Category: News

HDP Batman MP Ali Atlan brought the fire that had broken out in and around an Armenian monastery in Meşeli village in Sason district of Batman on August 15 to the parliament’s agenda, reports. 

A fire broke out on August 15 in and around Surp Bedros (St. Peter) Monastery in Meşeli (Gomk) village in Sason. The bones in the Armenian cemetery, which is on the region where the fire broke out, were also damaged. HDP Batman MP Ali Atlan brought this fire break out to the parliament’s agenda. MP Ali Atlan submitted written questions to the Minister of Interior Affairs Sebahattin Öztürk and asked whether they have launched a legal action concerning this break out.

Here are the questions that Atlan addressed to the Minister of Interior Affairs Sebahattin Öztürk:

Will the assaulted Armenian Surp Bedros Monastery and the Armenian cemetery around it be restored? If so, when will this restoration take place?

Have you identified the assaulters? Is there any legal action that is launched against the assaulters or are you planning to do so?

Do you think that these assaults against Armenian monasteries and cemeteries in Turkey might be related to racism?

Do you consider to launch legal actions against security forces and local authorities who haven’t gone to the site of the assault?

Though we are on 2015 now, there is no roads in that region and because of that, fire-fighting vehicles couldn’t have gone there; who is responsible for this? Who will compensate these pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages that was inflicted because of someone’s irresponsibility?

Is there any video footage of the assault that took place on 15 August 2015?

Cemeteries have high sentimental value for people; so, what is the measures that you are currently taking for preventing these kinds of assaults against the cemeteries?

Lionel Messi has won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for the second time after beating Luis Suarezand Cristiano Ronaldo to the prize, Goal.com reports.

The 28-year-old shone in the second half of last season as he inspired Barcelona to the treble, with the club lifting the Champions League, Copa del Rey and La Liga.

He was awarded the trophy after the group stage draw for this year’s Champions League and thanked his teammates in the aftermath of the event.

“It was an incredible year for us,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s a secret, the dressing room was united and that made for an unforgettable year.

“Thanks to my teammates, we are all represented. I wouldn’t be here if not for them and the club.”

Messi finished level on goals with Real Madrid star Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Neymar in Europe in 2014-15 – as all three men found the back of the net 10 times.

His Champions League haul helped him to a final tally of 62 goals in 67 games in all competitions for club and country, which means he is again likely to battle it out with Ronaldo for the Ballon d’Or in January.

Messi first won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award back in 2011 on the back of helping the Catalans win yet another European crown.

 

 

 

 

Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem will be performed at the Revival Square of Stepanakert on September 1 in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and those, who lost their lives in the Atsakh war.

Artistic director of the concert, world-famous opera singer Lyubov Kazarnavskaya says the choice should not surprise and worry anyone.

“The undefeatable spirit of the Armenian people and culture, the revival and development of the nation – this is what the Requiem is about. This not the march of Verdi’s mourning march on the Armenian soil, this is the height of the human spirit,” Kazarnovskaya told reporters in Yerevan.

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. These are the most important words in the lyrics of the Requiem. We’ll try to sing about that eternal light,” conductor Anatoly Levin said.

The guests have said on many occasions they don’t worry about being included in Azerbaijan’s “black list” because of the visit Nagorno Karabakh.

When speaking about Armenia, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya uses the words “great” and “beloved.”

“I’ve grown up here. My father served here, I attended the school after Chekhov and lived at 32, Abovyan Street. This is the reason why I’m familiar with the Armenian culture praised by Komitas,” she said.

The concert of September 1 will feature musicians not only from Russia, but also Serbia and Italy.

Governments and civil society must do more to document the fate and whereabouts of people who disappear in conflicts or other circumstances and give stronger support to the families left behind, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said.

“Whether someone has disappeared during war, or migration or a disaster, the suffering of the families remains,” said Marianne Pecassou, who heads the ICRC’s team working on the missing. “It’s essential to collect information that is available today on people who disappear, how and where they have disappeared, that might be useful at some point in time to bring answers to the families,” said Pecassou, speaking as the world prepares to mark the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30.

But providing answers takes a long time and is often not possible while a conflict is still ongoing. For some families, there might never be a definitive answer. And in the meantime, families have a range of needs for support.

“All too often, especially in conflict situations, the problem of the missing is just not on the radar. Governments and other actors need to make sure it is on the agenda and do more to address the practical and emotional needs of the families,” Pecassou said.

The disappearance of a loved one may leave the family without economic support and often they will have to use up their dwindling resources on the search for their missing relative. In many cases, the family does not want to declare a missing person dead and so for example, they can’t access the person’s property or salary.

Families also suffer on an emotional and social level – they might experience isolation, sadness and marginalization and often need long-term support in order to overcome these difficulties and regain control of their lives.

