Armenian News... A Topalian... Trump cancels Hotel contract in Baku

armradio.am
Trump has cancelled Baku Hotel Contract
16 Dec 2016 
Just one day after the Embassy of Azerbaijan, Washington, D.C. was touting its controversial Hannukah party held at the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., CNN is reporting the cancellation of The Trump Organization’s hotel deal in Baku. 

“The beleaguered Baku deal involved Anar Mammadov, the son of Azerbaijan’s “notoriously corrupt” Transportation Minister, whose multi-million dollar anti-Armenian lobby effort in DC has unceremoniously tanked over recent years,” the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) said. 

The Trump Organization has recently terminated three overseas deals in what the company’s attorney described to CNN on Thursday as “housecleaning.” 
Alan Garten said the Trump Organization terminated its licensing deal for a Trump Hotel in Baku , Azerbaijan. In addition, the company has terminated its business licensing deals in Rio de Janeiro for both a hotel project and a five-building office complex that was part of the Marvelous Port Redevelopment plan. 


news.am
Azerbaijan starts new game: Trips to Karabakh will be criminalized
16.12.2016 
Azerbaijani authorities decided to criminalize visits of foreigners to Nagrono-Karabakh. The prosecutor’s office of Azerbaijan said they are taking the necessary steps to have Alexander Lapshin extradited from Belarus. 

According to Azerbaijani media, Lapshin is detained by the authorities of Belarus. The reason for extradition is his visits to Karabakh in 2011 and 2012 and his notes in a blog. 

The story began several years ago when Lapshin explained how he appeared in the black list of Azerbaijan. A person who did not name himself wrote to Lapshin that his traveler’s notes are very interesting, but asked to immediately delete those about his trip to Karabakh, otherwise he would be included in the black list. 

Lapshin said he would not delete anything and called the list “nonsense and an anecdote”. The man threatened to include him in the black list in a minute and warned not “to underestimate them”. 

There have been no reports on the decision of Belarus authorities yet. 


asbarez.com
Today Marks 11th Anniversary of Destruction of 2,000 Djulfa Khachkars
16/12/16 
December 16 marks the 11th anniversary of destruction of 2,000 Djulfa khachkars 

On the 11th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s unpunished destruction of the world’s largest medieval Armenian cemetery, the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum commends ongoing initiatives to rebuild the 2,000 sacred cross-stones ( khachkar s) of Djulfa and calls for measures to prevent similar acts of cultural genocide in Artsakh. 

Armenian communities and their supporters around the world have responded to the December 2005 destruction of Djulfa by erecting dozens of replica khachkar s in many corners of the world, including on the prominent grounds of the Colorado State Capitol in the United States of America. 

A groundbreaking project to recreate the entire cemetery through holographic technology is being pursued by the Australian Catholic University, albeit it is scheduled to discontinue in 2017 due to unmet fundraiser goals. 

Reactions to Djulfa’s destruction have also contributed to the development of satellite archaeology. The first American Association for the Advancement of Science remote investigation of a human rights violation case that concerned cultural monuments was that of Djulfa, conducted in late 2009. This approach is widely used today for preventive and documentary monitoring of cultural properties threatened by ISIL and other terrorist organizations. 

The eleventh anniversary of Djulfa’s destruction is also a cause for grave concern regarding the vast medieval Armenian heritage in Artsakh – the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Its hundreds of medieval churches and other Christian monuments would likely be targeted for total destruction should Azerbaijan gain control – through force or negotiation – any of the Artsakh regions that were outside the Soviet boundaries of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. 

Azerbaijan’s April 2016 Four Day War against Artsakh, during which Azeri forces beheaded captured Armenian soldiers and mutilated elderly civilians in Talish, demonstrated yet again the oil-rich dictatorship’s determination to ethnically cleanse indigenous Christian communities in the Caucasus. Therefore, we call on the twin states of the Armenian homeland – Armenia and Artsakh, international bodies, as well as academic communities around the world to take proactive measures to protect the vast medieval Armenian heritage of Artsakh. 

