Author: Arpi Talalian

Photo: Getty Images

 

President Barack Obama has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presidential nominee, the BBC reports.

His endorsement came after meeting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who has been battling Mrs Clinton for the nomination.

Speaking in a video tweeted out by Mrs Clinton, Mr Obama said she may be the most qualified person “ever” for the role of president.

Leading liberal politician Elizabeth Warren also endorsed Mrs Clinton.

“I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States,” the Massachusetts senator told MSNBC, “and to make sure that Donald Trump never gets any place close to the White House.”

President Obama and Mrs Clinton are set to start campaigning together soon.

“I want those of you who’ve been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that ‘I’m with Her.’ I am fired up and cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary,” Mr Obama said in the video.

“Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders may have been rivals during this primary, but they’re both patriots who love this country and they share a vision for the America that we all believe in.”

 

Photo: AP

 

A team of experts has begun restoring the ancient tomb in Jerusalem where Christians believe Jesus was buried, in the first such works for 200 years, the reports.

The renovation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre aims to reinforce and conserve the structure.

Rivalry between the three denominations that run the church has delayed work.

But clerics from the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches have put aside their differences, recognising the need to begin repairs.

The work will focus on the Edicule, the ancient chamber housing Jesus’s tomb which Christians say stands above the spot where Jesus’s body was anointed, wrapped in cloth and buried.

The last restoration work to take place there was in 1810 after a fire.

The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian authorities are responsible for running different parts of the church but share responsibility for the shrine.

Relations between them can be tense – in 2008, an argument between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks escalated into a brawl – but they have decided to act jointly after Israel’s antiquities authority last year said the church was unsafe and Israeli police briefly closed it.

“We equally decided the required renovation was necessary to be done, so we agreed upon it,” said Samuel Aghoyan, the top Armenian church official there.

The scientific co-ordinator for the repairs, Antonia Moropoulou, said the tomb was stable but warped and needed attention after many years of exposure to water, humidity and candle smoke.

The structure also needed to be protected from the risk of earthquake damage, she said.

Work is expected to take between eight and 12 months and during that time pilgrims will be able to continue visiting the site, church officials said.

Each denomination is contributing funds for the $3.3m (£2.3m) project. In addition, King Abdullah of Jordan has made a personal donation.

Jordan controlled Jerusalem’s Old City, where the church is located, until the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and continues to play a role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian holy sites there.

Teams from 12 unrecognized states have come together for  the CONIFA World Cup in Abkhazian capital Sukhum.

The Western Armenian team beat the Chagos Islands 12:0 in the first group stage match held in the “Dinamo stadium” of Sukhum.

The final match will be played the following Sunday, the 05.06.2016.

The following 12 teams play the World Football Cup #Abkhazia2016 to determine the World Champion outside FIFA: Abkhazia, Chagos Islands, Kurdistan, Northern Cyprus, Padania, Panjab, Raetia, Sapmi, Somaliland, Székely Land, United Koreans in Japan and Western Armenia.

The Football Federation of Western Armenia (FFWA) was established in 2015.

The RA Presidential Awards Ceremony for Year 2015 took place Presidential Palace today. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the representative of the Robert Pogossian and Sons Foundation, the benefactor from Diaspora Albert Pogossian presented the awards to the winners for their significant contribution in a number of areas. The awards comprise Certificates and monetary bonuses. President Sargsyan congratulated the awardees and wished them recurrent success in their future activities.

 

Remarks by President Serzh at the Award Ceremony

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Awardees,

I am glad to welcome you to the Presidential Palace where you will participate at this important award ceremony.

With the assistance of the Pogossian family, we continue every year to publicly encourage fundamental works, singling out all that is bright, lasting, and valuable. We are confident that every significant work should be acknowledged and appreciated. This Award program was created and is being carried out based on that very logic.

The mission of identifying and acknowledging those worthy is one of the important tasks of the state, while you, dear Awardees, I am sure will not tire and will not be complacent with your works and accomplishments. I want this Award to be only the beginning for the recognition of your achievements. I hope that new creative inspirations will follow and will receive international acclaim.

