GIBRALTAR (FIBA)—Anna Aslanian kept growing game-to-game, and her triple-double in the finals secured her the most valuable player (MVP) honors, paving the way for Armenia’s 63-44 win over Malta in the 2017 FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship Division C finals.
Aslanian leads the way for Armenia. (Photo: FIBA)
Aslanian takes home the trophy after averaging 17.4 points, 16.2 rebounds, 3.6 block,s and 3.6 assists per game for the gold medal winner, Armenia. She scored in double-digits in every single game, including a monster performance in Armenia’s win in the final versus Malta on July 29, with 22 points, 31 rebounds, and 12 blocks.
The entire team from Malta had six blocks throughout the Championship. Aslanian saved twice as many just for the Final outing, finishing the game with 22 points, 31 rebounds, 12 blocks and sevan assists. She almost singlehandedly outrebounded Malta, who had 39 rebounds.
Aslanian’s performance gave her a 57 player efficiency rating, and she had a nice supporting cast in Kristina Melikyan and Ani Hovhannisyan. Melikyan collected 17 points, Hovhannisyan had 16, as Armenia played superb defense in the second half and held Malta to just 19 points after the break.
Malta struggled with their shooting percentage, connecting on 19-of-79 shots from the field. With such a poor shooting performance, they could not make their 18-7 edge in steals count. Michaela Zammit Cordina was their lone ranger in double figures with 15 points.
Joining Aslanian in the All-Star Five in the tournament are Mariam Okropiridze, Agnesa Rrahmani, Mireya Benitez Lopez, and Michela Zammit Cordina. Okropiridze had 32 points for Georgia in the Third-Place Game, hitting 6-of-13 from the great beyond, and her tournament averages were 19 points and six assists per outing.
(Yerevan) – The Armenian government has failed to ensure full accountability for police violence against largely peaceful protesters and journalists a year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. At the same time the authorities have indicted at least 32 protesters, convicting 21 of them, with 11 sentenced to prison.
On several nights in July 2016, largely peaceful, anti-government protests took place in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. At some protests, the authorities used excessive force, assaulting many demonstrators as well as journalists reporting on the events. Authorities arbitrarily detained many protest leaders and hundreds of participants, pressing unjustified criminal charges against some. No officials have been prosecuted.
“A year after Yerevan’s July protests, victims of police violence are still waiting for justice and accountability,” said Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus director at Human Rights Watch. “The public’s trust in police and the justice system is severely shaken, and an effective accountability process is essential for restoring it.”
The protests erupted after armed men from a radical opposition group, Founding Parliament, violently seized a Yerevan police station on July 17, 2016. They are alleged to have killed three policemen and taken hostages. Before the gunmen surrendered on July 31, public support for them and disaffection with the government grew into a protest movement, with almost nightly demonstrations in the capital.
The police response was heavy-handed at times. At a July 29 protest in the neighborhood of the seized police station, police fired stun grenades into peaceful crowds, causing first- and second-degree burns and fragmentation wounds on some demonstrators and journalists. Police did not give proper warning or attempt to use other less violent means to disperse the crowd. Police, and unidentified people in civilian clothes acting with them, attacked protesters and some journalists, punching, kicking, and beating them with wooden clubs and iron bars.
Police arbitrarily detained hundreds of protesters between July 17 and 31, and beat many detainees, in some cases severely. Police did not allow some detainees to get prompt medical care for their injuries. Police held some people for up to 12 hours without documenting the detentions, including holding more than 100 people overnight in a gymnasium. Authorities denied many detainees’ basic rights, including prompt access to a lawyer of their choosing and the opportunity to inform a relative of their detention and whereabouts.
The authorities promptly opened an investigation into the police misconduct, but the investigation has led to limited accountability, Human Rights Watch said. No criminal charges have been brought against any law enforcement officials.
Some police have faced disciplinary actions that included dismissals. In early August 2016, authorities fired the Yerevan police chief for “failing to prevent violent attacks on protesters and journalists,” and suspended or reprimanded at least 17 other officials. Following internal inquiries police also sent several cases to the Special Investigation Service, the government agency responsible for investigating crimes committed by law enforcement.
