Author: Markos Nalchajian

Kim Kardashian lead the birthday tributes for megastar Cher’s 71st birthday, the Daily Mail

The 36-year-old reality star posted over 20 times about the Believe hitmaker’s special day all over her social media.

She was not the only one as Jennifer Lopez also took to social media to pay homage to the iconic entertainer.

Also among the stars who hailed the If I Could Turn Back Time singer included Rachel Zoe.

Kim flooded her Instagram page with more than a dozen shots of the woman she dubbed the ‘fashion icon Armenian Queen.’

The super-fan socialite posed a historical retrospective of shots of Cher from the 1970s, showing how the style queen superstar has been something of an inspiration to her, having mastered culminating a hip and evolving image in Hollywood spread over decades.

It’s a huge weekend for Cher, who will stay in Sin City, as she’ll be at the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, where Gwen Stefani will present her with the ICON Award at the Billboard Music Awards.

She’ll also perform live for the first time in 15 years at an award show, as she’s slated to sing her 1999 smash-hit Believe at the proceedings. She told Billboard in a statement she was ‘honored … take the stage to celebrate my love of music with [her] fans’ at the show.

Azeri-Press news agency (APA), Azerbaijan
 Wednesday
MP: Certain circles in Russia do not want to take Azerbaijan's
interests into account
The liquidation of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress (VAK) is one
of the last examples of Russia's attitude towards Azerbaijan, Fazil
Mustafa, Azerbaijani MP, Chairman of the Great Establishment Party
told APA.
He was commenting on the cancellation by Russia's Supreme Court of the
VAK registration on the suit of the Russian Justice Ministry on May
15.
'Despite Azerbaijan's efforts to build neighborly relations with
Russia, certain circles in Russia do not want to take Azerbaijan's
interests into account and does not avoid taking the most drastic
steps against Azerbaijan,' he said.
Fazil Mustafa noted that these circles merely do not want there to be
any organization in Russia serving Azerbaijan's interests.
'They want VAK to be an organization that is directly controlled from
the Kremlin and that fulfills Kremlin's desires. The Congress has
always supported the current government of Russia and never taken any
step against the Kremlin. But what seems to be the case is that they
desire an organization which is absolutely loyal to them and which
speaks out against Azerbaijan. There are differences in views. By
having taken such a step, they demonstrated their attitude towards the
Azerbaijani state, which is unlikely to develop in positively,' he
said.
The MP added: 'The Azerbaijani government has already expressed its
discontent over the VAK liquidation and the Azerbaijani public is
quite sensitive towards this issue. This discontent would probably
force Russia to rethink to some extent and it can give up this
position.
He stressed that the VAK liquidation is not a legal but a political step.
'If this decision was not politically motivated, the organization
which represents an ethnic group in Russia wouldn't be allowed to be
damaged in such way. Taking such a step in a place where over a
million Azerbaijanis live is not good for the government. The
fulfillment of such a political decision is actually the product of
narrow-mindedness,' the MP said.
Speaking to APA of the VAK liquidation, political analyst Gabil
Huseynli said that such a step stems from the pro-Armenian position of
anti-Azerbaijani forces in Russia which are trying to strain relations
between Russia and Azerbaijan.
'Russia has recently given pleasant gifts to Armenia like the creation
of a joint Russian-Armenian armed group headed by an Armenians, free
provision of Armenia with a large number of modern weapons, including
Iskander missiles. As if some dictates Armenia to withdraw from the
negotiation process, which is now in a state of stagnation,' he noted.
Huseynli went on to say: 'In addition, Armenia further increased
military rhetoric and is trying to exasperate Azerbaijan through
threats and blackmails. The situation on the frontline remains tense,
the settlements of Azerbaijan are under fire. However, our army is
giving adequate responses. In other words, Armenia is trying to
involve Azerbaijan in a large-scale war through provocations.'
The political analyst said he believes that the VAK liquidation aims
to revive and restore AzerRoss, an organization headed by Soyun
Sadigov under patronage of Azerbaijan's former deputy prime minister
Abbas Abbasov.

ArmComedy’s Sergey and Narek help Conan expand his Armenian vocabulary with phrases like “may I go blind instead of you.”

ArmComedy made a guest appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night talk show on TBS, that aired Thursday, May 11.

Narek and Sergey interviewed Conan on their own show in Armenia in 2015.

More episodes are available on the show’s

On 9 May President Bako Sahakyan together with President Serzh Sargsyan of the Republic of Armenia and NKR second President Arkady Ghukasyan attended the premiere of the “Thirteen”  documentary film dedicated to the four-day April war.

Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, National Assembly Chairman Ashot Ghoulyan, Prime Minister Arayik Haroutyunyan, high-ranking officials from Artsakh and Armenia were present at the event.

In a letter dated April 21, 2017 and addressed to the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region (ANCA-WR), Wyoming Governor Matthew H. Mead has recognized the Armenian Genocide and praised the work of Armenian American grassroots.

“The atrocities of both the Armenian and Jewish Holocausts were unimaginable,” reads Governor Mead’s letter, “but it is important for all to remember – history must not repeat itself.” The letter also recalls a meeting with senior ANCA-WR staff earlier this year, when Executive Director Elen Asatryan and Community Development Coordinator Simon Maghakyan visited Cheyenne, adding that “The work of the Armenian National Committee is inspiring.” Referencing the upcoming April 23 commemoration in Denver, Governor Mead concludes his letter with, “My thoughts are with you as you gather for the Colorado State Capitol Armenian Genocide Commemoration.”

