Author: Alex Nanijanian

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been found guilty of bribing a senator in 2006 in an attempt to bring down the then centre-left government, the BBC reports.

A Naples court sentenced Berlusconi to three years in jail and banned him from holding public office for five years.

The four-times prime minister denied the charges.

He will not have to serve his sentence because a statute of limitations comes into effect later this year, before any appeal can be held.

The billionaire was accused of giving 3m euros (£2.5m; $4m) in 2006 to Sergio De Gregorio, then a senator from the anti-corruption Italy of Values party, to switch to Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party and thus undermine the government of the time.

The trial was held in Naples as it was the seat occupied by Mr De Gregorio.

Italy’s former prime minister is appealing against a prison sentence for having sex with an under-age prostitute and abuse of office, and another for leaking a confidential police wiretap.

He was also found guilty of tax fraud last year – his first definitive conviction.

Yerevan Zoo staff has announced that the 28 year old hippopotamus Manuk will be put down soon.

Though hippos’ life spin is estimated about 50 years, it is also known these animals cannot live long after their jaw-teeth are worn away.

“Manuk has been under medical treatment for the last years: the care and consistency of the vets prolonged his life for a few more years. However, the hippo is very weak these days and refuses to eat,” teh Yerevan Zoo said in a statement.

Manuk is one of the oldest inhabitants of Yerevan Zoo. He was brought to Yerevan in 1989 from Nikolayev Zoo at the age of 2.

There are two species of hippopotamus – the Common Hippopotamus (also called a River Hippo) (hippopotamus amphibius) and the Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Yerevan Zoo hippos belong to the first species which is listed in the IUCN Red List as “Vulnerable.”

 

 

 

June 15 is the day of Armenian state symbols. The symbols are “eternal truths” that pass  not only information, but also values from generation to generation. In a way, they represent the collective memory of mankind.

Like every nation, Armenians have created their symbolsin the course of centuries, but the state symbols are particularly dear to us, as a nation that has lost and regained statehood several times in history.

The third Republic of Armenia inherited and adopted all three symbols of the first Republic of Armenia proclaimed on May 28, 1918 – the flag, the coat of arms and the anthem.

The coat-of-arms of the Republic of Armenia was confirmed on August 23rd 1990 by the Armenian Supreme Counsel. The new modern design is based on the coat-of-arms of the first Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), which originally was designed by architect Aleksandr Tamanyan and painter Hagop Kodjoyan.

In the centre of the shield is Mount Ararat – the symbol of the Armenian nation. On its peak rests Noah’s Ark, which, according to the Bible, came to rest here after the great flood. Surrounding Mount Ararat are symbols of old Armenian dynasties.

At the bottom of the shield are five objects: a broken chain representing our freedom and independence; a sword, which stands for the power and strength of our nation; a bundle of wheat flower, representing the industrious nature of the Armenian people’ a feather pen symbolizing the intellectual and cultural heritage of the Armenian people, and a tricolor ribbon – the flag of the Republic of Armenia.

The Armenian flag has three equal sized horizontal bands: the top stripe is red, the middle one blue and the bottom stripe is orange. The colors on the Armenia flag represent its people.

The red symbolizes the Armenian Highland, the Armenian people’s continued struggle for survival, maintenance of the Christian faith, Armenia’s independence and freedom. The blue stands for the will of the people of Armenia to live beneath peaceful skies. The orange symbolizes the creative talent and hard-working nature of the people of Armenia.

“Mer Hayrenik” (Our Fatherland) is the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia. Adopted on 1 July 1991, it was also the national anthem of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), the first modern Armenian state.

The lyrics of the anthem are adapted from a version of Song of an Italian girl by Mikael Nalbandian (1829–1866) later set to music by composer Barsegh Kanachyan (1885–1967).

HDP Istanbul Member of Parliament Garo Palyan spoke to after the results of Sunday parliamentary elections in Turkey were announced.

Paylan said that they had expected to win 11-13% of the votes, and that the results were not a surprise.

Paylan stated that the HDP’s victory had come as a result of four-year hard work, and said: “We founded the HDP in 2011. During the 2-year foundation period, all identities and all democratic groups came together. Our party includes all identities, and we stand for equality. We are also aware that this has not been tried in politics in Turkey before. Ours is a discourse of radical democracy with no ifs and buts.”

One of the three new Armenian MPs in Parliament, Paylan explained his goals as follows: “It’s not having three Armenian MPs in Parliament matters, it’s what they will say and do. My party will stand out with its policy based on equality. The AKP also has Kurdish MPs but we have not witnessed an egalitarian approach from them. All other parties need to show more effort on this matter. It was this discourse that brought us success, I wish other parties can see that politics in Turkey can change.”

