Category: News

The Executive Body and Board of the Republican Party of Armenia unanimously approved Karen Karapetyan’s candidacy for the Prime Minister’s post, Vice-President of the Party Armen Ashotyan told reporters after the meeting.

He said the Republican party has decided to enter the parliamentary race with a new government.

Ashotyan added that the issue of Ministers was not on the agenda. “Obviously, the cabinet will be formed within the framework of the coalition agreement. But the issue was not referred to during today’s sitting,” he said.

Speaking to reporters before the sitting, the Head of Staff of the National Assembly Hrayr Tovmasyan said the government will be temporary and will work until the 2018 elections.

Brazilian president Michel Temer was booed as the 2016 Paralympic Games opened in Rio de Janeiro to a backdrop of colour, music and a powerful message of inclusivity, the BBC reports.

Thousands of performers were involved either side of the two-hour procession of competing countries at the Maracana.

Competition begins on Thursday, when Britain’s Dame Sarah Storey can become the most successful female Paralympian.

The opening ceremony began with American Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, in a wheelchair, jumping from a massive ramp from the Maracana stands and performing a back flip through a giant ring.

The Brazilian national anthem was played on the piano by Carlos Martin, whose right hand is severely disabled, before the parade of athletes, with the loudest cheer of the night reserved for competitors from the host nation.

Each nation carried a piece of a jigsaw, which bore the name of their country on one side and faces of competing athletes on the other.

Once completed, the jigsaw was adorned by the faces of every competitor at the 2016 Games. All of the faces came together to form a beating heart, which began beating in time to the music.

One of the most striking parts of the ceremony was when bright lights temporarily ‘blinded’ the crowd to try to show spectators the reality Paralympic athletes face, forcing them to rely on other senses such as hearing.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenian, visited the frontline accompanied by Deputy Commander of the NKR Defense Army, Major General Vardan Balayan and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council to bring his blessing to the commanders and soldiers.

“Accept our blessing, appreciation and gratitude for the devoted service you are carrying out to keep our borders secure and ensure peace in Armenia and Artsakh,” His Holiness said.

The Catholicos wished the soldiers safe service and triumphant return home

His Holiness presented crosses to the soldiers and another one to the chapel built by the servicemen.

On September 7, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the Omar pass.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Gennadie Petrica /Moldova/ and staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg /Sweden/.

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic) and Personal Assistant of the OSCE CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain).

The Monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

During the first sitting week of the 45^th Parliament, Tim Wilson, the new Member for Goldstein and former Human Rights Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) acknowledged his Armenian heritage when he delivered his maiden speech in the House of Representatives, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reports.

Wilson rose to political fame in Australia as an outspoken believer of true liberalism and has advocated for maximum “freedoms” as a think tank director and as Human Rights Commissioner in the past, and he pledged to do the same in Federal Parliament.

Wilson’s wide-ranging maiden speech touched on his upbringing and family tree, as these speeches often tend to do. He referred to the bloodied past of his mother’s father, who had to endure and survive the Armenian Genocide, which was a source of inspiration for Wilson.

He said: “My maternal Grandpa left behind the genocide of his people. I never met him. He died before I was born. But I still see him everyday when I look into the mirror and into his dark and recessed Armenian eyes.”

Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) Executive Administrator, Arin Markarian said: “We congratulate Mr. Wilson on his fantastic maiden speech as he enters public office. It is also encouraging to see Mr. Wilson seek inspiration from his family’s history, mentioning his grandfather who survived the Armenian Genocide.”

Mr. Wilson was elected to his seat, taking over from former Minister for Trade and Investment, the Hon. Andrew Robb.

MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. The name of the new secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be announced at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Yerevan on October 14, that will be a representative of Armenia, the organization’s Secretary General, Nikolai Bordyuzha, told on Tuesday.

“Armenia’s representative will be my successor as the CSTO secretary general, who exactly, I cannot say now… His name will be announced at the upcoming meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council at the presidential level in Yerevan on October 14,” he said.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visited one of the military units of the NKR Defense Army to meet with the commanders and soldiers.

The Catholicos was welcomed by NKR Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan.

“We have come to express our appreciation and love to you, and bring our tribute for your feats we witnessed during the April war. We saw how you rebuffed the attack of the Azeri troops and drove them sway from our borders. We bring our tribute to the brave soldiers –the hero sons of our nation, who defended our Motherland at the cost of their lives,” His Holiness Karekin II said at the meeting.

Noting that the protection of the Motherland is a sacred mission for every son of the nation, His Holiness stressed the importance to the power of faith.

About 30 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired more than 370 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

Private of the NKR Defense Army Arman Alik Ghandilyan, born in 1997, was fatally wounded as a result of breach of rules of military duty.

Investigation into the details of the case is under way.

The NKR Defense Army shares the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses support to his family and friends.