Category: News

It was not the only deadly incident attributable to the fast-moving water. In Zion National Park’s Keyhole Canyon, four people who were canyoneering were killed and three are missing, National Park Service officials said.

At least six children and three women died in the vehicles that were swept away in the border area, according to Utah officials in the city of Hildale and with Washington County Emergency Services.

Three people survived Monday’s flood, including a boy who was found walking around a creek, said Hildale Mayor Philip Barlow.

Two survived by escaping from their vehicle, he said. The youngest fatality was a child about age 4, said Hildale Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Barlow.

The two vehicles carried a total of 16 women and children after a visit to a park, the mayor said.

Armenia’s first minister of foreign affairs concluded his four-day visit to Lebanon with a private reception at the residence of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

Raffi K. Hovannisian, who currently serves as Heritage Party chairman and ACNIS founding director, and Vehapar discussed a broad range of contemporary challenges facing the Homeland and the Armenian nation.

Hovannisian had arrived in Lebanon to take part in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the heroic self-defense at Musa Dagh and the 75th birthday of the founding of the town of Ainjar by the survivors and descendants from Mount Musa.

He had the opportunity there to meet with community leaders and to address words of proud felicitation to the pilgrims gathered from around the world.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received the delegation headed by Don Grantham, the Microsoft Corporation’s Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe.

The Prime Minister hailed the continuous cooperation with the Microsoft Corporation and noted that the Armenian Government is willing to further develop and deepen the bilateral cooperation.

Hovik Abrahamyan emphasized the effective activity of the IT companies in Armenian and noted that they make the country competitive on the most developed markets in the world. The Prime Minister highly appreciated Microsoft’s assistance through its Innovation Center and other initiatives and attached importance to the  implementation of new joint initiatives.

Don Grantham, in turn, hailed the progress reached in the effective cooperation with the Armenian Government and praised the steps Armenia takes towards the development of the IT sphere.

The interlocutors discussed the implementation of new joint projects, the protection of intellectual property, and the fight against cybercrime.

In this context, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of the active cooperation between the Microsoft and the Armenian Defense Ministry with a view of improving the country’s defense system.

Matthew Karanian’s “Historic Armenia After 100 Years,” was presented at the Armenian Embassy in Canada.

Matthew Karanian is the author of the first travel guide to Armenia, and work as lawyer in California. He lectured at the American University of Armenia from 2002 to 2006.

After Ambassador Armen Yeganian’s opening remarks, Karanian offered a lecture on Armenian cultural heritage. He spoke about the six regions of Western Armenia, the hidden Armenians and church-building in Armenia.

Under the auspices of the Armenian Embassy in Canada, Karanian also presented his book in Montreal and Toronto.

Czech Airlines is planning to relaunch its Yerevan – Prague service effective
13 December 2015. For the time being, the route will be operated strictly seasonally, for
a limited period of time covering the traditional Christmas and New Year’s festivities. Prices of one-way Yerevan – Prague tickets start at 88,960 Armenian Drams, while return tickets start at AMD 162,460 including all taxes and fees.

Czech Airlines plans to operate two return frequencies a week on the Yerevan – Prague route, with departures from Yerevan on Mondays and Thursdays at 5:20 a.m., returning from Prague on Wednesdays and Sundays at 9:55 p.m., arriving at the Zvartnots International Airport at 4:30 a.m. on the next day. Czech Airlines will add a third weekly frequency on the route to Prague on selected days – on Saturdays 26 December 2015, 2 and 16 January 2016.

The schedule of the Yerevan – Prague route has been designed in a way to allow passengers to enjoy either a week-long stay (Monday to Sunday) in Prague or a long weekend (Thursday to Sunday). Departure times from both Yerevan and Prague allow travellers to enjoy a full day in Prague on both travel days. The Yerevan – Prague flights will be operated by Airbus A319 aircraft featuring both the Economy and Business Class cabin.

Thanks to the convenient timing of arrivals in Prague during the morning transport wave, passengers arriving from Yerevan will be able to continue upon transfer in Prague to a number of Czech Airlines’ final destinations, for example to Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and more.

“For the time being, Czech Airlines’ Yerevan service will be operated from 13 December 2015 to 16 January 2016. In our attempt to renew the flights to Yerevan, we need to proceed carefully using a gradual approach as the Armenian market is extremely price sensitive and the transport demand is subject to strong seasonal imbalances,” Ján Tóth, Czech Airlines Director for Commerce, Alliances and Marketing, stated, adding: “As for further continuation of our flights, we have been analysing several models of operation for the 2016 summer season, but no model has been selected yet. The summer operation needs to be considered very carefully and a positive decision can only be made if economically feasible for the entire time of the route’s service.”

One-way tickets to Yerevan start at 88,960 Armenian Drams, while return tickets start at AMD 162,460 including all taxes and fees. Starting today, tickets are available for purchase at all Czech Airlines’ and their partners’ distribution points, i.e. on the company’s website , via all mobile and native Czech Airlines’ applications, via the Contact Centre and company’s offices and within the network of travel agencies, ticketing offices and ticket sales points.    

President Serzh Sargsyan, who has arrived in the Republic of Tajikistan to take part in the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, had a meeting with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon.

The two heads of state discussed issues pertaining to bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Armenia and Tajikistan. The interlocutors particularly touched upon collaboration in political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres, as well as within the frames of the CSTO and other international organizations, talked about the further reinforcement of bilateral ties and the opportunities for implementation of mutually beneficial programs. President Serzh Sargsyan noted that the two peoples’ friendship and the current level of mutual understanding and trust between Armenia and Tajikistan provide a solid foundation to jointly develop and deepen interstate relations, promote inter-parliamentary ties, and enrich the Armenian-Tajik economic agenda with promising projects.

