Category: News

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has pipped Henrikh Mkhitaryan to be named Manchester United’s Player of the Month for December.

The towering Swede, United’s top scorer this term, was honoured after an irresistible period in which he was an ever-present and scored seven goals in six games, as well as providing three assists.

Ibrahimovic earned 38 per cent of the combined votes in our polls on ManUtd.com and Twitter to finish marginally ahead of Mkhitaryan, whose own impressive month (which yielded his first three goals for the club) was recognised by 36 per cent of the 140,000 fans who voted.

The duo’s fellow summer signing Paul Pogba, who also found the net twice in December, finished third with 26 per cent – a further illustration of the collective contribution to United’s excellent month, which featured six wins and a draw.

It’s the first time Ibra has picked up this particular prize and the result continues a recent trend of different winners – the 35-year-old succeeds previous recipients Antonio Valencia (November), Juan Mata (October), Marcus Rashford (September), Eric Bailly (August), Anthony Martial (May) and David De Gea (April).

By Mike Adler, – Canada promised to settle 25,000 Syrian refugees. Toronto’s Armenian Community did not know a tenth of that number would be coming to them.

Days before the first planeload landed on Dec. 10, 2015, a committee of volunteers at the Armenian Community Centre straddling North York and Scarborough were told they would be meet the first group of Armenians from Syria.

The centre’s church at Hallcrown Place holds 500 people at most, but in a year more than 1,000 of its members privately co-sponsored and settled more than 400 Syrian Armenian families.

Most arrived within a few months, and caring for them pushed the centre’s resources to the limit, people involved in the effort there said.

“We used to bring, maximum, 40 to 60 people in a month. All of a sudden, we are going to have over 100 in one day – not in a month, in one day,” said Marianne Davitjan, master of ceremonies at a celebration last month marking the centre’s year of success.

But during the first weeks and months, the volunteers apparently could get little information from offices of Immigration and Citizenship Canada.

“They didn’t even answer the phone. I mean, we were left alone. We had to decide what to do,” recalled Apkar Mirakian, the man in charge of the resettlement program.

Armenian real estate agents scoured the area for housing, and volunteers scrambled to make other arrangements when families arrived and co-sponsors were away.

So many private sponsorships saved the government millions, he said, while the centre spent itself into “a dire situation,” enrolling students in its school for free and extending hours as it overtaxed the donor base it depends on.

But the settlement was a great success, both mobilizing and revitalizing an Armenian community, concentrated in Scarborough-Agincourt, Markham-Unionville and Don Valley East, built on waves of immigration.

“They didn’t become a so-called burden on the system here,” Mirakian said of the new arrivals.

Over 90 per cent of job seekers among them are now working, “paying their rents,” said Ohannes Tchamichian, an Armenian Syrian who arrived last Dec. 15, on the second plane.

Tchmichian, his parents and sister were sponsored by a grandfather’s cousin, a man they hadn’t met, who “didn’t hesitate to do it for us” and is now a neighbour in Agincourt.

Born and raised in Aleppo, Syria’s largest and most devastated city, Tchmichian said the country needs 30 years to rebuild, and the war has spread beyond its borders.

“The infrastructure is destroyed, the history is destroyed,” he said. “They are not calling it World War Three, but it is.”

Vanig Garabedian was on the first plane last Dec. 10, with his wife and three daughters. He was met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Pearson Internation Airport.

”All the way here we felt the utmost dignity and humanity,” said Garabedian, who said newcomer’s role is to integrate, like someone “once again reborn,” learning the language, the streets, the culture.

He’s sure this wave of newcomers will make Canada a better place.

The Greater Worcester Armenian Chorale will present a special concert Jan. 8 in celebration of Armenian Christmas (which falls on Jan. 6), reports.

The program features traditional Christmas music in Armenian and English.

Mezzo-soprano Gohar Manjelikian is guest soloist. Born in Armenia and now living in Cranston, Rhode “How Great Thou Art,” an arrangement of sacred Armenian songs, is her first CD.

