Tonight in the second show of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast live from the Wiener Stadthalle, 16 countries took part in the second Semi-final in order to qualify for the 10 places available in Saturday’s final. Below are the ten qualifiers in the order they were announced.
The Heads of State or Government and the representatives of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the representatives of the European Union and the Heads of State or Government and representatives of its Member States met in Riga on 21-22 May 2015. The participants of the summit adopted a joint declarations, in which they reconfirmed the high importance they attach to the Eastern Partnership as a specific dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy.
In the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, the Summit participants reaffirm the sovereign right of each partner freely to choose the level of ambition and the goals to which it aspires in its relations with the European Union.
The EU remains committed in its support to the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of all its partners. Full adherence to all the principles and commitments enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and 1990 Charter of Paris by all OSCE Participating States, as well as full respect for the principles and provisions of the UN Charter, is critical to our vision of a free, democratic, peaceful and undivided Europe.
The Summit participants strongly support all efforts aimed at de-escalation and a political solution based on respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. They call on all parties to swiftly and fully implement the Minsk Agreements of September 2014 and the package of measures for their implementation of February 2015, supported by the quadrilateral Declaration of Heads of State and Government, and endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2202 of 17 February 2015.
The EU reaffirms its positions taken in the Joint Statement made at the EU-Ukraine Summit on 27 April, including on the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. The Summit participants reaffirm their positions in relation to ‘UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine’.
The Summit participants emphasise the need for the earliest peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the region on the basis of the principles and norms of international law. The resolution of conflicts, building trust and good neighbourly relations are essential to economic and social development and cooperation.
They reiterate their full support to the mediation efforts by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including at the level of Presidents and their statements since 2009.
Participants welcome the common understanding reached on the scope for a future agreement between the EU and Armenia aimed at further developing and strengthening their comprehensive cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
They welcome the progress to date in the implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements (VFA/RA) with Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively.
They look forward to consideration in due course of the opening of a visa dialogue with Armenia, provided that Armenia continues to ensure sustained progress in the full implementation of the VFA/RA.
The Summit participants welcome the association of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to the framework programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020 and look forward to finalising the agreements for association of Armenia and Georgia.
They look forward to the launching of negotiations on an EU-Armenia Aviation Agreement at the earliest opportunity.
In a ceremony at the Armenia Border Guard headquarters, U.S. Ambassador Richard M. Mills Jr., joined by National Security Service Deputy Director Lieutenant General Arzuman Harutyunyan and Border Guard Troops Commander Major General Armen Abrahamyan, inspected equipment from the U.S. government that will assist the border guards in keeping weapons of mass destruction, biological hazards, and other threats from crossing Armenia’s borders. The equipment includes a multi-media lab that will be used in training Armenian border guards and other tools that will enhance the ability of border guards to control the flow of sensitive exports across the board and strengthen Armenia’s borders against transnational threats.
This assistance is part of the U.S. Government’s comprehensive nonproliferation programs that strengthen the ability of the Armenian Government to effectively counter transnational threats from international crime, arms smugglers, and risks from weapons of mass destruction. The United States and Armenia are working together toward common goals of democracy, security, and peace, both in Armenia and in the region.
Over the past ten years, the U.S. Embassy has partnered with various ministries and agencies to develop Armenia’s border security capacity. Leading the U.S. Embassy’s efforts in Armenia are the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program, the Defense Threat Reduction Office (DTRO), and Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC). “Our border security cooperation is robust, and we are committed to an open door partnership with Armenia,” said Ambassador Mills during his remarks.
Armenia’s Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan has congratulated world-famous chansonnier Charles Aznavour on 91st birthday anniversary, wishing him good health, inexhaustible energy and ever new creative achievements.
Voters in the Republic of Ireland are taking part in a referendum on legalising same-sex marriage on Friday, BBC News reports.
More than 3.2m people are being asked whether they want to amend the country’s constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Polling stations opened at 07:00 BST with voting continuing until 22:00 BST and counting due to start on Saturday morning.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 19 countries worldwide.
Votes have already been cast in some islands as well as hospitals, hospices and nursing homes. Only Irish citizens who are registered and living in the state can take part.
They will be asked whether they agree with the statement: “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex”.
The referendum is being held 22 years after Ireland decriminalised homosexuality.
In 2010, the government enacted civil partnership legislation, which provided legal recognition for gay couples.
A Turkish court fined a leading newspaper Thursday for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while a top model went on trial on similar charges, as controversy grows over eroding freedoms ahead of June elections, AFP reports.
