Monthly Archives: October 2013

Monster truck crash kills 8, injures dozens in Mexico

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Mexico monster truck

 

A “monster truck” spun out of control and mowed down spectators at an event in northern Mexico, killing at least eight people, including four children, officials said.

The driver told authorities he passed out after hitting his head, a state prosecutor’s spokesman said.

State Gov. Cesar Duarte told reporters Sunday that it was possible the truck’s driver drank alcohol before Saturday’s deadly crash.

Blood tests were conducted and prosecutors will determine who was responsible, Duarte said.

The crash injured dozens of people, Duarte said. On Sunday, 28 of them remained hospitalized — 12 of whom were in critical condition.

According to the event’s website, the show included aerobatics, skydiving, hot air ballooning, motorcycles, fireworks and monster trucks.

 

ANCA EASTERN REGION ORGANIZES PETER KOUTOUJIAN PHONE BANK

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PK_phone bankFranklin, MA — The Armenian National Committee of American Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) organized a phone bank for Congressional hopeful Peter Koutoujian at Camp Haiastan on Saturday, October 6, 2013.

Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian is running for the vacant seat in Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional district, which includes Watertown, Belmont, Waltham, Lexington, Arlington, and many other towns heavily populated with Armenian Americans. The ANCA Eastern Massachusetts has been actively working on the campaign, volunteering at district phone banks and canvassing the district. Local Armenian youth have joined the local ANC and participated in this effort.

The ANCA-ER organized the phone bank at Camp Haiastan during the Armenian Youth Federation’s annual Senior Seminar, an educational event that attracted more than 85 Armenian youth from the East Coast, West Coast and Canada. ANCA-ER Executive Director Michelle Hagopian and ANCA National Board Member Steve Mesrobian instructed and helped the youth for an hour on Saturday. The group used the online system on www.koutoujianforcongress.com by doing a virtual phone bank, which allows individuals to make calls anywhere they have Internet access.

“The ANCA-ER strives to activate Armenian youth on all things important to the Armenian people. Volunteering with the ANCA-ER to phone bank for Peter is a privilege and the very least that Armenian youth can be doing,” said Hagopian.

The Special Primary Election for now Sen. Ed Markey’s old seat will take place on Tuesday, October 15, in Massachusetts’ 5th district. For more information on ANCA-endorsed Koutoujian and his campaign, visit www.koutoujianforcongress.comtoday.

European Court of Human Rights Provides More Options to Sue Turkey

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ՄԻԵԴBy Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

 While there is frequent talk about the pursuit of Armenian claims against Turkey in the International Court of Justice (World Court), the possibility of taking legal action in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is rarely mentioned, despite its distinct advantages.

The key difference between the two courts is that only governments can file lawsuits in the World Court, while any individual, group or state can take legal action in the ECHR, giving Armenians countless possibilities for lawsuits against the Turkish state. Litigants before ECHR must first exhaust all domestic remedies and be from one of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, which includes Armenia and Turkey.

It is not a coincidence that Turkey leads the list of countries being sued in ECHR, as in the last two and half years alone, over 20,000 cases have been filed against that country. Contrary to popular belief, Turkey has no choice but to comply with all ECHR judgments if it wants to maintain its membership in the Council of Europe. This explains why the Ankara government has diligently paid tens of millions of dollars to litigants after losing hundreds of ECHR judgments.

A case in point is ECHR’s October 1, 2013 decision against Turkey, in which the court awarded over 5 million euros (close to $7 million) to two Greek brothers, Ioannis Fokas and Evangelos Fokas, who live in Katerini, Greece. The Turkish courts had barred them from inheriting their sister Polikseni Pistika’s buildings in Turkey because of their Greek nationality.

In their lawsuit, the Fokas brothers claimed that “they had been deprived of the ownership and use of three immovable properties in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, namely three buildings and land, which they were entitled to inherit from their sister.” The expropriated properties consisted of an eight-story building worth 3.3 million euros, a six-story building worth 1.4 million euros, and a four-story building worth 400,000 euros, based on the appraisal by an Istanbul real estate agency.

