Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will visit Armenia on November 8 as part of his regional tour.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan confirmed the news to Public Radio of Armenia.
Within the framework of the visit Minister Gentiloni will hold meetings with the leadership of Armenia.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Italy Edward Nalbandian and Paolo Gentiloni will hold a joint press conference.
Chulpan Khamatova, the co-founder of Gift of Life Foundation has joined the Independent Expert Panel of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. The famous Russian actress, who has been involved in humanitarian activities for years, will take part in the assessment of the 2017 Aurora Prize nominations.
The Independent Expert Panel is part of the Aurora Prize Secretariat. The members of the Expert Panel assess all eligible nominations in accordance with the Aurora Prize Selection Criteria to narrow the overall list to 20-25 nominees for the Selection Committee’s attention.
“It is horrendous to read about the suffering of people who, even in this age, live on the line between life and death but it is also heartwarming for me to learn about these modern day heroes. Their existence, brave and committed actions prove that nothing is lost and human life still has an absolute value”, said Chulpan Khamatova. “I am extremely honored having an opportunity to become part of this humanitarian movement and contribute to the process of pre-selection of the 2017 Aurora Prize’s laureate. This is a very important and challenging experience.”
The Expert Panel is comprised of humanitarian professionals and leaders of humanitarian organizations. The members of the 2017 Aurora Prize Expert Panel are Dr. Comfort Ero, Crisis Group’s Nairobi-based Africa Program Director, Dr. Jonathan Fanton, President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Mr. Stephen Kurkjian, journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Lesley-Anne Knight, Mr. Pedro Mouratian, Expert-Consultant to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Former CEO of The Elders, Dr. Aryeh Neier, President Emeritus of the Open Society Foundations, Prof. Michael Posner, Co-Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights of New York University Stern School of Business, Ms. Nicola Reindorp, Campaign Director of Crisis Action, Mr. Eric Schwartz, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration and Dr. Mego Terzian, President of Medecins Sans Frontieres France.
The pre-selected nominees of the Aurora Prize are being considered by the Selection Committee chaired by Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney. The Selection Committee will announce the 2017 Aurora Prize finalists in February.
Jose Mourinho has suggested Henrikh Mkhitaryan needs time to adapt to English football, but the Manchester United manager has backed his signing to become a “top player” for the Reds.
The Armenian has not featured since the Manchester derby in the Premier League on 10 September and that is partly due to him suffering an injury just prior to the recent international break in October.
Mourinho confirmed during Friday’s press conference at the Aon Training Complex that Mkhitaryan is no longer injured, telling reporters that he is working hard on his fitness behind the scenes.
“He is not injured,” the manager said. “Sometimes I confuse the word ‘fit’ in the English language. Sometimes you can say that it is ‘not injured’, but you could also say that you are in great condition and ready to compete. That is different for me as we use different words in Portuguese for the different situations. Mkhitaryan is not injured, he is training with the team 100 per cent.
Asked if it takes some players longer to adapt to the English game, Mourinho continued: “I think so, yes. Some players find it very easy whereas others need more time. They need time to feel the intensity, the aggression, the game without the ball and the competitiveness.
“The realities are often different, particularly in terms of the competitiveness. It doesn’t matter who you are against, you have to play at the highest level otherwise you will not be able to do it. Micki needs time to become the top player he knows he can be.”
Mourinho expressed his confidence in Mkhitaryan when expanding on the topic that dominated Friday’s press conference, pointing to two of his former players at Chelsea and Real Madrid who required time to blossom in their new surroundings. “I think Micki will work here for sure,” he said.
“I don’t like to speak about players from other clubs because I don’t want to be misinterpreted, but I don’t think he’ll mind. A player who had a problem to play when he first arrived was Willian. He went through a process and then, after a few months, he became a top player. Then, when we won the championship, he was phenomenal and still is. That is just an example.
“Similarly, Di Maria had to learn a lot about his game when he came into Madrid from Portugal. Sometimes this is what happens. It happens with defenders, but it is often easier for them to adapt than attackers. Some go straight to success and others it takes more time.
