Dropping by 7 ranks at once, Armenia now sits 98th with 385 points.
In the latest match, the team lost to Lithuania 0-1.
World champion Germany tops the ranking with 1533 points. Brazil with 1384 points comes second and Belgium with 1346 sits third, having overtaken Portugal.
The Prime Minister of Armenia will have two official residences, minister of justice Davit Harutyunyan told reporters after the April 5 Cabinet meeting.
“The Prime Minister will also have a residence at the Governmental Seat because more efficient work can be done with Cabinet members here,” he said, adding that another residence is planned for the PM.
“The powers of the next Prime Minister are expanded to such an extent that a significant part of the president’s powers will be carried out by the Prime Minister and in terms of structure and infrastructure the [current] presidential residence is customized for the duly implementation of a number of powers”, he said.
Armenia will transition to a parliamentary administration system from April 9, in accordance to the Consitution. The next Prime Minister’s residence will be the incumbent president’s official seat – 26 Baghramyan in Yerevan. The next presidential residence will be 46 Mashtots.
Jesse Gabriel is running for California State Assembly in the 45th district
Special Election to be held in Assembly District 45 on April 3
GLENDALE—The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region on Wednesday announced its endorsement of Democratic candidate, attorney Jesse Gabriel for the California Assembly District 45 special election slated for April 3.
Gabriel is running to replace Matt Dababneh who resigned from his seat at the end of 2017.
Local ANCA chapters North and West San Fernando Valley that fall under the 45th district have also expressed support for Gabriel, who announced his campaign in January.
Gabriel is a Los Angeles County Commissioner and constitutional rights attorney who has represented clients before the United States Supreme Court. Through his legal work and legislative advocacy, Gabriel has advocated for Holocaust survivors, victims of domestic abuse, and communities facing the threat of hate-motivated violence.
To date, Congressmembers Brad Sherman, Karen Bass, and Grace Napolitano have all endorsed Gabriel’s bid. Gabriel has also been endorsed by the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DPSFV), the Steamfitters – Refrigeration Fitters of United Association (UA) Local 250, the Los Angeles County Young Democrats, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California State Council, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Teamsters Joint Council 42 and a far-reaching coalition of neighborhood leaders, small business owners, and Democratic activists.
Prior to beginning his law practice, he served as a senior advisor to former United States Senator Evan Bayh, D-Indiana. A Harvard law graduate, Gabriel serves on the Los Angeles County Commission on Local Government Services, and on the board of the L.A. League of Conservation Voters.
He currently lives in Encino with his wife, Rachel Rosner, an affordable housing attorney, and their sons, Ethan and Joshua.
Assembly District 45 includes the City of Calabasas, the City of Hidden Hills, a small portion of unincorporated Ventura County and several neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles, including highly populated pockets of the Armenian-American community in Encino, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Northridge, Reseda, Tarzana, Warner Center, West Hills, Winnetka and Woodland Hills.
To learn more about Jesse Gabriel’s campaign visit www.JesseForAssembly.com
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia Friday Sun, clean food, adventures and first Christian nation: Armenia's tourism image at targeted markets YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Nowadays most of the tourists mainly search for adventures, leisure, tasty and healthy food, sun, clean air, sometimes a place far from city noise. Ara Khzmalyan – director of the Tourism Development Foundation of Armenia, gave an interview to ARMENPRESS talking about the ongoing activities aimed at increasing the tourism flows to Armenia. -Mr. Khzmalyan, what activities are planned for this year aimed at increasing the flights and number of tourists to Armenia? -There is a simple logic according to which the presence of direct flights greatly contributes to increase in number of tourists. I think the actions taken by the State Tourism Committee to facilitate visa procedures will contribute to growth of tourism flow. But the direct flight must be nourished by marketing measures. People will be interested in our country and tourism potential, and of course the business will understand that it’s necessary to open direct flights to Armenia. For instance, it’s desirable to have a direct flight from Egypt. We know that there are millions of Christians in Egypt, in particular, the Coptic Christian community who can prefer Armenia as a first Christian country. Last year minister Suren Karayan’s visit to Lebanon showed us that our country can be a very important destination for religious tourism. The Armenian community of Lebanon is 200 years old, the awareness on our country, culture is at the proper level. This year we plan to appoint a person as a representative to Lebanon whose agency is engaged in marketing campaigns. The awareness of country is a process which should never stop and have an end. Our representative will work not only in Lebanon, but also in the Arab countries of the Gulf. There is a problem of getting well acquainted with the market, understanding its features in order to implement