Author: Christine Harutyunian

Armenian ambassador to Tehran said his country is willing to make investments in the Iranian Jewelry industry, reports. 

Manchester United new boys Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly posed for pictures after returning from training as they continue to prepare for life at the Red Devils, according to .

Jose Mourinho was also snapped outside the Lowry Hotel with the United stars not involved at Euro 2016 back for pre-season.

Mkhitaryan and Bailly have joined Zlatan Ibrahimovic as new recruits at Old Trafford following the appointment of Mourinho as manager.

Mkhitaryan has joined on a four-year deal from Borussia Dortmund after United splashed £26.3million for the winger.

The Armenian told MUTV: “ I am very excited – it’s a big opportunity for me to play for Manchester United, a new challenge for me. I will try to do my best.

US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador James Warlick, has confirmed that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in late June to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency reported Friday.

No further details of the upcoming meeting are known, the agency said citing Warlick.

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev held their last meeting on May 16.

Political scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan is not optimistic about the agreements reached at the Vienna meeting.

“There are no grounds to assert that the negotiations have come out of the deadlock. There are actually no guarantees that Azerbaijan will not continue its policy,” the political scientist said in an interview with

Talks have not resumed, he said. “It was a working meeting, a preparatory stage for future negotiations.”

According to him, to mitigate the tension at the line of contact it’s first of all necessary to withdraw the troops from the frontline, but there have been no discussions on this so far.

“The implementation of mechanisms of the investigation of border incidents is also important, but there’s no clarity about the terms,” he said.

As for the superpowers’ assessment of the results of the meeting, the political scientist said “although we did not hear all we would like to, there is an impression that the position of the Armenian side is more comprehensible to the mediators.”

“They support the reinforcement of the 1994 agreement on ceasefire and the 1995 reinforcement of the ceasefire, which Azerbaijan was trying to denounce.  Besides, they speak about confidence-building measures and monitoring mechanisms. All of these are proposals made by the Armenian side,” the political scientist said.

Following the latest controversies, Sweden’s Turkish National Association risks having to pay back millions of krona the union earlier received in government grants; competent bodies question whether the association can be considered democratic at all, reports.

On April 9, Barbaros Leylani, then vice president of the Turkish National Association, raised hell with a speech at a demonstration in Stockholm, where he announced his support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Also, a number of flag-waving members of the Grey Wolves, a Turkish supremacist, far-right and neo-fascist organization, were spotted at the demonstration.

“Death to the Armenian dogs! Death! Death!” Leylani shouted, among other things, according to .

This triggered an investigation to find out whether the Turkish National Association reflects the basic requirements of democratic values.

“This statement was not consistent with respect for human equality and human rights, and therefore we [initially] started this investigation on our own initiative,” says Anders Hagquist, communications director at the National Agency for Youth and Civil Society, MUCF.

Barbaros . However, his confrontational statements are not the only thing that is now being investigated, according to Anders Hagquist. Numerous minority organizations and former members of the Turkish National Association have formally the organization’s texts and speeches for being “hateful.”

“We have received many complaints in the past and now we need to examine them again, considering the recent situation,” he said.

Earlier, Sweden’s reported the incident to the police.

“I was very, very worried when I saw the clip. This is very unnerving,” president Garlen Mansourian told TV4.

Despite the frequent complaints, the Turkish National Association has continued to receive state support of over half a million krona per year. According to the news portal , the state aid from MUCF (whose primary aim is to combat racism and promote integration in Sweden) amounted to 630,000 krona (roughly 80,000 dollars) last year alone. Now, MUCF may very see its funding cut, which spells doom.

This would be a disaster for the Turkish National Association, Union Secretary Yasin Ipek told .

“We would probably go out of business and cease to exist as an association,” he said.

Yasin Ipek believes that last week’s debate was unfair.

“We are neither racists nor fascists. You cannot punish the whole union because of one person,” he says.

According to the Swedish , which endorses state aid to minority societies, the Turkish National Organization is a large association, comprising over 12,000 members. At present, over 50,000 Turks are estimated to be living in Sweden.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the South Caucasus, including Armenia has been postponed, the Organization’s office in Armenia said.

“The Secretary-General has a keen interest in the South Caucasus region so his visit will be rescheduled,” Officer-in-Charge at UN Department of Public Information Armineh Haladjian said.

It was earlier reported that Ban would arrive in Armenia on April 25 as part of his official visit to the South Caucasus countries.

President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and  Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the Central Military Hospital in capital Stepanakert today to get acquainted with the condition of servicemen wounded while suppressing the Azerbaijani aggression.

The Presidents expressed their gratitude to the Defense Army soldiers for their courage and wished all the wounded speedy recovery.

Presidents of Armenia and Russia Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation today at the initiative of the Russian party.

The Presidents of the two countries discussed the latest developments in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. The interlocutors attached importance to the resumption of  negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group with a view of searching for further avenues of Karabakh conflict settlement.

President Putin expressed deep concern over the large-scale clashes, which resulted in a number of casualties.

The Russian President urged the parties to observe the ceasefire regime. He noted that “Russia has not spared and will not spare any effort to contribute to the settlement of the situation.”

The parties agreed to maintain contacts in different formats.

Reality star Kourntey Kardashian has said she would like to visit Armenia.

“I’d still really love to visit Armenia at some point. I wasn’t able to go with my sisters last year,” Kardashian said in a Twitter post.

I’d still really love to visit Armenia at some point. I wasn’t able to go with my sisters last year…

— Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash)

Kim and Khloe Kardashian visited Armenia last April. The sisters were joined by Kanye West and cousins Kourtni and Kara on their trip.

Supporters at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be housed in traditional Bedouin-style desert camps, the BBC reports.

Some of the 500,000 fans expected in the Gulf nation might be accommodated under canvas near stadiums.

“At the heart of this World Cup is a commitment to showcase hospitality and friendship of the Middle East,” said a spokesman.

“As a result, we are actively researching the concept of supporters sleeping under the stars.”

Bedouin campsites are inspired by the homes of tribes that have historically lived in the Arabian and Syrian deserts.

The tournament has already been moved from its traditional June-July slot to December over concerns about high temperatures.