According to Georgy Avetisyan, head of the Food Safety Inspection Body, fish products, meat that are being sold in the streets can cause great problems.
“The meat that is stored in the refrigerator and is not sold is toxic to the person. It contains at least toxins of corpse in it. There are dust, car emissions on products sold outdoors.”
Head of the Food Safety Inspector urges you: “If you love your family, you should not buy food from the street.”
An Armenian saying has been engraved in The Hague, the Facebook page of the Embassy of Armenia in The Netherlands has informed.
“Among 28 other languages, an Armenian proverb about way—‘Water will find its way’—has been engraved in front of the railway station, the most populous place in the city,” the embassy’s post reads, and a respective photo is attached.
At the Daily Sabah, our primary mission is to bring stories from Turkey and transmit a Turkish perspective on global affairs before a global audience as defined in our slogan: "local perspective, global vision." Although our brand and publishing policy cover a wide range of issues, our priority has always been to explain events and their future outcomes for a foreign audience. In that sense, it wouldn't be unfair to say 2018 was a relatively calm year for Turkey, especially for the editors of the Daily Sabah, despite a general election, a cross-border operation into Syria, a national switch to an executive presidency for the first time and economic concerns. One should think about earlier years, especially between 2015 and 2017, when Turkey faced serious security threats, terror attacks, a coup attempt and political instability. It was without a doubt a tough period for Turkey, and for a group of young editors who were trying to understand what was going on in their country, concerned about the well-being of their families and loved ones, while doing their best to keep up with objective and fast reporting, the task was not easy. In that sense, I think my colleagues at the Daily Sabah, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary this February, would agree that this year was better than its predecessors.
For the Daily Sabah itself, 2018 was a year of change. Experienced journalists which have played essential roles in the establishment of this brand, our former editor-in-chief Serdar Karagöz and managing editor Nejat Başar, Ankara representative Ali Ünal and Washington D.C. representative Ragıp Soylu have left to pursue their careers elsewhere. Our longtime reader's representative Ibrahim Altay has taken over Mr. Karagöz' helm, while our politics editor Mehmet Çelik, a former member of the Daily Sabah digital team, has taken over for Mr. Başar. Another experienced journalist, Nur Özkan Erbay, joined the Daily Sabah to run the Ankara office. For the digital side, our experienced editors Zeyneb Varol and Meltem Tezir left the team, while we welcomed Can Kazancıoğlu on board. In addition, we had a couple of other editors and correspondents leaving or joining the Daily Sabah's digital and print editions, as well as colleagues who were promoted to new positions. We wish all our former colleagues and new team members a successful career.
For the Turkish media in general, 2018 was a year of changes and challenges. The rise in the price of printing paper, which relies heavily on imports amid the 40 percent loss in Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar, forced some important newspapers to shut down or go entirely digital. Many others were forced to reduce the number of pages in their print editions, while others merged their weekend editions to a single copy. In addition to changes in reader habits and economic challenges, this trend was also the result of Turkish media outlets' heavy reliance on content provided by news agencies, lack of in-depth articles, failure to adopt digital publishing and columns on issues that don't touch the everyday lives of the public. Since its launch, the Daily Sabah has tried to maintain a hybrid newsroom that would help efficiency in costs and produce unique content needed and appreciated by our audience. In that regard, the digital team of the Daily Sabah heavily relies on the content from the print edition, and 2019 will be a key year for Daily Sabah in taking steps to become a pioneering newsroom in Turkish media to achieve a digital newsroom.
Here, before mentioning standout articles that grabbed the attention of our audience, we should mention two categories regularly followed by our visitors. The 'Business' category was the top category in 2018 amongst our visitors, and this was mainly due to the state of the Turkish economy during the year – the slump of the lira, high unemployment and inflation, U.S. sanctions accompanying the tensions in diplomatic relations on one hand, and the government's efforts to curb the negative effects of these developments while trying to carry out structural reforms and establish the economic administration model of the newly-introduced executive presidency on the other. However, all these important developments should not cast a shadow on the efforts of our Business editor Elif Erşen and correspondent Alen Lepan from print, who tried to produce unique and rich content on the Turkish economy supported by visual material along with web-friendly titles. Business remains one of the most well-balanced categories on dailysabah.com in terms of featuring both local and global content, and this was surely appreciated by our readers. The second most-visited category was Turkey, which features a wide range of issues from heart-warming local stories to head-busting investigation and lawsuits, aided by the fact that Daily Sabah is one of the key publications providing an insight into the country. The efforts of our experienced print editor Yusuf Ziya Durmuş, who relentlessly addresses complicated legal processes dragging on several fronts, were also crucial for this category.
