Sunday 17 December 2017

Armenian News... A Topalian... Clashes are fr from Armenian districts in Palestine!


Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
December 12, 2017 Tuesday
Clashes in Palestine are far from Armenian districts


The clashes of the past days in Palestine are far from the Armenian 

districts, Hakob Sevan – chairman of the Armenian National 
Committee of Jerusalem, told Armenpress, adding that there have 
been clashes between the Palestinians and the Israeli police.

“The situation today is calm, people in Jerusalem live their normal
lives. In the evening protests are being held in some places. I would
like to state that there is no change in general, the Israeli forces
continue controlling the situation, and I cannot say what developments
can happen. This issue exists for several decades, people are used to
these ups and downs. For us this is a normal situation, we got used to
this, perhaps, there is a strike for one-two days, but the usual
course of live is being restored again. As for the position of the
Armenian community, I want to state that we have good relations with
both sides”, he said.

Nearly 1500 Armenians live in Jerusalem. They are engaged in different
spheres, many of them run their own business, work at hotels,
financial organizations and etc.

US President Donald Trump on December 6 announced recognizing
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This announcement was followed by
protests as a result of which more than 1000 people have been
affected. The Palestinians protest Trump’s decision.


ARKA, Armenia
Dec 13 2017
Armenia would enter the spring of 2018 without the Turkish-Armenian protocols. 

Yerevan, December 13, /ARKA/. In a speech delivered in the foreign ministry of Greece, Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said Armenia would enter the spring of 2018 without the Turkish-Armenian protocols. He said it was the initiative of Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan to start the normalization process with Turkey that resulted in the conclusion of the Zürich protocols in October 2009.

‘However, up to now, those documents have not been ratified, since Turkey came up with groundless preconditions that run counter to the letter and spirit of the Protocols.

Nalbandian said these documents can not be held hostage forever and that is why the president of Armenia declared in September from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly that Armenia would declare the Protocols null and void since they continuously lacked any positive progress towards their implementation and we will enter the spring of 2018 without those protocols.

Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.

There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two countries, particularly Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

The thaw in relations between the two countries began in 2008 at the Armenian president's initiative. In 2009 October 10 Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.

However, on 22 April 2010, the President of Armenia signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process.


Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 14 2017
Turkey says committed to Armenia protocols, links ratification to Karabakh settlement 

Turkey has said it is still committed to the protocols signed with Armenia in 2009, which have not yet been ratified by either side, “despite Yerevan’s negative stance” in proceeding with the normalization of bilateral ties and the establishment of diplomatic relations.

“Despite Armenia’s negative stance on the Protocols, Turkey is committed to the primary clauses of the Protocols. These Protocols are still on the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Commission. For their ratification it is essential that a favorable political atmosphere and peace in the South Caucasus is secured,” read a written statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Dec. 14.

The statement came after Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said Turkey is responsible for the delay in the ratification of the protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia on Oct. 10, 2009, vowing that the Armenian government would annul the said protocols.

“These claims do not reflect the truth and aim to mislead world public opinion,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in response, suggesting that Ankara had made efforts to normalize relations with Armenia “on several levels” after Armenia proclaimed its independence in 1991.

“Turkey’s primary target pertaining to the Protocols process is to realize the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia so comprehensive peace and stability in the South Caucasus is provided,” read the statement.

“In this vein, it is necessary that progress is achieved in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and in light of the relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council,” it added.

The Foreign Ministry statement also responded to Nalbandian’s remarks on the Armenian Genocide.

“Mr. Nalbandian’s claims on genocide in his speech do not reflect the truth either. As ascertained by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the 1915 events are a matter of legitimate debate within the framework of freedom of _expression_,” it said.


Pan Armenian, Armenia
Dec 13 2017
Azerbaijan looking for Armenian roots in foreign diplomats 

First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for the CIS, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin has said that the current situation surrounding the appointment of the Russian diplomatic representative in Azerbaijan hardly benefits relations between the two countries.

