Author: Janet Ekmekjian

Armenian Ambassador to Cyprus meets with Commissioner for Humanitarian and Foreign Affairs of the President Cyprus

Janet Ekmekjian

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 19:06,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Cyprus Tigran Mkrtchyan met in Nicosia (residence in Athens) with the Commissioner for Humanitarian and Diaspora Affairs of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Fotis Fotiou, ARMENPRESS reports the Embassy of Armenia in Greece informed on its "Facebook" page.

Welcoming Fotis Fotiou, Ambassador Mkrtchyan referred to the brotherly and long-standing relations between the two countries, noting that the two peoples are united by a common history, value system, and challenges.

The Ambassador emphasized the cooperation between the two countries on the issues related to the Diaspora, highlighting both Armenia-Cyprus bilateral and Armenia-Cyprus-Greece trilateral cooperation. Ambassador Mkrtchyan also emphasized the importance of the memorandum of cooperation in trilateral format signed in Patras, Greece on June 24 and the need to consistently implement its provisions.

The Cypriot official noted that the three countries have quite functional and active communities in different corners of the world, each fully integrated in their countries of residence with organized structures, adding that it is extremely important to use the existing potential of the diaspora for presenting common agendas, implementing common goals and interests.

During the meeting, Ambassador Mkrtchyan particularly emphasized the role of the Armenian Cypriot community in promoting Armenian-Cypriot relations and strengthening them even more. In that context, Ambassador Mkrtchyan emphasized the invaluable role and contribution of Vardges Mahtesyan, the state representative of the Armenian Cypriot community in the House of Representatives of Cyprus, who was present at the meeting.

Aliyev again uses threats against Armenia

Janet Ekmekjian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
22:50, 15.07.2022

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again made threats against Armenia.

"Talking about status is a very dangerous issue for Armenia, and we too can demand status for Zangezur," he said.

Aliyev also claimed that "a high-ranking official in the Russian defence ministry promised that Armenian armed formations would be withdrawn from Karabakh by June."

Azerbaijani media report that Aliyev said this, in particular, at a meeting devoted to the results of the first half of this year.

Lusanet Collective to host its first art exhibition

Janet Ekmekjian
 Guest Contributor Announcements 0

BURBANK, Calif. — Lusanet Collective, a women-artists founded art and retail center, will host its first art exhibition Black & White with a Touch of Color on July 16-26 to give back to the Burbank community before the grand opening of Lusanet Collective. Located in downtown Burbank at 124 E. Olive Ave, award winning artists, photographers and painters will introduce their works at the “art hub,” as founders Anet Abnous and Lusine Simonyan like to call their new collaboration.  

These are some of the artists featured at the Black & White with a Touch of Color exhibition.

Pat Hammerman has solo exhibitions in local and international galleries and museums such as Perception gallery, Houston, TX; Queens Museum, NY and so many others. For over 20 years, she was an art professor in Queensborough Community College in New York City. 

Anahid Boghosian is a native Angeleno and an Armenian-American multi-disciplinary artist who focuses on the imperfections of humanity. Her works are showcased in galleries across Southern California. 

Karen Schifman is an art historian, mixed-media artist, writer and curator who has been involved in research on women artists and the representation of women in visual culture over the past 15 years.   

Liana Grigoryan is an award-winning fashion photographer in Los Angeles. Her photography captures the very essence of the ever-changing world of fashion through bright colors and unexpected designs.

About Lusanet:

Anet Abnous and Lusine Simonyan are small business owners, artists and female entrepreneurs from Iran and Armenia, who found their new home in Burbank years ago and now decided to express their gratitude to the community that hosted and nurtured them for years. Part of the proceeds from the art exhibition will go to the Burbank Art Association in support of local artists. 

“We love to call the Lusanet Collective ‘home’ for small businesses. We are welcoming artists, designers and artisans to join our collective and be part of a collaboration. We strongly believe in the power of the community. That is one of the reasons we are opening our doors to artists hosting a group art exhibition before our grand opening,” says Abnous. 

Abnous is the founder of Anet’s Collection, a company featuring wearable art as scarves, jewelry and leather goods reflecting her Armenian heritage and history with unique designs and patterns. Anet’s Collection has a permanent home in more than 12 stores and museum gift shops nationwide. Abnous inherited her passion from her father, a famous designer in Iran, Marcel Abnous. Abnous has curated art exhibitions featuring women artists in New York and was able to expand her business with the grant received by Tory Burch Foundation. 

“We’re creating a collective where people can come and have all these resources available for them, which takes hard work and dedication, and we will give them the routes to it,” says Simonyan.

Simonyan is the founder of Miray Collections, an online platform working with local and internationally based Armenian designers. Her initiative helps small business owners find new markets and present their works professionally. Simonyan also serves as a commissioner at  Burbank Cultural Arts Commission. In 2021, she was an honoree for the 32nd annual Women Achievers Award.




Garo Paylan comments on the telephone conversation between Pashinyan and Erdogan

Janet Ekmekjian

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 20:24,

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. Garo Paylan, a member of the Turkish parliament with Armenian origin, referred to the telephone conversation between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"I hope that the telephone conversation between President Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan will speed up the ongoing normalization process between the two countries," ARMENPRESS reports, Garo Paylan wrote on his Twitter microblog.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 11.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Turkish President on Kurban Bayram, and the President congratulated the Prime Minister on the upcoming Vardavar-Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.

The leaders emphasized the importance they attach to the bilateral normalization process between their respective countries which will also contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region.

In this context they expressed their expectation for the early implementation of the agreements reached during the meeting between the Special Representatives of their countries on July 1.




Opposition MP resigns from Armenian parliament

Janet Ekmekjian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – July 4 2022

July 4, 2022 – 13:53 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawmaker from the opposition Armenia bloc Artur Ghazinyan is resigning due to "current political arrangements".

"I have decided to resign from parliament. I consider it the most accurate and justified decision in the current situation," Ghazinyan said on social media Monday, July 4.

"I don't want to talk about the reasons now. They are exclusively political and tactical in nature. I can only say that I can no longer imagine my future work with any agenda in the National Assembly."

He noted, however, that the Resistance movement demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is the only platform that can prevent "treachery and concessions".

Earlier, MP Armen Gevorgyan from Armenia bloc resigned as the chairman of the parliament's Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration, while the ruling Civil Contract party sacked parliament Vice Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan and Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs Vahe Hakobyan – both of them from Armenia bloc.

Elon Musk decides against buying Twitter

Janet Ekmekjian

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 15:47, 9 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 9, ARMENPRESS. US billionaire Elon Musk has terminated his deal to purchase Twitter social network, TASS reports citing CNBC television channel.

According to CNBC, "Musk wants to end his deal to buy Twitter, according to a letter sent by a lawyer on his behalf to the company’s chief legal officer."

A copy of the letter was published on the official website of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In the letter, attorney Mike Ringler charged that "Twitter has not complied with its contractual obligations.”

On April 25, Twitter executives announced that Musk would acquire the company for $44 billion. On May 13, Musk announced he's putting his takeover of Twitter "temporarily on hold," saying that he wants more details about how many of the social platform's accounts are fake or spam.

He said he needed to make sure fake accounts "do indeed represent less than 5%" of Twitter's users. Such an estimate was given in the company's report, published on May 2. According to the entrepreneur, there are currently more than 20% of fake accounts on the social network.

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, if the billionaire decides to terminate the agreement, he will have to pay the company a $1 billion fine. If Twitter initiates the termination, Musk will receive a compensation. The closing date for the deal is set for October 24.

Sports: Mkhitaryan teaches Inter fans to spell his surname

Janet Ekmekjian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – July 9 2022

Inter’s new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan teaches fams to correctly spell his name.

M -like “Milano”
K -like “kick off”
H– like “Henrikh”
I – like “Inter”
T– like “team”
A – like “Armenia”
R -like “run fast”
Y – like “yes”
A – like “assist”
N – like “Nerazzurri”

Mkhitaryan joined Inter on a free transfer. The contract will expire on June 30, 2024.

It is reported the salary he agreed with Inter will be worth an initial €3.3m per season net plus performance-related bonuses, so with add-ons should reach €4.2m per year.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored three goals and registered one assist in seven appearances against Inter during his time at Roma.

