A new stamp dedicated to European Football Championship “Euro 2016” will be put into circulation on July 15.
The background of the stamp depicts the national stadium of France, “Stade de France”, colored with the colors of the French flag symbolizing the hosting country of the championship.
On the foreground of the stamp the “Euro 2016” trophy and two football players in playing positions are depicted.
George W Bush has been criticised for his behaviour at the Dallas memorial after he was caught on camera dancing along to a sombre hymn.
The ceremony was held yesterday in honour of the five police officers killed in the shootings on July 7.
Holding Michelle Obama’s hand on one side – and his wife Laura’s hand on the other – the former US President was captured by cameras as he swayed during a choir’s performance of ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’.
He continuously smiles at the pair while waving their arms around, as Michelle attempts to stand still.
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for 100 LIVES
Asbarez – On June 30, 100 LIVES and Aurora Prize Co-Founder Dr. Noubar Afeyan was named one of Carnegie Corporation of New York’s “Great Immigrants: Pride of America” honorees. Afeyan’s distinction identifies him as one of the most prominent and influential naturalized citizens in the United States. As Americans prepare to celebrate the most patriotic of their holidays on July 4, Carnegie Corporation of New York pays tribute to the role immigrants play in strengthening the country and its democratic society.
The Carnegie Corporation recognizes significant naturalized citizens every year to salute the legacy of Andrew Carnegie and other immigrants. Previous honorees include Aurora Prize Selection Committee Co-Chair Elie Wiesel, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, TV producer Lorne Michaels, and CEO and co-founder of Argo Tea Arsen Avakian, among others.
Afeyan has contributed a great deal to the American community, while honoring his Armenian descent. As founder, senior managing partner, and CEO of Flagship Ventures, Afeyan has helped build and foster more than 35 successful life science and technology startups. He has also contributed to the successful launch of 100 LIVES and the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, a new $1 million humanitarian award to be presented on April 24 of each year in Yerevan, Armenia. Afeyan also served as chairman for the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial events that took place in May 2015 and brought over 2,000 Armenians to Washington, D.C.
Afeyan serves on a number of public and private company and organization boards, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, MIT Board of Trustees, UWC Dilijan College in Armenia, and an organization promoting economic development in Armenia.
Each year since 2006, the philanthropic foundation has recognized the contributions of naturalized citizens with its “Great Immigrants: The Pride of America” initiative. For 2016, the corporation named 42 honorees who represent some 30 different countries of origin, a wide range of personal immigration stories, and inspiring professional accomplishments.
“These accomplished Americans are immigrants like our forefathers, who founded this nation of nations,” said Vartan Gregorian, the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “They are representative of the millions of immigrants who have come to the United States for economic opportunity, education, political or religious asylum, security, or reunification with families and relatives. They, like all Americans, share a common faith in this country.”
Nearly 9 million legal permanent residents (LPRs) are currently eligible to naturalize and become U.S. citizens. In keeping with the mission of its founder, Andrew Carnegie, the corporation is committed to the integration of immigrants with the goal of helping them become citizens who can participate fully in our democracy. Together with grantees and partner organizations, the “Great Immigrants” initiative works to raise awareness about the naturalization process and provide helpful resources that will assist LPRs, including the free online application system Citizenshipworks. Carnegie Corporation also supports the New Americans Campaign, the nation’s largest network of non-profits focused on naturalization.
