Category: News

Photo: AFP

Almost 100 rebel factions have agreed to respect an imminent cessation of hostilities in Syria, the main Syrian opposition group has said, the BBC reports.

The High Negotiations Committee said Free Syrian Army factions and the armed opposition had signed up to the temporary truce from midnight Saturday.

World powers agreed on 12 February that a truce would start within a week but that deadline passed and scepticism had lingered over the new plan.

Warring parties in Syria were meant to make their intentions known by midday (10:00 GMT) Friday ahead of the pause in fighting.

Announcing the intentions of rebel factions, the HNC said the Syrian government and its allies must not use the “proposed text to continue the hostile operations against the opposition factions under the excuse of fighting terrorism”.

The dreaded Islamic State miltant group has made life threats to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a new video which shows their photos riddled with digitally added bullet holes, mocking the social media websites’ attempts to block terrorist content from their platforms.

In the 25-minute video, the IS claim they are fighting back against efforts by the social media giants to wipe their platforms of accounts promoting terrorism.

The video includes a direct threat to the tech entrepreneurs, branding them allies of the American “Crusader government”.

Pictures of Zuckerberg and Dorsey can be seen being blasted with a hail of bullets in the amateur footage which emerged. The video, titled “Flames of the Supporters” and released by a group calling themselves “the sons of the Caliphate army”, ends with a direct threat to the two men, ‘The Sun’ reported.

A slide toward the end of the video reads, in English: “To Mark and Jack, founders of Twitter and Facebook and to their Crusader government. You announce daily that you suspended many of our accounts and to you we say: is that all you can do? you are not in our league. If you close one account we will take 10 in return and soon your names will be erased after we delete you sites, #Sons_Caliphate_Army”.

In a separate slide, they also claim to have hacked more than 10,000 Facebook accounts, 150 Facebook groups, and more than 5,000 Twitter accounts.

Tonight, at the A. Spendiarian

President Serzh Sargsyan was present at the 15th Haikian award ceremony of the Youth Fund of Armenia at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater after Alexander Spendiaryan. It is called to encourage achievements of the youth organizations, certain young individuals, including students who in the course of the year stood out with their active stance and substance of the programs carried out in different areas.

The 2015 awards were bestowed in a number of nominations such as the best public youth organization in Yerevan, the best public youth organization in marzes, the exceptional youth project, the best Chairperson of the Student Council, the best higher education establishment program, the best youth announcement, the best journalistic project, the best international structure, the best scientific achievements made by a young scientist, the best student self-governing body.

Along with the traditional nominations presented were also special awards which were handed to the winners by President Serzh Sargsyan. Special awards were handed to Gohar Martikian for the Formula of Living military and patriotic book collection-program, Youth State Orchestra of Armenia for its contribution to the dissemination of classical art among young people and public at large and on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, to Edgar Vardanian – an alumnus of the specialized school of Physics and Mathematics for excellence in the international subject Olympiads in 2014-2015, to Samvel Karapetian for the Eghern after Eghern program carried out in the framework of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aram Antinian for implementing the idea on the creation of the first in Armenia charity café and for helping numerous needy people, to the serviceman of the Armenian Armed Forces, Major Sargis Stepanian for valor in executing his duties and infinite dedication. President Sargsyan congratulated all winners of Haikian award and once again welcomed and stressed the importance of this initiative by the Armenian Youth Fund and wished the young people undying vigor and new success.

“I would like to confess frankly that I always attend the Haikian award ceremony with pleasure, because I find myself in a milieu where new ideas, new initiatives, good deeds are being commended, appreciated and encouraged. It is not only gratifying but also useful because a person gets positive impulses. I really do not have any participation in the award process, so I don’t know why all the awardees thank me. You’d rather thank your peers. This is one of the advantages of this award because the initiative comes for young people, the appreciation comes from the young too. It means that adults do not impose their will, don’t say one thing is good, the other is bad. It is the young who say this one is fine, the other – not so. It is, of course, inspiring. Inspiring because what we’ve seen today in this hall is directly related to the future of our country, with what’s ahead. These are clichés, however it should be repeated constantly that the future of the country is always in the hands of the young. You all are brilliant people, nice young people. I should say frankly that the majority of our young people are brilliant, they are defending our Fatherland. Today Army is the youngest structure in our Republic. Our young people have achievements in every area. Look, today he can be called a young man – he defends Armenia’s honor at the international subject Olympiads, there are other like him, twenty-one young people. At the moment we have success in every area, and it became possible because of young people. It means that the future of our country is in strong hands. I wish that in 20, 30, 40 years you become the speakers on this podium and you think what kind of initiatives you should come up with to encourage young people, where to lead them. And it should go on and on, for a million years. Thank you,” said President Serzh Sargsyan in his welcoming remarks for the young people.

Moscow does not hide its military-technical cooperation with Yerevan and asks Baku to treat this with understanding, Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday, TASS reports.

“We already informed the Azerbaijani side via diplomatic channels that Russia and Armenia are connected by allied relations and develop military-technical cooperation as well,” Zakharova said.

