Author: Boshkezenian Garik

24.26 percent of the eligible voters participated in the referendum on Constitutional changes as of 14:00, the Central Referendum Commission reported.

The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to meet later this month.

“We are on track for an Armenia-Azerbaijan summit meeting later this month,” US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlock said in a Twitter post.

We are on track for an – summit meeting later this month.

— James Warlick (@AmbJamesWarlick)

On Sunday November 22, the candidate of the conservative party Cambiemos Mauricio Macriwas elected president of Argentina by winning the runoff by three points against Daniel Scioli, the government candidate. Next, a review of the relationship between the newly Argentine president and the Armenian community of the country, reports.

During his tenure as Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri the construction of a bust of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, after the intense complaints of the Armenian community and a misunderstanding of the locals officials. At that time, Turkish Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdogan called off a visit to the country for this reason.

In April 2012, Macri visited Yerevan for the transfer of the World Book Capital, which in 2011 had been in Buenos Aires and in 2012 was in Yerevan. He visited the Armenian Genocide Museum and that “Buenos Aires has received thousands of Armenian citizens that with their tireless work contributed to the development of Argentina and forged our cultural identity as a country.”

Some time later, in June 2014, the City of Buenos Aires . This time, the Chief of Staff of the City, Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, said that this museum was “a way to ensure that mankind will not commit atrocities like those committed almost 100 years ago in Armenia.”

The next month, in July 2014, Mauricio Macri the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, with whom he had a private meeting and handed the keys to the City of Buenos Aires.

In April 2015, during the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, Mauricio Macri a post titled “100 years of the Armenian Genocide: I do not forget you“, which recalled that “the little purple flower with five petals called ‘Forget me not’ is the symbol chosen by the Armenian community to remember worldwide the more than one million Armenians who perished in the first genocide of the twentieth century” and noted that “100 years ago, on April 24 1915 began a bloody persecution of the Armenian people by the Ottoman authorities, which then culminated in the expulsion and death of millions of innocent people.”

“Today is the day in which we remember all the victims. It is they who tell us ‘Forget me not’,” he concluded.

The former President Nestor Kirchner enacted in January 2007 the Law 26,199, approved by Congress in December 2006, which declares every April 24 as the “Action day for tolerance and respect among peoples” in commemoration of the Genocide against the Armenian people. In September 1987 former President Raul Alfonsin made the first recognition of the Armenian Genocide during a ceremony with the Armenian community.

Getty images

E-commerce giant Alibaba has broken its own record for sales on China’s Singles Day, the world’s biggest online shopping event, the BBC reports.

The firm said sales surpassed the record amount of $9.3bn (£6.1bn) made last year in just over half the time.

Singles Day, also known as Double Eleven because it is held on 11 November, has become a major annual event for Chinese retailers.

Alibaba said more than $1bn was spent within eight minutes of midnight.

Within the first hour, it had made $3.9bn (£2.bn) in sales, almost double the amount spent in the same time period of the event last year.

In comparison, sales on Cyber Monday, which is the biggest online shopping day in the US, hit $1.35bn, according to data analytics firm ComScore.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received today Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

President Sargsyan hailed the dynamically developing bilateral relations, which, he said, are enhanced by frequent high-level meetings and reciprocal visits.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, the intensive contacts are an evidence of the interest of the to countries to develop the allied relations and the willingness to discuss joint issues within the framework of the existing formats.

The interlocutors agreed that the Armenian-Russian relations are steadily developing in the economic, military-technical and humanitarian fields.

President Sargsyan praised Russia’s role in the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict and establishment of security and stability in the region.

Sergey Lavrov also hailed the progress registered in all directions as a result of Armenian-Russian cooperation and praised the dynamically developing relations within the framework of integration processes.

According to him, Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union will certainly have a positive impact from the viewpoint of further deepening and development of economic relations.

Referring to the negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Minister Lavrov reiterated that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement.

During the meeting the interlocutors exchanged views on urgent international issues and challenges.

The violence and tensions on the line of contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will be high on the agenda of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’s meetings in Yerevan and Baku.

“We are concerned about these tensions, in particular, the use of heavy weapons, including mortars. We are concerned that this leads to increasing violence, heightened tensions and civilian deaths,” US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador James Warlick told reporters in Yerevan.

“Our message in both Yerevan and Baku is to respect the ceasefire and reduce tensions.”

Warklick said the mediators will discuss with the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan the principles behind a comprehensive settlement and will talk about the possibility of organizing a summit meeting before the end of the year.

“Both Presidents have committed themselves to an intensified dialogue. They signal that they do want to meet with each other, and we’d like to use this visit as an opportunity to identify the possible dates and begin to make arrangements for the summit,” Warlick said.

The third reason the mediators are in the region is to talk about building trust and respect for security. “It comes to confidence-building measures and people-to people programs,” Amb. Warlick noted.

The US Co-Chair said that negotiations have been going on in one form or another for 20 years now, and added that “time has come for more structured negotiations.”