The 2016 Great Immigrants and their countries of origin are:
Noubar Afeyan, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist (Lebanon)
Selu Alofipo, artist, White House “Champion of Change” honoree (Island of Samoa)
Samantha Bee, actress, comedian (Canada)
Len Blavatnik, industrialist, philanthropist (Ukraine)
Roberta Capp, assistant professor, University of Colorado Medical School; Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science recipient (Brazil)
Jim Carrey, actor, comedian (Canada)
Mariano Castillo, journalist; Soros Fellowship for New Americans recipient (Peru)
Marcelo Claure, president and CEO, Sprint (Bolivia)
Nadia Comaneci, five-time Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics (Romania)
Ronald J. Daniels, president, Johns Hopkins University (Canada)
Michaela DePrince, ballerina, Dutch National Ballet (Sierra Leone)
Jaha Dukureh, founder, Safe Hands for Girls (Gambia)
John L. Estrada, U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago)
Florent Groberg, U.S. Army captain, retired; Congressional Medal of Honor and Bronze Star Medal recipient (France)
Peter Blair Henry, dean, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University (Jamaica)
Farnam Jahanian, provost, Carnegie Mellon University (Iran)
Sally Jewell, U.S. secretary of the interior (England)
Jan Koum, co-founder and CEO, WhatsApp (Ukraine)
Fei-Fei Li, director, Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab and Stanford Vision Lab (China)
Viet Long, brigadier general, U.S. Army (Vietnam)
Iqram Magdon-Ismail, co-founder, Venmo (Zimbabwe)
Vikram Malhotra, chairman of the Americas, McKinsey & Company (India)
Mehret Mandefro, physician, anthropologist, filmmaker (Ethiopia)
Michael Moritz, chairman, Sequoia Capital (Wales)
Bharati Mukherjee, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author (India)
Peter A. Nadosy, managing partner, East End Advisors (Hungary)
Graham Nash, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter
Jaqueline H. Nguyen, judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (Vietnam)
Deogratias Niyizonkiza, founder and CEO, Village Health Works (Burundi)
Bennet Omalu, forensic pathologist, discoverer of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE (Nigeria)
Jorge M. Pérez, chairman and CEO, Related Group of Florida (Argentina)
Thuan Pham, CTO, Uber Technologies, Inc. (Vietnam)
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google (India)
Ana Luz Porzecanski, director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History (Bolivia)
Wolfgang Puck, chef and restaurateur (Austria)
Azita Raji, U.S. ambassador to Sweden (Iran)
Shaiza Rizavi, partner, Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co. (Pakistan)
Isabella Rossellini, actress, model, filmmaker (Italy)
Aziz Sancar, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist; president emeritus, Aziz and Gwen Sancar Foundation (Turkey)
Piers J. Sellers, former NASA astronaut; deputy director, NASA Sciences and Exploration Directorate (England)
Hari Sreenivasan, anchor and senior correspondent, PBS NewsHour (India)
Fernando Valenzuela, Major League Baseball pitcher, retired (Mexico)
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the corporation’s agenda focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy.
Kazakhstan has always backed the peaceful settlement of all conflicts in the region, including the Karabakh issue, the newly appointed Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev told reporters in Yerevan.
“We want there to be no shooting along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan and want to see the ceasefire observed. We regret the loss of life on both sides during the four-day war in April,” the Ambassador said. He added that it’s unacceptable in the 21st century.
He refrained from further assessment of the Karabakh conflict, saying that Kazakhstan is not a member of the OSCE Minsk Group. Assessment can be given only by countries authorized by the international community, he said.
“Under the conditions of the information war it’s difficult to understand the motives and grounds behind this or that event,” he said.
The President of Kazakhstan is ready to help the parties reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict, Timur Urazayev concluded.
Ambassador Huseyin Avni Karslioglu is expected to fly back to Turkey on Thursday afternoon according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Turkey has also decided to summon Germany’s charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara following the vote.
The Turkish government reacted furiously to the decision made by the German parliament to pass the motion, which was almost unanimous, with just one person voting against and another abstaining.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently on a state visit to Kenya, has said the German resolution will seriously impact relations between the two countries.
He also added that following the return of ambassador Karslioglu to Turkey, the government would discuss what steps Ankara will take in response.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim condemned the move and said in a speech in the Turkish capital Ankara that a “racist Armenian lobby” was responsible for the decision made by the German parliament.
The ruling AK Party in Turkey said the move had seriously damaged relations between the two countries, while Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus was equally scathing, calling the resolution a “historic mistake.”
Photo: AP
Two people are dead and the campus is on lockdown following a shooting at the University of California at Los Angeles, police say, the BBC reports.
The search continues for an “active shooter” and students and staff have been told to shelter in place.
The incident is said to have happened in one of the campus engineering buildings.
Police are at the scene and a city-wide alert has been issued so that emergency resources can be brought in.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on the South Caucasus, Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria), today concluded a two-day visit to Armenia and called for increased parliamentary support for efforts for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In Yerevan, the Special Representative met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Vice-President of the Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov, and with senior members of parliament including from the OSCE PA delegation, the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and leaders of several parliamentary parties. He also visited the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and met with representatives of civil society.
“Following the important meeting last week in Vienna of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is crucial that we follow up these efforts with support at the parliamentary level. The agreements of the presidents to finalize an OSCE investigative mechanism and to expand the OSCE presence in the conflict zone are important steps that can help reduce the risk of violence,” said the Special Representative.