“This is a well-known fact. We cooperate without hiding anything — transparently and openly. We hope that Azerbaijan will treat this fact with understanding,” she added noting that Moscow takes into account all risks in the region when it supplies weapons.

“Any weapons are delivered to Armenia or friendly Azerbaijan with careful consideration of necessity to preserve the existing balance of power in the region,” she said.

On Wednesday Azerbaijan to Russian Foreign Ministry over supplying Armenia with weapons.

The German Alliance 90/The Greens Party will make mention of the Armenian Genocide 100 years ago.

The bill to be presented by Cem Ozdemir, Chairman of the German Alliance 90/The Greens Party, notes that “the German Bundestag bows to the victims of forced displacement and massacre of the Armenians and Aramaeans, Assyrians and other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire, which began 100 years ago. It deplores the actions of the then Turkish government, almost full annihilation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

The commemoration of the German Parliament will be an expression of special respect before Armenians as the oldest Christian nation on earth.

The bill states that “An honest appraisal of history is the most important basis for reconciliation It is given to a clear distinction between the guilt of the perpetrators and the

With the motion the German Bundestag will call on the Federal Government to encourage the Turkish side to face the history in order to lay the necessary foundation for reconciliation with the Armenian people. The German Government will be urged to continue to provide support scientific, civic and cultural exchange between Turkey and Armenia through budget resources, to actively support the Turkish-Armenian relations through scholarships for researchers, to encourage Turkish and Armenian government representatives to ratify the Zurich protocols signed in 2009 and resume diplomatic relations.

The German Bundestag held a debate on the Armenian Genocide today but did not vote on the bill proposed by the Alliance 90/The Greens. The ruling coalition said it’s not the proper time to adopt the bill and proposed to continue the discussions in the coming weeks to prepare a new finalized document until April 24, 2016.

Chairman of the Alliance 90/The Greens Cem Ozdemir agreed to withdraw his bill on condition that the new document to be agreed before April 24 clearly mentions the events of 1915 as genocide, accepts Germany’s role in the massacre and contributes to the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

The issue was brought to the agenda by the Alliance 90/The Greens, which has always urged to describe the events of 1915 as ‘genocide.’

Addressing the Bundestag today, Ozdemir said “the authorities have no common stance on the issue out of the fear to irritate Erdogan. “I don’t understand why we cannot vote for this bill. We should do that for the simple reason of clearing our conscience,” he said.

“Turkey is distorting its own history, while our goal is to establish the truth. A clear message on the part of Germany could change a lot,” Ozdemir said.

Klaus Brähmig of CDU/CSU said, in turn, that “the current Turkish authorities are not responsible for their ancestors, but can take steps to improve relations with Armenia.”

“Today we need no reports criticizing Turkey. Instead, we need steps that will contribute to the settlement of the migrants’ issue. Judging from our own history, we can say that no matter how actively we invite Turkey to assess their own past, their people must be ready for it. It will happen, when there is no pressure from the outside. Therefore, we cannot vote in favor of this resolution,” he said.

“We need to respect ourselves and refrain from kissing Turkey’s eyes every time. You asked for time, and we gave you plenty,” Ozdemir told the coalition. “Turkey speaks of civilized society, but persecutes journalists who dare speak openly,” he added.

“If we really manage to work out a new document before April 24 on the basis of the three above-mentioned points, we’ll say “We are with you.” But when time comes, you’ll find other obstacles,” Chairman of the Greens Party said.

The bill debated today noted that “the German Bundestag bows to the victims of forced displacement and massacre of the Armenians and Aramaeans, Assyrians and other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire, which began 100 years ago. It deplored the actions of the then Turkish government, almost full annihilation of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

The resolution noted that “the fate of the Armenians stands as exemplary in the history of mass exterminations, ethnic cleansing, deportations and yes, genocide, which marked the 20th century in such a terrible way.”  German President Joachim Gauck used the same wording as he addressed a commemoration ceremony on the eve of the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The bill stated that “An honest appraisal of history is the most important basis for reconciliation.”

The bill also referred to the German role in the Armenian Genocide, noting that “today’s German authorities are obliged to contribute to the resumption of the Armenian-Turkish relations, opening of the shared border.”

Unlike the resolution adopted by the Bundestag in 2005, the bill considered today clearly described the events as “genocide.”

Photo: ChinaFotoPress

Beijing has overtaken New York as the city with the highest number of billionaires for the first time, a new report by China-based firm Hurun says, the BBC reports.

A total of 100 billionaires are now living in the Chinese capital, compared with 95 in New York, the report said.

Shanghai, China’s centre of commerce, came in fifth place.

Hurun, which tracks wealth in China, has released an annual Global Rich List for the past five years measuring billionaires’ wealth in US dollars.

It found that Beijing had welcomed 32 new billionaires since last year, allowing it to vault past New York which it calculated only saw four new billionaires.

Overall, China has overtaken the US as the country with the highest number of billionaires. However, the top 10 billionaires in Hurun’s list is still dominated by Americans.

China has 568 billionaires after gaining 90 new ones, compared with the US which has 535.