“In Micki’s case the process was interrupted by injury, which does not help the process of evolution. Being out for a month meant he has had to go through the process of getting match-fit, then once he has that he needs the competitive level to do it. We believe him and, sooner or later, there will be no problem.”
Former England international Paul Merson says Henrikh Mkhitaryan is Manchester United’s ‘best player,’ Goal.com reports.
Manchester United’s 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday, which has left them with just one victory in their last six Premier League outings, has sparked inevitable discussion regarding what Jose Mourinho needs to do in order to rejuvenate his Red Devils.
Paul Merson is among those who feel the Portuguese needs to get ruthless with his under-performing squad, culling those struggling for form and introducing those unfortunate to have found themselves on the outside looking in.
He wrote in his Sky Sports column on potential changes to United’s forward line: “Ibrahimovic used to be world class but he’s 35. He used to be in the top three or four players in the world but he’s not the same player anymore. Even Lionel Messi won’t be world class when he’s 35.
“He can’t play twice a week either now, which we saw on Sunday. He played Thursday and Sunday and he didn’t get a kick.
“I think Wayne Rooney has got to come back in. He got the blame before they dropped him and they’ve not improved since then. He got dropped for not doing too much wrong.
“At the moment I just don’t think Mourinho has options that he likes on the bench. At least if he drops Ibrahimovic then he’ll have an option to bring him on.”
Merson also feels that the Red Devils need to bring added creativity to their ranks by offering an opportunity to a summer signing he considers to be the best player on the Old Trafford books.
He added: “I think he [Mourinho] needs to get Henrikh Mkhitaryan fit and in the team. He’s got the X Factor and they need to get him playing.
The Dresden Symphony Orchestra will present the “Aghet” program dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the German Consulate General in Istanbul on November 13, the Turkish service of reports.
“Aghet” caused tension between Turkey and Germany last year, as the orchestra commemorated the Armenian Genocide centennial in . Turkey attempted to pressure it and the EU to keep the term “genocide” out of a concert.
The concert was sponsored by European Union’s Creative Europe program. Turkey’s delegation to the European Union demanded the European Commission withdraw 200,000 euros ($224,500) in funding for the concert.
Earlier this month . Accoridng to reports, the pullout was in response to a concert, supported by Creative Europe and performed in April by Germany’s Dresdn Symphony Orchestra in commemoration of the Armenian genocide.
Conducted by Andrea Molino, the Dresden Symphony is joined by musicians from Turkey and Armenia as well as members of the “No Borders Orchestra.”
“Aghet” was initiated by Marc Sinan together with the orchestra from Dresden. Sinan’s Armenian grandmother lost her parents in the events following the deportations that began on April 24, 1915. The guitarist of German, Armenian and Turkish heritage performs the solo part in Helmut Oehring’s piece “Massaker, hört ihr MASSAKER!” (Massacre, do you hear MASSACRE!) for guitar solo, voice, women’s chorus and strings.
Pope Francis visited the earthquake-hit towns of central Italy in a surprise journey on Tuesday morning, praying with the residents of Amatrice on the feast day of his namesake, St. Francis, telling them to ‘move forward’ together for ‘there is always a future,’ reports.
His first visit was to the newly constructed ‘Capranica’ school, where the Pope met with elementary and middle-school aged children, who gave him several of their handmade drawings.
Pope Francis hugged them one-by-one and listened to their stories of the deadly earthquake in Amatrice where 231 of the total 297 people died.
During his visit, Pope Francis told the residents of Amatrice, “I thought long and hard in the first days of these many pains that my visit, perhaps, would be more of a hindrance than a help, a greeting. I didn’t want to be a bother so I let a little time pass, so that some things could be resolved, like the school. But from the first moment, I felt that I needed to come to you! Simply to express my closeness to you, nothing more. And I pray, pray for you! Solidarity and prayer: this is my offering to you. May the Lord bless you all; may Our Lady watch over you in this moment of sadness, pain, and trial.”
