Daily Archives: November 15, 2013

China abolishes its labour camps and finally eases its one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child

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China eases its one-child policy

 

China will loosen its decades-old one-child policy and abolish a much-criticised labour camp system, its ruling Communist Party said.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the party announced the changes in a policy document on Friday following a key, four-day meeting of party leaders that ended on Tuesday in Beijing.

Under the new family-planning rules, couples can have two children if one of the parents is an only child.

China’s one-child policy currently limits most urban couples to one child and allows two children for rural families if their first-born is a girl.

Other exceptions previously also included allowing two children for parents who are themselves both singletons.

The Chinese government credits the one-child policy introduced in 1980 with preventing hundreds of millions of births and helping lift countless families out of poverty.

Couples who flout the rules face hefty fines, seizure of their property and loss of their jobs.

 

The RA Presidential Award Ceremony for Global Contribution in area of IT for year 2013 at the Presidential Palace

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Սերժ Սարգսյան,Ցուգիո Մակիմոտո, տիկին Կումիկո Մակիմոտո,մրցանակ

 

 Tonight, at the Presidential Palace there took place the RA Presidential Award Ceremony for Global Contribution in area of IT for year 2013.

At the reception held in honor of Mr. Tsugio Makimoto, the President of Semiconductor Industry Association, former CEO of the Hitachi Company and Mrs. Kumiko Makimoto, the President of the Executive Council of the Award Committee of the World Information Technologies (WIT) Hovik Musayelyan presented the procedure of selecting the Award winners, named previous winners of the Presidential Award, spoke about the concept behind the Presidential Award and its goal, as well as about Armenia’s competitive advantage in the IT area. He expressed hope that some years from now, it will be noted that thanks to this Award, the most brilliant and outstanding individuals of the world science, education and business, becoming the recipients of the this Award, will come to Armenia, bringing with them the contemporary culture of high-tech and will promote the image of our country and make it recognizable all over the world as a country which stands on knowledge and intellect. According to Hovik Musayelyan, Armenia’s competitive advantage is linked closely to the IT area and our country has every necessary prerequisite and potential to become a regional hub and important player in that area. In his remarks, the President of the Executive Council of the Award Committee also quoted the winner of the RA Presidential Award for 2011, famous Steve Wozniak, “There is no Noble Prize in the IT area but for me this award equals Noble Prize. I receive it from the President of Armenia, and I am proud for that.”

A member of the Commission, Tony Moroyan briefly presented to the guests of the reception the biography of the Award winner Tsugio Makimoto.

Present at the reception was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Armenia Tikahito Harada who expressed gratitude for the recognition by Armenia of the significant input made by the world-famous Tsugio Makimoto to the IT area and for bestowing him with such a high award, which according to the Ambassador proves the existence of dynamically developing strong friendly ties between Armenia and Japan.

At the reception held on the occasion of the Award ceremony, President Serzh Sargsyan made a statement.

In his thank-you remarks, the Awardee Tsugio Makimoto expressed gratitude for being awarded one of the most prestigious awards in the IT area spoke about his work and prospects of development of information technologies in the world.

 

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Congratulatory remarks by the President of Armenia at the RA Presidential Award Ceremony for the Global Contribution to the Area of Information Technologies

 

Distinguished Mr. Makimoto,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, I have performed a very enjoyable duty: I have handed to Mr. Tsugio Makimoto the RA Presidential Award for the Global Contribution to the area of the Information Technologies. Dr. Makimoto is one of the most distinguished personalities in Japan’s IT industry. He is so farsighted that his vision and proposals are always ahead of times. In the last fifteen years, we have witnessed creation of various revolutionary goods and platforms which have changed the approaches of the public and even of the specialists, among them Smart cards, Smart phones, electronic books, etc. All this was inspired also by Dr. Makimoto’s ideas.

With this Award, the people of Armenia manifest their admiration and gratitude to those who are moving forward the human civilization and in their own way become symbols of their times. With this Award we pay tribute not only to Dr. Makimoto but also to his native land – Japan, the home of brave and diligent, wise and talented people. We witnessed how a horrific earthquake shattered Japan; we also witnessed how the people withstood tenaciously that natural catastrophe and how united and organized they work for healing their wounds. For our country and our nation, which have witnessed multiple earthquakes, it is a real lesson.

Japan’s economic and technological achievements are remarkable and instructive not only for us but also for the entire world. With this Award, we also strive to attract attention of our young people to effective deeds and successful people. We want to give our young people right examples and true guidelines. We strongly believe that people are the greatest treasure of the land, and Japan is a strong proof of that.

