Category: News

The Islamic State (IS) group affiliate in Egypt claimed it downed the plane, without saying how, AFP reports.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail expressed doubt about the claim, saying “experts confirmed that a plane cannot be downed at such an altitude”, and Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said the claim “cannot be considered accurate”.

Germany’s Lufthansa and Air France said they would halt flights over Sinai until the reasons behind the crash became clear.

The Airbus A321 with 214 Russian and three Ukranian passengers and seven crew, had taken off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in south Sinai bound for Saint Petersburg.

It lost contact with air traffic control 23 minutes later.

The wreckage was found roughly 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the North Sinai town of El-Arish, Egyptian officials said.

Debris and bodies was spread over an area of between six and eight square kilometres (two and a half to just over three square miles).

The aircraft’s black box had been retrieved and sent for analysis, Ismail said.

The IS affiliate waging an insurgency in the Sinai claimed that “the soldiers of the caliphate succeeded in bringing down a Russian plane”.

It said this was in revenge for Russian air strikes against IS in Syria.

Three military experts said IS in Sinai does not have surface-to-air missiles capable of hitting a plane at high altitude.

But they could not exclude the possibility of a bomb on board or a surface-to-air missile strike if the aircraft had been descending to make an emergency landing.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin ordered rescue teams dispatched to Egypt.

Russian experts would take part in the Egyptian-led investigation, Ismail said.

President Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan attended today the re-consecration ceremony of one of Tbilisi’s oldest churches, Armenian Cathedral of St George, which was led by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

The ceremony was joined by Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, Primate of the Georgian Diocese, the donors of the church restoration program, by numerous guests and religious people of the Georgian Diocese, as well as by church benefactor Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former prime minister, who was awarded by the Supreme Patriarch high decorations of the Armenian Apostolic Church together with the other benefactors.

The ceremony was followed by the opening of a memorial plaque bearing the names of the benefactors of the church reconstruction program.

The restoration project of the Cathedral of St George (XIII ct.) of the Georgian Diocese started in 2012, becoming one of the most important programs of the Initiative for the Development of Armenia (IDeA) and receiving the blessings of the Catholicos of All Armenians and the support of Georgian authorities.
The same year, the Foundation for the Reconstruction of the Cathedral of St. George was established with the aim of getting donations, managing financial resources, as well as of supervising the technical works to restore the church and its frescos.

During the church restoration works, both Armenian and Georgian specialists were engaged, including architect-restorer Anatoli Solomnishvili (who is also the author of the restoration projects of Avlabar’s St. Etchmiadzin Church (XVIII ct.)), restorer-builder Zurab Gachechiladze, the senior restorer of the RA Ministry of Culture, Arzhanik Hovhannisyan, head of the Research Center for Restoration of Monumental Painting, Otar Chakvetadze, head of the Technical Expertise Division of the Georgian Engineering Academy, as well as experts from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Matenadaran.

During the three-year restoration works, a close eye was kept on the fortification of the church, since underground waters posed a real danger to the church, wrecking the church foundation and undermining the brick wall.

During the works, the church foundation was fortified and replaced with a waterproofing foundation, a drainage system was installed, the walls and dome were reinforced, the external coating was removed and the church’s initial appearance with bricks was restored.

Special attention was paid to the restoration of the frescos and sacred images inside the Cathedral of St George. Its entrance and by-sacristy walls, arch niches and columns are decorated with the paintings of the Hovnatanians, Gevorg Bashinjaghian and unknown masters. The restoration works of frescos and sacred images were carried out by the employees of the Research Center for Restoration of Monumental Painting under the leadership of Arzhanik Hovhannisyan and with the consultative support of Fabrizio Iacobini, head of the Center for Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage of Florence.

The Cathedral of St George has been restored through charitable donations. The total cost of the restoration program amounts to 3.5 million dollars. The main donors of the program are the Vardanian family, Albert Avdolyan, Sergey Sarkisov and Rusudan Makhashvili, Danil Khachaturov, as well as Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The Cathedral of St George (or the Great Church of Berd) is one of the oldest churches in Tbilisi. It was one of the Armenian spiritual, cultural and enlightenment centers of medieval times. From 14 to 15 centuries, numerous manuscripts were created in the church school which are kept in the Matenadaran. The church has been repeatedly damaged by invasions and fires and has been restored.
The yard of the Cathedral of St George houses the tombs of Sayat-Nova, Gevorg Bashinjaghian, Mikhail Loris-Melikov, Arshak Ter-Gukasov, Ivan Lazarev and Boris Shelkovnikov.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has sent a telegram of condolences to President Vladimir Putin of Russia over the crash of the Russian airliner en route from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, which claimed the lives of all 224 people on board.

“On behalf of the people of Armenia and on my own behalf, on this hard moment for Russia, I express sincere condolences to you, the relatives of the victims and the brotherly people of Russia,” President Sargsyan wrote.

Wreckage of the Russian plane has been found in the Hassana area. It disappeared from radar screens when travelling at 9,500m, Egyptian officials said, the BBC reports.

Egyptian officials said most on board are likely to have died.

The plane was operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, based in western Siberia.

Russian authorities say it was carrying 217 passengers, 17 of them children, and seven crew. Most were Russian tourists.

Egypt rules out that the Russian plane could have been downed by militants operating in the Sinai Peninsula, Sky News Arabia reported on Saturday citing sources in security agencies.

presents the list of the passengers on board.

Earlier on Saturday Egyptian air traffic control said they lost control with the Russian airliner en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, Sputnik News reports.

According to a security official at the scene, the Russian airliner is completely destroyed and all of its passengers are most probably dead. The plane went down in a mountainous area in central Sinai and poor weather conditions have made it difficult for rescue crews to get to the scene, the officer said. Survivors and bodies of those on board will be flown to Cairo, he told Reuters.

An Egyptian Health Ministry official told Ahram newspaper that 15 ambulances were sent to central Sinai’s Al-Hasana City, adding that an “emergency status” was declared.

A source in Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) told RIA Novosti the Kogalymavia Flight 9268 carrying 217 passengeers and 7 crew took off from Sharm El-Sheikh at 3:31 GMT and went off radar after 23 minutes of flight. Most of the passengers are said to be Russian tourists, including 17 children.

The Russian A321 captain informed air-traffic controller of technical faults after take-off and asked for route change, a source in the Sharm el-Sheikh airport told RIA Novosti.

MENA news agency reported that Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail canceled all his scheduled visits on Saturday because of the information of Russian plane crash. A statement from the prime minister’s office said Ismail had formed a cabinet level crisis committee to deal with the crash.

There were no indications that the Russian Airbus was shot down, Egyptian security sources said. Egypt’s North Sinai is home to a two-year-old Islamist insurgency and militants affiliated to Islamic State have killed hundreds of soldiers and police.

Initial reports about the fate of the airliner were conflicting, with the head of Egypt’s central air traffic accident authority saying the plane was safe.

“The… Russian airline had told us that the Russian plane we lost contact with is safe and that it has contacted Turkish air traffic control and is passing through Turkish skies now,” Ayman al-Muqaddam said in a statement.

Late- night host Conan O’Brien will accompany First Lady Michelle Obama on a trip to Qatar next week as part of a series of specials he is putting together for TBS, the cable network that airs his regular program, “Cona,” reports.

The comedian will join Mrs.  Obama next week on a trip to visit U.S. military personnel stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar. He is expected to entertain the troops with a show while the First Lady highlights Joining Forces, an initiative that supports service members, veterans and their families. As with his other recent excursions abroad, O’Brien’s trip to Qatar with the First Lady will be taped to appear as part of an episode of “Conan” airing later this year.

O’Brien recently journeyed to Armenia with his assistant for a

This will mark the second time O’Brien has travelled abroad to perform for the men and women of the United States military. In May 2003, O’Brien visited Kuwait and Bahrain on a USO tour. It will also mark his fourth adventure this year. In addition to Armenia, O’Brien has traveled to the annual Comic-Con in San Diego and to Cuba.

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night, NKR Ministry of Defense reported.

The rival fired more than 1,000 shots from weapons of different caliber, including 60mm mortars, in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continue with their military duty and resort to retaliatory measures if necessary.

Armenian has welcomed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Senate of Paraguay.

“The continuity of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide proves that the crimes against humanity have no statute of limitation, and the humanity continues to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide even 100 years after it was committed,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

“With this step the Senate of Paraguay made an important contribution to the international efforts of preventing genocides and crimes against humanity,” the Foreign Minister stated.

President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting today with Georgian Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili in Tbilisi.

