Author: Mary Lazarian

The bodies of at least 21 miners trying to help colleagues trapped after an explosion in a coal mine in northern Iran have been recovered, state media has reported, the BBC reports.

A local official in the area said that nearly 70 people were injured.

The officials said that those killed were miners in a tunnel trying to reach 32 miners trapped underground in the northern province of Golestan.

The mine blast is thought to have been caused by a gas leak.

Emergency crews are at work at the scene of the disaster, and have so far cleared about 600m of the tunnel leading to the mine, officials say.

Today, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador to the Republic of Armenia Julio César Prado Espinosa (residence in Moscow) presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

The President of Armenia congratulated the Ambassador on assuming his diplomatic mission and wished him every success. Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Armenia is interested in deepening relations with the Latin American countries including Ecuador and expressed hope that Ambassador Espinosa through his experience and active work will elevate the Armenian-Ecuadorian relations to a qualitatively new level.

Noting that Armenia is linked to the countries of Latin America mostly by common values and cultural ties, which at the beginning of the last century moved hundreds of thousands of the Armenians, who survived the Armenian Genocide, to seek refuge in these countries, the President of Armenia stressed the importance of strengthening the friendly ties and invigorating cooperation in different areas at the interstate level.

The Ambassador assured that during his tenure in office, he will do his best to deepen the relations between Armenia and Ecuador and cooperation in the bilateral as well as multilateral formats, in the framework of international organizations. Ambassador Espinosa also presented his proposals to President Sargsyan related to a full utilization of the existing potential of the Armenian-Ecuadorian cooperation in different areas.
The parties also stressed the importance of active contacts at the interparliamentary level.

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian, Sergey Lavrov and Elmar Mammadyarov will hold a meeting in Moscow on April 28.

The discussions will focus on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Photo: Reuters

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message to a religious ceremony held in the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul on April 24 to commemorate the victims of the “1915 killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule”, addressing Patriarch Aram Ateşyan, general vicar of the Armenian patriarch of Turkey, and citizens of Armenian origin, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

“This year, I once again pay our respects to the Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives under the harsh conditions of the First World War and convey my condolences to their descendants,” Erdogan said in the message.

“Turks and Armenians, as two ancient nations of this region, have shared a common history and culture in this geography, where they lived side by side for a thousand years,” he said.

The Armenian community made great contributions to the Ottoman Empire, as well as to the modern republic, the president said.

“Armenians, as equal and free citizens, have important roles in the social, political and commercial life of our country today, as they did in the past,” he said.

It is our common objective for these two peoples, who have shared the grief and happiness of centuries, to heal the wounds of the past and strengthen people to people ties.

Turkey has taken steps “to heal the wounds of the past” and strengthen the ties between the two peoples, Erdogan said.

“We are determined to advance our efforts and preserve the memory of the Ottoman Armenians and the Armenian cultural heritage in the future,” he said.

“On this occasion, I would like to emphasize that the peace, security and happiness of our Armenian community are of special importance to us. We have no tolerance for the alienation and exclusion of our Armenian citizens and for a single Armenian citizen to feel second-class,” he said.

“I convey my hope for the speedy conclusion of the election of the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey and wish you success in this endeavor,” he said.

“With these thoughts, I once again pay tribute to the memories of the Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives at the beginning of the 20th century. May millions of Ottoman citizens deceased under the difficult conditions of the First World War rest in peace,” Erdoğan said.

HDP Istanbul deputy Garo Paylan has presented a research proposal to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the examination of the results of the Provisional Relocation Act enacted on 27 May 1915, Istanbul-based reports.

The MP proposes to investigate the responsibilities of the government and public officials at that time, as well as the daily effects of the consequences of the deportations.

Garo Paylan’s research proposal for the Presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly includes the following statements: “Following the Temporary Relocation Act, the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire was subjected to deportation, leading to devastation in the Syriac, Keldani, Ezidi and Greek peoples.

