Category: News

Rebel-held eastern Aleppo in northern Syria may face “total destruction” in two months, with thousands killed, the UN’s Syria envoy has said, the BBC reports.

Staffan de Mistura told reporters that he was prepared to personally accompany al-Qaeda-linked jihadists out of the city if it would stop the fighting.

He also appealed to Russia and Syria not to destroy the city for the sake of eliminating militants.

The UN says 275,000 civilians are trapped in the war-torn east of Aleppo.

“The bottom line is, in a maximum of two months… the city of eastern Aleppo at this rate may be totally destroyed,” Mr de Mistura told a news conference in Geneva.

“Thousands of Syrian civilians, not terrorists, will be killed and many of them wounded.”

He added: “This is what you, we, the world will be seeing when we will be trying to celebrate Christmas, or the end of the year, if this continues at this rate, unimpeded. Homs [Syrian city] multiplied by 50.”

He said the UN was not willing to “be passive, resign ourselves” to genocides such as those in Srebrenica and Rwanda.

 – On the morning of Sunday, October 2, “Avedissian” Hall of Ferrahian High School in Encino was filled to capacity as religious and community leaders and members and faithful had gathered for Pontifical Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, who was assisted at the altar by Western Prelate Moushegh Mardirossian and Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

His Holiness was escorted from the “Yeghia Sarafian” meeting room to “Avedissian” Hall under an “Ambhovani” with an honor guard of Homenetmen scouts. At the entrance of the hall, His Holiness was greeted by Sunday School students and throngs of faithful, and as the choir sang the “Hrashapar” hymn of welcome, the Pontiff entered the hall and blessed the faithful as he approached the altar to begin Divine Liturgy.

Divine Liturgy was sung by a choir comprised of members and soloists from various Prelacy Churches, led by Crescenta Valley Church parish pastor Rev. Fr. Ghevont Kirazian, with Holy Martyrs Church choir leader Mr. Gomidas Keshishian on the organ.

The Prelate conveyed his greetings prior to the Pontifical message. His Eminence thanked God for the day and for the celebrations of the previous days in honor of the 20th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I. The Prelate reiterated His Holiness’ sentiments from the prior evening, that such anniversaries are occasions for spiritual renewal and an invitation to renew our pledge and dedication to serve, and concluded by greeting his clergy brothers H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, H.E. Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, H.E. Archbishop Yeprem Tabakian, Fr. Antony Atallah representing H.G. Bishop Serapion, Deputy Consul General Valery Mkrtoumian and Counsellor Razmik Stepanyan, ARF Central Committee members, community leaders and representatives, Prelacy Councils’ members, and faithful. He then invited Archbishop Derderian to convey his remarks.

On behalf of Diocesan clergy and council, Archbishop Derderian greeted His Holiness with love and gratitude. The Primate reflected on his years as a student at the Seminary of the Great House of Cilicia, where he received instruction from His Holiness, and lauded His Holiness’ spirit of hard work and diligent service which he personally witnessed. The Primate stated that His Holiness’ past twenty years of service as Catholicos has been characterized by service dedicated to the people, and concluded by praying for God to grant His Holiness Catholicos Aram I a long and healthy life so that he may continue to stir the souls of the faithful as an “apostle of faith,” and for God to keep the Holy See of Cilicia unshaken.

Prior to inviting His Holiness to address the congregation, the Prelate urged the faithful to heed the Pontiff’s messages on the importance of Armenia, Artsakh, and Diaspora unity, and to be guided by faith, hope, and love in our service.

Prior to delivering his message on the day’s Gospel reading from 2 Corinthians 13:5-13, His Holiness gave thanks and praise to Almighty God for the opportunity to be with the people and to witness the bond of the faithful with our church and faith. “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” It was on this, verse 5 from the day’s Gospel reading, that His Holiness delivered his spiritually renewing and inspired sermon. St. Paul in Corinthians asked this important question to the Corinthians centuries ago, but today, the same question can be addressed to us, stated the Pontiff. Being Christian, having Christian faith, means believing in our Lord Jesus Christ alone, making Christ a living presence in our daily lives, the purpose of our lives, and becoming witnesses of Christ, stressed His Holiness. “Our Lord Jesus Christ has been a constant presence in our history and in the lives of our forefathers. Through Him we overcame infinite storms, Through Him we were illuminated and strengthened, through Him we walked from death to life. Our forefathers had Christ as the center of their lives, as their guide, strength, and hope. They even became witnesses of Christ with their blood. We must follow in their ideal example. Armenia and Artsakh are surrounded by enemies; in the Diaspora, we are surrounded by a different type of enemy. Thus, we must keep our Lord Jesus Christ close to us always, in our individual and collective lives, to become renewed in our faith and walk with Christ alone, for this is the key to our survival and endurance,” emphasized His Holiness.

At the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, “Achahampouyr” was held at the foot of the altar. One by one, faithful approached His Holiness to kiss his hand and receive his blessing. Each faithful also received a gold-plated cross as a memento.

Following “Achahampouyr,” the procession of altar servers and choir members guided His Holiness to the courtyard, where doves were released. The spiritually moving and inspiring day came to a close with “Cilicia.”

The Nagorno Karabakh issue may be touched upon on the sidelines of the meeting of CSTO Foreign Ministers in Yerevan scheduled for October 14, Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing.

Referring to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement on the impossibility to solve the Karabakh conflict at this point, Zakharova said: “The settlement process benefits from practical work, not statements.”

Yandex is opening a programming school for 8-10 graders in Yerevan. The school will offer free classes comprising thematic lectures and workshops.

The academic program has been worked out by the Yandex School of Data Analysis. Specialists from Armenia, Russia and other countries will be invited to teach at the school.

