Category: News

A commuter train has crashed into a rail station in the city of Hoboken, in the US state of New Jersey, the BBC reports.

The New Jersey emergency management system reports more than 100 people have been injured and others are trapped.

Emergency crews have arrived. Photos on social media show extensive damage to the train carriage and station.

A local radio station anchor said the train went through ticket barriers and “into the reception area”.

Hoboken is seven miles outside New York City. Many use the station to travel into Manhattan.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has broken his silence on his absence from Manchester United’s squad by revealing that he is still working towards regaining full fitness.

Mkhitaryan last featured for United in their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on September 10. The Armenia international has been sidelined with a thigh problem since then.

And now, Mkhitaryan has revealed via Facebook that he has returned to training ahead of his return: ‘Really happy to have started training with team and I am on my way to getting fully fit!

Pope Francis is wrapping up a Caucasus pilgrimage that began in June in Armenia and ends this weekend with a visit to two other countries with tiny Catholic communities: the Orthodox Christian bastion of Georgia and the largely Shiite Muslim nation of Azerbaijan.

Given the itinerary, Catholic-Orthodox and Christian-Muslim relations will be high on Francis’ agenda. But geopolitical concerns will also lurk behind the scenes during the three-day trip starting Friday in Georgia, one of the world’s oldest Christian lands, the Associated Press reports.

According to the source, Georgia is keen to use the trip to highlight its European and Western aspirations, and also draw attention to what it considers the Russian “occupation” of the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Francis is unlikely to get involved beyond general calls for peace and reconciliation, given a reluctance to offend Russia or the Russian Orthodox Church after his historic meeting with the Russian patriarch in Cuba earlier this year.

The Georgian ambassador to the Vatican, Tamara Grdzelidze, said she wasn’t optimistic Francis would use the term “occupation.”

“But in Armenia he spoke about ‘genocide,’ so you never know with this pope,” she said, referring to the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians.

Adding to the geopolitical mix, Francis will make a strong appeal for peace in Syria and Iraq, where Christians are being attacked and driven from their homes by Islamic extremists. A special event is planned Friday in the Chaldean Catholic church in Tbilisi.

“The message is going to be a message of peace,” said Vatican spokesman Greg Burke.

A more subtle message is one of steadily improving ties between the Holy See and the two former Soviet republics.

Ramaz Sakvarelidze, an independent political analyst in Tbilisi, said the papal visit should help to underscore Georgia’s aspirations for greater Western integration, including its sought-after membership in the European Union and NATO.

“The visit will certainly have a positive impact on Georgia’s image, it will help underline its Euro-Atlantic aspirations and a desire to embrace the principles of the Western world,” he said.

After Georgia, Francis heads to Azerbaijan, completing the visit he had hoped would have begun in Armenia and ended in Azerbaijan to show a symbolic bridge between neighbors bitterly divided over Nagorno-Karabakh.

While in Armenia in June, Francis called for reconciliation and for all sides to “resist being caught up in the illusory power of vengeance.”

Francis will spend only about 10 hours in the Azeri capital of Baku, using the time to highlight the country’s interfaith mix, meeting with the sheik of Caucasus Muslims, as well as representatives of Azeri Jews and other religious communities.

And he will celebrate Mass for the Catholic community which represents less than 1 percent of the population: There are about 200 Azeri-born Catholics and about 15,000 Catholic foreigners who live in Baku.

 Asbarez – Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art (AFFMA) will present its 19th Arpa International Film Festival (AIFF) from November 3 to 6 at the historic venue in the heart of Hollywood, the Egyptian Theatre, located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd, in Los Angeles.

This year, AIFF will be screening one of the best selection of international films at the festival. 10 feature and feature length documentary film premiers by world class contemporary international artists such as Dominique Pinon, John Savage, Karren Karagulian, Maria Furtwangler, Albert Kodagolian, Onur Turkel, Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Yana Drouz, Ashot Adamyan, Marija Karan and Jesse Williams.

A total of 55 independent films from 23 countries will be screened. Films such as: “Lost in Armenia” from award-winning director Serge Avedikian, recipient of the Cannes “Golden Palm” short film Award, “Booger Red,” a narrative documentary from acclaimed Indy director Berndt Mader, U.S. premiere of Albert Kodagolian’s “Somewhere Beautiful,” world premiere of Levon Minasian’s “Bravo Virtuoso,” and 25 years after the premiere of his masterpiece debut movie “Lost Paradise,” which screened at the prestigious AFI Film Festival, we are honored to have David Safarian back with his amazing U.S. premiere of “Hot Country Cold Winter.”

Special Screening of award winning and nominated short films from critically acclaimed festivals such as: Tribeca, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Tallin, Golden Apricot, etc.

Gregor Zupanc, AIFF Artistic Director stated: “Our vision is to create a vibrant Hollywood melting pot for passionate international filmmakers, whose innovative voices and socially engaged stories inspire and nurture the cinematic experience. In addition, we will have exclusive screenings of the forgotten masterpieces of Armenian cinema in collaboration with film schools and engage students from institutions with well-known universities such as California State University Northridge (CSUN).”

Arpa’s programming team has hand-picked socially engaging films with emphasis on issues in the U.S. such as Immigration, LGBT, sex trafficking, transgender and racial biases. “This year our focus has been to promote and support young Californian filmmakers by presenting the best student films from Los Angeles, “stated Gregor Zupanc.

