Author: Aram Torosian

On 19 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the building of Matenadaran being constructed in the neighborhood of the Gandzasar monastic complex and got acquainted with the carried out activities, NKR President’s Press Service reports.

The President had a meeting with Hrachya Tamrazyan, director of Scientific-Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts Matenadaran after St. Mesrop Mashtots and a group of scientists and specialists of the institution.

The President noted with satisfaction that the activities had entered into the final phase and this scientific-cultural center would start its work soon.

Bako Sahakyan expressed gratitude to the director and the staff of the Matenadaran after St. Mesrop Mashtots for constant assistance stressing that without their high professional and patriotic activity it would have been impossible to successfully implement the establishment of Artsakh’s Matenadaran.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 100 times last night, firing more than 1,700 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions using 60,82 and 120 mm mortars, HAN-17 and RPG-7 grenades and TP-107 reactive rocket launchers, NKR Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The activeness of the rival was pressured a as result of retaliatory measures taken by the front divisions of the NKR Defense Army.

The Ministry said the Armenian forces confidently continue with their military duty all along the line of contact.

The Federation Council has granted permission to the Russian president to use Russian Armed Forces in Syria, Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov told journalists on Wednesday, TASS reports.

“The Federation Council unanimously supported the president’s request – 162 votes in favor [of granting permission],” Ivanov said.

Ivanov said that Russia will use only its Air Force in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s request.

“The operation’s military goal is exclusively air support of the Syrian armed forces in their fight against ISIL,” he said.

This operation by the Russian Air Force is limited in time and the types of the used weapons are not disclosed, Ivanov added.

Ivanov noted that Russia’s partners will be informed today about the decision to use Russian Air Force in Syria.

“All our partners and allies will be informed today about the decision [to use Russian Air Force in Syria]. Specific information will probably be shared with defense ministries as well,” Ivanov said.

 

The State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, under the baton of maestro Sergey Smbatyan, performed on the same stage with world-renowned violinist Ara Malikian, who was nominated for “Latin Grammy.”

The concerts took place on September 25, in “Mozart” Concert Hall in Zaragoza, and on September 26 in Royal Theatre of Madrid.

Works by Khachaturian, Mendelssohn, Paganini, Tchaikovsky and others, works from “Led Zeppelin” repertoire were performed. M Ara Malikian’s  “1915”, dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, specially written for these concerts, was also presented.

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia Sergey Smbatyan said it was interesting for the Orchestra and for himself to work with a unique musician like Ara Malikian.

Ara Malikian was born in Beirut, studied in London and lives in Madrid. He is a virtuoso violinist with bright expressiveness, an author of a dozen albums. The sound of his violin is the most original and innovative in the contemporary music world. Malikian participates in numerous prestigious international competitions, performing more than 450 concerts in 40 countries around the world every year.

Sergey Smbatyan noted also that in 2016 they will try to invite Ara Malikian to Armenia. “We are always looking for Armenians in other nations but we forget that we have real Armenian heroes that affect the formation of the image of Armenia abroad,” Smbatyan added.

Armenia will be a special guest at the 28th Moscow International Book Fair along with Serbia and Iran, TASS reports.

Armenia will present books dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide – the “The Sandcastle Girls” by Chris Bohjalian, “The Book of Whispers” by Varujan Vosganian, “Letters to the World” by Bogdan Gembarsky and others.

“The Land Speaks” – a collection of works by 10 martyred writers will also be on display at the Armenian booth.

The event will be held from September 2-6 and will feature 400 Russian and foreign publishing houses.

Co-Founders of 100 LIVES initiative Ruben Vardanyan, Noubar Afeyan and Vartan Gregorian sent open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

“It is with profound respect and gratitude that we join you on this World Humanitarian Day in honoring and commemorating the humanitarians who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

For the three of us, the spirit of this day is deeply personal. As Armenians, we are profoundly grateful to those individuals whose heroic acts saved lives during the Armenian Genocide. Their courageous legacy, like that of Special Representative Sérgio Vieira de Mello, has motivated many to pursue humanitarian work and inspired us to recognize the sacrifices made by so many to benefit the lives of others.

Out of a deep sense of indebtedness and appreciation, we developed the 100 LIVES initiative to remember and honor those whose selfless actions saved lives 100 years ago. The initiative seeks to share the remarkable stories of both saviors and survivors and celebrate the strength of the human spirit.