As far as 2018 is concerned, the issues followed by our readers the most can be summed up under four different titles: Turkey's June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections, journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the rising Islamophobia and xenophobia trend in Europe aided by the rise of the far-right, and the first year of Donald Trump's presidency.
Before assessing the most-read content on our website one by one, I'd like to wish all of our readers a peaceful, healthy and prosperous 2019 on behalf of my esteemed colleagues at dailysabah.com.
Here are the 10 most read articles on dailysabah.com in 2018:
1) Footage shows Saudis burning documents day after Khashoggi's disappearance - Emre Başaran
This article featuring footage initially published by Turkish broadcaster A Haber, a news channel of Daily Sabah's parent Turkuvaz Media Group, claimed the top spot in 2018. The footage, captured in the aftermath of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder on Oct. 2, shows officials burning documents at the consulate premises on Oct. 3. It also became available at a time when the murder was making headlines throughout the world, and our web editor Emre Başaran managed to obtain the video right before its publication, quickly sharing it with the Daily Sabah's international audience.
2) Man commits suicide inside Grand Mosque of Mecca next to Kaaba - Sinan Öztürk
This article features a viral, short and low-quality video showing a man's suicide in the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam, which helped it claim the runner-up spot. However, it also received a fair amount of criticism from our audience for showing the act itself at a holy place and encouraging it.
3) Insulting Prophet Muhammad not 'free speech,' ECtHR rules - Yasemin Sakay
This article reporting a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which finalized that insulting Prophet Muhammad cannot be considered within the context of free speech, came at a time when Muslims in Europe were suffering from increasing discriminative acts and attacks.
4) Astronomers find the first and only known galaxy without dark matter - Yasemin Sakay
This astronomy article on the discovery of the first galaxy without dark matter quickly went viral and attracted readers from Reddit.
5) US President Trump tops terrorism as Germans' greatest fear, survey says - Meltem Tezir
Following the surprise outcome of the elections in November 2017, 2018 was the first year of Donald Trump's presidency, which created more complications for the U.S.' allies than its rivals. A survey in Germany, which came at a time when the U.S. and Europe were involved in an undeclared trade war and Trump was stepping up his rhetoric against European allies claiming that they should contribute more to the continent's defense, placed Mr. Trump at the top of the list of Germans' greatest fears.
6) Trump colors US national flag wrong during visit to Ohio children's hospital - Yasemin Sakay
In addition to changes in international politics and internal political strife, the Trump administration also received significant interest thanks to unusual methods of communication, never-ending resignations and subsequent appointments, and of course, gaffes. President Trump's wrong coloring of the U.S. flag was the sixth most-read article on dailysabah.com.
7) 11 killed after private Turkish jet carrying bride and friends from bachelorette party in Dubai crashes in Iran - Zeyneb Varol
This article featuring the tragic plane crash that killed bride-to-be Mina Başaran, the heir of one of Turkey's leading companies, and seven of her friends accompanying her for a bachelorette party in Dubai and three crew members of Başaran's private jet, was one of the most read stories from Turkey in 2018.
8) Calls for France to end xenophobia, Islamophobia as migrant, Muslim players clinch World Cup win - Gabriela Garver
France was not left untouched by the rise of the far-right in Europe in the last decade, with the ultranationalist National Front (FN) positioning itself as the main opposition against conventional center-right and center-left parties. The French victory in July in the 2018 World Cup in Russia with a squad overwhelmingly made up of players with Central African, North African or French overseas backgrounds was an important opportunity to bring up issues of racism and discrimination not only in football but also on the continent.
9) Khashoggi was beaten to death in front of Saudi consul general, then dismembered: sources - Can Kazancıoğlu
This article, published before Saudi authorities had admitted their guilt in the murder of Khashoggi, features some gruesome details regarding the killing that made headlines in 2018.
10) Ship crashes into waterfront mansion in Istanbul's Bosporus after rudder gets stuck - Web Team
In another example showing the significance of visual content in today's media, the documented crash of a ship into a waterfront mansion in Istanbul's Bosporus, one of the most strategic and busiest waterways in the world, became of one the most-read articles in 2018.