The Festival’s prestigious Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian award will be presented to Emmy winning director Bared Maronian’s documentary “Women of 1915.” It is AIFF’s distinct honor to present 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award to a world renowned film and television actor Dominique Pinon, the recipient of the Molière Award for Best Actor in 2004. This year’s recipient of the Career Achievement Award is world renowned singer, composer, and activist Serj Tankian of System of the Down, and Albert Kodagolian will receive Arpa’s Breakthrough Artist Award for his creative vision as director and cinematographer.

Heading our industry showcase this year will be Roger Kupelian of “Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and numerous other Hollywood productions.

For the past 19 years Arpa International Film Festival continues to cultivate cultural understanding and global empathy, creating a dynamic forum for international cinema with a special focus on the works of filmmakers who explore the issues of diaspora, exile and multi-culturalism. A strong emphasis is placed on ideals of independent thought, artistic vision, cultural diversity and social understanding.

A Regional Center for Restoration of Monuments will be established in Armenia within the framework of Armenian-Italian cultural cooperation. Architect Rita Gonelli from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gaianè Casnati, head of the “Preserving Cultural Heritage in Armenia” program, and Maria Cristina Zambrano of the Politecnico di Milano have arrived in Armenia to discuss the details with officials and experts. Members of the delegation have already held a meeting with Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan.

The “Preserving Cultural Heritage in Armenia” program co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Politecnico di Milano became the winner of a Europa Nostra Award 2015. The establishment of the Regional Center for Restoration of Monuments will be the next step.

“Armenia’s rich cultural legacy lies in the basis of the program. Your cultural field is truly broad and requires huge efforts and work,” said architect Rita Gonelli, an expert at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Huge work has been done in the field of restoration of monuments within the framework of Armenian-Italian cooperation, but there is still a lot to be done,” she added.

Italian experts say the Armenian policy of restoration of monuments is closest to that ofItaly, this is the reason behind the idea of establishing a reconstruction center in Armenia.

The National Postal Operator of Armenia “HayPost” CJSC today announced the launch of an unprecedented service in the history of Armenia. Starting from the 1^st of October 2016, HayPost will carry out regular scheduled mail and cargo transportations to and from Europe.

The new program and the vehicles imported for the program implementation were presented on the 29^th of September in the Republic Square, Yerevan. The Minister of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Armenia Vahan Martirosyan and the Managing Director of “HayPost Trust Management” B.V. Juan Pablo Gechidjian handed the symbolic keys to the drivers, wishing them a good journey.

The new service is meant to expand the connectivity of Armenia, by means of weekly mail and cargo transportations from Yerevan to the hub in Frankfurt and vice versa. This innovative reliable, fast and secure service facilitates the process of export and import of products to and from Armenia, enabling the Armenian companies to expand their business. At the same time, the new service will help to dramatically increase the volumes of the online commerce in Armenia.

In order to provide the new service, HayPost introduced 2 brand-new Mercedes-Benz Actros 2530 GigaSpace 6×4 trucks with 530 horsepower, with the capacity to carry 27 tonnes of cargo each one, and with their extra fuel tanks they have a range of 4,500 km with no refueling.

The trucks dispose of the latest equipments from the industry leaders and provide the drivers with the most comfortable conditions for long distance drive. The flexible configuration of the refrigerated cargo holds allows the transportation both of perishable and of general cargo. The trucks correspond to the highest European Euro-6 emission standards, ensuring the lowest level of CO emissions up today.

Together with the mentioned trucks, today HayPost adds to its fleet 12 brand-new Renault Dokker vans, the routes of which will reinforce the connectivity within Armenia. The vans are eco-friendly, they run with compressed natural gas, minimizing the level of CO emissions.

The total amount invested in these 14 new vehicles made about 1.000.000 USD.

This new service continues the series of innovations made by the Trust Manager of HayPost. During the last 7 years HayPost with the leadership of “HayPost Trust Management” B.V. has added 140 new vehicles to its fleet. This enlarged fleet runs 3.500.000 km per year, interconnecting the whole territory of Armenia up to Nagorno Karabakh. The Company has also renovated 250 Post Offices all over the country and created the largest online network in Armenia, with more than 700 Post Offices connected up today.

More than 20 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces overnight.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired about 500 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army remain committed to the ceasefire regime and confidently continue with their military duty, the Ministry said.

On September 28, political consultations between the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Georgia were held at the MFA of Georgia. The Armenian and Georgian delegations were headed by Shavarsh Kocharyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, and Gigi Gigiadze, Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia, respectively.

In the course of political consultations the sides discussed a wide spector of issues related to the current situation of bilateral political, trade and economic relations and perspectives of their development. The agenda of the consultations focused on the deepening of cooperation in the areas of transport, energy, culture and education. Moreover, the necessity of inventory of the existing legal field was emphasized.

The interlocutors also touched upon the intensification of cooperation within the framework of international organizations, as well as exchanged views on a wide range of international and regional issues.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) should broaden cooperation in defense and security, Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Thursday, TASS reports.

“Taking into consideration that the situation on the external borders of the Commonwealth is far from being stable, we have a common task not to allow the spread of terrorism to the CIS space,” Gerasimov told a meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of CIS member states.

“In this uneasy situation it is necessary to broaden cooperation in the sphere of defense and security,” the general said, adding that the military cooperation in the CIS format “allows successful cooperation in a broad range of areas.”

The International Army Games, the International military-technical forum “ARMY-2016” and other joint events held earlier this year show great possibilities and prospects of the military cooperation of the CIS countries, he said.

The legal basis for this is a concept of military cooperation of the CIS member-states up to 2020 approved by the CIS Council of Heads of State, he reminded. “The concept envisages strengthening our armed forces, maintaining national security and developing good neighborly relations.”

The CIS, a regional organization formed during the collapse of the Soviet Union, now consists of nine countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan and Ukraine are associate members.