Baku did not approve the appointment of Georgy Zuev as Russia's ambassador to Azerbaijan for his "pro-Armenian stance". According to the rules of diplomatic relations, before the appointment of an ambassador, the host party is requested to give prior consent for the delivery of credentials.

Zatulin said that Zuev's candidacy was being discussed in the committee but was dropped later, and that Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to name a new candidate for the post.

Zatulin said that in general, "at the stage of approval of candidates" for the post of ambassador of a foreign state all the countries "can express their views". At the same time, according to him, the behavior of the Azerbaijani side is connected with the policy under which the republic does not allow citizens with Armenian family names to enter its territory.

"From this viewpoint, the coordination of diplomatic representatives boils down to the fact that Azerbaijanis are trying to reveal the Armenian roots of one or another of our representatives or some kind of connections, real or imaginary. This time, they went so far in this respect that it already becomes indecent, in my opinion," Zatulin said.


News.am, Armenia
Dec 15 2017
Over 27 thousand Armenians become US citizens in ten years 

Over 27,000 Armenians have become the US citizens in the past ten years, the website of the US Department of Homeland Security reported.

The US citizenship can be acquired by birth or naturalization.

From 2007 to 2016, 9,745 immigrants from Georgia achieved citizenship through naturalization.

During the reporting period, over 9.7 thousand people from Georgia and more than 8 thousand people from Azerbaijan became US citizens.

Over 7.4 million foreigners have already got US citizenship in ten years.


Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 15 2017
FSI: It takes more than 44 weeks to learn Armenian
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the United States federal government’s primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, has created a list to show the approximate time needed to learn a specific language as an English speaker.

According to the study , it takes about 44 weeks or 1,100 hours to learn Armenia. The Arabic, Japanese, Cantonese (Chinese), Mandarin (Chinese) and Korean are the most difficult languages to learn.

“Armenian is an excellent language to begin to learn if you have an interest in languages themselves. This might sound as though it could apply to any language, but Armenian has some very interesting singularities within the language itself. For example, in the Armenian language, the stress will always fall on the last syllable of the sentence, unless the last syllable is a certain letter, in which case it shifts back to being the second-last,” FSI says.

“It is fascinating to look at it in greater depth as a scholar of languages or simply to understand a language that you probably will not have encountered before. The Armenian language is also spoken in many countries around the world by emigrants of Armenia,” the report reads.

The Foreign Service Institute reminds that “the Armenian language is the official language of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, although the latter is not internationally recognized. It has 6.7 million speakers throughout the world with Cyprus, Poland and Romania also recognizing Armenian as one of their minority languages.

“As a pluricentric language (having more than one standardized form: in this case, Eastern and Western) Armenian is also special in this way. Essentially, this is a very fascinating language in terms of origin, influence, and phonetic development,” FSI said.


Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
December 12, 2017 Tuesday
Wine expert presents 5 reasons to taste and discover 
Armenian wine
Armenia, a country with deep rooted wine traditions, remains 
one of the most wonderful wine producing countries, reports wine 
expert Rebecca Meyr-Libman, who recently visited Armenia, writes. 
She has pointed out 5 reasons why it’s necessary to discover Armenian wine.

Armenian wine culture has deep roots
Rebecca Meyr-Libman noted that according to the legend Noah planted
the first grape tree on the slope of Mount Ararat. “The oldest wine
cave was located in Armenia, dating back 6200 years. That cave called
“Areni-1” is located in Armenia’s south, in the Province of Vayots
dzor”, she writes.

Armenia’s unique local grapes
The wine expert stresses that Armenian wine producers have decided to
focus on the grapes that grow in Armenia in a natural way. There are
nearly 400 types of such grapes. As the most famous type she points
out “Areni Noir”, “Kangun” and “Voskehat”.