“I hope that these agreements will be built upon in another high-level meeting in the near future. While negotiations continue within the Minsk Group process on a comprehensive settlement, I believe that dialogue at the parliamentary level can help produce a climate that is conducive to peace,” he added.
On 16 May, meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism and agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.
“Work at the parliamentary level can help encourage political will from the sides in the region to engage in serious efforts to negotiate a comprehensive settlement within the framework of the Minsk Group,” said Vigenin, who expressed his support for the work of the Minsk Group and its Co-Chairs to facilitate a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“On the basis of my talks both here and later this week in Baku, I will propose some concrete ideas for further dialogue and engagement at the parliamentary level, and look forward to discussing these during the OSCE PA Annual Session in Tbilisi in early July,” he said.
The Special Representative spoke with a range of political actors and civil society representatives particularly regarding the constitutional and electoral reforms in the country.
“I continue to closely follow developments in Armenia, and was pleased to learn more about the process surrounding the ongoing electoral reform. The OSCE will continue to follow these developments closely, and I encourage all parties to take a constructive and inclusive approach to this process,” he added.
Vigenin reiterated the strong support of the Parliamentary Assembly for the work of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and expressed his appreciation for the good co-operation that the Office enjoys with the government and civil society.
The Special Representative continues his travels this week with visits to Georgia and to Azerbaijan where high-level meetings are expected.
Vigenin was appointed Special Representative by OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva in February 2016. In his mandate, he is tasked with promoting dialogue in all segments of society, in particular at the parliamentary level, in order to encourage reconciliation and rehabilitation with regard to the protracted conflicts in the region.
This week’s visit is his first to the region as Special Representative. Vigenin is a former Foreign Minister of Bulgaria and currently serves as Deputy Head of the OSCE PA’s Bulgarian Delegation.
The newly established Bedford High School Armenian Club will hold a lecture open to all Bedford High students at 1 p.m. May 6 at the school, 9 Mudge Way, reports.
Lecturers will include Ara Jeknavorian, a research scientist and independent consultant and Tom Vartabedian, an award-winning writer and photographer. The students will receive an informative introduction to the Armenian Genocide in the context of other genocides. Both lecturers are representatives of the Armenian Genocide education committee of the Merrimack Valley. The Bedford High School Armenian Club was established this past year by a small group of Armenian students at the school. The mission of the club is to educate Bedford residents about Armenian culture, history and customs in order to extend diversity in Bedford.
Azerbaijan needs to escalate the situation in order to focus the attention of the world on the Karabakh conflict, Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan told reporters today.
According to the political scientist, if they stop firing, there will obviously not be any shot from the Armenian side, and no one will remember about the Karabakh conflict. He said “everyone is trying now to return to the situation that existed before April 1.”
“I’m not very optimistic in this regard. Every military action makes the return to the previous situation even harder,” he added.
Iskandaryan said “despite the large-scale military actions unleashed early in April, it cannot be called ‘war.’ He added that “the Azerbaijani leadership pursues political, not military objectives, while the ceasefire violations and everyday losses are part of that policy.”
President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday condemned the Armenian Genocide by the Ottomans, which he called “a disgrace in the history of mankind,” reports.
“The government expresses its full solidarity and sympathy to the Armenian people, supporting the effort for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the international community,” Anastasiades said in a written statement.
On Saturday night House President Yiannakis Omirou said all civilised states should recognise the Armenian genocide to avert similar crimes against humanity.
He was speaking at service at the Armenian church in Nicosia to mark Sunday’s anniversary.
Omirou condemned Turkey`s policy of ethnic cleansing and expansionist designs and reiterated Cyprus` solidarity with the Armenian people, in their struggle to have the genocide recognised by the international community. Armenians in Cyprus are part and parcel of the history and the struggles of the people of Cyprus and identify with the traditions of the country in addition to contributing to political, economic and social life, he said.
Recalling that April 24 has been designated as Day to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, Omirou referred to the ruthless methods Ottoman Turks had applied to wipe out the Armenians.
“The Republic of Cyprus stands firm by the Armenian people in their struggle for justice and recognition of the genocide,” he pledged, recalling that the House has adopted numerous resolutions recognising and condemning the genocide and brandishing as criminal offence the denial of the Armenian and other genocides.
It is imperative that all civilised states recognise the Armenian Genocide to avert a repetition of such atrocities, Omirou stressed, pointing out that crimes of the past have gone unpunished, in spite of being proven by historical facts.