“Occupy” activists protest Davos economic forumJanuary 25, 2012 - 19:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Activists linked to the global ‘Occupy’ movement used giant red weather balloons to stage a flying protest over the venue of the World Economic Forum Wednesday, January 24. About a dozen protesters sent up a banner reading “Hey WEF, where are the other 6.9999 billion leaders?” to protest their exclusion from the high-security event where CEOs and politicians meet each year to discuss the state of the world, The Washington Post reported. “We believe that the leaders at World Economic Forum are just trying to implement new systems to maximize their profits, not to help the world,” said Amadeus Thiemann, an engineer from Zurich who was among the protesters. The event is one of a number of small, peaceful protests that have taken place in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week. Later Wednesday, civil society groups including Amnesty International were planning to stage a protest against corporate excess which they claim is hurting the world’s poorest. The balloon protesters, who call themselves “Occupy WEF,” have also built a small igloo village outside the security perimeter, where they have so far been tolerated by police. The group are following in the footsteps of the Occupy Wall Street movement that spread to cities around the world. Davos is an exceptionally hard-to-reach place to protest, tucked in the Swiss Alps. Some 2,600 of the world’s most influential people are gathered for the forum this week, amid increasing worries about the global economy and potential social unrest because of rising income inequalities. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. Yerevan State University, Ucom sign Memorandum of Cooperation Rector of Yerevan State University Hovhannes Hovhannisyan and General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian signed the memorandum. EU to provide budgetary support to Armenia The agreement is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the educational system of Armenia. Aliyev: No peace treaty unless Armenia changes constitution Azerbaijan will not sign a peace treaty with Armenia unless the latter changes its constitution, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. |