Ancient wine making traditions
Meyr-Libman documents that Armenian wine factories use mainly made
from Armenian oak barrels. She notes that wine makers are proud of its
quality.

By tasting the wonderful wine you participate in the nation re-building
Libman emphasizes that Armenian wine production foster the creation of
new jobs and create new touristic prospects. “Today Armenia exports
wine to 15 countries, including Russia, Israel, the USA, Canada and
Japan”, she writes.

Superb quality with affordable price
The wine expert documents that in Armenia it’s possible to buy wine of
high quality with affordable price. “It’s time to taste Armenian wines
while their quality is on the top but the prices are affordable… yet.
Time to visit Armenia. It’s one of the ancient wine making places
about which you may have not heard yet, but it’s waiting for being
discovered”, Rebecca Meyr-Libman concluded.


Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
December 13, 2017 Wednesday
Armenian-Irish mobile app intends to attract British market

Armenian and Irish programmers created a mobile app, which 
makes the burden of buying easy for young families with babies, 
and strive to spread the app in the European countries, firstly 
attracting London.

The competitive advantage of Buymie start-up, established in 2015 in
Dublin, is the quick delivery (an hour) of food from stores preferred
by users. “At the moment there are other companies in Dublin and
London which provide the same service on the same or the next day,
whereas Buymie can deliver products in an hour”, the company
co-founder Artavazd Sokhikyan told Armenpress.

The Buymie mobile app has attracted nearly 800 thousand Euro
investment through online crowdfunding and from investment
foundations, including Unilever. Artavazd Sokhikyan stated with a joke
that the app is designed for busy and lazy people. It’s mainly
designed for young families who have a baby, work and have no time for
buying food. The program’s targeted market is the United Kingdom,
firstly London. There are plans to enter the London market in a year,
and conduct an activity in other major cities of the UK in the
upcoming five years.

“The crowdfunding is only one piece of our investment stage, we
already have 400 thousand Euro investment from different companies and
investment funds, including also Unilever company. Overall, we have
800 thousand Euros which will be spent on developing the company’s
infrastructures and being spread in new cities. In particular, in the
upcoming 18 months we have plans to be expanded in three more cities
of Ireland and UK”, he said.

Artavazd Sokhikyan informed that the programming part of the app has
been completely created in Armenia
, at the moment three specialists
are working on the app here. The Armenian team will most likely expand
in the near future.

As of now Buymie has more than 6000 downloads, 12.5% of which are
permanent customers.


Pan Armenian, Armenia
Dec 14 2017
Armenia’s smart cribs sing a lullaby and tell a story 

Bringing comfort, design and more

A multifunctional smart crib called Cribby has been developed in Armenia, which can be controlled with a smartphone. In a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net, Sergey Navasardyan, one of the people behind the innovative cradle, revealed that they had incubated the idea of creating such a crib for a pretty long time. The Cribby team, consisting of programmers and designers, started working on the project in the fall of 2017 and are now unveiling the prototype of the cot to the public.


The crib will sing a lullaby, tell a story and put the child to sleep

“Cribby is equipped with a camera, scales, an audiobook player which can also play lullabies of different nations. The cradle will thus sing a lullaby for parents or tell fairy tells to the child,” Navasardyan said.

According to him, the crib enables audio and video communication, while sound and motion sensors help parents follow the child from a distance, managing the cradle with a smartphone app.

“Parents will receive notifications in the event that the kid should wake up or start crying,” Navasardyan explained.

Not just design, but also comfort

“Made of environmentally friendly materials - mostly wood - the cradle has special drawers for basic child care supplies,” the co-author explained.

If the newborns were able to speak, they would say how much they love the crib

Besides the Armenian market, the creators of the project will try to sell the cot in foreign markets too. They also promise to do everything possible to make the cribs accessible to the Armenian parents.

“Cribby will undoubtedly find its place in the market. It is a pity that the newborns do not speak, otherwise they would tell you how great Cribby is," Navasardyan joked.

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