Armenian weightlifter Arsen Martirosyan won a bronze medal in the 109 kg event of the European Weightlifting Championships under way in Tirana, Albania.
Martirosyan also won a small bronze medal in the snatch with a result of 170 kg. He lifted 201 kg in the clean and jerk.
The Armenian won the bronze with the overall result of 371 kg.
Earlier today Samvel Gasparyan became vice-champion in the 102 kg weight category.
ArmInfo.We continue to attach great importance to ensuring the security and rights of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, and this is the basis on which the status of the republic should be determined. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan stated this to journalists during a briefing on June 2.
"We are sure that it is rights and security that will determine the status, and we will continue to work in this direction. We are convinced that these are the important areas, working on which we will have results>, he said. Answering a question regarding the next meeting of the Commission on the delimitation and demarcation of the border, the Secretary of the Security Council noted that the date has not been set yet. At the same time, he stressed that the date of the meeting, at which further actions will be discussed, will be announced by the office of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.
The number of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh must be increased. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Minister of State Artak Beglaryan said this in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"We believe that the number of the Russian contingent should be increased, and its powers should be expanded," Beglaryan said.
As a reason for this, he noted the fact that the line of contact between the two sides has increased almost 2.5 times after the Artsakh war in the fall of 2020. Also, Beglaryan accused the Azerbaijani side of inciting a number of incidents at the border.
According to him, the Artsakh authorities will continue their efforts to achieve international recognition of the republic.
"After the international recognition of Artsakh's independence, it will be possible to consider also the matter of the republic joining Armenia," Beglaryan added.
He stressed that now Azerbaijan "feels strong," in addition, Turkey provides military and political assistance to it, and therefore the Artsakh authorities need to seek avenues to "resolve their problems gradually, step by step, and later through direct negotiations with Azerbaijan."
But for that, Azerbaijan must be "ready for peace," the Artsakh official added.
14:04, 25 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index of Armenia increased 9.4% in January-April 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, the Statistical Committee said.
Industrial production volume increased 2.6% in January-April 2022 compared to January-April 2021. Construction volume increased 9%, and the increase in the trade turnover comprised 7.8% for the period of January-April 2022.
The services sector also registered growth – 23.5%, in the first four months of 2022.
In January-April 2022, the consumer price index increased 7.4%, the index of industrial production prices – 10.8%. Electricity production volume increased 14.1%.
The increase in external trade turnover volumes is 33.8%. Moreover, the export increased 25.2%, and the import – 39.1%, compared to January-April 2021.
The dram exchange rate against the US dollar comprised 484,55 drams as of January-April.
Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan said that the 6.7% economic activity index registered in March has turned into 8.8% in April. In other words, the economic growth has been accelerated.
“This growth would have been significantly higher if there were no queues in the Upper Lars, over which the Armenian government is conducting different works in order to solve the situation as quickly as possible. Today, I also had a quite substantive online discussion with my Russian counterpart Maxim Reshetnikov and other colleagues”, the minister said.
“It is really heartening to see how much the program has grown,” said Movses Pogossian, the founding director of the Armenian Music Program and professor of violin. “To begin with such a modest ensemble and to now embrace the scope that we have is gratifying.” For Pogossian, the real thrill is in sharing a full range of artistic cultural forms, from folk to jazz to classical.
Tuesday’s concert is the culmination of nearly a decade’s worth of ambitious work in programming, community outreach and global touring. At the center has been the VEM Ensemble, consisting of the VEM string quartet and a vocalist, composed of UCLA students. VEM, which means “rock” in Armenian, has performed around Los Angeles, North America and Europe to critical acclaim. Most recently, VEM was featured on Modulation Necklace: New Music from Armenia by the Naxos-distributed label New Focus Recordings.
VEM will be joined by the UCLA Armenian Music Ensemble. The ensemble is composed of students who enroll in the two-quarter class; the course is open to any UCLA student regardless of their major. Students who enroll learn to play Armenian music on traditional Armenian instruments.
Featured in the concert will be special guests. Folk singer Hasmik Harutyunyan has been a leading Armenian folk singer for two decades. Her voice has been heard on iconic recordings of Armenian music and she has performed worldwide to great acclaim. Jazz pianist Vardan Ovsepian, whose recordings of jazz have been noted for their warmth and improvisational inventiveness, will also perform. Both guest artists will lead workshops discussing their Armenian roots and musical paths.
The concert and the workshops will be free and open to the public, and will be livestreamed. After the workshops, concertgoers are invited to reunite outside Schoenberg Hall for a communal dance class and book fair.
World-famous musicians won’t be the only special guests.
“We are thrilled to have students from Armenian schools in the area,” said Pogossian. “They will be treated to a campus tour, pizza, folk dancing, and the opportunity to speak with our volunteers from the UCLA Armenian Student Association. And, of course, they will be treated to the main event, the big concert at Schoenberg Hall.”
Community outreach has long been an important part of the Armenian Music Program and is part of its mission. Certainly, the program still focuses on cultivating scholarship and art music at the highest level, but this has always included bringing Armenian culture into contact with a wider audience. The recent appointment of Melissa Bilal, an ethnomusicologist working on the intersection of music, memory, and gender in the Armenian community of the late-Ottoman Empire, as associate director of the Armenian Music Program, will enhance both aspects of the mission.
