Category: News

On May 16 Aurora Humanitarian Initiative opened the photo exhibition “Capturing Humanity” at Dalan Art Gallery in Yerevan, where a selection of the photos submitted for the Aurora Photo Exhibition are displayed. At the opening of the exhibition the Initiative announced the winners of the Aurora Photo and Short Film Competitions.

Areg Balayan from Artsakh wins the photo competition with the photo “Finally, some rest”. Sargis Bulghadaryan (Armenia) took the second place with “Everyday water issue in Tlik village” photo, while Visarut Sankham (Thailand) took the third place with the photo “Behind Tin Walls”. Aurora Humanitarian Initiative granted special awards to Anahit Hayrapetyan (Armenia) for “Refugee father and son in Artsakh” photo and Ana Caroline de Lima (Brazil) for “Rajashtani boy” photo.

“Provoking, compassionate and impassioned, the images submitted for the first Aurora Photo Contest were compelling. Thought provoking. Having judged many contests over the years, the caliber and quality of the photography submitted was stellar for an award that recognizes issues of acute importance to all of us around the world,” said John Stanmeyer, the chairperson of the Aurora Photo Competition jury.

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative awards US$2,500 to the photographer of the best image. Second and third places receive awards of US$1,500 and US$1,000 respectively.

The winner of the Aurora Short Film Competition is the animated film “The desire” by Maria Fernanda Moreno Beltran (Colombia), “The Youngest Girl in the Minefield” by Aza Andreasyan (Armenia) takes the second prize and “Father” by Yevgeni Vasiltsov (Ukraine) took the third place. As per the professional jury’s decision, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative granted special awards to two participants: Hayk Kbeyan for “Christmas Tree” (Armenia) and Santiago Arcos Veintimilla for “The Skin of Palestine” (Ecuador).

“This competitions has broadened the humanitarian movement initiated by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. We are joined by thousands of talented young people from over 50 countries who illustrated their own vision on the ideas of humanity and gratitude,” said Arman Jilavian, a jury member of both competitions and CEO of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.  “I thank all participants who helped us to visually reflect our mission and ideas at the eve of the 2017 Aurora Prize Events.”

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative awards US$4000 to the director of the best film. Second and third places will receive US$2000 and US$1500 award respectively. 10 awardees of two competitions get unique opportunity to be present at the 2017 Aurora Prize Award Ceremony on May 28, 2017 in Yerevan, Armenia.

Aurora Photo and Short Film Competitions were launched on December, 2016. 1237 photos from 48 countries and 184 films from 27 countries were submitted for the competitions.

“Capturing Humanity” exhibition presents 28 photos of 23 photographers from 13 countries. It will be open for the visitors until June 6, 2017 at Dalan Art Gallery in Armenia.

President Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree, dismissing Arpine Hovhannisyan of the post of Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, President’s Press Office reports.

Arpine Hovhannisyan has been elected to the National Assembly, which is set to convene its first session on May 18.

Ara Babloyan will be the Chairman of the National Assembly.

“President Serzh Sargsyan offered the candidacy of former Health Minister Ara Babloyan, and the proposal was accepted unanimously,”Republican Party’s Press Secretary Edward Sharmazanov told reporters following the sittings of the RPA Executive Body and Board.

Former Minister of Justice Arpine Hovhannisyan and Edward Sharmazanov will be the two Vice-Speakers. Vahram Baghdasaryan will head the Republican faction, while Gagik Melikyan will be the Secretary.

During the first sitting of the Parliament Thursday the Republican Party will offer to cut the number of Standing Committees from 12 to 9, Sharmazanov said.

The Party has also named the  candidates to head the Standing Committees: Gagik Melikyan – Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, Standing Committee on Foreign Relations – Armen Ashotyan,Khosrov Harutyunyan – Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Hrayr Tovmasyan – Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, Koryun Nahapetyan – Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, Hakob Hakobyan – Standing Committee on Social Affairs.

The Artsakh Defense Ministry has released the footage of suppressive actions the Defense Army undertook in response to the activeness of the Azerbaijani troops at the line of contact on the night of May 17.

The Defense Army says it possesses authentic information on the losses the Azeri troops have incurred.

The future of energy is renewable. And it is a future that Armenia can take advantage of, for its pocketbook today and for future generations as well. That was the message of a day-long conference organized by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the firm Contour Global. They brought together representatives from some of the top U.S. renewable energy companies to meet with 70 Armenian businesses to discuss how they can best partner.

The session on May 17 allowed U.S. companies to detail their expertise and technology for clean energy and smart electric grid development.

“Armenia and its energy sector have grown so much over the last 25 years. I am excited to think about what the next 25 years will bring, knowing that it will be developed through partnerships started here today,” said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, Jr., who opened the session along with the Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources.

The one-day conference was designed to strengthen the increasing commercial ties between the U.S. and Armenia by introducing leading U.S. companies to Armenian energy sector operators, allowing the American companies to showcase the latest technological advances in the field.

Clean, renewable energy is an increasing part of Armenia’s Clean, renewable energy is an increasing part of Armenia’s energy sector, which has grown over the past few years. From 2010 to 2015, Armenian production of electricity grew 20%, which Ambassador Mills noted was why the U.S. Embassy sees investment opportunities in Armenia for U.S. companies.

“As many of you know, this year we are marking 25 years of U.S.-Armenian relations. Twenty five years ago, I remember well working on the issues of the newly-independent Armenia at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Those of you old enough remember well that in those early years of independence, Armenia’s energy situation was shaky. Outages were the norm. Trees were clear-cut to provide heat. It was a time of true crisis,” he said. “But Armenia did not surrender to the darkness and scarcity. Instead, with the support of friends and partners like the U.S., Armenia developed into a nation that is able to meet its needs, and in fact able to export its excess electricity.”

