Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

Dutch deport Armenian woman whose children are missing

Andranik Taslakhchian
PanArmenian, Armenia

Aug 14 2017
– 15:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Dutch authorities deported an Armenian asylum seeker on Monday, August 14, despite the fact that her two 11- and 12-year-old children have been missing since last week after fleeing a refugee center in Utrecht, La Vanguardia reports.

The children, Lily, 11, and Hovik, 12, had been living with their mother, Armine Hambardzumyan, in the Netherlands for nine years, hoping to receive permanent residence permit in the country.

"Never before have we come across a case when a mother is deported while the children remain in the Netherlands, "said activist Martin Vegter from a Dutch organization called Defense of Children.

In a statement, the group said the mother has already been sent to Paris, from where a second flight will take her to Armenia's capital, Yerevan.

Expert: Armenia is among leaders according to cancer mortality

Andranik Taslakhchian
News.am, Armenia

Aug 13 2017
Expert: Armenia is among leaders according to cancer mortality
22:48, 13.08.2017


YEREVAN. – Armenia is among leaders according to cancer mortality, environmentalist and former Minister of Nature Preservation of Armenia, Karine Danielyan, told Armenian News – NEWS.am.

In her words, when the World Health Organization (WHO) published information according to which Armenia was on the lead, the Ministry of Health stated that the conclusion was based on wrong data. “Well, I took the data of the Ministry of Health. We turned out to be between first and second places, which is not good either. But this depends on how we count. If we count for a 3 million population, we again come first. This year we rank the second after Zambia according to the WHO data. Nobody is concerned about this and asks what’s wrong. When I am raising an issue, I am told that the WHO is wrong and that everything is fine in our country, there being no need to raise such bad issues. I think, first of all, the environment is to be blamed for,” Danielyan noted.

According to the environmentalist, lots of studies were conducted on the impact of the environment and climate change on the health of children. “Obviously, the most polluted territories were observed–territories polluted with heavy metals. The interconnection between the environment and health can be clearly seen. Town of Lori ranks first, being followed by Syunik and Yerevan,” she added. 

https://news.am/eng/news/404450.html

Sports: Armenia Crowned 2017 FIBA U16 Men’s Division C European Champions

Andranik Taslakhchian
Armenian Weekly

By Weekly Staff on i

ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra (A.W.)— Armenia took the gold in the 2017 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Under 16 (U16) European Championship Division C finals, a day after the team overturned a 15-point deficit to hand Azerbaijan an 88-76 defeat in the semifinals.

Armenia took the gold in the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship Division C finals. (Photo: FIBA)

Armenia beat Gibraltar 88-70 to win the tournament. Armenia’s Aleksey Chizhenok finished with an impressive 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Georgii Shakhnazarov scored a team high 28 points.

Armenia took the gold in the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship Division C finals. (Photo: FIBA)

Armenia took the gold in the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship Division C finals. (Photo: FIBA)

Armenia took the gold in the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship Division C finals. (Photo: FIBA)

Culture: Audio version of Shahriar’s poems released in Armenia

Andranik Taslakhchian
Tehran Times, Iran



TEHRAN – An audiobook featuring a selection of poems by contemporary Iranian poet Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar (1906-1988) has recently been released in Yerevan, Armenia.

Translated by Varand Sukiasian, the audiobook is narrated by Aida Asaturyan, Iran’s Cultural Office in Yerevan announced in a press release on Sunday.

The MIHR Literary Center in Yerevan has published the audiobook in collaboration with the Cultural Office. 

The office has previously published selections of poems by Hafez, Sadi, Rumi and several other Persian poets in Armenia. 

Mohammad-Hossein Behjat Tabrizi, known as Shahriar, published his first book of poems in 1929, with prefaces by Persian literature scholars Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, Saeid Nafisi and Pejman Bakhtiari. 

Shahriar’s most famous Azari language poetry collection, “Heidar Babaya Salam” is dedicated to his birthplace, the village of Heidar Baba. 

His poems are mainly influenced by Hafez. “The Blessed Bird of Good Omen”, which is about Imam Ali (AS), is one of his most distinguished pieces.

Photo: The cover of an audiobook of Armenian translation of poems by Iranian poet Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar

ABU/YAW

Sports: Armenia gets seven medals at Francophone Games

Andranik Taslakhchian
Panorama, Armenia

The Armenian team members concluded performances at the VIII Games of La Francophonie launched in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire with a bronze taken by judoka Grigor Sahakyan (90kg) on the last day of the tournament. As the National Olympic Committee reports, rider Edgar Stepanyan finished the 8th at the race event of the games.

