Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

The death toll in the Italian earthquake has risen to at least 247 as thousands of rescuers continue efforts to find survivors, the BBC reports.

Dozens are believed trapped in ruined Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, in mountainous central Italy.

The search went on through the night, and there was a strong aftershock which rocked already damaged buildings.

More than 4,300 rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment and their bare hands.

Many of the victims were children, the health minister said, and there were warnings the toll could rise further.

Photo: NASA

 

The American space agency’s new Juno mission to Jupiter has returned its first imagery since going into orbit around the gas giant last week, the BBC reports.

The picture shows a sunlit portion of the planet, together with three of its big moons – Io, Europa and Ganymede.

The fourth major satellite – Callisto – is out of view.

Juno is currently moving away from Jupiter on a large arc, but will sweep back in during August, enabling its “JunoCam” to take even better images.

At the moment, scientists are just relieved to know that the equipment is in good health after its encounter with Jupiter’s harsh radiation environment during the spacecraft’s orbit insertion manoeuvre on 5 July (GMT).

The mission team is now turning on all the probe’s instruments to check their status.

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed condolences to the relatives and friends of the Armenian family found killed in Javakhk.

Ofelya Kachotyan and her three children aged 5, 16 and 18 were found dead in the village of Vachian in Akhalkalak region, Javakheti News reports.

Investigation into the circumstance of the case is still under way, but the fact of a brutal murder is obvious.

Villagers say Ofelya’s husband was in Russia, the family lived a modest life with average revenues.

Vachian is an Armenian-populated village 6 km away from Akhalkalak.

Armenian Ambassador to Georgia Yuri Vardanyan has talked to the governor of Samtskhe-Javakhk region Akaki Machutatde and chief of Police Teymuraz Kalandasze.

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that the suspect has been arrested.

The Armenian Embassy keeps in touch with the law-enforcement bodies of Georgia and closely follows the developments.

The reconstruction of the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Lars highway may take 2-3 weeks, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms Vache Gabrielyan said at the government sitting today. The issue is in the spotlight of the Prime Minister and the government, he said.

The road is currently impassable because of flooding of Terek River. The land transportation of cargos is impossible. The Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations keeps in touch with the relevant authorities in Georgia and Russia, the Minister said.

At the request of the Armenian PM the Russian government has provided a plane to transport citizens stuck at Upper Lars border checkpoint. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has already flown 96 citizens to Yerevan, another 120 will be transported today, Vache Gabrielyan said.

Manchester United are set to pay €42.5 million for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, according to multiple reports in Germany, reports.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed on Tuesday that United had “significantly improved their offer” and , and all report that the Premier League side have nearly doubled their initial €24m (£19.9m) bid to €42.5m (£35.2m).

The reports said Dortmund are set to accept the offer — which would be the biggest transfer fee ever paid for a player entering the final year of his contract in Europe — and the deal will be completed in the coming days.

Kicker said that minor details in the contract are yet to be negotiated and Dortmund want the approval of all bodies of the club before accepting, while Mkhitaryan will have to pass a medical, but a deal appears imminent.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be allowed to leave Borussia Dortmund until the end of his existing contract amid interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, the club’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has confirmed,  reports.

ESPN FC sources say that Arsenal have made Mkhitaryan their number one target, but the Armenia international — who is under contract until 2017 — will not be allowed a transfer, despite there also being a reported €24 million offer from Manchester United.

Mkhitaryan, 27, has turned down Dortmund’s contract offer and has his heart set on a move to the Premier League, but the Bundesliga have decided not to sell the midfielder and will force him to see out his contract, .

“We’ve been negotiating a new deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan for four months,” . “We now know he won’t sign an extension. There was never a promise that he can leave us prematurely.”

Watzke’s comments came after Mino Raiola, Mkhitaryan’s agent, that the club had promised the Armenian and his representative to be allowed a transfer in the summer.

“Those in charge at BVB promised Micki months ago that he can leave the club in the summer,” Raiola said. “Dortmund have an official offer, but the BVB bosses now fear their fans. All of a sudden they say that he has to leave on a free next summer. That’s very bad management.”

According to Bild, Manchester United have made a €24m offer for Mkhitaryan — who set up 32 goals and scored a further 23 in all competitions for the club last term — and the agent wants his player to link up with Jose Mourinho as soon as possible.

