Author: Adrine Hakobian

Statement by Council of Europe of Secretary General Jagland:

“I am dismayed and deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities at the contact line in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. The Council of Europe urges both sides to stop this totally unnecessary bloodshed which leads nowhere except to further violence and loss of lives including of many civilians. I urge the parties to protect the right to life as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and return to the ceasefire and resume peaceful negotiations. This is a humanitarian imperative”

The replica of one of the cross-stones of Old Jugha will be installed in the park next to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Culture reports.

The solemn opening ceremony will be attended by the Presidents of the two countries, Armenia’s Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan and Costas Kadis, the Minister of Education and Culture Kostas of Cyprs.

The cross stone is dated 1598. The author of the replica is Ruben Nalbandian, founder of a unique school of cross-stone making.

In 2010 the art of cross-stone making was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

On February 26^th 2016, the President of the Republic of Serbia H.E. Tomislav Nikolić met a delegation led by Mr. Kaspar Karampetian, President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), at the Presidential Palace in Belgrade. The delegation comprised of the Prelate of the Armenians of Romania Msgr. Datev Hagopian-Mouradian, the President of the Armenian Community in Serbia Mr. Samvel Ayvazyan and Dr. Yiannos Charalampidis – journalist and author of books on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The adviser to the President of Serbia and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ivan Mrkić also participated in the meeting.

During the one-hour meeting, Karampetian expressed his gratitude to President Nikolić for his two visits to Armenia, especially during the commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, on behalf of all the members of the Federation.

EAFJD President stressed his satisfaction regarding the improvement of the bilateral relations between the Republics of Serbia and Armenia, during President Nikolić’s term in office. He expressed the willingness of the EAFJD to use its whole potential to help further deepen the relations between the two countries. Mr. Karampetian introduced the head of the Armenian Community in Serbia Samvel Ayvazyan to President Nikolić and focused on the Armenian Community in Serbia.

Accepting Mr. Karampetians’ request to provide to the Armenian Community of Serbia with land so that it can build a church, school, as well as a meeting hall, President Nikolić instructed his team to examine the possibility to satisfy the needs of the community, to help the latter be better organized, take care of their faith, language and traditions.

On behalf of the His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Bishop Datev presented an icon which was sent as a gift to the President of the Republic of Serbia. Bishop Datev, emphasized the excellent relations between the Serbian and Armenian Churches, mentioning that a visit of the Serbian Patriarch to the Holy See of Etchmiadzin is being planned.

President Nikolić expressed his gratitude to the Catholicos of all Armenians for the valuable gift and thanked especially Bishop Datev, for his visit to Belgrade, to personally present to him the icon and its history. The President of Serbia also expressed his satisfaction about this meeting and thanked the Armenian delegation for the visit to Belgrade. He also emphasized that his visits to Armenia aimed at deepening the relations between the two countries. President Nikolić spoke particularly warmly of his participation in the commemoration of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, when he personally represented the Republic of Serbia. President Nikolić informed that the relations will be deepened much more in the future and that he is looking forward to welcoming the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to Serbia in 2016.

“Today we had the honor of being received by the President of Serbia H.E. Tomislav Nikolić, with whom we had a very fruitful meeting and discussion. We are certain that the common history and values that we share with the Serbian people and the willingness of both Serbia and Armenia to deepen their cooperation will lead to significant results in the future,” said Karampetian.

“The President was favorable to our request regarding the Armenian community in Serbia, which will play also an important role in strengthening the ties between the two societies. I am confident that in the future we will have the opportunity to discuss other political matters with Serbian officials and reach a common understanding for the benefit of our two peoples,” concluded Karampetian

During the SARF (Syrian Armenian Relief Fund) Save a Life Telethon to raise money for critically needed aid to Syrian-Armenians, on February 21st, a delegation of the Armenian Bar Association will present $10,000 to SARF to aid and improve living conditions of Syrian-Armenians.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war for the past five years, which has destroyed cities and towns and left residents displaced, without shelter, and lacking the most basic necessities. The Syrian Armenian Relief Fund provides humanitarian assistance for the essential needs of the Syrian-Armenian Community – food, water, and medical assistance.