Emomali Rahmon welcomed President Serzh Sargsyan and stressed that Tajikistan is keen on developing its traditionally friendly relations with Armenia, and deepening ties both in bilateral and multilateral formats. To strengthen interstate relations and promote multi-sectoral cooperation, President Rahmon attached importance to the broadening of the legal framework between the two countries, which, according to him, will also contribute to trade growth.

The parties placed importance on senior-level reciprocal visits to develop relations between Armenia and Tajikistan and fulfill the agreements made at a high level. President Serzh Sargsyan invited his counterpart to pay an official visit to Armenia, which was accepted by President Emomali Rahmon with pleasure.

Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Emomali Rahmon exchanged views on issues vital to the two countries, as well as on current international and regional issues and challenges which will be discussed in more detail at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council to be held tomorrow. The RA president presented the efforts of the RA and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Federal MP for Bennelong, John Alexander has delivered a blistering speech on the floor of Parliament after meeting with a visiting Azeri MP, condemning Azerbaijan’s ongoing disregard for human rights and peace in Nagorno Karabakh, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) reports.

His statement was delivered following on from a meeting – in his capacity as Chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics – with Khanlar Fatiyev MP, who is visiting Australia as part of an official Azeri Parliamentary delegation.

After attacking Azerbaijan’s capture of human rights activists, Alexander said: “I also raised my strong concerns about Azerbaijan’s actions in the on-going dispute with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan has invested over $1 billion in armoured vehicles and artillery in the past few years, making a mockery of any supposed desire for peace in the region.”

He added: “As we commemorate the centenary of the commencement of the Armenian Genocide it is essential for us as community leaders to call out persecution, and to stress to trading partners like Azerbaijan the importance of protecting human rights and political freedoms for all.”

ANC Australia’s Executive Director, Vache Kahramanian remarked: “John Alexander today spoke truthfully and powerfully on the true character of Azerbaijan. That country has spent billions around the world in an attempt to showcase itself as a democracy but actions speak louder than words.”

“Australia is a country built on the rule of law and on the fundamental respect for human rights. Azerbaijan has continued to be a blatant violator of human rights, ranking poorly in global rankings for consecutive years. Its ongoing aggression towards Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have further added to its sorry state of affairs,” Kahramanian added.

“Mr. Alexander has had a long track record of setting the record straight in the Australian Parliament on such important matters. Australia has been well served by this distinguished leader who speaks openly and honestly on such important matters,” Kahramanian concluded.

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) has welcomed the election of Malcolm Turnbull as the new Prime Minister of Australia.

Turnbull challenged sitting Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, for their party’s (LIB) leadership in a spill that took place on Monday night in Parliament House. By winning the Liberal Party leadership, Turnbull immediately became Prime Minister-elect, and will be sworn in on Tuesday.

Turnbull, a long time friend of the Armenian-Australian community, has been a strong and vocal supporter of Armenian Genocide recognition by the Parliament of Australia. On 23 November 2013, in this capacity as Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband, he addressed the House of Representatives in an impassioned speech calling for the formal recognition of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides.

“They [ANC Australia Advocacy Week delegation] are assembled here, as we are, to lament what was one of the great crimes against humanity, not simply a crime against the Greeks, the Assyrians and the Armenians but a crime against humanity—the elimination, the execution, the murder of hundreds of thousands of millions of people for no reason other than that they were different. This type of crime, this sort of genocidal crime, is something that sadly is not unique in our experience,” Turnbull said.

He added: “We must own up to it. We must recognise it for what it is.”

He also called on the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the genocidal crimes of their predecessors, the Ottoman Empire, to pave the way for reconciliation into the future, and live up to their multicultural past.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, Vache Kahramanian, wrote to the Prime Minister-elect congratulating him on his election as Australia’s 29^th Prime Minister.

“We welcome the election of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister of Australia. His strong track record on Armenian related issues has been formidable and we look forward to continuing this strong relationship,” Kahramanian said.

“We also congratulate Tony Abbott on his service as Prime Minister Australia.”

ANC Australia has sought a meeting with the newly elected Prime Minister to discuss a wide range of issues important to the Armenian-Australian community.

The attempts of the Azerbaijani side to escalate the situation threaten to destabilize the situation in the region at large, should the international community fail to give a proper response, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told journalists following the summit of the CSTO member states in Tajikistan

Speaking at the session, President Sargsyan informed the heads of CSTO member states about the situation in the South Caucasus. He called attention to the escalation of tension at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Stolen relics from Turkish-occupied north Cyprus went on exhibit today at the Byzantine Museum, Gibrahayer E-magazine reports.

Among them was a 14th century Armenian Gospel that was stolen by Turkish Cypriots in 1963 from Sourp Asdvadzadzin Church in Victoria street.

The Church of Cyprus that 34 treasures that had been stolen from the island’s Turkish-occupied areas, returned to Cyprus following a decision by the Munich Court of Appeals, on March 16, in the case of Turkish art smuggler Aydin Dikmen.

Among the artifacts, 24 are Byzantine relics and some prehistoric antiquities coming mostly from the collection of Chr. Chatziprodromou, from Ayios Epiktitos Church. Among the Byzantine relics there are three pairs of bema doors (Monastery of Antiphonitis Christ, Virgin Mary Monastery in Kantara), wall paintings from the Monastery of Antiphonitis Christ, the church of Agia Solomoni in Coma tou Yialou and the Monastery of Panagia Apsinthiotissa in Sychari. Also the treasures include a hand written manuscript of 17th century (omilario) from the Monastery of the Panagia Trooditissa, and the hand written gospel of the Armenian community of Cyprus stolen during the Turkish mutiny in 1963.