Author: Arpi Talalian

Armen Jigarkhanyan, the renowned actor and director, is marking his 81st birthday anniversary today.

In 1954, he was admitted to Yerevan Institute of Theater and Arts. His debut was in January 1955, in Viktor Gusev’s play “Ivan Rybakov” at the Russian Drama in Yerevan.

Armen Jigarkhanyan’s debut in cinema was in 1960. But it was “Hello, That’s Me!”, a 1966 Armenian drama film directed by Frunze Dovlatyan, that made him famous.

Armen Jigarkhanyan played in about 300 films, thereby becoming one of the Russian actors that have played in the largest number of movies.

In 1996, on the basis of his course, he established Moscow Drama directed by Armen Jigarkhanyan, which ranks high among Moscow’s small theaters.

Armen Jigarkhanyan is in the Guinness Book of Records as the Russian actor that has played the largest number of film roles.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the parliamentary leader of her conservative party that she is not distancing herself from a Bundestag resolution on the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces that has strained ties with Turkey, according to sources briefed on the matter, Reuters reports.

Volker Kauder, the head of the Christian Democrats in parliament, told a meeting of party members that he had spoken with Merkel and she emphasized her position, said the sources, who attended the meeting.

Kauder said Merkel also noted that she had voted to support the resolution during a party meeting before the vote, although she was not present when the vote took place in June. Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier were also not present, the sources said.

The German news magazine “Der Spiegel” reported earlier today that recognizing the historic Ottoman slaughter of Armenians as genocide to appease Turkish government anger.

A Russian computer programmer was detained in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on Friday for alleged money laundering and illegal transfer of military technology. Sergey Mironov’s arrest was made after a US government request, his lawyer told RT.

Mironov was arrested by Armenian security forces after arriving in Yerevan with his wife, Mironov’s lawyer in Russia, Karen Nersesyan, told RT. After the arrest, he was moved to solitary confinement in Yerevan.

Mironov works as a programmer in Moscow and doesn’t have access to any secret materials or technologies, the lawyer said.

menwhile, the Armenian police say Sergey Mironov, 30, has been wanted by US law-enforcement bodies since May 11, 2016.

President Serzh Sargsyan met with his French counterpart Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Warsaw today.

President Sargsyan thanked Hollande for his consistent support on issues of vital importance to Armenia and stressed that Armenia is proud of its privileged relations with France.

Serzh Sargsyan underlined the considerable expansion of economic cooperation between Armenia and France and noted that France remains a leading country in the EU in terms of investments in Armenia.

President Sargsyan expressed gratitude for the adoption of a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

During the meeting reference was made to the Karabakh issue. Serzh Sargsyan attached importance to the active role of France, in its capacity of Minsk Group co-chairing country, in the procreations.ss of peaceful settlement of the issue through negotiations and thanked Francois Hollande for his personal efforts and consistent contribution.

The Presidents attached importance to the unconditional implementation of the provisions incorporated in the statements adopted at meetings in Vienna and St. Petersburg. They exchanges views on the perspectives of furthering the negotiation process.

The Upper Lars checkpoint will remain closed until July 10, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports.

The border crossing point, the only land road that connects Armenia to Russia, has been closed for 10 days now because of landslide caused by flooding.

The vehicles jammed at the checkpoint can continue their way through the ports of Poti and Batumi.

The Terek River still risks flooding, the Ministry said.

THE MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II, CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS, DURING THE PRAYER OF PEACE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE VISIT OF THE PONTIFF OF ROME, POPE FRANCIS

(June 25, 2016 Yerevan, Republic Square)

“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9)
Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ,
Your Excellency, President of the Republic of Armenia,
Graceful spiritual brothers and dear faithful,

With the praise of the holy name of God Most High on our lips, today in the center of the capital Yerevan, under the blessed gaze of the biblical Mount Ararat, we have gathered together for a joint prayer. From the land of Noah from which God emanated the rainbow of peace, we raised our plea towards heaven together with Our beloved brother in Christ, Pope Francis, for establishment of peace in the world and for a secure and prosperous life. We reflect with emotion that praying with us in this square are also victims of wars, terrorism, and violence who are refugees from Azerbaijan as well as from Syria, and Iraq. With hope in God they wait for peaceful days to arrive in their native lands.

Indeed, one and a half decades ago we were greeting the third millennium with the hope that it would be the beginning of coexistence in solidarity among nations and good cooperation among countries for the sake of creating a peaceful and just world. Yet every day we hear troubling news of increased activities of war and acts of terror, unspeakable human suffering, and irreplaceable losses. Children, teenagers, women, and elderly in different corners of the world, of different nationalities, religions and confessions, become the victims of weapons of death and brutal violence, or they choose the path of refugees, overcoming inexplicable difficulties in order to find a haven of safety.

Exactly a century ago our nation was walking on this same path, finding herself in a grave situation, where because of the Armenian Genocide she had lost the majority of the homeland, and having one and a half million innocent martyrs, was fighting for the right of her existence. Today as well our nation lives under the difficult situation of an undeclared war, protecting peace within the borders of our country at a heavy price and the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to live in freedom in their maternal cradle. In response to our people’s peaceful aspirations, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire and began military operations on the borders of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the month of April. Armenian villages were bombarded and destroyed, soldiers who were protecting the peace as well as school-aged children were killed and wounded, peaceful and unarmed civilians were tortured.