The ECHR found that the Turkish courts’ “refusal to recognize the applicants’ status as heirs constituted an interference with their right to peaceful enjoyment of their possessions and that such interference was incompatible with the principle of lawfulness…. Accordingly, recognition of the applicants as the heirs of Polikseni Pistika…would place them in the position they would have been in, had the State [Turkey] not expropriated the deceased’s property.… In those circumstances, an award of compensation for the pecuniary loss seems to be the most appropriate just satisfaction (see Nacaryan and Deryan vs. Turkey, no. 19558/02 and 27904/02, <<<<16-17, January 8, 2008). The Court considers that such an award principally corresponds to the amount that the applicants could legitimately expect to have obtained as compensation for the loss of their property, had there been a mechanism to request such compensation.”

Based on the above ruling, the European Court awarded the Greek brothers 5 million euros for their expropriated real estate, as well as compensating them for their “anguish and frustration which the applicants must have experienced over the years in not being able to use their properties.” The Court ordered the Turkish government to pay the amount of the award to the applicants within three months.

In the referenced Nacaryan and Deryan vs. Turkey case, ECHR found that the Turkish courts had also violated the rights of Yeran-Janet Nacaryan and Armen Deryan by claiming that as Greek citizens, they could not inherit the property of their deceased relative in Turkey “on the ground that the condition of reciprocity between Greece and Turkey had not been met.” ECHR declared Turkey guilty and awarded the two Greek-Armenian applicants a total of 500,000 euros.

At the international conference of Armenian lawyers held in Yerevan last July, Constitutional Court Chairman, Gagik Harutunyan, announced the formation of a committee of experts to study the legal merits of filing a lawsuit against Turkey to remedy the massive losses resulting from the Armenian Genocide.

Given the fact that ECHR provides for European Council litigants many more opportunities than the World Court, the recently-formed Armenian committee of legal experts should cast a wider net in considering the possibilities of filing lawsuits against Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights, as well as in national and international courts.

Streets of Basel paved with gold: 15 TONS of five cent coins are dumped on city’s streets as protesters demand a basic minimum income for every Swiss household

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Switzerland-government building1

 

For years it’s long been regarded as one of Europe’s richest countries.

As Europe continues to struggle with financial turbulence and unemployment, activists in Switzerland have decided to take a stand and demand a basic income to each citizen on a monthly basis.

Activists piled 8 Mio five-centime pieces, one representing each citizen in Switzerland, in the safe room of the ‘Basler Volksbank’ bank building, in Basel, Switzerland.

Then the team from ‘Generation Basic Income Initiative’ dumped the 15 tons of money in front of the parliament building in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

The initiative aims to have a minimum monthly disposal household income of CHF 2,500 (US$ 2,700) given by the government to every citizen living in Switzerland.

The organisation presented 130,000 signatures to Parliament urging them to pass a law guaranteeing a basic income of CHF 2,500 for all Swiss nationals.

The Swiss Parliament must address or hold a referendum over any issue which has gathered more than 100,000 signatures.

According to Schmidt the Swiss government is angry ‘because now they have to look into this initiative’.

According to The Richest, Switzerland does not have a minimum wage written into law.

 

Switzerland-government building

Switzerland-bank 1

Step aside Pele: Non-league footballer Rene Steer becomes internet sensation after unleashing 40-yard wonder-strike

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Rene Steer

 

 

A non-league footballer who was released by Arsenal as a youngster has become an internet sensation after hitting a stunning 40-yard thunderbolt goal in the FA Cup.

 

More than 250,000 people have already tuned in to YouTube to see defender Rene Steer unleash his lethal left foot strike, which stunned fans at non-league St Neots Town on Tuesday night.

 

When the great Pele made a similarly audacious attempt in the 1970 World Cup against Czechezlovakia, the man widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all saw his effort go just wide.

 

The wonder-goal has already been tipped to be goal of the season, and Ladbrookes has given it a 50/1 chance.

