Category: News

A woman has died and a police officer has been stabbed in the Houses of Parliament in London, in what police are treating as a terrorist incident, the BBC reports.

The attacker, who was shot by police officers, is reported to have earlier mowed down several pedestrians as he drove a car across Westminster Bridge.

He crashed it into railings before running into the Palace of Westminster and stabbing the officer.

A Downing Street source said Prime Minister Theresa May was safe.

Prime Minister Theresa May was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar car as what sounded like gunfire rang out at Parliament during the incident.

MPs said they had heard three or four gunshots and staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices.

Commons Leader David Lidington told MPs the “alleged assailant was shot by armed police”.

At least 33 people have been killed in an air strike on a school in a village west of the Islamic State-held Syrian city of Raqqa, a monitoring group says, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the building in al-Mansoura was being used as a shelter for displaced people when it was hit on Monday night.

Both groups said the raid was carried out by the US-led coalition against IS.

There was no immediate comment from the coalition, but it has said there were 19 strikes near Raqqa on Monday, including three on what it called IS “headquarters”.

The Armenian national team is training at the Football Academy ahead of the clash with Kazakhstan.

Armenia will face Kazakhstan on March 26 on a FIFA World Cup 2018.

The match will be held at Yerevan’s Hanrapetakan Stadium and will kick off at 8 p.m. Yerevan time.

 

The Armenian National Security Service (NSS) has conirmed that three people, including Samvel Babayan, have been arrested under the criminal case instigated on the illegal smuggling of Igla antiaircraft missile complex.

The NSS says that persons who acquired the components and organized the transportation of Igla systems acted in accordance with a preliminary agreement with Samvel Babayan and upon his instruction.

The security service said the system was smuggled from neighboring Georgia and that it was in an operational state.

Investigation into the case continues.

President Serzh Sargsyan has arrived today on a working visit to the United Arab Emirates. At the Abu Dhabi airport, the President of Armenia was greeted by the Vice President of the UAE, Minister of presidential affairs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

After the official welcoming ceremony, the President of Armenia had a meeting with Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude for a swift organization of the forum on Armenia’s investment opportunities. The agreement to conduct such forum was reached during President’s previous meeting to the friendly UAE. President Sargsyan expressed hope that the results of the forum, as well as agreements reached with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan will have their considerable input and role in the development of the Armenia-UAE relations.

President Serzh Sargsyan had a substantial talks related to Armenia-United Arab Emirates investment forum also with the Minister of Economy of UAE Sultan Al Mansouri.

The application process of Aurora Short Film and Photo Competitions is over.

1,237 photos have been submitted for the Aurora Photo Competition from 48 countries including Armenia, Russia, United States, Argentina, Columbia, Thailand, Georgia and many others.

184 films from 27 countries have been submitted for the Aurora Short Film Competition.

All photos and short films that meet the technical requirements of the competitions have been presented to the jury. The short film competition jury is chaired by the director Edgar Baghdasaryan, and the photo competition jury is chaired by the photographer John Stanmeyer.

The selected films and photos should express the ideas of humanism as well as the selection criteria of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity: courage, commitment and impact, according to the rules of two competitions.

The results of the Aurora Photo and Short Film Competitions will be announced in April, 2017. Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will award US$4000 to the director of the best film. Second and third places will receive US$2000 and US$1500 award respectively. The author of the best photo will be awarded US$2,500 prize. Second and third places will receive awards of US$1,500 and US$1,000 respectively. The awards will be presented to the winners in May during a special event. The best films and photos will be screened and exhibited during 2017 Aurora Prize Events.

During the month between April 24 and May 28, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will organize a global program of activities to profile the inspirational stories of the 2017 finalists, as well as broader humanitarian endeavors. The 2017 Aurora Prize finalists will be announced on April 24, 2017, the annual day of remembrance for victims of the Armenian Genocide.  One of these finalists will then be named as the 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate at a special ceremony on May 28, 2017, in Yerevan, Armenia.

Media reports claim ex-Defense Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Samvel Babayan has been detained.

The reasons of detention are not yet known. There has been no official confirmation of the news.

– Less than a month before the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Conductor Greg Hosharian will take to the stage with the American Pops Orchestra to perform “Sounds of the Diaspora” on Sunday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. at The Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. The concert will benefit the Edward Hosharian Scholarship Fund, which provides students of Armenian descent an opportunity to pursue their educational goals in music.