He highlighted the valuable work done by the Armenian government to encourage energy diversification and clean energy production, including a Solar Cell Investor Conference it organized in January. And he mentioned how the U.S. has partnered with the Armenian government, describing an exchange trip organized last month for Armenian officials and private sector representatives to visit experts in the U.S. to gain best practices for solar power energy production.

Seven U.S. companies – Honeywell Building Solutions, Honeywell Smart Energy, MacLean Power Systems, First Solar Power Solutions, Caterpillar, General Electric and Contour Global – sent representatives to the conference to share their experiences and to learn about business opportunities in Armenia. The one-day program also featured presentations by International Finance Corporation (IFC), German Development Bank KfW, Ameria Bank, Switzerland-based Meeco Group, and Armenian government officials.

“The Armenian government has been leading the efforts in diversifying the nation’s energy sector into renewables and of boosting energy efficiency programs. They have put into place mechanisms and programs enabling the growth of Armenia’s renewable and solar cell energy sectors,” Ambassador Mills said.  “And as we have for the past 25 years, the U.S. government will continue to be a partner with Armenia.”

During the Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) held on May 16, 2017 in Tehran, it was decided to move the Federation’s headquarter from Istanbul, Turkey to Yerevan, Armenia.

With the majority of “for” and no “against” votes, the General Assembly elected Armenia as the new host country for the FEAS’s headquarter, after 22 years of operation in Turkey, since the establishment of the Federation in 1995.

Moving the Federation’s headquarter to Armenia NASDAQ OMX Armenia will start to support the administration of the Federation. Governance of the Secretariat has been entrusted to Mr. Konstantin Saroyan, CEO of NASDAQ OMX Armenia, who was appointed as FEAS Secretary General. His appointment was recommended by the Executive Board and approved by the majority of General Assembly.

“We are starting a new era of FEAS operation, administering the Federation from Armenia. Always being considered as cross-road of eastern and western cultures, Armenia will link different economic and political structures within FEAS, bringing success and growth to the Federation”, said Mr. Konstantin Saroyan, CEO, NASDAQ OMX Armenia.

To recall, Armenia, represented by “Yerevan Stock Exchange” (later “Armenian Stock Exchange” and after “NASDAQ OMX Armenia”) was among 12 founding members of the FEAS. Since November 2016 NASDAQ OMX Armenia has also been acting as FEAS Executive Board Member.

The Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) was established on May 15, 1995 with 12 founding members. The founders were: Amman Stock Exchange, Bratislava Stock Exchange, Central-Asian Stock Exchange (Kazakhstan), First Bulgaria Stock Exchange, Istanbul Stock Exchange, Karachi Stock Exchange, Ljubljana Stock Exchange, State Commodity Raw Materials Exchange (Turkmenistan), Tehran Stock Exchange, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Yerevan Stock Exchange and Zagreb Stock Exchange.

The purpose of the Federation is to contribute to the cooperation, development, support and promotion of capital markets in the Euro-Asian Region (i.e. Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean Basin).

Currently FEAS has more than 40 members, including stock exchanges, post trade institutions, dealers associations and regional federations from over 30 countries.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree, dismissing Gevorg Kostanyan from the post of Adviser to President.

According to Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan’s decision, Kostanyan has also been relieved of the duties of Armenia’s representative to the European Court of Human Rights.

Gevorg Kostanyan has been elected to the National Assembly, which is set to hold its first session Thursday.

A reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential election has pulled out to smooth the path for the moderate incumbent, Hassan Rouhani, the BBC reports.

The withdrawal of Mr Rouhani’s ally, Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, from Friday’s poll had been expected.

On Monday, Tehran’s  mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf withdrew his candidacy and urged his supporters to back conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi.

He is now seen as the main threat to Mr Rouhani, who is seeking a second term.

A recent poll had put support for the two hardliners at 52% and for Mr Rouhani at about 42%. Another had Mr Rouhani at 29%, Mr Qalibaf at 12% and Mr Raisi at 11%, with 28% respondents undecided and 20% declining to answer.

If none of the four candidates remaining wins more than 50% of the vote, a run-off will be held on 26 May.

Mr Jahangiri, 60, announced his withdrawal in a speech to several thousand people gathered in the southern city of Shiraz on Tuesday, saying he had run as a candidate to “make the voice of reformists heard”.

“I have completed my historic duty and, together with you, I will vote for Rouhani to help continue on the path to progress for this country,” he said.

“Vote for Rouhani because he is the man for difficult situations,” he added.

The Russian court has recognized the verdict of the Shirak Court of General Jurisdiction on Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who killed a family of 7 in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri.

The Russian side guarantees the unconditional and full implementation of the verdict under a procedure defined by an international agreement between Armenia and Russia.

Valery Permyakov from Russia’s military base was sentenced to life for killing a family of 7 in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015.

Permyakov was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.

On August 12, Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.

On October 13, Permyakov was found sane. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime. He also could recognize the consequences of his actions.

On October 16, Permyakov was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing.

Artsakh has dismissed Azeri reports claiming that the Armenian side tried to down a helicopter carrying the country’s Defense Minister.

“This unserious misinformation that has nothing to do with reality aims to solve two issues – justify the attack on Defense Ministry’s military objects and improve Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov’s image among the public, to show the “dangerous” conditions Hasanov works in,” Senor Hasratyan, Spokesman for the Artsakh Defense Ministry, said in a Facebook post.

“There is no need to down the helicopter carrying the Defense Minister, at least for now,” Hasratyan said.