Daily Archives: July 9, 2013

PETER KOUTOUJIAN DISCUSSES KEY COMMUNITY CONCERNS WITH ARMENIAN ORGANIZATIONS AT THE HAIRENIK BUILDING IN WATERTOWN

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PKoutoujian_HairenikWATERTOWN, MA — Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian sat down with the editorial team of The Armenian Weekly and representatives of Armenian American organizations in Watertown yesterday to share the views and values that motivated this veteran public servant to run for the 5th District Congressional seat recently vacated by Rep. Edward Markey following his successful Senate bid, reported Armenian National Committee of America-Eastern Region (ANCA-ER).

“I am proud of my Armenian heritage and of my record of accomplishments on behalf of the Armenian community and all the communities I represent. I look forward to continuing that promise of hard work and commitment if elected to Congress, and I thank the Armenian National Committee of America’s tremendously warm endorsement,” Koutoujian said.

The ANCA has been an early and vocal supporter of Koutoujian’s congressional bid, citing his years of service to the Commonwealth from prosecutor, to State Assemblyman and, now, Middlesex County Sheriff. “His leadership in Massachusetts and in the Armenian American community has been steadfast and inspiring, and he has the ANCA’s full backing in this election process and beyond,” explained ANCA National Board member Stephen Mesrobian in the ANCA’s July 3rd endorsement statement.

Following his in-depth interview with the Armenian Weekly, Koutoujian joined representatives of the ANCA, Armenian Relief Society (ARS), Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Homenetmen, Hamazkayin, and others for lunch at the Armenian-American Social Club in Watertown.

Koutoujian’s leadership on community concerns extends throughout the Massachusetts’ 5th district, which includes the towns of Belmont, Lexington, Waltham and Watertown – each with large and vibrant Armenian-American presence.

He emphasized the fact that this election will have low voter turnout and the importance of registering new voters, especially Armenian Americans, who can help him claim victory in a few months.

“We’re pleased to see Mr. Koutoujian actively seeking communication with our core Armenian organizations, including the ANCA-ER,” said ANCA-ER Executive Director Michelle Hagopian. “He has a longstanding track record of public service and loves his community, and we’re going to work hard to make sure he is elected to Congress come fall.”

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Photo Captions:

Koutoujian_Hagopian.jpeg: Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian seen here with ANCA Eastern Region Executive Director Michelle Hagopian.

PKoutoujian_Hairenik.jpeg: Peter Koutoujian joined members of Armenian organizations for lunch at the Armenian-American Social Club in Watertown on Monday, July 8, 2013.

Elton John Has Appendicitis, Requires Surgery

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elton_johnElton John is suffering from appendicitis that requires surgery, a spokesman for the singer confirms to ABC News. As a result, the award-winning singer has canceled all upcoming shows, including a headlining concert on Friday at a London music festival.

“Elton is incredibly disappointed to postpone these tour dates,” his rep stated. “To know that he made such super-human efforts and continued to perform to thousands through his illness only confirms his dedication to his European fans. He is eager to be back on top form and return to play the remaining shows starting in early September 2013.”

John, 66, fell ill while touring and after undergoing scans and blood tests, he was diagnosed with “appendix abscess surrounding retrocaecal appendicitis.” As a result, he’s taking antibiotics and will undergo surgery in the next few weeks.

The Grammy winner and his husband, David Furnish, have a lot on their plates: their oldest son, Zachary, is 2, while their youngest, Elijah, is just 6 months old.

 

Bolshoi theatre chief is fired after Russian government loses patience over ongoing scandals

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Anatoly IksanovThe chief of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater was fired today after months of infighting following an acid attack on its artistic director that has stained the reputation of one of the legendary names in world ballet.

The departure of Anatoly Iksanov, the theater’s director general, comes just a few weeks after the ouster of his rival, principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze.

Both men have enjoyed the backing of senior government officials and Kremlin-connected tycoons, and their successive dismissals appear to reflect high-level intrigue and score-settling.

Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said only that the 61-year old Iksanov, who led the Bolshoi for nearly 13 years, was dismissed because of a ‘difficult situation at the theatre’.

He told a news conference that the head of Moscow’s No. 2 ballet company, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, would succeed Iksanov.

The Bolshoi has been shrouded in scandal for years but a fierce conflict erupted in January after an assailant threw acid into the face of Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin.

The decision to purge both men also appears to reflect the Kremlin’s dismay over the infighting that has dented the nation’s prestige.

