Author: Arpi Talalian

A team of refugees will compete at this summer’s Olympics in Rio, the BBC reports.

A total of 43 prospective athletes have been identified for the Team of Refugee Olympic Athletes (ROA), which will compete under the Olympic flag.

“By welcoming ROA to the Olympic Games in Rio, we want to send a message of hope to all the refugees of the world,” said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

“This team will be treated like all the other teams.”

As well as sporting ability, selection criteria will include personal circumstances and United Nations-verified refugee status.

Athletes will then be supported with funds to train.

“This team may end up between five and 10 athletes maybe,” said Bach. “We have no target. It depends very much on the sporting qualifications.”

The ROA will be housed in the athletes’ village and will enter the opening ceremony as the penultimate team, ahead of hosts Brazil.

The IOC also issued assurances over the Zika virus, slow ticket sales, water pollution and facilities.

– The City Council on Tuesday tried to nudge organizers of the proposed Armenian American Museum to relocate their project from next to the Glendale Civic Auditorium to Central Park in downtown.

More than a year ago, council members signed an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee to let the group design a plan for the museum on the 1.17-acre parking lot next to the auditorium at Verdugo Road and Mountain Street.

At the time, council members spoke enthusiastically about the project and its location. However, soon after, there was an outpouring of concerns from nearby residents about traffic.

“None of us on the council want to create a situation where we create a divide in the community from one community against another group. That’s not what we’re here for,” said Mayor Ara Najarian. “The idea of a museum is an excellent one … We’re all trying to find the best spot for it.”

City Manager Scott Ochoa suggested the Central Park location — near the corner of Colorado Street and Louise Street — as a potentially suitable site for the museum.

Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said the open space might be better suited for a museum, especially because of the downtown foot traffic.

“I think in the long term, it could be better for the committee because that’s our art and entertainment district. That’s where we’re trying to have a concentration of people,” he said.

While Sinanyan has also been a strong supporter of more parks in the downtown and south Glendale areas, he said he thinks the loss of Central Park could be made up down the road. Some projects he had in mind included closing Maryland Avenue between Harvard Street and Wilson Avenue to traffic and opening it up as a pedestrian promenade.

The committee has already presented a conceptual design for the 30,000-square-foot museum, which is slated to house permanent and traveling art exhibits as well as a research facility.

The Central Park site is just more than 3 acres. Ochoa called it a passive park, meaning it’s used more for activities such as picnics rather than athletics.

Council members directed Ochoa to meet with committee members and discuss the Central Park option, and possibly return with a new exclusive lease agreement.

But for now, the museum’s representatives are expressing disappointment.

“While there was a disagreement on the location, it was clear that everyone who spoke wanted to see the Armenian American Museum in Glendale,” said Tigranna Zakaryan, the museum’s community outreach director. “Although we see a number of difficulties in placing the museum at Central Park, we will take the time to properly evaluate this site before making a decision.”

When it comes to the lot next to the Civic Auditorium, the committee still needed to conduct a number of environmental reviews.

Councilwoman Laura Friedman said she’d rather discuss changing the project site now before hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on those reviews followed by a rejection by the council of the final proposal.

More than a dozen residents living near the parking lot addressed the council and supported a location change.

“This dialogue has been very, very encouraging … It’s inspiring, and we will rally behind it 100%,” said resident Kim Murphy.

Others, such as local teacher Taline Arsenian, said they felt as though changing the museum site will be a lost educational opportunity because Glendale Community College is just across the street.

She added that traffic concerns were overblown because the college has thousands of students, while the museum would bring in significantly fewer visitors, comparatively.

“A couple hundred museum-goers is not going to impact traffic grossly,” Arsenian said. “Traffic can be redirected; bus drop-offs can be staggered.”

Kim Kardashian released the first picture of her son Saint West to mark her late father Robert Kardashian’s birthday on Monday, the Daily Mail reports.

Writing a tribute to the lawyer on her website KimKardashianWest.com the 35-year-old explained: ‘Today is my dad’s birthday.

‘I know there’s nothing more in the world he would have wanted than to meet his grandchildren. So I wanted to share this pic of Saint with you all.’

The two-month-old is seen dressed in a simple cable knit cotton vest, arms outstretched beside his head as he sleeps soundly on a white sheet.

His hands are clenched, as the baby dreams quietly. 

February 22 would have been the 72nd birthday of the grandfather Saint will never get to meet – lawyer Robert Kardashian – and it is obviously a date Kim wanted to remember.

On her website she added a further tribute to the patriarch of the Kardashian clan, who died in 2013.

‘Happy Birthday dad!’ she wrote. ‘I can’t believe you would have been 72 today.

‘So much has gone on in our lives since you’ve been gone, and I know you have been my guardian angel seeing everything unfold! I love you and miss you so much!’

Kim and her husband Kanye West welcomed their son back on December 5, but had not released any images of the infant until now.

Photo: Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS    

The Syrian army and self-defense forces have regained control over Tellet-Gazzalya heights and are advancing to the town of Kensaba – the last stronghold of gangs to the north of Latakia (in 320 kilometers from Damascus), reports.

Al-Manar TV channel reported on Wednesday that fighting has become especially brutal in this region. A Syrian officer taking part in the operation said that the enemy “is suffering losses in personnel and equipment.” On Tuesday government forces freed three settlements near Latakia – Ayn Basura, Shelef and Billah. People will be allowed to return there after roads are demined.

Syrian government forces also made a strategic gain to the east of Aleppo (360 kilometers from Damascus). The Syrian army and self-defense forces ousted militants from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization (banned in Russia) from the settlement of Abu Dana where a thermal power plant supplying electricity to Aleppo is located. Repair brigades were immediately sent to the facility.

Fighting with IS continues in 85 kilometers from Homs near Telyal Rawabi heights. Syrian government forces regained control over the highway leading to the town of El Karyateyn seized by terrorists. Army units are trying to shut off terrorists from the southern part of the highway and are advancing to Kabr Antara heights to encircle the enemy’s stronghold.

Photo: AP

Survival drama “The Revenant” was the top winner at Britain’s biggest movie awards on Sunday, taking the best film prize and honors for leading actor Leonardo DiCaprio and director Alejandro G. Inarritu, Reuters reports.

The movie earned five British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, including for cinematography and sound, at a ceremony in London, two weeks before it vies for Hollywood’s top honors, the Oscars.

In the film, which has already picked up several trophies in this awards season and leads Oscar nominations, DiCaprio portrays fur-trapper Hugh Glass, who after being attacked by a bear, is left for dead by his companions during an 1820s expedition. He survives in harsh winter conditions and sets out for revenge.

DiCaprio is heavily favored to win the best actor Academy Award on Feb. 28, which would be his first in five Oscar acting nominations. In collecting his first BAFTA, he paid tribute to his mother and listed actors Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman and Peter O’Toole among his inspirations.

“All of this was not expected tonight … Often we have talked about how difficult this movie was to make, and it was, but we are so proud,” he told reporters.

Kate Winslet, who won best supporting actress forplaying a Polish Armenian in the biopic “Steve Jobs”, said it had been an “extraordinary year for women.”

She dedicated her prize “to all those young women that doubt themselves”.

“When I was only 14, I was told by a drama teacher that I might be okay as long as I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts. Look at me now,” she said after accepting the award.

Photo:  Sputnik/Igor Zarembo

 

Russia’s state security service says it has detained seven people in the country’s Ural mountain region on suspicion of terrorist activities, the Associated Press reports.

The country’s Federal Security Service announced on Monday that the suspects, detained in the regional capital Yekaterinburg, were believed to be plotting to carry out terrorist attacks in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Ural region.

Law enforcement officials said they uncovered a laboratory for manufacturing explosives and that members of the group were planning to journey to Syria to fight with the Islamic State group.

According to the press release published on the security service’s website, the suspects included Russian citizens and citizens of Central Asia states.

The head of the group has been identified as coming from a terrorist group in Turkey, Sputnik News reported. After conducting terrorist acts in Russia, the group was to head to Syria to join the Islamic State.

 

The founder of soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, has died in the US, his brother has said.

White, 74, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on Thursday morning. He suffered from Parkinson’s Disease.