The concert will take place on January 8 at Soorp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic Church.

António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on 1^st January 2017.

Having witnessed the suffering of the most vulnerable people on earth, in refugee camps and in war zones,the Secretary-Generalis determined to make human dignity the core of hiswork, and to serve as a peace broker, a bridge-builder and a promoter of reform and innovation.

Prior to his election as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterresserved as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, heading one of the world’s foremost humanitarian organizations during some of the most serious displacement crises in decades. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the crises in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Yemen, led to a huge rise in UNHCR’s activities as the number of people displaced by conflict and persecutionrose from 38 million in 2005 to over 60 million in 2015.

Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor.

As president of the European Council in early 2000, he led the adoption of the Lisbon Agenda for growth and jobs, and co-chaired the first European Union-Africa summit. He was a member of the Portuguese Council of State from 1991 to 2002.

Mr. Guterres was elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1976 where he served as a member for 17 years. During that time, he chaired the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, Finance and Planning, and later the Parliamentary Committee for Territorial Administration, Municipalities and Environment. He was also leader of his party’s parliamentary group.

From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Guterres was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where he chaired the Committee on Demography, Migration and Refugees.

For many years Mr. Guterres was active in the Socialist International, a worldwide organization of social democratic political parties. He was the group’s vice-president from 1992 to 1999, co-chairing the African Committee and later the Development Committee. He served as President from 1999 until mid-2005. In addition, he founded the Portuguese Refugee Council as well as the Portuguese Consumers Association DECO, and served as president of the Centro de Acção Social Universitário, an association carrying out social development projects in poor neighbourhoods of Lisbon, in the early 1970s.

Mr. Guterres is a member of the Club of Madrid, a leadership alliance of democratic former presidents and prime ministers from around the world.

Mr. Guterres was born in Lisbon in 1949 and graduated from the Instituto Superior Técnico with a degree in engineering. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. He is married to Catarina de Almeida Vaz Pinto, Deputy Mayor for Culture of Lisbon, and has two children, a stepson and three grandchildren.

Below is the Secretary General’s Appeal for Peace:

On my first day as Secretary-General of the United Nations, one question weighs heavily on my heart.

How can we help the millions of people caught up in conflict, suffering massively in wars with no end in sight?

Civilians are pounded with deadly force. Women, children and men are killed and injured, forced from their homes, dispossessed and destitute. Even hospitals and aid convoys are targeted.

No one wins these wars; everyone loses. Trillions of dollars are spent destroying societies and economies, fueling cycles of mistrust and fear that can last for generations. Whole regions are destabilized and the new threat of global terrorism affects us all.

On this New Year’s Day, I ask all of you to join me in making one shared New Year’s resolution:

Let us resolve to put peace first.

Let us make 2017 a year in which we all – citizens, governments, leaders – strive to overcome our differences.

From solidarity and compassion in our daily lives, to dialogue and respect across political divides… From ceasefires on the battlefield, to compromise at the negotiating table to reach political solutions…

Peace must be our goal and our guide.

All that we strive for as a human family – dignity and hope, progress and prosperity – depends on peace. 

But peace depends on us.

I appeal to you all to join me in committing to peace, today and every day.

Let us make 2017 a year for peace.

Thank you. 

PHOTO: CHEFFINS

 

– Prince Harry was “constantly in trouble at school”, candid letters written by Princess Diana reveal.

The notes, sent to ex-Buckingham Palace steward Cyril Dickman, also describe how a young Prince William “swamped” his new baby brother with “an endless supply of hugs and kisses”.

The handwritten correspondence is to be sold at auction later.

Photos, Christmas cards and cake from the Queen’s wedding will also go under the hammer.

The letters form part of about 40 lots from Mr Dickman’s former estate, which is due to be sold.

The lots are each expected to fetch £80-£900.

Cheffins, a Cambridgeshire auction house, said the letters formed part of “a unique collection of Royal memorabilia”.

Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian outlined the organization’s key advocacy priorities for the next two years, as the United States Congress began its new session on Jan. 3.