An Ankara court deemed that a column last year by one of the Hurriyet daily’s star commentators, Mehmet Yilmaz, was an “attack on the personal rights” of Erdogan.
It ordered the newspaper’s chairwoman and Yilmaz himself to pay 20,000 lira ($7,760) in damages to Erdogan, whose lawyers had requested 100,000 lira in the civil case, the official Anatolia news agency reported.
The report gave no details on the nature of the column dated August 25, 2014. But on that day, Hurriyet had published a lengthy article by Yilmaz recalling extensive corruption accusations against Erdogan, two weeks after his victory in presidential elections.
The EU is ready to start talks with Armenia on a new agreement based on the developments we have had since 2013, i.e. the draft Association Agreement, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview with Russian Kommersant.
“The main difference will be the fact that Armenia is now a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. We’ll be looking for ways to ensure that Armenia’s commitments as an EEU member not contradict the development of relations with the European Union in certain areas,” he said.
The Minister said the EU provides all partners with an opportunity of visa liberalization. “We have certain progress with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We speak about facilitation, not liberalization of visa regime with Belarus, although the legal texts are not ready yet. If Armenia and Azerbaijan express the wish, I see no bases for denying them the opportunity,” Rinkevics said.
President Serzh Sargsyan today took part in the fourth Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, where he delivered a statement.
Statement by the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
at the fourth Eastern Partnership Summit
Distinguished Prime Minister Straujuma,
Distinguished President Tusk,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I thank the Latvian authorities and our EU colleagues for the excellent organization of the Fourth Eastern Partnership Summit.
Since the launching of the Eastern Partnership we have considered it a format for deepening our cooperation with the EU, encouraging contacts between our societies, and carrying out targeted sectoral cooperation in various areas. Throughout this period consolidation of cooperation with the EU has given new impetus to efforts to modernize our State upon the principles of democracy, human rights and rule of law, prompted our agenda of large-scale reforms and significantly contributed to the consolidation of civil society.
Dear colleagues,
Peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is also important for building Europe free of dividing lines. The approach of Armenia is in consonance with the international community’s position, which was reflected in the Statements by the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing nations. It is well-known that the parties negotiating under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Process upon the mediation of Russia, France and United States agreed that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict shall be settled upon the provisions of the UN Charter and Helsinki Final Act, in particular those pertaining to the people’s right to self-determination, refraining from the threat or use of force and territorial integrity. It is also well-known that Nagorno Karabakh has no relation whatsoever to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity since it has never constituted a part of independent Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the authorities of that country considered territorial integrity to be the only principle, jingled it as their top slogan and consistently aborted the peace process by denying other, no less important and equally legitimate principles for resolution. In the 21st century the territorial integrity, indeed, shall be respected by States, but when that integrity leads to mutilation of fate of a part to that society, when it leads to decease of any prospect for the latter’s development, the people’s right to self-determination shall not be subordinated to such integrity. At the end of the day, if the principle of territorial integrity was the only game in the book there ought not to be so many representatives of various States present around this table because there should have not simply been so many States.
Dear colleagues,
This year we have been commemorating the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide that was perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire. Numerous European nations joined us paying respect to the memory of its one and a half million victims, who had been martyred only for their being Armenian and Christian.
We are grateful to all those, who did not calibrate their actions with political expedience, and brought their contribution to the cause of prevention of crimes against humanity. On April 15, 2015 the most representative structure of the European Union adopted Resolution on the Armenian Genocide sending the Genocide recognition message to all nations of the united Europe, and also to Turkey.
Distinguished Mr. President,
Armenia is committed to take steps jointly with its EU partners to design a new legal foundation for our relations, which will reflect, on one hand, the content of the preceding negotiations Armenia conducted with the EU and, on the other, will be compatible with the other integration processes, in particular, with the commitments stemming from our accession to the Eurasian Economic Union. Armenia, meanwhile, highly values application of differentiated and tailor-made approaches to every individual country, which shall be designed around the progress made in the implementation of reforms, and reiteration of the principle “more for more.” We strongly believe that all partners shall adhere to shared values and ensure peace and stability of the region. The Republic of Armenia will continue working exactly in this direction.
I thank you.
On May 22, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the Hadrut direction near Horadiz settlement.
From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Yevgeny Sharov (Ukraine) and Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria).
From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden) and Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain).
The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azeri side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-lines.
From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.
