Category: News

The International Weightlifting Federation has declared that as a consequence of the IOC’s reanalyses of samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (IOC – wave 2), the samples of a number of athletes have returned Adverse Analytical Findings.

Gold medal winner in the 85kg weight category Andrey Ribakov of Belarus is among the athletes that failed the doping test. That means Armenia’s Tigran Martirosyan, who had won a bronze medal at Beijing Olympics, will now get the silver.

Martirosyan had lifted a combined 380 kg (177+203).

Photo: AFP

 

In the wake of the powerful earthquake that struck central Italy on Wednesday, Pope Francis at the General Audience postponed his prepared catechesis, and led the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square in the recitation of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary, Vatican Radio reports.

The Holy Father expressed his “heartfelt sorrow and spiritual closeness” to all those affected by the earthquake and its aftershocks. He said he was deeply saddened upon learning several children were among the dead, and of hearing of the total destruction of the town of Amatrice.

“I want to assure all the people of Accumuli, Amatrice, the Diocese of Rieti,Ascoli Piceno, and all the people of Lazio, Umbria, and Le Marche, of the prayers and close solidarity of the entire Church, who in these moments extends her merciful love, as well as the concern of all of us here in the Piazza, Pope Francis said.

He asked everyone to join him in prayer to Jesus, that the Lord might “console the broken-hearted, and, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, bring them peace.”

“With Jesus,” Pope Francis concluded, “let our hearts be moved with compassion.”

Photo: AFP

 

Heavy shelling of so-called Islamic State positions has marked the start of a Turkish offensive to drive the militants away from the Syrian border, teh BBC reports.

Military sources told Turkish media 70 targets in the Jarablus area had been destroyed by artillery and rocket strikes, and 12 by air strikes.

Turkish tanks are now reported to have crossed into Syria.

The operation is aimed in part at pre-empting any move by Syrian Kurds to establish themselves on the border.

Turkish special forces are already inside Syria as part of the offensive.

The Catholicosate of Cilicia held consultations on the lawsuit asking the Return of its historic Seat from Turkey, the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia reports.

Since his arrival in Geneva, His Holiness Aram I has been consulting with experts regarding the lawsuit asking from Turkey the Return of the historic Seat of the Catholicosate in Sis (Kozan).

Discussions focussed on the recent attempted coup in Turkey and its temporary suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Catholicosate will keep the constituency informed of developments.

More than 25 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 370 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front units of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the operational-tactical situation at the line of contact and confidently continue with their military duty.

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale

 

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United States Attorney Richard Hartunian, the Albany-based federal prosecutor for the Northern District of New York, was appointed Monday to lead an advisory committee on policy for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

It is the first time a prosecutor in charge of the 32-county district, which includes the Capital Region, has been named to head the panel.

Hartunian, 55, of Delmar, who graduated Georgetown University in 1983 and Albany Law School in 1986, became vice chair of the panel in January 2015. Now he will head a panel that is tasked with establishing policies for the U.S. Department of Justice, fostering cooperation with state attorneys general and promoting consistency in the application of legal standards.

The panel dates to 1973. Hartunian succeeds former U.S. Attorney John Walsh of Colorado. Hartunian will be joined by a new vice chair, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, who heads the Eastern District of Michigan.

“The attorney general’s Advisory Committee plays an essential role in shaping the Justice Department’s policies, implementing its programs, and ensuring that equal justice and the rule of law are upheld throughout the United States,” Lynch said in a statement. “As a former chair of the AGAC, I know firsthand the significant duties required of the committee’s leaders, and I am certain that U.S. Attorneys Richard Hartunian and Barbara McQuade are ready to assume the responsibility of chairing such an important and distinguished body. They are both seasoned prosecutors, exemplary law enforcement officers, and devoted public servants, and I look forward to benefiting from their long experience and wise counsel as we advance the department’s vital work in the months ahead.”

Hartunian, a one-time Albany County prosecutor and a frederal prosecutor in Albany since 1997, served as coordinator of his office’s Organized Crime Drug Task Force from 2006 until his appointment to U.S. attorney in 2010.

Hartunian has been on the committee since 2013 when he was appointed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

He has co-chaired the panel’s Border and Immigration Subcommittee and has sat on subcommittees focused on Native American issues, health care fraud and environmental crimes.