“Congress is back in session, and that means the ANCA is back at work,” Hamparian told the in a short video interview, in which he outlined key ANCA advocacy priorities. “We have a robust legislative agenda, all aligned with the ANCA’s core mission: the North Star of the Armenian Cause – the security, viability, and prosperity of the Armenian nation,” Hamparian said.

 

Asbarez –  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met on Wednesday with His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia in the Syrian capital, where the pontiff congratulate Assad and the people of Syria for the liberation of Aleppo by government forces, reported Syria’s Sana news agency.

During the meeting, Assad affirmed that the war that has plagued Syria and the Syrian people for the past six years has failed to achieve one of its most dangerous goals, which was undermining the Syrian people’s unity and harmony.

“[T]his war has made Syrians more steadfast and more determined to remaining committed to their identity and civilization which is based on diversity, and plurality, something what has been a defining attribute of Syrians’ history throughout centuries,” said al-Assad, according to the report.

“His Holiness offered his sincerest hopes and prayers for the [complete] liberation of Syria from terrorism so that peace and security would prevail in Syria as soon as possible,” read a part of the Sana report.

As the Great House of Cilicia reported Tuesday, the Catholicos eve and day, as well as the upcoming weekend in Aleppo, where he will hold Christmas Mass, meet the community and tour community institutions to assess the situation there.

Asbarez – The American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. (AARFA) presented “Field of Dreams,” the 2017 float which was the winner of the “Past President’s Trophy” for the most creative design and use of floral and nonfloral elements. “Field of Dreams” depicts this year’s 128th Tournament of Roses Parade, themed Echoes of Success, is comprised of about 18,000 plus white and red roses and other flowers, placed on the artistic rendering of Mount Ararat with thousands of other non-floral elements such as pomegranates, artichokes, nuts, lentils and more that covered the Artsakh Stallion.

This is the third year that the American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. presents a float in the Tournament of Roses, which takes place annually in Pasadena, California.

In continuation with now a yearly tradition and to honor the role of the American Armenian community in the United States, the AARFA unveils a float to represent the strength, beauty and symbols of the Armenian community to the world. The three children upon the Artsakh stallion represent the echoes of success of the American Armenian community in science, literature and music.

A few of the float riders included Houry Gebeshian, gymnast; Michael Aram, artist; Claudette Stefanian, TV news Personality; Sarkis Mazmanian, Caltech Medical Microbiologist; Ralph Winter, Producer  of Armenian Genocide movie The Promise.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hilariously ruined Manchester United teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Korea advert, according to

As part of his Chevrolet promotional duties, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is thanking Korea for watching Manchester United this season.

Standing in the wings, is teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

As the Armenian pumps himself up you can actually see the moment Zlatan decides he is going to cause trouble.

Mkhitaryan meanwhile starts talking and proceeds to thank Korea for the their faithful viewing. But United’s number 22 doesn’t even make it halfway through when the hoardings behind him come crashing down.

Zlatan of course is the man responsible after booting a ball directly at them.

Knowing he’s done wrong, United’s number nine decides to scarper and dodges the ball thrown back at him by his teammate.

Asbarez – His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia will spend Armenian Christmas Eve and day in Aleppo, his first to the city, since the Syrian conflict began six years ago and since the cease fire was declared after government forces reclaimed it.

According to the press service of the Catholicosate, Aram I will arrive in Aleppo at 1 p.m. Thursday, January 5 and will be greeted by clergy and the community at the St. Mary’s Church.

On Friday, January 6, the pontiff will celebrate Christmas Mass and present a sermon at the same church. Following Mass, the Catholicos will meet parishioners and accept Christmas greetings.

On Saturday morning, the Catholicos will visit community institutions and churches to acquaint himself with their condition and gain first-hand perspective on the situation.

At 4 p.m. on Saturday, the Catholicos will visit the Holy Trinity Armenian Catholic Church, after which he w

ill visit the Bethel Armenian Evangelical Church. He will meet parishioners and community members at aforementioned churches.