Author: Ara Felekian

Armenian Ambassador Tatul Margaryan had a meeting with the Parliament Speaker of Luxembourg, Mars di Bartolomeo on December 14.

Ambassador Margaryan noted that by adopting a resolution on recognition of the Armenian Genocide on May 6, the Parliament of Luxemburg made a precious contribution to the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the international efforts aimed at preventing genocides.

The Armenian Ambassador referred to Armenia-EU relations and urgent regional issues. He briefed Mars di Bartolomeo on the latest developments in the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

During the meeting the parties exchanged views on the current state of Armenia-Luxembourg relations and the perspectives of their development, the reinforcement of inter-parliamentary relations and the ways of deepening the cooperation within the framework of international organizations.

The parties discussed the steps targeted at the intensification of business ties and the perspectives of expanding cooperation in the field of information technologies and telecommunication.

The U.S. Embassy in Armenia has issued a statement on the Constitutional Referendum held in Armenia Sunday. The statement reads:

“We commend the Armenian people and the government on the peaceful conduct of the constitutional referendum on Sunday, December 6 which took place after an open debate.

The change in the form of Armenia’s government that will result from the new constitution is significant. The credible allegations of electoral irregularities reported by both non-partisan observers as well as Armenian political parties are of concern, however, and need to be fully investigated to ensure that the Armenian people can see the outcome of the referendum as credible and legitimate.

We urge the Electoral Commission and the Armenian government to carry out transparent investigations of all credible reports of irregularities. These issues must be addressed, both now and as the government and parliament develop the new electoral code, building on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, to ensure that future elections are viewed by the Armenian people as credible, legitimate, and a true reflection of their will.”

AFP Photo/Mikhail Mordasov

 

Azerbaijan was on Sunday searching for 29 missing oil workers after a storm caused their offshore oil rig to catch fire, as the president ordered a day of mourning, Agence France-Presse reports.

A fire broke out on the rig in the Caspian following a storm on Friday “leading to many deaths,” said a statement on the official website of President Ilham Aliyev.

“I join the relatives in their grief and designate December 6 as a day of mourning in Azerbaijan,” it quoted him as saying.

The statement was the closest to an official confirmation that 30 workers may have perished at sea when one lifeboat where the crew was taking refuge fell into the water.

Rescue workers had lifted a total of 33 people from the rig, the open water, and from a lifeboat that was suspended 10 metres above the stormy waters.

But the second lifeboat fell into the water and has not been recovered.

So far, one worker’s body has been recovered.

On its Facebook page, SOCAR listed the 62 names of those working on the rig, who were either rescued or missing.

“We are looking for 29 people. Whether they are alive or dead we don’t know. Before we find them we cannot pronounce them dead,” SOCAR vice-president Khoshbakht Yusifzade told journalists at a press conference on Sunday.

 

Fifa president Sepp Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini have had their appeals against 90-day bans rejected by world football governing body’s appeal committee, the BBC reports.

They were suspended in October while Fifa’s ethics committee investigates corruption claims against them.

Blatter, 79, is accused of signing a contract “unfavourable” to Fifa and making a “disloyal payment” to Uefa president Platini.

Both men deny wrongdoing.

Platini – who wants to succeed Blatter – has said the 2m euros (£1.35m) payment was “valid compensation” from his time working under the Swiss more than nine years ago.

They were suspended after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Blatter, who has been Fifa president since 1998.

The ethics committee’s investigation focuses on allegations around a 2005 TV rights deal between Fifa and Jack Warner, the former president of Concacaf, the governing body of football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Blatter was discharged from hospital last week after what was described as a “small emotional breakdown”.

Photos by Social Bite

 

Hollywood star George Clooney visited a sandwich shop which helps homeless people during a visit to Edinburgh, the BBC reports.

The actor visited the Social Bite cafe, which donates all its profits to homeless people, leaving $1000  at the cafe for the cause.

He stayed at the cafe for around 15 minutes, and greeted the 200-strong crowd who were waiting outside.

Mr Clooney shook hands, posed for selfies and chatted with fans.

He was later due to share lunch at a secret location with Heather McGowan, 32, from Glasgow, who won a competition to meet the star.

has won for “BEST ONLINE NEWS COVERAGE 2015” at the NSW Multicultural and Indigenous Media Awards (MIMA), held at the NSW Parliament House on Wednesday, November 11th.

The MIMA Awards, being held for the fourth year under the Chairmanship of NSW Member of Parliament, Shaoquett Moselmane, celebrates the achievements of remarkable people in multicultural and Indigenous media.

Armenia Media, Inc. was nominated for its Armenian-Australian news website, Armenia Online (www.armenia.com.au) and took out the award for Best Online News Coverage. This was Armenia Media, Inc.’s first nomination, and the award was accepted by Board member Karina Arakel and Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia), Vache Kahramanian.

When accepting the award, Kahramanian said: “On behalf of Armenia Media, Inc. and all its publisher organisations, its Board, Editorial Staff and Volunteers we thank the NSW Multicultural and Indigenous Media Awards and its Chairman, Shaoquett Moselmane MP.”

He added: “We dedicate this award to the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians who suffered during the Armenian Genocide, in this Centenary year of commemoration.”

The Armenian national team has dropped 36 places and is ranked 127th in the FIFA World Ranking released today. Armenia’s best result has been the 30th place in January 2014.

Belgium top the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in history.  The Red Devils have jumped two places on the November edition to replace previous leaders Argentina (3rd, down 2) and world champions Germany (2nd, unchanged).

The biggest climbers in the top ten are Chile (5th, up 4), while England (9th, up 1) and Austria (10th, up 1) have each made slight progress. This is the first time that Belgium, Chile and Austria have ever reached such heights on the global ladder.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has been arrested over an alleged plot to blackmail fellow footballer Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, legal sources have said, reports.

The Real Madrid and France star arrived at the police station in Versailles, near Paris, early on Wednesday and was placed in detention, the local prosecutor confirmed, without giving further information.

The case also saw four other people arrested last month, including former French international footballer Disséjibril C.

Cissé took to live television the day after his arrest to insist that he was innocent.

The existence of any x-rated video involving Lyon player Valbuena and his partner, however, has not actually been confirmed.

Seven candidates will stand in FIFA’s presidential elections on 26 February, BBC reports.

The candidates are: Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Musa Bility, Jerome Champagne, Gianni Infantino, Michel Platini, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa and Tokyo Sexwale.

Trinidadian ex-footballer David Nakhid was not included on the list, despite saying he had submitted his candidacy.

The election is to find a successor to the suspended Sepp Blatter, who is under criminal investigation.

The Swiss 79-year-old announced he would be stepping down in June, with world football’s governing body at the centre of a corruption scandal.

 

 

 

President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio has said Armenia’s draft Constitutional reforms are a step forward towards further development of democracy.

He said the document has been positively assessed by the Venice Commission, but stressed the importance of organizing the referendum in a free, fair and transparent way.

Mr. Buquicchio has arrived in Armenia to participate in an international conference organized by the Constitutional Court.

President of the Armenian Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunyan, head of the professional commission on Constitutional reforms said everything will be useless, if the referendum is not held in compliance with the letter and spirit of the law.