Category: News

 

 

 

Candidate for Prosecutor General’s post Arthur Davtyan had a meeting with representatives of four factions represented at the National Assembly today.  He pledged to ensure the publicity of activity of the Prosecutor General’s Office, if elected.

At a meeting with representatives with the Republican Party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Orinats Yerkir and Heritage factions, Davtyan presented his approaches and answered questions.

The parliamentary forces seem not to mind Davtyan’s candidacy. Head of the Republican faction Vahran Baghdasaryan described him as “experienced,” while Armen Rustamyan of ARF said “he’s a promising candidate.”

The Prosecutor General’s post has been vacant since Gevorg Kostanyan announced his resignation on August 4. The National Assembly shall elect the new Prosecutor General by a secret ballot.

Photo: AP

 

North Korea says it has successfully carried out its fifth nuclear test, the BBC reports.

The announcement on state media came hours after a seismic event was detected near its nuclear test site.

South Korea believes it is the North’s biggest ever test, raising fears the state has made real nuclear advances.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called it an act of “self-destruction” showing the “maniacal recklessness” of leader Kim Jong-un. The US warned of “serious consequences”.

China’s foreign ministry said Beijing was resolutely opposed to the test and urged North Korea to avoid further action that would worsen the situation.

The North said the test had been of a “newly developed nuclear warhead” and that it was now capable of mounting a nuclear device on ballistic rockets.

South Korea’s military has suggested that the explosive yield of this blast could be almost twice that of the previous nuclear test. Analysts have expressed fears this could mean the North is a step closer to having a useable nuclear weapon.

Turkey and the European Union on Friday agreed to douse tensions that had darkened Ankara’s prospects for joining the bloc in the wake of the failed July 15 coup, AFP reports.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn — making the highest-level EU visit to Turkey since the coup — said that new chapters in Ankara’s long-running accession process should be opened and visa liberalisation was still on the table.

Several Turkish and EU officials had engaged in a war of words after the attempted putsch, with Brussels slamming the crackdown that followed the putsch attempt and Ankara unhappy with an apparent lack of solidarity from the bloc.

“The key element which we agreed to was that we talk more to each other and a little bit less about each other, showing full respect,” Mogherini said after talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and EU Minister Omer Celik.

Mogherini unequivocally condemned the coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying: “There is no space whatsoever… for any attempt at a coup.”

She said the sides had an “in depth discussion” in ensuring the rule of law was protected, following criticism of the crackdown that has seen tens of thousands arrested or dismissed over alleged links to the putsch.

She said the main outcome of the meeting was “a strong recommitment to dialogue and common work on all strands of our cooperation.”

Uzbekistan will elect a new president on Dec. 4 following the death of veteran leader Islam Karimov last week, the elections authority said on Friday, Reuters reports.

Political parties will be able to nominate candidates between Sept. 30 and Oct. 20, Central Election Commission Chairman Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov told reporters.

Karimov died of a stroke on Sept.2 aged 78 after ruling the resource-rich country of 32 million people for 27 years.

On Thursday, Uzbekistan’s parliament named Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as interim president.

Photo: AFP

 

At least 33 tourists who spent a cold Thursday night trapped in several cable cars high above the French Alps have been rescued, officials say, the BBC reports.

The tourists were suspended above the glaciers of Mont Blanc at an altitude of about 3,800m (12,468ft) after wires carrying the cars became tangled.

They were among 110 people initially trapped when the cable cars ground to a halt on Thursday afternoon.

The cars are believed to have stopped after cables tangled in high winds.

Those trapped overnight were freed on Friday after rescuers managed to restart the cars by relaxing the tension of tangled cables.

At least two people were killed when a train derailed near Pontevedra in north-western Spain on Friday, the BBC reports.

About 60 passengers were on the Portuguese train when it derailed at 09:30 (07:30 GMT) near the town’s station, El Pais news website reported.

One carriage came off the tracks completely, the other two partially.

Emergency workers are at the scene. The crash was at O Porrino, on the coast, just south of Santiago de Compostela and north of Portugal.

In July 2013 Spain suffered one of its worst train crashes in the same region, when a high-speed train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 79 people and injuring some 170. The driver failed to brake in time before a bend.

Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov had a meeting with Vice-President of Uruguay, President of the Senate Raul Sendic.

The parties attached importance to the further expansion and development of bilateral cooperation and stressed that “Armenia and Uruguay are friendly countries despite difference.”

Edwarrd Sharmazanov said that “by becoming the first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965, Uruguay broke the darkness of Turkish denial.”

“We have to join efforts to fight Turkey’s policy of denial. Turkey should finally face its own history,” he said.

Raul Sendic, in turn, attached importance to the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the international community.

The Karabakh issue was also on the agenda of the meeting. In this context Sharmazanov noted that “Azerbaijan should respect the principle of full realization of Artsakh people’s right to self-determination. Azerbaijan is the only party creating obstacles in the process,” he added.

Raul Sendic noted that “Uruguay backs the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict and stands against any attempt to solve the issue in a military way.”

On 8 September  President Bako Sahakyan was present at public prayer for the Fatherland served by Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II at the Shoushi Ghazanchetsots cathedral of Christ the Savior, NKR President’s Press Office reported.

Chairman of the NKR National Assembly Ashot Ghoulyan, other high-ranked official, representatives from Armenia and Diaspora partook at the event.

President Serzh Sargsyan has accepted the government’s resignation.

The President has instructed the members of government to continue working until a new cabinet is formed.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan announced his resignation at the government sitting Thursday. Later the day the Republican Party of Armenia approved Karen Karapetyan’s nomination for Prime Minister.