 

Rene, 23, a football coach, said: ‘I remember seeing the ball and I just thought “Why not?”

 

‘I tried it in training last week and I hit one out of the astro. I didn’t realise how far it was, if I did I wouldn’t have hit it.

 

‘I can’t remember the flight or how I hit it, I just remember it hitting the cross bar and then I got ambushed.’

 

But his 71st minute strike was not good enough to win the game, and St Neots lost the second qualifying round replay 2-1.

 

 

 

Mini-skirt ban at Hungary university prompts female students to turn up in knickers only

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Students took off their clothes-hungary universityStudents took off their clothes in class in a protest against a new strict dress code at a Hungary university.

They were angered by the new strict rules introduced by the University of Kaposvar’s president.

Even a professor at the arts school took part to protest the code which bans dresses showing too much cleavage and miniskirts.

The target list also excessive makeup and flip-flops as well as unkempt hair and fingernails.

Some of the students undressed down to their underwear, while other seemed to be naked in a video of the protest posted online by a local news site.

Students said they plan to continue their protest and attend classes in flip-flops and beach towels on Monday.

The new dress code was revealed to students in a letter that detailed when attending classes male students need to wear dark suits and shoes, while women must wear a jacket, blouse and trousers.

The rector did make an allowance for lighter clothing during warm summer days, prompting some students to make the underwear protest.

‘We were appropriately dressed but the class room was so warm we removed some clothing as is permitted,’ said one student.

 

Female robot used as a tour guide for Chinese art expo is taken out of action after being groped by over-zealous tourists

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female robot-china2

 

An attractive female robot used as a tour guide for a Chinese art expo has been taken out of action after being groped by over-zealous tourists.

The robot was introduced to offer tour guides for visitors to the Jinzhou world garden art expo in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, northeast China.

But it proved too fascinating for many visitors who wanted to take a closer look at the robot which has bright red lips and wears a blue silk blue ballgown.

Expo spokesman Feng Kung said: ‘The event is a big occasion and we get lots of visitors, and it is a lot of stress for the guides, so we came up with the idea of using a robot.
‘But we designed it as an attractive female robot, and it seems more people are interested in grabbing the robot to have a snap made, or even fondling the dress to see what is underneath.

‘As a result of the interference the robot keeps breaking down, and we have to put the human guides back into place.

‘It is broken again  now for example, we think next year we will use a man or a more robot looking robot.

Introduced in the summer the robot was designed to last until the event ends in October.

 

Saudi court jails four young men for up to TEN YEARS and sentences them to thousands of lashes for naked dance on car

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Riyadh

 

A Saudi Arabian man has been jailed for 10 years and sentenced to 2,000 lashes after a film of him dancing naked on the roof of a car was posted online.

Another man, who is believed to have made the film, received seven years in prison and 1,200 lashes.

Two others were jailed for three years and sentenced to 500 lashes each.

The public prosecutor in the case reportedly objected to what he described as ‘light sentences’.

The four men men were charged with ‘dancing on a vehicle in public’ and ‘violating public morals’, following the incident in Borayda, the capital of al-Qasseem province, north-west of the capital Riyadh.

A video of the incident was posted online, media reports say. It is not clear whether the men were caught in the act or traced by the video.

Al-Qasseem province is notoriously conservative and religious police there are said to be the most strict in the kingdom.

The law prohibits the playing of music, dancing and many movies also are a concern for hard-liners who believe they violate religious and moral values.

 

Jewelry Confiscated From Former Russian Official

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Russia’s Investigative Committee has confiscated 57,000 diamonds and 19 kilograms (42 pounds) of jewelry from a former defense ministry official in an ongoing investigation into corruption charges.

Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Friday that the jewelry, worth more than 126 million rubles ($3.9 million), was discovered at the home of Yevgenia Vasilyeva and “returned to the state.”

Vasilyeva was charged in 2012 with fraud related to the sale of military assets, then said to be worth about $11 million. Russia’s military investigators announced Tuesday that they are now estimating the total damage at about 3 billion rubles ($93 million).

 

evgenia vasilyeva

Hayastan All-Armenian Fund constructing medical center in Khachardzan

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Kachardzan Medical center

 Yerevan, October 4, 2013- With financial support from its Argentinean affiliate (benefactor – Kalciyan family), the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is building a medical center in Khachardzan, a village in Armenia’s Tavush Region. The facility will also include a multifunctional events hall for use by various community organizations.

 

Currently construction crews are working on the interior and exterior trimming as well as landscaping of the structure, which is slated to open by the end of 2013.

 

This is a vitally important project for our village,” said Khachardzan mayor Gagik Shahnazaryan. “Thanks to the initiative, our residents will be able to receive quality healthcare at a state-of-the-art clinic, only in acute emergency cases having to be transported to a regional hospital.”

 

Commenting on the issues that continue to impact Khachardzan’s quality of life, Shahnazaryan said the most urgent is the lack of a potable-water network — a problem the community has had to contend with since the 1990s.

 

A large proportion of Khachardzan’s 400 residents are refugees. The community’s main occupation is cattle breeding. Khachardzan (which means “cross statue”) is named after the numerous historic cross stones found throughout the village.

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Hayastan All Armenian Fund

President Serzh Sargsyan received the Secretary General of the CSTO Nikolay Bordjuzha

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 President Serzh Sargsyan received today the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolay Bordjuzha.

At the meeting, Nikolay Bordjuzha presented to the President of Armenia the results of the 11th session of the CSTO interstate commission on military-economic cooperation held in Yerevan and spoke about the local anti-drug Canal-Caucasus action being conducted on October 1-4 in Armenia. The Secretary General of the CSTO spoke also about issues related to the activities of the Organization’s Academy in Yerevan.

 

Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize because he ‘actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet’

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պուտին

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The former KGB agent has been recommended by an activist group because he ‘actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet’.

His attempts to prevent a US air strike on Syria after suspected chemical weapons attacks on civilians was also given as a reason behind the recognition.

The letter of recommedationn read: ‘Being the leader of one of the leading nations of the world, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin makes efforts to maintain peace and tranquillity not only on the territory of his own country but also actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet’ The New York Times reported.

Russian singer and MP Iosif Kobzon, backed the nomination comparing his actions to that of the US President, who won the same prize in 2009.

Previous winners of the prize have included Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Desmond Tutu.

The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on October 11 and the deadline for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize nominations is in February.

 

Russian Embassy in Libya Evacuated After Attack

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Russian Embassy Libya Outside

 

Russia says it has evacuated all of its diplomats and their families from Libya a day after a mob attack on the Russian Embassy there.

Russia said none of the embassy staff was hurt in Wednesday’s attack, which came in response to the death of a Libyan air force officer, who was allegedly killed by a Russian woman.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement that it decided to evacuate after Libya’s foreign minister told the Russian ambassador that Libya was unable to protect the embassy.

Lukashevich added that all the embassy workers and their families safely crossed the border into Tunisia Thursday.

 

Angelina and breast cancer copycat surge: Doctor warns patients are requesting double mastectomies even if they don’t need one

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Professor Kefah Mokel

 

Women inspired by Angelina Jolie are demanding breast removal surgery – even if they don’t need it – a leading doctor has warned.

After Miss Jolie, 38, who is in a high-risk cancer category, announced this year she had had a double mastectomy, a surge of women in the UK have sought to follow suit.

A quarter of women who develop cancer in one breast are now asking for both to be removed, according to figures from the London Breast Institute.

But Professor Kefah Mokbel of the London Breast Institute has said surgery would be pointless for women who are not in the same category as Jolie.

Professor Mokbel warned patients can suffer psychological harm after having radical surgery.

 

Angelina Jolie 1

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN’S DIPLOMATIC MEETINGS

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Րաֆֆի Հովհաննիսյան

 

Yerevan—Today Raffi K. Hovannisian received an official delegation from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The delegation included Terhi Hakala, Director General for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Christer Michelsson, Ambassador of Finland to Armenia, and other officials.