Founded in 2007, the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum ( www.Djulfa.com ) documents the intentional destruction of the largest medieval Armenian cemetery at Djulfa (Old Jugha, Culfa) in the exclave of Nakhichevan (Naxçıvan), Republic of Azerbaijan. For more information, visit Djulfa.com and FB.com/SilencedStones . 

The video compilation below are satellite images of a vandalized medieval cemetery at the Iranian-Azerbaijani border called “The New Tears of Araxes” and produced by Simon Maghakyan. 

https://youtu.be/JZu2zqFE_gI 

armenianweekly.com
Two Armenian Ministers in New Lebanese Cabinet
December 18, 2016
BEIRUT, Lebanon (A.W.)—The formation of a new Lebanese government—which will be headed by was announced Saad Hariri—was announced on Dec. 18, which includes two members of the Lebanese-Armenian community.

Armenians Avedis Gidanian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and former Minister of State for Administrative Development Jean Oghassabian are a part of the new Cabinet, according to Armenia’s Hay Dzayn news outlet. Gidanian was appointed State Minister of Tourism, while Oghassabian will likely head the newly-created State Ministry for Women’s Affairs.

The four key ministerial portfolios—the Finance Minister, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and the Interior Ministry—were given to Ali Hasan Khalil, Gebran Bassil, Yaacoub Sarraf, and Nouhad Machnouk, respectively, according to Lebanon’s The Daily Star newspaper.

Hariri described his Cabinet as a national consensus government, underlining that it will “exert efforts during its short-term,” which will not exceed few months. “Its first mission will be to reach with the Parliament a new electoral law that abides by proportional representation and the right representation,” said Hariri, as reported by the Daily Star.

The Cabinet includes 22 newcomers and only one woman. Along with the State Ministry for Women’s Affairs, four other new ministries have also been established: State Ministry for Refugees Affairs, State Ministry to Combat Terrorism, State Ministry for Presidential Affairs, and State Ministry for Human Rights.


panorama.am
Bread, flour, confectionery production volumes continue to decrease in Armenia
Sat, 17 Dec 2016  
Economy 19:36 16/12/2016 Armenia Bread, flour, confectionery production volumes continue to decrease in Armenia

In January-October 2015 Armenia produced 232.4 thousand tons of bread which has declined by 2.3 percent to compare with the volume of bread production in the same period of 2015. The National Statistical Service of the RA informs about this.

During the same period flour production also decreased by 9.7 percent making up 139.6 thousand tons. The production volume of confectionery has declined by 2.2 percent making up 12. 514.6 tons.

According to the data provided by the NSS in January-October of this year the production of grains has decreased by 15.9 percent. In January-October of 2016 645.1 tons of grains have been produced to compare with 767.1 tons of grains production in the same period of 2015.

According to the statistics the only increase was registered in pasta production volume, namely in the above mentioned period 2. 662.1 tons of pasta was produced providing 14.4 percent growth.


panorama.am
ATM raiders blow up cash machines in Yerevan to escape with millions of Armenian drams
16 Dec 2016  
The Police of Armenia reports about two cases of attack against bank ATMs in Yerevan on December 16. As Panorama.am learnt from the press department of the Police, reports were received from bank branches located in Saryan and Baghramyan streets with the operative groups deployed at the scene and launching investigation into the circumstances of the attack.

Shamshyan.com reported earlier that a group of unidentified people targeted the bank machines in a series of late-night raids, using explosives to blow up first the Acba- Credit Acricole Bank ATM, in which they pocketed AMD 7,5 millions, leaving another 3 million in the cash machine.

In the second episode the alarm was received from VTB Armenia Bank branch located in Arabkir administrative district, where the thieves attempted to blow up the bank ATM with explosives.