Author: Talar Tumanian

Photo: Reuters/Omar Sobhani

 

The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for twin blasts near parliament offices in Kabul on Tuesday which they said had killed or wounded scores of people.

The attack targeted a minibus carrying staff from the NDS, Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, and as many as 70 people were killed or wounded, the insurgents said.

There was no immediate confirmation of casualty numbers from the police.

The attack, which ended a period of relative calm in the Afghan capital, occurred in a crowded area during the afternoon rush hour as workers were returning home.

Officials said a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Darul Aman area of the city near the new Indian-financed parliament building and was followed immediately by a car bomber in an apparently coordinated operation.

Earlier on Tuesday, a suicide bomber killed seven people and wounded nine when he detonated his explosives in a house in the southern province of Helmand used by an NDS unit.

 

 

 

The new ArmCulture app will allow to see the animated 3D images of the monuments to Hovhannes Tumanyan and Alexander Spendiaryan. The application developed by the Arloopa and Aurora Bareallisse Marketing can be downloaded from the Appstore and Google Market.

When scanning the markers attached to the two monuments, one can see the 3D animation. Voice messages from Tumanyan and Spendiaryan can also be heard.

Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan says the initiative will be continuous.

“The video content will be periodically enriched. In the future Hovhannes Tumanyan and Alexander Spendiaryan will invite people to attend this or that performance or concert,” he said.

“I think this format is a new opportunity to encourage the youth to come to the Opera Theatre. We’ll try to apply the technology to other monuments, as well,” the Minister of Culture added.

According to Armen Amiryan, the initiative is a combination of Information Technologies and culture, which will inevitably lead to positive results.

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today the Russian State Duma delegation led by Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the Committee on for CIS, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

Minister Nalbandian attached importance to the continuous reinforcement of close allied relations between Armenia and Russia and hailed the inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The parties stressed the mutually beneficial cooperation between the Armenian National Assembly and the Russian State Duma.

Leonid Kalashnikov briefed Minister Nalbandian on the activity of the Committee, presented the initiatives aimed at the development of relations with Armenia and the results of the joint sitting with the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.

During the meeting reference was made to cooperation within the framework of the CIS, the EEU and the CSTO.

The Armenian Foreign Minister briefed the guests on the efforts towards elimination of the concessions of Azeri aggression against Artsakh.

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Romania have exchanged messages on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s message reads: 

Excellency,

It is with great pleasure that I am writing to you to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and Romania.

Romania was among the first states to officially recognize the independence of the Republic of Armenia on December 11, 1991, a short while after the proclamation by Armenia of its sovereign statehood. Days after, on December 17, the Agreement on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Armenia and Romania was signed in Bucharest, anchoring on centuries-old ties of friendship between Armenian and Romanian nations. In 1994, Armenia opened one of its first diplomatic missions in Bucharest.

Throughout a quarter of a century, the Armenian-Romanian relations flourished, based on high level visits and extensive political dialogue, a solid legal framework of over four dozens of bilateral agreements, the activities of the Armenian-Romanian Intergovernmental Mixed Commission on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, and on the vast cultural exchanges carried out through successive Programs of Cooperation in the field of culture, education and science. Apart from bilateral dimension, our countries have enhanced cooperation within multilateral frameworks, including the United Nations, EU Eastern Partnership, International Organization of La Francophonie, and others.

The Armenian-Romanian relations have vastly benefited from the contribution of the vibrant Armenian community which for centuries has been present in Romania’s political, economic and cultural life.

Please rest assured that Armenia will continue to do its utmost to further strengthen and enhance the relations between our countries to bring to new heights our cooperation in the next quarter of century and beyond.

I would like to use this occasion to wish you and the friendly people of Romania prosperity and progress.

Your Excellency, please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.”

The Dutch BNN Public TV has aired 2 films about Armenia with the support of the Development Foundation of Armenia and the Armenian Embassy in the Nethelands.

The group representing the “3 op Reis” travel program spent a week in Armenia to shoot the series.

The first film presents the places of interest in capital Yerevan –The Vernissage, the Cascade, the Chess House, the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, the Republic Square, the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute and others.

In the second part the reporters travel to Lake Sevan, the Noravank and Tatev Monasteries, and other sites of Armenia.

The films are available at  and .

Photo: Reuters

 

Some 77 people, most of them Shia pilgrims from Iran and Afghanistan, have been killed in a truck bomb attack in Iraq, officials say, the BBC reports.

The blast struck at a petrol station and restaurant near Hilla, some 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad.

Busloads of pilgrims had stopped there on their way home from commemorating Arbaeen in the holy city of Karbala. Some 40 people were wounded.

The jihadist group Islamic State said it carried out the attack.

Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan met with mass media representatives to present the program of increased social security benefits to be paid to families of military servicemen killed or handicapped in action or during combat duty.

Attaching importance to meetings with media representatives, Vigen Sargsyan noted that “they provide an opportunity to confer complete information both on the initiative under discussion and army-related issues of public interest.”

Minister Sargsyan briefed the participants on the ideology of “nation-army” and the main directions of the strategy of achieving maximal results.

The Defense Minister referred to the ongoing works in the armed forces and the future plans, the achievements and omissions.

Noting that the “nation-army” ideology does not lead to the militarization of the public or the state, Vigen Sargsyan noted that “only by utilizing the potential of the army, ensuring full interaction between the economic, social, public, educational, scientific and other fields will it be possible to guarantee the combat readiness of the army and the security of the state.”

Sergey Avetisyan, the Chief of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, received today Herman Carpentier, Brussels Airlines Vice President for Aeropolitical Affairs & International Relations, and Andreas Weingartner, Regional Manager for Central and Eastern Europe.

The Belgian partners reconfirmed the plans of the Brussels Airlines to operate weekly flights to and from Yerevan from December 10, 2016 to March 31, 2017. In 2017 the company intends to launch regular flights between Armenia and Belgium.

Representative of the company are currently studying the market and discussing the future programs.

Sergey Avetisyan welcomed the British Airlines’ entry into the Armenian market. He attached importance to the expansion of the geography of air transportation and diversification of the market.

 

 

 

The Armenian National Assembly voted 85 to 7 today (with 6 abstentions) to approve the Government Program.

Before the voting the factions summed up their approaches. Head of the Orinats Yerkir faction Heghine Bisharyan said she sees both positive and negative aspects in the program. Therefore, Bisharyan said she couldn’t vote for or against the document.

The Prosperous Armenia faction did not participate in the voting. Mikael Melkumyan declared that the Party members “cannot assume responsibility for the activity of this government.”

Secretary of the ARF faction Aghvan Vardanyan urged to support the program and help call it to life.

Head of the Armenian National Congress faction Levon Zurabyan did not make a distinct statement, but criticized the program. The party voted against the document.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan noted in his closing remarks that the government was open for cooperation with everyone.