Day: March 4, 2024

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the Minister of National Defense of Greece Nikolaos Dendias, who arrived in the Republic of Armenia on an official visit.

The Prime Minister welcomed the visit of Mr. Dendias to Armenia and noted. “Dear Minister, I welcome you, this time as the Minister of Defense. I remember your visits to Armenia in the past. We appreciate your connection with Armenia, as well as your commitment to deepen the relations between Armenia and Greece. Of course, there is a big agenda in your new status. I am glad that you have already had fruitful negotiations and discussions in continuation of the negotiations between me and the Prime Minister of Greece.

Of course, the deepening of our cooperation in various fields is an agenda jointly adopted by our two governments, and I am very happy about it. During my visit, we had the opportunity to discuss our bilateral agenda, even the trilateral agenda. I am very happy that we have a unified approach to what to do in the future, and I am very happy that we managed to create such a dynamic.

Of course, defense cooperation between our countries is not new, I think we have quite a lot of experience here, but due to these new circumstances, the interest is growing even more, and it is very important to have the proper political will to address these new demands and opportunities, and to manage all challenges we face. Once again, I welcome you and thank you for your visit.”

The Minister of National Defense of Greece said: “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister,
First of all, let me convey the regards of the Prime Minister of my country, whom you met a few days ago. It was a very effective and successful visit, as evidenced by the minutes of the meeting. Thanks again for your efforts to strengthen our defense ties.

We had an extensive discussion with Mr. Papikyan, who also visited us in December 2023. My visit comes after his visit to Athens. This time we had a very practical meeting, that is, not only in terms of discussions, but also in terms of practical steps.

I am sure, he will brief you on our upcoming activities. We see ourselves as a country that will assist Armenia as much as we can, given our historical ties, also because we are very close countries, and we really want to do that.”

The interlocutors reaffirmed the steps for the further implementation of the previously reached agreements, referred to cooperation in military education and other directions.

The sides exchanged ideas on the processes taking place in the South Caucasus region, steps to ensure regional peace and stability.

BY NAROD EKMEKJIAN

Dr. Henry Helvajian, Technical Fellow/Principal Scientist in the Physical Sciences Laboratories at The Aerospace Corporation, and Vahe Manuelian, Mesrobian class of 1990, Senior Project Engineer also from The Aerospace Corporation, visited Armenian Mesrobian School on February 23 to engage with the high school students.

As the future of space exploration and commercialization becomes increasingly important, the upcoming generation of students are responsible for shaping its future. To address this, Dr. Helvajian and Manuelian’s visit was dedicated to sparking excitement about space in the students and providing captivating facts to raise awareness about its upcoming challenges. 

Before the main topic, Manuelian spoke about the importance of education, to think big, and to know that Mesrobian students have a community of brilliant scientists and engineers like Dr. Helvajian to look up to and who are available to guide them. He then introduced Dr. Helvajian, who is recognized internationally in the areas of miniaturizing space systems and in laser material interaction physics and chemistry.

A scene from Dr. Henry Helvajian’s visit to Armenian Mesrobian School

We learned that Dr. Helvajian’s investigations on miniaturizing satellites, in the early 1990’s, led to the development of the world’s first <1 kg mass picosatellite which has since evolved into the CubeSat or Nanosatellite class vehicles. Furthermore, Dr. Helvajian is now a leading force in new space architectures including a futuristic mission that will help us find life in other planets 100’s of light years away.

Dr. Helvajian opened his presentation by providing interesting facts about space and its increasing relevance in our everyday lives. Providing a myriad of visual aids, he then simplified the complexities of space through use of everyday objects. A deeply moved 11th grader stated, “Before Dr. Henry’s presentation, I had no knowledge of how space worked. His demonstrations made it really easy to understand.”

Additionally, Dr. Helvajian continuously underscored the importance of every type of discipline in the future of space exploration and its ecosystem development, even those interested in the humanities. A 12th grader, interested in Political Science, expressed his optimism, stating, “As someone who is going to pursue Political Science, I am happy to know that I, too, can make a difference in the future where outer space plays a bigger role!”

To conclude his presentation, Dr. Helvajian enthusiastically answered the endless flood of questions from eager students. Undeterred that the presentation had ended, students of all grades stayed from their next classes to express their gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Helvajian and Mr. Manuelian. Given the enthusiasm and excitement displayed by the students and Dr. Helvajian, it is evident that the future of space is safe and in the hands of brilliant minds from all walks of life.  

Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the United States and many other countries, with polls showing around 80% of French people back the fact that abortion is legal. 

“We’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told MPs and senators gathered in congress for a special vote under the gilded ceilings of the Versailles Palace, just outside Paris. 

Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law – which many harshly criticized at the time. 

But the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to reverse the Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion prompted activists to push France to become the first country to explicitly protect the right in its basic law. 

“This right [to abortion] has retreated in the United States. And so nothing authorized us to think that France was exempt from this risk,” said Laura Slimani, from the Fondation des Femmes rights group. 

“There’s a lot of emotion, as a feminist activist, also as a woman,” Slimani said. 

Monday’s vote enshrined in Article 34 of the French constitution that “the law determines the conditions in which a woman has the guaranteed freedom to have recourse to an abortion.” 

“France is at the forefront,” said the head of the lower house of parliament, Yael Braun-Pivet, from French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party. 

But the move was not exempt from criticism. 

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Macron was using it to score political points, because of the large support for the right to abortion in the country. 

“We will vote to include it in the Constitution because we have no problem with that,” Le Pen told reporters ahead of the Versailles vote, while adding that it was exaggerating to call it a historic step because, she said, “no one is putting the right to abortion at risk in France.”  

Pascale Moriniere, the president of the Association of Catholic Families, called the move a defeat for anti-abortion campaigners. 

“It’s [also] a defeat for women,” she said, “and, of course, for all the children who cannot see the day.” 

Moriniere said there was no need to add the right to abortion to the constitution. 

“We imported a debate that is not French, since the United States was first to remove that from law with the repeal of Roe v. Wade,” she said. “There was an effect of panic from feminist movements, which wished to engrave this on the marble of the constitution.

Criminal prosecution against Azerbaijani soldier Ruslan Eldaniz oglu Panakhov has been stopped in Armenia. The Armenian media reported this.

Panakhov was detained on the territory of Armenia on February 28.

According to the Investigative Committee of Armenia, Panakhov ended up on

their territory, “following an incident between military personnel at…