Author: Aram Torosian

Sports: Spain football club player: I’m proud to be Armenian, but I link my future with Russia national squad

Aram Torosian
News.am, Armenia
Nov 8 2017

Russia U17 national squad and Levante UD (Valencia, Spain) midfielder, Russian Armenian Edgar Sevikyan, spoke about how he ended up in this Spanish football club, and which country’s national team he links his future with. 

“When I ended up in Levante, my brother, sister, and mother lived there at the time,” Sevikyan, 16, told the Russian Legioners. “I had arrived in Valencia to see my brother and my mother, and I was training with Levante to keep in shape.

“I held two trainings at Levante, whereupon the coach said he wanted to see me in the team. So, I signed a contract with the club in July. Now, my brother also trains at Levante. Now, I’m playing at Levante’s second team, where footballers born in 2000 and 2001 are playing.

“I’m proud to be an Armenian, and I love and respect my historical homeland. But, now, I play at the Russian national squad, and I link my future with it.”

In Russia, Edgar Sevikyan played in FC Lokomotiv Moscow’s youth teams for five years.

This year, 31 cases of illegal crossing of the RA state border were recorded

Aram Torosian
  • 01.11.2017

    •  

  • Armenia:

    •  

  • arm

1
 301

In the period from January 1 to October 1 of this year, 31 cases of illegal crossing of the RA state border were recorded in the criminal cases investigated by the RA NSS investigation department. The RA National Security Service responded to armtimes.com about this.   


Of those cases, 24 are cases of illegal exit from the territory of Armenia, and 7 are cases of entry into Armenia from other countries.


In the aforementioned 31 cases, criminal prosecution was carried out against 37 persons, 7 of whom were not found (they are located outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia), and a search was announced for them.


On September 25, we reported that an Iranian who violated the Armenian-Turkish border tried to disrupt the alarm system using special equipment. And earlier, in the Artashat border guard detachment station, near Yeghegnavan village, the Russian border guards arrested a person who crossed the state border illegally.

Nearly 770 governmental administration positions to be cut in 2018

Aram Torosian
| 12:23 | November 1 2017
Category
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Cuts in governmental positions are planned in the state administration system, first deputy minister of finance Atom Janjughazyan said during parliamentary debates of the 2018 state budget draft.

In response to a question from opposition MP Edmon Marukyan, the deputy minister said: “Cuts of positions are planned for 2018 in the administration system. We are talking about cut of nearly 770 positions”, he said.

The MP asked whether or not deputy governors are included in the positions, but the deputy minister didn’t specify, and chairman of the state-legal affairs and human rights protection committee Hrayr Tovmasyan answered by saying that deputy governors aren’t included in the cuts.

Film: Karen Shahnazarov’s drama opens Russian Film Festival in Bucharest

Aram Torosian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 27 2017
Culture 16:37 27/10/2017World

This year’s edition of Russian Film Festival kicked off in Bucharest on Thursday, October 26, with the screening of Anna Karenina – Vronsky’s Story, the latest drama by Russian-Armenian filmmaker Karen Shahnazarov, marking the director’s 65th anniversary.

The 8th edition of the Russian film festival which runs at Eforie Cinema until Sunday is organized by the Russian Embassy in Romania, the Russian Center for Science and Culture and Mosfilm cinema center, TASS reported.

The festival program also features screenings of other films from Shahnazarov’s filmography, such as We are from Jazz, The Horseman named Death, Winter Night in Gagra, Dreams, Courier and The Day of the Full Moon.

After Bucharest, the festival will continue its journey through other cities.

Entertainment: 3 Ways Anthony Bourdain Is Just Like Kim Kardashian (Oh, We Went There)

Aram Torosian
BRAVO TV
Oct 20 2017

Wait, what?

by Tamara Palmer

Thought exercise: What on do Anthony Bourdain and Kim Kardashian have in common? (Cue Jeopardy music.)

Well, let’s see. For one thing, they both really hit their stride when it comes to social media sharing. Second, they both have extremely sculpted bodies. (Oh yes, 61-year-old Bourdain has a six-pack, if you didn’t know.) And third (and probably last), they both have a connection to Armenia.

The Kardashians, of course, are of Armenian descent, and the family visited the homeland in 2015 to film for their show, which aired last year.

And now, Bourdain is doing exactly (well not exactly, but…) the same thing.

He’s currently filming an episode of his travel series Parts Unknown in Armenia and the neighboring republic of Artsakh. He has posted one image from the trip so far, a picture of his cameraman pondering the Russian helicopter they’re about to board. 

