There was heavy police and military presence in Watertown on Fri., April 19, as police searched for 19-year-old Dzokhar Tsarnaev.

On April 19, residents of Watertown woke up to a state of emergency, with SWAT teams going door to door searching for one of the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombings. The suspect, identified today as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev of Cambridge, went on a violent rampage together with the second suspect—identified now as his brother, 26-year-old Tamerlane—terrorizing Cambridge and Watertown, and in the process killing two.

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev has promoted Ramil Safarov from the rank of Lieutenant to Major, a day after the latter was extradited to Azerbaijan from Hungary and received a pardon from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, reported News.az.

In recent days, as violence continues to rage in Syria, various steps have been taken in Armenia to address the rather tenuous situation of the Armenian community there.

In the town of Berd in northern Armenia’s Tavush province, a group of women knit little arms and legs, strawberry-shaped torsos, round heads, and half-moon ears and snouts. When all the pieces are stuffed and attached, plump little bears stare back and smile. These are the Berd Bears, a small army of cuddly pals that could change the lives of their creators.

On May 2, Armenian Weekly Assistant Editor Nanore Barsoumian sat down with Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan in his Stepanakert office to discuss the challenges facing the young republic.

Disappearing stamps, unidentified men, escorts, and multi-votes: Facts and rumors painted a chaotic image of the elections as they happened in eight polling stations visited by the Armenian Weekly.

The status of rural women worldwide was the focus of the 56thsession of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW56), held in the United Nations headquarters in New York from Feb. 27 to March 9.

Two suicide car bombs targeting Syrian regional military and security headquarters shook Aleppo on Feb. 10, claiming 28 victims, among them army conscript Viken Hairabedian.

—“Two years ago my brother Artak celebrated Army Day on the border of Armenia. Today, he is missing and nothing can bring him back,” Tsovinar Nazaryan, 36, told the Armenian Weekly. She, along with around 200 protesters, lined the sidewalk of Yerevan’s Republic Square to protest the abuse and murders in the Armenian Army. The Silent Rally took place on Jan. 28, the day Armenia celebrated the 20thanniversary of its armed forces.

The “hacktivist” (activist hackers) group “Anonymous” recently released a new video announcing Operation Armenian Genocide, which threatens attacks against Turkish and U.S. government websites if they fail to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In November 2011, Syunik Governor Suren Khachatryan (aka “Liska”) physically attacked businesswoman Silva Hambarzumyan in the lobby of the Marriot Hotel in Yerevan.

Turkey is set to amend a law that aims to rid the country of illegal workers. Many view this move as retaliation against Armenians, in light of the new bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial in France.

Bruce Fein is a familiar name in the Armenian American press, having time and again represented Turkish-American interests inside U.S. courtrooms in cases such as Schmidt vs. Krikorian; the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) vs. the University of Minnesota; and Guenter Lewy vs. the Southern Poverty Law Center.