Honorable mentions:
1) Khashoggi murder one step closer to resolution with striking new findings - Şeyma Nazlı Gürbüz
This latecomer published on Dec. 29 managed to reach to the brink of the top 10 articles in 2018 despite only three days in publication. Compiled by the print edition's Politics correspondent Şeyma Nazlı Gürbüz, the article summarizes important details on Khashoggi's murder featured in the book "Diplomatic Atrocity: The dark secrets of the Khashoggi murder" written by Ferhat Ünlü, Abdurrahman Şimşek and Nazif Karaman from the Daily Sabah's sister publication the Sabah newspaper and published by Turkuvaz Books on the same day.
2) Old man in tears hugs beloved cat as his house burns down - Meltem Tezir
This article once again proves the power of photographs in media. Albeit a very local story from Turkey's northwestern Bolu province, the plight of 83-year-old Ali Meşe and his cat after a fire burned down their modest house in Jan. 17, 2018 quickly garnered international attention. The photo quickly became a sensation on social media, prompting calls from not only Turkey but from throughout the world to help Meşe and the cat. Captured by Ilhami Çetin, this photograph was recently chosen as the winner of Anadolu Agency's Photos of the Year contest in the 'Life' category.
3) Legendary Turkish photographer Ara Güler loses battle for life at 90 - Emre Başaran
The passing of Turkish-Armenian doyen photographer Ara Güler at the age of 90 was without a doubt an irreplaceable loss for Turkey, Turkish media and photography circles and the international photography scene. Hence, the article reporting his death was among the most-read articles of 2018.
4) Elections webpage & coverage
The Daily Sabah elections webpage for the June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections and our coverage throughout the election day was by far the most detailed English source for the event. Despite being online only for the last five years, the Daily Sabah, in line with Turkey's tumultuous political scene during that period, has covered two presidential and three parliamentary elections in addition to a crucial referendum on the switch to an executive presidency. We will try our best to convey this experience in the 2019 local elections slated for March 31.
Worst mistakes:
At the Daily Sabah, I am happy and proud to say that I am working with a team that cares about fact-based reporting, genuinely dislikes click-baits and carefully evaluates all feedback given by its audience. Having said this, we also make mistakes and the feedback we receive from our audience — how sophisticated or crude it might be — helps us improve ourselves and not repeat these mistakes in the future. Here are two examples of such incidents:
1) Report after Çorlu train crash
On July 24, a train bound from Istanbul's Halkalı station to Edirne's Uzunköprü district derailed in the Çorlu district of northwestern Tekirdağ province, which killed 24 passengers and injured more than 300 others. The incident was no doubt a string of mistakes on behalf of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) as an institution since the train derailed while passing through tracks on a culvert bent as the earth filling was washed away during heavy rainfall. To make matters worse for the TCDD, such a grave problem on the tracks went unnoticed as the TCDD had been facing a decrease in inspection staff for its network and failed to implement electronic signalization systems. The latter proved right once again months later in the heart of capital Ankara when a high-speed train was involved in a head-on crash with a controller locomotive on Dec. 13, 2018, killing three engineers and six passengers and injuring nearly 50 others. An early investigation into the incident showed that the two vehicles were being operated on commands transmitted to engineers through radio and their cellphones. In both incidents, dailysabah.com tried to inform its audience as fast and objectively as it could.
However, soon after the Çorlu incident, our website featured an article on recent train crashes in Europe. Given its timing and content, and the gravity of the incident, I must admit that the article was unnecessary, rude and was indeed objected by thestaff. It was not surprising that we soon faced the heaviest-ever criticism by our audience and retracted the story. It also pointed at the hazards of the increasing habit of shifting the blame in Turkish media and politics. This case was also thoroughly assessed in the Reader's Corner article titled "Daily Sabah's coverage of train crash sparks criticism."
2) Failure in fact-checking alleged video of Israelis cheering Palestinian deaths in border protests
Mirroring the overall public opinion and political spectrum in Turkey, it would be fair to say that the Daily Sabah is indeed a pro-Palestinian but definitely not an anti-Israeli publication. We support the Palestinian people in their cause for freedom in line with international law, and draw a clear distinction between the people of Israel and their well-being with the country's aggressive policies violating international law and stripping millions of their basic rights, forcing them to live in poverty. We altogether reject anti-Semitism, both in the region as well as in other parts of the world, and we try our best to cover terrorist and far-right attacks targeting Israeli civilians and Jewish people. Our policy is a clear reflection of these values.
Unfortunately, 2018 saw the worst increase in violence in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis sparked by the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip over a decade, and the Trump administration's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. embassy there in a blatant violation of international law. Nearly 200 Palestinians were killed and more than 15,000 were injured due to the excessive use of force by the Israeli military to counter the mainly peaceful border protests in Gaza before the eyes of the international community.