 

They discussed regional developments, as well as relevant Armenian domestic and foreign policies.

 

On the same day Hovannisian met with the newly appointed Ambassador of Lithuania Erikas Petrikas.

 

Heritage Party Press Service

Iran passes a law allowing men to marry their 13-year-old adopted daughters just as the country’s new president touts himself as a moderate

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iran-children

 

A new law in Iran that allows men to marry their adopted daughters at the age of 13 has caused major concern that the country’s new president is not as progressive as originally thought.

President Hassan Rouhani has been hailed as a new moderate voice in the controversial Middle Eastern government but the approval of the new law shows that the extreme beliefs in the intolerant country have not evaporated.

The law was approved by the Iranian members of parliament and maintains that girls can marry with the permission of their father at the age of 13 and young boys at the age of 15.

The law in question pertains to the legal marriage age, but the concern about incest is an additional factor for human rights advocates.

‘This bill is legalizing pedophilia,’ lawyer Shadi Sadr, who works for the group Justice for Iran, told the paper.

‘It’s not part of the Iranian culture to marry your adopted child’

There is some question whether the law will get the final stamp of approval by the country’s Governing Council, but the prospect has activists outraged.

 

President Serzh Sargsyan introduced to the Board members of the RA Prosecutor Office the newly appointed Prosecutor General Gevork Kostanian

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4048President Serzh Sargsyan today visited the RA Prosecutor’s Office and introduced to the Board members the newly appointed Prosecutor General Gevork Kostanian.

The President of Armenia congratulated Gevork Kostanian on assuming this responsible position and wished him every success. Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope that through his new approaches and work style, the new Prosecutor General assisted by the employees of the RA Prosecutor Office will be able to efficiently fulfill all tasks set before the structure.

The President also expressed thanks to the former Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian for his years-long work and underlined that Aghvan Hovsepian has still things to do in our country’s judicial and legal system.

 

At Least 94 Dead in Migrant Shipwreck off Italy

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An Italian official says 94 bodies have been found in the migrant shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa but more than 200 people are still unaccounted for.

Pietro Bartolo, the top health official on Lampedusa, said Thursday he expected the toll to rise as search operations continue. He spoke to Sky TG24.

The Italian coast guard says the ship that was trying to smuggle Africans into Europe caught fire as the migrants neared Lampedusa and capsized, spilling hundreds of passengers into the sea. Some 150 people have been rescued.shipwreck-Italy

1 октября Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan Train’s Season Closed, Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan Train Restarted

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old-train_526452218_535459760

 

On October 1 CJSC “South Caucasus Railway” closed season for cruising the train “Armenia” on Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan route. According to preliminary data from the beginning of the summer season the train transported 46.7 million passengers, compared to 51 thousand in 2012.

Such a decline was due to unfavorable weather conditions in Georgia, as well as the floods that took place in a number of resort towns.

From October 2 trains restarted running on the route Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan and the train “Armenia” will resume next summer.

CJSC “SCR” keeps running its policy to improve the quality of passenger service and the level of comfort in local and international trains. Accordingly, the railway upgrades the rolling stock, expands the list of services, increases the speed of trains.

Greenpeace Activists Charged With Piracy in Russia

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greenpeace-activist

 

Greenpeace said Wednesday that 14 of its activists who were detained after protesting at a Russian oil platform have been charged with piracy, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The environmental activists from Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Sweden were among 30 people from 18 countries who were on board the Greenpeace ship that was seized by the Russian Coast Guard following the Sept. 18 protest.

More activists were expected to be formally charged on Thursday and Friday, Greenpeace said. All 30 were being held in jails in Murmansk, a port above the Arctic Circle.

President Vladimir Putin said last week that he doesn’t think the Greenpeace activists are pirates, which triggered hopes for their release. But Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday urged energy companies to adopt more stringent security measures and said the government should consider tougher penalties for those who attack or trespass on the grounds of Russian oil and gas infrastructure.