“We thank the Governor of the Great State of Wyoming for standing on the right side of history and adding his voice to the ongoing need to recognize and commemorate the Armenian Genocide,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian. “This recognition is a tribute to the memory of our ancestors and a celebration of the brave work of many Wyomingites who supported the national Near East Relief effort of building and operating 400 orphanages for over 132,000 Armenian children who survived the genocide. Last but not least, this recognition is a testament to the tireless work of our grassroots activists and dedicated staff,” continued Hovsepian.

The news of Wyoming’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide also received praise by elected officials and activists in the Equality State. “I congratulate the Governor for his courageous stance on this moral issue amid lavish anti-Armenian lobbying in Wyoming, which has included all-inclusive junkets to the dictatorship of Azerbaijan by legislators across our nation, who should know better than hobnobbing with bloody dictators that behead Christian Armenians and destroy ancient Armenian churches and Djulfa cross-stones,” remarked Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard. “The Armenian Genocide is an unpunished crime that needs to be recognized and accounted for; Turkey’s ongoing denial of this grave crime, illegal blockade of Armenia and support for Azerbaijan’s genocidal policies against Armenia and Artsakh must end,” continued Sen. Bouchard.

Local ANCA activist Ani Gasparyan, a resident of Larimie, Wyoming, also praised the Governor for recognizing the Armenian Genocide: “As our community recalls the murder of 1.5 million people and the loss of the majority of our homeland, it warms our hearts to know that Governor Mead is recognizing the Armenian Genocide on its 102nd anniversary.”

Today’s victory comes after the ANCA-Western Region team drove down from Denver Colorado to the Equality State on the 29th of February and spent the day meeting with senators and representatives to educate them about the Armenian Genocide, Artsakh, the Armenian community, and discuss Armenian-American priorities.  During the visit, Senator Bouchard, who during his recent election campaign connected with the ANCA-WR about his opponent’s junket to Azerbaijan and spoke forcefully against these dirty tactics on the campaign trail, welcomed the ANCA-WR team by connecting them to the Governor’s office and other elected officials.  Before the sun rose the next morning, joined by the Chair of the State Revenue Committee Ray Peterson, the ANCA-WR met with the Governor and discussed, among other topics, the heroic efforts of Wyomingites during the Genocide, Turkey’s continued denial of the mass murder of 1.5 million Christian Armenians and the need for proper recognition, restitution and reparations against this unpunished crime against humanity.

“We extend our deep gratitude to Governor Mead, Senators Bouchard and Peterson, and the elected leaders for their leadership, taking the time to learn about Armenian American issues and supporting the Armenian community of Wyoming and the entire United States, as well as standing by the world’s first Christian nation as it continues to address the ongoing security and economic consequences of the Armenian Genocide,” remarked Executive Director Elen Asatryan.

Armenian-American singer and actress Cher united with Armenian-American reality stars Kourtney and Kim Kardashian to support the new film The Promise,  reports. 

The trio attended the Los Angeles premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, joining the film’s star, Christian Bale, on the red carpet.

Director Terry George’s new historical drama, also starring Oscar Isaac, focuses on the Armenian Genocide carried out by the crumbling Ottoman Empire during World War I. As the war drags on, the national mood gets worse and Armenian citizens become the victims of raging hate crimes.

Following the screening, the wife of Kanye West, 36, tweeted: “So proud of the movie #ThePromise Everyone please go see it and finally hear the story of the Armenian people.”

In April 2015, Kim and sister Khloé Kardashian traveled to Armenia for eight days during which they paid their respects to the Armenian Genocide Memorial in the country’s capital. The visit was later shown on their family’s E! series Keeping Up with the Kardashians in October 2016.

Four political forces will be represented in the Armenian Parliament, according to final results of the poll published by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).

 

The CEC said 2,575,786 citizens or 60.93 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the parliamentary elections.

The Republican Party of Armenia will hold 58 seats in the 105-member National Assembly, Tsarukyan Alliance will claim 31 seats. Yelk bloc and ARF Dashnaktsutyun will be represented by 9 and 7 lawmakers respectively.

Global development practitioners are gathering at the  in Yerevan, Armenia to explore opportunities and mechanisms to promote impact investment for development.

The United Nations Development Program and the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative say the event may be the first conference focused on scaling impact ventures from incubation to acceleration and expansion to support development goals.

The Summit is a first of its kind collaborative dialogue that convenes a wide range of impact business leaders, social venture philanthropists, United Nations officials and other development practitioners, as well as social entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, government representatives and leading academics.

The Summit will bring together key stakeholders from the growing impact investment ecosystem, in order to create new models of collaboration between investors, ventures, governments and international development organizations.

The IID Summit includes a set of events, including a series of TEDx talks, showcase-sessions for pioneering impact ventures that present fresh solutions for the SDGs, interactive discussions, a thematic exhibition, and more.

The Summit will take place at the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies  – a venue intentionally selected as an example of an innovative impact venture that directly supports development. Several other social enterprises have contributed to the Summit.