Category: News

Phto: AFP    

Hollywood musical La La Land has broken the record for the most Golden Globe Awards, winning seven prizes, the reports.

It won in every category in which it was nominated – including best musical or comedy film and acting trophies for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

It also won the awards for best director, screenplay, score and song.

The Globes are seen as pointers to the Oscars. Moonlight was named best drama film, while Casey Affleck and Isabelle Huppert won other acting prizes.

Affleck was named best actor in a film drama for his role in Manchester By The Sea and French star Isabelle Huppert was the surprise winner of the award for best film drama actress.

Her performance in thriller Elle – which was also named best foreign language film – beat contenders including Natalie Portman, who had been considered the favourite for playing Jackie Kennedy in Jackie.

Viola Davis was named best supporting film actress for playing a woman in 1950s Pittsburgh in Fences – a role she first played on Broadway six years ago.

In a surprise result, British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was named best supporting actor for his role in Nocturnal Animals – a prize that had been widely expected to go to Mahershala Ali for Moonlight.

Zootopia was named best animated feature film at Sunday’s ceremony, which was hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

 

 

 

The cold currents have not disrupted Armenia’s air communication. The changes in the flight schedule  ave not caused any concerns from the perspective of security; no reserve airports, not even that of Gyumri, have been used, spokesperson for the Armenia International Airports CJSC Gevorg Abrahamyan told .

All scheduled flights from Zvartnots Airport have been operated, some with delay. “Disruptions of the schedule have been registered because of the arriving planes, mostly those flying from Russia,” said Satenik Hovhannisyan, Press Secretary of the General Department of Civil Aviation said.

According to her, the Istanbul-Yerevan flight that had been cancelled on January 7 because of heavy snowfalls in Turkey has already been operated.

By Chad Pawson, – Ara Strak says he and his family are marking Orthodox Christmas with prayers of gratitude even while the memory of fleeing from his bombed-out apartment in Aleppo is still fresh in his minds.

He and a handful of other Syrian refugees sponsored by Richmond B.C.’s St. Gregory Armenian Church attended services there this weekend.

“We are here … safe, and that’s the biggest thing that we needed in our life,” said Strak.

The church has sponsored 35 families over the past year.

“A lot of adjustments that they have to do, culture is different, the language is different, education system is different, settling really nicely, a lot of them are relieved they are out of Syria,” said Eddie Papazian who works with the sponsorship committee for the church.

The church hopes to support more refugees and has plans to welcome another 20 people in the next few months.

“If you live in the war, you see that the important thing in your life is your safety and your family’s safety is the first,” said Strak in thanks to his new congregation.

He along with other refugees hope they can play a role in welcoming the next wave of refugees sponsored by the church.

“To help others and feel comfortable, like others, how they helped us,” said Rita Koujian.

Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov is leaving for Iran to day to attend the funeral of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Parliament’s Press Service reports.

Mr. Rafsanjani died on Sunday in a hospital in Tehran after suffering a heart attack.

His body was taken to Jamaran prayer hall, the residence of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini, where relatives, politicians and religious figures gathered to pay their last respects.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has led tributes to former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has died at the age of 82, the BBC reports.

Ayatollah Khamenei hailed a “companion of struggle” despite their differences, saying this was a “difficult” loss.

President Hassan Rouhani praised Mr Rafsanjani as a great man of the Islamic revolution.

The government has announced three days of mourning, making Tuesday a public holiday for his funeral in Tehran.

Mr Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989 to 1997, was pivotal in the 1979 revolution. But later in life he became a counterpoint to hardline conservatives.

“The different opinions and interpretations at time in this long period could never entirely break up the friendship between us,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

Mr Rafsanjani died on Sunday in a hospital in Tehran after suffering a heart attack.

His body was taken to Jamaran prayer hall, the residence of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini, where relatives, politicians and religious figures gathered to pay their last respects.

The CSTO Secretary General’s statement on the incident at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was very clear, Armenian Defense minister Vigen Sargsyan has said.

