The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded for discoveries in DNA repair, the BBC reports.
Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar were named as the winners on Wednesday morning at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
Their work uncovered the mechanisms used by cells to repair damaged DNA – a fundamental process in living cells.
The prize money of eight million Swedish kronor ($970,000) will be shared among the winners.
Montreal’s Teesri Duniya Theatre is presenting its offering directed by Liz Valdez and written by playwright Rahul Varma. The play is called State of Denial and explores a very painful and often forgotten part of the history in the 20th century, the reports.
The play links the Turkish-denied Armenian genocide of 1915 with the 1995 genocide in Rwanda, connecting them through the Canadian diaspora experience. When Odette, a Rwandan-born Canadian filmmaker, travels to Turkey to investigate stories of genocide and hidden identity, she interviews Sahana, an elderly and respected Muslim woman who has devoted her life to assisting Armenian survivors. On her deathbed, Sahana confesses a chilling secret that challenges a long-standing state of denial that Odette promises to make public at any personal cost.
In the words of the Director Liz Valdez, “This is incredibly important at a time when we all seem to be so aware and informed, and yet here are these moments in history that most people don’t know anything about. Moments that actually lead to other moments in history. The truth that I had no idea of the similarities between what happened in Turkey in 1915-18 and the holocaust. How? Why? How did we not see it happening again when Hitler came to power? And since then, happening over and over in different horrific ways and for different reasons.”
“History has been written by victors who have the power to exclude what they do not wish the public to know. So learning about history is important, but history constitutes the background – the research that goes on is about peoples’ lives. Learning what history did to people tells us more about history,” playwright Rahul Varma (founder of Teesri Duniya Theatre) said in an interview with Sinj Karan of the Montreal Rampage.
“If we had learned from the Armenian genocide, we may have prevented the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda and many other genocides,” he said.
“Today, the role of an artist is not to revisit history but to allow the public to learn important lessons from it, so horrible acts of history are not repeated. State of Denial is presented to draw attention to, and the elevation of, human misery and to create a world of diminished violence,” the playwright said.
The fictional State of Denial is derived from multiple true stories from the research project, Life Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide and other Human Rights Violations housed at Concordia University. Varma affirms, “The stories of elsewhere are Canadian stories affecting all citizens. They go beyond biography and facts, revealing truth while instigating further inquiry. My aim is to address global issues locally.”
On 28 August President Bako Sahakyan convoked a meeting of the NKR Security Council. Issues related the celebrations of the 24th anniversary of the NKR proclamation and the situation along the Karabakh-Azerbaijani line of contact were on the agenda of the meeting, Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh Republic President reported.
NKR Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Aghabekyan and Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan delivered corresponding reports.
The President gave concrete instructions to the NKR government and appropriate structures on proper implementation of the activities concerning the issues discussed.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will receive a $440,000 settlement from YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, who secretly shot their engagement and posted it online. The couple had sued Hurley claiming that he manipulated his way into AT&T Park in San Francisco in 2013 to see the proposal.
Despite signing a confidentiality agreement, Hurley leaked the video online on MixBit, an app founded by him, reported. Kardashian and West were reportedly furious when they found out about the leaked video and their lawyer, Eric George, filed a case against Hurley. George claimed in the lawsuit that Hurley was desperate after two flops following his YouTube sale.
Hurley needs to pay the amount within the next few days to get the case against him dismissed.
features a story of Armenian American Arsineh Alenkin (maiden surname Bedrosian). The owner of AB-Weddings & Special Events, she has been in business for over a decade starting off with wedding coordination from 80-500 guests to planning/hosting special events.
Her specialty is charities/fundraisers for non-profit organizations that need awareness and raising donations as well. This esteemed event planner has had the honor of planning numerous events throughout LA venues such as after parties, screenings, festivals, launches and many more,
She has collaborated with prominent actors such as Scott L Schwartz (Oceans 11. 12. 13, Buffy the Vampire), Sean Kanan (General Hospital), Andre Gordon (You’re My Angel), Producer David Oman (House at the End of the Drive) and many more. She also had the distinct honor to give a class at the prestigious Napoleon Perdis makeup school in Hollywood.
“I love what I do from my heart and giving back to the community is something that I am passionate about,” says Arsineh. “When I see people smile it gives me more love and energy and my calling that this is where my journey will be forever,” she says.
Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Foundation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) on cooperation .
The objective of the MoU is to enhance, on a non-exclusive basis, cooperation and to facilitate collaboration between the Parties to promote projects that support sustainable economic municipal infrastructure development in Armenia.
Acting Director General of IDeA Foundation Edgar Manukyan and Head of the EBRD Yerevan Office Mark Davis signed the Memorandum.
“‘Tatev Revival’ and Dilijan development projects implemented by IDeA Foundation are firstly aimed at the development of community infrastructures and tourism in those regions. We are happy to have an important partner such as the EBRD in development projects. We are sure our joint efforts will enable us to carry out larger-scale projects and ramp up cooperation to include other sectors as well,” said Edgar Manukyan.
The Head of the EBRD Yerevan also highlighted the signing of the document.
“”We look forward to continuing and deepening our mutual co-operation toward improvements in the business climate and regional economic development. The EBRD is firmly committed to supporting the development of reliable and modern infrastructure in Armenia.” said Mark Davis.
Dear prosecuting officers,
Dear employees of the Prosecutor’s Office,
I congratulate you on Prosecutor’s Office Employee Day and the 97th Anniversary of Prosecution Service in Armenia.