The plaque reading “1915-2015: 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide” was solemnly unveiled on the front of “Maison Blanche” – the administrative building of the 9-10th district of Marseille on June 4.

The event was attended by Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour, President of the Urban Community of Marseille Provence Métropole Guy Teissier, Head of the 9-10th district of Marseille, MP Valerie Boyer, Armenian Consul in Marseille Samvel Laylayan, Deputy Mayors, representatives of the local self-government, heads of Armenian and French organizations, journalists, representatives of the Armenian community.

The speakers at the event attached importance to the importance of commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide for Armenians and the international community and hailed Charles Aznavour’s participation and contribution to the process of international recognition of the Genocide.

Mayor Lionel Royer-Perreaut decorated Charles Aznavour with a memorial medal of the honorary citizen of the 9-10^th district. Later on a plaque reading “Centennial Olive Tree from Charles Aznavour” was unveiled in the park of Maison Blanche.

The event was widely covered in French media. The events dedicated to Armenia will continue at the Marseille City Hall for 10 days.

Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias has been receiving treatment after two of his fingers were injured by a drone camera during a concert in Mexico, the BBC reports.

The singer had been attempting to grab the drone, used to get crowd shots during his concerts.

“Something went wrong and he had an accident,” a representative for the singer revealed on Instagram.

Iglesias continued to perform after the accident before flying to Los Angeles to see a specialist.

Photos posted on social media after Saturday’s concert at the Plaza de Toros de Playas in Tijuana appeared to show him with a bandaged right hand and a bloodied white T-shirt.

According to his press agent Joe Bonilla, Iglesias – son of veteran Spanish performer Julio – “decided to go on and continued playing for 30 minutes while the bleeding continued throughout the show”.

The 40-year-old was then “rushed to the airport where an ambulance met him [and he] was then put on a plane to LA to see a specialist.”

Iglesias, one of Latin music’s biggest stars, recently took home nine prizes from the Billboard Latin Music Awards.

The next date in his Sex and Love world tour is scheduled for 3 July in Mexico City.

 

Kimye are expecting another baby, the Associted Press  reports.

Kim Kardashian says she is pregnant with her second child with Kanye West.

She revealed the news in a clip that appeared after Sunday’s episode of the E! reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

The show documented her fertility struggles, and she confided that an attempt to conceive through in vitro fertilization had failed.

The clip shows Kardashian telling her sister, Khloe, that a blood test following another attempt confirmed she was pregnant.

Kardashian and West have a nearly 2-year-old daughter, North West, who was born on June 15, 2013 and was recenty baptized in an Armenian church in Jerusalem.

They got engaged four months later in an elaborate marriage proposal in front of family and friends at San Francisco’s AT&T Park. They married in May 2014 in Florence, Italy, after hosting lavish pre-wedding festivities in France.

The much-talked about couple has been dubbed Kimye since becoming an item.

The two were married in Venice last year and have continued to seem blissfully happy whenever they’ve been pictured together since. Following on from the view that Clooney “upgraded” by marrying the impressively clever and successful lawyer, the actor has now explained why he fell for her originally.

“She’s an amazing human being,” he told ‘s Nancy O’Dell. “And she’s caring. And she also happens to be one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. And she’s got a great sense of humour. There’s a number of reasons why.”

Clooney said that her high-powered, influential job makes him feel “proud”. Amal is currently helping Greece win back the Elgin Marbles, which are currently held in London’s British Museum. The lawyer has also recently travelled to Strasbourg representing Armenia in their case against Doğu Perinçek, the leader of the Turkish Workers’ Party, who was convicted of denying the 1915 Armenian genocide in 2007.

“I’m always very proud of her when I see her speaking at the International Court of Appeals in Strasbourg, you know, with her robe on,” he said. “It’s very impressive.”

“It’s a nice looking robe,” he also joked. “They could spice that robe up a little bit.”

Clooney also showed his appreciation for his wife’s incredible sense of style. Apparently, she has a “another bedroom” to store her wardrobe.

“It’s amazing, because she’s always – since the day I met her – she’s always had this insanely… it’s eccentric but it’s fun, sense of fashion,” he told ET. “How she does it while she’s got 11 cases she’s working on, and she was teaching at Columbia, and she’s still like, ‘I want to wear that dress.’ It’s crazy. It has been sort of fascinating to watch, because she has such great taste.”