Author: Badalian Vardan

L’EGLISE SAINT JACQUES DE LYON A 50 ANS

Dimanche 30 Juin 2013, la paroisse de Lyon fetera avec ferveur et
joie le 50ème anniversaire de la dedicace de son eglise placee sous
la protection saint Jacques de Nisibe (4ème siècle).

Saint Jacques de Nisibe a toujours ete très populaire dans l’Eglise
armenienne. Il est connu pour ses liens familiaux avec saint Gregoire
l’Illuminateur et pour sa tentative d’ascension du mont Ararat pour
y rechercher les reliques de l’Arche de Noe. La tradition rapporte
que Dieu endormit le saint alors qu’il tentait de gravir les pentes
de la montagne sacree et qu’il lui a envoye un ange lui confier une
relique de l’Arche. Ce grand saint est venere dans toutes les Eglises
d’Orient, en particulier par les differentes confessions assyriennes
puisqu’il etait lui meme, en partie, Assyrien. L’Eglise armenienne
le fete a la mi-decembre.

A cette occasion, la Divine liturgie sera celebree par son Eminence
Monseigneur Norvan Zakarian, Primat du diocèse de France de l’Eglise
armenienne.

– Divine liturgie a 10 h 00

Eglise apostolique armenienne saint Jacques 295, Rue Andre Philip 69
003 Lyon

Une reception aura ensuite lieu en l’espace Garbis Manoukian.

JPEG – 3.7 Mo Saint Jacques de Nisibe recevant une relique de l’Arche
de Noe.

Fresque de l’eglise saint Jacques du quartier de Kanaker a Erevan
(17ème siècle).

L’eglise saint Jacques de Lyon (consacree en juin 1963)

JPEG – 38.2 ko Mgr. Norvan Zakarian

Mgr. Norvan a ete nomme recteur de la paroisse de Lyon en 1979, puis
après son elevation a l’episcopat en 1980, il a ete nomme Vicaire du
Legat Catholicossal jusqu’en 2007, annee de son election en tant que
Primat du diocèse de France de l’Eglise armenienne.

Centre d’information du diocèse de France de l’Eglise armenienne

jeudi 27 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE SUPPORTS HRANT JAMGOCHIAN’S CANDIDACY FOR HOUSE OF DELEGATES

13:40, 26 June, 2013

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS: Congressional Armenian Caucus CoChair
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) joined an enthusiastic crowd of more than a
hundred Maryland community leaders and activists in a strong show of
support for House of Delegates candidate Hrant Jamgochian’s June 17th
campaign fundraising kick-off, reports Armenpress referring to the
Armenian National Committee of America – Greater Washington (ANCAGW).

The reception, graciously hosted by Mrs. Nancy Greenspan at her
Bethesda home, was an opportunity for area voters and supporters,
including a diverse cross-section of the local Armenian American
community, to stand with Jamgochian’s campaign and support Hrant’s
positions on a broad range of local and state-wide issues, ranging
from health care and education to the environment and economy.

“We’re pleased to see Hrant in the lead as the front-runner in this
race, and proud to support his campaign every step to victory,”
said ANCA Greater Washington Chairwoman Sevan Kolejian. “We look
forward to helping Hrant spread his message to Maryland voters and to
playing our part in electing Maryland’s first-ever Armenian American
to statelevel office.”

In remarks voicing his support for Hrant’s campaign, Congressman
Pallone cited his own long and productive working relationship with him
on healthcare issues, saying: “He [Jamgochian] is an extraordinarily
respected and strong voice on patients’ rights and works tirelessly
in the non-profit sector to advance healthcare rights to the most
vulnerable members of our society. As the Ranking Member in the House
Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, I can tell you that Hrant
has got it right when it comes to good democratic values and a true
commitment when it comes to access affordability and quality of care
for all Maryland residents.”

Jamgochian explained, “This election is about values, and communicating
those values to our neighbors. We believe in protecting the most
vulnerable members of society, in fostering an affordable and
accessible educational system, and in an economy where people pay
their fair share and we are able to find jobs in the fields we have
spent years preparing for.”

On hand to lend their assistance to the Jamgochian campaign
that evening were three of this year’s ANCA Leo Sarkisian summer
interns: Manoug Alemian, Taleen Lachinian and Tamar Purut. “Hrant’s
enthusiasm and commitment to community outreach and empowerment was
inspirational,” said Lachinian, who had met Jamgochian and his wife,
Lenna, the day before at the Soorp Khatch Armenian Church Father’s
Day Picnic. “We need more Armenian Americans in elected office, and
it’s encouraging to see dedicated professionals like Hrant devoting
their lives to public service.”

TSARUKIAN CALLS ON BHK NOT TO CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT UNTIL SEPTEMBER

26/06/2013 13:30:00 Oratert News

The political board of Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) has not convened
sittings since the May 5 elections to Yerevan Council of Elders.

The BHK parliamentary faction has held only one sitting since the
elections and has never criticized the government or remembered the
difficult situation in the country, ‘Zhamanak’ daily writes.

According to the daily, BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian personally called
upon the party members “to keep silent” until September, i.e. not to
criticize the government and remember the difficult situation. It is
not clear what the BHK leader waits for in September.

PRESS RELEASE
TUMO CENTER FOR CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Address: 16 Halabyan Str.,
0038 Yerevan, Armenia
Tel: +374 (10) 398-413
Email: [email protected]

Workshop Exposes Students to Video Game Development

The roles were reversed at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies this
past spring as video game enthusiasts went from users to developers. With
the guidance of information system specialist Hovsep Stepanyan, a group of
students journeyed to the other side of the console to create video game
levels of their very own.

`In the beginning, the kids generally had no idea what video game design
entailed,’ explains Stepanyan. `But at the end of the workshop, they were
all able to fully devise their own special levels for whatever game they
chose.’
Using the CryENGINE software program, students in the two-month workshop
had the opportunity to design advanced, specially tailored video game
environments.

They started off with an empty 3D space provided by the program, on which
they arranged landscapes, modified colors, and established point triggers
between various objects. The easy-to-use program and support from Stepanyan
succeeded in familiarizing participants with the otherwise daunting maze of
video game design and visualization.

`Now that I can create my own levels for video games, my attention
automatically drifts to the background environment when I play,’ says Arman
Kirakosyan, a two-year Tumo student who took the workshop and plans on
pursuing game development as a career. `When you begin already creating
levels yourself, you naturally focus more on the details of the game rather
just playing it as a regular user.’

Stepanyan holds high hopes for young people like Arman who are learning
game development in Armenia. With the video game market having surpassed
both film and music globally in recent years, he believes the country can
play an important role in this growing industry.

`We have a lot to offer and present to the outside world, given our unique
culture and ability,’ insists Stepanyan. `If we build up the game
development industry here in Armenia, we have the potential to show global
audiences something they have never seen before.’

On Saturday, June 22, the student body at TUMO got to test out the game
levels developed by participants in the CryENGINE workshop. Six computer
modules were set up in the center’s installation area for groups of kids
to
take turns throughout the day enjoying the game their peers designed.

The success of the workshop will be carried forward into the summer session
with Beginner and Intermediate level workshops being offered in the months
of July and August.

For more information, visit

The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies is a unique digital media
resource center in the heart of Yerevan, Armenia. Since its opening in
2011, the center has provided thousands of students aged 12-18 an open
environment where they can utilize the latest in digital communications,
learn from media professionals, and explore the intersection of art and
technology.

###

Captions

“IMG_0721 copy.jpg”: Tumo students test out video game levels designed by
their peers.

“_MG_7872 copy.jpg”: Students take turns playing a video game developed
in the school’s CryENGINE workshop.
“Editor_Ship.jpg”: Screenshot of a video game level designed by
18-year-old Tumo student Arman Stepanyan.

AZERBAIJAN’S ARMED FORCES NEVER STRONGER THAN ARMENIA’S ARMY – DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

17:20 ~U 26.06.13

In response to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statements that
strong Azerbaijan can use any language with weak Armenia, Artsrun
Hovhannisyan, Spokesman for Armenia’s Ministry of Defense, quoted
Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan, who said that “the Azerbaijani
army cannot be strong at a parade in Baku and prove unable to dictate
the Armenian side on the front line.”

“So if they are unable to dictate on the front line, they are not
really strong in Baku,” Hovhannisyan said.

At a military parade in Baku on June 26, President of Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev stated that “the war is not over yet, but its first
stage is over.”

“We can hear such statements every year. This does not change the
situation. Azerbaijan’s armed forces have never had – nor will they
have – any advantage over Armenia’s armed forces – either now or in
the future. These high-sounding words have nothing in common with
reality,” Hovhannisyan said.

Tevan Poghosyan, former executive director of the International Center
for Human Development and Heritage parliamentary group member, told
Tert.am that the Azerbaijani leader is using a “macho language.”

“There is no ‘speaking any language’ in politics. What does Aliyev
mean by ‘any language’? Is it Azerbaijani, Armenian, Russian, English
or the word stock he is using? He is most probably showing off his
resources in the region,” Poghosyan said.

The Azerbaijani leader also stated that that Azerbaijan prefers a
political way of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

“However, Azerbaijani is getting stronger day by day, while Armenia
is getting weaker,” he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

PENSION SYSTEM INFORMATION CENTER OPENED IN NKR

STEPANAKERT, June 26./ARKA/. Pension System Information Center opened
at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic under the decision of the government.

The Center is to foster pension reforms, offer consultations and
assistance related to the reforms and raise public awareness about the
complex pension system, the press office of the government reported
to ARKA on Wednesday.

“NKR Minister of Labor and Social Affairs appointed Marat Asratyan
as the director of the Center,” the source noted.

– See more at:

ARMENIA & AZERBAIJAN: A CAUCASUS SPACE RACE IS ON!

EurasiaNet.org, NY
June 24 2013

June 24, 2013 – 1:48pm, by Giorgi Lomsadze

The frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is being flavored
with some Cold-War spice, namely a space race.