Vladimir Urin, the new Bolshoi chief, is widely respected in Russia’s theater world. He sought to quell passions, voicing hope for a ‘calm and business-like’ climate and saying that he doesn’t want any ‘revolutions’.

 

As if it died yesterday: Amazingly preserved woolly mammoth found frozen in Siberia after 39,000 YEARS goes on display in Tokyo (and it’s still woolly!)

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Սիբիրում հայտնաբերված 39,000 տարեկան սառած մամոնտը ցուցադրվել է Տոկիոյում (տեսանյութ)A female woolly mammoth, which was found frozen in Russia in May, has gone on display in an exhibition hall in Tokyo.

The 39,000-year-old mammoth will be on display at the hall in Yokohama in the south of the Japanese city from 13 July until September 16.

Visitors and tourists will be able to come and view the extinct creature that was discovered in an ice tomb in the New Siberian Islands, or Novosibirsk Islands, earlier this year.

Parts of the carcass are especially well preserved because they remained entirely frozen for thousands of years.

However, the upper torso and two legs, which were found in the soil rather than the ice, were gnawed by prehistoric and modern predators and almost did not survive.

Visitors to the hall will also be able to clearly see the mammoth’s snout, legs and torso.

The scientists who found the mammoth in May were also able to extract a blood sample from the beast.

It was the first ever well-preserved sample of blood from a woolly mammoth and could be used to recreate the extinct species.

Preserved muscle tissue was also found from the creature, aged between 50 and 60 when she died, according to the Russian team who made the discovery on islands off the northern coast of Siberia.

Semyon Grigoriev, head of the Museum of Mammoths of the Institute of Applied Ecology of the North at the North Eastern Federal University told The Siberian Times: The hope is that at least one living cell of the mammoth was preserved ‘although even with such well-preserved remains, this may not be the case.’

The samples were taken for study to Yakutsk, capital of the Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, the largest region in the Russian Federation.

The carcass weighing around one tonne was then moved to the Siberian mainland and was kept in ice storage before being taken to Tokyo.

 

Powerful car bomb rips through southern Beirut

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130709055104-jamjoom-bpr-lebanon-blast-00002716-story-top(CNN) — A powerful car bomb rocked southern Beirut on Tuesday, unleashing an inferno in the Bir El Abed neighborhood, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

At least 18 people were wounded, according to NNA.

Video from the scene aired on Al Manar TV showed multiple vehicles on fire, with black smoke billowing into the air.

Crews doused the flames with fire hoses as authorities kept the crowds back.

The explosion was powerful enough to damage surrounding buildings several stories up, blowing out windows and damaging balconies.

Syria’s conflict stirs up old rivalries in Lebanon

Tensions have been on the rise in Lebanon as thousands of refugees have poured into the country since the conflict in Syria began in March 2011.

Sectarian violence has been a growing concern as many Lebanese support the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while others do not.

And there is evidence rebel groups are receiving small arms smuggled across both the Lebanese and Turkish borders.

In April the Lebanese army announced it had intercepted a cargo ship bound for Tripoli — the northern epicenter of support for Syrian rebels in Lebanon — that was filled with weapons it believes were meant to be delivered to rebel forces in Syria.

CNN’s Mohammed Jamjoom says the big worry is that Syria’s troubles will reopen the wounds of Lebanon’s long civil war with theSunni community, which tends to back the rebels, pitted against Hezbollah, the powerful pro-Assad Shiite militia.

Asiana flight attendants hailed as heroes

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130708235908-ac-asiana-crash-latest-simon-pkg-00015126-story-topHong Kong (CNN) — Veteran flight attendant Lee Yoon Hye sensed something was awry as Flight 214 neared the San Francisco International Airport runway.

As the plane was supposed to land, it rose briefly as if it was trying to lift off again.

Lee had worked 18 years with Asiana Airlines and on Saturday, her skills were tested.

The plane slammed down with “great impact,” said Lee, who sat in the front.

Plane crash investigation

China mourns air crash victims

Survivor: I thought ‘I’m dying’

Then boom — the plane hit again.

“It was even more than a hard landing,” Lee, 40, said. The plane teetered left and right.

After striking the edge of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, the Boeing 777 tumbled into the ground, igniting flames and a trail of smoke. Its tail splintered off and parts of the plane peeled off as it skidded into the earth.

When the aircraft finally stopped, she noticed that the emergency inflatable slide located at the right side of the front door had deployed inside the plane. Witnesses say the overhead bins dropped open.

Hailed as a hero who ushered passengers out of the Asiana plane, Lee was one of the 12 flight attendants on Flight 214.

She calmly described the chaotic minutes of the Asiana plane crash. Dressed in her airline uniform, her name tag pinned to her jacket and her hair in the airline’s trademark bun, she addressed Korean journalists gathered in San Francisco earlier this week.

According to the airline, flight attendants helped passengers get off the plane safely. They opened doors, deployed slides and helped passengers escape, according to JoongAng Daily, a South Korean newspaper.

As soon as the plane stopped, Lee knocked on the cockpit door to make sure the pilots were OK.

The captain opened the door.

“Are you OK, Captain?” she asked.

“Yes, I am OK,” he replied.

Asiana crash: Rescuing the survivors

Plane crash victim may have been run over

Hager: Inevitable it was going to stall

“Should I perform the evacuation?” she asked. He told her to wait, she recalled.

Lee made an announcement to assure increasingly agitated passengers, telling them that the plane had come to a complete stop.

Once evacuation began, Lee said she had a plan.

“I was not thinking, but acting,” she said. “As soon as I heard ’emergency escape,’ I conducted the evacuation.”

“When there was a fire, I was just thinking to extinguish it, not thinking that it’s too dangerous or ‘What am I going to do?'”

Asiana flight attendants undergo three months of training including emergencies and terrorist training before their first flight.

Lee said she saw her colleagues jump into action to help passengers and injured crew even as a fire burned in the back of the airplane. They popped the first emergency slide that had deployed inside with an ax to free a crew member who was struggling to breathe underneath its weight. Another emergency slide in the back trapped another crew member and was deflated with a kitchen knife, Lee said according to South Korean news station YTN.

One shaken elementary school-aged boy was afraid to go down the emergency slide, but one of the flight attendants lifted him on her back and escaped with him, Lee said.

Earlier this week, Eugene Rah, who was flying his 173rd flight on Asiana Air, told CNN that he saw a 100-pound flight attendant carrying the injured on her back.

Lee said she was the last to leave the plane. And she glanced back.

“The ceiling was coming down and I felt like something was dragging the plane. Behind me I couldn’t see, because it looked like there was a wall.”

She had no idea the tail had snapped off or how the plane would be nearly engulfed in flames moments after they had escaped.

Two teenagers, both 16, died in the crash. The rest who were on board escaped: 305 of them.

Report: Osama bin Laden — doting grandpa, paranoid terrorist

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120523040531-osama-bin-laden-horizontal-galleryIslamabad (CNN) — Osama bin Laden typically wore a cowboy hat while tending his garden.

Its broad brim obscured his features from the view of pesky eyes or satellite cameras that might blow his cover while he was hiding out in Pakistan, according to a report published widely in Pakistani media.

The 337-page leaked report details the domestic life of one of the world’s most wanted men as a grandfather in his final days of life.

It also scathes Pakistani authorities for failing to keep him out of the country, and for failing to prevent the U.S. raid by Navy SEALs that killed bin Laden in May 2011.

CNN is working to confirm the authenticity of the report, which bears the names of a former top diplomat, a supreme court justice and former officers of the military and police.

Photos: The death of Osama bin LadenPhotos: The death of Osama bin Laden

2011: Obama announces bin Laden’s death

Documentary examines hunt for bin Laden

Bin Laden Raid – SEALs’ Accounts

Veggie growing contest

The famous terrorist’s life was speckled with quirky measures designed to keep him under the radar, the report said.

Al Qaeda’s No. 1 spent lots of time doting on his some dozen children and grandchildren in the six years he spent in his walled compound in the city of Abbottabad, said terror expert Peter Bergen, commenting on the report.

They could not pass time watching TV or surfing online, because bin Laden had no Internet connection and no satellite television hook-up. He also didn’t have a phone line, all measures to avoid detection.

For the same reason, the children were not allowed to play with other kids in the neighborhood. They spent the bulk of their lives within the compound’s walls.

When bin Laden was not personally giving them religious instruction, he took them out into the yard.

He would award them prizes if they grew particularly good vegetables in the garden.

Faking deafness

Bin Laden fled to Pakistan a month after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, moving from the south to the north then hopping from town to town before landing in Abbottabad in 2005.

While he was on the run, one of his wives gave birth four times and had to be taken to local hospitals, but it was obvious that she was not from the region. She spoke Arabic instead of Urdu, Pakistan’s official language.

Bin Laden’s family feared this might raise suspicions. So, they told doctors she was deaf and mute.

While on the run in the restive tribal region of the Swat Valley, bin Laden shaved off his recognizable beard, according to the report. Men helping him told others not to ask any questions about the tall stranger, who spoke Arabic.

Who really killed bin Laden?

How man came face-to-face with bin Laden

Pervez Musharraf on Osama bin Laden

 

While in Swat, police once pulled bin Laden’s driver over, but he quickly settled the matter, before the officer had a chance to get a closer look at the clean-shaven man riding with him.

After arriving in Abottabad, a woman living in the same building with bin Laden recognized him from his image shown on cable TV. Her husband, who was helping bin Laden, went into a panic, the report said.

He told her to mind her own business and forbade her and all other women in the house from watching TV anymore.

The assassination raid

The measures kept bin Laden from being recognized for years in a city known for being the home to one of Pakistan’s largest military complexes.

The CIA eventually suspected he was there and recruited a Pakistani doctor to run a vaccination program in Abbottabad in an attempt to find bin Laden by locating his children through their DNA.

Eventually the United States did find bin Laden and assassinated him during a special forces raid on his compound. He was later buried at sea, the U.S. military said.

Although the SEALs were within Pakistan’s borders for three hours, its military did not detect them.

“The radar systems were not looking for that kind of intrusion from the Afghan side of the border,” terror expert Peter Bergen said. He feels sure that will change now.

The report also dedicated 22 pages to fighting terrorism and keeping people like bin Laden from taking refuge in the country again.

The report’s authors blast Pakistani authorities at every level of government, intelligence and the military for not stopping the U.S. mission, calling it “a story of complacency, ignorance, negligence, incompetence, irresponsibility, and possibly worse at various levels inside and outside the government.”

Pakistan’s government considers the assassination operation a violation of its sovereignty, basically an act of war.

Agapanthus

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agapanthusAgapanthus is a landscape staple in warm-winter regions, and it’s no wonder why. This easy-to-grow perennial produces colorful globes of blue or white trumpet-shape flowers in summer and fall. Its evergreen strappy leaves add texture to beds, borders, and containers.

Agapanthus blooms best in a spot where it gets full sun and has moist, well-drained soil. Divide it every three to four years to keep clumps healthy and vigorous.

If you live in a cool-winter area, you can overwinter agapanthus in containers by bringing the pots to a cool (around 40 degrees F) spot and watering them only once a month or so. In spring, move the containers back outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Potted agapanthus is said to bloom best when slightly root-bound.

Light:
Sun,Part Sun
Zones:
7-11
Plant Type:
Perennial
Plant Height:
To 4 feet tall
Plant Width:
To 3 feet wide
Flower Color:
Blue/Violet/Lavender, White
Bloom Time:
Summer, Fall
Landscape Uses:
Containers,Beds & Borders
Special Features:
Flowers,Cut Flowers,Deer Resistant,Easy to Grow

The newly appointed Ambassador of Brazil Edson Marinho Duarte Monteiro presented his credentials to Serzh Sargsyan

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 Today, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Brazil to the Republic of Armenia Edson Marinho Duarte Monteiro presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

The President congratulated the Ambassador on the commencement of his duties and wished him success in his diplomatic mission in our country. Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope that Ambassador Monteiro will do his best to justify expectations of the two friendly nations and trust of the President of Brazil in elevating bilateral relations to a new level and in strengthening the Armenian-Brazilian relations based on mutual respect and trust.

The newly appointed Ambassador of Brazil expressed gratitude to the President Sargsyan for his and all RA state bodies’ readiness to provide necessary assistance and assured that during his tenure, he would do his best to make bilateral relations closer and further deepen cooperation.

At the meeting, the parties stressed the importance of improving the legal field and of the active interparliamentary cooperation and interaction in the framework of international organizations.

Welcoming address of President Serzh Sargsyan to the Golden Apricot International Film Festival

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սերժ սարգսյանI send my warm salutations to the organizers, participants and guests of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Festival, I cordially congratulate its initiators and implementers.

We still have much to do to strengthen our position on the world movie map and with this regard the Golden Apricot’s repute as the leading regional film festival is of special importance. In the last ten years, many of the outstanding figures of the cinema world have discovered Armenia anew and have become our country’s dear and dedicated friends. Undoubtedly, such a festival is a great honor for any country and is an excellent opportunity for establishing new cultural ties. It is proved by the extensive geographical representation of the participants of the Festival as well as by the interest of a number of the world’s leading mass media outlets toward the Golden Apricot and our country.

The Festival’s mission of promoting the development of the national cinema and creation of the Golden Apricot international film school is critical. Today, movies created through the assistance of the Festival are representing Armenia on numerous international film festivals. Golden Apricot’s rich ten-year history is a commendable and laudable reality which has been enriching Armenia’s cultural life.

Dear Friends,

I once again welcome the participants and guests of the Tenth Festival. I urge you to remain faithful to its motto – the Crossroad of Civilizations and Cultures – to preserve and deepen momentous achievements of the Festival and its high repute. I wish the organizers diligence and enthusiasm to continue with the same vigor their noble work launched ten years ago.

 

Scorned Turkish housewife takes EVERYTHING from marital home including roof and windows (and yes, she took the kitchen sink!)

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Sahin Idem in his distroyed houseThey say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and it appears Fatma Idem has taken the age-old maxim to heart.

The 34-year-old decided to get even with her spouse – by taking everything from their house when she left, including the roof and windows.

Fatma took crockery, cutlery, carpets and curtains when she left husband Sahin, 40, before returning to remove parts of the actual building.

Fatma waited until her husband was at work and then, aided by her brothers, she removed the roof and windows from the former marital home.
Neighbours in Adana, Turkey, called Sahin at work last week, to say his wife was dismantling their home.

Park warden Sahin raced home but was powerless to prevent the house being destroyed as Fatma proved she’d paid for the new roof and windows.

Sahin has now been forced to put his two young sons into temporary care until he can find and furnish a new home where they can be re-united.

 

Snow plows rolled out in JULY after crazy summer storm in New Mexico dumps more than a foot of hail

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new mexico hail3Don’t put away those snow plows just yet!

A mid-summer thunderstorm dumped more than a foot of hail in the town of Santa Rosa, New Mexico.

It meant the fire department had to bring out snow plows to clear streets that were clogged with ice from hail drifts.

According to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, golf ball-sized hail pelted the city.

The storm caused severe damage to many homes, cars and businesses.

However, although the weather is certainly unseasonal for July, it’s not uncommon in the High Plains of New Mexico.

In part, this is due to the higher elevation. Santa Rosa sits at 4,616 feet above sea level.

Large hail falls on average at least three days a year.

 

At least nine dead in Indian hotel collapse

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india-collapse-story-topAt least nine people were killed and 15 others injured when a hotel building collapsed in southern India Monday, police said.

The three-storey building was located in Secunderabad, a city in Andhra Pradesh state, senior police official Anjani Kumar told CNN.

Rescue operations are ongoing at the scene, he said. The cause of the collapse would be investigated once the rescue phase was over, he added.

According to Municipal Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu, 19 people have so far been pulled from under the rubble.

At least two people were still believed to be trapped, he said. “We are trying to pull them out.”

 

Indonesians trapped in tree for five days by hungry tigers that ate one of their friends are rescued by holy man using special chant

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Sumatran tigerFive men who have been clinging to the branches of a tree for four days as snarling tigers prowled beneath them might have to remain there until the middle of this week, rescuers said last night.

The Sumatran tigers killed a sixth member of the party and ate half of his remains before chasing his companions who clambered up the tree – hoping the tigers would not follow.

The tigers had hunted down the group after they unwittingly killed a tiger cub, which fell into a trap they had set to catch a deer for food.

Finding the cub dying from its injuries, the pack of tigers gave chase after the men and caught one, named only as David. He was quickly torn apart and half his body consumed.

The men, from Simpang Kiri village in Aceh, northern Sumatra, had gone into the dense forest in search of agar wood, which is very rare, expensive and used in the production of incense and aromatic oils.

Just 1lb of agar wood can fetch up to £175, resulting in villagers risking their lives to enter the jungles of the Gunung Leuser National Park where tigers and dangerous elephants roam.

‘We can’t go rushing in to rescue the men in the tree because of the remoteness and because of the tigers still being there at the base of the tree,’ said Police Chief Dicky Sondani.

Resident of Simpang Kiri village learned of the men’s fate because not only were they carrying mobile phones, they had also managed to get a signal, enabling them to call for help.

But as rescuers from the village neared the tree they saw David’s partially eaten remains and four large tigers – and fled.

That left the men in the tree stranded and by today they had managed to cling on in the branches for four days.

But police said they had little choice but to plan the rescue carefully and that would take some time. The tigers would have to be shot with anaesthetising darts due to their endangered numbers.

More than 100 Sumatran tigers are believed to roam the forests of the Gunung Leuser National Park.

But there are fears their numbers will dramatically drop as the rainforest shrinks and palm oil plantations take their place. Looking for food, tigers are more frequently entering villages and there have been a number of attacks on humans.