targeted marketing programs. He knows that market quite well and is a Lebanese citizen. These actions will be taken also in other targeted countries. We say Russia and usually understand Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the Russian Federation is a broader concept, rather than the two capitals. The entire northern part of Russia is considered as the most lucrative part. This means that serious steps must be taken there since there is a preference for sun, clean nature, tasty fruits, and thus, we need to attract these people to Armenia as much as possible. -What concrete steps and activities are planned to be taken in the targeted markets, such as Russia, Iran, Arab and European countries, and China? -The main task of the Tourism Development Foundation is to increase awareness on Armenia. This means that most of our activities is planned for the outside world. In this sense we have a number of events, international exhibitions, participation in thematic exhibitions on wine, pilgrimage, cuisine tourism, different advertising campaigns, holding Days of Armenia. We are going to publish articles in leading international journals. We also work on bringing bloggers and journalists to Armenia. This year we plan to hold the presentation of the Russian Trace in St. Petersburg. We want to show the traces of Armenian-Russian cultural and historical ties in our country, such as historical monuments, written sources, and so on. All these is just needed to be well covered and presented. This is a new project and creates major interest among our Russian partners. -What steps are being taken in terms of infrastructure development so that we can host more tourists every year? -Fortunately, we have initiatives which launched last year and continue this year, such as the opening of hotels, people renovate their houses and provide to tourists in the form of guesthouses. This is a very important issue since during the season we face a problem of hosting tourists in hotels. We take steps to create an entertaining environment in communities as well. -What new directions and tourism result can Armenia offer aimed at attracting new tourists? -It’s quite a long time most of the tourists are not interested in smooth and asphalt streets, as well as in comfort. The adventure tourism rapidly develops, the private sector in Armenia carries out significant works on this path. There are foreigners who even buy houses in rural communities. What the world needs today – clean food, natural and good environment, sun, sometimes silence, far from city noise. In line with this we have a great potential which is still not utilized. That is Armenia’s being as the first Christian country. Pope Francis visited Armenia, more than billions of people knew about our country’s Christian significance. Our country is rich of the relics of Christian saints, architectural monuments. I also want to state that the cuisine tourism is also developing in Armenia, I don’t remember a guest who is not impressed with the Armenian cuisine and hospitality. Interview by Ani Nazaryan Full interview is available in Armenian
PanARMENIAN.Net – Russian blogger Igor Shiryaev was among the group of journalists who visited Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) to participate in events marking the 30th anniversary of the Karabakh movement on February 10-13.
“Having traveled to a lot of beautiful and exotic spots on the planet, I find Karabakh one of the few places that I call real,” Shiryaev said in a Facebook post.
“There are higher mountains, more exotic nature, and richer countries, but Karabakh is real!”
The country, according to the blogger, is populated by properly educated people who have experienced a lot and, surprisingly, have become not worse, but better people.
“They do not ask for anything from anyone. They just want to be left alone and allowed to live peacefully on the land they consider their own,” Shiryaev said.
“And I absolutely agree with them. Nowhere else do I feel so free and at the same time safe as in Karabakh.”
During the visit, the members of the group met the Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, parliament speaker Ashot Ghulyan, foreign minister Masis Mailyan, human rights defender Ruben Melikyan to name a few.
Italian police tried to arrest Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s opposition lawmaker from the Parliament’s Yelk faction, in Rome.
The Member of Parliament posted photos on his social media account showing officers in his hotel room.
“Moments ago Italian police had besieged my hotel room in Rome. They came to arrest me. It turns out I am wanted by Armenian authorities through Interpol”, Pashinyan said on Facebook.
After the March 1, 2008 unrest, when Pashinyan went into hiding, he had been declared internationally wanted through Interpol.
Changes have taken place in the managerial staff of the Armenian wrestling federation. Vaghinak Galustyan, former Greco-Roman wrestler, former World Champion has been appointed as the Federation’s Secretary General.
Prior to that, Arayik Baghdadyan, former freestyle wrestler, former Head Coach of the team, took the position of the Chief Secretary.
To remind, Vaghinak Galustyan has been the Head of Sport and Youth Sports Policy Department of the RA Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs since 2014, and since April 9, 2015, he is the President of the “Armenian National Coach Wrestling Federation.”
Nearly a decade ago, while doing research for my PhD dissertation about British Consulates in Basra and Baghdad, I discovered Meir Verete’s article, “Why was a British Consulate established in Jerusalem?” among the Oxford Journals dated 1970.