By confronting these difficulties our people also feel empathy, for the ruins and losses which are continuing in the Near East, for the acts of terror that have occurred in major European cities, in Russia, the United States, Asia and Africa, and for the religious and cultural heritages which are unsparingly being destroyed in the conflict zones. How many sacred sites were desecrated and valuable artifacts destroyed in Syria, Iraq, and in the countries of the East and Africa? How many cross stones were destroyed in Azerbaijan? Buried under the wreckage, pain of loss and need, are the values and emotions of human souls.

In such situations, the mission of the Christian churches and religious leaders cannot only be confined to helping the victims, consoling them, and giving pastoral care. More practical steps must be taken on the road to searching for peace by consolidating our efforts in preventing evil, by fostering the spirit of love, solidarity and cooperation in the societies through ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, according to God’s command, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Your Holiness, it is evident that your pastoral service is truly reflecting your wholehearted dedication to the God-bestowed commandment of peace in the world and reconciliation among nations. One of the testimonies of this was your solemn mass, celebrated last year in the Basilica of St. Peter on the occasion of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in memory of our innocent victims, when in your message you voiced the urgency of reestablishment of justice and stated; “Concealing and denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!”

Led by the same principle, in the last year new countries and organizations, once and for all condemned the Armenian Genocide, including Germany which was an ally of Turkey during the First World War, who in recent days recognized the Genocide committed against the Armenians.

Our people are grateful to Your Holiness and to all who advocate for and protect justice, and anticipate that Turkey, following Your message and the plea of many countries as well as international institutions, will demonstrate enough bravery to face their history, to end the illegal blockade of Armenia and to cease from supporting Azerbaijan’s militaristic provocations targeted against the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to live in freedom and peace.

Indeed, peace cannot be realized without justice, human lives cannot become the subject of speculations and cannot be neglected. As the apostle says, “God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34-35). Only justice that is rooted in the protection of rights of individuals and nations, can become a strong foundation for prevention of crimes committed against humanity, and the most successful path towards comprehensive conflict resolution.

It is with an eager heart that we beseech God for the realization of this objective, so that He may hear our prayers and by abundantly pouring the graces of the Holy Spirit, He may crown the brotherly love and cooperation of the Churches with fruitful results. May our merciful Lord cleanse the world from the tragedies of evil and grant peace and protection, and as the prophetic words state, they shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4).

Having in our hearts the spiritual joy of our meeting, which is grated to us by our benevolent God, we beseech our Lord and Savior for His grace and peace for us all, and invite You, Our beloved Brother in Christ, to deliver Your message and convey Your abundant blessings to the thousands of faithful gathered here.

President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (USA), Pierre Andrieu (France) and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The President shared his impressions from the trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan have agreed to continue trilateral talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, as follows from the joint statement adopted after their talks in Russia’s St. Petersburg on Monday.

“The presidents noted major importance of their regular contacts on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and agreed to continue them in this format to supplement the work of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs who were invited to the final part of the St. Petersburg meeting,” the document says.

The leaders have “stated that they reached mutual understanding on a number of issues the settlement of which will make it possible to create conditions for progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.”

“The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the agreements reached at the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Vienna on May 16 that are geared towards stabilization of the situation in the conflict zone and creation of the atmosphere capable of promoting the peace process. For these ends, they agreed, in particular, to increase the number of monitors in the conflict zone. They expressed satisfaction of the observance of the ceasefire along the line of contact in the recent period,” the presidents said in the statement.

Armenian Mirror-Spectator – “Travelscope’s” archaeology special, “Digging Into The Future: Armenia,” won a Silver Telly Award in the Cultural Programing category. The show also received a 2016 Emmy nomination for directing.

Directed and Hosted and by Joseph Rosendo, “Digging Into The Future” was produced by the Emmy-winning team behind the PBS series, “Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope.”

Rosendo joined archaeologists from UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology on a journey through Armenia. During this adventure he crisscrossed Armenia to ancient sites where some of the world’s oldest artifacts have been discovered. In keeping with the show’s focus on cultural connections, Rosendo talked to the locals in roadside fruit stands, riverside wine stalls and bustling markets. He was welcomed into their homes to witness traditional artisans at work and join in religious and communal celebrations that inspire, enlighten and reveal the Armenian heart and soul.

“After producing nine seasons of ‘Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope,’ it’s particularly gratifying that ‘Digging Into the Future’ has received this recognition,” states Rosendo. “Winning the Silver Telly for Digging in the Cultural category confirms our belief that no matter the subject featuring people and their culture touches the hearts and minds of our viewers.”

He also announced that, “In order to expand the show’s initial reach, the one-hour special will air as two half-hour episodes in Season 9 of “Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope” scheduled for release this November on PBS throughout the United States and Canada.

The Travelscope Team thanked the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and Kazanjian Foundation for their support of the initial national broadcast of “Digging Into the Future: Armenia.”

The Telly Awards honor the finest film and video productions, groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs – receiving nearly 12,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries. Since 1979, their mission has been to strengthen the visual arts community by inspiring, promoting and supporting creativity.

In addition to three 2016 Telly Awards, “Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope” has been previously honored with 34 Tellys. “Travelscope” has also won four National Emmys and received 14 Emmy.

AP Photo  

Dimitri Payet scored a late goal to give host France a 2-1 victory over Romania in the opening match of the European Championship, AP reports.

The West Ham winger curled a shot from outside the penalty area into the top corner in the 89th minute at the Stade de France.

Payet set up the French opener in the 58th, whipping in a cross that Olivier Giroud headed into the net. But France defender Patrice Evra tripped Nicolae Stanciu in the area and Bogdan Stancu equalized for Romania from the penalty spot in the 65th.

Both teams still have to play Albania and Switzerland in Group A.