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New signs lead to Pasadena’s Armenian Genocide Memorial

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State Senator Anthony J. Portantino will be joining the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee for the official unveiling of the I-210 Freeway signs for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial on Saturday, April 21, Armenian news agency PanArmenian said in a report Wednesday, Pasadena Now reports.

The event at Memorial Park in Pasadena is open to the community.

The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial is a solemn reminder of 1.5 million Armenians who were killed during the Armenian Genocide. It also serves as a religious and cultural celebration for the thousands of Armenian American descendants of survivors within the 25th Senate District and Los Angeles County.

Prior to his election to the State Senate, Senator Portantino served on the Board of the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee which constructed the memorial. After his election, Senator Portantino requested for informational signs to be installed to direct the public to the memorial.

Two freeway and two off-ramp signs have already been installed.

Senator Portantino currently represents Senate District 25, which is home to the largest Armenian-American community in the country.

Saturday’s unveiling ceremony will start with a march at 5 p.m. arriving at the Armenian Genocide Memorial, and will also include distinguished clergy and dignitaries, a Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee announcement said.

Armenia and EU sign Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement

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BRUSSELS. – Armenia and the European Union have signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, the Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent reports from Brussels

The agreement was signed by Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the presence of Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and president of the EU Council president Donald Tusk.

On 12 October 2015 the Foreign Affairs Council authorized the European Commission and the High Representative to open negotiations on a new, legally binding and overarching agreement with Armenia, and adopted the corresponding negotiating mandate. Negotiations on the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement were successfully concluded on 26 February 2017.

Armenian girls team stuns Google experts with sign language app (video)

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Armenian girls team stuns Google experts with sign language appAn Armenian team of young women was selected among the finalists and won the People’s Choice Award in a months-long app-building competition, The Technovation Challenge, organized by Google at the company’s campus.

More than 11,000 girls from 103 countries formed teams to address issues in several categories: peace, poverty, environment, equality, education, and health. This week, the finalists traveled to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View to pitch their ideas to a panel of tech leaders and other experts.

The Armenian team was comprised of Aghavni Hakobyan, Sona Avetisyan, Svetlana Davtyan, Violeta Mkrtchyan, Vardanush Nazaretyan, Google said in a blog post.

When a deaf classmate visited their school, the team of five girls from the village of Karbi, Aragatsotn village, came up with the idea for an app — aptly called Armenian Sign Language — to help people learn Armenian sign language using videos of sign gestures. Armenian Sign Language was developed to help connect those with poor hearing and those with good hearing. The app is suitable for English and Armenian speakers of all ages.

Four girls from Kazakhstan behind a safety app called QamCare were crowned the winner of the Senior Division and will receive $15,000.

Armenia, other finalists Kenya and India will receive $10,000 each.

California senate committee approves freeway sign for Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial

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Senator Anthony Portantino’s legislation, SCR 25, which will install a sign in Pasadena to direct the public to the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, passed the Senate Transportation Committee with unanimous support, Asbarez reported.

“Just a few short days ago, at the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial we commemorated the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Hundreds of community members came to the memorial to pay tribute to the victims and to remember the lessons learned from the first genocide of the twentieth century. This kind of community commemoration makes accessibility to this memorial so important. I am proud to carry this legislation that will install a freeway sign to help direct visitors to the memorial, and I am happy to have the unanimous support of my colleagues along the way. Installing a freeway sign will help direct visitors, raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide and serve as a reminder that fighting crimes against humanity is an ongoing process that requires our continuous attention,” commented Portantino.

The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial was unveiled in April 2015.

Turkey: Van’s Edremit district has the signs in Armenian removed

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Atıf Çiçekli, the trustee appointed to Van’s Edremit district has ordered to remove the signs in Armenian, ANF News reports.

Van’s Edremit District Municipality used signs in Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and English in busy parts of the district as part of efforts for a multilingual life. These efforts were especially prominent in Edremit as it is a touristic district. The second trustee Atış Çiçekli made a name for himself first with firing the workers and implementing bans, and now he had the signs in Armenian removed.

The Edremit district is by the Van Lake and has a high potential for nature and tourism. The district is also the closest to the Akhtamar Island where Armenian ceremonies are held every September. Edremit is filled with remnants of Armenian legacy. There is a fountain in the district made by the Armenian artist Arshile Gorky, which had been restored by the DBP municipality.

Armenians hold ceremonies on Akhtamar Island in Van Lake on the first week of every September. As a service to Armenians coming to the island for the ceremony, the Edremit Municipality had put up signs in Armenian in various places in the district as per a decree by the municipal council. But the trustee Atıf Çiçekli removed these signs, without citing a reason.

Only sign in Turkey where “Armenian Kingdom” is written

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armenian-kingdom-turkeyThere is solely one sign in Turkey where “Armenian Kingdom” is written.

The sign on the wall of the Surp Boğos (St. Paul) Church, which was built during the reign of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and which has been turned into a mosque in Tarsus (Tarson, in Armenian), Turkey, reads, in Turkish and English, that the church was built in the 11th century, during the reign of the Armenian Kingdom, by King Oshin.

