Author: Samvel Nahapetian

The Armenian General Benevolent Union’s (AGBU) 110^th anniversary celebrations came to their symbolic end with a donation of two 110 year-old documents of national historical significance.

On Wednesday, December 21st, Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and Gabriel Djambardji, benefactor and Honorable President of Pyunik Benevolent Foundation, visited the AGBU Armenia HQ to hand over two valuable documents to AGBU Armenia President Vasken Yacoubian.

The first document dated May 22, 1906, is the original letter hand signed by AGBU Founding President Boghos Noubar Pasha, encouraging all the world-spread Armenians to establish AGBU chapters in the countries of their residence.

The other document is the printed copy of the AGBU’s famous “Call to all Armenians” historical document with the stamp of AGBU Cairo Chapter. This document first published on May 1, 1906, had announced the official establishment of the newly formed Union, its activities and objectives.

These emblematic documents were found by Hayk Demoyan, and with the financial support of Gabriel Djambardji, were acquired and donated to AGBU.

We are very grateful to both of our compatriots for this priceless gift on the occasion of AGBU’s 110^th anniversary. The documents will be preserved with great care at AGBU’s rich archive.

Real Madrid have had their ban on signing players reduced to one transfer window following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

In a statement on their official website, Real said: The decision highlights the injustice of the original ban imposed by FIFA, although the club regrets that the CAS lacked the courage to revoke the ruling entirely.”

The Spanish side had originally been barred from signing players for two windows by world governing body FIFA.

They remain banned from registering new players this January but will now be able to make signings next summer.

Yahoo has said more than one billion user accounts may have been affected in a hacking attack dating back to 2013, the BBC reports.

The internet giant said it appeared separate from a 2014 breach disclosed in September, when Yahoo revealed 500 million accounts had been accessed.

Yahoo said names, phone numbers, passwords and email addresses were stolen, but not bank and payment data.

The company, which is being taken over by Verizon, said it was working closely with the police and authorities.

Yahoo said it “believes an unauthorised third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts”.

The breach “is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed on September 22, 2016”.

However, the three-year-old hack was uncovered as part of continuing investigations by authorities and security experts into the 2014 breach, Yahoo said.

Account users were urged to change their passwords and security questions.

The California-based company has more than a billion monthly active users, although many people have multiple accounts. There are also many accounts that are little used or dormant.

Armenia is ranked 87th (up from 38) in this month’s FIFA World Ranking. Armenia’s 3-2 win against Montenegro helped the team jump the largest number of places in the ranking table.

There has been plenty of movement in the latest edition of the FIFA World Ranking thanks largely to the 63 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualification matches played, but also to 71 other qualifiers and international friendlies that took place over the past few weeks.

Argentina remain top for November, but have seen their command on the summit weakened by close rivals Brazil (2, up 1). After a good run of form in FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, A Seleção have surpassed Germany (3, down 1) and closed the distance to their South American neighbors, as the year-end approaches. Chile, meanwhile, climbed into fourth place.

Ian Liddell-Grainger, Head of the European Conservatives Group at PACE, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today, accompanied by Vice-president of the Armenian National Assembly Hermine Naghdalyan.

The guest laid flowers at the memorial to the Armenian genocide victims and paid tribute to their memory with a minute of silence.

Ian Liddell-Grainger visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and left a note in the guest book.

Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the European Union, the High Court has ruled, the BBC reports.

This means the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – beginning formal discussions with the EU – on their own.

Theresa May says the referendum – and existing ministerial powers – mean MPs do not need to vote, but campaigners called this unconstitutional.

The government is expected to appeal.

Ministers were given the go-ahead for a further hearing to take place at the Supreme Court, which is expected to take place before the end of the year.

The prime minister has said she will activate Article 50, formally notifying the EU of the UK’s intention to leave, by the end of next March. This follows the UK’s decision to back Brexit in June’s referendum by a margin of 51.9% to 48.1%.

The EU’s other 27 members have said negotiations about the terms of the UK’s exit – due to last two years – cannot begin until Article 50 has been invoked.

AFP Photo/Jonathan Alcorn

 

AFP – French singing legend Charles Aznavour, one of the 20th century’s most prolific songwriters who remains active at 92, was honored Thursday with a Hollywood star presented by California’s Armenians.

Aznavour, often dubbed France’s Frank Sinatra, said he was “deeply moved” by the recognition.

The star is not on Hollywood Boulevard’s main Walk of Fame but was dedicated by the Armenian community on a nearby stretch of sidewalk.

“I’ve been coming to Hollywood for years and I’ve worked a lot in the United States,” Aznavour told AFP. “America is the land of show business.”

Aznavour was born in France to Armenian parents. Some 1.5 million Armenians died in 1915-17 in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire in what Armenia, several foreign parliaments and many historians describe as genocide.

Turkey strongly opposes the characterization of genocide, calling the episode a collective tragedy in which an equal number of Turks and Armenians died.

“What I find very funny is that Turkey lost something. They don’t have a single great singer and I could have been a Turkish singer, while today I’m a French singer,” Aznavour said.

“Which goes to show that there’s no purpose to genocide as there are always survivors,” he said.

Aznavour has written hundreds of songs in a career that spans more than 80 years, with more than 100 million records sold worldwide.

He remains energetic and said he still feels excitement before crowds. Earlier in October he played Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I feel like I’m meeting my family, whether they’re Italian or Spanish or from elsewhere. The audience is part of my family. The stage is where I’m happiest.”

And he said he is not finished. “I always have 40 songs ahead of me. I write every day.”

Photo: Getty Images

 

A Saudi Arabian prince has been executed for shooting dead a man during a brawl three years ago in the capital Riyadh, the interior ministry has said, the BBC reports.

Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was put to death in the capital. No details were given as to how he was executed – most condemned people are beheaded.

The prince is the 134th person to be put to death this year, according to a list compiled by the AFP news agency. But it is rare for royal family members to be executed

The prince had pleaded guilty to shooting his compatriot, the interior ministry statement said.

Announcing the execution, the ministry said it would assure everyone the government was “keen to preserve security and achieve justice.”

A Hungarian Parliament panel has rejected an Armenian Genocide recognition bill submitted by the Green Party, which holds five seats in the 199-member Parliament reports, quoting Turkish media.

The bill failed to pass the Foreign Relations Committee because of the vote of the Fidesz and Jobbik parties.

Marton Gyongyosi of the Jobbik Party, vice-chairman of the Hungarian National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said “the issue should be left to historians and international law experts.”

“Hungarian lawmakers should not be concerned about what Pope Francis, politicians and parliaments of other countries say,” he said.

Photo: Reuters

 

Thirteen people, including seven students, died in an attack by gunmen on the American University in the Afghan capital Kabul, police say, the BBC reports.

Two attackers were also shot dead by security forces nearly 10 hours after the assault began with an explosion on Wednesday evening.

Students and staff were trapped inside the university during the attack, which police said was now over.

No group has said it carried out the attack.

The victims also included three police and three guards. Thirty-five students and nine police were injured and about 750 students and staff were rescued, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told the BBC.