After blessing them, he said, “Let’s move forward; there is always a future. There are many loved ones who have left us, who fell here under the rubble. Let us pray to Our Lady for them; let us do it together. Always look ahead. Courage, and help each other. One walks better together, alone we go nowhere. Forward! Thank you.”
The Holy Father then went to the heavily damaged centre of Amatrice accompanied by the Mayor Sergio Pirozzi. There he paused for several minutes to pray.
A press release by the Holy See Press Office said, “Already on Sunday, during his inflight press conference on the flight from Baku to Rome, Pope Francis had said he would make this visit ‘privately, alone, as a priest, as a bishop, as Pope. But alone. This is how I want to do it. And I would like to be close to the people.’”
Nearly 4,000 people are living in tents near Amatrice after their homes were destroyed in the 6.0-magnitude earthquake.
Afterwards, the Pope stopped to have lunch with around 60 elderly people living in the ‘St. Raphael Assisted Living Facility’ in Rieti, whilst on his way to nearby Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto to bring his message of hope and solidarity to them as well.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded for discoveries about strange forms of matter, the BBC reports.
Three Britons, David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz, will share the 8m kronor prize.
They were named at a press conference in Sweden, and join a prestigious list of 200 other Physics laureates recognised since 1901.
The Nobel Committee said this year’s laureates had “opened the door on an unknown world”.
In this mysterious realm, matter can exist in strange states.
Their discoveries had helped scientists designing new materials.
Prof Haldane commented: “I was very surprised and very gratified.”
He said the work had been carried out a long time ago, but that its applications were only now starting to be seen.
On September 28, Edward Nalbandian, the Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia, delivered a lecture entitled “Nagorno-KArabakh: Is Solution Visible” at Stanford University’s Institute for International Studies.
Professors, fellows and students of the Stanford University attended the meeting. In his opening remarks Michael McFaul, the Director of the Institute, mentioned that is a profound honour to launch the series of lectures after the opening of the academic year by hosting the Foreign Minister of Armenia to get first-hand information on the current situation in the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
In his speech Edward Nalbandian, particularly, said:
“Ladies and Gentlemen,
One year ago a well-known academic magazine “Politique Internationale”, published in Paris my article entitled Nagorno-Karabakh: Is a Solution Visible?
I stressed in it that the conflict cannot be solved until Azerbaijan gets rid of its illusion that it can gain unilateral advantages through military means. It took only a year to witness the vivid demonstration of that reality.
This April Azerbaijan unleashed a large scale preplanned aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, with the use of offensive weaponry – aviation, heavy artillery, rocket systems, tanks – accompanied by gross violations of international humanitarian law, such as indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, DEASH-style mutilation of bodies and beheadings. It goes without saying that these actions that resulted in hundreds of casualties from all sides, have seriously undermined the negotiation process.
So, it is about a very complex situation that I am going to address you today and the April escalation is only the last act of the long conflict. In a few words I would like to present the essence of the conflict for those who are not much familiar with it and then I will try to address the main issue: what are the prospects of the settlement.
Nagorno-Karabakh – historically one of the regions of Armenia and always having an overwhelming majority of Armenian population was arbitrarily annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan in 1921 by Joseph Stalin.
70 years passed, on the eve of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh voted at the referendum for an independent statehood in line with the then existing legislation and international norms.
Years later on the Kosovo case the International Court of Justice would consider that general international law contains no applicable prohibition of declarations of independence.
However, Azerbaijan in defiance of the international law, its norms and principles which first of all urge to refrain from use of force or threat of use of force, tried to suppress the aspirations of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh for self-determination through coercive measures. It started with Armenian massacres in late 80s – beginning of 90s in Azerbaijani cities of Sumgait, Kirovabad and capital Baku. Many were killed, hundreds of thousands were expelled from their homes. Nobel Peace Prize winner and famous human rights defender Andrei Sakharov on the pages of the New York Times called it a threat of a new genocide of the Armenian people.
Azerbaijan continued with large scale military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh committing new atrocities.