The comments come after CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha issued a on an Azeri infringement attempt at the Armenian border. “We consider these actions on the territory of a CSTO member state as a provocation, especially against the background of a rather serious incident in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic with application of heavy weapons and armored vehicles in April this year,” the then Secretary General said, in part.

“The CSTO member states gave their assessment of the Karabakh issue in a statement adopted during the summit in Yerevan,” Vigen Sargsyan said, adding that “the Secretary General’s statement on the incident was quite clear.”

“The Secretary General is one of the most important institutions of the CSTO and expresses the opinion of the organization between summits,” the Defense Minister added.

Speaking about the appointment of a new Secretary General, Minister Sargsyan said the issue will be discussed at the next summit.

An exhibition of works by Armenian artists opened at Tehran’s Maryam Gallery on Friday.

Entitled “Sodality”, works by Lilitte Therian, Serjh Avakian, Edman Aivazian, Simon Aivazian and Garnik der Hacoopian have been put on display, reported.

In the Armenian tradition, the holy birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated on January 6.

The ceremony was attended by the Armenian Archbishop of Tehran, Sebouh Sarkissian, and director of the Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality Mahmud Salahi.

In his brief speech at the ceremony Salahi said that the Christian artists of Iran narrate the history of Iran through their arts, adding, “I see no separation between my compatriots, we have been together and fought against the enemy during the (Iran-Iraq) war and some of the martyrs are Iranian Christians.”

“Now, the relations between Iran and Armenia are good and visa requirements for both citizens have been lifted. Iran emphasizes peaceful coexistence with all the people in the world. I hope the artists can help draw the attention of the world to peace and friendship,” he added.

Armenian Archbishop of Tehran Sebouh Sarkissian expressed his congratulations over the arrival of the New Year and the birth anniversary of Jesus.

He also thanked the organizers of the exhibit and said that the Armenians have made good progress in art with over 90 masters of art.

The opening ceremony ended by honoring the artists whose works are on display.

The exhibit has been arranged in collaboration with the Ardak Manoukian Museum in Tehran and will be running until January 11.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world’s best player at the inaugural Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich, the BBC reports.

Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, 31, beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to the prize.

Ronaldo also with both honours recognition for success in the Champions League with Real and Euro 2016 with Portugal.

Carli Lloyd of the United States was named the world’s best female player.

Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri was named best men’s coach, ex-Germany boss Silvia Neid won the female coach award, while Penang’s Mohd Faiz Subri received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2016.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today the Ambassadors of Iran and Turkmenistan to Armenia, Seyed Kazem Sajadi and Muhammad Niaz Mashalov.

The Prime Minister said the high level of relations with Iran and Turkmenistan allows to further deepen the economic ties and launch cooperation in trilateral format.

“We are interested in developing the Armenia-Iran-Turkmenistan trilateral economic cooperation. We have the capacity to increase the volume of commodity turnover between our countries and this meeting is a testament to the importance we attach to our cooperation,” he said.

The Ambassadors, in turn, reiterated the willingness of their respective countries to expand the cooperation with Armenia and discuss the future steps in that direction.

During the meeting reference was made to the perspectives of trilateral cooperation in the energy field, the supply of energy resources and joint projects.

The parties reached an agreement to set up a joint task force to discuss concrete programs.

 

 

 

The situation has been relatively calm at the borders of Armenia and Artsakh during the holidays, Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan has said. This does not mean, however, there have been no ceasefire violations.

“There has been sporadic shooting,” the Defense Minister told reporters, adding that the “Armenian side responds only to targeted shooting and only if there is a need to hit a target.”

Vigen Sargsyan noted, however, that “any ceasefire violation is a violation of the commitment to respect the truce and should be followed by an adequate political response.”

Speaking about the replenishment of equipment at the border and the prevention of infringement attempts, the Defense Minister said: “There is no technology that can prevent the infiltration attempts, but the replenishment at the border is an ongoing process, and the better we are equipped, the less the chances of infringement.”

The Defense Minister spoke to reporters at a ceremony of seeing off the conscripts to military service.