Elina Danielian to play in FIDE Women’s Grand Prix
15:41 25/08/2014 >> SPORT
Armenian Grandmaster Elina Danielian will participate in the 6th round
of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Sharjah, UAE. The tournament will take
place between August 25 and September 5, the official website of the
Armenian Chess Federation reported.
Source: Panorama.am
Azeraijani and Georgian Defense Ministers discussed bilateral relations
Today – 16:52
18/8/14
Azerbaijan Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov met his Georgian
coundterpart Irakli Alasania who is on a visit to Azerbaijan on August
18. Azerbaijani Trend writes about this referring to a statement from
the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.
According to the source, official ceremony of meeting of the Georgian
delegation headed by the Azerbaijani Minister of Defence took place in
front of the separate headquarters of combined arms of Nakhchivan
Autonomous Republic (NAR).
Hasanov welcomed the guests and said that the cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Georgia in the defense sector was developing
intensively and had a strategic importance.
In his turn, the Georgian Defense Minister expressed his satisfaction
with his first visit to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and thanked
the Azerbaijani side for hospitality.
Then the defense ministers of Azerbaijan and Georgia discussed the
military-political situation in the region and other issues of mutual
interest.
Business Mirror, The Philippines
Aug 23 2014
Saint Bartholomew the Apostle skinned alive for spreading his faith
Written by Corazon Damo-Santiago
HE was flayed alive–the skin of his body cut into strips, then pulled
off, leaving his body open and bleeding for a long time, then
beheaded, wrote Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHML, in My First Book of Saints.
Why? Because he was to die the Persian way in the “most barbarous
country of the East” in the ancient times; because he converted
Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity; because Astyages, the
king’s brother, ordered his death; because spreading the Catholic
faith is a great crime, noted John Francis Fenion in Saint
Bartholomew, Volume 2 of Catholic Encyclopedia.
Then he was beheadead and crucified.
Bartholomew: True Israelite
BARTHOLOMEW is derived from Aramaic Bar Tolmay, which means “son of
Tolmay,” also known as Nathanael. He was born in the 1st century in
Cana, Judea.
One day his friend Philip from Bethsaida told Nathanael, “We have
found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Book of the Law and whom
the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus, son of Joseph from
Nazareth” (John 1:45).
Bartholomew, characterized as frank and skeptic, was attracted by
Philip’s enthusiasm remarked: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
(John 1:46).
Nevertheless, he went with Philip when he insisted that Bartholomew
come and see Jesus.
Seeing him, Jesus announced that Bartholomew is a true Israelite
incapable of deceit, that made him ask, “How do you know me?”
Jesus’ answer that he was under a fig tree before Philip called him
convinced Bartholomew that Jesus, indeed, is the Son of God and King
of Israel. Batholomew witnessed Jesus’ Ascencion to heaven.
To spread the word of God, the apostles were assigned to different
countries. Reputed to have introduced Christianity to Armenia (Turkey)
with Saint Jude Thaddeus, both are patron saints of Armenia Apostolic
church. Saints and Angels by Catholic On-Line states that he also
preached in Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), which
“cradled the most ancient civilization of human history.” A monastery
named after the saint was built on the site of his martyrdom.
Invoked by various skilled workers
HIS body was washed in the waters, and a large part of the skins and
the bones were deposited in Lipari, Sicily. Many miracles had been
attributed to him in the place.
Foremost of which was when his silver statue was melted on the orders
of fascist officials who raised funds to finance World War II.
When the melted silver was weighed, it registered only a few grams so
the silver was returned to Lipari. In reality, however, it weighed
many kilograms.
On his feast day, the saint’s gold-and-silver statue was carried
through town. While men were carrying it downhill, the statue suddenly
became so heavy that they decided to put it down to rest.
When they continued the journey the statue became heavier, so the men
stopped to gain their momentum. On the third time they rested with the
statue, the walls collapsed downhill. Had they carried the image, many
would have been killed.