As for the Royce-Engel letter, Mr. Warlick said: “We fundamentally agree with the recommendations Congressmen Royce and Engel are making. Honestly, they are not new. Those are the ideas and issues the Co-Chairs have been working with for quite some time.”

The Ambassador stressed the importance of resuming discussions on an OSCE investigative mechanism, which would be helpful along the line of contact and the international border.

“We need an investigative mechanism so that we don’t see one side accusing the other and have no bases to know who committed particular acts of violence,” he added.

Warlick reiterated his earlier statement that recognition of Nagorno Karabakh by Armenia would be seen in Baku as a provocation. “Neither side should take steps that will incite violence or provoke the other side.”

Turkey’s top police intel chief and two former police intel unit heads may face up to 25 years in prison each in the investigation launched into the murder of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the reports.

Turkish National Police (EGM) Intelligence Department head Engin Dinç and former police chiefs Reşat Altay and Ahmet İlhan Güler have been accused of “helping commit deliberate murder,” weekly Agos reported Oct. 25, as a new indictment was presented to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Dinç and Güler were intelligence unit heads of the police departments in Trabzon and Istanbul, respectively, at the time of Dink’s murder, while Altay was Trabzon Police Department head. Dinç, Güler and Altay may receive up to 25 years in jail if the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accepts the investigation for trial.

The indictment was presented by prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü in an investigation launched against a total of 25 suspects, including Dinç, Güler and Altay, over charges of negligence on public duty after Dink was killed outside his office building on Jan. 19, 2007.

Meanwhile, former EGM Intelligence Department head Ramazan Akyürek and former Istanbul Police Department Intelligence Unit head Ali Fuat Yılmazer may face life in prison on the charge of “committing deliberate murder,” if the indictment is accepted, as both Akyürek and Yılmazer were on duty at the time of Dink’s murder.

In addition, former Istanbul Police Department head Celalettin Cerrah and former Intelligence Unit head Sabri Uzun will appear in court on the charge of power abuse while on duty, the indictment stated.

Dinç, the current EGM Intelligence Department head and former intelligence unit head of the Trabzon Police Department, allegedly had known about an assassination plot by Yasin Hayal and his illegal organization against Dink since Feb. 15, 2006. However, he failed to notify the Trabzon Governor’s Office, the Trabzon Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), claimed Hakan Bakırcıoğlu, the Dink family attorney.

Erhan Tuncel, the perpetrator of a bomb attack in Trabzon, reportedly became a police informant at the time Dinç was the Trabzon Police Department Intelligence Unit head, from Aug. 26, 2004 to Sept. 19, 2007.

Hayal and Tuncel were accused of encouraging Dink’s murderer to commit the act.

Dink, who was editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot dead outside its office building in Istanbul’s Şişli district on Jan. 19, 2007 by 17-year-old Ogün Samast.

Relatives and followers of the case have claimed government officials, police, military personnel and members of Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT) played a role in Dink’s murder by neglecting their duty to protect the journalist.

Borussia Dortmund left for Baku this morning without Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan because of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“We have spoken to the player. It was the best decision for everyone,” Borussia boss Hans- Joachim Watzke said. “Henrikh is not angry for having to stay at home,” he said.

He added that the decision would probably be different if it was the semi-final.

Borussia will face Gabala FK Thursday in a Europa League Group C encounter.

FIFA and France Football have today announced the names of the nominees for the FIFA Ballon d’Or and for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football awards.

The awards recognise the best in each category, without distinction of championship or nationality, for their respective achievements between 22 November 2014 and 20 November 2015 inclusive.

The final decisions will be made by the captains and head coaches of the men’s national teams as well as by international media representatives selected by France Football.  The winners of all of the awards will be announced at the FIFA Ballon d’Or as part of a televised show at the Zurich Kongresshaus on 11 January 2016.

The list of 23 male candidates has been drawn up by football experts from the FIFA Football Committee and a group of experts from France Football. The list of ten coaches has been drawn up by the Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and by the FIFA Football Committee, as well as by a group of experts from France Football.

The voting period for the awards commences on 26 October 2015 and closes on 20 November 2015 (midnight CET). In the event that insufficient votes (less than two-thirds of all potential jury members) are cast during the voting period, FIFA and France Footballmay, at their discretion, extend the voting period by one week to allow only those participating jury members who have not yet cast their vote by 20 November 2015 (midnight CET) to do so.

On 30 November, FIFA and France Football will announce in a web show the names of the three women and three men, as well as the three coaches for women’s football and three coaches for men’s football, who have received the most votes (without announcing the winners). The three nominees for the FIFA Puskás Award (honouring the most beautiful goal of the year) will be also unveiled.

The following 23 players (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015:

Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitić (Croatia/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich), James Rodríguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona), Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/FC Bayern Munich).

The following ten coaches (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football 2015:

Massimiliano Allegri (Italy/Juventus), Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid), Laurent Blanc (France/Paris Saint-Germain), Unai Emery (Spain/Sevilla FC), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Luis Enrique Martínez (Spain/FC Barcelona), José Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea), Jorge Sampaoli (Argentina/Chilean national team), Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atlético Madrid), Arsène Wenger (France/Arsenal).