Author: Ophelia Vardapetian

Kim Kardashian has already got her own film – it’s one of the best-selling X-rated movies of all time – but she reportedly wants a movie about her life and so does her husband Kanye West, according to a new report, according to the

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, who is pregnant with her second child, is reportedly planning to make a movie about their lives with three big studios trying to bag the rights.

A senior executive from Universal reportedly told the Daily Star Sunday: “I doubt we are talking about an Oscar-worthy production with high artistic merit.

“But with almost 45 million Twitter followers between them, they have a worldwide fan base which virtually guarantees box office success followed by strong DVD sales.”

Kim has allegedly got her eye on curvaceous stars such as Sofia Vergara and Christina Hendricks who could play her on screen, and is “hyper excited” about the project.

“Kim is fantastising about who might play her and has Sofia Vergara or Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks I mind,” an insider told the newspaper.

 

 

By Greg Keraghosian

There’s a certain irony in riding a five-year-old tramway to reach a 1,200-year-old monastery. Kind of like Snapchatting the Mona Lisa to your friend. But that’s what I did recently, and I couldn’t be happier that the technology now exists – it’s made an Armenian historical treasure more accessible to visitors, and as you reach the other side, the shiny cable car to Tatev Monastery feels more like a time machine.

Perched dramatically on the edge of a rugged plateau that falls into the Vorotan River Gorge in southeast Armenia, the monastery inspires easy analogies to Game of Thrones. But unlike Winterfell, this place actually lived those stories. Built as far back as 848 A.D., the monastery near the village of Tatev has seen religious prominence, economic influence, foreign invasions, massive earthquakes, an important Medieval university, destruction, and restoration.

These days it’s just a tourist site, but a magnificent tourist site at that. You reach Tatev Monastery by taking the world’s longest reversible aerial tramway, which floats up to 1,050 feet above the gorge.  After that, for some real Instagram street cred, you’ll want to capture one of the best photo ops nobody knows about: looking down at the monastery in all its glory as it seemingly teeters on the cliff’s edge.

Amazingly, my crew and I were the only visitors enjoying that view, from a vista point that’s a 1 kilometer hike away. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in May, tourists stuck to striding around the monastery’s three churches and adjacent grounds. I had come here leading five high-school-age members of my Tumo travel storytelling workshop in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

And while I was at least 20 years older than my companions, I was probably the most impatient – like a restless kid who just wants to cut past the line at Disneyland, I just wanted to find that shot of Tatev Monastery, the one I’d been thinking about for days.

But we had to save that for last. First, we had to drive four hours from Yerevan to reach the village of Halidzor. From there we had two options to reach Tatev Monastery: drive 40 minutes through the deep ravine with its narrow, switchback-laden roads, or simply float there on Wings of Tatev, a 10-minute tramway ride away. The latter made more sense for us considering our time constraints, though I would have loved to take the scenic route, which includes a natural crossing called the Devil’s Bridge. (A more sensible base of operations for a visit to Tatev would be from the town of Goris, under 20 miles away.)

Plus, at least you can say you rode something in the Guinness Book of World Records. Wings of Tatev launched in October 2010 in an effort to revive tourism in the region, and it cost an estimated $18 million to build. The tramway extends 3 ½ miles, with the cable cars reaching 23 mph. These are hardly ziplining speeds and the ride is smooth, though people who fear heights may tense up at times.

The Heads of State or Government and the representatives of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the representatives of the European Union and the Heads of State or Government and representatives of its Member States met in Riga on 21-22 May 2015. The participants of the summit adopted a joint declarations, in which they reconfirmed the high importance they attach to the Eastern Partnership as a specific dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

In the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, the Summit participants reaffirm the sovereign right of each partner freely to choose the level of ambition and the goals to which it aspires in its relations with the European Union.

The EU remains committed in its support to the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of all its partners. Full adherence to all the principles and commitments enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and 1990 Charter of Paris by all OSCE Participating States, as well as full respect for the principles and provisions of the UN Charter, is critical to our vision of a free, democratic, peaceful and undivided Europe.

The Summit participants strongly support all efforts aimed at de-escalation and a political solution based on respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. They call on all parties to swiftly and fully implement the Minsk Agreements of September 2014 and the package of measures for their implementation of February 2015, supported by the quadrilateral Declaration of Heads of State and Government, and endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2202 of 17 February 2015.

The EU reaffirms its positions taken in the Joint Statement made at the EU-Ukraine Summit on 27 April, including on the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. The Summit participants reaffirm their positions in relation to ‘UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine’.

The Summit participants emphasise the need for the earliest peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the region on the basis of the principles and norms of international law. The resolution of conflicts, building trust and good neighbourly relations are essential to economic and social development and cooperation.

They reiterate their full support to the mediation efforts by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including at the level of Presidents and their statements since 2009.

Participants welcome the common understanding reached on the scope for a future agreement between the EU and Armenia aimed at further developing and strengthening their comprehensive cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

They welcome the progress to date in the implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements (VFA/RA) with Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively.

They look forward to consideration in due course of the opening of a visa dialogue with Armenia, provided that Armenia continues to ensure sustained progress in the full implementation of the VFA/RA.

The Summit participants welcome the association of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to the framework programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020 and look forward to finalising the agreements for association of Armenia and Georgia.

They look forward to the launching of negotiations on an EU-Armenia Aviation Agreement at the earliest opportunity.

A modest and civilized behavior is dominant in the Chinese culture. The silence in the streets makes one wonder where the 1.5 billion people have hidden. Alisa Gevorgyan of shares the impressions from the week-long visit to China at the initiative of the Chinese Embassy in Armenia.

 

 

 

Even when walking in the company of two other men, I am bound to be able to learn from them. The good points of the one I copy; the bad points of the other I correct in myself.

Confucius

The enlightenment and development of Chinese culture started from Confucius. I was in his homeland last week. Following his advice, I tried to find what I can learn from this ancient and wise nation.

The most impressive was, perhaps, the attitude of Chinese people towards nature. They use the nature without damaging it. This is probably the reason why we saw fewer cars in the streets of 20-million Beijing than in Armenian capital Yerevan. Bicycles and e-bikes are the main means of transportation in China.

Besides capital Beijing, the group of journalists visited several cities in the stage of construction, which will turn into huge megalopolises in just 4-5 years. What’s surprising to us, Armenians, is that there was no noise and dust at construction sites. The impression was that the huge constructions grow themselves – silently, quietly and quickly.

Let’s move to a Chinese village in the south of the country. A young mistress of a newly-built house says:

“We have been living in this village for 20 years, but have built the house two years ago. We have built it ourselves, like everyone in the village. Such a house costs about $30 thousand today,” she said.

“Before I working in the field,  growing rice and vegetables. But now after the reforms we have given the land to an agricultural organization, where I work myself. The annual revenue of our family makes 100 thousand yuans. That’s enough.”

The agricultural organization the woman talks about is mainly engaged in greenhouse industry, where solar batteries are used. It’s worth mentioning that solar heating systems are installed on the roofs of all houses in the village. The energy-saving systems are widely used in the country.

In the village we see beautiful and well maintained flower gardens and modest fences; no one thinks of building giant walls here. In general, the modest and civilized behavior is dominant in Chinese culture. The silence in the streets makes one wonder where the 1.5 billion people have hidden.