However, in December 2016, President Serge Sarkisyan awarded the Yerevan deputy police chief, who participated in police operations against protesters on July 29, a medal for “excellent maintenance of public order.”
“Commending an official for his role in a police operation that involved excessive force and serious injuries to protesters and journalists raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to accountability,” Gogia said.
Armenian authorities have aggressively prosecuted protest participants and leaders. Of the 21 people convicted, 11 received prison terms ranging from one to three-and-a-half years, seven received conditional sentences, and three were fined. Most pleaded guilty, in part to be guaranteed a speedy trial, a lesser sentence than the maximum allowed by law, or both, their lawyers said. Charges included using violence during mass disorder and interfering with the work of a journalist.
Trials of 10 protesters are ongoing. They face charges of using life-threatening violence against officers on duty during the July 19 protest in Yerevan.
The trial of Andreas Ghukasyan, one of the leaders of the July 29 protest, is expected to begin soon. He is charged with organizing mass disorder during the demonstration. At least four other men who were particularly vocal and active in the July 29 protests are under investigation for the same alleged crime.
Ghukasyan has been in pretrial detention for one year. During that time, the authorities brought additional charges against him, related to his alleged intention to support and join the gunmen in the police station.
“The government should make publicly available any credible evidence that justifies the serious criminal charges against the protest organizers and participants,” Gogia said. “The authorities should not seek to prosecute protesters and impose long prison sentences in retaliation for their vocal, but peaceful activism.”
TEHRAN – An audiobook featuring a selection of poems by contemporary Iranian poet Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar (1906-1988) has recently been released in Yerevan, Armenia.
Translated by Varand Sukiasian, the audiobook is narrated by Aida Asaturyan, Iran’s Cultural Office in Yerevan announced in a press release on Sunday.
The MIHR Literary Center in Yerevan has published the audiobook in collaboration with the Cultural Office.
The office has previously published selections of poems by Hafez, Sadi, Rumi and several other Persian poets in Armenia.
Mohammad-Hossein Behjat Tabrizi, known as Shahriar, published his first book of poems in 1929, with prefaces by Persian literature scholars Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, Saeid Nafisi and Pejman Bakhtiari.
Shahriar’s most famous Azari language poetry collection, “Heidar Babaya Salam” is dedicated to his birthplace, the village of Heidar Baba.
His poems are mainly influenced by Hafez. “The Blessed Bird of Good Omen”, which is about Imam Ali (AS), is one of his most distinguished pieces.
Photo: The cover of an audiobook of Armenian translation of poems by Iranian poet Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar
The Jordan Times, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan July 28, 2017 Friday
By Ahmed Bani Mustafa – Jul 28,2017
Armenian folk ensemble Sasna Tsrer performs at Jerash festival on Wednesday (Petra photo)
JERASH — Jordanian Armenians on Wednesday enjoyed songs and dances from their ancestral homeland at Jerash’s northern theatre.
Coming from Armenia, Sasna Tsrer, an Armenian folk ensemble, performed a variety of traditional songs and dances.
“To the ancient city of Jerash for the first time to represent Armenia at the 32-year-old Jerash festival,” the group wrote on their Facebook page.
The ensemble performed “authentic” songs and dances, without the aid of modern technology, to give a clear idea of Armenian traditions, Arsen Grogoryan, adviser of the Armenian culture minister, told The Jordan Times.
“The last dance was Yarkhushta, which is a four-thousand-year-old dance that used to be performed before battles to see who is more able to survive,” said Grogoryan.
Yarkhushta belongs to a wider category of Armenian “clap dances”. The dance is performed by men who face each other in pairs. The key element of the dance is a forward movement when participants rapidly approach one another and vigorously clap onto the palms of hands of dancers in the opposite row, according to Gorgoryan.
The group also performed a number of other dances such as Kochari, Mairoku and Msho Khr.
