Levon Sevunts
Levon Sevunts
Born and raised in Armenia, Levon started his journalistic career in 1990, covering wars and civil strife in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
In 1992, after the government in Armenia shut down the TV program he was working for, Levon immigrated to Canada. He learned English and eventually went back to journalism, working first in print and then in broadcasting.
Levon’s journalistic assignments have taken him from the High Arctic to Sahara and the killing fields of Darfur, from the streets of Montreal to the snow-capped mountaintops of Hindu Kush in Afghanistan.
He says, “But best of all, I’ve been privileged to tell the stories of hundreds of people who’ve generously opened up their homes, refugee tents and their hearts to me.”

International, Politics

Syrian refugees, Paris attacks, ISIS and Turkey discussed at Concordia University talk

Turkish journalist and political analyst Amberin Zaman in Montreal, Nov. 16, 2015. Zaman took part in a panel discussion organized by Concordia University and the International Press Institute, entitled “Threats, Risks, Freedoms: A Conversation About Journalism and Human Rights.” © Concordia »

Immigration & Refugees, Politics, Society

Ottawa drops controversial niqab appeal

The federal government has formally withdrawn a controversial court challenge involving the Muslim face covering veil, Canada’s newly minted attorney general and justice minister announced Monday. The Conservatives had asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear a request for an appeal of »

Society

Canadian Muslims worried about backlash after Paris attacks

Congregation members clean up debris, on Sunday, November 15, 2015, after the only mosque in Peterborough, Ont., was deliberately set alight Saturday night. © PC/Christopher Katsarov Canada’s Muslim community already reeling from the Friday attacks in Paris and the deadly bombings »

International

Paris attacks: France is ‘at war’ and will destroy ISIS, says President Hollande

Soldiers patrol in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, November 16, 2015, as security in creases in the French capital after last Friday’s series of deadly attacks. © Charles Platiau / Reuters France “is at war” after Friday’s »

International, Politics

Trudeau’s summit diplomacy marathon

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives in Antalya, Turkey, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 for the upcoming G-20 summit. The 2015 G-20 Leaders Summit will be held near the Turkish Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya on Nov. 15-16, 2015. © Okan Ozer »

International

Paris attacks: France blames ISIS for ‘act of war’

French President Francois Hollande speaks at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, the day after a series of deadly attacks in the French capital, November 14, 2015. © POOL New / Reuters French President Francois Hollande has promised to “be merciless toward »

International, Politics, Society

Mandate letters set priorities for defence and foreign policy

End Canada’s combat mission in Iraq and Syria, launch an open and transparent competition to replace the ageing CF-18 fighter jets, renew Canada’s commitments to UN peacekeeping operations, those are some of the marching orders Canada’s newly minted defence minister »

International, Politics

Trudeau set for international debut

Little over a week after he was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister, Justin Trudeau is getting set for a whirlwind diplomatic tour that would leave even a more experienced leader a bit dizzy. His diplomatic baptism by fire »

Society

Vancouver friends dream of crossing Georgia Strait in hot tub boat

Edward Estabrook and his friends will have to wait until next spring to make sailing history. They want to set a world record by crossing the Georgia Strait, the body of water that separates British Columbia’s lower mainland from Vancouver »

Immigration & Refugees, International, Politics

Syrian refugees ‘not a problem but an opportunity’: PM Trudeau

Refugees are a source of economic growth, not a drain on Canada’s resources, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday. “I think one of the things that is most important right now is for a country like Canada to demonstrate how »