And nonprofit organization ONEArmenia shared a video of Bourdain with local comedians Narek Margaryan and Sergey Sargsyan to support their upcoming project The Spyurk Report.

According to Armenian Weekly, the crew has already stopped in Artsakh, where Bourdain ate local food including jingalov hats (lavash bread stuffed with herbs), Armenian yogurt and mulberry and Cornelian cherry vodka.

Viewers will find out what he did on the rest of his journey when the Armenia/Artsakh episode of Parts Unknown airs.

Jet Set is Bravo’s launch pad for the most extravagant, luxurious, and unforgettable travel experiences. Ready for takeoff? Then to stay connected to our daily updates.


Sports: Iran shares points with Armenia in warm-up for 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification

Aram Torosian
Press TV, Iran
Sept 30 2017
Sat Sep 30, 2017 09:28AM

                                    
Iran national under-20 football team

Iran national under-20 football team, also known as Iran Youth Team, has earned a two-two draw against Armenia in a warm-up match for the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Championship qualification.

The Iranian squad, which had Ali Kaykhosravi, Amir Jaanmaleki, Mohammad Bagheri, Mehdi Rahimi, Omid Darreh, Mohammad Khodabandehlou, Vadoud Ghaffari, Sajjad Aghaei, Farzan Dana, Reza Rahimi and Hamidreza Taherkhani in its array, drew with the Armenian team 2-2 in Yerevan on Friday evening.

Iran national under-20 football team had defeated the Armenian squad 1-0 in their first exhibition game.

Iran Youth Team is preparing for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification. It is pitted against Jordan, Palestine and Syria in Group E of the tournament.

Bahrain is drawn in Group A and has joined Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are in Group B.

Group C consists of Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Qatar. India, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Yemen form Group D.

While Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Timor-Leste shape Group F, Cambodia, China, Myanmar and the Philippines are in Group G.

Chinese Taipei, Laos, Macau and Vietnam are drawn in Group H. Group I consists of Japan, Mongolia, Singapore and Thailand.

Group J has Australia, Hong Kong, North Korea and Northern Mariana Islands.

Armenian government to allocate AMD 1 billion for improvement of living standards in border villages

Aram Torosian
ARKA, Armenia
Sept 29 2017

YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. Armenia’s government will earmark AMD 1 billion for improvement of living standards in border villages in 2018, Davit Lokyan, Armenian territorial administration and infrastructures minister, said Thursday at a regular cabinet meeting. 

At this meeting, the government upheld a program aimed at development of border areas. 

Lokyan said the money will be used to provide compensations to these areas’ residents for some social expenses. 

In particular, their utilities bills for electric power, natural gas and irrigation water will partially be paid from the government budget and their land and property taxes will be fully paid by the government. ($1 – AMD 478.32). –0—

Azerbaijani Press: Three U.S. Congress members announced ‘non grata’ for Baku

Aram Torosian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 25 2017
11:15 (UTC+04:00)
360

By Rashid Shirinov

Baku has expanded the list of persona non grata banned from visiting Azerbaijan.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives David Valadao, Frank Pallone and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Foreign Ministry’s list of undesirable persons, spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend.

Valadao, Pallone and Gabbard illegally visited the Azerbaijani territories occupied by the Armenian armed forces, grossly violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, as well as its “Law on exit from the country, entry into the country, and passports” and “Law on the State Border of Azerbaijan”.

Hajiyev said that by this illegal visit, the members of the House of Representatives, violating the norms and principles of international law and the Helsinki Final Act, justify and support the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, the bloody ethnic cleansing of more than a million Azerbaijani civilians in the occupied territories, and aggressive separatism.

“Unfortunately, by such illegal and biased behavior, these individuals taint the image of the U.S. Congress in the eyes of the Azerbaijani and international public,” the spokesman noted.

Hajiyev added that these acts, committed jointly with Armenia and Armenian lobby, nullify the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, which includes the U.S., aimed at ensuring sustainable peace in the region and resolving Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“By their actions these individuals have repeatedly proved that they are under the influence of the Armenian lobby operating in the U.S., in particular, under the financial influence of such a radical and racist organization as the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),” he added.

The spokesman noted that relevant ethical committees of the Congress must investigate on which financial conditions these visits were made.

“We also call on other members of the House of Representatives who are guided by spiritual and moral values, the rule of law at the national and international level, and their voters,” Hajiyev said. “We urge to correctly assess and condemn the acts of Valadao, Pallone and Gabbard.”

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and any individuals paying such visits are included in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s ‘black list’. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan.

Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of illegality of visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions.