PanARMENIAN.Net – The Armenian government on Wednesday, March 7 approved an investment project on the establishment of an Alpine skiing center in Lori province.
According to the proposal, Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners Ltd. was chosen to implement the project worth AMD 30 billion (apx. $62,4 million) in two communities in Armenia’s north.
The project will boost the diversification of tourism in the country and help raise the competitiveness of the sector, at the same time prolonging the travel season and creating 1500 new jobs.
The Alpine skiing resort will meet the highest international standards and will also host sporting events and tournaments.
The center will operate all year round and will accommodate and provide the best services to 2000 visitors each day.
In addition, three ropeways and skiing trails will be built as part of the project which will also see the construction of hotels, shopping platforms, restaurants, shops and other facilities.
One of the achievements of the past years in Armenia is creation of the civil society, presidential candidate Armen Sarkissian said during parliamentary debates on the election of the 4th President of Armenia.
“We have a viable civil society which knows its place and role in the country’s political system and is aware of the social-civil problems, which is destined to have a great role in Armenia’s democracy. It is necessary that we, each of us, be representatives of the ruling power, the opposition, the civil society, the media, be able to fully understand and bear the share of responsibility which he has for the development of the country, by also not avoiding to display initiatives in certain cases.
Being a citizen is one of the unique resources which will free us from the phenomena of seeking guilty and responsible people in every matter, presenting some demands to others. Being citizens is our absolute necessity”, he said.
Sarkissian reminded that at times of crises throughout the history, Armenians have become a fist, united and responsible, and cited the 2016 April War, when Azeri forces attacked Artsakh.
“In April, every Armenian, young or old, once again became citizens and stood up for the defense of our country – Artsakh. Of course, this isn’t solely an Armenian occurrence, but I believe that it is important for all of us to be citizens, today and tomorrow, not just at times of danger”, he said.
Earlier in January Armen Sarkissian, Armenia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, was offered by incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, who also serves as President of the country’s ruling Republican Party, to be the party’s candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. Sarkissian initially requested a brief period of time for pondering the offer, and in the meanwhile held various meetings with political parties, civil society representatives, Diaspora structures and others, and subsequently agreed to be nominated. Few days later the HHK officially nominated Sarkissian’s candidacy for the presidential election.
The players shared their impressions after the game.
Alan Hess
We put an enormous amount of efforts to be able to win in this tough game. Our competitor was very perseverant.
Photo: Mediamax
We are very excited about the victory over Albania and the fact that we were able to accomplish our goal. We have plenty of chances to qualify for the next stage.
Aragad Abramyan
We showed our team work, the most important part of which is our victory. I am happy for my first performance within Armenia national team; I was very calm. I haven’t got such a high-level game for some time now, and I hope I will be able to play even better in the future.
We are not just teammates, we communicate outside the court as well. We are close friends, that’s why we understand each other well during the game.
Photo: Mediamax
We performed very well. We had a game with Albanian team last year so we knew our competitor well. The fans were just perfect. I think we have big chances to qualify for the next stage.
Սիրելի ընթերցող,
Կցուած կրնաք գտնել «Զարթօնք»ի այսօրուայ թիւը ՝
Շնորհակալ ենք, որ ընտրած էք «Զարթօնք» կարդալ:
Սիրով՝
«ԶԱՐԹՕՆՔ»ի Խմբագրութիւն
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
LISBON—The Armenian Communities department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation enthusiastically welcomed a decision of SIL International to issue Western Armenian its own ISO code: HYW.
This decision has a direct bearing on the revitalization of Western Armenian. It allows this branch of the language to be uniquely identified in information systems and databases, enabling software engineers to develop electronic tools specific to Western Armenian.
For example, the creation of Wikipedia, online translation services and dictionaries in Western Armenian will be greatly facilitated, not to mention the research undertaken by linguists, ethnographers and other experts.
The ISO code confers, moreover, international recognition to Western Armenian as a distinct language branch which is important to advocate for online services and programmes provided by corporations in the field of information technologies.
“We are so pleased to see our collaboration with Wikimedia Armenia bear such an important result,” said Razmik Panossian, the Director of the Armenian Communities department at the Foundation. “We worked on the submission process together, and received invaluable support from international experts and prominent intellectuals, resulting in a very strong application.”
The code was made available for use on January 23.
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia February 3, 2018 Saturday Artsakh DM: Over the past week, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired more than 1,500 rounds at Armenian positions Yerevan February 3 Ani Mshetsyan. The operational-tactical situation at the contact line between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan from January 28 to February 3 remained relatively calm. According to the press service of Artsakh Defense Ministry, during this period, the enemy violated ceasefire about 150 times, having fired more than 1500 shots in the direction of Armenian positions. The foremost troops of the Defense Army of Artsakh largely refrained from responding by taking the necessary steps to organize a reliable defense of combat positions.
California State Senator Anthony Portantino
SACRAMENTO—Senator r Anthony J. Portantino on Wednesday sent out a letter to his Senate and Assembly colleagues in the Capitol urging them to resist increased lobby efforts put forth by the Government of Azerbaijan.
Portantino became alarmed by the increasing presence of the Azeri Government in Sacramento and in Los Angeles. Recently the California Azerbaijan Friendship Association (CAFA) has begun outreach to political and academic leaders in a significant public relations and lobbying effort. And, last year Azerbaijan opposed Portantino’s initiative to create a formal State Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia & Artsakh cooperation.
Senator Portantino has been at the forefront of promoting efforts in Sacramento to advance economic relations between California and Nagorno-Karabakh which is also known as Artsakh. Given Azeri aggression toward the people of Artsakh, Portantino felt it necessary to share his strong views and give Senators and Assemblymembers a complete picture of events in the region. Portantino represents the 25th State Senate District which is home to many Armenians who trace their heritage back to Artsakh.
“As the proud representative of the largest Armenian community in the country, I have become quite alarmed by Azeri lobbying efforts in Sacramento. I feel it is important to proactively guard against its influence. As a legislative body, we must unite and fight against attacks on human rights and unprovoked aggression against a peaceful and sovereign country,” commented Senator Portantino.
The 25th Senate District has the largest Armenian American community in any legislative district in the country. Senator Portantino is the Chair of the Select Committee on California Armenia & Artsakh Trade Art and Culture Exchange. He has a long history fighting for the civil rights of the Armenian Community.
“The Legislature must strongly condemn civil rights abuses and attacks by foreign governments on innocent people. Accordingly, it must refuse to cooperate with such governments until there is a demonstrated effort toward reconciliation. Joining the California Azerbaijan Friendship Association would in effect condone the Azeri government’s acts of violence against the Armenian people of Artsakh,” concluded Senator Portantino.
Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Verne, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.
PanARMENIAN.Net – The Armenian parliament's standing committee on foreign relations has approved a statement condemning the genocide perpetrated in August 2014 against the Yezidi people living in the north of Iraq.
According to committee chief Armen Ashotyan, such issues are important from humanitarian, legal and political aspects.
"Being a nation that has survived the Genocide, we very well understand the grief of the Yezidi people," Ashotyan said in a Facebook post.
Lawmakers Rustam Makhmudyan and Vahram Baghdasaryan are going to submit an amended version of the statement.
The initiative was earlier backed by a handful of current and former members of the National Assembly.