YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — In a fresh overture to Ankara, Armenia decided on August 14 to unilaterally suspend its visa regime with Turkey to facilitate the arrival of Turkish fans for the upcoming first-ever match between the two countries’ national football teams.
The Armenian government issued a statement saying that Turkish citizens traveling to Armenia September 1-6 [...]

By Daphne Abeel
Mirror-Spectator Staff
WATERTOWN, Mass. — The Watertown Town Council stopped short, at its meeting Tuesday, August 12, of taking a vote on a resolution offered by Town Councilor Stephen Corbett, regarding Blue Cross/ Blue Shield’s (BC/BS) relationship with No Place for Hate (NPFH), a program sponsored by the Anti- Defamation League (ADL).
It was Watertown, [...]

BEIJING — The Armenian national team won a total of five silver medals at the Olympic games here.
All five were in weightlifting and wresting.
In weightlifting, receiving bronze medals in the men’s 69, 77 and 85th kilogram divisions, respectively, were Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan, Gevog Davtyan and Tigran Vartan Martirosyan. In the men’s 55- and 120-kilogram divisions, [...]

BEIJING (Combined Sources) — Tuesday, August 12 proved to be a glorious day for the tiny Republic of Armenia, as two athletes scored bronze medals in the Olympic games there.
Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan won the bronze in the men’s 69-kilogram weightlifting division, while Roman Amoyan also won bronze in the 55-kilogram division of men’s Greco-Roman wrestling.
In [...]

State Department Letter Amends
US Position on Genocide
WASHINGTON — The Bush Administration’s nominee to serve as US ambassador to Armenia, Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, (previously ambassador to Kyrgyzstan) was approved during last week’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting, reported the Armenian Assembly of America. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) was recorded as a no vote stating that [...]

WASHINGTON — Vartkess Balian, one of the prominent Armenian movers and shakers at the nation’s capital, succumbed to a long illness and died on Monday, August 4.
Balian has played leading roles in many Armenian and American organizations. For many years, he served as the president of the Central Board of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of [...]

LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles Daily News)— Felony arrest warrants have been issued for two brothers suspected of kidnapping their three sons a month ago, a publicist hired by the boys’ mothers announced on August 2.
Ronald Brot of Brot & Gross, Sherman Oaks, who represents the mothers of the missing children, explained in an interview with [...]

Was Passionate Supporter of Music
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Very Rev. Fr. Oshagan Minassian of Watertown died on July 26 after a long illness. He was the music director of Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Greater Boston, and was the founder of the Erevan Choral Society.
During the past half century, Minassian had served in many capacities, [...]

Promises $150 Million
MOSCOW (Noyan Tapan) — Ara Abrahamian, the chairman of the Union of Armenians in Russia, at the Union Board sitting held here, praised the speech of Armenian President Serge Sargisian at the Baze All-Armenian youth gathering as an important step on the way of uniting Armenians spread all over the world.
Sargisian touched upon [...]