Author: Emma Jilavian

A new international postage stamp will be issued in May by Haypost, Armenia’s national postal operator, in cooperation with the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. The image of Marguerite Barankitse, the inaugural Aurora Prize laureate, will be featured on the stamp. The release of the stamp underwent the mandated approval process by the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia. The release and First day of issue ceremony will be part of the 2017 Aurora Prize special events.

The Aurora stamp is also a fundraising stamp. Attached to the first class stamp, valued at 350 AMD, is a donation coupon for 150 AMD. Together, the 500 AMD is equal to approximately US $1.00. Haypost will transfer the 150 AMD donation value to the Aurora Humanitarian Initative. This enables anyone to donate easily to the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.

“We founded the Aurora Initiative specifically in appreciation of those who risked offering help to Armenian genocide survivors, and we wanted to express that gratitude by continuing to do good, by empowering modern-day saviors so that they, too, can offer life and hope to those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid. That is our way of saying these victims are now saviors. This goes beyond just remembering and actually puts gratitude in action. Each Aurora project, including the Maggy stamp and the accompanying donation opportunity, are ways of broadening the Aurora community, expressing gratitude and continuing the cycle of giving

“Haypost takes seriously its privileged position to transform the use of stamps into an opportunity to share the Armenian culture and history and important messages about the world. Having Aurora’s Maggy on an Armenian postage stamp is a very special way of telling the world that Armenians embrace our common humanity. A stamp takes that message around the globe,” said Juan Pablo Gechidjian, Managing Director of HayPost Trust Management B.V..

Marguerite Barankitse, the founder of Maison Shalom and REMA hospital, received the Aurora Prize for the exceptional impact of her actions on preserving lives during the years of civil war in Burundi. To date, she has saved 30 thousand children and offered them shelter and care.

“It is humbling for me to get such a recognition but it is also a great encouragement that love will always prevail over hate and evil. I believe it will raise awareness of what the Aurora Prize stands for: awakening humanity to recognize women and men who have made an exceptional impact in advancing humanitarian causes,” said Marguerite Barankitse.

The postage stamp will have a 350 AMD denomination value. The illustrator is Alla Mingyalova, a member of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative team. It will be issued with circulation of 40 thousand copies.

The First Day ceremony to mark the issue will be held on May, 2017, in the presence of Marguerite Barankitse who will be in Armenia to attend the second annual Aurora Prize events.

The 2017 Aurora Prize finalists will be announced on April 24, 2017, the annual day of remembrance for victims of the Armenian Genocide.  One of these finalists will then be named as the 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate at a special ceremony on May 28, 2017, in Yerevan, Armenia. During the month between April 24 and May 28, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will organize a program of global activities to profile the inspirational stories of the 2017 finalists, as well as broader humanitarian endeavors.

Armenia beat Kazakhstan 2-0 in a 2018 World Cup qualifier held at Hanrapetakan Stadium in Yerevan.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the opener on the 73rd minute, Aras Ozbiliz made it 2-0 two minutes later.

Kazakhstan was left with 10 men after Sergey Maliy was sent off for a foul against Mkhitaryan on the 65th minute.

Former member of Russia’s State Duma Denis Voronenkov has been killed in a shootout in Kiev, the head of the city’s police force, Andrey Krishchenko, has said, TASS reports.

“There was a fire exchange in front of the entrance to Premier-Palace Hotel about 40 minutes ago. One man was killed and two other persons injured. The identity of the killed man has been established. He is a Russian politician, former State Duma member. Yes, I can confirm that he is Denis Voronenkov,” Krishchenko said, adding that the police suspected a contract killing.

Distinguished representatives of the Kurdish community of Armenia,

I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of Navroz.

This beautiful spring holiday, awakening of nature and new year fill our hearts with joy. The citizens of Armenia share with their Kurd brothers and sisters the bliss of Navroz.

