Author: Arsine Chaltikian

The Eurovision Song Contest has hit a major road bump, after 21 top level staff organising the event resigned, the BBC reports.

The Ukrainian Eurovision team say they were stripped of major responsibilities in December, when a new boss was appointed to the organising committee.

According to their resignation letter, they were “completely blocked” from making decisions about the show.

The EBU, which founded Eurovision, told Ukraine’s public broadcaster to “stick to the timeline” despite the upheaval.

It insisted the event would go ahead as planned in Kiev this May.

Lebanon’s Minister of Tourism, Avedis Guidanian, emphasized on Sunday the importance of respecting the specificity of the Armenian community when dealing with the issue of a new electoral law that preserves the equity of representation, Lebanon’s reports.

Speaking to the Voice of Lebanon Radio, Guidanian said that the new electoral law would be approved by the majority of politicians.

The Minister stressed the importance of parliamentary elections, hoping that the Armenian deputies would get elected by Armenian votes.

He noted that Armenians have been marginalized over the past 25 years.

He also called on all politicians to issue an electoral law that ensures equity in representation to all Lebanese components.

“I warn against setting up new (electoral) divisions at the expense of Armenians,” he went on.

Guidanian said that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation would participate in the parliamentary elections whether the electoral law adopted was proportional or majoritarian.

There has been an offer to organize a meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers later this month, Spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

“The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have offered to organize a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference,” Tigran Balayan told Tert.am.

“As Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a press conference earlier this month, let’s wait and see what gambles Azerbaijan tries this time,” Balayan said.

Asbarez – On Thursday, February 9th, the All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA) coordinated the annual “Stain of Denial” silent protest against the continuous denial of the Armenian Genocide. The protests were simultaneously held by ASA chapters and affiliated organizations on their respective college and university campuses. “Stain of Denial” was initiated in 2011 as a silent protest in order to raise awareness of the ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide and the need for recognition and reparations.

The students, faculty, and community members who participated on Thursday stressed that the Armenian Genocide is not an issue only reserved for the month of April, but it has a profound effect on Armenians every day. Whereas April 24th is traditionally the day that the world commemorates the Armenian Genocide, the memory of the genocide and its ensuing denial continues to be a daily struggle. The All-ASA prioritizes this campaign because Armenian students in college, where the free interchange of ideas and perspectives is encouraged, continuously find that the denial of their history is an injustice that they are blatantly faced with.

The participating ASA’s have continuously increased throughout the years. This year, Armenian students from various schools in the West coast, East coast, and Canada organized on their respective campuses. The participating schools in this years protests were: UC San Diego, UC Riverside, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Glendale Community College, Pasadena Community College, Occidental College, University of Southern California, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Northridge, Woodbury University, Massachussets College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Emmanel College, Boston University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Suffolk University, Yale University, and Princeton University. For the first time, the protests reached an international scope, with participation from the following Canadian universities: University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and the University of Montreal. Members from the following organization also participated: ARF Shant Student Association, Armenian Youth Federation, Alpha Gamma Alpha, and Alpha Epsilon Omega.

Thousands of Armenian students, community members, and faculty, both Armenian and non-Armenian, took a stand and reiterated that the Armenian Genocide is not just a “day in April,” but a year-round struggle for justice.

The campaign also included an online component, as those who were not able to attend raised awareness through social media, by incorporating the hashtags #StainofDenial, #ArmenianGenocide, and #DivestTurkey into their online posts. While the protests highlighted the history of the Armenian Genocide and the consequences that still continue, it also raised awareness of the #DivestTurkey initiative. This included education about resolutions that ASAs have passed through their student government councils, including both Armenian Genocide recognition and divestment bills, the latter of which targets over $70 million of University of California funds allocated toward the Turkish government.

On February 7, 2017, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the direction of the NKR Hadrut region, to the north of Horadiz.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain).

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), and staff member of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-lines.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

Jose Mourinho has warned Anthony Martial that he must grasp his chance at Manchester United after claiming the French forward has failed to take his “big opportunity” at Old Trafford, ESPN FC reports.

The 21-year-old has struggled to make an impact under Mourinho having scored 17 goals during his debut season at United last year.

So far this campaign, Martial has scored 6 goals in 21 appearances and Mourinho expects more from the former Monaco youngster.

“I don’t think he lost his focus,” Mourinho said. “I think he just didn’t catch with both hands a big opportunity he had.

“I think even you would be here now asking me why [Juan] Mata is not playing or Marcus Rashford doesn’t have a chance or why Jesse Lingard, a national team player, is not playing.

“So this is a reality. We have Rashford, Lingard, Mata, [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, Martial, and I cannot give to the same player chance after chance after chance and not consider the effort of the others.

“Anthony played against Liverpool, a big match for us and for him too, and then the next game I went to Mata and Mkhitaryan. This is the situation.

“But when I have five players for two positions, I have to praise the good performance and for that I have to take people out of the team. That’s simple.”

Photo: AP Photo/ Burhan Ozbilici

Ankara’s Cagdas Sanat Merkezi modern arts center exhibition hall where Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was killed has been named after the diplomat, local media reported on Thursday, Sputnik reports.

Karlov was shot dead by off-duty police officer Mevlut Mert Altintas at the opening of an art gallery exhibition at the Cagdas Sanat Merkezi center in the heart of Ankara. The gunman was killed at the scene by the police.

“Terrorism is a crime against humanity. We condemn terrorists, who have no nationality or religion. This hall will always hold the memory of Karlov,” Ankara’s central Cankaya municipality Mayor Alper Tasdelen was quoted as saying by the Anadolu news agency commenting on the decision.

On Monday, Ankara authorities decided to rename the street where the Russian embassy is located after Karlov as well.

An exhibition of works by Armenian artists opened at Tehran’s Maryam Gallery on Friday.

Entitled “Sodality”, works by Lilitte Therian, Serjh Avakian, Edman Aivazian, Simon Aivazian and Garnik der Hacoopian have been put on display, reported.

In the Armenian tradition, the holy birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated on January 6.

The ceremony was attended by the Armenian Archbishop of Tehran, Sebouh Sarkissian, and director of the Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality Mahmud Salahi.

In his brief speech at the ceremony Salahi said that the Christian artists of Iran narrate the history of Iran through their arts, adding, “I see no separation between my compatriots, we have been together and fought against the enemy during the (Iran-Iraq) war and some of the martyrs are Iranian Christians.”

“Now, the relations between Iran and Armenia are good and visa requirements for both citizens have been lifted. Iran emphasizes peaceful coexistence with all the people in the world. I hope the artists can help draw the attention of the world to peace and friendship,” he added.

Armenian Archbishop of Tehran Sebouh Sarkissian expressed his congratulations over the arrival of the New Year and the birth anniversary of Jesus.

He also thanked the organizers of the exhibit and said that the Armenians have made good progress in art with over 90 masters of art.

The opening ceremony ended by honoring the artists whose works are on display.

The exhibit has been arranged in collaboration with the Ardak Manoukian Museum in Tehran and will be running until January 11.

Photo: Getty Images

 

At least 16 people have been arrested in connection with an armed robbery of Kim Kardashian West in Paris in October, officials say, the BBC reports.

Authorities said at the time that the American reality TV star was robbed at gunpoint by at least two men dressed as police officers.

The men entered Kardashian West’s luxury apartment before tying her up and locking her in the bathroom.

They escaped with an estimated €10m (£8.7m; $10.5m) in jewellery.

French police said that traces of DNA left at the scene led to the arrests. The men were detained in early morning raids in the Paris region.

The 36-year-old mother-of-two, who is married to the rapper Kanye West, said she feared she was going to be killed at the time. The star was left badly shaken but unhurt.

Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been named Armenia’s 2016 Footballer of the Year, collecting 245 points out of 250 possible.

This is the 7th time the Armenia captain wins Player of the Year award and the sixth in a row.

Gevorg Ghazaryan, who plays for Portuguese Maritimo, came second with 56 points. Marcos Pizelli of Al-Fujeira was placed third.

FC Shirak head coach Vardan Bichakhchyan has been named Coach of the Year.