Author: Varazdat Torgomian

Tbilisi TV Tower lit up in Armenian flag colors in sign of solidarity during coronavirus pandemic

Varazdat Torgomian

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 12:33,

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. City authorities in the Georgian capital have illuminated the Tbilisi TV Tower in the colors of the Armenian flag in a sign of solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Tigran Virabyan said on social media.

“My colleague in Tbilisi, the Deputy Mayor Sopio Khuntsaria informed that the Tbilisi TV Tower has been painted these days in the colors of the Armenian state flag,”he said.

Virabyan quoted Khuntsaria’s comments: “We stand with you in this fight. Together we will overcome the epidemic”.

Virabyan thanked his Georgian counterpart and expressed words of support as well. “Together we are strong, everything will be all right”.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Asbarez: ANCA Welcomes State Department’s Confirmation of Adjusting COVID-19 Aid to Armenia

Varazdat Torgomian

The ANCA has, since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, consistently advocated for the reprogramming of the U.S. aid program to help Armenia deal with this health emergency.

Progress toward ANCA’s $25 Million Reprogramming Request

WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America, which since the start of the COVID-19 crisis has consistently advocated for the reprogramming of the U.S. aid program to help Armenia deal with this health emergency, welcomed formal confirmation that the U.S. State Department has directed the U.S. Embassy in Armenia to examine how existing assistance programs can be adjusted to match Armenia’s priority needs in the midst of this pandemic.

“We welcome, as a first step, our Department of State’s confirmation that the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan is open to adjusting the existing U.S. aid program to help Armenia meet its urgent priorities related to the COVID-19 crisis,” said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. “The ANCA looks forward to learning more about how these repurposed funds can be smartly allocated to help Armenia deal with this health emergency and its economic aftermath,” Hamparian added.

The Administration’s confirmation came in response to ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian’s April 3, 2020, letter calling on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reprogram “at least $25 million from the Congressionally-appropriated aid package for Armenia as part of an expanded U.S. assistance program to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Department of State’s response to the ANCA, written on behalf of Secretary Pompeo, was signed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, George Kent.

To date, the U.S. government has dedicated $1.7 million in health assistance to Armenia to support COVID-19 response efforts, including preparing laboratory systems, activating case-finding and event-based surveillance, assisting technical experts for response and preparedness, and bolstering risk communication.

Armenpress: Ambassador Balayan expects close cooperation with First Resident Dutch Ambassador to Armenia

Varazdat Torgomian

Ambassador Balayan expects close cooperation with First Resident Dutch Ambassador to Armenia

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 14:04,

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan commented on the appointment of Nico Schermers as First Resident Dutch Ambassador to Yerevan.

“Glad to read about Rijksoverheid [government of the Netherlands] decision to appoint an experienced diplomat Nico Schermers as First Resident Dutch Ambassador in Yerevan. Looking forward to our close cooperation”, the Armenian Ambassador wrote on Twitter.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Michael Joseph Martin, the custodian of Dhaka’s Armenian church, dies

Varazdat Torgomian
BDNews, Bangladesh

  News Desk,  bdnews24.com

Michael Joseph Martin, the sole custodian of Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection in Old Dhaka’s Armanitola for more than three decades, has died at the age of 90.

He moved to Ontario, Canada following the death of his wife in 2014 and breathed his last on Apr 10, his family said.

Martin was the only Armenian living in Bangladesh. He was born on Jun 6, 1930 in Rangoon, Burma. His father was an Armenian while mother was an Iranian. His family moved to Dhaka in the 1940s and began to run a jute business.

In 1986, Martin became the custodian of Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection in Dhaka, a Greek orthodox church established in 1781 in Armanitola near Mitford Hospital. It was initially an Armenian cemetery.

Nestling in one of the busiest parts of Old Dhaka, Armenian Street used to be a thriving business area, but its Armenian community has vanished.

Little evidence remains of its presence, even though centuries ago Armenians were at the heart of Bengal's jute and leather trade.

The caretaker Martin, lovingly preserved the building against the ravages of the weather and pollution.

He kept the centuries-old births, deaths and marriages register and looked after the ancient tombstones that chronicle the history of the Armenian community in Bengal.

''Whatever happens I'm determined not to let this church go to rack and ruin,'' Martin had told BBC in an interview in 2003.

''I may be the last resident Armenian in Bangladesh, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that an Armenian from abroad takes over the job I have been doing. Otherwise centuries of tradition will disappear overnight,'' he said.



Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 08-04-20

Varazdat Torgomian

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 17:38, 8 April, 2020

YEREVAN, 8 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 8 april, USD exchange rate down by 2.79 drams to 496.58 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 3.63 drams to 539.43 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 6.56 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.69 drams to 612.23 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 319.39 drams to 26330.96 drams. Silver price up by 8.64 drams to 240.68 drams. Platinum price up by 316.97 drams to 11830.37 drams.

In Armenia a man sewed up his mouth in front of the Parliament

Varazdat Torgomian
KXAN 36 News

The man sewed up his mouth in front of the Armenian Parliament in Yerevan for seed and social problems, said Saturday in a press-service Ministry of emergency situations of the country.

It is noted that the signal about the incident was received at the remote duty of the national crisis management center on April 11 at 16.52 GMT. The place was sent to employees of operative group of the centre and a psychologist.

"it turned Out that parked in front of the National Assembly (Parliament) of the car Opel citizen Mihran M., born in 1991, sewed up their lips part, justifying his action, family and social problems. He was given psychological help", – said in a statement posted on the website of the Ministry.

According to authorities, a citizen was taken to the police station. Into place there arrived also an ambulance, but from the medics, the victim refused.


Music: Vache Sharafyan’s works performed at concert dedicated to 100th anniversary of Armenian-American relations

Varazdat Torgomian
News.am, Armenia
April 9 2020
Vache Sharafyan's works performed at concert dedicated to 100th anniversary of Armenian-American relations Vache Sharafyan's works performed at concert dedicated to 100th anniversary of Armenian-American relations

18:03, 09.04.2020
                  

The concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Armenian-American diplomatic relations featured performances of the works of composer Vache Sharafyan.

On March 4, 2020, an unprecedented multimedia-concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Armenian-American relations was held as part of "An Armenian Odyssey: The Color of Pomegranates" Festival at the Washington National Cathedral and was organized by the Embassy of Armenia to the United States of America, in cooperation with PostClassical Ensemble.

The music composed for this concert is by famous composer Vache Sharafyan. The concert featured performances of Sharafyan’s “Armenian Odyssey” suite for the orchestra and the Zulal vocal trio composed by the order of PostClassical Ensemble, as well as Sharafyan’s Concerto No 2 for the Cello performed by famous cellist Narek Hakhnazarian.

The music was accompanied by Syrian-Armenian artist, New York-based painter Kevork Mourad with a multimedia illustration dedicated to Sayat-Nova. The event began with a performance of Dle Yaman by proclaimed dudukist Jivan Gasparyan and Jivan Gasparyan Junior.

Socially vulnerable school students provided with computers for remote learning

Varazdat Torgomian

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 13:39, 7 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports has collected around 600 units of computers and smartphones in donations from organizations and companies which have been provided to school students from socially vulnerable families to make remote learning more accessible amid the coronavirus shutdown, deputy minister of education Janna Andreasyan told a news conference.

Students are also provided with internet cards.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Karabakh presidential candidate’s headquarters has recorded several electoral violations

Varazdat Torgomian
News.am, Armenia
March 31 2020
Karabakh presidential candidate's headquarters has recorded several electoral violations Karabakh presidential candidate's headquarters has recorded several electoral violations

22:57, 31.03.2020
                  

The headquarters of presidential candidate of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) Vitaly Balasanyan has recorded several violations at polling stations, as reported the office of Vitaly Balasanyan to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“It’s impossible to present a specific figure at this moment. Vitaly Balasanyan’s proxies have remained at the polling stations and are participating in the count. We will definitely announce the violations after the results of the elections are announced,” Balasanyan’s spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said some of the violations were the photographing of ballots and the presence of two people in one voting booth at the same time.

The presidential and parliamentary elections in the Republic of Artsakh ended over two hours ago. As at 8 p.m., the elections saw a turnout of 76,472 voters or 72.7% of the total number of voters.

Based on the data provided by the Police of Artsakh, there are 103,663 voters in Artsakh.

Patient, 76, dies of COVID-19 in Armenia

Varazdat Torgomian
Public Radio of Armenia
April 3 2020


Armenia has reported one more coronavirus-related death.

A 76-year-old patient has died at Nork Infectious Clinical Hospital, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health Alina Nikoghosyan reports.

The patient had coronavirus disease, confirmed bilateral pneumonia. In addition, the woman had chronic diseases, including diabetes and arterial hypertension.

Armenia has so far confirmed 663 cases of coronavirus, 33 patients have recovered, seven have died.