Friday 28 August 2015

Armenian News...A Topalian

Baroness Caroline along with 34 of her group were in the region on the said weekend and none of the below was known to have occurred during the stay in the region!...


[not found any report on following incident from Armenian sources,

so wonder what to make of these Azeri claims]

SOLDIERS KILLED IN CLASHES NEAR AZERBAIJAN'S 
BREAKAWAY NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION
Reuters
Aug 24 2015


BAKU Aug 24 Clashes erupted between troops from Azerbaijan and the
breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region at the weekend, the two sides said on
Monday, giving conflicting death tolls and disputing who was to blame.

Violence has intensified this year around Nagorno-Karabakh, which
has an ethnic Armenian majority.

Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said five Armenian soldiers were killed
and eight wounded late on Saturday. It said the Armenians were the
first to open fire and three Azeri soldiers were wounded.

Nagorno-Karabakh's Defence Ministry said four Azeri soldiers were
killed and more than 15 wounded, Armenian news agencies reported.

War erupted over Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 as the Soviet Union broke
up, and killed about 30,000 people. A ceasefire was called in 1994
but violence has broken out sporadically since.

Nagorno-Karabakh has run its own affairs with military and financial
backing from Armenia since the war. Armenian-backed forces hold seven
Azeri districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

Efforts to reach a permanent settlement have failed despite mediation
led by France, Russia and the United States.

The South Caucasus region is criss-crossed by major oil and
gas pipelines. Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to global majors
including BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take
Nagorno-Karabakh back by force, and is spending heavily on its
armed forces.

Armenia, an ally of Russia, says it would not stand by if
Nagorno-Karabakh were attacked. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova and
Margarita Antidze; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Janet
Lawrence) 


AZERBAIJANI MILITARY SUPPRESSES ACTIVITY OF ARMENIAN 
ARMED FORCES ON CONTACT LINE
APA, Azerbaijan
Aug 24 2015


Baku - APA. On August 22, Armenian armed units treacherously violated
the ceasefire regime, firing with large-caliber machine guns and
60mm and 82mm mortar launchers at Azerbaijani army positions located
in the Aghdam and Khojavand directions along the contact line, the
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

According to the ministry, after a careful assessment of the
operational conditions along the front line, the Azerbaijani command
staff reached the decision of firing with mortar launchers at and
shelling certain squares of the front line of and deep in the enemy
defense as well as outposts, trenches, supporting detachments,
communication line.

"Despite the Armenian side trying to conceal its losses, we have
obtained information that 5 Armenian soldiers have been killed and 8
wounded. After the short but intensive gunfight, the command staff
decided to temporarily cease the skirmish in order for the enemy
side to carry pick the dead and aid the wounded. As a result of the
firing from the Armenian side, 3 Azerbaijani soldiers got light
shrapnel wounds. After receiving first aid, the wounded soldiers
were taken to military hospitals. Doctors said the soldiers were in
stable condition. They have already been returned to their unit,"
the ministry said.

"Armenia's military-political leadership carries full responsibility
for new escalation on the front line and future casualties on the
invader's side," the ministry said, forewarning that the Azerbaijani
side will respond with sterner, more effective and more relentless
strikes to silence the criminals in the Armenian military leadership.


AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTRY DISMISSES ARMENIAN 
MEDIA REPORTS ON MILITARY LOSSES
APA, Azerbaijan
Aug 24 2015

Baku. Hafiz Heydarov - APA. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has dismissed
media reports in Armenia on the killing of Azerbaijani servicemen on
the contact line of two sides' troops.

The Azerbaijani side suffered no losses and reports disseminated
by Armenian media are fictitious and divorced from reality, Defense
Ministry spokesman Vagif Dargahli told APA.

On August 22, Armenian armed units treacherously violated the
ceasefire regime, firing with large-caliber machine guns and 60mm
and 82mm mortar launchers at Azerbaijani army positions located
in the Aghdam and Khojavand directions along the contact line, the
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Aug. 24.

According to the ministry, after a careful assessment of the
operational conditions along the front line, the Azerbaijani command
staff reached the decision of firing with mortar launchers at and
shelling certain squares of the front line of and deep in the enemy
defense as well as outposts, trenches, supporting detachments,
communication line.

"Despite the Armenian side trying to conceal its losses, we have
obtained information that 5 Armenian soldiers have been killed and
8 wounded. After the short but intensive gunfight, the command staff
decided to temporarily cease the skirmish in order for the enemy side
to carry pick the dead and aid the wounded.