“The Armenian Bar Association is steadfast in its resolve to always rise fiercely in support of the plight of our Syrian-Armenians Compatriots,” said Saro Kerkonian, Esq., West-Coast Vice-Chair of the Armenian Bar.

The founder of soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, has died in the US, his brother has said.

White, 74, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on Thursday morning. He suffered from Parkinson’s Disease.

His band had a series of hits including September, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star and After the Love has Gone.

The singer-songwriter was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1992 but his condition was reported to have got worse in recent months.

Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Maurice was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.

Armenian Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan has filed his resignation. Spokesperson for the Ombudsman Shushan Danielyan confirmed the news to Public Radio of Armenia.

In a post on the Facebook page of the Armenian Ombudsman, Karen Andreasyan expresses gratitude to all colleagues for joint work and voices hope that the defense of human rights will remain a priority for our state and society.

No further explanations are expected.

– In the Chinese city of Yiwu, Christmas comes 365 days a year.

Yiwu could be anywhere in workaday urban China. It is a smoggy, swarming, unremarkable place some 300km south of Shanghai.

Except for one thing – a series of vast halls that constitute what is claimed to be the world’s biggest wholesale market. That’s where Christmas happens every day, even if most Chinese people themselves do not really believe in it.

There’s nothing grand about it – but inside the utilitarian buildings there’s a dazzling cornucopia of festive stuff ready for the world’s consumers. There are hundreds of booths, with thousands of different glittering things to buy by dozen, or the hundreds, or the container load.

There are cascades of plastic flowers, and batteries of singing Santas, there are life-sized reindeers, and twinkling LED garlands in more colours than a rainbow.

There are dozens of cuddly soft toy stalls, with characters bearing a peculiar familiarity to well-known global trademarks.

There are ribbons and baubles, and lights everywhere. Dazzled, the eye does not know where to look, what to take in. You amble on, floor after floor of glittering stuff ready for the export market.

Each of the more than 60,000 booths seems to represent a separate business. Each of them specialises in a very particular product, often from far away factories.

It’s not just toys and baubles. There are hundreds of booths of festive gloves and hats, tools, car accessories, bicycles, and pots and pans. Most of the products are gaudy and low tech. They say that 1,700,000 different things are on show. I gave up counting them.

Effectively this mind-boggling place is the shop window for the great Chinese industrial revolution, the extraordinary rush to turn the country into the global manufacturing powerhouse that has transformed China’s cities over the past 30 years.

It’s one of those statistics which nobody can prove, but they say that more than half of all the world’s Christmas decorations are made in China. A huge proportion of them are on sale to global buyers in the endless booths of the Yiwu wholesale market.

Across the world, Christians have begun marking Christmas with services, with Pope Francis holding midnight mass at the Vatican, the BBC reported.

In the holy city of Bethlehem, the West Bank town where it is believed that Jesus was born, events have been overshadowed by recent violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

“There’s lights, there’s carols, but there’s an underlying sense of tension,” one pilgrim to Bethlehem, Briton Paul Haines, told Associated Press news agency.

Euronews has named the Tbilisi tree as one of the most unusual Christmas trees in the world.

An illumination resembling a Christmas tree set at the monument to St. George at the Freedom Square in the capital of Georgia is listed among world’s six unusual trees.

Christmas tree stands in Park Simon Bolivar in Bogota.

Cars on a street illuminated by Christmas lights in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A Christmas tree made of 121 old wooden-framed, coloured windows, put together by local carpentry students, is seen in Rakvere in Estonia.

A couple hug while standing near a Christmas tree made out of plastic bins and plastic hampers outside the Museum of History in Monterrey, Mexico.

A Christmas tree stands in Byblos, north of Beirut, Lebanon.

People enjoy the Christmas festivities amongst Supertrees structures at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.