Category: News

The Lost Origin Sounds Series has released “Forty Martyrs: Armenian Chants from Aleppo at the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the bloody Ottoman campaign that drove many Armenians to the centuries-old community in Aleppo,  reports.

The  video Forty Martyrs: Armenian Chanting from Aleppo presents a unique new recording of sacred Armenian music.

In one of Aleppo’s oldest neighborhoods rests a church, once a focal point and a haven. The head priest there, The Very Reverend Yeznig Zegchanian, agreed to chant, but he was going to do it now and he was only going to do it once. Jason Hamacher, a drummer from Washington DC who had developed a serious fascination with Syria’s endangered spiritual traditions, dashed back to his hotel to get his equipment.

The result, recorded in the resonant Forty Martyrs Armenian Orthodox Church, captures a time, place, and endangered language. The city is entrapped in Syria’s agonizing civil war. The church’s congregants, descendants of several waves of Armenian refugees, have been scattered throughout the region and beyond. The language of the chants, West Armenian, once spoken in what is now Turkey, seems destined to die out in a generation.

EU Ambassador to the United States David O’Sullivan says that EU six Eastern Partnership nations will not be expected to join the Union’s sanctions against Russia, Sputnik News reports. 

The European Union’s (EU) six Eastern Partnership nations will not be expected to join the Union’s sanctions against Russia, EU Ambassador to the United States David O’Sullivan told Sputnik.

“In none of these cases do we expect alignment on European Union foreign policy, that is expected of [EU]candidate countries,” O’Sullivan said on Thursday.

O’Sullivan noted that only EU candidate countries are expected to come in line with the sanctions policy, “which is not yet the case for any of the Eastern Partnership countries.”

In a Thursday speech to the Atlantic Council, EU Commissioner for European Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said relations with the six Eastern Partners were “not black and white.”

Hahn cited Armenia as an example “to demonstrate that it is possible to be a member of the Eurasian [Economic] Union, but also to explore… the scope of cooperation with the European Union.”

Princess Charlotte, the baby daughter of Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, will be christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury next month, her father’s office announced on Friday, REuters reports.

The ceremony for Charlotte, who was born last month, will take place on July 5 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham where William and Kate, known officially as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have a country home on Queen Elizabeth’s estate in eastern England.

It will be conducted by Archbishop Justin Welby, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, who also oversaw the christening of her elder brother Prince George, who will celebrate his second birthday next month.

The newest member of the British royal family, whose full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, in a nod to her late grandmother Princess Diana and her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth, has not been seen in public since she left hospital with her parents on May 2.

The plaque reading “1915-2015: 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide” was solemnly unveiled on the front of “Maison Blanche” – the administrative building of the 9-10th district of Marseille on June 4.

The event was attended by Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour, President of the Urban Community of Marseille Provence Métropole Guy Teissier, Head of the 9-10th district of Marseille, MP Valerie Boyer, Armenian Consul in Marseille Samvel Laylayan, Deputy Mayors, representatives of the local self-government, heads of Armenian and French organizations, journalists, representatives of the Armenian community.

The speakers at the event attached importance to the importance of commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide for Armenians and the international community and hailed Charles Aznavour’s participation and contribution to the process of international recognition of the Genocide.

Mayor Lionel Royer-Perreaut decorated Charles Aznavour with a memorial medal of the honorary citizen of the 9-10^th district. Later on a plaque reading “Centennial Olive Tree from Charles Aznavour” was unveiled in the park of Maison Blanche.

The event was widely covered in French media. The events dedicated to Armenia will continue at the Marseille City Hall for 10 days.

A plaque honoring the late William Saroyan has been stolen from his last residence,  reports.

The new owners say they noticed the plaque was taken along with tools in the garage this week.

The plaque has been on the front of the house for 25 years and details some of the work the Pulitzer Prize winning author did the last 17 years of his life in the house.

Neighbor Ernie Baca lives next door and knew Saroyan as a kid.

“He gave me my first book when I was five years old and he signed it to read to my little sister,” Garza said.

Few neighbors on West Griffith Way have such fond memories of the home. They know it for going into foreclosure, attracting squatters and falling into disrepair.

“We’ve been broken into. Everyone has been broken into. It’s the times. Everyone is down on their luck,” Deborah Robles said.

The new owners say they just want the plaque returned. They are in the process of selling the house to a nonprofit which plans to restore the house and make it a historical place.

“That would be nice if they could do something with that house and raise the property values that would be wonderful. That is the worst house in the neighborhood,” Robles said.

Many have speculated it was stolen for the metal. But Baca says it is a piece of Armenian Heritage and Fresno History.

“If the person is watching who took this it should mean nothing to them. You can bring it to my house and put it on the porch,” he said.

US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf denounced President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s attacks against Western media outlets, but brushed aside criticism that Turkey was an unreliable ally despite the growing rift between the two countries.

Asked about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s accusing the New York Times, CNN and BBC of trying to weaken and divide Turkey, and later expanding on it with a claim that journalists, Armenians and homosexuals were allies in sedition, Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications at the US State Department  that the US supports freedom of expression, and we remain concerned about government interference in freedom of expression in Turkey, “We’ve said that for a long time and we remain concerned.”

“An independent and unfettered media is an essential element of any democratic and open society,” said Harf, “As Turkey’s friend and as their NATO ally, we urge the Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold democratic values, including due process, judicial independence, and freedom of expression, including access to media and information.”
When asked if she would ‘denounce or decry or criticize’ Erdoğan for his criticism of homosexuals, Armenians and journalists, she responded “Absolutely.”

President Serzh Sargsyan will leave or France today for a working visit.

In Cannes President Sargsyan will attend the Midem International Music Festval.

This year Armenia participates in the festival as a guest of honor.

Chinese hackers are suspected of carrying out a “massive breach” affecting the data of millions of US government workers, officials said, the BBC reports.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed on Thursday that almost four million current and past employees have been affected.

The breach could potentially affect every federal agency, officials said.

Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it was thought to have originated in China.

The Chinese embassy in Washington warned against “jumping to conclusions”.

Embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan told Reuters news agency that the accusations were “not responsible, and counterproductive”.

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, met with the Honourable Mr. Jason Kenney, Minister of National Defense of Canada, on June 3, 2015, Horizon Weekly reports.

His Holiness and Minister Kenney reflected on their meeting in Antelias, Lebanon back in July 2014, during the Minister’s special mission to assess the political situation and to discuss the problems of Christian communities in the region.

His Holiness Aram I decorated the Honourable Mr. Jason Kenney with Knight of Cilicia, an insignia of the Catholicosate, bestowing the Minister of Defense and Multiculturalism for his courage, dedication and continued support of the Armenian Community and the Armenian cause.

Prior His meeting with Minister Kenney, His Holiness was invited to a special luncheon on Parliament as the guest of the Honourable Dr. Harold Albrecht, Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party and the Chair of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group.

His Holiness was joined by the following delegation, Bishop Meghrig Parikian, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada, Most Reverend Father Housig Mardirossian, Ecumenic Relations Officer of the Catholicosate, Krikor Der Ghazarian, Chairperson of the Executive Council of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada, Dr. Girair Basmadjian, member of the Central Executive Council of the Catholicosate, Raffi Donabedian, Chairperson of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, and Hagop Der Khatchadourian, President of the Armenian National Committee International Council.