According to Armenian media reports, 4 Azerbaijani soldiers were
killed and more than 15 wounded.


massispost.com
ARMENIAN-AMERICAN MARK MOOGALIAN HAILED AS A 
HERO IN THWARTING PARIS TRAIN TERRORIST ATTACK
August 24, 2015


PARIS -- Armenian-American professor Mark Moogalian who was hailed by
President Francois Hollande for his "courage" was shot while trying
to disarm a gunman wielding an AK-47 aboard a high-speed train,
according to his wife.

Moogalian is a member of a family of Armenian descent with deep
roots in Virginia. Relatives operated a grocery for many years in
the Hopewell area.

"We couldn't be more proud," said an uncle, Harry Moogalian. He said
in an interview Monday morning that the family is still trying to sort
out the sequence of events that left the author and musician shot
and hospitalized. Moogalian said the family here is still awaiting
word about his nephew's condition.

Moogalian, a 51-year-old English professor at the Sorbonne, spotted
a suspicious passenger while traveling on the Amsterdam to Paris
train Friday.

"My husband told me that he had seen someone strange because he had
entered the toilets with his suitcase and it lasted a long time,"
Moogalian's wife Isabelle told Europe1 radio Monday. "A little while
later the guy came out and that's when he saw that the guy was carrying
a gun."

Isabelle Moogalian, who was also aboard the train, said her husband
spotted the gunman "being grabbed from behind by a different person"
-- thought to be a 29-year-old French banker who has chosen to stay
anonymous.

Mark Moogalian told his wife to "go" and then "rushed towards the
gunman to remove ... the Kalashnikov."

She added: "I did not see my husband get shot, it happened too quickly
and I was pretty much hiding behind seats. But I look at my husband
through the seats at an angle and he looked straight at me and said,
'I'm hit!' ... There was blood everywhere. I ran towards him and I
could see that he had a wound on his back, I then saw another wound
by his neck."

Isabelle Moogalian recounted racing through the train searching for
a doctor, screaming: "Help me! Help me!"

In the next carriage, she found three vacationing Americans and a
British businessman who were subduing the gunman.

She credited Spencer Stone, a 23-year-old U.S. airman who had been
traveling through Europe with two friends, for saving the life of
the professor of English.

"He put his finger on my husband's neck wound to stop the hemorrhaging
continuing and he stayed in this position during the whole voyage,"
she told Europe1.

The American trio and the Briton stripped the suspect of an AK-47,
pistol, a blade and a bag of ammunition. The 26-year-old Moroccan told
a lawyer that he only intended to rob "wealthy people" on the train.

Hollande presented childhood buddies Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony
Sadler and British businessman Chris Norman with the Legion d'Honneur
-- France's highest honor -- on Monday morning.

In addition, the French president praised Mark Moogalian for his
"courage" in intervening during the attack. He was still being treated
in the French city of Lille for his neck wound on Monday.

Isabelle Moogalian also described her husband as "hero," adding:
"Thankfully we had the ... military guys on the train. Otherwise we'd
all be dead."


hetq.am
ARMENIA 2015: BIRTHS AND MARRIAGES DOWN; SUICIDES UP
August 25, 2015


The demographic picture for Armenia seems to heading in the wrong
direction if the numbers recently issued by the National Statistical
Service (NSS) are to be taken at face value.

Take the number of births for example. In the first half of 2015,
18, 719 births were recorded - down 2.8% when compared to the 19,249
births recorded in the same period in 2014.

The number of marriages has also dropped so far this year in total
numbers - down 10.3% from2014.

Suicides are up 23%in the first half of 2015 when compared with the
same period in 2014 (397 in 2015, 323 in 2014).

The NSS reports that 40% of those who committed suicide, or attempted
to, were aged 30 to 65.

50% of those who committed suicide and 65% who attempted to take
their own life were unemployed.

The prevailing assumption is that the drop in births and marriages,
and the rise in suicides, is linked to the socio-economic condition
in Armenia.

Transfer payments from Russia, a source of income for many in Armenia,
dropped substantially in late 2014. The Armenian Dram also lost ground
to the US$ - 20% in December 2014.

Prepared by Union of Informed Citizens


arka.am 
COST OF SENDING FIRST-GRADER TO SCHOOL IN ARMENIA 
GROWS
YEREVAN, August 24. The average cost of sending a
first-grader child to school in Armenia is about 40,000 drams,
according to economist Vilen Khachatryan. Speaking at a news conference
today, he said prices of school supplies for the new schooling year
have increased from the past year due to the fluctuation of currency
exchange rates.

He also pointed out that the margin between wholesale and retail
prices varies between 30-100%. "This is why we need to inform parents
about the stores and outlets where they can buy goods for their
schoolchildren at affordable prices,' he said.

According to the chairman of the Union of Consumers of Armenia Armen
Poghosyan, the exact cost of sending a first-grader to school is hard
to calculate because it depends on the level of income of a family.

