Chairman of the Social and Political Department at the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Ali Hasanov states that Baku has repeatedly applied to the OSCE and other international organizations, asking them to send an assessment mission to the territories around Nagorno Karabakh.

A year has passed since the signing of the Protocols on normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, and during this time it became clear that the Protocols have died still unborn, taking with them the ephemeral hope of ever normalizing relations. However, neither the powers standing behind these documents, nor the parties had the courage to admit the futility of the whole idea.

Weightlifting: Armenia’s Tigran G. Martirosyan claimed double gold in both clean and jerk and total in men's 77kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Martirosyan combined 173kg in the snatch and 200kg in the clean and jerk to win gold with a total weight of 373kg.

The second barbecue festival was held in Akhtala, Lori region of Armenia, on Sunday, September 12. It was dated to two other events: re-consecration of Surb Mariam Astvatsatsin Church and inauguration of a monument to wedding rings.

For dozens of centuries Armenians had been celebrating the New Year, Navasard, on August 11. Once a favorite popular holiday, it now became a topic of historians’ remarks or Armenian folklore only. “August 11 is the first day of the new year according to the ancient Armenian calendar. It was celebrated by all – the rich and the poor,” said ethnographer Gohar Vardumyan, senior fellow at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.