As part of the initiative, we have established a new global humanitarian prize, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. The Aurora Prize will be presented annually to humanitarians who put themselves at risk to enable others to survive and thrive. The Prize winner will receive a US$100,000 award, as well as a US$1 million grant to be donated to the charitable organization that inspired his or her work.

This year, your World Humanitarian Day campaign is shining the spotlight on humanitarians around the world and profiling valiant Humanitarian Heroes. We are doing the same through the Aurora Prize. We want to recognize those individuals undertaking life-­‐saving work around the world, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances where others cannot or do not want to go. We invite the public to submit nominations for candidates they believe are deserving of this esteemed recognition through our online portal at  .

We hope that you will join us in promoting noteworthy nominations so that modern-­‐day saviors can be honored in a manner that drives further good work. This can only raise public consciousness to the issues that you face daily, and those that confront the most vulnerable around the world today”.

The State of Rio de Janeiro recognized the Armenian Genocide on Friday, July 24 through a law that establishes  April 24 as “Day of recognition and memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” Prensa Armenia reports.

The law was enacted by the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Fernando Pezão.

Rio de Janeiro is the fourth State in Brazil that recognizes the Genocide, along with Parana, Ceara and Sao Paulo. Months ago, the Brazilian Senate passed a vote of solidarity with the Armenian people for the centenary of crime against humanity.

U.S. Embassy Yerevan expects to be able to restore full visa services by next week thanks to the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs’ hard work to resolve the technical issues that affected consular systems worldwide. Due to the backlog of pending visa cases caused by these technical issues, we remain unable to print visas within the usual 2-3 business days.

Non-Immigrant Visa Applicants (Tourists, Businesspeople, Students, etc.):

If you scheduled an appointment and were informed that your appointment was cancelled by the Consular Section, please call +374 60 27 0113 to reschedule your interview.

If you were interviewed, your visa was approved, and the Consular Section has your passport, you can pick up your passport and visa at the U.S. Embassy:

–      Monday, June 29 from 4:00 – 5:20 PM

–      Tuesday, June 30 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM

–      Wednesday, July 1 from 4:00  – 5:20 PM

–      Any work day afterwards from 5:00-5:20 PM.  (Please note that Friday, July 3 is an Embassy holiday.)

If you were interviewed, your visa was approved, and you have your passport, the passport may be dropped off at the Embassy beginning Monday, June 29^th. Your passport and visa will be available for pick-up one calendar week from the day the passport is dropped off, unless it is a holiday or weekend, in which case the passport and visa will be available for pick-up on the next working day after a calendar week has passed.

If you were interviewed, your case required additional administrative processing, and your case number has been posted on our website, you may return your passport to us beginning Monday, June 29^th. Your passport and visa will be available for pick up one calendar week from the day the passport is dropped off unless it is a holiday or weekend in which case the passport and visa will be available on the next working day after a calendar week has passed.

As part of the events taking place in Uruguay in commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide “The dawn of the twenty” documentary focusing on the murder of 20 leaders of the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party in Istanbul in 1915 was screened in Montevideo on June 22, reports.

The leaders were arrested, tried and sentenced to death. They were hung in the Sultan Bayazid Square in Istanbul on June 15, 1915.

“Uruguay was the first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and we have held a number of events to mark its centennial this year,” the mayor of Montevideo, Ana Olivera, said.

She stressed that Uruguay has “maintains close ties with the entire Armenian community.”

The secreening of the documentary at Teatro Solis in Montevideo was attended by the Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church Hakob Kellendjian, representatives of the Central Committee of the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party and the Armenian Consulate.

Russia and Greece have signed a deal to create a joint enterprise for construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline across Greek territory, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said. The pipeline will have a capacity of 47 billion cubic meters a year, reports.

The construction costs are about €2 billion and the parties will sign a roadmap Friday, Novak told RIA at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

The Greek extension of the Turkish Stream project is called the South European pipeline in the memorandum signed on Friday, Novak said, adding that the construction will start in 2016 and be completed by 2019.

The two countries will have equal shares in the company, Novak said.Construction of the pipeline in Greece will be financed by Russia, and Athens will return the money afterward.