 

 

 

About 40 Yazidi teachers are participating in training courses at the National Institute of Education of the Armenian Ministry of Education and Science.

The course is led by Hasan Tamoyan, editor of the Yazidi programs of the Public Radio of Armenia.

“Our language is rather complex. It’s not easy to learn all rules,” Hasan Tamoyan says. Upon the conclusion of the course certificates will be given to those who meet the required standards..

The teaching of Yazidi language was introduced in Armenia in 2005. Hasan Tamoyan says the achievements in the sphere are apparent.

Photo: AFP

 

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, leaving at least six people dead and others trapped under rubble, Italian officials said, the BBC reports.

The quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 76 km (47 miles) southeast of the city of Perugia, at the very shallow depth of 10km (six miles), the USGS said.

The Mayor of Amatrice told Italian radio “half the town is gone”.

In Rome, some buildings shook for 20 seconds, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

A family of four had been found under rubble in the town of Accumoli, the town’s mayor Stefano Petrucci told RAI TV.

Meanwhile police said two people had died in the nearby village of Pescara del Tronto, RAI reported.

Photo: DHA via AP

 

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has assessed Turkey’s intrusion into Syrian territory as an act violating the country’s sovereignty, the news agency SANA reports.

“Damascus condemns the intrusion of Turkish tanks into Syrian territory under the cover of air support provided by the US-led international coalition,” the statement says. “Syria regards such actions as outright violation of its sovereignty.”

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that resistance to terror “is not confined to driving out militants of the terrorist group calling itself Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) only to replace them with other extremist groups supported from Turkey.”

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) held a productive and positive meeting with the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), on a wide variety of topics, including efforts to bring peace and freedom to the independent Republic of Nagorno Karabagh (Artsakh). The meeting was held at the Chairman’s district office in Brea, California on August 17, 2016 and included the participation of national, regional and local ANCA officials. The ANCA has had a long and constructive relationship with Chairman Royce based on the outstanding work of the ANCA of Orange County and accompanied the Chairman during his 2014 Congressional Delegation visit to the Republic of Armenia.

“Armenian Americans living in California’s 39th Congressional District are fortunate to have a senior Member of Congress like Ed Royce, who chairs the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, representing them in Washington, DC,” expressed ANCA Western Region Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. after meeting with Chairman Royce. “Chairman Royce is unique because of his total command and understanding of issues ranging from Artsakh to the Armenian Genocide. We look forward to continuing our work with Chairman Royce to secure peace and freedom for Artsakh and to secure justice with respect to the Armenian Genocide. The ANCA is especially eager to work with Chairman Royce in the coming days to secure implementation of the Royce-Engel initiative,” Hovsepian added.

The meeting with Chairman Royce focused on the pressing need to make sustained progress on the Royce-Engel initiative launched last year by the Chairman and the Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY). The Royce-Engel initiative, which is strongly backed by the ANCA, includes three common-sense measures to secure Artsakh peace. 1.) An agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers, heavy arms, or new weaponry along the line of contact. 2.) The placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact. 3.) The deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations. Armenia and Artsakh have long agreed to all three measures; Azerbaijan opposes their implementation. The Royce-Engel proposals, have received the support of over 90 U.S. Representatives through two Congressional letters sent to the Obama Administration in November of 2015 and March of 2016.

ANCA leaders also highlighted the reckless nature of the “Madrid Principles,” which are being discussed in the context of a final settlement for Artsakh. Originally discussed in 2007 with the specifics largely kept secret until recently, the “Madrid Principles” set forth a proposed formula which purportedly calls for Artsakh’s up-front surrender of 7 regions of its sovereign territory in return for only a vague promise that Azerbaijan will allow a future “expression of will” that would determine its status, setting the stage for continued conflict and increased regional instability. The ANCA shared with Chairman Royce that the organization considers the “Madrid Principles” to be reckless, irresponsible and – as noted by many Members of Congress – not a sound recipe for peace.

Next month, ANCA leaders will join Chairman Royce at the In Defense of Christians (IDC) national advocacy convention in Washington, DC. The IDC convention, which is being sponsored by the ANCA, is seeking to safeguard health and welfare of the remaining Christians in the Middle East. During the 114th Congress, Chairman Royce was a powerful force in advancing legislation that led the Obama Administration to label the crimes against humanity occurring today against Christians, including Armenians, and other minorities in the Middle East – as a genocide.