Category: News

Armenia’s Civil Court of Appeal has rejected a motion by the country’s prosecutors against the release of Russian national Sergei Mironov, sought by US authorities on suspicion of money laundering and illegal technology transfer, Sputnik News reports, quoting a source in the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office.

Mironov, 30, was detained in Yerevan airport on August 26, but was released on August 29 on a ruling by a Yerevan district court and returned to Russia on August 31.

The Armenian prosecutors appealed the court’s decision in the country’s top appellate court. Mironov’s defense  earlier insisted that Mironov, employed at the Moscow office of the Synesis intelligent video surveillance developer, had no access to military technology and had visited the United States only once in 2013.

More than 40 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 4,000 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions. More intensive firing was reported in the northern direction of the lien of contact, where more than 500 shots were fired from The DShK large-caliber machine gun.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army resorted to response actions to pressure the activeness of the rival, retaining full control over the situation at the frontline.

Photo: Reuters

 

Portugal’s former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is poised to become the next UN secretary general, UN diplomats say, the BBC reports.

Mr Guterres, 66, was the “clear favourite”, Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin announced on Wednesday.

A formal vote will take place in the UN Security Council on Thursday to confirm the choice of nominee.

Mr Guterres, who led the UN refugee agency for 10 years, will take over from Ban Ki-moon early next year.

The 15-member Security Council cast secret ballots for each of the 10 candidates on Wednesday and none were found to oppose Mr Guterres.

They were asked to select from a choice of encourage, discourage or no opinion for each candidate, with the former Portuguese prime minister receiving 13 encourage votes and two no opinion votes.

On 5 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory address in connection with the Day of Teachers.

The address runs as follows:

“Dear teachers,

On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and personally myself I extend my cordial congratulations on your professional holiday, a day that our people traditionally celebrate with a deep feeling of respect and gratitude.

Gratitude for the significant and difficult work that you fulfill educating and bringing up our children, insinuating in them love and respect towards knowledge, helping them make the first steps in life and become honest individuals and citizens, thereby carrying out a patriotic mission of carving the future of our state and people.

Each of us has a favorite teacher and keeps the memories related to him and school years bright during the whole life. These memories warm our souls and leave their unique trace on our further activity.

Highlighting the special role of teachers in our people’s life the state always rates their work high and keeps issues existing in the sphere of education and science in the spotlight, does everything possible to raise a patriotic, educated and progressive generation.

Dear friends,

I once again congratulate all of you on the Day of Teachers and wish peace, robust health, happiness and all the best”.

Terrorist groups continued shelling the peaceful population in Nor Kiugh, Mogambo and Muhafaza neighborhoods of Aleppo after midday, the Armenian Kantsasar newspaper reports.

According to the source, two Armenians were killed and one was wounded in the attack. The victims are identified as Gaspar Shatoian (born in 1986) and Movses Movsessian (born in 1987).

On October 3, AGBU welcomed member of Turkish Parliament Garo Paylan to its Central Office in New York. As part of his tour of the United States, Paylan met with AGBU President Berge Setrakian and AGBU Central Board members Ani Manoukian and Vasken Yacoubian.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Setrakian paid tribute to Mr. Paylan’s courage in coming forward with his intervention in the Turkish Parliament on April 24 and for his activism in defense of human rights in Turkey.

During the meeting, both parties discussed the role of the diaspora in supporting the democratic process in Turkey. This meeting was the first to take place between AGBU and Paylan and will set the groundwork for future interactions.

Paylan was one of three Armenians elected to the Turkish Parliament in June 2015. A founding member of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), he has a track record for defending minority rights in Turkey and has been vocal in calling for the country’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Before his election to the Parliament, he served on the central committee of the HDP and worked with Armenian schools in Istanbul to promote multilingual education.

On October 5, the letter of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan was transmitted to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra՝ad Al Hussein with regard to his statement made at the opening of the 33^rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on September 13, where he noted that his “Office has had no access to the conflict situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, including since the events of April 2016”.

Pointing to the absence of any appeal for access to Nagorno Karabakh from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the NKR Foreign Minister expressed regret that for more than two decades the Office had not been able to visit the NKR, not even after the Azerbaijani aggression this April.