The classes will start in January 2017, the registration of students will start from December 12, 2016. Children will have to pass an on-line test and an interview.

FOX 11 – The last known survivor of the Armenian Genocide was a special guest at an event hosted by the Armenian Law Students’ Association at Loyola Law School.

Aleksan Markaryan shared his memories of the genocide.

He said he was fired from his childhood job at a pharmacy because he was a Christian.

Markaryan remembers being called an infidel. In order to save his life, he converted to Islam.

He remembers watching people in his village as they were taken away to never be again, the genocide ended a long eight years later in 1923.

During that time, up to 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman Government – now modern Turkey.

A Hungarian Parliament panel has rejected an Armenian Genocide recognition bill submitted by the Green Party, which holds five seats in the 199-member Parliament reports, quoting Turkish media.

The bill failed to pass the Foreign Relations Committee because of the vote of the Fidesz and Jobbik parties.

Marton Gyongyosi of the Jobbik Party, vice-chairman of the Hungarian National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said “the issue should be left to historians and international law experts.”

“Hungarian lawmakers should not be concerned about what Pope Francis, politicians and parliaments of other countries say,” he said.

At least 29 people, most of them rebel fighters, have been killed in a bombing near Syria’s border with Turkey, activists say, the BBC reports.

The attack reportedly occurred during a change of guard at the rebel-controlled Atmeh crossing, in Idlib province.

It was not immediately clear whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber or a remote-controlled device.

A news agency linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) said a suicide car bombing had targeted a rebel convoy.

But an opposition activist network, the Local Co-ordination Committees, reported that a suitcase filled with explosives had been planted at the scene.

In mid-August, 32 rebels were killed in a suicide attack claimed by IS at the Atmeh crossing, which they use to travel from Idlib, via Turkey, to battle the jihadist group in other parts of north-eastern Syria.

Having designed many architectural artworks ordered by Ottoman Empire between the 18th and 19th century, the Balyan Family, a dynasty of famous Ottoman imperial architects, is getting its own mausoleum years after the deaths of its most prominent members. Built in the Balyan Family Graveyard in Üsküdar Surp Haç Armenian Cemetery, the Balyan Family Mausoleum was constructed by the Hraç and Hagop Kırmızıyan brothers, reports.

Designed with inspiration from the altar section of the Armenian Church in Besiktas, the mausoleum project was constructed with three-meter-long one-piece marble pillars and a tomb and arch placed on top of them. The block marbles in the background feature the names of the prominent family members as well as an Ottoman tughra.

Completed and carried out in two years, the project covers the clean-up and restoration of all of the sarcophagi belonging to the Balyan family, and the creation of a mausoleum befitting the creations of a dynasty that crowned Istanbul’s skyline with their artworks.

Among their buildings that grace today’s silhouette of Istanbul are the Dolmabahce Palace and the Ortakoy Mosque.

Asbarez – Armenian-American designer Vicken Derderian showed off his Spring 2017 collection at LA Fashion at a show on October 1 at the Hollywood Athletic Club.

 (Women’s Wear Daily), the preeminent industry publication, called pieces in Derderian’s collection “a refreshing addition to the wardrobe of a woman who leads a busy life but still wants to look polished with a creative flair.”

This was the second collection for Derderian, who teamed up with his classmate from the fashion design program of the Academy of Art University, Kyung Hwa Kim, to create knits, dresses, high-waisted palazzo pants, culottes and separates, with sweater dresses highlighting the collection.

Derdian and Kim retreated to Armenia, where they set up an atelier and made the meticulously constructed pieces featured on the runway.

WWD said that Derderian’s collection for his eponymous label was informed by his background as an architect, saying the designer “is always thinking about movement.”

Dederian himself qualified that by telling WWD that “at the end of the day, for me, it’s a more intimate architecture of the body — the knits, softness, the textures.”

Derderian was born and raised in Pasadena. He graduated with a Bachelors of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) and received his Masters of Arts in Fashion Design from the Academy of Art University.

His love of design and fabrication became clear at a very young age. He has always been fascinated with the way objects are assembled and the ideas they bring forth once they are assembled. Due to his constant desire and willingness to learn different methodologies of design and fabrication he has been able to bring to fruition a series of his concepts.

Prior to pursuing his masters in fashion design Vicken received his Bachelor of Architecture from SCI-ARC. Architecture is his specialization, his broader interest in the world of design which has prompted him to look outside his specific field to other industries to explore new ideas to try and push his current design methodologies. His interest in Fashion is parallel to architecture due to its constant dialogue with its surroundings. He views Fashion as an intimate architecture of the human body.

Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, today conducted a monitoring exercise on the Line of Contact in accordance with his mandate. This exercise took place six months after the outbreak of hostilities in early April.

Personal Representative Kasprzyk said: “As usual, the sides provided information regarding the situation on the Line of Contact, including ceasefire violations registered since the previous monitoring exercise. This information has been reported to the Minsk Group members, including its Co-chairs, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. Reports in the media sometimes allege that my Office does not register ceasefire violations or indicate the responsible party. They may be referring to the fact that no ceasefire violations occurred during the observation phase of our monitoring exercise, at the time when staff members are in exposed positions on the front lines. We always register ceasefire violations when they occur in our presence. Otherwise we rely on information provided by local commanders. I would like to reiterate that we do not have the mandate to conduct investigations of incidents.”

He added: “In the six months following the April clashes, the Minsk Group Co-chairs have worked tirelessly to stabilize the situation and move the negotiation process forward, and the information provided through the monitoring exercises is an indispensable part of this process. These efforts continue.”