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Armenian, The new Defence Minister has big plans for the army

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big-plan-for-armyArmenian armed forces should play a more important role in social and economic life of the country, said yesterday the new defense minister, Vigen Sargsyan.

Sargsyan spoke about building a “nation-army” in his first public comments as minister.

“Given the environment of our present condition and existing political, it is clear that a strong army must remain an important part of our reality,” he commented before the Armenian Parliament.

He continued: “Therefore, we must understand two important things. First, find out how to make the army ceases to be a very heavy burden for our state and our economy. “

“This means that the entire population, not just those who serve in the armed forces, should have many scientific projects, economic, industrial and other impediments to the army,” he said. “In this sense, the military can be a solution rather than a problem.”

“And the second factor is a demobilized soldier of the army should be more patriotic, more educated, stronger and ready for the fight that young people who are called by the armed forces,” said Sargsyan during the question-answer-to the national Assembly.

The Minister also said that President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan agreed with his view of national defense.

Sargsian, 41, was appointed defense minister Monday as part of a government reshuffle following the resignation of Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan on September 8th. In naming him, President Sargsyan said the new minister should focus on a broader range of tasks, including the “political-military diplomacy”, military education and social security of military personnel.

Thursday, October 6, 2016,
Claire © armenews.com

New parties win big in Spain election, ruling conservatives lose majority

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567711b0c361885e7d8b456eSpain’s left-wing block is set to win an absolute majority in the Spanish Parliament, with 99 percent of votes counted. The Socialist Party is projected to win 91 seats, while the anti-austerity party, Podemos, is to get 42. The ruling People’s Party is at 122 seats.

The leader of Podemos party Pablo Iglesias told his supporters that this is a “historic” day for Spain, as it ushers in a new political era.

“Today is a historic day for Spain… We are starting a new political era in our country,” Iglesias said. “Spain is not going to be the same anymore.”

Prime Minster Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Partido Popular (PP) party will still take the largest share of the votes, though it will lose its parliamentary majority when the results of its left-wing rivals are combined. It was earlier projected to win 26.8 percent of the vote, according to an exit poll conducted by the state broadcaster RTVE.

“PP is the strongest force and the one chosen by the Spanish people,” said its spokesman at a press conference, as the exit polls were announced. The party captured 44 percent of the vote in the last election in 2011.

RTVE said the established Socialist party gained 20.5 percent of the vote, and the anti-austerity Podemos, established less than two years ago, garnered 21.7 percent. Due to the structure of the voting system, pollsters predicted that the Socialists would capture several more seats than Podemos.

The year-old Cuidadanos, considered a reformist, pro-business party, came in fourth place, with an estimated 15.2 percent.

“The two-party political system is over and we are entering a new era in our country,” said Podemos’s deputy Inigo Errejon.

RTVE obtained its results through 180,000 face-to-face interviews outside polling stations.

But Cuidadanos and Podemos have both painted themselves as protest parties, unwilling to be a part of the old political order, with its baggage of corruption and economic hardship. Spanish wages have still not recovered to 2008 levels despite years of austerity implemented by both the Socialists and PP. Unemployment is at 21.6 percent – gradually falling, but still the second-highest in the EU after Greece.

It is possible that Podemos and the Socialists will unite to form a left-wing coalition, though Rajoy said he would attempt to prevent this at all costs.

Report: Big Sugar’s scandalous sweetheart deal with public health experts exposed

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Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun

Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun

British public health experts issuing guidance on obesity receive hundreds of thousands of pounds from the sugar industry, an investigation has found. RT

Funding from companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé has flowed into scientific research bodies such as the UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) for over a decade.

Scientists whose work was at least partly funded and sometimes fully funded by the sugar industry include Professor Susan Jebb, the government’s obesity tsar. Report RT

Leading scientists blamed the government’s funding cuts for forcing researchers into the arms of Big Sugar, while one doctor told RT the findings were “disturbing.”

The report comes at a time when medical experts say daily guidelines on sugar intake are misleading, with the average Briton consuming two to three times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended limit.

According to the BMJ’s investigation, one government-funded organization, the MRC’s Human Nutrition Research unit in Cambridge, received an average of £250,000 a year for the past decade from Big Sugar.

Other scientists received consultancy fees from Boots, Coca-Cola, Mars, Cereal Partners UK and Unilever. They have also sat on advisory boards for Coca-Cola, the Food and Drink Federation and the Institute of Grocery Distributors, the report claims.

Nutrition scientist Susan Jebb, who is the UK government’s adviser on obesity, received £1.37 million in industry funding between 2004 and 2015, according to the investigation.

This money came from food and retail companies including Cereal Partners UK, which operates under the Nestlé brand, Rank Hovis McDougal, Sainsbury’s, Coca-Cola’s Beverage Institute for Health and Wellbeing and Unilever.

In a statement published via the Science Media Centre, Jebb rejected the BMJ’s investigation.

“It refers to a series of studies in which I was involved which included funding from industry. None of these involve research into the effects of sugar on health,” she said.

“I have received no personal remuneration from any of these projects. All have been conducted according to all the MRC governance arrangements for working with industry and the industry involvement has been declared.”

Dr Aseem Malholtra, a cardiologist and Science Director at the medically led Action on Sugar, told RT the findings were “disturbing.”

“I think it’s quite disturbing. I think the public would be appalled that the people advising them on what they eat are receiving money from the food industry.”

“We know that biased funding for research is one of the root causes of problems within healthcare at the moment. Whether it’s food industry funding or pharmaceutical funding.”