The Armenian boxers have secured at least six medals at Klitchko Brothers International Tournament in Ukraine, the Armenian Boxing Federation reports.
Vahe Badalyan (52 kg) and Hrayr Shahverdyan (56 kg) have celebrated two victories. Alen Danielyan (49 kg), Spartak Tumanyan (60 kg) and Ararat Gyulbangyan (64 kg) have also defeated their opponents.
Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Foundation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) on cooperation .
The objective of the MoU is to enhance, on a non-exclusive basis, cooperation and to facilitate collaboration between the Parties to promote projects that support sustainable economic municipal infrastructure development in Armenia.
Acting Director General of IDeA Foundation Edgar Manukyan and Head of the EBRD Yerevan Office Mark Davis signed the Memorandum.
“‘Tatev Revival’ and Dilijan development projects implemented by IDeA Foundation are firstly aimed at the development of community infrastructures and tourism in those regions. We are happy to have an important partner such as the EBRD in development projects. We are sure our joint efforts will enable us to carry out larger-scale projects and ramp up cooperation to include other sectors as well,” said Edgar Manukyan.
The Head of the EBRD Yerevan also highlighted the signing of the document.
“”We look forward to continuing and deepening our mutual co-operation toward improvements in the business climate and regional economic development. The EBRD is firmly committed to supporting the development of reliable and modern infrastructure in Armenia.” said Mark Davis.
Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu has promised to boost security along the country’s border with Syria, after 30 people were killed by a bomb in the town of Suruc, the BBC reports.
Investigators think the blast was caused by a female suicide bomber from the Islamic State group.
Correspondents say Turkey is cracking down on the militants, after previously being accused of ignoring them.
But the blast triggered violent protest in Istanbul, with police using water cannon, teargas and rubber bullets.
Monday’s bomb hit a group of youth activists planning to cross into Syria to help rebuild the town of Kobane.
There has never been or can ever be a military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, stated at the Brookings Institution. He said the attention of the United States is centered on the fair, peaceful, lasting solution to the Karabakh conflict acceptable to all parties, thereports.
“There is no better solution. All others are so terrible that are not even worth considering,” Rubin said, speaking at the panel to discuss a new report, “Retracing the Caucasian Circle,” co-authored by Fiona Hill, Kemal Kirişci, and Andrew Moffatt.
The State Department representative emphasized that “it’s time for the parties to reiterate their willingness and commitment to achieving progress.”
“This is not easy, and the parties have to make a certain choice to reach a solution. It’s hard for both parties, and that’s why we’ve not reached a settlement by now,” Eric Rubin said.
He added that the “US, along with other co-chairing countries, is ready to do its utmost for the establishment of lasting peace.” He stressed that the parties should refrain from violence.
“We think it’s extremely important for the parties to refrain from aggravating the situation; avoiding incidents is a key issue,” Mr. Rubin stated.
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received today Masood Ahmed, IMF Director for Middle East and Central Asia Department.
The Prime Minister hailed the IMF role in Armenia’s economic development and attached importance to the further expansion and deepening of bilateral cooperation.
Hovik Abrahamyan noted that the cooperation with the IMF positively impactes Armenia’s monetary policy, improvement of the business climate and attraction of investments in different sectors of economy.
Masood Ahmed noted, in turn, that under the conditions of the current geopolitical and economic situation in the region the IMF is ready to provide assistance to the Armenian Government.
Mr. Ahmed attached importance to the promotion of different investment programs and pledged the IMF support in their implementation.
During the meeting reference was made to bilateral cooperation, the priorities of the Armenian government, the tax and customs administration, other issues of bilateral interest.
Following their visit to Yerevan, the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for Armenia, Axel Fischer (Germany, EPP/CD) and Alan Meale (United Kingdom, SOC) welcomed the intention of the authorities to address some of Armenia’s systemic deficiencies via constitutional reform.
At the same time, the rapporteurs noted the diverging views of this reform among the different political forces in Armenia, especially with regard to a possible change of political system. In that respect they highlighted that, in their view, “the main aims of constitutional reform should be to strengthen political pluralism, accountability of the government towards the national Assembly, and ultimately public trust in the political system”.
Recognising that political trust in the political and election processes is still very low, they recommended that any complicated electoral systems should be avoided as its intention could easily be misunderstood. Moreover, they called upon the authorities to invite international monitors to observe the upcoming referendum and ensure that proper public consultations and debate would take place in its framework. “Comprehensive public debate and fully democratic referendum process are key for the democratic legitimacy of the new constitution,” emphasized the co-rapporteurs.
While most of the public debate focuses on the possible change of political system, the rapporteurs noted that the concept paper for constitutional reforms proposes that comprehensive constitutional amendments be adopted with a view to strengthen the human rights protection mechanisms and the independence of the judiciary. “We welcome this intention and the debates on these chapters should not be overshadowed by the understandable debate on the political system,” stressed the rapporteurs.
The rapporteurs will present their information note on this visit to the Monitoring Committee in September and intend to return to the country in the second semester of this year.
Arsenal and Manchester United target Matteo Darmian is on the verge of joining Bayern Munich from Torino, it has been claimed, accoring to .
The 25-year-old Italian international has grabbed headlines this summer as a number of top clubs are involved in a mad scramble to acquire his signature.
Arsenal and Manchester United have maintained a long term interest in the full-back and were hoping to take him to England this summer but the German powerhouses seemed to have beaten them to the post.
German champions Bayern Munich have been on his trail and it has been claimed that they are on the verge of clinching Darmian’s signature.
According to Italian daily Tuttosport, the Bavarians are close to agreeing a deal worth €16m plus add-ons with Torino for the transfer of the Italian right-back.
Other than enjoying an impressive season with Torino, Darmian has also established himself in the Italian national team and has earned 11 caps for the Azzurri.
According to , the right-back of an Armenian origin played 46 matches for Torino in Serie A and Europa League this season, scoring twice and assisting one goal.
At Bayern, Darmian could become an alternative to Rafinha, who played as a right-back in the most important matches in Bundesliga and Champions League.
Barcelona midfielder Xavi is ready to announce on Thursday he is leaving Barcelona to join Qatari side Al Sadd in a three-year deal, says his agent, the reports.
Xavi, 35, has been with the Spanish club for 17 years, winning eight league titles, three Champions League trophies and several other cups.
His final league game for the newly-crowned champions is set to be against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Barcelona still have a Champions League final and Copa del Rey final to play.
According to his agent, Ivan Corretja, Xavi would also become an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup to be held in the Gulf state and look to start his coaching qualifications.
The Spanish player has also represented his country 133 times – a record for an outfield player – and was an integral figure in helping Spain win the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championship.