“Although the results of this law have not been investigated by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) for more than 102 years, it has been known that a large number of casualties have been experienced due to the Deportation Law.

“A lot of cultural assets and property have been seized or confiscated. The exploitation of the responsibilities of the government and civil servants of the period, the day-to-day effects of the consequences of the deportation, the benefits of confronting the past and the truth in ensuring social peace as a whole in our country, in accordance with Article 98 of the Constitution, Articles 104 and 105 of the Constitution in order to contribute to the uncovering of “truth” in order to prevent abuse and to provide more opportunities for future generations to live together in Turkey freely and peacefully I would like to offer and propose to open the survey.”

The Pegasus Airlines will start low-cost flights to Zvartnots Airport from June 1, 2017, Press Service of the Armenia International Airports CJSC informs.

The airline will operate three weekly flights to Zvartnots International Airport from Istanbul. The flights will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This airline currently operates flights to almost all European countries from Istanbul. Pegasus is one of the most active airlines in the region.

The Syrian government and rebel forces have begun an operation to move people away from four besieged towns, activists say, the BBC reports.

People from Foah and Kefraya, two government-held towns in the north-west, have arrived in Rashideen, west of Aleppo, AFP news agency reports.

Similar operations have begun in rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus.

More than 30,000 people are expected to be evacuated under the deal.

Some 4.7 million people live in hard-to-reach and besieged areas in Syria, including 644,000 in UN-declared besieged locations.

Armenian football player Yura Movsisyan urges all to watch the Armenian genocide film The Promise.

“I urge all my friends to go out and watch The Promise in theaters nationwide on Friday, April 21st!

At last, the true story of the #ArmenianGenocide brought to life on the big screen,” Movsisyan said in a Facebook post.

 Photos: Matthew Hatcher/The Marion Star

 

Students from Ayb High School in Armenia’s capital city made their second trip to Marion this week to compete in the National Robotics Challenge, reports.

The three-day open robotics competition started Thursday and continues through Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“Last year we heard about it and decided to participate,” said Vazgen Gabrielyan, director of the robotics laboratory at Ayb High School. “We really liked that the competition has no limits, not limiting us to any kits and having the chance to create things from scratch. That’s our approach to robotics.”

That approach proved to be successful as the Ayb students captured a Honda Innovation Award and a silver award in the lightweight/self-controlled sumo robot competition at the 2016 edition of the NRC.

“We’ve had a lot of success in both local and international championships since the school opened,” Gabrielyan said.

The Ayb team’s accomplishments in Marion had both the school and the country “boiling,” according to Gabrielyan.

“That was a a big pleasure for us to get that (Honda Innovation Award), because we put a lot of hard work into that robot,” said Armen Barseghyan, a senior at Ayb. “Reporters were coming to our school and doing interviews, asking how it was to go to the National Robotics Challenge from a little country and take the silver medal and the higher award.”

Barseghyan and classmates Areg Kalantaryan, Areg Karapetyan, Felix Ghandilyan, Simon Zohrabyan, and Arman Mnatsakanyan have entered two robots in this year’s competition — one combat robot and one maze robot.

France has welcomed the finalization of Armenia-EU talks on a new agreement.

“France welcomes the conclusion of negotiations on the comprehensive and enhanced partnership agreement between the European Union and Armenia, announced by President Donald Tusk of the European Council on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serge Sargsyan, on 27 and 28 February in Brussels,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

‘The agreement, concluded a few days before the official visit by President Sargsyan to France on 8 and 9 March, responds to the call made by the President of the Republic of Armenia in May 2014 to strengthen relations between the European Union And this country,” the statement reads.
“This agreement will deepen the political dialogue between the European Union and Armenia on our common commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It will facilitate the development of cooperation in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. It will create new opportunities for trade and investment while ensuring the protection of French and European geographical indications,” the Foreign Ministry said.