Daily Archives: April 23, 2013

Kansas woman comes face to face with escaped circus tiger during trip to bathroom

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tg1A central Kansas woman got the shock of her life on Saturday when she found herself sharing a bathroom with a tiger.

Salina resident Jenna Krehbiel was at the Isis Shrine Circus with her daughter when she decided to take a trip to the bathroom during the show.

The big cat had escaped briefly after its turn in the ring and had wandered into the bathroom while staff hunting for the beast blocked off concourses at the Bicentennial Center.

When Krehbiel walked in the door that hadn’t been blocked off, she found a tiger standing about 2 feet away, The Salina Journal reported.

Chris Bird, manager at the Bicentennial Center, said the bathroom was only 25 feet long.

‘Once she saw the tiger, I’m sure she knew to go the other way,’ Bird said. ‘Overall, it was a scary, surreal moment. I am glad no one was hurt or injured.’

The tiger was captured within minutes and returned to its enclosure.

Krehbiel, a social worker, said she didn’t scream or run because she is trained to stay calm.

Krehbiel said her 3-year-old daughter had a different reaction.

‘My daughter wanted to know if it had washed its hands,’ Krehbiel said. ‘That was her only concern. I think that shows the thoughts of children and that they wouldn’t have known there was danger.’

 

Iraq Sunni minister quits after deadly clashes

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4Իրաքի սունի նախարարը հրաժարական է ներկայացնումA Sunni member of the Iraqi cabinet resigned on Tuesday after security forces moved in against Sunni protesters in the north of the country, sparking clashes that left dozens dead, an official said.
“The minister of education, Mohammed Ali Tamim, resigned from his post after the Iraqi army forces broke into the area of the sit-in in Kirkuk” province, the official from Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak’s office said.
“The resignation is final, and there will be no going back,” the official added.

Boston suspects’ mother says FBI asked about son

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3Բոստոնի ահաբեկրության կասկածյալների մայրը ասել է, որ ՀԴԲ-ն նախկինումThe mother of the Boston bombing suspects was called by the FBI years ago to ask if her eldest son had been radicalised, she said in an interview with a British TV station broadcast on Tuesday.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told Channel 4 News that US federal agents had approached her about her eldest son Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who was killed in a shootout with police on April 19.
Tamerlan’s brother Dzhokhar, 19, has been charged over his alleged role in the attack on the Boston Marathon and remains in hospital with gunshot wounds.
Their mother told Channel 4 News: “They were monitoring him (Tamerlan) — and I know that because I used to talk to them. They used to come to our house, like two, three times.”
“What happened was a terrible thing,” she said. “But I know that my kids have nothing to do with this. I know it. I am mother. I know my kids.”

The preliminary investigation of the case on assassination attempt against P. Hayrikyan completed

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դատախազություն The preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated on the attempt of assassination against the former candidate for RA President, the leader of the party NSDU P. Hayrikyan in order to terminate his political activity was completed in the Investigation Department of RA National Security Service adjunct to government. The prosecutor who supervised the criminal case confirmed the bill of indictment.

According to the factual data obtained during the pre-trial proceeding V. Sedrakyan registered as a candidate for RA President in the elections on February 18, 2013 at the beginning of January, 2013 had ordered S. Harutyunyan and Kh. Pogosyan to murder the leader of the party NSDU, another candidate for RA President P. Hayrikyan in order to terminate his political activity.

In order to get a weapon, V. Sedrakyan had given money to S. Harutyunyan and Kh. Pogosyan which they had shared between themselves. They had used the ”Nagan” type drum gun of 7,62 mm obtained and kept illegally by Kh. Pogosyan in order to commit the crime.

According to the plan Kh. Pogosyan was to commit the assassination and S. Harutyunyan was to wait for him in the car.

On January 31, 2013 at about 23:20 at the entrance of P. Hayrikyan’s house Kh. Pogosyan had shot at P. Hayrikyan’s chest twice and escaped failing to complete the crime.