This is a unique sign because “Armenian,” or “Armenia,” is not noted at any historical and cultural monuments in Turkey. And “Armenian church” was added on the sign at the Holy Cross Armenian church on Akhtamar Island on Lake Van, only in 2015.

Photo by Narekavank Tour.

Armenia, Russia, Iran and Georgia Sign Energy Accord

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ArmeniaIranGeorgiaRussiaYEREVAN (Arka)—Energy ministers of Armenia, Russia, Iran, and the deputy energy minister of Georgia signed a “road map” for building the North-South Energy Corridor during a meeting in Yerevan on Wednesday.

Armenia’s Deputy Energy Minister Areg Galstyan said after the signing ceremony, the “road map” formalized the steps and programs that will be implemented until 2019, when the energy corridor is supposed to be launched.

According to Galstyan, when the construction of power transmission lines between Armenia and Iran as well as Armenia and Georgia is over, it will enable parallel operation of power systems of the four countries, as they operated during the Soviet Union.

Galstyan also said the North-South Energy Corridor will be used primarily for seasonal electricity swaps through third countries. After the full launch of the corridor, its capacity will reach about 1,000 MW.

He said with Iranian funding, Armenian and Iran will build a power transmission line. Another line will be built between Armenia and Georgia with funding from the German KfW bank.

The Armenian government said after last year’s meeting with the energy ministers and the chief executive of a leading Russian electric utility, the four countries agreed to build a common energy market after the construction of two new power transmission lines connecting Armenia with Georgia and Iran.

Kurdish Mayor of Igdir Installs ‘Welcome’ Sign in Armenian

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The newly-installed signs welcome visitors to Tuzluca in Turkish, Kurdish, English, and Armenian (Source: Public Radio of Armenia)

The newly-installed signs welcome visitors to Tuzluca in Turkish, Kurdish, English, and Armenian (Source: Public Radio of Armenia)

IGDIR, Turkey (Combined Sources)—A sign near the entrance to the town of Tuzluca (Koghb) in Turkey’s Igdir province welcomes visitors in four languages, including Armenian.

Mehmet Gultekin, Mayor of Tuzluca and a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said that the word “Welcome” was written on the sign in Armenian because the town borders Armenia and used to be inhabited by Armenians, who called it Koghb.

Gultekin stressed that although the names of many places in Turkey have been renamed, people continue to call them by their Armenian names.

“Before the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Tuzluca had been an Armenian-populated area. An Armenian cemetery has been preserved, which is called [the] Armenian cemetery [by] people. Armenians lived here; they created this region and wrote history. We treated all this with respect and wrote ‘Welcome’ in Armenian. We don’t feel uncomfortable writing in Armenian. On the contrary, we are very happy. We’ll again make friends with Armenia, trade together and develop tourism. Armenians are our brothers and nothing will hinder our plans,” Gultekin said.

Meanwhile, ermenihaber.am reports that the so-called “Turkish Organization for Fighting Against Baseless Armenian Allegations” (ASIMDER) has demanded the removal of the Armenian sign at the entry and exit of Tuzluca.

As a sign of protest, ASIMDER has reportedly raised a six-meter long Azerbaijani flag in front of the organization’s office in Igdir. The organization said they have sent an official note to the government and the governor’s office, demanding that the sign be taken down.

Kardashian sisters sign Armenian Genocide petition

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Google Doodle

Google Doodle Armenian Genocide commemoration 100 year

The famous American Armenian TV personalities, Kim and Khloé Kardashian sisters, have tweeted the following:

“Please sign this petition to bring awareness to the Armenian genocide. I did!!!”

By way of this petition, the image below will appear as Google Doodle on April 24, which marks the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

– See more at: http://style.news.am/eng/news/21640/kardashian-sisters-sign-armenian-genocide-petition.html#sthash.msA8LPDs.dpuf

California, Jerry Brown signs massage regulation, Armenian genocide instruction bills

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By Jeremy B. White
jwhite@sacbee.com

Gerry-BrownGov. Jerry Brown has handed California cities some sought-after tools for controlling a massage industry boom.

Cities and police officers have complained about a proliferation of massage parlors in recent years, saying the culprit was a 2008 law giving the non-profit California Massage Therapy Council overriding authority for overseeing massage parlors. The issue was a priority for the League of California Cities.

Brown announced on Thursday that he had signed Assembly Bill 1147, which restores some power to local jurisdictions – notably granting them land use powers making it easier to shut down or restrict the number of massage establishments.

Also earning Brown’s signature was a measure prodding California schools to teach students about the Armenian Genocide. Advocates for greater awareness call the deaths of over a million Armenians one of the great atrocities of the 20th century, but granting official recognition often proves difficult. A congressional resolution acknowledging the event has encountered strong opposition amid concerns it would damage relations with Turkey.

The bills were two of 41 bill signings and six vetoes announced Thursday by Brown’s office. The Democratic governor signed the measures without comment.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/18/6718832/jerry-brown-signs-massage-regulation.html#storylink=cpy