Author: Eduard Nalbandian

An Armenian Genealogy Conference will take place April 9-10 in Watertown. The conference, which grew out of the group on Facebook, will feature several speakers on various topics regarding Armenian genealogy, history, geography, and presentations on different organizations and initiatives, the reports.

George Aghjayan, a retired actuary and one of the conference organizers, noted that the study of Armenian genealogy has grown substantially over the last decade, and that organizing a conference was a necessary step. “Advances in technology have allowed access to information previously thought unattainable,” said Aghjayan, who hopes the conference will become an annual event.

Aghjayan has been working with Tracy Rivest Keeney and Mark Arslan to organize the conference, which is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), Project Save Armenian Photograph Archives, Inc., Houshamadyan, the Armenian Museum of America (AMA), and Hamazkayin Boston. During the weekend, participants—both beginner and advanced—will learn how to carry out genealogical research specific to Armenians and will take part in workshops, during which experienced volunteers will help answer questions, teach how to get started, and how to go beyond existing research.

“The recent proliferation and acceptance of social media has allowed a level of collaboration on genealogical and historical research never before possible,” Arslan told the Weekly. He noted that the Armenian Genealogy Facebook group has brought together people from the Armenian Diaspora worldwide, as well as the Republic of Armenia—individuals who share a passionate interest in learning more about their Armenian families and heritage. “The collective knowledge of our online community is amazing, everyone brings their own special talents to uncover genealogical treasures from the primary records online and in archives, as well as shares their own family anecdotes, memories, and experiences,” he said.

The conference will take place at the Armenian Museum of America

With authorization by the central government, the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) inked an agreement with Armenia on mutual visa exemption Wednesday, Xinhua agency reports.

Secretary for Administration and Justice Hoi Fan Chan and Armenian Ambassador Armen Sargsyan signed the deal at the headquarters of the Macao SAR government.

The agreement assures that residents holding a valid Macao SAR passport or a valid Macao SAR travel permit will be exempted from visa requirements when entering Armenia for a stay of maximum 90 days.

The effective date will be announced later.

A total of 120 countries or territories have agreed to grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to the holders of Macao SAR passport, while 12 countries have given Macao SAR travel permit holders visa-free access to their region.

With a vote of 66 to 70 and 45 abstentions, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rejected the report on “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” The Assembly is currently debating amendments to a second report on the #Sarsang Reservoir and “deliberate deprivation of water” before a final vote.

The Assembly rejects the resolution on escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh – there are 66 votes for the text, 70 against, 45 abstain.

— PACE (@PACE_News)

Photo: Getty Images

US pop star Mariah Carey and Australian billionaire James Packer are engaged to be married, the reports..

The couple went public with their relationship last June after they were seen on holiday together in Italy.

Mr Packer, 47, is Australia’s fourth-richest person, according to Forbes, with a fortune estimated to exceed A$4.7bn.

Mariah Carey, 45, released her first album in 1990 and is one of the biggest selling artists of all time.

Mr Packer, who inherited an Australian media empire from his father Kerry Packer, and now operates casinos, split from his second wife model and singer Erica Baxter in 2013.

Ms Carey announced her break-up from “America’s Got Talent” host Nick Cannon in 2014.

Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey has died at the age of 67, the band has announced, the BBC reports.

He died in New York City on Monday from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia.

“Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us,” his family and fellow band members said.

The Eagles were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, with multiple hit singles, including Hotel California in 1976.

Frey co-founded the Eagles in 1971 with Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.

He co-wrote Hotel California with Henley, and composed a number of the band’s biggest songs on his own, including Heartache Tonight and Lyin’ Eyes.

The Eagles notched up more than 150 million album sales worldwide, with Hotel California and their greatest hits among the best selling in history.

The investigative journalism drama “Spotlight” won the top prize at the Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, while awards favourites Brie Larson and Leonardo DiCaprio won the top acting prizes for “Room” and “The Revenant,” the Associated Press reports.

Both actors won Golden Globe Awards and are considered front-runners for the Academy Awards, too.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” was the most nominated film of the evening with 13 nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association. While it lost out for the top prize, it did win a number of awards, including Best Director for George Miller, best action movie, and best action movie actor and actress for Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.

The financial crisis dramedy “The Big Short,” meanwhile, won for best comedy and best comedic actor for star Christian Bale, who kissed both his wife and director Adam McKay on his way up to the stage to accept his award.

Both were up for best picture Oscar heavyweights like “Spotlight,” ”The Revenant” and “The Martian,” as well as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which was added after initial nominees were announced and went home empty handed on Sunday.

Armenian retired Major Garik Marutyan, born in 1977, has been arrested on charges of treason, the National Security Service informs.

NSS says Marutyan, who had long worked as head of different intelligence units, established contacts with Azerbaijani special services operating in Turkey through Facebook and provided them with secret information against pay.

A criminal case has been launched under Article 299.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Investigation is under way.

Photo: Reuters 

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of murder after a South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict, the BBC reports.

He killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 after shooting her four times through a locked toilet door.

He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.

Pistorius will now have to return to court to be re-sentenced, for murder.

It was earlier incorrectly reported that the court had ruled the manslaughter verdict would remain.

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court did not correctly apply the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.

Reading the ruling reached by a panel of judges, Justice Lorimer Leach said that having armed himself with a high-calibre weapon, Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door might die.

Pistorius’ lawyer argued that he believed that there was an intruder in the house but the judge said that the identity of the person behind the door was irrelevant.

Jurgen Klopp holds no doubts that Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is one of the biggest talents in the world, the Daily Mail reports.

The Liverpool manager, who arrived at Anfield early on Thursday with his squad ahead of the Europa League clash with Bordeaux, plucked the Armenian from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 and remains a confirmed admirer.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old, given his links with Klopp, and Juventus have monitored his situation.

Mkhitaryan came in for severe criticism last season – Dortmund struggled for much of it and were in danger of suffering relegation – but, talking in a new ebook Reading The Game centred on the 2014-15 campaign, Klopp leapt to his defence.

Mkhitaryan’s agent claimed he wanted to leave the club in February and – while new boss Thomas Tuchel wants to extend his contract beyond 2017 – there remains questions as to whether he will remain in Germany.

When it comes down to it, 99 per cent of people would be happy to have Mkhitaryan’s problems,’ he said. ‘There is no doubt in my mind that he is one of the most talented players in the world.’

‘He possesses an incredible combination of speed and technique. There’s very, very few you can say that about.’

‘There’s a reason why the world’s best chess players come from Armenia like Mkhitaryan. Yes, other countries product chess players, but Armenia produces far more than could reasonably expect,’ Klopp said.

Jurgen Klopp’s new ebook ‘Reading The Game: A Year in Black and Yellow’ is now on sale and can be bought from Amazon.