On the base of the obtained evidence V. Sedrakyan was accused according to the Article 38-34-305 of RA Criminal Code (to organize the attempt of assassination of a state, political or public figure), Kh. Pogosyan was accused pursuant to the Article 34-305 of RA Criminal Code (attempt of assassination of a state, political or public figure) and the Part 1 of the Article 235 of RA Criminal Code (illegal procurement, keeping and carrying of weapons) and S. Harutyunyan was accused according to the Article 34-305 of RA Criminal Code (attempt of assassination of a state, political or public figure).

The criminal case with the bill of indictment was sent to the Court of First Instance of Kentron and Norq-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan.

The identity of the person who had appropriated the personal pages of users of social website discovered

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դատախազություն In the framework of the criminal case initiated on illegal appropriation of computer data, the person who had illegally appropriated 2 users’ personal pages of the website “odnoklassniki.ru” and changed their names was discovered.

By the preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated on February 18, 2013 in General Investigation  Department off RA Police adjunct to government it was found out that on February 22, 2013 the user of the personal page “Nar”, while communicating online with H. Nersisyan in the website “odnoklassniki.ru”, had told her that he would break her personal page if the latter refused to accept his friend request.

Later, H. Nersisyan not being able to enter her personal page had noticed that the name of the page was changed.

Besides, it was also found out that in the same period the unknown person had illegally appropriated the personal page of H. Nersisyan’s boyfriend S. Hambardzumyan in the website “odnoklassniki.ru’’.

In the result of the measures taken to discover the crime it was found out that the mentioned personal pages in the website “odnoklassniki.ru” were appropriated by N. Grigoryan who had used the computer of his friend G. Hakobyan.

During the preliminary investigation N. Grigoryan confessed what he had committed.

The preliminary investigation initiated on the case according to the Part 1 of the Article 254 of RA Criminal Code is in process.

Additional information about the results will be provided.

 

NCFA Board Meeting Reviews Armenia’s Economic Development Trends, ANCF Programs

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10347_am_2Chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the Board of Trustees of Armenia’s National Competitiveness Fund held a regular meeting in Office of Government.

After discussing the minutes of the last meeting and approving the agenda of today’s meeting, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan presented the economic results recorded in the first quarter of this year and in 2012.

Economic performance was said to have been on the upgrade in the first three months of 2013. In particular, the economic activity index was 8.7%, with the GDP standing at 11.7%. Compared to the same period of 2012, industry grew by 15.8%, agriculture – 2.3% and the tertiary sector – about 7%.

“Against a background of negative trade balance, exports tended up nearly three times as faster as imports. This was mainly due to the new export-oriented industrial strategy. We will push ahead with this policy line as we can see that our strategy is taking effect. By using its whole growth toolkit – credit funds, State guarantees and tax benefits – the State will continue to prop up the private sector with a focus on jobs and exports. The government has already approved 20 such programs. This year’s State budget was estimated implying a 6.2% growth index. Note that revenue proved AMD7bn up in the first quarter of 2013,”Tigran Sargsyan said.

The head of government reminded that FY2012 was completed with a 7.2% economic growth. According to the Prime Minister, the structure of the growth is particularly important as industry and agriculture boasted the largest share in the GDP, with a 9.3% rise recorded in agriculture and 14.5% in industry last year. A 48% growth was achieved in the field of water supply, recycling and waste management. The tertiary sector’s growth breakdown is as follows: wholesale and retail trade – 6%, transport – 14%, financial and insurance activities – 23%.

Construction was said to have broken even in 2012. The Prime Minister reminded that starting 2009 the main decline in the economy – 43% – was recorded in this very sector.

“In the following period as well, construction was the main deterrent force of the economy. Nevertheless, we were able to bring it to a breakeven point in 2012 and expect that the building sector will resume recovery to nurture economic growth this year,” Tigran Sargsyan added.

Macroeconomic performance was sufficiently good in 2012: budget deficit did not exceed the mark of 3%, inflation was within the planned target of 4%, and external debt was 37%, which is within the permitted threshold of external debt.

Coming to the future programs, Tigran Sargsyan stressed the need for continued improvement of the business environment. He reminded that according to the World Bank’s Doing Business report, Armenia has improved its position by 18 points ranking 32nd among 185 countries. The head of government said work will continue in this direction.

The Prime Minister next spoke about the reforms and programs implemented in the social, healthcare, inspection sectors and other areas.
In conclusion, the Board discussed and approved the auditor’s report on the Fund’s annual financial statement for 2012.

Tigran Sargsyan: “Our language will bring us together to make a unified fist”

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6701_ru_4Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan attended the opening of Diaspora Ministry-hosted “Armenian language is in my heart” pan-Armenian youth conference in Yerevan.

Welcoming the participants on behalf of the Government, the Prime Minister said. “We attach great importance to all pan-Armenian events. This is why the Ministry of Diaspora was et up at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Armenia for the first time five years ago to unite Armenians around the world. Every week a language dies in the modern world, which means that the bearers of a specific language, alias an ethnic group disappears on the globe. Competition is growing keener in the 21st century, especially among and between nations, with the language proving to be the main pledge for keeping one’s ethnic identity. Our language will bring us together to make a unified fist, which can help us defy many challenges ahead.”

According to the Prime Minister, the modern world has entered a new stage, which is characterized by rapid changes and our young people should be able to keep track of their identity. As the chief driving force behind the Armenian identity, our statehood has helped us overcome many global and regional threats and challenges over the past couple of decades.

“We are building a statehood to implement our youth’s desire to preserve national values and ethnic identity. From this perspective, Nagorno-Karabakh is struggling for survival. The Artsakh issue is that of the future of our nation. The perception of this problem by young Armenians is the key to a safe future because we cannot achieve a fair settlement of the problem without unity,” the head of government emphasized.

Tigran Sargsyan believes that having a powerful army, for the first time in history our people can provide for the nation’s security.

“The modern world is a world of knowledge, where the Armenian nation has a competitive advantage. It is time our youth proved that we are part of the global competition among nations. In the 21st century, competition has moved to the intellectual field of knowledge, and this means that the number one problem is the formation of such an educational system that will give you the opportunity of getting competitive knowledge,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the activities of Luys Foundation, which was established at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Armenia. Note that the Foundation subsidizes the scholarship of Armenian students at the world’s top 10 universities.

Scheduled for April 22-24, the conference is attended by 500 young people from 30 countries. Issues of nationwide importance will be discussed, including new approaches to achieving international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, language and culture-related problems etc.

Israel says Syria used chemical arms, probably nerve gas

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A general view shows Khan al-Assal area near the northern city of Aleppo, near the site where forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad say was Tuesday's chemical weapon attackSyrian government forces have used chemical weapons – probably nerve gas – in their fight against rebels waging a two-year-old uprising, the Israeli military’s top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday.

Brigadier-General Itai Brun told a security conference photos of victims showing foam coming out of their mouths and contracted pupils were signs deadly gas had been used.

“To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably Sarin,” Brigadier-General Itai Brun said in remarks broadcast on Army Radio.

The Syrian government and rebels last month accused each other of launching a chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo.

On Monday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who is visiting Israel, said U.S. intelligence agencies were still assessing whether chemical weapons may have been used in Syria’s civil war.

President Serzh Sargsyan participated at the annual general meeting of the RA National Academy of Sciences

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սարգսյանToday, President Serzh Sargsyan participated at the annual general meeting of the RA National Academy of Sciences. At the meeting summarized were the main results of the Academy’s scientific and organizational activities, presented were the problems existing in the area of science and steps taken toward their resolution.

Car bomb explodes outside French embassy in Libya leaving two guards seriously injured

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f2France’s embassy in Tripoli has been hit by what appeared to be a car bomb this morning, injuring two guards.

It is the first such attack in the Libyan capital since the 2011 war that ousted former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

‘There was an attack on the embassy. We think it was a booby-trapped car,’ said an embassy official.

‘There was a lot of damage and there are two guards wounded.’
The attack on the fortified complex in Tripoli comes just over two years to the day since former president Nicolas Sarkozy ordered his airforce to start attacking Gaddafi’s forces as part of the liberation of the North African country.

The guards, both of whom were French nationals, were badly hurt, with one said to be in a life-threatening condition, said the source

Diplomatic missions have been targeted in Libya, most notably an attack on the US mission in the eastern city of Benghazi last September that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.