His band had a series of hits including September, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star and After the Love has Gone.

The singer-songwriter was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1992 but his condition was reported to have got worse in recent months.

Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Maurice was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.

History is a continuous dialogue between the past and the present, but sometimes these interpretations of the past are subject to change in response to new political realities and perspective gains in terms of politics, a member of Armenia’s delegation to the PACE said today, reports.

In his speech at the Assembly’s Winter Session in Strasburg, Samvel Farmanyan called attention to the attempts of politicizing the past in the interest of specific political purposes.
“Sometimes – more often I would say, especially in our part of the world – history becomes politicized, serving concrete political perspectives of concrete governments.”

“Many governments are trying to consolidate more power, sometimes making applications to the mechanisms and tools which are contradicting to the very values of the Council of Europe,” the Armenian delegate noted.

Farmanyan further voiced concerns over autocratic regimes’ attempts of “revisiting the past”.
“Many governments are trying to make use of history – revisiting the past – not only to be a bridge between the past and the present but also between the present and the future. I am talking about consolidation of more power for many countries across Europe, and Turkey, believe me, is not an exception,” he said, adding that the list of such states goes beyond the Council of Europe member states.

– At 3:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday Kessab was hit by two GRAD missiles rattling the residents of the mainly Armenian-populated city in Syria, reported the executive editor of Gandzasar newspaper Zarmig Boghigian.

The rocket fire came from the direction of the Turkish border, according to Boghigian. One of the rockets landed a 55 yards from the Kessab mosque, while the other landed on the street behind the Holy Trinity Armenian Evangelical Church in the city.

The rocket fire caused heavy damage with one reported injury reported. No fatalities were reported.

Kessab residents, especially children who were playing in their yard were severely shaken by the attack.

In March, 2014 Islamic militants affiliated with al Qaeda attacked Kessab, bringing the city under siege for three months and forcing its population to flee to nearby Lattakia and elsewhere. In June, 2014, forces affiliated with the Syrian government liberated Kessab, paving the way for families to return to their home, which were looted and destroyed by the Turkish-backed Muslim militants.

Dear compatriots,

We wrote and now close together one more page of our history with the resoluteness of passing to the next one, convinced that it will be better and more successful.

The passing year was a year of ordeal both for the whole world and the Republic of Armenia, a year of political and economic trial , ordea l for peace and spirit. We confronted with dignity those trials, accepting the difficulties as an impetus forself- encourag ement , more solidarity and further activ ity . Unfortunately, we also confronted at the price of the li ves of the soldiers defending our peace and ensuring our security. They obligate those who live to be more tolerant and well-disposed towards each other, more caring and tender-hearted towards the Motherland, and strengthen all that with new achievements and victories.

In 2015 , on the occasion of the Armenian Genocide Centennial we once again documented that keeping in memory the tear and pain, we have sought and reached, we reach and we’ll reach theresult which will give us victory and tears for those, who try to cause pain and wound to us.

Dear compatriots,

The year 2016 sees the 25^th anniversary of our statehood. The Armenian Parliament stands at the sources of that process. And in the passing year the parliament, in the name of the National Assembly, became the decisive participant in one more key process in the life of the state – the Constitutional A mendments. Armenia turns into the parliamentary system of government.

The year of 2016 is a pre-electoral year. The period preceding the elections supposes more active dialogue between the politicians and voters. It is extremely important and necessary that it be useful and effective for the state and society.

Stepping into a space of the next year, we should not forget that we achieved the independence at high price, and today our duty is to actively continue building a developed state with international greater weight, where the people will live and work better both today and tomorrow. That is the best tribute to those, who built the independence, who died for it.

Dear compatriots,

On the threshold of New Year let us share our kind thoughts and wishes not only with our families, close relatives, but also with the people, who due to different circumstances are deprived of home and family warmth, who at this moment ensure our security and peace, who keep high the authority of our state abroad as peacekeepers, with our compatriots, who live or temporarily stay in foreign countries.

Let the good mood of New Year be with you during the whole year, and let there always be warmth, love and solidarity in your homes.

Happy New Year and Holy Nativity!