Dear Mr. Makimoto,

I once again congratulate you on this Award. Please be assured that the Makimoto’s Wave discovered by you has, so to speak, crossed the ocean and reached Armenia. The IT area is the most rapidly developing area in Armenia and we pin great hopes on this promising field. Thanks to the individuals like yourself all processes in today’s world, including political, have acquired a new speed. Today’s young people have no idea what new professions will emerge tomorrow. In situation like this every one, no exceptions, has a greater responsibility which makes us move in step with times.

Distinguished Doctor Makimoto,

I wish you and your family good health and all the best, new achievements in your gratifying work. Please be assured that your success will make us here, in Armenia very happy.

Thank you for coming to Armenia, I also thank you for the works you will be performing in Armenia in next ten or twelve days.

Thank you.

 

President received the recipient of the 2013 RA Presidential Award for Global Contribution in the Area of Information Technologies (IT) Tsugio Makimoto

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Սերժ Սարգսյան,ՏՏ ոլորտ, Ցուգիո Մակիմոտո

 President Serzh Sargsyan received today the Chairman of Semiconductor Industry Association, President of the Techno Vision Company, former CEO of the Hitachi Company, and the recipient of the 2013 RA Presidential Award for Global Contribution in the Area of Information Technologies (IT) Tsugio Makimoto.“It’s a great honor for us to host and award one of the outstanding architects of the IT area of our times, whose achievements in that area have been groundbreaking and have influenced all areas of our life. Here, in Armenia we attach great importance to the development of IT area, and today it has become one of the fast developing areas,” President Serzh Sargsyan said at the meeting. He expressed confidence that Tsugo Makimoto’s visit to Armenia will foster our cooperation with Japan and at the same time will inspire Armenian specialists working in the area of information technologies, including those young people who are thinking of working in the future in that area.

Tsugo Makimoto expressed gratitude for the award and said that it was a great honor for him to be recognized in Armenia in such a way. “In the 21st century, information technologies have been playing a large and critical role in the race for winning the global competition. I wish that Armenia and Japan can find opportunities for cooperation in that area,” Tsugio Makimoto said. He said that would be staying in Armenia longer than he was initially planning and would like to familiarize closely with our country, the history, and culture of the Armenian people.

After the meeting, at the Presidential Palace there took place the ceremony of cancelling the stamps dedicated to the RA Presidential Award for Global Contribution in the Area of Information Technologies. One of the stamps depicts the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution in the Area of IT, the other shows the commemorative medal presented to the awardees, with the globe on the background which symbolizes a border-free world. Along with the two stamps, a postcard will be issued with the portraits of the three previous awardees.

In the evening, a reception will be held on the occasion of the RA Presidential Award Ceremony for Global Contribution in area of IT for year 2013 and in honor of Mr. Tsugio Makimoto and Mrs. Kumiko Makimoto.

 

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Additional Information on the RA Presidential Award in the area of Information Technologies

 

Tsugio Mikamoto is the fourth recipient of the RA Presidential Award in the area of Information Technologies. The first one was awarded in 2010 to Craig R. Barrett, former Chairman of the Board of the Intel Corporation; the second was awarded in 2011 to a co-founder of the Apple Computers Corporation Steve Wozniak, and the third in 2012 – to the Honorary President of Synopsys Federico Faggin.

The RA Presidential Award in IT area was established by President Serzh Sargsyan’s July 6, 2009 decree and was aimed at fostering the development of this area. It is an annual award which is bestowed on the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the area of information technologies and whose input – technological, educational, managerial, financial or other – has resulted or will result in substantial developments in the IT area.

The selection process in carried out by the Award Committee nominated by the President of Armenia and by the international selection commission. The Award comprises a medal commemorating Armenia and high technologies, a diploma and a memorial souvenir.
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Dr. Tsugio Makimoto
Retired CEO of Hitachi Electronic Device Group and Sr. Managing Director of Hitachi
Currently, the President of SSIS and Techno Vision
(A brief CV)

 

Dr. Makimoto has been one of the most effective visionaries of Japan’s IT industry. He has pushed the technology limits to bring the building blocks that have included advance semiconductors & display devices. These building blocks have enabled the electronics industry to develop and launch most of the electronics products that have changed the world, and impacted almost all aspects of our lives since 1970’s, and continue today and going forward. Last fifteen years, we have seen many paradigm shifting products and platforms, e.g. Smart Card, Smart Phones, e-books, Tablet PC’s, GPS navigation systems, Servers, PC’s, HDTV, Telecommunications, Robotics and Automation, Electronic Games, Mobile Products, Internet, Social Networking, and others yet to come.