To conclude, Armenia conquered one gold, three silver, and three bronze medals at Francophone Games with six of the medals claimed in freestyle wrestling.

Israeli Minister: Israel wants to develop friendly relations with Armenia

Andranik Taslakhchian
news.am, Armenia

Israeli Minister: Israel wants to develop friendly relations with Armenia
12:38, 26.07.2017

YEREVAN. – Israeli regional cooperation minister Tzachi Hanegbi is on a three-day visit to Yerevan during which he met Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

During the Tuesday meeting, Nalbandian noted the importance of the visit of the Israeli minister to Yerevan. Hanegbi, in turn, stressed that Israel wants to develop friendly relations with Armenia, and this is the main message of his visit.

The parties discussed various issues of the bilateral agenda, current regional and international problems.

The ministers noted importance of expanding the legal framework, holding meetings between the foreign ministers, strengthening of cooperation in international organizations, and intensifying inter-parliamentary exchanges.

Nalbandian and Hanegbi discussed the steps aimed at stimulating trade and economic relations, both sides noted the importance of the use of tourist potential.

During the conversation, the issues concerning deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation in spheres of culture, science and education were discussed.

Hanegbi presented Israel's approaches over regional processes.

At the request of the guest, Nalbandian presented the efforts made by Armenia and OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in the direction of creating appropriate conditions for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Expert: Iran will do its best to prevent certain countries from interfering in Karabakh process

Andranik Taslakhchian
News.am, Armenia

Expert: Iran will do its best to prevent certain countries from interfering in Karabakh process
14:31, 21.07.2017

YEREVAN. – Iran will do its best to prevent certain countries from interfering in the Karabakh settlement, Iranian expert on regional issues Ehsan Hushmand told reporters in Yerevan implying the latest statements of Turkish officials, in particular, foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Turkish foreign minister urged the OSCE Minsk Group to intensify efforts into the settlement of Karabakh conflict, noting the need for the withdrawal of Armenian units from the “occupied” territories of Azerbaijan.

According to him, Iran supports exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

“We would like Iran to have greater involvement in the conflict resolution process so that it could prevent the possibility of resumption of hostilities. Military solution is not in the interests of any country. We are sure that a fair solution will be found as a result of prudent policy of the regional countries,” he said.

Russia’s excuses over ammo sale to Baku ‘don’t withstand scrutiny’

Andranik Taslakhchian
PanArmenian, Armenia

– 22:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Russian side’s explanations over the sale of military equipment to Azerbaijan do not withstand scrutiny and are not convincing, deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, lawmaker Armen Ashotyan told reporters on Saturday, July 22.

“The continuous sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan remains the thorniest issue in the Armenian-Russian official and unofficial relations,” Ashotyan said, according to RFE/RL Armenian Service.

Russia’s substantiation that the delivery of ammunition to Baku is a mere economic deal and an opportunity to oversee Azerbaijan’s military-technical potential and the regional stability, “does not withstand scrutiny from our viewpoint,” the ruling party’s representative said.

It was revealed in June and July that Russia has delivered Khrizantema anti-tank missile systems, around 200 rockets for TOS-1A systems to Baku. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Azerbaijan has imported 20 times as much weapons in 2011-2016 as Armenia.

“The Russian sides excuses are not convincing for us,” Ashotyan added.

The agreement on Armenian-Russian United forces ratified by the Government

Andranik Taslakhchian
Public Radio of Armenia



15:57, 20 Jul 2017

The Armenian-Russian military forces alignment is to come into being.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia approved the RA law on ratification of the agreement on “United group of the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia and the armed forces of the Russian Federation”.

On July 14 the agreement has already been ratified by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The agreement that was signed on November 30, 2016 in Moscow provides the procedure of the formation and application of the United forces. Problems concerning material and technical supply and information exchange are also regulated.

Minsk Group Co-Chairs propose a high-level meeting between Armenian, Azerbaijani presidents this year

Andranik Taslakhchian
Panorama, Armenia

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have proposed a high-level meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents later this year. As the statement released on behalf of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict mediators reads, the Co-Chairs offered their assistance in organizing of that meeting, while the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs agreed to pass the proposal to their presidents.

The mediators’ statement came following the July 11 meeting of the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian held in Brussels “to discuss modalities of further work on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

According to the source, the current situation on the Line of Contact was also discussed.

“The Ministers and the Co-Chairs agreed to meet again in New York in September on the margins of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly,” the statement said.