Author: Jirair Kafian

Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has applied to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, the European Ombudsman Institute, the International Ombudsman Institute and the leaders of the International Committee of the Red Cross with a request to ensure the safety of Armenians in Syria and provide them with assistance.

In a letter to international structures, the Ombudsman has expressed deep concern over the casualties among Armenians as a result of shelling over the past months and has asked for a practical support on the part of the above-mentioned international bodies.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has postponed a planned visit to France amid a row over Syria, French presidential sources say.

Mr Putin had been due to go to Paris on 19 October for talks and to open a new Orthodox church.

On Monday, French President Francois Hollande suggested Russia could face war crimes charges over its bombardment of Syria’s second city, Aleppo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not arrive in Paris on a visit on October 19, a source in the Kremlin told TASS on Tuesday.

“The visit of the president to Paris on October 19 won’t take place,” the source said commenting on media reports.

An NKR Defense Army vehicle has been damaged as a result of intensive firing from the Azerbaijani side.

The NKR Defense Army reports more than 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side at the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

The rival fired more than 1,800 shots from weapons of different calibers in the directions of the Armenian positions.

More intensive firing was reported in the northern and northeastern directions of the line of contact, where the rival used DShK large-caliber machine guns, Istiglal rifles and sniper rifles and HAN-17 grenade launcher.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army resorted to response actions to pressure the activeness of the rival and confidently continued with their military duty.

Asbarez – Armenian-American designer Vicken Derderian showed off his Spring 2017 collection at LA Fashion at a show on October 1 at the Hollywood Athletic Club.

 (Women’s Wear Daily), the preeminent industry publication, called pieces in Derderian’s collection “a refreshing addition to the wardrobe of a woman who leads a busy life but still wants to look polished with a creative flair.”

This was the second collection for Derderian, who teamed up with his classmate from the fashion design program of the Academy of Art University, Kyung Hwa Kim, to create knits, dresses, high-waisted palazzo pants, culottes and separates, with sweater dresses highlighting the collection.

Derdian and Kim retreated to Armenia, where they set up an atelier and made the meticulously constructed pieces featured on the runway.

WWD said that Derderian’s collection for his eponymous label was informed by his background as an architect, saying the designer “is always thinking about movement.”

Dederian himself qualified that by telling WWD that “at the end of the day, for me, it’s a more intimate architecture of the body — the knits, softness, the textures.”

Derderian was born and raised in Pasadena. He graduated with a Bachelors of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) and received his Masters of Arts in Fashion Design from the Academy of Art University.

His love of design and fabrication became clear at a very young age. He has always been fascinated with the way objects are assembled and the ideas they bring forth once they are assembled. Due to his constant desire and willingness to learn different methodologies of design and fabrication he has been able to bring to fruition a series of his concepts.

Prior to pursuing his masters in fashion design Vicken received his Bachelor of Architecture from SCI-ARC. Architecture is his specialization, his broader interest in the world of design which has prompted him to look outside his specific field to other industries to explore new ideas to try and push his current design methodologies. His interest in Fashion is parallel to architecture due to its constant dialogue with its surroundings. He views Fashion as an intimate architecture of the human body.

Egypt’s short film Wintry Spring (Rabie Chetwy) scooped-up the Best Short Film Award at the Sose 2016 International Film Festival, which took place between 23 and 30 September in Yerevan, Armenia, according to Ahram Online.

Released in 2015 and directed by Mohamed Kamel, the 16-minute film depicts a relationship between a father and his daughter Nour. In an apparently otherwise regular relationship and life, typical youth problems emerge with Nour and create a rift between the two.

The film screened across over 90 film festivals around the world and received many awards.

Sose International Film Festival highlights women’s rights in the language of art. This year the festival featured 104 films from 38 countries. For the complete list of winners click .

Photo: ICRC

 

Aid has been delivered to four besieged towns in Syria for the first time in almost six months, the International Committee of the Red Cross says, the BBC reports.

Seventy-one lorries reached rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, and government-controlled Foah and Kefraya, in Idlib province, on Sunday.

They brought food, medical supplies and hygiene kits for 60,000 people.

Last week, the UN suspended aid deliveries across Syria for 48 hours after a deadly attack on a convoy.

Armenia’s Acting Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, James Warlick, Pierre Andrieu and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk on the sidelines of the General Assembly session in New York.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of implementing the agreements reached at Vienna and St. Petersburg summits for furthering the peace process.

Edward Nalbandian noted that “Azerbaijan has been turning down the agreements reached on the presidential level for several months now, thus preventing the creation of favorable conditions for the progress of the negotiation process.”

President Serzh Sargsyan today met with heads of a number of structures functioning in the Diaspora and discussed various issues of pan-Armenian significance, President’s Press Office reports.

During the meeting President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan handed in the “Tigran Mets” order to Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan for selfless devotion and substantial contribution to the formation and strengthening of Artsakh statehood and solution of the issues of nationwide significance.

An Armenian delegation headed by Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of Logistics Department Movses Hakobyan has departed for Moscow to participate in bilateral Armenian-Russian negotiations on military-technical cooperation, Press Service of the Armenian Defense Ministry reports.

Photo: Reuters

 

At least 40 people have been killed in four bombings in government-held areas of Syria and one in a city dominated by Kurdish forces, state media report, the BBC reports.

The attacks took place between 08:00 and 09:00 (05:00-06:00 GMT) around Damascus, Homs, Tartous and Hassakeh. It was not clear if they were linked.

The deadliest incident was outside Tartous, on the Mediterranean coast.

Tartous, which hosts a Russian naval base, is a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect.

A news agency affiliated to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the Hassakeh attack, which allegedly targeted Kurdish militiamen.