“Participation in the Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts is an important achievement for the troupe,” the adviser said.
One of the patriotic songs talked about of the persecution of the Armenian people, he added.
The participation in the Jerash festival represents a “new experience” that enhanced the group’s career, group leader Hovhannes Mkrtchyan said.
It is a chance to support cultural exchange between the two nations, he noted.
“During the four-day stay in Amman, we visited a church, a school and a club, where we met up with Jordanian Armenians and enjoyed chatting with them,” Mkrtchyan said.
“We are also scheduled to visit the Baptism Site at the Jordan River,” he added.
Belal Ajour, a local, said tjavascript:void(0);hat the group introduced him to Armenian culture, commending the festival administration for organising such a “fantastic” event.
Eva, a Jordanian Armenian, thanked organisers for bringing her authentic ancestral dances and songs to Jordan.
She said the group performed pure pieces of music and dances without “additives”.
The Jerash Festival is held in the ancient Greco-Roman town of Jerash, 48km north of Amman.
The north theatre was built during the Roman era, 2nd century AD, as the city’s local council. It was expanded in the 3rd century to be used for theatrical performances such as concerts and plays, which can still be seen today in carvings of the Muses, goddesses of the arts and culture, according to historians.
Sasna Tsrer is an ethnographic ensemble that was formed in 2011 by an initiative of its current leader Hovhannes Mkrtchyan. The band went on stage for the first time with eight people, and today their number is 50.
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
July 28, 2017 Friday
Distribution Institute to be established for development of film
industry in Armenia
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The new management board of Armenia’s
national cinema center eyes development of the country’s film
industry.
A Distribution Institute will be established with this purpose.
Opportunities will be created for filmmakers to sell their products
globally, the new director of the national cinema center Shushanik
Mirzakhanyan told a press conference on July 28.
“We will try to put the film industry on the right path with our new
team. We will work open and transparent. First of all, we will have
co-productions with foreign companies, which is very important,
because this is how the world develops film industry. We will create a
distribution institute, which, we can say doesn’t exist in Armenia”,
she said.
According to her, the establishment of this institute is one of the
most important circles of film industry. The distribution companies
will deliver Armenian production to the international arena.
“A commission will focus on film industry to develop the domestic film
market”, she said.
Culture minister Armen Amiryan said the new leadership of the cinema
center is designing the correct concept for film development in the
country.
“Time is passing, and our understanding about film development is also
changing, that is why we need new people who can make it reality. I
think the new leadership is able to realize all our goals regarding
film development”, he said.
Contributed PhotoZozan and Arshag Gamboian’s wedding photo circa 1930. Zozan came to Niagara Falls as a small child through an illegal effort to assist children of the Armenian Genocide, after her entire family was massacred.
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I will always see Niagara Falls as a delicious melting pot of cultures, languages and traditions.
Just last summer, I found myself at an international crossroads while sitting on a bench at the state park. It seemed the world passed me by as I snacked on an ice cream cone.
Women strolled by wearing colorful Indian saris or Middle Eastern hijabs. Men presented themselves with Hasidic tendrils or donning Sikh turbans. My ears discerned voices speaking every manner of language imaginable. I could even smell the traditional spices of the world’s cuisines mix and mash with the rising mist as these men and women marveled at the brink of the great cataract. Some things never change.
Niagara Falls is a great American story. Throughout the years we have nurtured a sacred tradition in which we have welcomed and embraced people from every corner of the world.
Our history includes the stories of brave refugees of war, genocide and famine.
So many came to Niagara Falls to make a new start. At the dawn of the past century and for many decades afterwards, the factories and the railroads brought in thousands of much-needed workers and their families. They came from the cotton fields of the Deep South, from depression-ravaged towns.
Some came from exotic countries — utterly desperate souls — and occasionally with only false papers, as they would never have been allowed in the lawful way. They crowded onto sea vessels with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They said their last farewells to their loved ones and to their homelands—and most often, never again stepped foot on the land of their ancestors. Niagara Falls was the last hope for so many.