Trade and economic ties between Armenia and Spain reach to the sky. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain

Janet Ekmekjian

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 20:33, 6 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. The opening of the resident diplomatic representation of the Kingdom of Spain in Yerevan, which will take place in the near future, shows Spain's interest in strengthening its relations with Armenia, the correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports that the Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno announced after meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Reminding that this year Spain and Armenia are marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, the Spanish Foreign Minister emphasized that Spain and Armenia have excellent relations.

"This year, in 2022, we are marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations, and this is one of the reasons for my Armenian colleague's visit. During these thirty years, we have built and expanded our relations," said the Spanish Foreign Minister.

According to José Manuel Albares Bueno, his meeting with Ararat Mirzoyan and the Spanish government's decision to establish a Spanish resident diplomatic mission in Yerevan show Spain's special interest in strengthening its relations with Armenia and increasing the Kingdom's presence in the South Caucasus region.

Both the Foreign Minister of Armenia and the Foreign Minister of Spain emphasized in their speech that sending the first Armenian satellite into space is the result of the excellent joint work of the Armenian state company "Geocosmos" and the Spanish company "Satlantis".

"Our trade and economic ties have great potential and they literally reach to the sky, as the first Armenian satellite was sent into space in May of this year thanks to the joint project of Armenian and Spanish companies. There are also great opportunities for cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure, agriculture, transportation and renewable energy," said the Spanish Foreign Minister.

Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan is on a working visit to the Kingdom of Spain on July 5-7. Within the framework of the visit, the Armenian Foreign Minister had meetings with the President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies Meritxell Batet and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno. A meeting with Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili is also scheduled.




New for 2022: ‘The Extraordinary Travel Festival’ in Yerevan, Armenia

Janet Ekmekjian
July 6 2022
Theodore Koumelis / 06 Jul 2022 

Award-winning travel photographer, blogger and filmmaker Ric Gazarian and public speaker and points expert Stefan Krasowski announce the 2022 premiere of an international travel festival that is designed to inspire, convene and support the world’s most accomplished and avid adventure travelers. The inaugural Extraordinary Travel Festival will take place in Yerevan, Armenia from October 14-16, 2022, and bring together the world’s most daring and ambitious explorers in a series of seminars and conversations that will help foster new connections and enable deeper travel planning in a post-pandemic world.

"Imagine many Marco Polos types, all gathering in a single location,” said Co-Founder, Gazarian, whose blog and website @GlobalGaz, feature stories and images from his colorful travels to over 150 countries. “The idea is to share knowledge, connect doers with dreamers, and help these extraordinary travelers research and plan their next eye-opening adventure.”

“As the world seems to get smaller with social media, accomplished travelers strive to discover the road less traveled. We endeavor to discover and explore and simply be surprised with some experience we were not anticipating. We think getting off the tourist path and into the real world in a more deep, extraordinary way is just what’s needed,” says Krasowski, who has traveled to every country in the world.

The Extraordinary Travel Festival will be hosting travelers who dream about planning their next trip to destinations that are challenging-to-visit, such as: Libya, Madagascar, or Iraq. It will also convene explorers who are passionate about seeing remote, pristine and extreme destinations, like Antarctica, Socotra, or Pitcairn Island.

Throughout the three-day festival, speakers from all corners of the globe, from Colombia to Kuwait to South Africa, will be taking the stage or leading breakout sessions about deeper, more out-of-the-ordinary travel experiences that are outside the norm. The speakers will inspire attendees with motivational talks of how they accomplished the impossible, for example, traveling to every country in the world without taking an airplane, or traveling by boat to Timbuktu. Other speakers will provide actionable information about how to obtain difficult visas or keep yourself safe when traveling to destinations in conflict.

The Festival will also be organizing pre-conference trips, dinners and evening parties in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Armenia was just named the World's Leading Heritage Destination category in the World Travel Awards 2021.

"This event is about building community within this group of accomplished and avid travelers while learning about practical and actionable advice on how to create that next amazing travel experience,” added Krasowski.