During that unfortunate period on April 7, we failed to confirm the authenticity of a video, allegedly showing Israeli civilians cheering as Israeli forces used live fire on Palestinian protesters, before publishing it. This mistake came at a time when another video of Israeli soldiers cheering the shooting of a Palestinian man went viral and prompted a probe by the Israeli military. Our readers and staff later warned us that the video was not related to the protests, but before we retracted the story, it became one of the top-read articles on our website.
As the world keeps shrinking, finding out about places you’ve never heard of is something of a thrill. Some of the most interesting Interpreter pieces of this year focused on the unique and unusual corners of the map.
One such corner is the Wakhan Corridor – a sliver of land that connects Afghanistan to China’s Xinjiang province, bordered by Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan to the south. The Corridor came to our attention thanks to rumours of Chinese troops being stationed across the border in Afghan territory. Suzanne Levi-Sanchez:
Throughout the period of the Great Game (and before) China also fought for territory in the Wakhan Corridor, and recently won back a small stretch of land in the far northeastern corner of Tajikistan that had been under dispute since the mid-1800s (between Tsarist Russia and China). This section, rumoured to be rich in mineral wealth, was ceded to the Chinese by the Tajik government in 2011 as payment for debts the Tajik government owed to China for construction of several roads and bridges. The Tajiks living in the villages in these areas were forced to relocate to even more austere locations, lacking in water or arable land for farming or livestock.
Another is Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory geographically located within Azerbaijan but governed by ethnic Armenians. Luke Dawes wrote about how Armenian-Azeri disagreements could upset Russia and Turkey’s cooperation in Syria:
As the Syrian civil war is winding down, both Russia and Turkey are responding pragmatically to changes on the ground. Islamic State has been eradicated from much of the country, and the Syrian Government has retaken control of key cities from rebel groups. Turkey has sought – and received – Russian approval for airstrikes against the YPG in northern Syria, and the two countries met with Iran in April to cooperate on a post-war plan for stability. This cooperation, however, could well be threatened by their opposing positions in the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict: Russia and Turkey have previously traded stern words over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Central Asia rarely makes headlines in Western newspapers. But Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world by area, is playing a leading role in regional diplomacy, worrying Russia. Stephen Blank:
Kazakhstan hosted a summit of all the Central Asian states in March 2018, where President Nursultan Nazarbayev argued that Central Asia could solve its problems without outside ‘mentors’. Observers saw this meeting as the assertion of sovereignty by Central Asian states, indicating a new readiness to act on their own in ‘big politics’. Inevitably, this generated Russian concerns. Central Asian states are still subject to their geography, so they will all need to respect Russian and Chinese interests. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian states are showing signs they will step out of their giant neighbours’ shadows.
The Himalaya region runs along (mostly disputed) borders between China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is home to a mosaic of ethnic groups, the world’s third-largest ice-deposits, and simmering geopolitical tension. Alexander Davis, Ruth Gamble, Gerald Roche, and Lauren Gawne:
This normalised state of border scuffles escalated last year in the Doklam standoff when China tried to wrest a piece of high-ground on the China-Bhutan border from Indian troops. Both Bhutan and Nepal have been placed in difficult positions by India-China tensions. China’s Belt and Road development plans in Nepal and Pakistan have exacerbated regional tensions. This friction has led to both the militarisation and competitive development of the region. Hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed across the mountains and all Himalayan states are engaged in competitive, un-checked development projects aimed at least in part at solidifying territorial control.
The Andaman Islands featured in headlines when a US missionary was killed by members of an isolated tribe on one of the islands. Aarti Betigeri wrote about the Indian government’s desire to expand its military presence on some of the islands and open up others to tourism.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of 572 islands, roughly equidistant from both Kolkata and Chennai, about 1,200 kilometres each way to the mainland. Just 37 islands are permanently inhabited, by a mix of indigenous tribes and Indians who moved there after the Second World War. The Nicobar islands have always remained off-limits to outsiders, while only a handful of the Andamans have been open to tourists. One of the islands’ recognised tribal groups is the Jarawas, sometimes described as the ‘last descendants of the first modern humans’, still living a largely hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
What about the forgotten corners of the Pacific? Bruce Hill asked provocative questions about the political and economic independence of small island nations such as Niue, Tokelau, and Palau.
The harsh reality is that while many Pacific nations are doing fine as independent entities, others face daunting challenges that raise real questions about their status. For a start, the smaller states are very vulnerable to natural disasters. One massive cyclone, tsunami or earthquake hitting countries the size of Niue, Tokelau or Palau could conceivably destroy their economies. An even more serious challenge is population shift from island mini-states to the metropolitan countries in or bordering the region, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Finally, Morris Jones wrote on the strategic aspect of the ultimate forgotten corner: the moon.
Decades after the Moon became covered in American flags and footprints, the nearest world in space is becoming strategic again. Recently, China launched a satellite to orbit the L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange point. This is an imaginary point in space hovering over the far side of the Moon (not the ‘dark’ side, despite the references in sloppy journalism elsewhere and Pink Floyd).
YEREVAN, December 26 /ARKA/. Russia has always supported the earliest possible resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.
"We do not set a time frame. We have always advocated an early settlement and supported all the measures that are aimed at an early resolution of this problem. I will not speak about specific terms. The conflict has along history. Unfortunately, this is a protracted conflict," Zakharova said.
According to her, everything that depends on the Russian side as a co-chair (of the OSCE Minsk Group), and as a country that has a common past and a common history with Azerbaijan and Armenia, will be done.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year.
On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached. -0
Serj Tankian discusses scoring the film 'Spitak,' knowing Anthony Bourdain and System of a Down's creative stalemate.
Carlos Tischler/Getty Images
In the 13 years since System of a Down last released an album of skittery punk-metal, frontman Serj Tankian has challenged himself creatively with orchestral compositions, jazz records and rock outings. Lately, though, he’s found the most gratification in scoring movies. In the past five years, he’s written music for six films and a video game. His latest is a delicate, otherworldly mood piece for Spitak, a disaster film about the immediate aftermath of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that crumpled northern Armenia in 1988, claiming deaths in the range of 25,000 to 50,000 people and up to 130,000 injuries.
“It was a difficult film to do, because of the heavy topic and trying not to have the music be too heavy,” Tankian says. “The director, Aleksandr Kott, said, ‘I want requiem music.’ And I said, ‘Wow, that’s heavy. You’re talking about funeral music.’ But at the same time, we wanted to have hope for a little girl in the film who survives and is trapped. Her world needed to be more magical, so there’s that ethereal quality to some of the score, then the heavy scenes of the devastation of the city needed music that was darker in tone. It was an interesting balance.”
He settled on a blend of synthesized sounds and bell-like instruments, as well as live piano, strings, woodwinds and brass. He released a score album in November, and the film got a U.S. premiere earlier in December in Glendale, California. It’s one of many projects Tankian has been working on lately — including touring with System of a Down and producing a couple of films himself — but, he tells Rolling Stone, it’s the challenge of dreaming up music for a film like this that keeps him composing.
How hard is it for you, emotionally, to write what you describe as funereal music?
I’ve cried numerous times watching the footage of people trapped, and the death and destruction and hopelessness. But then trying to come up with a cue for it, you’re already there emotionally. Whatever you create is going to be emotionally entangling. Sometimes it’s the opposite: You have to step away and go, “This is too dark for this.” My problem is not adding emotion; it’s taking emotion away.
Do you have a personal connection to the earthquake?
My wife actually lived through the earthquake. She was in school when it happened, and luckily their building didn’t collapse. They were pretty close to the epicenter.
The years after the earthquake were the darkest days that Armenia had seen for a long time, because they were without power through heavy, cold winters. She’s told me stories of how they lit fires at school just to stay warm. Right after the earthquake, there were a lot of robberies, so crime went up. She has all these horrific stories of living without water or using only one hour of water a day. People would go, “Oh, shit, we just found out we’re going to have water in 20 minutes. Everyone run home.” You had to learn how to connect batteries so you could watch something on TV, ’cause there’s no power. My wife’s generation is unique. They know how to do everything.
What about for you personally?
I was in the U.S., and I remember going around door-to-door trying to fund-raise to send money to Armenia.
If you go to Armenia now and go to Spitak, the city where the epicenter of the earthquake in ’88 was, you’ll see it’s such a unique city because each block, each street has completely different architecture, because one is built by the U.S., one by the Swedes, one by the Italians and another by the Germans. It is such a beautiful scene in that way. It’s really, really very emotional seeing that because it shows you what collective, progressive beautiful things humanity can do.
You were on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown about Armenia, and you met with a family there that spoke about dealing with having electricity for only an hour or two a day.
I remember that. That’s our friend Mariam [Movsisyan]. And the grandma was really cool too. Tony had a cold, and the grandmother was like, “No, you should shoot some of this vodka and have some tea to get over your cold.”
It was tough losing Tony. Really, really tough. I just knew him for that week and a few calls and e-mails, but fuck — I had no idea. Then Chris Cornell the same year and the same method. It threw me out of my orbit.
It was shocking. The episode you made with him, though, probably introduced a lot of people to Armenia who were unaware of its culture and history.
He was amazing. He was always trying to understand the culture, the geopolitics, the societal effects. He’s like, “What’s really happening here?” He was talking to young and old people, getting multiple opinions. He became a staunch activist for recognition of the Armenian genocide. We mentioned it to him, but it wasn’t the core of our conversation. I remember the night before the show, he sat down with Anderson Cooper on CNN, and Tony was just like, “How is this possible that we’re in this kind of country and we’re denying this genocide that the whole world knows about? I cannot believe this is happening.”
That blew me away: his hate of injustice and hypocrisy. I loved that about him. He was so fucking ballsy. That’s why I reached out to him in the first place and wanted him to go to Armenia. I knew that that’s how he was and I was not disappointed. We had a great time.
How did you come up with the sound palette for your Spitak score?
I tried keeping it in a soundscape where it’s ambient piano and pads with piano, strings and bells. There are some instruments just to create tension.
How was it working with the director on this one?
He kind of played musical chairs with a lot of my cues, and I had to end up redoing some of them. It was quite challenging, actually, but it was still amazing, and as a process, I learned a lot because it was different. There are a lot of cues on there that I love, such as when he’s walking through the streets, seeing the devastation, and he runs up to an ambulance, which takes off, and he sees an old man. I also love the cue for the girl who’s trapped in her magical world, and there are bells going on and these beautiful strings. I expanded on that in a number of ways.
Now that this is done, what are you working on?
We have a few other soundtracks we’re going to release for films that we did a while back but never put out soundtracks for, such as The Last Inhabitant and Midnight Star, which is a video game. But I am working on a number of things right now, including Kavat Coffee, and I’m executive-producing two documentaries.
One is a film, I Am Not Alone, about the Armenian revolution. I met with the prime minister now and said, “We have to make a film about this. No one is going to believe that in 40 days, a post-oligarchic, monopolistic, corrupt regime has been replaced by a modern, progressive, democratic, true society without one person dying. No one’s going to believe that.” I’m going to compose for it as well.
I also have a music documentary I’m doing that’s tentatively called Truth to Power, looking through my eyes at how message becomes reality through the arts. Instead of focusing on me as an artist, it asks, how does one’s message come to fruition? Can music change the world? We’re shopping that and looking for co-production partners. We’re hoping it will be done by next year as well.
You’re also touring with System of a Down next year. You and Daron Malakian had a bit of a back-and-forth in the press this year about why the band hasn’t made a new record. What happened after that?
We got together to rehearse, said hi and had a conversation and just carried things forward as we’ve always done. We’ve been friends and together for 25 to 30 years. That’s a long time. The difference between business and bands are people know when they’re working within a business, but when they’re in a band, it’s confusing because you’re also very close friends. There are times when you have to say, “OK, this is not working on the business end but I love you.” With bands, you rarely see that happening.
The reason I posted what I did is because I didn’t want any negative security threats against any of us, in terms of, “Fuck you. You’re the reason that no System record’s being made.” For me, it was just saying, “Look. I’ve tried. We’ve tried. We just haven’t been able to see eye to eye. It’s not because we’re lazy. We’re still friends. We still tour.” This is the truth.
Did the back-and-forth open up any more conversations about the band’s future?
No, it didn’t really. I think it released a lot of tension and negativity. Everything became more public and open, and that was that. There were no further discussions.
One thing I was curious about specifically is that you said you wanted to make a “full experience” or concept record. What do you mean by that?
I just feel like music has been commoditized. If I were to do an orchestral show, I’d also want to do an art show. So it’s using multiple senses, doing experiential events. Music is music: You’re ultimately going to release it and people are going to listen to it, but I thought it would be great if we created some type of event or set of events that stem out thematically from the music that can encapsulate whatever new record or sound we’re propagating. In other news, we’d not just release a record, but do something more grand around it.
Another thing Daron said was that you were never really a “heavy metal” or “rock” guy. What does that mean to you?