Today the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia faces many difficult problems among which the strengthening of the rule of law and the fight against corruption are of special importance.
The first article of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia stipulates that our country is a democratic and law-governed state. It is the cornerstone of your activities, and, hence, your institution has a crucial mission to protect human rights and consolidate democratic values.
You must demonstrate an uncompromising attitude towards manifestations of corruption weakening our society, and it is impossible to implement the necessary systemic solutions without your tireless and consistent efforts. You must be guided by adherence to principles and professional self-esteem. I am confident that you will be able to successfully fulfill your tasks through adopting new approaches to work organization.
I am glad that our prosecution system continues to fill with young, skillful and competent lawyers. I believe that there is great potential of qualified experts in this field which can exercise the prosecution powers enshrined in the Constitution.
I once again congratulate you on your professional holiday and wish you further achievements in your responsible activities, and I wish you and your families good health and success.
The protests in Yerevan against the planned electricity price hike continue.
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Since his passing on June 15, thousands of journalists have highlighted Kirk Kerkorian’s amazing business accomplishments and substantial charitable contributions. However, these journalists had never met this great man, as he rarely gave interviews to the media.
Having worked with Mr. Kerkorian for almost three decades as Senior Vice President of The Lincy Foundation and President of the United Armenian Fund, I would like to offer a personal tribute about this compassionate Armenian-American and wonderful human being.
I remember vividly the first time I met Mr. Kerkorian. It was at a Beverly Hills restaurant in the mid 1980’s during a small gathering of wealthy Armenians who supported Gov. George Deukmejian’s reelection. I was there as editor of The California Courier newspaper. When I walked over to introduce myself, Mr. Kerkorian recognized me right away and told me that he was a regular reader of my weekly columns. I was greatly surprised and flattered….
The next time I met Mr. Kerkorian was in his Beverly Hills office on November 1, 1989, eleven months after the devastating earthquake in Armenia. We discussed the possibility of forming a coalition of seven major Armenian-American organizations, including The Lincy Foundation, to airlift humanitarian aid to Armenia. Mr. Kerkorian offered to pay the full cost of transportation and went on to generously pledge to cover not only the cost of one airlift, but “all future airlifts as long as Armenia needed assistance.” Within a few days, the United Armenian Fund was born which successfully delivered over the next 25 years $700 million of relief supplies to Armenia and Artsakh, on board 158 airlifts and 2,250 sea containers.
In 1998, Mr. Kerkorian invited me to travel with him to Armenia, his first trip during which he pledged to Pres. Kocharian to allocate $100 million (raising it later to $242 million) to build or renovate tunnels, bridges and dozens of schools throughout Armenia and one in Artsakh; hundreds of miles of highways, roads and streets; 34 cultural institutions and museums; 3,700 apartments in the earthquake zone; and $20 million of loans to small businesses. These projects not only dramatically improved Armenia’s infrastructure, but also provided much needed employment to over 20,000 workers. Mr. Kerkorian asked me to supervise these projects, in my capacity as Senior Vice President of The Lincy Foundation.
Over the years, Mr. Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Armenians worldwide, including $14 million to provide heating oil for Armenia’s freezing population during the harsh winter of 1993, $4.5 million in 2006 to all 28 Armenian schools in Lebanon, and millions of dollars to Hayastan All-Armenia Fund’s projects in Artsakh. It is estimated that from 1989 to 2011, The Lincy Foundation contributed over $1 billion, split equally between Armenian and non-Armenian charities.
In 2011, when The Lincy Foundation closed its doors, unfounded and false rumors began circulating about the supposed reasons for its closure. The fact is that Mr. Kerkorian had planned all along that at a certain advanced age he would no longer deal with the deluge of daily requests for funding from around the world and distribute the bulk of his wealth after his passing.
I would like to conclude by mentioning some of the likes and dislikes of this remarkable Armenian-American:
— Mr. Kerkorian detested the divisions among Armenians. It upset him to no end that Armenians could not get along with each other. He often said: “Why can’t they unite and march in the same direction?” He was pleased to see seven major Armenian-American organizations working together under the umbrella of the United Armenian Fund.
–He cared deeply about the destitute condition of the people in Armenia and was constantly worried about emigration. He sought to create jobs so Armenians won’t have to leave their homeland.
— He hated the limelight and never lent his name to any building or institution.
— He was extremely wealthy, yet lived very modestly and spoke gently and politely. He preferred that people address him as Kirk rather than Mr. Kerkorian.
Finally, no one had to prompt Kirk to donate money to worthy causes. He often volunteered to make large contributions without being asked.
The Armenian nation and the world owe him a great debt of gratitude.
The meeting of the heads of delegation participating in the first European Games was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, today. The head of all delegations thanked Hrachya Rotomyan, the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia, for the country’s participation in the games.
“Hrachya Rostomyan had a meeting with the President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey to discuss organizational issues,” Press Secretary of the Armenian team Karen Giloyan wrote on his Facebook page.
Before that Giloyan informed that the Armenian team resides in the Olympic Village together with those of Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Turkey and Hungary.
A six-member group left for Baku yesterday. The Greco-Roman wrestlers and coaches are expected to join them today.
The opening ceremony will be held on Friday, June 12.
Greco-Roman wrestler Roman Amoyan will be the first Armenian athlete to enter competition on June 13.