"September 1st (when schooling year begins in Armenia) has been a
holiday, but for many parents this holiday turns into a big test,
because the majority of the population is sensitive to price changes,'
he said.

He also complained that the quality of imported goods for
schoolchildren, especially of China-made goods, leaves much to
be desired.

He added that all the goods for schoolchildren must have certificate
of quality. 


Armenia Scores High on Global Index:
Perception vs. Reality
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

The latest report of The Human Freedom Index for 152 countries gives
Armenia a surprisingly high score. The study was conducted jointly by
the Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.; Fraser Institute, Vancouver,
Canada; and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Berlin,
Germany. The 108-page comprehensive report ranks countries according
to personal, civil, and economic freedoms enjoyed by their citizens.
The rankings are based on 76 distinct indicators grouped in 12
categories: Rule of Law; Security and Safety; Movement; Religion;
Association, Assembly, and Civil Society; Expression; Relationships;
Size of Government; Legal System and Property Rights; Access to Sound
Money; Freedom to Trade Internationally; and Regulation of Credit,
Labor, and Business.

The top 10 countries according to The Human Freedom Index are: Hong
Kong, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Canada, Australia,
Ireland, United Kingdom, and Sweden. The United States is in the 20th
place.

According to the figures released last week for the year 2012, Armenia
ranks 53rd in the world, much higher than most of its neighbors:
Azerbaijan (126th), Turkey (62nd), Iran (152nd); and slightly behind
Georgia (48th).

Armenia's impressive overall ranking reveals an even more stunning
score when one looks at the two major components of that
ranking. Armenia occupies the 17th place in the world in Economic
Freedom, and 70th in Personal Freedom!

The reason I qualified Armenia's ranking as `surprising' is that most
people would not have expected it to have such a high score, given the
persistent criticism of its leadership by Armenians within and outside
the country. While it is true that the Armenian government has many
shortcomings and deserves to be criticized, we should acknowledge that
the authorities must be doing something right for Armenia to outrank
in The Human Freedom Index such influential countries as:
Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Kuwait, Mexico, Qatar,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

The only explanation for this dichotomy between people's perception of
Armenia and reality is that its officials have done a bad job of
promoting the country's positive accomplishments. Otherwise, most
Armenians would not have such a negative impression of their homeland.
To illustrate this point, let's take Singapore, a country that
successfully promotes its achievements and is universally praised as a
model of good governance, rapid economic development, and prosperous
living conditions. While there is no question that this Asian Tiger
has an impressive record of accomplishments, it is surprising that
Singapore -- ranked 43rd in the world -- is only 10 places ahead of
Armenia in The Human Freedom Index. If one pays attention to all the
hype about Singapore, one would expect that country to be ranked in
the top 10, while Armenia should be ranked 100, given the constant
critical comments it receives.

As they say, `perception is reality.' In fact, perception is much more
important than reality, because people judge everything on the basis
of their own impression, regardless of how different it might be from
reality. For example, in the past several years Armenia has been
ranked higher than expected on several global reports. Yet, the
Armenian government has never publicized these respectable rankings,
thereby failing to create a positive image for the country which would
attract tourists and investors from around the world.

Many of the countries that Armenia outranks are much more prosperous,
yet they fall far behind in The Human Freedom Index, which can only
mean that a country's wealth -- multi-billion dollar oil revenue in
the case of Azerbaijan -- does not guarantee affluence or freedom for
its citizens!

However, given Armenia's relatively high ranking, its leadership can
no longer use the excuse that the country's development is handicapped
due to limited financial and natural resources. Everything does not
depend on money. Since Armenia is ranked 17th on Economic Freedom,
there is no excuse for it to be ranked 70th on Personal Freedom. The
latter index could be improved greatly without costing the state a
single dollar. All it takes is caring government officials who are
committed to improve the people's welfare.

The biggest deficit of the Armenian leadership is not the lack of
funds, but the lack of public trust. The authorities can regain the
citizens' trust by working diligently to better their living
conditions, and only then, the public's positive perception would
match the reality of Armenia's global rankings.


tert.am
KIM KARDASHIAN EDGES OUT BEYONCE TO BECOME THE 
MOST POPULAR PERSON ON INSTAGRAM
24.08.15


After Kim Kardashian West spent weeks steadily gaining on Beyoncé,
she's just beat the pop star to become number one on Instagram.

Kardashian West edged past Beyoncé overnight by hitting 44,005,604
followers, according to Tecninsider.io.

Beyoncé lags just behind with 43,935,648 followers.

Both women are said to be predominantly posting photos of themselves
and their families -- especially their adorable daughters -- on
Instagram. The main difference: Kardashian West appears to update
her account more often, and her photo captions are wordier and more
personal.

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