The interlocutors warmly recalled the official visit of David Usupashvili’s delegation to Armenia this February and attached importance to the regular high-level meetings held during recent years, which, the RA president and the Georgian parliament speaker agreed, give a breath of fresh air to bilateral relations, thereby giving a chance to discuss the key items on the comprehensive Armenian-Georgian.

The Georgian parliament speaker welcomed and stressed the importance of the RA president’s visit, underscoring that Georgians hold Serzh Sargsyan in high regard and esteem not only as Armenia’s president, but also as a great apologist for the strengthening of friendship between Georgia and Armenia. David Usupashvili expressed the hope that Serzh Sargsyan’s visit will become another step forward aimed at reinforcing the friendship of the two countries.

President Serzh Sargsyan stressed the role of parliamentarians in developing brotherly and good-neighborly relations between Armenian and Georgia that are based on a strong historical foundation, noting that inter-parliamentary ties have long occupied their firm place in the agenda of inter-state relations which is testified by the presence of inter-parliamentary cooperation committees in the two countries’ parliaments.

The interlocutors agreed that the development of Armenia and Georgia, as well as the well-being of the two friendly peoples are greatly conditioned by the close cooperation between Armenia and Georgia and by the strengthening of relations. Serzh Sargsyan and David Usupashvili attached importance to the promotion of collaboration in all spheres, including political, economic, humanitarian etc..

Armenia’s president thanked for the participation of Georgia’s deputy parliament speaker in the events to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide which took place on April 24 this year, on the occasion of the Armenian Genocide Centennial.

At the meeting, the parliament speaker noted that Georgia is carefully following the process of RA constitutional amendments and is aware that while developing the draft of amendments the specialized group also studied Georgia’s practice.

The interlocutors attached importance to taking a balanced, prudent and delicate stance on the sensitive issues and problems that are of crucial importance to each other and to showing respect for mutual interests.

The parties also reflected upon regional problems and challenges. President Serzh Sargsyan attached weight to Georgia’s role in the maintenance of security and stability in the region.

A special event took place at Buckingham Palace on 27th October 2015. HRH Prince Charles hosted a charitable Gala Evening for the benefit of British-Armenian charitable projects, Assadour Guzelian reports from London.

The Gala Evening was attended by many dignitaries, including President of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sargsyan, His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians.

The Gala Evening started with a reception followed by a special concert by the world famous Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra from St. Petersburg, conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev. The Orchestra performed  Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres midi d’un faune, which Maestro Gergiev dedicated to the memory of Contessa Yoko Nagae Ceschina (5 April 1932 – 10 January 2015), a noted patroness of classical music. She was born in Japan and long-time lived in Italy.

Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations was breathtakingly performed by the orchestra and young soloist (cellist) Narek Hakhnazaryan, 1^st Prize Gold Medal winner of XIV International Tchaikovsky Completion, 2011.

Accompanied by the orchestra the Grand Prix winner of XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, July 2015, Mongolian baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar sang Tchaikovsky’s Yeletsky’s aria from Queen of Spades.

After Verdi’s Overture to La Forza del destino and Wagner’s Prelude to Lohengrin, Act I, masterfully performed by Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under the magical baton of Maestro Valery Gergiev, the artistic part of the evening concluded.

In his speech Dr. Armen Sarkissian thanked HRH Prince Charles for his untiring efforts and dedication to both The Saving of Dumfries House and Yerevan My Love projects. He also thanked everyone attending the Gala Evening for their generous donations.

In his turn HRH Prince Charles expressed his gratitude to Dr. Armen Sarkissian and all the benefactors, particularly Haik and Elza Didizian and Vatche and Tamar Manoukian.

“Yerevan My Love” (YML) is a heritage-led regeneration project dedicated to preserving architecturally significant buildings in Yerevan and, by adaptive reuse, to improve the life experience of disabled children, young people and disadvantaged families.

Following the successful charity evenings in Windsor Castle (2010), Buckingham Palace (2011) and Yerevan (2013), Yerevan My Love has been working on restoring and revitalising the oldest neighbourhoods of the city.

The proceeds of this year’s fundraising will be dedicated to helping Syrian Armenian children and their educational needs. Thousands of families have escaped the devastating war in Syria and have found refuge in Armenia. Beyond reconstruction, a key dimension of YML is social impact: to improve the education and life experience of children and young people, especially orphans and those who come from disadvantaged communities.

Photo was taken during the first “Yerevan My Love” Gala Evening