Our new book, “Melting Pot: Niagara’s Rich Ethnic Heritage,” published by the Lewiston Public Library, is a celebration of these people and their stories.
Over the past few years, as the local history librarian, I have collected the stories of our immigrant ancestors for the purpose of sharing their struggles, as well as their triumphs. As you read through the narratives, you will see that often times great hardships precipitated remarkable achievements. Despite differences in ethnicity, these Niagarans shared common housing, jobs, and churches and even married into each other’s families.
They shared meals with one another and learned bits and pieces of each other’s languages and traditions. They crafted businesses out of what they did best and introduced our area to unique foods, music and customs. They also valiantly fought prejudice and bigotry whenever it arose — from the violent threats of the Ku Klux Klan to racist intimidations from unkind neighbors.
Some of the personal stories mentioned include insightful histories of African Americans in Niagara Falls. These chapters highlight the importance of “family” as well as leadership in the African American community at Niagara Falls.
Other stories in “Melting Pot” include: the brave and invincible Armenians, heroes and heroines who defied all odds in their own Holocaust before coming to our city; the industrious Germans, who dominated local industry and business; the story of coalmining Italians who ventured into Niagara Falls from a dismal life in Pennsylvania; Polish tales of hardship at Ellis Island, and lost connections with the Old Country; the children of Spanish immigrants who had worn the customary clothes of Spain to American schools; the ancient Ukrainian tradition of the painted Easter eggs, or pysanky; and recipes from a war bride from Wales.
Many of our Irish stories were submitted by the local chapter of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians. Another Irish chapter, written by Niagara Gazette columnist Don Glynn, reveals a modern day friendship with ties to the Lynch and Buttery families. Yet another tells the story of St. Mary’s Church. Melting Pot also contains precious family recipes, collected and written with great care, family photos and nostalgic news clippings.
The front cover of Melting Pot proudly displays the marriage of Lithuanian born Zygmont Puisys and Ursula Anna Zugzda at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in 1912. Ursula, an orphan, had been raised in a church rectory in Igliauka, Mirijampole, Lithuania. It was said that Zygmont had escaped his homeland under a hail of gunfire. Their story is representative of how many of our Niagara Falls stories begin … with despair and gunfire.
“Melting Pot; Niagara’s Rich Ethnic Heritage” will be available at the Book Corner, located at 1801 Main St. in Niagara Falls and through Amazon.com. We welcome any new family stories for future volumes.
Michelle Ann Kratts is a librarian and genealogist at the Lewiston Public Library.
Please find the attached press release of the Ministry of Diaspora.
Sincerely,
Media and PR Department:
( 374 10) 585601, internal 805
----------------------
Sincerely
Department of Press and Public Relations
( 374 10) 585601, extension 805
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The United States’ move to enforce fresh sanctions against Russia gives absolutely no ground for concern, especially to Armenia, according a Yerevan-based political analyst.
Speaking to Tert.am, Levon Shirinyan described the Trump administration’s recent decision as an attempt to ‘constrain Russia’s appetite’.
“Russia’s expansionist appetite is really big, as they want to seize Donbass, Ukraine and Armenia,” he said, blaming the country also for provoking repeated hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“With those sanctions now, the United States are making attempts to moderate that appetite,” Shirinyan added.
The expert said he also sees Russian attempts to establish dominance over Armenia through soft power. “While they now propose giving Russian a state language status, sometime in the future, they may urge us to change also our religion. That’s a Russian style of acting, a way of seizing [Armenia],” he noted.
Shirinyan attributed the country’s somewhat uneasy conduct to inability to maintain the one-time strong influence over the South Caucasus region. He also criticized Russia’s return move to reduce its diplomatic staff in the country as an absolutely non-adequate reaction.
“Russia will have to moderate [its ambitions]. They have no other choice. Nothing is developing in Russia – neither economy, nor agriculture and nor even science. Whatever they have created so far was due to the technologies [imported] from the West. So they are now blocking that way,” he added.