I think what he meant was the heavier elements of the band come from him and Shavo, which is true. Growing up, I did listen to heavy music, but my background was all sorts of world music, if you will. I grew up listening to a lot of Armenian, Arabic and European music — all types of music. In the Seventies, I listened to disco and funk.
My brother introduced me to a lot of heavy metal. The first time I heard Slayer, my brother played it in the house and I became a fan. I was more of a binge-and-purge music listener. I would listen to death metal for three months — the best of any death metal I could find — and then the next three months I’d listen to hip-hop. Then punk for three months. I didn’t have the same heavy rock roots as Shavo and Daron.
Incidentally, have you been working on any new rock music?
I have. I recently finished mixing a lot of the songs I was hoping we could do with System. I want them to be part of my music film, so I’m waiting for that. I have finished five rock songs. I just did a rock remix yesterday, actually, of one of the revolutionary songs for the Armenian film. It’s a rock song in Armenian, and I did a heavier mix.
But obviously I write in orchestral music, jazz and rock. One reason I like composing for films is because every director wants something different, genre-wise, sound-wise, emotion-wise. It’s fun. I get to make a different-sounding record every time.
The Energy Week Armenia-2018 international conference was held recently in Yerevan, Armenia, with the participation of a number of international financial organizations, vendors and investors, as well as government members, local organizations and banks. ArmSwissBank CJSC was one of the sponsors at the event, which was not coincidental. With its approach, peculiar to corporative and investment Banks, ArmSwissBank has always emphasized cooperation with non-traditional, new-emerging business sectors in Armenia’s economy. Currently the Solar energy production is considered to be one of the fastest burgeoning branches. The amends in the corresponding legislative law and the current favorable financial environment have contributed to the rapid development of the sector. Focusing on the need for alternative energy production and the introduction of energy efficient technologies in Armenia, it is ArmSwissBank’s strategy to pursuit cooperation with organizations who are attracted to this industry.amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img class="alignright wp-image-168117 size-full" title="energy week armenia 2018" src=”"https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/energy-week-armenia-2018.jpg" alt="energy week armenia 2018" width="450" height="301" srcset="https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/energy-week-armenia-2018.jpg 450w, https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/energy-week-armenia-2018-300×200.jpg 300w, https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/energy-week-armenia-2018-89×60.jpg 89w" sizes="(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" />
Armenia has experienced similar dynamic bloom almost 10 years ago when small hydropower plants were being built in Armenia. Back then, ArmSwissBank has cooperated closely with that sector’s developers as well. In 2009, the bank financed the first HPP project, and it continued to finance a number of enterprises in hydropower sector, reaching the number of partners working in HHP sector to up to 32. The total installation capacity of the project financed by the Bank is approximately 60 MW/h. Our HPP partners produce around 286 million KW/h energy, annually. The provided financing amounted is to about USD 51 million.
Being an Investment Bank, in the years 2010-2012, Armswissbank actualized an unprecedented deal in the hydropower sector of Armenia, the first ever IPO of ARTSAKH HPP. As a result of which, 5.5 million shares were issued in three tranches in the amount of about USD 15 million.
Staying true to its adopted strategy, since the beginning of 2018 ArmSwissBank initiated the financing solar energy industry. During the first nine months, the bank has funded 8 solar power plants projects, which resulted in total installation capacity of 1.5 MW/h. In corporate sector around 26.4% of the power plants installed for individual needs was funded by ArmSwissBank.
The above-mentioned projects have been crystalized thanks to cooperation of the Bank’s professional staff and the available financial tools, as well as the collaboration with a number of international institutions and local vendors.
<img class="alignnone wp-image-168118 size-full" title="poultry farming. The biggest solar power plant in Armenia (237.6 MW/h) was financed by ArmSwissBank" src=”"https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/poultry-farming.jpg" alt="poultry farming. The biggest solar power plant in Armenia (237.6 MW/h) was financed by ArmSwissBank" width="470" height="268" srcset="https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/poultry-farming.jpg 470w, https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/poultry-farming-300×171.jpg 300w, https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/poultry-farming-105×60.jpg 105w" sizes="(max-width: 470px) 100vw, 470px" />
“Getamej: poultry farming. The biggest solar power plant in Armenia (237.6 MW/h) was financed by ArmSwissBank
The Bank’s international partners are KFW, EBRD, ADB and the Bank is constantly working to engage new partnership. Taking into account the role of energy efficiency in the effective management of global ecological processes we believe that international financial institutions should increase the scope of the programs directed towards the development of this industry by reducing the cost of resources. The availability of professional expert organizations’ accurate and realistic consultation in Armenia helps reducing the risks involving the implementation of projects and enables to obtain effective solutions in a competitive environment. As a result of cooperation with financial expert organization the entrepreneurs receive financially literate and technically reliable solutions. In case of solar plants projects, both the technical aspect and the economic part of them are very important / project repayment term, yield, current value, etc., therefore, it is important to offer a consolidated offer to the customer. To conclude, it should be noted that the investor in Armenia’s solar energy industry should have a promising offer, which is formed as result of the trilateral cooperation of international financial institution-local bank-provider organization. In this chain ArmSwissBank performs its role with high professionalism and efficiency.
