Category: News

Asbarez – The Armenian Genocide Committee calls upon all segments of our community to join together in a MARCH FOR JUSTICE on Monday, April 24, 2017 at 12pm from the Pan Pacific Park to the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles as we continue to fight for justice and against the denial of the Armenian Genocide. Organizational leaders in Southern California call upon the Armenian-American community to remain vigilant and active as we continue to voice our collective demands for justice.

It is our belief that our voices are most loudly and effectively heard when they are unified, and to that end, we proudly announce the continued cooperation of community organizations to organize and execute the commemorative activities and demands for justice for this year under the banner of the Armenian Genocide Committee (“AGC”) consisting of the organizations and entities listed below.

Armenian Genocide Committee:

Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America

Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church

Armenian Catholic Church of North America

Armenian Evangelical Union of North America

Armenian Revolutionary Federation

Armenian Democratic Liberal Party

Social Democrat Hunchak Party

Armenian General Benevolent Union – Western District

Armenian Relief Society – Western USA

Homenetmen Western U.S. Region

Armenian Youth Federation

Armenian Assembly of America

Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region

Armenian Council of America

Armenian Bar Association

Organization of Istanbul Armenians

United Armenian Council of Los Angeles

Committee for Armenian Students in Public Schools (CASPS)

President Serzh Sargsyan has arrived in Paris for an official visit at the invitation of his French counterpart Francois Hollande.

After an official welcome ceremony, the delegation led by President Sargsyan headed for the headquarters of the International Organization of the Francophonie to meet with Secretary General Michaëlle Jean.

Prior to Eurasian Intergovernmental Council’s meeting in Bishkek, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and the heads of government of EEU-member States were received by President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev.

Welcoming the guests, the Kyrgyz President noted that it is a good platform for the furtherance of integration and dialogue between the Eurasian Economic Union-member countries and discussion of issues of mutual interest. Almazbek Atambayev assured that all the way through its chairmanship of EEU bodies in 2017, Kyrgyzstan will do everything to achieve progress in the aforementioned areas.

On behalf of the Armenian delegation, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan thanked the Kyrgyz President for the warm welcome and high-level organization of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council’s meeting. The Premier pointed out that the Bishkek meeting ushers in Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship in the Eurasian Economic Union that will help promote the Eurasian integration process.

The meeting discussed a number of issues on the agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Photo: ESA

One of the key spacecraft in Europe’s new multi-billion-euro Earth observation (EO) programme has launched from French Guiana, the reports.

Sentinel-2B carries a large camera to image all land surfaces and coastal waters in visible and infrared light.

It joins an identical spacecraft, Sentinel-2A, already in orbit.

The duo will be flown on the same path but 180 degrees apart so that they can provide a complete map of Earth – clouds permitting – every five days.

The Sentinels constitute the space segment of the European Union’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme.

A suite of sensors is being lofted over the next few years to gather critical information on the state of the planet and to acquire the data needed to inform and enforce EU policies.

Applications range from urban planning and air-quality monitoring to tracking deforestation and glacier retreat.

Photo: Reuters

 

Iraqi forces have retaken the main government offices in Mosul as the offensive continues to oust the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, the BBC reports.

The advance could pave the way for an attack on the heavily-populated old city, where the militants are still entrenched.

Thousands of civilians are streaming out of the city every day.

Mosul is the last stronghold for IS in Iraq. The east of the city was recaptured in January.

Civilians say it was the heaviest night of bombardment since the operation to retake the city’s west began on 19 February.

The Iraqi forces launched a surprise attack overnight to storm the government buildings.

Although the structures are reported to be largely destroyed, they are a strategic and symbolic win.

Jose Mourinho has named a 20-man travelling squad for Manchester United’s Europa League match against FC Rostov on Thursday evening.

The Reds flew out of Manchester Airport, bound for Russia, on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for the Round of 16 first leg at the Olimp-2 Stadium, where kick-off is scheduled for 18:00 GMT.

In this first-ever meeting between United and Rostov, Mourinho is keen to see his side establish what could be a crucial advantage ahead of next Thursday’s second leg at Old Trafford.

United’s travelling squad in full: De Gea, Romero, O’Hara; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Smalling, Blind, Darmian, Young; Carrick, Herrera, Fellaini, Pogba, Mata, Lingard, Mkhitaryan; Martial, Rashford, Ibrahimovic.

Eric Bailly has not travelled to Russia due to the one-match suspension that he earned as a result of his dismissal in United’s last European match, away to Saint-Etienne.

Luke Shaw and Wayne Rooney are not in the group after starting against Bournemouth on Saturday, while Bastian Schweinsteiger has stayed at home, presumably with the minor injury that the boss revealed last Friday.

On a positive front, Henrikh Mkhitaryan has returned to the group and could feature for the first time since suffering an injury moments after scoring the only goal in last month’s win in France.

Asbarez – The Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is launching the educational project “Zarmanazan” as part of its Western Armenian revitalization program. The initiative will incorporate two components that will mutually nourish each other:

• A summer camp for children between the ages of 10 to 15, in a creative and playful world, aimed at encouraging the practice of Western Armenian.
• A training internship designed for Western Armenian teachers or teachers-in-training in the Armenian Diaspora, leading to university certification by the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Paris (INALCO).

For 25 days, children and teenagers will reside together with a team of 15 experienced facilitators in an inspiring environment. While totally immersed in Western Armenian, they will create, discover, learn, and have fun through engaging workshops in music, arts, theater, dance, as well as various sports and games. Through these activities, language will become a natural means of communication and creation.

The Zarmanazan camp, organized in partnership with the Mille et un Mondes organization in Lyon, will offer a space for meeting and interaction between all participants who will have the opportunity to learn from one another and develop friendships, living an enriching and unique experience.

The camp is open to all children and teenagers living in the Armenian Diaspora. The number of places is limited to 40. There is no requirement for a minimum level of proficiency in Armenian.

The teacher development component of the camp will host 15 teachers (or teachers-in-training). They will follow an intensive program combining expert direction with practical training, interactive lectures, and the latest pedagogic approaches and materials.

The location of the camp is in La Bourboule, France.

Azerbaijan is trying to undermine and fail the agreements on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg, Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan has said. “Speaking about the resumption of talks or about negotiations being frozen by Armenia is at least hypocrisy,” Balayan told .

The comments come after Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov accused the Armenian side of having stopped the negotiations on the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“Negotiations with Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh are currently stopped,” Mammadyarov said, speaking at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

He then accused Armenia of refusing from negotiations. “We proposed to continue substantive negotiations, but the Armenian side does not go for it. On April 2, parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia. We proposed to hold talks after this date,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister said.

“This fully meets the logic of Azerbaijan’s non-constructive provocative policy,” Tigran Balayan said.

“It’s well known that after the aggression of April 2, 2016 the international community was insisting on the need to create conditions conducive to the continuation of negotiations,” the Spokesman said. He reminded that two summits were organized in Vienna and St. Petersburg, where concrete agreements were reached on creation of those conditions.

He added, however, that Azerbaijan refuses to implement the agreements and keeps preventing their implementation. “Therefore, speaking about the resumption of negotiations or about talks being frozen because of the Armenian side is at least hypocrisy,” Tigran Balayan stated.

Prime Ministers of Armenia and Russia Karen Karapetyan and Dmitry Medvedev had a meeting on the sidelines of the sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on Bishkek.

The parties referred to the process of implementation of the agreements reached during the Armenian Prime Minister’s earlier visit to Moscow, particularly the creation of an Armenian-Russian investment fund, involvement of Russian companies in the Meghri Free Trade Zone, supply of agricultural equipment.

A wide range of issues on Armenian-Russian economic agenda was discussed.

The Armenian and Russian Prime Minister reiterated the willingness to keep expanding the Armenian-Russian allied cooperation both in bilateral format and within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan has left for France for an official visit.

In the framework of the visit, the President of Armenia will meet with the highest leadership of France – President François Hollande, President of Senate Gérard Larcher, President of the National Assembly Claude Bartolone, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, and with the Secretary General of the International Organization of Francophonie Michaëlle Jean.

Based on the results of the high-level Armenian-French negotiations, the parties will sign a numer of documents aimed at the strengthening and deepening of the bilateral relations and cooperation.

In Paris, the President of Armenia will meet with the representatives of the French business circles and representatives of the Armenian communities of Europe.

President Sargsyan will also visit Lyon where he will meet with the Mayor of the city Gérard Collomb.