendum last weekend.

The 52-year conflict has led to the deaths of an estimated 260,000 people with more than six million people internally displaced.

The convoy with humanitarian aid from Armenia has arrived in Aleppo, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs via Twitter.

The authorities in Lattakia received 40 tons of food and relief aid sent by Armenia to help the Syrian people, SANA reported.

Armenian Consul in Aleppo Tigran Gevorgyan told journalists during the unloading of the aid shipment at the Virgin Mary Church in Lattakia that this aid has been provided based on directives from Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to help the Syrian people and as an expression of the strong friendship between the two countries.

Gevorgyan noted that back in 1990 when Armenia was having a food and economic crisis, Syria sent around 6,000 tons of wheat, food, medicine, and fuel to help it overcome the crisis, asserting that Armenia will continue to send aid to the Syrian people.

A Syrian Arab Army officer said that the aid will be distributed among displaced families that have been affected by terrorism.