“Sounds of the Diaspora is a culmination of genres that I’m passionate about,” said Conductor Greg Hosharian. “Chamber music, jazz, Armenian classical – it’s music that I love. What better way to tell the story of the Armenian people than through music, a medium that transcends age, gender and culture.”

“Sounds of the Diaspora” chronicles the plight of the Armenian people who were forced to flee their homeland during the genocide. Survivors had to scatter to foreign lands with little money or belongings, and the music performed by the Armenian Pops Orchestra reflects their adopted cultures of Russia, the Middle East, Greece, South America, Georgia, the United States and, of course, their beloved Armenia.

Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Edward Hosharian Scholarship Fund, named in honor of Hosharian’s father, the late composer and conductor, established to assist Armenian students in pursuit of their educational goals in music. Applicants must be of Armenian descent, a full-time student in need of financial assistance and attending an accredited college or university in the United States whose status is a sophomore or above and majoring in music performance or composition.

“My dad was an educator,” added Hosharian. “He taught music right here in Los Angeles at Roosevelt High and was director of the marching band. After immigrating to the United States at age nine from Kiev, Ukraine, he was able to fulfill his dream by writing a ballet version of the opera Anoush which premiered in New York in 1975. I know he’d be so proud of the work we are doing on his behalf.”

Greg Hosharian, who will premiere his original work, Castle, will also welcome to the stage vocalist Ayline Amirayan, pianist Siranush Sandaldjian Mudrek, and guest conductor Tigran Arakelyan, a 2015 Edward Hosharian Scholarship recipient, to perform works by Aram Khachaturian, Ara Gevorgyan, Edward Hosharian, Robert Amirkhanyan, Mikis Theodorakis, Boris Fomin and Arno Babajanyan.

AFP – The tomb where Jesus is believed to have been buried is being unveiled again following nine months of restoration work that will be highlighted at a much anticipated ceremony Wednesday.

The shrine, which includes a 19th-century ornate edicule or shrine surrounding the tomb, is a key part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.

However centuries of candle smoke and visiting pilgrims had left it discoloured and almost black.

Parts of it were also coming loose, with warnings that it was structurally unsound and posed a risk to the millions of pilgrims who visit the site every year.

Israeli authorities briefly closed it in 2015 over security fears.

Following a $3.7-million (3.4-million-euro) renovation led by the church’s three main Christian denominations, the tomb has been painstakingly restored to its former glory — including a warm reddish-yellow colouring.

The tomb will be formally reopened on Wednesday in a ceremony in Jerusalem led by religious leaders and donors.

“Before this the monument was black,” chief renovator Antonia Moropoulou told AFP at the site.

“This is the actual colour of the monument, the colour of hope.”

Unlike other parts of the church, which were renovated between the 1960s and 1990s, the edicule had been neglected.

Moropoulou explained that they had systematically dismantled, cleaned and renovated almost all of the edicule, including the columns and upper and inner domes.

A window has been installed to allow pilgrims to see the bare stone of the ancient burial cave for the first time.

The new structural integrity means a protective cage installed 70 years ago by the British is no longer necessary.

“The deformations of the holy edicule are addressed and the structural integrity is assured,” Moropoulou said.

Samuel Aghoyan, the superior of the Armenian Church at the Sepulchre which co-financed the project, said that after the renovation the edicule looked “like a brand new building”.

The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church, but disputes between the three have led to renovations being delayed for decades.

Aghoyan admitted there were tensions between the churches at times.

“We are not in love with each but we love each other,” he said with a smile.

An Armenian official delegation headed by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian attended the reopening of the Jesus tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Attending the event were Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, high-ranking officials from other countries, Christian church leaders, thousands of pious people.

Earlier the day Minister Nalbandian had visited the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem to meet with Patriarch, Archbishop Nurhan Manukian.

Archbishop Nurhan Manukian delivered a speech at the ceremony along with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos II. A message from His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, was read out.

The tomb where Jesus is believed to have been buried was unveiled today following nine months of restoration.

Three main Christian denominations – Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches – jealously guard separate sections of the church, but they put aside their longstanding religious rivalries to give their blessing for the restoration. Armenian architects were involved in reconstruction works.