The delivery of Russian gas to Armenia will be temporarily halted from September 7 to 12 because of reconstruction works at the Kazakh-Saguramo section of the pipeline, the Georgian Gas and Transport Company has informed Gazprom Armenia CJSC.
The suspension will not affect the supply of gas to consumers, Press Service of Gazprom Armenia CJSC informs.
– Thanks to his business acumen, poster boy looks, and relentless activism for freedom of the internet, Reddit’s co-founder Alexis Ohanian has become one of the most high-profile residents ofBrooklyn.
A startup based in Armenia and San Francisco named 1AI Solutions has recently launched a working AI-based version of Alexis Ohanian named Avedis Ohanian.
1AI Solutions studied five years of Alexis Ohanian’s cognitive processes to accurately reproduce his decision-making process and speech habits. Additionally they used 3-D printing to replicate the body of Alexis Ohanian, infusing it with their proprietary Artificial Intelligence engine.
The reason? Pure necessity.
“There’s a lack of qualified IT professionals here in Armenia“, said Dr. J.P. Hagopian, the CEO of 1AI Solutions. “We need to hire people, but we simply can’t find enough good candidates. At some point our HR manager said that we should clone one of the high-performing Silicon Valley guys. She was kidding, but the idea stuck.”
When Dr. Hagopian decided to focus his team’s efforts on developing an Artificial Intelligence program that could mirror Alexis Ohanian’s cognitive processes, things got serious. Through a combination of algorithmic neuroscience, stand alone software and computer aided design, 1Ai-solutions will mass produce the future IT professionals of the world.
“Ohanian is very vocal about a number of issues”, said Dr. Hagopian. “It made things easier for us: we were able to aggregate data from his time at Reddit, his investments, his Ted Talks and social media profile to get a better idea of how he thinks, and how his ideas shape the way he acts.”
Avedis 1.0 has been performing better than expected in early Turing tests. The team led by Dr. Hagopian is confident that future versions will have full cognitive abilities and natural language capabilities.
To see Avedis Ohanian in action, visit the 1AI Solutions
Vatican Radio – On the last day of his three day visit to Armenia, Pope Francis participated Sunday in the Divine Liturgy celebrated by the Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II. In a discourse at the conclusion of the celebration, Pope Francis spoke of his “already unforgettable” visit and prayed that the two Churches “follow God’s call to full communion and hasten to it.”
Thanking Catholicos Karekin for his hospitality, Pope Francis said, “you have opened to me the doors of your home and we have experienced ‘how good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity’.”
“We have met, we have embraced as brothers, we have prayed together and shared the gifts, hopes and concerns of the Church of Christ. We have felt as one her beating heart, and we believe and experience that the Church isone,” Pope Francis said.
Citing Saints Bartholomew and Thaddeus “who first proclaimed the Gospel in these lands” and “Saints Peter and Paul who gave their lives for the Lord in Rome,” the pontiff said they “surely rejoice to see our affection and our tangible longing for full communion.”
Francis prayed the Holy Spirit to “make all believers one heart and soul; may he come to re-establish us in unity” and, “may the cause of our scandal be dissolved” by God’s love, “above all the lack of unity among Christ’s disciples.”
Calling for peace in the Armenian Church and “complete” communion, Pope Francis prayed for “an ardent desire for unity” among Christians. But such unity, he stressed, must not mean “the submission of one to the other, or assimilation, but rather the acceptance of all the gifts that God has given to each.”
Concluding, Pope Francis urged the faithful to “listen to the voices of the humble and poor, of the many victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for the faith” and to young people “who seek a future free of past divisions.”
From this holy place, the Pope said, “may a radiant light shine forth once more… and to the light of faith which has illumined these lands from the time of Saint Gregory…may there be joined the light of the love that forgives and reconciles.”
Below, please find the English translation of Pope Francis’ discourse:
Your Holiness, Dear Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the end of this greatly-desired visit, one already unforgettable for me, I join my gratitude to the Lord with the great hymn of praise and thanksgiving that rose from this altar. Your Holiness, in these days you have opened to me the doors of your home, and we have experienced “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity” (Ps 133:1). We have met, we have embraced as brothers, we have prayed together and shared the gifts, hopes and concerns of the Church of Christ. We have felt as one her beating heart, and we believe and experience that the Church is one. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6). With great joy we can make our own these words of the Apostle Paul! Our meeting comes under the aegis of the holy Apostles whom we have encountered. Saints Bartholomew and Thaddeus, who first proclaimed the Gospel in these lands, and Saints Peter and Paul who gave their lives for the Lord in Rome and now reign with Christ in heaven, surely rejoice to see our affection and our tangible longing for full communion. For all this, I thank the Lord, for you and with you: Park astutsò! (Glory to God!).