His visionary models and projection let him to discover and publish the famous “Makimoto Wave” that relates to the cyclical nature of semiconductor industry.

Prior to his retirement from Hitachi, Dr. Makimoto has served as the CEO of Hitachi Electronic Device Group and Senior Executive Managing Director. Since then, he has stayed active in various distinguished positions in the high tech multinational and industry groups. These have included: Sr. Corporate Advisor of Sony Corporation, Member of Advisory Panel of National Science & Technology Board of Singapore, Board Director of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in Singapore, Member of Industry Advisory Board of UC Berkley, Chairman of PDF Solutions, also he was instrumental in establishing WSC (World SC Council).

Currently he is the president of SSIS (Society of Semiconductor Industry Specialists) and the founder & President of Techno Vision. He also holds senior advisory positions with several multinational companies: Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp, Micronics Japan Corp and Nantero Corp. in USA.

Dr. Makimoto holds a BS in Applied Physics from University of Tokyo, MS in EE from Stanford University as well as Ph. D from University of Tokyo. He has been nominated and been an IEEE Fellow since 1997. He has been the recipient of many international awards, e.g. IR-100 Award, Ichimura Award and Bellwether Award. He is the author of several visionary books and other publications. 

Belarusian Protester Jailed for 5 Days for T-Shirt

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Ալեքսանդր Լուկաշենկո,Լեոնիդ Սմովժ

 

A protester arrested in Belarus for wearing a T-shirt criticizing authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has been freed after five days in jail.

Leonid Smovzh, a 53-year-old railroad engineer, told The Associated Press after his release Friday that he was given no heat, light or foot for two of those days.

He was arrested after a protest on Sunday for wearing a T-shirt on which he had written “For Belarus without Lukashenko.” On the back it said “For Belarus without dictatorship.”

Lukashenko has ruled the former Soviet republic for 20 years and has shown little tolerance for dissent.

Smovzh said he wore the shirt so he would not be ashamed to look his grandchildren in the eye when they asked, “what did you do for us?”

 

Bolivian forces find $2 million cocaine stash hidden in wine bottles

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Բոլիվիա,կոկաին

 

Bolivian police have seized a massive stash of cocaine diluted inside hundreds of wine bottles, state media reported Thursday.

Authorities believe the $2 million worth of diluted and solid cocaine is tied to a drug trafficking organization that made shipments to Italy, the state-run ABI news agency said.

Police said they arrested a Brazilian suspect in a raid in a residential neighborhood in the city of Santa Cruz.

The man tried to kill himself with a pocket knife when authorities cornered him, according to ABI.

“They were diluting it and putting it in bottles that they were going to put wine labels on,” Marco Centellas, head of Bolivia’s special forces to combat drug trafficking, told the state news agency.

Sweden’s famous ice hotel, which is made entirely from frozen water, is ordered to have smoke alarms fitted

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Շվեդիա, սառցե հյուրանոց

 

The world-famous Swedish Ice Hotel has been forced to install a fire alarm.

The hotel, which is rebuilt every year, was refused planning permission lest they install one on the premises.

However, this soon proved not to be an outlandish request, as the alarm went off when a guest lit a cigarette in a cleaning cupboard.

 

Շվեդիա, սառցե հյուրանոց

Despite the entire hotel, including all furniture and appliances inside it, being built from ice from river near Jukkasjärvi, Kiruna, the National Housing Board threatened to put a stop to this year’s construction.

Press officer Beatrice Karlsson explained that the hotel struggled to find a smoke alarm which could withstand cold, damps and the fact that the Ice Hotel moves during the season as the building melts and freezes.

The Jukkasjarvi ice hotel prides itself on being the first of its kind in the world, first opening in 1990.

It is open each year from December to April, with everything from the glasses in the Ice bar to the chairs and beds the hotel sculpted from ice taken from TorneRiver.

 

Iran’s Culture Minister Defends Facebook

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Iran’s culture minister has again spoken up in defense of social media, saying Facebook shouldn’t be banned and that it’s not a “criminal application.”

Ali Jannati told the semi-official Fars news agency on Friday that he uses and posts on Facebook and that an overseer body should lift the existing ban. In the past, Jannati has advocated that all social media networks be accessible to Iranians.

Iran banned the networks over alleged “abuse” after opposition members widely used them during the 2009 unrest following re-election of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Jannati’s remarks underscore what has become a growing rift between the moderate-leaning government of new President Hassan Rouhani and Iran’s hard-liners.

Rouhani doesn’t have the authority to make decisions on freeing up social media, which is considered an internal security matter.

 

MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR TOLERANCE

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We are living through a period of global transition.  New centres of power and economic dynamism are emerging.  Technology is connecting us ever more closely, and cross-cultural exchanges are deepening every day – but this does not mean there is more understanding.  Societies are more diverse but intolerance is on the rise in too many places.

Across the globe, nations and communities face profound and enduring economic, social and environmental challenges.  Poverty, hunger and disease remain at unacceptable levels.  Every region is experiencing the rising impact of climate change.  Natural disasters are a constant reminder of human vulnerability.  Conflicts and inter-community tensions persist across the globe.  Millions face the daily threat of violence and displacement.

There are no individual solutions to these multifaceted and inter-related challenges.  We can only advance as a community of nations and cultures,  on human solidarity and recognizing that we share a common destiny.  This is why tolerance is so important.

Tolerance is not passive.  It demands an active choice to reach out on the basis of mutual understanding and respect, especially where disagreement exists.  Tolerance means recognizing that our diversity is a strength – a wellspring of creativity and renewal for all societies.

Tolerance can, and must, be learned.  We need to teach girls and boys not just how to live together but how to act together as global citizens.  We need to nurture tolerance by promoting cultural understanding and respect – from parliaments to the playground.  We need to tackle growing inequality and reject social exclusion based on gender, disabilities, sexual orientation, and ethnic or religious background.

Tolerance is the strongest foundation for peace and reconciliation.  At this time of rapid and often bewildering change, it has never been so important.  On this International Day, I call on national and community leaders – and all those who wield influence through traditional and social media and among their peers – to embrace tolerance as the bond that will unite us on our common journey to a peaceful, sustainable future.

President Serzh Sargsyan visited military units dislocated in the central and southern parts of Artsakh

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4622

 

In the framework of his working visit to Artsakh, President Serzh Sargsyan on November 14 together with the President of NKR Bako Sahanian, Heads of the Defense Ministries of the two Armenian Republics and the highest commanding staff visited a military unit of the Defense Army dislocated in the central part of Artsakh. After greeting the troops on the drill ground, the President conversed with the soldiers and officers. Later, he observed an exhibition exercise of a reconnaissance detachment.

The Presidents of RA and NKR paid tribute and laid a wreath at the memorial of fallen heroes erected on the territory of the military dislocation.

After the official opening of the army structures built here, Serzh Sargsyan and Bako Sahakian observed the preparatory exercises of the staff getting ready for combat duty and commended those who demonstrated the best results. The Presidents of the two Armenian states visited also a military unit dislocated in the southern part of Artsakh, where recently opened was a new service building furnished with every convenience. Here, the Presidents observed also exercises of the troops on overcoming the zone of artificial obstacles.

The three-day visit of the RA President Serzh Sargsyan to the NKR DA military units and frontline, conducted in the framework of cooperation of the two Armenian states, has concluded.

This morning in Stepanakert, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Bako Sahakian held a private meeting which was followed by the consultations in the extended format, with the participation of the delegation of the Republic of Armenia, the Prime Minister of NKR and members of the government.

Hungarian Capital Bans Homeless From Public Areas

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Հունգարիա,Բուդապեշտ,անտուն

Budapest’s city council has banned the homeless from living in many public areas of the city, including playgrounds, train stations, cemeteries, and the Hungarian capital’s largest park.

The decision was made possible by a constitutional amendment adopted in March which allows municipalities to ban homeless from public places for security, health and other reasons. A similar law had been earlier declared anti-constitutional by Hungary’s highest court.

The ordinance passed Thursday allows the fining of homeless people living in the restricted areas. It was supported by councilors from the governing Fidesz party, its Christian Democrat allies and the far-right Jobbik party. Two left-wing parties voted against.

A protest by The City Is For All, an advocate group for the homeless, delayed the start of the city council session by several hours.

 

Prick your own fruit! Artist uses needle to create brilliant portraits on banana skins… and it’s so easy anyone can do it

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Virgin Group, Richard Branson

 

40-year-old Japanese artist Daisuke Skagami from Toyko, who goes by the name of EndCape, creates astonishing pictures on bananas by artfully bruising them with a single pin pushed into the peel.

It’s a past-time known as banana tattooing, but technique-wise is similar to pointillism. This is where pictures are created using tiny dots of pure colour.

Cape’s creations take around five hours to make – sometimes longer – and include Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Mona Lisa and Virgin boss Richard Branson.
He’s also created jigsaw patterns, a banana ‘zip’, and a the face of Japanese actor Sei Hiraizumi.
Each banana lasts up to two days, at which point the artist eats his creations, but EndCape is now looking for ways to preserve his work.

His designs have been featured on Japanese TV and in art galleries in Toyko.

japanese-actor-sei-hiraizumi
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