“Our concert is possible not only thanks to the wholehearted support that we’ve received from the very inception by my colleagues in Ethnomusicology and by the leadership of the School of Music, but also thanks to our generous donors and numerous partnerships with various Armenian organizations,” said Pogossian. These supporters include the Lark Musical Society, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Tekeyan Cultural Association, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian Educational Foundation, the Armenian Allied Arts Association, the UCLA Armenian Student Association, and the UCLA Promise Armenian Institute.
“Their support for the arts, and facilitating the lasting and meaningful connections with the Armenian community of the greater Los Angeles has been invaluable,” Pogossian said.
The concert marks a milestone for the Armenian Music Program, demonstrating its substantial growth over the past decade. But the program is still poised to grow.
“We aspire to become the leading center of performance, scholarship and research in Armenian music,” said Pogossian. “There is still so much good work to do.
Yerevan EUBC Men’s Elite European Boxing Championships: 9 Armenian boxers advance to quarterfinals
09:41, 27 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The quarterfinals are kicking off at the Yerevan EUBC Men’s Elite European Boxing Championships.
9 boxers from the Armenian national team will enter the ring today.
Armenia’s Artur Hovhannisyan will face Martin Molina Salvador of Spain in the flyweight division. Armenia’s light welterweight Hovhannes Bachkov will fight Petr Novak of Czech Republic.
Light Heavyweight Hambardzum Hakobyan’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Luka Plantic of Croatia.
Baregham Harutyunyan will compete against Georgia’s Sakhil Alakhverdovi in the minimumweight division, while Davit Chaloyan will fight Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi El Aissaoui of Spain.
Later in the day, Gurgen Madoyan will face Georgian opponent Lasha Guruli in the welterweight division. Rafayel Harutyunyan’s opponent in the cruiserweight division is Belgium’s Victor Schelstraete.
Featherweight Artur Bazeyan will fight Turkey’s Batuhan Citfi, and heavyweight Narek Manasyan will compete against Vagkan Nanitzanian of Greece.
Demarcation and Border Security Commission set up by the decision of PM Pashinyan
19:31,
YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a decision on the establishment of the commission on border demarcation and border security between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan is appointed Chairman of the Commission.
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla hosted an opening reception for its exhibition “Timeless: Black & White Portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn” on May 7.
The exhibit includes portraits of journalist and Los Angeles art collector Quinn spanning five decades, all by different artists, including Andy Warhol, Claire Falkenstein and Helmut Newton.
Quinn, with her late husband, attorney John Quinn, and twin daughters, Jennifer and Amanda, has been a supporter of the arts, notably Southern California contemporary art, for more than 60 years. The recipient of the 2017 Ellis Island Medal of Honor served on the boards of the California Film Commission and California Arts Council and currently is on the executive committee of the Armenian International Women’s Association and the Cedars-Sinai Hospital Arts Advisory Council. She is vice president of the Los Angeles Music Center’s Blue Ribbon women’s support group and a trustee of the Armenian Museum of America in Boston.
The Athenaeum exhibit is on display through Saturday, June 4, in the Joseph Clayes III Gallery, 1008 Wall St., from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
To learn more, visit ljathenaeum.org/current-exhibitions/#clayes.
As negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan intensify, through mediation efforts by either Europe or Russia, Artsakh authorities reiterated their unequivocal position on the fate of Artsakh, demanding that its independence and the right to self-determination be recognized and declared unacceptable any status within Azerbaijan.
Speaking to Armenpress on Monday, Artsakh’s presidential spokesperson Lusine Avanesyan said that the government’s position remained unchanged as expressed by President Arayik Harutyunyan and several announcements made by Artsakh National Assembly.
“The full recognition of the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination cannot become bargaining chips or conceded. The people of Artsakh are the sole proprietor of that issue,” Avanesyan said.
“The international recognition of the independence of the Artsakh Republic remains the guideline of the authorities. Any status within Azerbaijan is unacceptable,” added Avanesyan.
Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan at the demography forum Working groups discussed pertinent issues at demography forum
“Returning to the past, not only in terms of status, but also in terms of demographics, is unacceptable. The Artsakh Republic has a task to restore its territorial integrity,” explained the president’s spokesperson, adding that the government of Artsakh “develops and implements its policies in accordance with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, in cooperation with all partners.”
During a demographic forum held in Stepanakert over the weekends, Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan said the “Future Armenians” forum was an inclusive environment for many professional Armenians to present their observations and proposals for the solution of the demographic problems facing Artsakh.
“Artsakh has and continues to be of exceptional importance for the Armenians in the past, present and future. Demography is one of the important facet for guaranteeing the future of Artsakh. Therefore, this forum is welcome, and will seriously support the state efforts to develop and implement a demographic strategy,” said Beglaryan.
Representatives of 15 countries to participate in Eurasian Economic Forum in Bishkek
10:10,
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Around 1700 people from 15 countries will participate in the first Eurasian Economic Forum in Kyrgyzstan’s capital of Bishkek, Vice Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Arzibek Kojoshev said at a press conference, reports TASS.
“We expect that a total of about 1700 people will participate in the Eurasian Economic Forum”, he said, adding that as of this moment the representatives of ten countries of Latin America and South-East Asia have confirmed their participation. He informed that all members states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, will be represented at the Forum.
The Eurasian Economic Forum will start on May 26.
The Forum program includes a plenary session involving the Heads of the EAEU States and the Chairman of the EEC Board, as well as six panel discussions: