A leading architect in Armenia has voiced his strong opposition to plans approved by the government to convert what currently is an outdoor cinema theater in downtown Yerevan into a church construction site.

Last week the Armenian government decided to approve a proposal made by the management of Moscow Cinema Ltd to alienate the territory currently occupied by its outdoor theater (18 Abovyan Street, central Yerevan) in favor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin – for the purpose of building a new church on the site of St. Paul and Peter (Poghos-Petros) Church that used to stand there until the 1930s and was demolished by the Soviet regime.

Eva Rivas’s winning song to present Armenia at Eurovision 2010 this May in Oslo has raised a wave of protest in Turkey, which claims that Armenia’s song has “a political context hinting at the Armenian Genocide.”

“Who are my ancestors by nationality, where my roots do come from?” Ashot Margaryan, 25-years-old geneticist will get the answers to these questions in three months, thanks to scientific research carried out by the Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, where Margaryan works.

On February 19, two years after Presidential elections, the youth wing of the Armenian National Congress held a rally in the center of Yerevan and clashed with police at the Central Election Committee.

At least four injuries were reported among protestors taken for questioning by police.

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from a lengthy column by the author, a California-based contributor to Asbarez newspaper, on his relation with Armenian music. Find the entire piece at www.asbarez.com

When I was in the Homeland in 2006, working as a news anchor and talk show host for Armenia TV, I curiously reported on the selection process for Armenia’s first entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. I loved our music and wanted us to share it with the world.

By a tense and, for some, shocking vote of 23-22 the United States Congress House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved House Resolution 252 calling for affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

As lobbyists and analysts waited while other votes were taking place on the House floor, the “nay” votes outnumbered “yea” until the Armenian side captured the last three votes (with one member not voting).

The passions over Eurovision, an annual song contest held by public broadcasters in Europe, were flying high throughout last week as the discussion of the controversial outcome of a national selection stage appeared to eclipse even the debate on such vital issues for the country as the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.

The most respected investigative news television program in the United States plans a segment on the Armenian Genocide.

“60 Minutes” – known for decades for its reportage and occasionally controversial programming – will include a segment on the Genocide entitled “Battle Over History” during its weekly broadcast on the CBS network, Sunday at 7 p.m. EST (4 a.m. Monday in Yerevan). The popular news presentation has an audience of some 14.3 million viewers.

In a March 16 interview on BBC radio, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated (for the second time) that Armenia needs to shed its “dependence on Diaspora,” and threatened that at any time he has the power to deport Armenian illegal aliens.

The Armenian government has approved a proposal made by the management of Moskva Cinema Ltd to alienate the territory currently occupied by its outdoor theater (in 18 Abovyan Street, central Yerevan) in favor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin - for the purpose of building a new church on the site of the St. Paul and Peter Church that was destroyed by the Soviet regime.

“Who are my ancestors by nationality, where my roots do come from?” Ashot Margaryan, 25-years-old geneticist will get the answers to these questions in three months, thanks to scientific research carried out by the Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, where Margaryan works.

Correspondent Bob Simon took a drive into what is now Syria, to the barren wilderness, to what amounts to the largest Armenian cemetery in the world as the most respected investigative news television program in the United States looked into “the longtime feud between Turkey and Armenia over Genocide.”

Armenia’s Kristine Khachatryan started last but finished third from bottom in a 10-kilometer cross-country race in the Winter Olympics Monday in Canada.

The race at Whistler Olympic Park in Vancouver was the first of these Olympics featuring an Armenian. Khachatryan finished 76th time (34:17.5) among 78 participants. In the race won by Nordic favorites (best time 24:58.4, showed by a Swede) the 20-year-old from Gyumri managed to beat athletes from Macedonia and Serbia, whose results stood at 34:45.8 and 35:47.4, respectively.

Turkey recalled its ambassador to Sweden on Thursday and canceled an upcoming summit between the countries after the Swedish parliament branded the World War One killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces genocide.

The aroma of roast flour announces that halva (a paste of mainly nuts, sugar and oil) will be ready in a few minutes.

The eyes of the old man are as blue as the sea and as wavering.

“Our village Kebusie was at the seaside (Mediterranean Sea); the color of my eyes is the color of that sea,” says 100-year-old Movses Haneshyan...

The eighth congress of the Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers that took place in the government session hall on Tuesday reelected former deputy defense minister Manvel Grigoryan as union leader. Meanwhile, all Yerkrapah members who supported the first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan during the 2008 presidential election were left out of Yerkrapah’s governing body.

US President Barack Obama’s invitation sent to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to visit Washington DC in mid-April is considered by some politicians in Armenia to be another “trap” and another attempt for Obama to avoid using the word genocide in his speech on April 24 -- the Armenian Genocide commemoration day. (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also invited).

Immediately following Thursday’s dramatic House Foreign Affairs Committee vote approving House Resolution 252 affirming the Armenian Genocide, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the resolution should go no further.

A free economic zone regime expected to come into effect in the territory adjacent to Yerevan’s international airport is expected to spur exports of local agricultural products and have positive effects on the general economics of the area in Zvartnots.