In the category related to the works aimed at the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, this time we have recognized the outstanding contribution of the authors of the Egyptian “Who Killed Armenians?” documentary and the Armenian-American author Peter Balakian. The Armenian nation is grateful to you for this enormous undertaking. Mr. Nasir, Mrs. Zaki, you have proved clearly that the Armenian Genocide is not an Armenian issue exclusively but a great pain for the people of good will all over the world, regardless of their nationality or religion, while Peter Balakian with his duel identity – Armenian and American, has revealed in English the power of the artistic manifestation of that pain.

In conclusion, I would be remiss not to mention the significant contribution of the Pogossian family in the implementation of this project. This is a momentous journey which we have started together and will continue standing shoulder to shoulder.

Dear Awardees,

I congratulate you once again and wish you new artistic zeal and achievements.

Thank you.

By the Presidential decrees, the RA Presidential Award for Year 2015 for the significant contribution to the process of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide was awarded to Peter Balakian (USA) for presenting through artistic expression and relaying to the world the Armenian Genocide as a all-human issue, Mohamed Hanafi Nasri and Miriam Zaki (Egypt) for the documentary “Who Killed Armenians?”

By other decrees of the President of Armenia, the RA Presidential Award for Year 2015 was awarded to:

In the area of natural sciences the Award was bestowed on Poghos Vardevanian, Valeri Arakelian, and Armen Karapetian for the series of scientific articles “A bond between the nucleic acids and biologically active compounds: Theory and Practice”, to Grigor Karagulian for the series of scientific articles “Some issues of the convergence of the orthogonal series”,

In the area of technical sciences and information technologies the Award was bestowed on Sevan Davtian and Anahit Tonoyan for the monograph (in Russian) “Theory and Practice of Adiabatic and Frontal Polymerization”,

In the area of medical science the Award was bestowed on Armen Minassian, Hrant Kalenterian, Igor Nalchajian, Shahane Gevorkian and Marine Hovakimian for the work on the “Reanimation of the Newborns and Development of Intensive Therapy in the Republic of Armenia”,

In the area of physics the Award was bestowed on Arthur Ishkhanian, Tigran Shahverdian and Tigran Ishkhanian for the series of scientific articles on “Analytical Models of the Duplex Quantum Task”,

In the area of Literature the Award was bestowed on Susanna Harutyunian for the book “Ravens before Noah”,

In the area of humanitarian sciences the Award was bestowed on Albert Kharatian for the work “Western Armenian periodicals at the closing of their history (1900-1922)

The RA Presidential Award for Year 2015 was not awarded in the area of arts.

The RA Presidential Youth Award for Year 2015 was bestowed on Narek Barseghian for the series of “Identity” paintings, Gay Ghazanchian for the series of “Beyond the Walls” paintings, Simon Petrossian for the series of the “Mythological Stories” sculptures.

In the area of literature the Award was bestowed on Grig (Grigor Shashikian” for the stories “The Cat of Jesus”,

In the area of classical music the RA Presidential Youth Award for Year 2015 was bestowed in the category of Vocal Art to Christine Safarian and Tigran Ohanian for the outstanding performance, in the category Instrumental Performance the Award was bestowed on Ani Parsadanian (violin), Instrumental Trio – Anahit Dilbarian (piano), Vigen Harutyunian (basson), Avetik Ghazarian (clarinet).

Since its establishment in 2001, the RA Presidential Award has been bestowed on 335 individuals and organizations.

On May 18, a permanent exhibition on the Armenian Genocide was opened at the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum. This exhibition is a joint effort of the Riga Ghetto, Baltic International Tolerance Center and the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. The AGMI design group has performed the design works.

The work was assisted by a representative of the Armenian community of Latvia, businessman Mkhitar Mkhitaryan.

For the organization of this exhibition the AGMI has donated original exhibits. AGMI director Hayk Demoyan, the leader of the “Shamir” congregation, Rabbi Menahem Barkahan, representatives of the Armenian community of Latvia were present at the opening of the exhibition.

The event featured the ambassador of Israel to Latvia and the Patriarch of the Lutheran Church. Hayk Demoyan awarded Franz Werfel’s medal to the Riga Ghetto Museum and the gold medal named after Fridtjof Nansen to Mkhitar Mkhitaryan.

“Although the bill on recognition of the independence of Artsakh was not put on the agenda of the National Assembly, the issue remains on Armenia’s foreign policy agenda,” Spokesman for the NKR President David Babayan said in an interview with .

“There is no alternative to the international recognition of Artsakh, but Armenia should not be the first country to do that,” David Babayan said. According to him, Arnia mewill do this in two cases: first, after Azerbaijan recognizes the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and second, in case Azerbaijan wages new war.

Will Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents meet in Vienna today and what are the expectations from such a meeting?

David Babayan considers that the possible meeting between  Serzh Sarsgayn and Ilham Aliyev is not the key one. According to him, it’s more important that the Presidents of the two countries will meet with the OSCE Misnk Group Co-Chairs, the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State.

“The negotiation process, which is currently in coma, needs to be revived. The emphasis should be put on the maintenance of peace and stability, as well as the development of confidence-building measures and implementation of the mechanism for investigation of border incidents,” Babayan said.

According to the Spokesman, the implementation of such a mechanism is a process that may require years, and hard work on the part of the Defense Ministers and Foreign Ministers of the three countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.

He said that considering the harm the recent Azerbaijani aggression has caused to the negotiation process, discussions on the final issues like the status of Nagorno Karabakh and borders would be senseless, and would constitute part of a political show.

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan together with His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II visited the Victory Park in Yerevan and accompanied by the veterans, the highest commanding staff of the RA Armed Forces, high level state officials, representatives of the Freedom Fighters NGOs, representatives of the diplomatic corps laid a wreath at the tribute of the Unknown Warrior. On the occasion of the victory in WWII and anniversary of the liberation of Shushi, the President of Armenia paid tribute to the memory of the heroes who fell defending their Fatherland in the name of peace.

Together with the participants of the event, Serzh Sargsyan viewed the march with the participation of the units of the RA Armed Forces, RF border control units, regiments of the ceremonial troops, cadets of the V. Sarkissian Military Institute and students of the M. Melkonian Sport and Military School.

Later, the President of Armenia visited the field kitchen traditionally opened at Victory Park on the occasion of May 9 Holiday. He congratulated the veterans gathered at the tent around the dinner table and conversed with them on the issues of their interest.

A renowned Russian conductor has led a concert in the ruins of Palmyra in Syria, which were recaptured from the so-called Islamic State (IS) in March, the BBC reports.

Valery Gergiev conducted the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, from St Petersburg, at Palmyra’s Roman Theatre.

Mr Gergiev led the orchestra through pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Prokofiev and Rodion Shchedrin, in front of a crowd of Russian soldiers, government ministers and journalists.

Pictures of the concert, broadcast on Russian state television, were occasionally interrupted by footage of military action – showing Russian military backing for Syrian government forces as they liberated Palmyra from IS militants.

The maestro described the concert as a protest against the barbarism and violence exhibited by Islamic State militants who had used the city’s Roman amphitheatre to execute prisoners.

The Russian president also addressed the audience, by video link from his Black Sea residence of Sochi.

He called terrorism a contagion of which the world needed to rid itself, and said the fact the concert was taking place at all was “surprising”.

“Today’s action involved major inconvenience and dangers for everyone, being in a country at war close to where hostilities are still ongoing. That has demanded great strength and personal courage from you all” he said.

The  NKR Human Rights Defender has issued on  facts of human shielding and use of indiscriminate weapons against the civilian population of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijani military forces.

The report reminds that since 2 April 2016, the Azerbaijani military forces have committed numerous grave violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law by aggressively attacking the entire Line of Contact between the NKR-Azerbaijani forces, as well as the Nagorno Karabakh settlements near the Line of Contact and deep in the rear.

According to the statement, Intentional deployment by Azerbaijan of its military units and artillery in the vicinity and within civilian settlements and using them as firing positions goes against the obligations imposed upon by the Geneva Convention (IV, Article 28) to which Azerbaijani  is a State Party and which reflects fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, as well as other obligations under customary international law.

The second victim of the bus blast in Yerevan has been identified as Ruben Balayan, Spokesperson for the Investigative Committee informs.

The 55-year-old man has also been identified as the owner of the SIM card found at the scene of the explosion. A DNA test has been conducted.