Readers will recall that earlier this year Azerbaijan succeeded in
flinging a satellite into orbit. Not to be outdone, Armenia is now
making plans to place its own satellite in space.

The estimated cost of Armenia’s space ambitions – $250 million –
should raise some eyebrows given that the country’s GDP (based on
purchasing power parity) is roughly $19 billion, and it already has
$4.37 billion in sovereign debt. But the economic practicality of the
venture probably isn’t the most important consideration for Yerevan.

With the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still stalemated, Armenian leaders
don’t want to give their Azerbaijani counterparts any idea that they
can’t keep up in any type of arms race.

Azerbaijan used its oil and gas wealth to underwrite its satellite
project. Armenian telecommunications officials are saying they will
scrape together funds from private investors for their satellite. To
succeed, the country may put to use its key natural resource,
the Armenian diaspora. Remittances from Armenians abroad make up a
significant share of Armenia’s national income. Meanwhile, Russia,
Armenia’s main regional ally and a space-exploration heavyweight,
may lend money for the venture and help manufacture the satellite.

Armenian officials are now setting up a space agency, dubbed ArmCosmos,
and are negotiating with the International Telecommunications Union,
a UN body, to clear the path for its prospective launch.

The competition reminds the Tamada of an old joke about the Caucasus,
in which an Armenian boy asks his grandfather why the Armenians haven’t
sent a man into space. The old man replies, “If the Armenians sent a
cosmonaut into space, the Georgians would die of envy. If the Georgians
die of envy, the Armenians will die of pleasure. And if the Georgians
and Armenians die, the Azeris will be left with all the land.”

ARMENIA’S FOREIGN OFFICE DIRECTS ENQUIRY TO TURKISH SIDE CONCERNING DETAINED CITIZEN

21:55 ~U 24.06.13

Armenia’s Ministry of Diaspora has transferred the data on the
Armenian citizen Ara E. Hovsep, who is in a Turkish prison now,
to the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Armenia.

“They are dealing with the matter,” Lusine Stepanyan, Head of the
Department of Armenian Communities of the Near East and Middle East,
Ministry of Diaspora, told Tert.am.

Tigran Balyan, Spokesman for Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
told Tert.am that the Armenian side has directed an enquiry to the
Turkish authorities.

Azatutyun Radio, referring to the detainee’s relatives, reported that
Ara Hovsep arrived in Turkey with an Armenian passport and has been
in custody in Erzurum since June 14. Ara Hovsep was a minibus driver
serving the Yerevan-Aleppo route. On June 14 the minibus collided
with a Turkish taxi, killing a woman and two children and injuring
some of the minimum passengers.

Ara Hovses is not in danger. “Even if that car accident happened in
Armenia, all the circumstances would have to be established give
the fact that the victims were foreign citizens. Armenia has no
diplomatic relations with Turkey, which accounts for the delay in
the investigation,” Stepanyan said.

The Armenian citizen’s relatives say that the lawyer demands $6,000 for
his release. But they say the taxi driver was guilty of the accident,
and they have not so much money to pay.

Armenian News – Tert.am

IF ARMENIA BECOMES EURASIAN CUSTOMS UNION MEMBER, IT WILL HAVE TO END ACTIVITIES TO SIGN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH EU – ECONOMIST

YEREVAN. – If Armenia becomes a member in the Eurasian Customs Union,
it cannot sign the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with
the European Union (EU).

Economist Samvel Avagyan noted the abovementioned during a press
conference on Monday.

The matter is that a country which has become a member in a customs
union is obligated to discuss the terms of trade with a third country
solely by way of the said customs union.

Avagyan noted that CIS and EU are Armenia’s important partners. That
is why it is beneficial for the country to continue the integration
processes in both directions.

But, as for the economist, a problem may occur only if Armenia’s
integration with the Eurasian Economic Union continues prior to its
entering into the customs union.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

ANOTHER ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN ORGANIZATION TO BE FOUNDED

18:36, 24 June, 2013

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS: The secretary of the Security Council
of Russia Nikolai Patrushev, who is in Armenia on a working visit,
and the secretary of Natioanal Security Council of Armenia Arthur
Baghdasaryan discussed issues relating to formation of regional
infrastructure of joint reserves (ArmRosgosreserve). ArmRosgosreserve
will have regional importance also in framework of Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO).

“Armenpress” was informed from press service of the National Security
Council of the Republic of Armenia that the foundation of agency of
Armenian-Russian reserves is conditioned by the raising of the level
and efficiency of cooperation between Armenia and Russia which is set
out in the treaty about expansion of technical military cooperation
between the Republic of Armenia and Russian federation.

A discussion on going works of formation of the infrastructure was
held between Deputy head of Federal agency of RF state reserves Pyotr
Efanov and head of “State reserves agency” Sergey Shahinyan.

After the discussion Pyotr Efimov and Sergey Shahinyan visited Crisis
management centre of the mInistry of emergency situations of Armenia,
got acquainted with implemented works.