During this Divine Liturgy, the solemn chant of the Trisagion rose to heaven, acclaiming God’s holiness. May abundant blessings of the Most High fill the earth through the intercession of the Mother of God, the great saints and doctors, the martyrs, especially the many whom you canonized last year in this place. May “the Only Begotten who descended here” bless our journey. May the Holy Spirit make all believers one heart and soul; may he come to re-establish us in unity. For this I once more invoke the Holy Spirit, making my own the splendid words that are part of your Liturgy. Come, Holy Spirit, you “who intercede with ceaseless sighs to the merciful Father, you who watch over the saints and purify sinners”, bestow on us your fire of love and unity, and “may the cause of our scandal be dissolved by this love” (Gregory of Narek, Book of Lamentations, 33, 5), above all the lack of unity among Christ’s disciples.
May the Armenian Church walk in peace and may the communion between us be complete. May an ardent desire for unity rise up in our hearts, a unity that must not be “the submission of one to the other, or assimilation, but rather the acceptance of all the gifts that God has given to each. This will reveal to the entire world the great mystery of salvation accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit” (Greeting at the Divine Liturgy, Patriarchal Church of Saint George, Istanbul, 30 November 2014).
Let us respond to the appeal of the saints, let us listen to the voices of the humble and poor, of the many victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for the faith. Let us pay heed to the younger generation, who seek a future free of past divisions. From this holy place may a radiant light shine forth once more, and to the light of faith, which has illumined these lands from the time of Saint Gregory, your Father in the Gospel, may there be joined the light of the love that forgives and reconciles.
Just as on Easter morning the Apostles, for all their hesitations and uncertainties, ran towards the place of the resurrection, drawn by the blessed dawn of new hope (cf. Jn 20:3-4), so too on this holy Sunday may we follow God’s call to full communion and hasten towards it.
Now, Your Holiness, in the name of God, I ask you to bless me, to bless me and the Catholic Church, and to bless this our path towards full unity.
Russian athletes remain banned from international competition including the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the BBC reports.
Athletics chiefs have decided not to lift the suspension, which was imposed in November following accusations of state-sponsored doping.
But individual athletes can compete as neutrals if they prove they are clean.
Meanwhile, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva said she would challenge the IAAF’s decision in court, claiming it was “a human rights violation.”
In a statement, Russia’s Ministry of Sport said it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.
It continued: “Clean athletes’ dreams are being destroyed because of the reprehensible behaviour of other athletes and officials. They have sacrificed years of their lives striving to compete at the Olympics and now that sacrifice looks likely to be wasted.
“We have done everything possible since the ban was first imposed to regain the trust of the international community. We have rebuilt our anti-doping institutions which are being led by respected international experts.
“Our athletes are being tested by the UK’s anti-doping agency (UKAD) and every one of them is undergoing a minimum of three tests in addition to the usual requirements. We have nothing to hide and feel we had met the IAAF’s conditions for re-entry.”
President Serzh Sargsyan has offered condolences to US President Barack Obama over the horrific terrorist act in an Orlando club that left at least 50 killed and dozens injured, the President’s Press Office reported.
President Sargsyan strongly criticized this nasty expression of intolerance and underlined that “this tragedy that befell the friendly American people proved once again that all expressions of hatred, fighting which is a collective duty and mission of all, still remains a most serious challenge to mankind even in the 21st century.”
Photo: AP
A team of experts has begun restoring the ancient tomb in Jerusalem where Christians believe Jesus was buried, in the first such works for 200 years, the reports.
The renovation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre aims to reinforce and conserve the structure.
Rivalry between the three denominations that run the church has delayed work.
But clerics from the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches have put aside their differences, recognising the need to begin repairs.
The work will focus on the Edicule, the ancient chamber housing Jesus’s tomb which Christians say stands above the spot where Jesus’s body was anointed, wrapped in cloth and buried.
The last restoration work to take place there was in 1810 after a fire.
The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian authorities are responsible for running different parts of the church but share responsibility for the shrine.
Relations between them can be tense – in 2008, an argument between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks escalated into a brawl – but they have decided to act jointly after Israel’s antiquities authority last year said the church was unsafe and Israeli police briefly closed it.
“We equally decided the required renovation was necessary to be done, so we agreed upon it,” said Samuel Aghoyan, the top Armenian church official there.
The scientific co-ordinator for the repairs, Antonia Moropoulou, said the tomb was stable but warped and needed attention after many years of exposure to water, humidity and candle smoke.
The structure also needed to be protected from the risk of earthquake damage, she said.
Work is expected to take between eight and 12 months and during that time pilgrims will be able to continue visiting the site, church officials said.
Each denomination is contributing funds for the $3.3m (£2.3m) project. In addition, King Abdullah of Jordan has made a personal donation.
Jordan controlled Jerusalem’s Old City, where the church is located, until the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and continues to play a role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian holy sites there.
The Board of the IRWF has unanimously resolved to award the Raoul Wallenberg Medal to the late Dr. Stanley E. Kerr and his wife, Elsa, for their devoted work in favor of Armenian women and children in the 1920’s who had managed to survive the great tragedy which started to unfold in 1915.
The relief effort was organized and provided by the Near East Relief (NER) and among the American volunteers was they 21 year old Stanley Kerr, at that time, a junior officer with the US Medical Corps. After having served in Aleppo he was transferred to Marash, in Anatolia, where he headed the American assistance operations, at a great risk for the Turks regarded the Americans as collaborators of the Armenians. In 1922, he moved to Beirut where he and his wife Elas, established the Near East Relief Orphanage for Armenian children at Nahr Ibrahim, Lebanon. In this position, the couple was instrumental in aiding a significant number of Armenian mothers and children.
In 1925, Stanley Kerr earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, a field where he distinguished himself, and returned to Beirut to chair the Department of Biochemistry of the American University of Beirut. In 1965, he retired with the rank of Distinguished Professor and was awarded the Order of Merit from the Republic of Lebanon.
Besides their actual help to Armenian orphans, Stanley wrote a remarkable memoir documenting his experiences in Marash – The Lions of Marash: Personal Experiences with American Near Esast Relief, 1919-1922), providing a first-hand account of the plight suffered by the Armenian people.
One of the couple’s sons, Dr. Malcolm Kerr, an acclaimed scholar specialized in Middle Eastern Studies, became the President of the American University of Beirut and was tragically assassinated in Beirut by extremists in 1984.
Malcolm’s son, Steve Kerr, was a prominent Basketball player and currently head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
The Raoul Wallenberg Medal will be posthumously bestowed to Stanley and Elsa Kerr, in the hands of their grandchildren and it will be coordinated with them, together with other commemorative initiatives such as a special stamp dedicated to the heroic couple.
Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, Chairman of the IRWF, said that “Dr. Stanley Kerr and his wife Elsa are an example of pure humanitarianism and as such, they should be recognized and remembered. They should serve as role models for the young generations”.
The City Council of the Italian city of Canosa unanimously recognized the Armenian Genocide on May 16.
Another Spanish city – Civita Castellana- had also recognized the Armenian Genocide on April 30.
The Genocide has been recognized by 107 councils on regional and municipal level in Italy.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are holding a meeting in Vienna.
The Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries and the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are participating in the meeting.
Asbarez – On Friday, May 13, 2016 the Armenian American Museum will host an exclusive screening of the documentary film “Journey to the Homeland” at the Brand Library & Art Center. The film will be followed by a discussion panel led by the director, Nora Hovsepian, Esq.
“Journey to the Homeland” is a poignant documentary about Hovsepian’s personal pilgrimage to the Anatolian landscape to which her grandparents were forcibly exiled during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The film shows the remnants of an ancient and resilient Armenian culture after Ottoman Turkey attempted to systematically wipe out its Armenian population residing on ancestral lands. The film is a companion to the book, “Historic Armenia, After 100 Years: Ani, Kars, and the Six Provinces of Western Armenia,” by Matthew Karanian, Esq., who will accompany Hovsepian along with Rebecca Berberian and Nora Yacoubian.
Nora Hovsepian, Esq., has been a lifelong advocate for the Armenian Cause and proudly serves as the Chair of the Armenian National Committee of America- Western Region. In 2014, she was honored by the California State Assembly as one of its 80 statewide Women of the Year for her leadership and advocacy. “Journey to the Homeland” won the 2015 Audience Choice Award in the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto, Canada and was an Official Selection in the Los Angeles CineFest, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and the IndieFEST.
This program is one in a series taking place in conjunction with “Armenia: An Open Wound” an exhibition presented by The City of Glendale and the Library, Arts & Culture Department in partnership with the Armenian American Museum and curated by the Museo Memoria y Tolerancia [Museum of Memory & Tolerance] in Mexico City. The exhibit will be on view at the Brand Library Art Galleries through June 11, 2016 during the library’s regular hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12-8 pm, Wednesday 12-6pm, and Friday and Saturday, 10am-5pm. All events are free and open to the public.