There are over 4,500 people registered by the ICRC as missing in relation to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, including more than 400 in Armenia. The ICRC supports the authorities in their efforts towards clarifying the fate of missing persons and addressing the needs of families of the missing in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. This includes collection of biological reference samples from the close relatives of the missing, which would increase the probability of the identification of human remains.

The ICRC also offers support of various kinds, working on the ground with the Armenian Red Cross Society and other local partners. Based on the needs of these families, the ICRC’s assistance encompasses economic security programs aimed at helping them improve the existing or establish new livelihoods, provision of legal, medical and administrative assistance, as well as emotional care and help with trying to find out ways of remembering their missing loved ones.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will receive a $440,000 settlement from YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, who secretly shot their engagement and posted it online. The couple had sued Hurley claiming that he manipulated his way into AT&T Park in San Francisco in 2013 to see the proposal.

Despite signing a confidentiality agreement, Hurley leaked the video online on MixBit, an app founded by him, reported. Kardashian and West were reportedly furious when they found out about the leaked video and their lawyer, Eric George, filed a case against Hurley. George claimed in the lawsuit that Hurley was desperate after two flops following his YouTube sale.

Hurley needs to pay the amount within the next few days to get the case against him dismissed.

 

Police in Thailand have launched a probe into whether Turkish nationals were involved in a recent blast in the capital Bangkok, reports. 

Officials said on Thursday that they were checking the arrivals of Turkish nationals in Thailand in the days leading to August 17, when the blast killed 20 people in Bangkok’s Hindu Erawan Shrine.

Turkey was infuriated last month after Thailand deported more than 100 Turkic-speaking Uighurs to China, with people in Istanbul staging a demonstration in front of the Thai consulate.

Turks say they share many cultural and religious characteristics with the Uighurs who are mostly based in far west China and complain about discrimination by the Chinese government.

According to the Thai media, an investigation has been launched into the arrival of 15 to 20 Turkish people in Thailand over the two weeks before the blast.

“There are probably more Turkish [people] coming into Thailand than that. We investigated groups which may have come into the country,” Prawut Thavornsiri, the spokesman for Thai national police, said.

Observers say the attack on the shrine may have been in retaliation for Thailand’s decision on July 9 to deport Uighurs to China. They say a famous Turkish gang known as the Grey Wolves could be the prime suspect in the case.

Turkish authorities said they were aware of the probe on their nationals in Thailand, adding, however, that Bangkok has submitted no official request to Ankara for receiving relevant information for the investigation.

The case of Uighurs has also sparked a diplomatic row between Turkey and China, with officials in Ankara accusing Beijing of being too harsh with the Muslim community. China defends its crackdown on the community, saying its members have intensified their attacks on civilians and security forces over the past years.

Two of the three Armenian families that fled to Turkey after the Islamic State attack on the Syrian town of Kobane will move to Armenia, Ermenihaber.am reports, quoting a statement by the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul.

The families voiced the wish to move to Armenia during a meeting with the Patriarchal Vicar of Constantinople, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan at the refugee camp.

Aram Ateshyan will see off the families to Armenia on August 30.

The “Lost Birds” – the first Turkey-made film on Armenian Genocide – will be screened in cinemas across Turkey starting this week, Ermenihaber.am reports, quoting Turkish Sondakika.com website.

“Lost Birds” tells the story of a brother and a sister who are left behind during the ‘1915 Armenian exile.

“Lost Birds,” a heartfelt film with themes of love and family directed by Armenian director Aren Perdeci and Turkish director Ela Alyamac is the first movie to depict the tragedy in a film shot in Turkey on its 100th anniversary.

The film is led by young actors Dila Uluca and Heros Agopyan, as well as an ensemble cast of Armenian actors living in Turkey.

 

 

 

Divers of “AYAS” Nautical Research Club have discovered a bone of a prehistoric animal in the bottom of Lake Sevan, at the depth of 5 meters.

Results of anthropological research reveal that the stone is a part of the backbone of an aurochs that lived before the ice age.

Hundreds of artifacts found in the coastal zones of Lake Sevan are kept in the Institutes of Biology and Zoology of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, but the latest finding is the first to be recovered from the bottom of Lake Sevan.

Photos by Anna Martikyan

Armenia will be a special guest at the 28th Moscow International Book Fair along with Serbia and Iran, TASS reports.

Armenia will present books dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide – the “The Sandcastle Girls” by Chris Bohjalian, “The Book of Whispers” by Varujan Vosganian, “Letters to the World” by Bogdan Gembarsky and others.

“The Land Speaks” – a collection of works by 10 martyred writers will also be on display at the Armenian booth.

The event will be held from September 2-6 and will feature 400 Russian and foreign publishing houses.