The May 1991 US Senate resolution condemned the attacks on innocent Armenian children, women, and men in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. Previously adopted US Congress resolution reads that the United States supports the fundamental rights and aspirations of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. A similar resolution was adopted by the European Parliament.
During the war against Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan used mercenaries from Afghanistan closely linked to notorious terrorist organizations. That was widely reported in the international media outlets, including the Washington Post. The heavy, indiscriminate use of force, massacres and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population was yet another confirmation that the struggle of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh was existential and legitimate.
The hot phase of the conflict ended in May 1994 when Azerbaijan was obliged to negotiate a truce due to its military loses and sign a cease fire agreement with Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. In July 1994 and February 1995 new trilateral agreements were signed on consolidation of the cease fire. The terms of these agreements do not expire and they are in force till now. The July 1994 document stipulates to maintain the ceasefire regime until signing of the big political agreement.
However, as a rule Azerbaijan has been regularly violating those agreements. Baku instead of engaging seriously in the negotiation process has concentrated its efforts on military buildup having in mind the illusion of military option for conflict resolution.
A clear case of negotiations at the barrel of a gun. Its military budget reached $4.8 billion in 2015, a 30-fold increase since 2003, when Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father as the Head of State.
We warned – if there is a gun on the stage, it will fire. And that gun fired many times and most recently as I mentioned this April.
Armenia together with the mediators, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – the USA, France and Russia exert efforts for exclusively peaceful settlement. Several times in this framework parties were close to the resolution, but at the very last moment Azerbaijan made a step back derailing the process. This was the case with Paris principles of 2001, negotiated with active involvement of the then French President Chirac, when President Heydar Aliyev backtracked. Another example was the round of negotiations with active mediation of the then Russian President Medvedev, when at the Kazan summit of 2011, the son Aliyev backtracked again. To mention just two examples.
As you see there has never been a deficit of high-level international interest in solving the issue. Moreover, starting from 2009 the presidents of the U.S.A., Russia and France made five statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. They proposed a package of basic principles, which constitute an integrated whole, as a foundation of future comprehensive agreement. Unlike Azerbaijan, Armenia accepted it as a basis for negotiations.
The Presidents of the Co-Chair countries have proclaimed a rather civilized formula for the settlement – ballots instead of bullets. The proposal stipulates determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not resolved yet, since one of the negotiating parties, namely Azerbaijan is not ready to go along with this proposal and by all means strives to undermine the peace process. The mentality that supports medieval barbarism, demonstrated again in April, can hardly accept the civilized approaches of the modern world.
The leadership of Azerbaijan which adopted a xenophobic, aggressive anti-Armenian stance. Baku frequently uses the slogan – “Armenians of the world are our enemies number one”. History knows such cases of ethnic hatred, including in the recent past, isn’t it? The eleventh year textbook of Azerbaijan’s school reads “Armenians are the generic enemies of the Turkic peoples”. It is the generation raised under such propaganda that committed despicable crimes during the 4 days aggression this April. It is this generation that witnessed the glorification of an Azerbaijani officer who killed by axe a sleeping Armenian officer in Budapest while both were at the NATO training course. Subsequently the murderer was handed over to Azerbaijan where he was proclaimed as a hero and example for youth.
Most of Armenian historic, cultural and religious monuments have been destroyed in Azerbaijan, including a masterpiece of the medieval Armenian art – the cemetery of thousands of cross stones in Jugha. American Ambassadors to Azerbaijan were several times refused by Baku authorities to visit the site. A prominent Azerbaijani novelist was ostracized and persecuted for writing about the Armenian massacres in Azerbaijan and for the calls of reconciliation. All those civil society representatives who have been engaged in people to people contacts with the civil societies in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia were put behind the bars as “Armenian spies”. The leadership of Azerbaijan tries not only to mute the independent voices from within the country but from the outside world as well. More than hundred journalists have been included in the so called Azerbaijani black list just for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh and writing about it. Indeed, as the Washington Post wrote the Azerbaijani leadership not only crushes individual lives but tries to imprison the very concept of freedom itself.
