Author: Aram Torosian

“Turkey has no place in and should be kept away from the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process,” Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

“The only positive impact Ankara could have on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is the opening of the border with Armenia and ceasing of encouraging Azerbaijan’s provocative and destructive steps,” Kocharyan said in comments to News.am.

The remarks come after some media reports quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying that “Turkey could play a positive role in the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“The statement on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue, adopted by the Presidents of the CSTO member-countries in Yerevan on October 14, expresses its support to the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg aimed at the prevention of escalation of situation in the conflict zone, stabilization of situation and creation of conditions for the advancement of peace process. The exclusively peaceful settlement should be based on the three well-known principles of International Law – non use of force or threat of force, the territorial integrity of states and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples,” Shavarsh Kocharyan added.

“The position of the Russian Federation on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is expressed by the abovementioned statement, not through the distortion of Sergey Lavrov’s words by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey as presented in the Azerbaijani media: a qualification, which previously was ascribed to the Azerbaijani side for its misrepresentation of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process,” the Deputy Foreign Minister stated.

– Wine has been a part of human life, culture, and diet, since time immemorial. In ancient Greece, wine was praised by poets, historians, and artists, and was frequently referred to in the works of Aesop and Homer.

Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, represented not only the intoxicating power of wine but also its social and beneficial influences.

Wine is far older than recorded history and could date back over 20 million years ago, as fermenting yeasts evolved together with fruit bearing flowering plants.

People began to grow grapes probably a little after they began growing wheat, around 8000 BC. In ancient times, wine was considered to be a magical, spontaneous gift of nature.

The oldest winery in the world has been uncovered in a cave in the mountains of Armenia. An international team of researchers discovered drinking bowl, a grape press, a cup, and fermentation jars dating to about 6,100 years ago in the cave at the area called Areni-1 in Armenia.

Older evidence of wine drinking has been found, but this is the earliest example of complete wine production.

The Areni-1 cave complex is located in the village of Areni in the Vayots Dzor province of the Republic of Armenia. 7 months before the winery was discovered, the world’s oldest leather shoe, the Areni-1 shoe, was found in the same cave. The village of Areni it’s known for its wine production.

The press and wide, shallow vat that was found in the cave are similar to foot-stomping type equipment used by people throughout the region even up into the 19th century.

Botanists examined the find say it was the species Vitis vinifera, the same one used to produce the vast majority of wine today.

Gregory Areshian, co-director of the excavation and assistant director of the University of California Los Angeles’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology says the wine would be comparable to a modern unfiltered red wine and may have had a similar taste to a merlot.

As Areshian, says before this winery was discovered, the oldest known winery was in Israel and dated to 1650 BC.

Archaeologists could not tell a lot about the people who distilled and drank the wine, but for them, it’s clear that the people who produced wine in the cave winery used it for ceremonial purposes. Probably for funeral ceremonies, since it was discovered that the cave was once an important cemetery site.

This discovery shows that people developed agriculture and that they had horticultural skills even back in 4,000 BC. And as Areshian says, “Producing this wine would have been a high technology of the time incorporating detailed knowledge of watering cycles, pruning the vines, how to deal with pests and the fermentation process itself, which is more complex than brewing beer.” 

UK-born Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom of Finland have won the Nobel Economics Prize for work on contract theory, the BBC reports.

Judges said their work laid “an intellectual foundation” for policies in areas such as bankruptcy legislation and political constitutions.

The pair will receive 8 million Swedish kroner (£744,652) from the committee.

It comes after Nobel prizes for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry and peace were awarded last week.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Mr Hart and Mr Holmstrom’s work was “valuable to the understanding of real-life contracts and institutions”.

It also said it could identify “potential pitfalls in contract design.”

For example, contract theory can be used to assess performance-based pay for top executives, the academy said.

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival fired more than 430 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army remained committed to the ceasefire regime and resorted to response actions in case of extreme necessity.

Photo: AP

The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew – the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade – has soared to more than 300, officials say, the BBC reports.

Some 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone.

The nearby city of Jeremie saw 80% of its buildings levelled. In Sud province 30,000 homes were destroyed.

The hurricane, now a Category Three storm with sustained winds of 120mph (193km/h), is heading towards the US state of Florida.

At 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT) Matthew was still off the Florida coast, centred about 37 miles (60km) east of Vero Beach and was moving north-west at about 14mph (22km/h), the National Hurricane Center said.

 – 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.”

Photo: Sputnik/ Pavel Lisitsyn

The Russian government has approved an agreement with Armenia to establish a joint regional air defense in the Caucasus, a decree published on the official portal for legal information stated Monday, Sputnik News reports.

At the time of the signing, the regional air defense force was estimated to incorporate 19 aviation units, 47 anti-aircraft missile systems, 19 radio-technical units and three separate electronic warfare battalions.

“Approve and submit for ratification to the Russian president the agreement between Russia and Armenia to establish a joint regional air defense in the Caucasus region of collective security, signed in Moscow on December 23, 2015,” the decree reads.

Statement by H.E. Mr. Edward Nalbandian, Minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Armenia at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly General Debate

23.09.2016

Kim Kardashian has decided that she wants to go to law school, according to the .

During an interview for the cover of magazine, the 35-year-old reality star — who never went to college — said she hopes to get a law degree someday.

“If things slow down and I had time, I really want to go to law school — just something I can do in my older age,” Kardashian said.

Kardashian’s father Robert — who was part of the team that represented O.J. Simpson — was an attorney who got his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Hamburg University Professor Otto Luchterhandt delivered a report on “Azerbaijan’s Blitzkrieg against Artsakh and International Law” at the Youth Parliament adjunct to the NKR National Assembly.

The German Professor noted that “although unrecognized, the Artsakh Republic fully complies with standards of a state and has proved its viability during the years of independence.”

Otto Luchterhandt underlined that the basic principles of international law apply to all subjects of international relations irrespective of their status. He said the April war against Artsakh unleashed by Azerbaijan was a harsh violation of several fundamental principles of international law, namely the non-use of force or the threat of force.

According to him, the April war was an act of aggression against the people of Artsakh, which the political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for.