The question in the title implied a certain statement, as there had been no need to have a British Consulate in Jerusalem, since not many British nationals had been living there nor had any British companies been operating there. So, what was the need for a British Consul in Jerusalem if it did not serve British citizens or commerce? Moreover, how was Viscount Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, manipulated to make such an appointment?
After the Balfour Declaration issued by the British government, which announced support for establishing a “home for the Jewish people” in Palestine following World War I, books published on Jewish settlement in Palestine provided a revisionist history of the real motivations behind Great Britain’s appointment of a consul to Jerusalem in August 1838. Jewish historians like A.M. Hyamson and J. Parkes connected this appointment with sympathy felt by the British government for the return of the Jews to Palestine. However, Vereté well exhibits and demonstrates through his research that there were two main motivations behind such a decision, the first being political and the second, religious. It is undeniable the British had wished the Jewish people to return to Palestine, but in 1838, they had wished for them to return as converted Protestants, not as Jews.
The conventional purpose of consulates is to promote the commercial interests of a country. For Great Britain, there had been a procedure for appointing a new consul to a country and/or region. Analysis of the correspondence in the 1830s shows the British Foreign Office did not follow the above procedure in the case of Jerusalem. Given there had only been one or two English missionary families living in Jerusalem at the time, and minimal commercial trade considerations, what moved the Foreign Secretary to propose a consul would be useful and necessary in Jerusalem?
As a very small town in the early 19th century, Jerusalem was considered within the duty area of the British Consul stationed in Damascus. Later, when Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Pasha, the governor of Egypt, extended his sphere of influence to Syria, the consul in Cairo was designated to cover the area of Jerusalem for British nationals.
In 1834, the British Consul in Damascus, J.W.P. Farren, became the first to write to Palmerston about the Roman Catholic subjects in the Ottoman Empire and the Catholic Church in France’s influence over them. Citing good relations and connections of Anglican missionaries with Armenians since the 1820s, Farren proposed an Armenian, Mr. Merad, a subject of the Ottoman Empire, as a candidate for the post. Palmerston almost ignored Farren’s proposal at the time.
However, in the spring of 1836, the British Consul in Cairo reported the arrival of valuable gifts to the region from the Russian government for the Greek Church in the Holy Sepulchre. This news really caught Palmerstone’s attention towards Russia’s activities in the region, leading him to note “it would be expedient to have an English consular agent in Jerusalem.”
During this period of history, we witnessed a major Anglo-Russian rivalry on generating influence over the Asiatic lands of the Ottoman Empire. Appointing consuls in various parts of Ottoman lands was one of the implications of this rivalry. With the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi signed in July 1833, Russia’s right to defend Orthodox Christians in the empire had to be recognized by Sultan Mahmud II. Palmerstone later described not standing by the sultan and allowing Russia on this march as “a grave failure of the English government’s policy.”
So clearly, it could be said the rivalry between the Anglo-Russian powers had played the largest role in this appointment. The records from the period do not provide any evidence referring to the Jewish problem, the Jewish return to Palestine or generally the protection to be afforded Jews in Palestine as claimed by 20th century historians. Nor can one talk about British public sympathy towards the Jews. On the contrary, a very common dislike for the Jews is evident in the literature and press from 19th century England. This dislike is expressed clearly and somehow criticized by Charles Dickens in his novel, “Our Mutual Friend.”
Now, approximately 200 years later, the Anglo-Russian rivalry has been rejuvenated with the American-Russian version. The world watches as the United States moves its embassy to Jerusalem and recognizes the Holy Town shared by the three monotheistic religions, as the capital city of Israel. Palmerston, a wise man of his time, and other contributors, like the London Missionary Society, had dreamed of a Protestant Palestine, yet had ended up with a Jewish Israel. I am very curious about what future historians will find. Will they write about the Trump administration’s decision-making process behind that recognition, and what will the results be for the U.S. and for others regarding the country of Palestinians?
World-famous pianist Evgeny Kissin promised at a meeting with president Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday, December 28 to keep visiting Armenia as long as he is alive.
Sargsyan said that the Armenian people greatly appreciate Kissin’s talent and mastery and his excellent performance.
Noting that Armenians will never forget the pianist’s support during the devastating earthquake of 1988, the president thanked him for his concert in New York City, dedicated to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.
Kissin was in Yerevan to conclude the Yerevan Perspectives International Music Festival on Wednesday.
In an interview with the New York Times, the legendary musician said he would not perform in Turkey until its government acknowledges that the mass murder of Armenians in 1915 was Genocide.