The miracles seemingly involved weight, so he was made the saint of
tanners. However, he was also invoked by people to be the saint of
butlers, salt merchants, leather industries, shoemakers, bookbinders,
Florentine cheesemakers, and people suffering from neurological
diseases. Saint Bartholomew’s relics had been deposited in churches
named to honor him: his arm in Canterbury, England; skull in
Frankfurt, Germany; and body in Lipari.
In 983 some skin and bones were brought to Tiber Church of Saint
Bartholomew in Rome.
The Coptic church commemorates his martyrdom on the first day of the
Coptic calendar, August 29. Eastern Christianity honors him on June
11, and the Roman Catholic Chrurch on August 24.
Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of
Education-National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member
of Mater Redemptoris College, Laguna.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry calls for thorough investigation into cases
like Karen Petrosyan’s death in Azerbaijan
19:17, 23 August, 2014
YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Ministry official
representative Alexander Lukashevich commented in response to inquiry
on Karen Petrosytan’s death in Azerbaijani captivity.
“We deeply regret that the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is
accompanied by human losses, death of people, and not only during the
clashes. We express deep condolences to the families and friends of
K.Petrosyan and to other families of Armenians and Azerbaijanis who
have lost their lives. We consider it necessary to conduct thorough
investigations into such incidents,” as reports “Armenpress”,
Alexander Lukashevich said.
The Russian Ministry has urged the parties for practical use of the
provisions of the Joint Statement of the Presidents of Azerbaijan,
Armenia and the Russian Federation as of 27 October 2010 on the return
of bodies with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group and the
International Committee of the Red Cross.
Karen Petrosyan, a resident of Chinari village, was taken captive on
August 7, and on the next day Azerbaijani side reported about his
death of “a heart failure”. Armenian investigation committee has
launched a criminal case.
Bayram Balci: Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s accession to Customs Union
highly unlikely
15:56 23/08/2014 >> INTERVIEWS
On the prospects of Erdogan’s presidency for Turkey and for the South
Caucasus region Panorama.am has spoken to Dr. Bayram Balci – visiting
scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East Program and founding member of the
European Journal of Turkish Studies. Dr. Balci believes that there is
a risk for Turkey to become more authoritarian but that Turkey is
going to be interested in normalization of relations with Armenia. He
also considers the membership of Turkey or Azerbaijan in the Eurasian
Union highly unlikely.
– Dr. Balci, now that Erdogan has become the President of Turkey there
are legitimate fears that Turkey will increasingly become more
authoritarian, especially given Erdogan’s stated intentions to amend
the Constitution to make Turkey a presidential state. What can be the
implication of a more authoritarian and perhaps more powerful Turkey
under Erdogan’s rule for the South Caucasus region and for Armenia in
particular? Are the Turkish policies in this regard likely to change
in any way?
– First of all, indeed there is a risk that the new Turkey with
Erdogan becomes more authoritarian, because of the personality and the
charisma of the new President, and because he wants to change the
Constitution. But at the same time I am not sure that he will be able
to continue to run with such an arrogant way for at least two reasons.
The first one is that in fact his victory was a small victory and not
huge and impressive as it was predicted by many analysts. Some
analysts had talk about 57% of vote for him in the first round. The
second reason is that he knows that usually the President in turkey is
a sort of father of the nation and I think he will try to embrace this
now more paternalist function. Moreover he knows that he has now a
real opposition, since the Gezi Park and he cannot continue to defy
them eternally.
As for the South Caucasus and for Armenia, at this moment the South
Caucasus is maybe the only region where Turkish foreign policy is not
completely in a failure situation. And I think that this is a very
important issue that Erdogan will try to maintain. In the Middle East
Turkey’s relations are good only with the Hamas, the KRG and Iran.
With Egypt, Iraq of Bagdad, Syria, Saudi Arabia these relations are
tense. I think because of this at least in the South Caucasus Turkey
will do its best to have good relations with Georgia, Azerbaijan and
will try to improve the relations with Armenia. Since the condolences
presented by Erdogan to the descendants of the victims of the
genocide, a term he did not use but this is however a turning point in
the relations between Armenia and Turkey. It will be difficult to have
at the same time excellent relations with Azerbaijan and normalization
with Armenia but I think that the new President in Turkey will do his
best to improve Turkish Armenian relations without antagonizing
Azerbaijan.
– In your article “Strengths and Constraints of Turkish Policy in the
South Caucasus” you speak about Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s brotherhood
and long-standing goals to “recreate a solidarity based on
Turkishness, connecting all Turkish speaking nations”. We also know
that historically Armenia has always been standing in the way of these
plans because of her geographical location. In this context is Turkish
current policy towards Armenia really “hostage” to Azerbaijan or is
Turkey pursuing its own strategic goals by suffocating Armenia
economically and by other means?
– I don’t think that Turkey approves and believes that the strategy of
suffocation Armenia economically is the good one. Turkish leaders are
certain since the beginning that this strategy is not the good one but
the solidarity with Azerbaijan is inevitable because of the strong
support of Turkish public opinion to Azerbaijan, and also, and most
importantly, because of the important of energy issues for Turkey.
Turkey would like to open the border and improve its relations with
Armenia but because of these two topics it is not easy at all.
– What implications can there be for Armenia if Russia and Turkey go
on deepening their cooperation in economic and other spheres? Do you
see any possibility for Turkey or Azerbaijan to join the Russia-led
Customs Union in future?
– I don’t think that good relations between Turkey and Russia can have
negative impacts on Turkish- Armenian relations. As for the Turkey’s
and Azerbaijan’s possible adhesion to the Eurasian Custom Union I
absolutely don’t believe that this is a serious scenario. I think
Turkey is still more European than inclined to be member of this
Eurasian Union and in Turkey elites and population are not ready at
all to engage Turkey in such a direction. As for Azerbaijan and its
future possible adhesion to this Union, I think not only Azerbaijan
but a lot of post-soviet Republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus
are reluctant to join this Union. Since the invasion of Crimea by
Russian forces Putin has lost all of the little trust he had among
Central Asian and Caucasian leaders. Azerbaijan is very western turned
country and aspires to deepen its relation with the West. I don’t
believe at all that it can be tempted to join an organization managed
by Putin who aspires to reestablish (at least he is perceived like
this) a new Russian hegemonic domination in the former Soviet Union.
Armenia stands ready to assist Yazidi nation – parliament vice-chair
15:46, 23.08.2014
YEREVAN. – Armenian National Assembly (NA) Vice-Speaker Eduard
Sharmazanov on Saturday met with members of the National Union of
Yazidis.
They discussed the ongoing violence against the Yazidis in Northern
Iraq and the current situation.
The Armenian parliament vice-chair considered this mass violence
against the Yazidi population to be unacceptable. He assured that this
matter is at the focus of Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan and the
ruling Republican Party, and that Armenia stands ready to assist and
support the friendly Yazidi people.
National Union of Yazidis President Aziz Tamoyan presented the current
situation and thanked the Armenian authorities for their support. He
noted that the Yazidi community expects Armenia’s assistance in
raising this matter within international organizations.
Sharmazanov likewise underscored the need to raise this matter within
international organizations, and expressed willingness to do so in
parliamentary platforms, too.
The interlocutors also agreed to regularly meet and discuss matters.
Armenia News – NEWS.am
Turkish group wants to perform Friday prayer in Armenia
August 22, 2014
A group of Turkish NGOs have applied to the Foreign Ministry asking
permission to perform the Friday prayer at the Blue Mosque of Yerevan
in the Armenian capital.
Led by the `Organization for Fighting Against Baseless Armenian
Allegations’ (ASÄ°MDER), the NGOs released a statement saying they
would like to perform Friday prayer on Sept. 5, 2014 in Yerevan.
The Head of ASÄ°MDER, Göksel Gülbey, said the move is `a step toward
dialogue and overcoming problems between Turkey and Armenia and we now
expect Armenia to make a [friendly] gesture toward us.’
The group made an official application to the Turkish Foreign Ministry
on Aug. 16, disregarding the fact that the majority of Muslims in
Turkey adhere to the Hanefi Sunni tradition, though the mosque is
primarily open to service Shiite Muslims.
`We, as the grandsons of Muslim Turkish families that were forced to
migrate from the place formally known as the Erivan Khanate, we would
now like to pray in the Blue Mosque in Yerevan,’ he said.
`In Turkey, the Armenian community is practicing their religion in a
free and secure way. Why can we not practice our religion on those
lands, from whence our ancestors were forced to migrate? We grew up
with the stories of those lands and now we want to see them and
perform prayers there,’ Gülbey added.
Armenia natural gas supply is restored
17:54, 23.08.2014R
YEREVAN. – The supply of Russian gas to Armenia has been restored as
of 11a.m. on Saturday, crisis management center at Armenia’s Emergency
Situations Ministry reported.
The natural gas transport company of Georgia has formally informed the
Gazprom Armenia company that the supply of natural gas to Armenia has
been temporarily halted as of Wednesday at 11:45pm.
Gazprom Armenia, however, continued supplying natural gas to Armenia’s
consumers from the reserves, and without limits.
Armenia News – NEWS.am
Russia calls for thorough investigation into Karen Petrosyan’s death
18:43, 23.08.2014
YEREVAN. – Russian Foreign Ministry deeply regrets the deaths caused
by unsettled Karabakh conflict, spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich
said.
His comment came in response to inquiry on Karen Petrosytan’s death in
Azerbaijani captivity.
“We deeply regret that the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is
accompanied by human losses, death of people, and not only during the
clashes. We express deep condolences to the families and friends of
K.Petrosyan and to other families of Armenians and Azerbaijanis who
have lost their lives. We consider it necessary to conduct thorough
investigations into such incidents,” he said.
The Russian Ministry has urged the parties for practical use of the
provisions of the Joint Statement of the Presidents of Azerbaijan,
Armenia and the Russian Federation as of 27 October 2010 on the return
of bodies with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group and the
International Committee of the Red Cross.
Karen Petrosyan, a resident of Chinari village, was taken captive on
August 7, and on the next day Azerbaijani side reported about his
death of “a heart failure”. Armenian investigation committee has
launched a criminal case.
Armenia News – NEWS.am
Ukraine says it needs 5 Bn cubic meters of Russian gas for winter
15:26 * 23.08.14
Ukraine needs to purchase additional five billion cubic meters of gas
from Russia for the forthcoming winter season, Ukrainian Prime
Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Friday, RIA Novosti reports.
“Can Ukraine now survive without Russian gas? No, it can’t. How much
Russian gas do we need to buy? About 5 billion cubic meters,” he said
in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels.
He said that three-party gas talks, involving Ukraine, Russia and the
European Union, are scheduled to take place next month.
“I hope there will be some final stage to these talks,” he said.
He added that Kiev had reserved $3.1 billion for gas purchases in the
National Bank of Ukraine.
On June 16, Russian gas giant Gazprom introduced a prepayment system
for gas deliveries to Ukraine amid a dispute with Kiev over its $4.5
billion gas debt. The European Commission and Gazprom anticipate
problems in winter, when Kiev is likely to run out of its own gas
reserves.
The Russian compromise was a $100 discount to the contract price,
bringing it down to $385, as well as a phased debt repayment scheme.
Ukraine declined the offer, dissatisfied with the discount mechanism.
Current Ukraine’s gas debt is estimated to be more than $5 billion.
Earlier, Ukrainian national oil and gas company Naftogaz suggested to
European companies purchasing Russian gas on the border between Russia
and Ukraine. The European Commission said it would require a
renegotiation of the transit contracts and a trilateral meeting
between the European Commission, Russia and Ukraine.
Armenian News – Tert.am