China’s billionaires boast a combined net worth of $1.4 trillion (£1.01 trillion), which is similar to the GDP of Australia.

In a new published today, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) notes that corruption remains an important problem for Armenian society, even though the fight against it has been high on the political agenda for years. The report specifically looks at the situation with preventing corruption among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors.

The judiciary in Armenia appears to be particularly prone to corruption, the report says, and to suffer from the deficit of independence. There are also concerns about the lack of clear separation of powers, the weakness of the Parliament and insufficient transparency in public decision-making.

“Concerns about the current system of state powers and public governance should be addressed with a comprehensive and inclusive reform process,” said Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland. “Reform should be pursued with determination and without delay. Fighting corruption is a priority. We stand ready to assist Armenia in this process, and we trust the authorities will take our recommendations on board.”

GRECO specifically recommends that the rules on the acceptance of gifts by parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, as well as on submitting regular asset declarations, on their control and enforcement be further developed and made more effective. Further improving the transparency of the parliamentary process, adopting a code of conduct for members of parliament, preventing circumvention of the restrictions on business activities by parliamentarians, are among other recommendations.

The existing procedures for recruitment, promotion and dismissal of judges and prosecutors, including the Prosecutor General, as well as disciplinary procedures need to be further amended. A deliberate policy for preventing improper influence on judges and prosecutors, as well as conflicts of interest and corruption within the judiciary and the prosecution service should be pursued. The immunity of judges should be limited to activities related to the administration of justice.

By the end of April 2017 the authorities of Armenia are to report back on measures taken to implement the 18 recommendations included in this report. GRECO will assess the effectiveness of these measures in a “compliance report” in the second half of 2017.

Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia at the “Financing the 2030 Agenda: A discussion on financing for the SDGs building on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda”

Excellencies,

“It always seems impossible until it’s done”: These are the words of Nelson Mandela – a man who made the impossible come true. No matter how ambitious and challenging is the task, the joint determination and synergy of efforts that 50 years ago lay at the foundation of the United Nations Development Program to build a better life for all, without exclusion, should guide our endeavours. We need to act collectively and resolutely to alleviate the plight of the most vulnerable groups and communities, who need it most.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In its Agenda 2030 the international community has reaffirmed the inter-linkages between sustainable development and peace, good governance, human rights and rule of law. Humanitarian response to crisis situations and emergencies consumes significant resources of the international community and takes growing prominence in the global agenda, including within the UN system. Thus, it remains a priority for the UN system to advance its conceptual, normative and operational capacity aimed at strengthening and adapting its prevention function.

With a growing relationship of over 20 years, there have been a number of joint projects implemented in Armenia by the UNDP in key areas such as democratic governance, poverty reduction, integrated border management, the environment protection, and disaster risk reduction. Last year the Government of Armenia and the United Nations signed the third Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), which is a strategic document that will guide our cooperation for the period of 2016-2020 reflecting Armenia’s vision and commitment for improving the living standards of its population.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The adoption of the Vienna Programme of Action for the Landlocked Developing Countries and its integration into the Agenda 2030 has been an important step to promote a sustainable and inclusive development agenda. To ensure the effective implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action and mainstream it into our policies, a few weeks ago, our Government adopted a national strategy for its implementation. It will be important to give proper consideration to the implementation of the international commitments to address the specific needs of the landlocked countries within a comprehensive global reporting framework for the Agenda 2030. Such a follow-up and reporting framework should involve multiple stakeholders, including the transit countries.

The focus of our session today has a direct link to the synergies and links between the ongoing developmental processes, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as a number of other important agreements reached earlier – the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and the COP 21 landmark agreement.

The conventional approach to financing the Sustainable development goals requires updating from a range of perspectives. Enhancement of infrastructure and sustainable investment, including through blended finance, will be critical to delivering on an ambitious development agenda. Addressing the issue of projects bankability and ensuring public-private solutions to financing projects is an important aspect of Armenia’s work with international financial institutions, in particular, for the infrastructure projects we are currently implementing.

Coherent steps should be taken on a global level to address insufficient investment in infrastructure. The crucial need to bridge the global infrastructure gap has been recognized as an important priority in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We welcome the international commitment to bridge these gaps, including the annual gap of 1 to 1.5 trillion dollar in the developing countries.

It is important that together with limitations in finance we look at the barriers to sustainable development as well – closed borders, blockades, unduly discriminating trade regimes. The fact that a highly important inter-state railway (Gyumri-Kars) between Armenia and Turkey is not being used in the vital interests of sustainable development and regional connectivity due to an ongoing illegal blockade is a vivid example.

Infrastructure development is a high priority for Armenia, duly reflected in the recently adopted Strategy for Prospective Development for the upcoming decade.

To address the inequalities both within and among nations, we need to continue to promote rules-based, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading systems, in line with the commitments under the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We share the view that it can effectively contribute to achieving the Sustainable development goals.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

2016 is the first year to follow up on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In holding the Presidency of the Executive Board of the UNDP, Armenia looks forward to continue its cooperation within this organisation on the Sustainable Development Goals and related matters.