Distinguished Kurd compatriots,

I once again congratulate you on the occasion of this bright holiday and wish you high spirits, and let the coming spring fill you lives with optimism and happiness and warm up even more our centuries-long friendship.

Happy Navroz!

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received a delegation led by Philip Morris International Management SA Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Phillip Morris International Duty Free President Drago Azinovich.

Welcoming the world-famous American company’s commitment to developing activities in our country, Karen Karapetyan said his government ready to discuss the proposed program and cooperation initiatives.

Drago Azinovich thanked the Government for providing assistance to their research programs. The American company will build research and development (R&D) centers in Armenia. Mr. Azinovich stressed that they are interested in long-term cooperation with Armenia’s Government and the public sector.

Attended by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, a framework memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment of the Republic of Armenia and Philip Morris International Management SA.

The MOU was signed by Minister of Economic Development and Investment of the Republic of Armenia Suren Karayan and Philip Morris International Management SA Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Phillip Morris International Duty Free President Drago Azinovich.

Tim Wilson, who has represents Goldstein in the Australian House of Representatives – has spoken about the cultural genocide of Armenians at the Parliament, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reports.

“There was a deliberate attempt by some to not just remove Armenians, but also their memory by destroying the evidence of Armenian heritage and culture, such as artworks and architecture. In short, there was not just a human genocide, there was also a cultural genocide.

The official Armenian Genocide Centennial Website tells the stories of the cultural genocide to wipe the memory of Armenian people from the Ottoman Empire by quote “purposefully massacring Armenian clergymen, they destroyed churches, monasteries and other properties of church, including thousands of medieval handwritten manuscripts.”

 The Ottoman Empire’s aim was to erase the lives and memories of the Armenian people, and all members should be committed to ensuring such events never happen again. Of course, having a quarter Armenian heritage myself, this is a subject matter of which I take significant interest.”

The team of Western Armenia will not participate in this year’s ConIFA World Football Cup because of lack of security guarantees, ConIFA Vice-President Dimitri Pagava told reporters after the Annual General Meeting in Geneva, reports.

The 2017 European Football Cup will be held from 4-11 June in Northern Cyprus, and the Turkish side has failed to provide security guarantees to the Armenian club.

This year the title will be contested by Northern Cyprus, Padania, Sapmi (Lapland), Abkhazia, County of Nice, Székely Land, Occitania and Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man).

ConIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, is the football federation for all associations outside FIFA. Western Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are members of the Confederation.

ConIFA is a global acting non-profit organization that supports representatives of international football teams from nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority peoples and sports isolated territories.

ConIFA was founded on the 7th of June 2013, and organized its first World Football Cup in June 2014 in Ostersund, Sweden.

Photo: Getty Images

 

Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters and protesters are travelling to Washington DC for the event.

Thousands of police have been deployed and many kilometres of crowd barriers set up as part of a vast security operation, according to the

Addressing supporters on Thursday night at a pre-inaugural concert, Mr Trump pledged to unify America, bring change and make the country great “for all of our people”.

Meanwhile in New York, thousands of people attended a rally where dozens of celebrities and politicians voiced their concerns about the president-elect.

Mr Trump will be sworn in before midday local time (17:00 GMT) by Chief Justice John Roberts, and make his inaugural speech.

The ceremony will be attended by former presidents and first ladies, including Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, Mr Trump’s opponent in the recent election.

The only absences will be 92-year-old George Bush Senior, who is in hospital being treated for respiratory problems, and his wife Barbara.

2017 New Year’s Message from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

On December 28 the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia will be heading on tour to China, where the musicians will celebrate the New Year.

The Youth Orchestra received an invitation from the Beijing Culture and Entertainment Corporation. The orchestra will have two concerts on December 31 and on January 2 in Haikou (China).

The Armenian musicians will present arias from well-known Italian operas (Verdi, Puccini), as well as pieces by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Bizet and Chinese composers.