Charles Aznavour celebrates his 91st birthday today. The legendary French Armenian singer, who wrote more than 800 songs, recorded more than 1,000 of them in French, English, German and Spanish and sold over 100 million records in all, was born Chahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris, the younger of two children born to Armenian immigrants who fled to France. His mother was a seamstress as well as an actress and his father was a baritone who sang in restaurants. Both Charles and his sister waited on tables where he performed. He delivered his first poetic recital while just a toddler. Within a few years later he had developed such a passion for singing/dancing, that he sold newspapers to earn money for lessons.
He took his first theatrical bow in the play “Emil and the Detectives” at age 9 and within a few years was working as a movie extra. He eventually quit school and toured France and Belgium as a boy singer/dancer with a traveling theatrical troupe while living the bohemian lifestyle. A popular performer at the Paris’ Club de la Chanson, it was there that he was introduced in 1941 to the songwriter Pierre Roche. Together they developed names for themselves as a singing/writing cabaret and concert duo (“Roche and Aznamour”). A Parisian favorite, they became developed successful tours outside of France, including Canada. In the post WWII years Charles began appearing in films again, one of them as a singing croupier in Goodbye Darling (1946).
Eventually Aznavour earned a sturdy reputation composing street-styled songs for other established musicians and singers, notably Édith Piaf, for whom he wrote the French version of the American hit “Jezebel”. Heavily encouraged by her, he toured with her as both an opening act and lighting man. He lived with Piaf out of need for a time not as one of her many paramours. His mentor eventually persuaded him to perform solo (sans Roche) and he made several successful tours while scoring breakaway hits with the somber chanson songs “Sur ma vie” and “Parce que” and the notable and controversial “Après l’amour.” In 1950, he gave the bittersweet song “Je Hais Les Dimanches” [“I Hate Sundays”] to chanteuse Juliette Gréco, which became a huge hit for her.
In the late 50s, Aznavour began to infiltrate films with more relish. Short and stubby in stature and excessively brash and brooding in nature, he was hardly leading man material but embraced his shortcomings nevertheless. Unwilling to let these faults deter him, he made a strong impressions with the comedy Une gosse sensass’ (1957) and with Paris Music Hall (1957). He was also deeply affecting as the benevolent but despondent and ill-fated mental patient Heurtevent in Head Against the Wall (1959). A year later, Aznavour starred as piano player Charlie Kohler/Edouard Saroyan in ‘Francois Truffaut”s adaptation of the David Goodis’ novel Shoot the Piano Player (1960) [Shoot the Piano Player], which earned box-office kudos both in France and the United States. This sudden notoriety sparked an extensive tour abroad in the 1960s. Dubbed the “Frank Sinatra of France” and singing in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Portuguese), his touring would include sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall (1964) and London’s Albert Hall (1967).
Aznavour served as actor and composer/music arranger for many films, including Gosse de Paris (1961), which he also co-wrote with directorMarcel Martin, and the dramas Three Fables of Love (1962) [Three Fables of Love”) and Dear Caroline (1968) [Dear Caroline]. The actor also embraced the title role in the TV series “Les Fables de la Fontaine” (1964), then starred in the popular musical “Monsieur Carnaval” (1965), in which he performed his hit song “La bohême.”
His continental star continued to shine and Aznavour acted in films outside of France with more dubious results. While the sexy satire Candy(1968), with an international cast that included Marlon Brando, Richard Burton and Ringo Starr, and epic adventure The Adventurers (1969) were considered huge misfires upon release, it still showed Aznavour off as a world-wide attraction. While he was also seen in the English drama _Games, The (1970), _Blockhouse, The (1973) and an umpteenth film version of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians (1974) [And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians], it was his music that kept him in the international limelight. Later films included Yiddish Connection (1986), which he co-wrote and provided music, and Il maestro (1990) with Malcolm McDowell; more recently he received kudos for his participation in the Canadian-French production Ararat (2002).
Films aside, hus chart-busting single “She” (1972-1974) went platinum in Britain. He also received thirty-seven gold albums in all. His most popular song in America, “Yesterday When I Was Young” has had renditions covered by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Julio Iglesias. In 1997, Aznavour received an honorary César Award. He has written three books, the memoirs “Aznavour By Aznavour” (1972), the song lyrics collection “Des mots à l’affiche” (1991) and a second memoir “Le temps des avants” (2003). A “Farewell Tour” was instigated in 2006 at age 82 and, health permitting, could last to 2010.
In 2009 Aznavour was appointed Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland.