Month: October 2016

Portugal’s former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has been officially appointed as the next UN secretary general, the BBC reports.

Mr Guterres, 67, will become the world’s top diplomat on 1 January when Ban Ki-moon’s second five-year term ends.

The Portuguese, who led the UN refugee agency UNHCR for 10 years, was chosen from among 13 candidates last week.

He said he would fulfil his role with gratitude and humility.

Mr Guterres, who trained as an engineer, entered politics in 1976 in Portugal’s first democratic election after the “Carnation revolution” that ended five decades of dictatorship.

As head of the UNHCR refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, he led the agency through some of the world’s worst refugee crises, including those in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

During that time, he repeatedly appealed to Western states to do more to help refugees fleeing the conflicts.

President Serzh Sargsyan met today with the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon who has arrived to Armenia to participate at the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to be held in Yerevan on October 14, President’s Press Office reports.

The President of Armenia welcomed his colleague to our country and underscored that Armenia is interested in developing friendly and brotherly relations with Tajikistan. Noting that the current level of the Armenian-Tajik relations does not reflect the high level of the political relations between the two countries or the friendship of the Armenian and Tajik peoples, Serzh Sargsyan noted that nevertheless dynamics for the development of the interstate relations is there and it is necessary to mutually and consistently deepen and strengthen it. The President of Armenia underlined that in Armenia we anticipate with pleasure the official visit of President Emomali Rahmon, which will give a start to new and multiple agreements.

The President of the Republic of Tajikistan thanked the President of Armenia for a kind welcome extended to him and his delegation. He noted that this is his third visit to Armenia, and he has arrived to Yerevan one day before the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council to have an extra opportunity to meet with the Armenian partners and his friend, to exchange views and discuss the prospects of the Armenian-Tajik bilateral relations in all areas.

The President of the Republic of Tajikistan underscored that there are many topics to discuss in the CSTO and bilateral formats.

President Rahmon also noted that in his country they are following closely developments in the world, and naturally in the framework of the Yerevan session of the Collective Security Council discussed will be current issues as well as issues pertinent to the regional security.

At the meeting, the Presidents of Armenia and Tajikistan discussed in detail a wide range of issues related to the development of the bilateral interstate relations.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent today a congratulatory message to Antonio Guterres on his election as Secretary General of the United Nations.

“It is gratifying and inspiring that the responsible mission of leading the global Organization is assumed by a professional statesman such as yourself who has a decades-long experience in the national as well as international areas. Your wisdom, knowledge and abilities are in great demand particularly now when the international peace, security, and development are going through a turbulent period of time. I have no doubt that your skillful leadership will strengthen the structure of the United Nation and move forward its agenda items. I wish you every success in this difficult and important mission.

I would like to express Armenia’s and my own support to you with the anticipation that we will have many opportunities for cooperation. Armenia will undoubtedly continue to bring her input to the implementation of the goals and aspirations of the United Nations,” reads the congratulatory message of the President of Armenia.

Head coach of the Armenian National team Varuzhan Sukiasyan has announced his resignation after the unsuccessful start of the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign.

“Head coach of the Armenian national team Varuhan Sukiasyan has informed the Secretariat of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) about his resignation from the post,” FFA press service said in a statement.

A last-minute header by Robert Lewandowski  sent Pland to a 2-1 win over ten-men Armenia in a 2018 World Cup qualifier held at Warsaw’s National Stadium.

Armenia’s Gael Andonian was dismissed after earning a second yellow card on the 30th minute.

An own goal by Hrayr Mkoyan sent Poland to 1-o on the 48th minute.

Marcos Pizzelli scored the equalizer on the 50th minute with a left-footed shot to the centre of the goal.

Robert Lewandowski headed from very close range to the top left corner after an assist by Jakub Blaszczykowski in the injury time.

US reality TV star Kim Kardashian West is suing a celebrity gossip website for claiming that she faked being the victim of a robbery in Paris last week, the BBC reports.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for defamation and names both the site, MediaTakeout, and its founder, Fred Mwangaguhunga.

The star was tied up by gun-wielding robbers who broke into a Paris flat earlier this month, police say.

They made off with jewellery worth about $10m.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in New York said that after being “the victim of a horrific and traumatic armed robbery in France, Kim Kardashian returned to the US only to again be victimised, but this time by an online gossip tabloid that published a series of articles in early October 2016 referring to her a as liar and thief”.

The articles, it said, “claimed, without any factual support whatsoever, that Kardashian faked the robbery, lied about the violent assault, and then filed a fraudulent claim with her insurance company to bilk her carrier out of millions of dollars”.

Mr Mwangaguhunga refused to publish a retraction and an apology “for calling her a liar and a criminal”, the lawsuit added.

MediaTakeout has so far not commented.

Italy’s Olympic Committee has officially withdrawn its bid to stage the 2024 Games in Rome after the city council voted to oppose the candidacy, the BBC reports.

Rome’s Mayor Virginia Raggi, from the populist Five Star party, had said the city had to prioritise matters such as rubbish collection and corruption.

It means only Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest are left in the running after Boston and Hamburg also abandoned bids.

The International Olympic Committee is due to make a decision next September.

Committee chief Giovanni Malago said the decision meant Italy had been “made to look like fools” and would miss out on investment.

According to a decree signed by President Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Lithuania Tigran Mkrtchyan has been appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Estonia and Latvia, President’s Press Office reports.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has canceled a visit to Armenia due to a cold, his office said on Wednesday, adding that there were no concerns about his overall health, Reuters reports.

The presidential office, which rarely comments on 76-year-old Nazarbayev’s health, made the announcement about him being treated for a cold on Tuesday, suggesting to some it would mean he would not visit Yerevan which will host a Russia-led security bloc meeting this week.

On Tuesday, Nazarbayev’s office said Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev would travel to Armenia instead of him.

Astana’s ties with Yerevan have been strained since April, when during the renewed military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan insisted on holding a meeting of another regional body, the Eurasian Economic Union, outside of Armenia which was due to host it.

Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim nations. Azerbaijan also tranships a significant share of Kazakh oil exports.

Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been ranked 73rd among 100 best players in the world by .

“Mkhitaryan had spent three seasons at Borussia Dortmund just getting better and better and better. And the problem when that happens is that someone was always going to come along and pay big money to buy him,” the Daily Mail writes.

That someone was Manchester United and Jose Mourinho will just be praying the Armenian comes somewhere close to last season’s scarcely credible return of 23 goals and 32 assists.

Mkhitaryan’s teammates Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata are ranked 70th and 75th respectively.

Eric Bailly is 82nd, Ander Herrera is 89th, Marcus Rashford is 97th.