This doesn’t come as a surprise for the state considered to be among the 10 most censored countries in the world.
If there are any proven remedies for conflict settlements then the preparation of the public for peace and not war should stand in the center. This is what the Co-Chairs are continuously urging. Building trust and confidence is another important dimension again strongly encouraged by the international mediators, especially after the April escalation. To restore the trust in the process of the conflict resolution, measures should be taken to prevent use of force and create conditions conducive to the advancement of the peace process.
This was the main aim of the two Summits on Nagorno-Karabakh held in Vienna in May organized by the U.S. Secretary of State and in St. Petersburg in June hosted by the Russian President. First of all, it is a necessity to implement what was particularly emphasized and agreed upon in the framework of these Summits – the full adherence to the 1994-1995 trilateral ceasefire agreements, the creation of mechanism for investigation of ceasefire violations, which can serve also as a mechanism for prevention, the expansion of the capacity of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, which monitors the ceasefire.
These proposals are not new, they have been reiterated by the Co-Chairs many times, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia have accepted them, Azerbaijan rejected. It is interesting to note that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel together with more than 80 other Congressmen have endorsed these and some other confidence building measures. They urged to publicly condemn specific acts of aggression along the line of contact. Indeed, the party which violates the ceasefire, which rejects the confidence building measure, which refuses the proposals of the mediators should stand accountable. Otherwise impunity will encourage to continue destructive policy. Baku criticizes the Co-Chairs, including the United States for islamophobia, and conspiracy against Azerbaijan, calling the mediators useless tourists.
Ladies and gentlemen,
By establishing the independent United States through the Declaration of Independence 240 years ago the founding fathers of this great country proved that nothing can deprive peoples of their right for independence. This is what the people of Nagorno-Karabakh have been aspiring for – the liberty to freely organize their life in a democratic manner, based on the principle of self-determination. This right is enshrined as the purpose of the United Nations Charter and in many other international documents. The visible solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict goes through ballots not bullets.”
Following the remarks Edward Nalbandian answered the numerous questions of the attendees.
Armenia is ranked 79th (up from 82nd last year) in the released by the World Economic Forum today.
Switzerland tops the ranking followed by Singapore and the United States. Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 59h, Azerbaijan – 37th, Turkey 55th, Iran – 76th.
Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Kazakhstan are ranked 43rd and 53rd respectively. Kyrgyzstan is 111th, no data is available for Belarus.
The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.
This year’s edition highlights that declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity. It also highlights that monetary stimulus measures such as quantitative easing are not enough to sustain growth and must be accompanied by competitiveness reforms. Final key finding points to the fact that updated business practices and investment in innovation are now as important as infrastructure, skills and efficient markets.
Fifth hearing of the Dink case is being held today. Before the hearing, Friends of Hrant were in front of the courthouse as always, demanding justice, reports.
The Dink murder case began to be retried and the fifth hearing of the retrials started today in 14th High Penal Court. The hearing will continue throughout this week.
Before the hearing, Friends of Hrant were in front of the courthouse as always, demanding justice.
The press statement was read by Bircan Yorulmaz and the powers trying to abuse the case for their political interests were criticized.
Highlights of the statement are as the following:
“The ones who want to abuse Dink murder for their political games don’t concern us. We want everyone, regardless of their political circle, to stand trial: the instigators, the perpetrators, the ones who turned a blind eye to the plans of murder and the ones ones who praised the murderers. This is the only aim of our years-long struggle.
“The ones who say things like ‘Hrant Dink was murdered by racist-nationalist fascists or by Gulenists’ are trying to abuse this murder and they don’t concern us.
“Leaking of the footage, which seems to be held by the state for almost ten years, is not a step for clarifying the murder, but rather a product of the same dirty political games.
“Once again, we say with determination and insistence: until everyone who have a hand in this murder, from the perpetrators to the planners, from the public officials who actively worked with the murderers to the police chiefs, bureaucrats and politicians who didn’t do anything though they had the power to prevent this murder stand trial, this case won’t be closed.”