Author: Karapet Navasardian

Real Salt Lake has ended their interest in Yura Movsisyan during this transfer window, but that doesn’t leave the club without options to improve the team in the short-term, according to rslsoapbox.com.

In an interview on ESPN 700, RSL technical director Craig Waibel said that Movsisyan, at Spartak Moscow, will be staying in Russia after his club underwent a coaching change.

“Yura will not be joining us in this window,” Waibel said. “I had a great conversation with him, he’s in a good situation with Spartak.”

That ends Real Salt Lake’s interest in Movsisyan during this transfer window, Waibel said.

“Unfortunately for me, that’s an easy conversation,” he said. “I’m happy for Yura that he’s got a nice home and a place that wants to play him, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the answer that I wanted.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has conferred a Heydar Aliyev order to his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva, the chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the First European Games in Baku, Azeri media report.

According to the decree, Mehriban Aliyeva was awarded the order “for her fruitful activity to develop culture, education, healthcare and sports in Azerbaijan, ensure extensive promotion of the cultural heritage of the people of Azerbaijan on the international level and big contribution to the organization of the First European Games”

Ten youths have been arrested by Canadian police on suspicion of planning to travel to Iraq and Syria to join Islamic State, the BBC reports.

All 10 had their passports confiscated after they were detained at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport at the weekend.

Police said in a statement on Tuesday that none of the suspects had been charged, but investigations were ongoing.

Their families have been informed.

“These are very difficult times for the relatives and loved ones of the persons arrested, as the decision to leave the country was not that of the family, but of a single family member,” the statement said.

“As a result, family members often find themselves at a complete loss and unable to understand the decision made by the youth.”

Police said they could not disclose the identity of the suspects or provide information about what led to their arrests.

The issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide has created internal tension in Germany. The discussions before and after April 24 seem to be frozen now. Last week the Lefts addressed a letter to the ruling coalition, requesting an answer as to when the discussions on the issue will continue.

Three bills on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide are pending at the Bundestag. It’s not yet clear whether the final document will describe the historic facts as ‘genocide’ or not.

Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan, Turkish German lawmaker Hasan Burgucuoglu, member of Hamburg’s regional parliament confessed that “discussions on the bill drag out because of the efforts of Turkey.”

“A day before the discussions at the Bundestag, Davutoglu called Chancellor Angela Merkel several times to ask not to utter the word genocide,” he said.

The three bills at the Bundestag have been submitted by the Lefts, the Green Party and the ruling coalition.

Representative of the Party of Lefts Hasan Burgucuoglu did not say exactly when the bills will be finalized and put on a vote, but noted that “if it’s left to the Government, they will drag it out for years.” He added, however, that both the Lefts and the Greens have a clear position on the issue and will pursue the consideration and adoption of the resolution.

“We’ll not allow the German authorities to throw dust in the eyes of people and undertake steps only on April 24 to flatter the Armenians,” the lawmaker said.

Hasan Burgucuoglu is a former political prisoner, who fled Turkey to escape persecution because of his clear stance on the Armenian Genocide. Despite this, he considers himself a descendant of the ancestors with a dirty biography.

Senator Jack Reed has invited His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, to deliver U.S. Senate’s opening prayer on May 7, ANCA reports.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have released a statement after meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers:

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) traveled to Paris to meet with Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, and separately with Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov.  The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meetings.

The Ministers reported on their respective President’s meeting with President of France Francois Hollande in Yerevan and Baku April 24-25.  We stressed to each Minister the importance of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan intensifying their dialogue, and continued preparations for the next presidential meeting later this year.  The Ministers agreed to meet each other, together with the Co-Chairs, to shape the agenda for the Presidents’ discussion, and welcomed an upcoming visit to the region by the Co-Chairs.

The Co-Chairs also note that “parliamentary elections” are taking place May 3 in Nagorno-Karabakh.  In the context of a comprehensive settlement of the conflict, we recognize the role of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in deciding their future.  However, none of our three countries, nor any other country, recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state.

Accordingly, we do not accept the results of these “elections” as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and stress that they in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

SOCIAL CRISIS WILL GO DEEPER UNLESS SNAP ELECTIONS ARE HELD: ZURABYAN

Tert.am
14.05.10

"I am already sick and tired of giving explanations because the same
question is always being repeated," the Armenian National Congress
(HAK) coordinator Levon Zurabyan said at a press conference today
when asked about the necessity of snap elections in Armenia.

Zurabyan also mentioned that firstly early presidential elections
must be held and then – the parliamentary ones.

"We have presented demands. They are based on the principle that the
social crisis will go deeper, the social situation will cause acute
tension and confrontations, should early elections not be held in
Armenia," said Zurabyan.

At the same time he mentioned that Armenia is currently under foreign
pressure over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Zurabyan thinks that HAK is implementing a right policy.

"HAK continues to remain the power that can bring tens of thousands
of people out to the street during its rallies. No single power [in
Armenia] is capable of doing it. And that means that people trust
and believe in the strategy we have chosen," said Levon Zurabyan.

SUMMER WEATHER NOT TO COME SOON, METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE SAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 30, 2010 – 12:12 AMT 07:12 GMT

The weather in Armenia in April was near to normal, with abundant
precipitation, according to Zaruhi Petrosyan, head of the forecast
center of the Armenian meteorological service

"Rain will persist till May 7-8, the air temperature will be +15
+18 C," she said. "The temperature will go up to +25 C after May 7,
however, summer weather will not come soon."

She also said that the air temperature in summer will be normal,
going up in August.

BOXER LETTER URGES PRESIDENT TO "STAND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY"

Panorama.am
21/04/2010

California Senator Barbara Boxer was joined this week by more than a
dozen of her Senate colleagues in calling on President Obama "to stand
on the right side of history and unequivocally affirm the Armenian
Genocide," reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"We would like to thank Senator Boxer and her Senate colleagues
for their effort to end Turkey’s gag rule on U.S. affirmation of
the Armenian Genocide – a morally bankrupt policy that continues to
undermine our nation’s credibility in the fight to end the cycle of
Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "President
Obama has a clear choice to make on April 24th – to emerge as the
torchbearer of truth regarding the Armenian Genocide or to remain
the Turkish government’s accomplice in the denial of this crime
against humanity."

The letter, circulated by Senator Boxer and sent to the White House
earlier today with the signatures of 14 Senators from 10 different
states, underscored that, "despite an irrefutable body of evidence, the
United States Government has yet to recognize the events of 1915-1923
by their rightful name." The signatories urged the President, this
April 24 "to correct this injustice and finally acknowledge one of the
greatest atrocities of the 20th century for what it was – genocide."

In comments to the ANCA, Senator John Ensign (R-NV), a co-signer of the
letter, noted that, "This month will mark the 95th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. The atrocities that occurred 95 years ago have yet
to be recognized by our government as a genocide. In this letter, my
colleagues and I urge President Obama to once and for all declare that
the lives lost during this dark period were a result of a deliberate
and intentional massacre of innocent men, women, and children."

During his campaign for the White House, President Obama repeatedly
promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide, but, since, taking
office, has broken his pledge, even going so far as pressuring the
U.S. Congress against adopting legislation commemorating this crime
against humanity.

WEST DORSET: PARISH WEBSITE INFILTRATED BY TURKISH NATIONALISTS

Bridport News
st_Dorset__Parish_website_infiltrated_by_Turkish_n ationalists/
April 7 2010
UK

TURKISH nationalists are believed to have hijacked a Bride Valley
website that normally publicises the attractions and activities
available in Puncknowle, Swyre and West Bexington.

Parish Council chairman Tony Edwards was startled and extremely
annoyed to see the Punckowle.net website plastered with Turkish words.

He said: "Not reading Turkish I am not sure what it was. There were
about two identifiable words – one of which was ‘hacking’ which maybe
the same in either language and the other one was something to do
with a 1923 group.

"I didn’t look at it too closely, I was so irritated and had better
things to do with my time."

The Turkish nationals believed to be responsible run a website called
1923Turk.com which outlines the main grievances dating back centuries
they hold against the Chinese, Russians, Serbs, Greeks and Armenians.

Mr Edwards said: "The first thing I had to do was get onto our host
and find out how on earth this could have happened and to get it
taken off. Like any uploading of information to websites, the code
is a secure key known to the originator and people can hack into them.

"We were using free community software and I think the more
straightforward they are the easier they are to hack into to.

"I have not spent a lot of time analysing it. It could be the hackers
picked up some information and decided to be a nuisance. It could
also be that somebody from Turkey was looking to promote their cause.

"The most important thing for me and the web group to do is get on and
replace all the material that was lost and make the site more secure."

Mr Edwards said it was likely to be a few weeks before the website
was up and running again.

In the meantime, he said, Litton Cheney’s Simon Nobes of PanoScope
had dropped everything to help and get a holding page up to say the
site was being rebuilt.

Mr Edwards said police told him as there was no especially offensive
material and the hacker did not make any financial gain they would
not investigate.