“In our view, the OHCHR should be able to verify well-documented cases of massive and grave human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces both against Nagorno Karabakh civilian population and its military personnel. We strongly believe that the international community has to react to these crimes in order to prevent their recurrence; otherwise, the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators would encourage further use of force by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno Karabakh”, the letter reads.

Assuring that the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh Republic are very open to have a genuine cooperation with the OHCHR with a view of strengthening democratic norms and principles as well as protection of human rights in situations of conflict, the NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Nagorno Karabakh or to dispatch a team in order to make an impartial and objective assessment of the human rights situation and the crimes perpetrated against the people of Nagorno Karabakh in April this year.

–  Turkey is exiting the European Union’s Creative Europe program which supports the arts, including film and TV — a surprise move that comes as relations between the Turkish government and the E.U. become increasingly strained.

In 2015, Turkey joined the ranks of non-E.U. member countries allowed to tap into Creative Europe’s 1.46-billion-euro fund ($1.56 billion) to support culture and the arts between 2014 and 2020. Creative Europe incorporates the E.U.’s Media Program, which subsidizes production, promotion, and distribution of film, TV, and video content.

“The European Commission regrets Turkey’s decision and the fact that Turkish cultural and audiovisual operators will miss future opportunities for cooperation with their counterparts in the E.U.,” an E.U. spokeswoman. “Although this is unfortunate, the commission respects the sovereign decision of Turkey.”

The withdrawal, now under negotiation between the E.U. and the Turkish government, is to be effective from Jan. 1, 2017.

According to Turkish daily Haberturk, the pullout is in response to a and performed in April by Germany’s Dresdner Sinfoniker orchestra, in commemoration of the Armenian genocide.

More recently, in the wake of the July 15 failed coup in Turkey, tensions between the E.U. and Ankara have worsened, partly because E.U. officials have criticized Erdogan’s heavy crackdown against the coup’s alleged plotters and sympathizers.

To date, an estimated 2.4 million euros ($2.6 million) has been allocated by Creative Europe to support Turkish films and cultural projects, including the Istanbul Film Festival’s Meetings on the Bridge co-production forum. It is unclear whether Turkey’s pullout from Creative Europe will also affect the country’s membership in European co-productions fund Eurimages, which is overseen by the Council of Europe, not by the European Union.

In any event, the withdrawal is a blow to the Turkish film industry since producers, distributors and fest and film market organizers will not be able to tap into the Media Program’s soft money. It also symbolically weakens their ties with Europe’s creative community.

“It is a very unfortunate decision,” said Basak Emre, co-director of Festival on Wheels, which promotes Turkish films. “Many artists and cultural institutions will be affected. But we do not know the details of this decision yet,” she noted.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today the delegation of the German Bundestag headed by Vice-President Johannes Singhammer.

Minister Nalbandian noted that the frequent visits of German lawmakers to Armenia are a testament to the importance of parliamentary diplomacy.

Edward Nalbandian availed himself of the opportunity to express gratitude for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the German Bundestag, and for the principled stance of German MPs on the issue.

Johannes Singhammer presented the goals of German MPs’ visit to Armenia and the results of the meetings.

Minister Nalbandian briefed the guests on Armenia-EU relations, the ongoing negotiations on a new legal framework.

Edward Nalbandian referred to Armenia’s approaches towards the situation in the Middle East, the issues of minorities in the region, the struggle against terrorism and other regional processes.

Minister Nalbandian presented the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards elimination of consequences of Azerbaijan’s April aggression and settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

has included young Armenian footballer Vahan Bichakhchyan in the list of 60 of the best young talents in world football.

“Considered by some to be as talented as his countryman Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Bichakhchyan was handed his senior debut at the age of 16 for Shirak. He came on as a substitute in the Europa League first qualifying round second leg against Georgia’s Dila Gori and scored a screamer to help the team progress to the next stage. The goal made him the youngest Armenian to score in Europe,” The Guardian writes.

“Used mainly as right winger, his style is similar to Kevin De Bruyne’s: he has a good eye for goal and is always ready to take on opponents one-on-one, also reminding observers of a young Wayne Rooney. Bichakhchyan had, by mid-September, scored two goals and provided one assist in eight matches in this debut season for Shirak and had precisely the same stats for Armenia Under-19s after being considered too good for the Under-17s,” the paper writes.