The current situation of the energy market development in RA shows that the availability of affordable funding will significantly contribute to the advancement of the industry. By the end of 2018, the Armenian government plans to issue licenses by up to 50 MW/h installation capacity. Similarly, it is envisaged to issue licenses for solar plants with installation capacity by up to 100 MW/h by 2019. The licenses are issued for the utility scale stations. In addition to industrial stations, there is also a tendency for the development of solar plants installations for individual needs in Armenia, which brings to light an additional potential for development of this industry. There is a reason why Armenia is called “City of the sun”. There are 300 solar days a year in our country, which creates a real favorable platform for the advancement of this industry.amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img class="alignright wp-image-168120" title="armswissbank" src=”"https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/armswissbank.jpg" alt="armswissbank" width="520" height="350" srcset="https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/armswissbank.jpg 605w, https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/armswissbank-297×200.jpg 297w, https://mk0globalbankin3xg02.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/armswissbank-89×60.jpg 89w" sizes="(max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px" />
The current development phase for the advancement of this industry entails the availability of long-term and affordable financial resources; including the tariffs adopted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia for solar power plants, the already established prices for solar panels in Armenia and in the international market, as well as the technical and technological specification of the solar power plants. Having this prerequisite in mind, ArmSwissBank constantly seeks to cooperate and partner with new financial institutions. Moreover, the Bank is open to discuss collaboration with international financial institutions both in energy production sector as well as in the implementation of diverse programs targeted at various sectors of the economy.
In conclusion, the investors of Solar Power sector in Armenia can rest assured that they have a reliable and trustworthy partners both technically and financially. Through ArmSwissBank, each investor will be connected to their Sun with much ease.
YEREVAN, December 6. /ARKA/. Narek Babayan, the head of the Armenian State Revenue Committee, told journalists on Thursday at which stage the process of handover of Golden Palace Hotel to the government is.
On November 28, Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armen Avetisyan, a former head of the Armenian Customs Committee, is providing the hotel owned by him to the government as gift.
Earlier, the National Security Service opened a criminal case against Avetisyan suspecting him of illegal engagement in entrepreneurship and of gross money laundering.
”First, it is necessary that law enforcement agencies react properly to that, and after that the government will instruct to launch the process,” Narek Babayan said. “Particularly over Golden Palace, we are specifying procedures, an appropriate draft decision will be submitted to the government, and appropriate procedures will be launched after a positive conclusion on accepting the gift.”
Babayan said that investigators’ conclusions are very important either on the Avetisyan case and MP Manvel Grigoryan’s case to confirm the illegality of the purchase of these properties.
Early, Sasun Khachatryan, the head of the Special Investigation Committee, said that 40 units of immovable property owned by Grigoryan will be provided to 40 communities.
”On the other side, the government itself makes this political decision, taking into account the law enforcement agency’s conclusion,” Babayan said. “We are waiting now the final instruction, but along with that, we are working out other versions.” –0—
Marianna Mkrtchyan. Former chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, economist Bagrat Asatryan is convinced that all incomes of citizens should be taxed, and not just salaries.
So on November 23 in an interview with journalists commenting on the initiative of the Committee State revenues on full taxation, in particular, said: "This problem has existed since the 1990s. It is a goal, and in all the world want to disclose and tax the income of everyone, "said the economist. When asked whether citizens should be given the opportunity to independently report their incomes, after which they will be taxed by the state, Asatryan said that in many countries this principle is valid, and in Armenia it is possible to resolve the matter honestly, but this will not give complete effect.
Earlier, it became known that the SRC introduced a new idea, according to which, from 2020, all Armenian citizens aged 18 to 65 years will become potential income tax payers. According to the statement of the SRC Chairman David Ananyan, potential taxpayers will be not only those who receive income from abroad, but also all citizens aged 18-65 who receive income in any way. This initiative has already received a wide public response and has been sharply criticized.