“Manchester United are a unique opportunity,” Raiola said. “Micki wants to join them now by any means.”

However, Dortmund, who have already sold key players Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan to Bayern Munich and Manchester City, have decided to not sell the Armenian.

“We have intensely discussed the question of an early transfer in all club bodies and came to the conclusion that Mkhitaryan will stay in Dortmund next season,” Watzke said.

Turkey has criticized plans by Germany’s parliament to recognize the World War I killings of Armenians as genocide, the Associated Press reports.

Germany’s parliament is to hold a vote on a motion describing the deaths as genocide this week.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday that Germany — home to a large Turkish community — should “act with caution.”

He said parliaments should not decide on history and that all countries should make documents available to historians so they can shed light on the killings.

Since May 10, dozens of civil engineers and structural craftsmen based at the Robins Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Georgia have been working on important renovations at Yerevan Elderly Institute #1, improving the safety and conditions of 12 residential suites and the common area of the institute.

These members of the 116^th Civil Engineer Squadron of the Georgia Air National Guard came to Armenia as part of the U.S. military’s Humanitarian Civic Assistance Program. The military engineers replaced the flooring of the institute, making the entire facility safer for the elderly who rely on it. They also repaired bathrooms in the building, worked on sewage lines and electrical wiring, and replaced and refinished many walls. The renovation provided crucial skill-set training for the engineers, who were able to practice their skills in real-world settings. At the same time, the renovation continues the long-lasting friendship between the Armenian people and the citizens of the United States.

“We will be grateful for many years for the work you have done here,” said Khachik Sargsyan, director of Yerevan Elderly Institution No. 1. “The work carried out here will help our residents with hot water and heating and provide a safe and cleaning living environment.”

“These members of the Georgia Air National Guard represent some of the best of the best in the U.S. military, and now they have a personal understanding of the Armenian people that they can carry with them as they return home,” said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, Jr., who was joined at a ribbon cutting for the renovated facility on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, by the Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Issues Artem Asatryan.

This is the third year the U.S. European Command’s Humanitarian Civic Assistance Program has been active in Armenia.

“Through efforts such as this renovation, in partnership with the Armenian government and civil society, we at the Embassy are working to improve the lives of the Armenian people and help this historic nation have the secure, peaceful, and prosperous future it deserves,” Ambassador Mills said.

Prominent Greeks of Armenian and Pontic descent were honored during a special ceremony held at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens on Saturday, which culminated a series of events organized by the ministry of defense to mark the anniversary of the Pontic Greek and Armenian genocide in the early 20th century, according to Greek Reporter. 

“The genocide of Pontic Greeks and Armenians remains in collective memory as one of the most horrific crimes of the last century, but also as a crime for which, after so many years, justice has not been served,” Defense Minister Panos Kammenos in his speech.

He also urged all parties involved to continue fight for international recognition of the event.

Addressing the event, the Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly, Edward Sharmazanov said:

“The Genocide of Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire and Kemalist Turkey is considered to be one of the greatest disasters of the previous century, that has taken lives of innocent Greeks. It is a great honour for me to be here and address you as a descendent of both nations who survived the Greek and Armenian Genocide.

A century ago hundreds of thousands of Pontic Greeks were massacred by the Turkish Government, thousands of Christian monuments were destroyed. This was not a mere crime against the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians: this was a crime against humanity.

Since then only a few have raised the importance of condemning the actions of the Ottoman Empire against its Christian population. Amongst them is the Republic of Armenia and I am deeply grateful for your appreciation of my humble contribution to our mutual mission. I would like to inform you that 2 days ago the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic became the fifth country in the world which recognized and condemned the Genocide of Pontic Greeks in the Ottoman Empire and Kemalist Turkey.

Unfortunately, Turkey continues its policy of denial. Moreover, not only it denies its former crimes but also commits new ones by keeping occupied 38 percent of the Cyprus territory and supporting both the Islamic State in the Middle East and Azerbaijani aggression against the peaceful people of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

We should realise that the atrocities committed in the Ottoman Empire a century ago, the beheadings in the Middle East as well as the inhumane actions of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic today are of the same nature.

Let us not forget that impunity leads to new crimes and the application of double standards is unacceptable. Therefore, I urge you to unite against the threat of terrorism, fascism and panturkism. I believe that only in unity we can withstand and overcome the threat of nowadays Taleats, Kemals and Hitlers. I call on people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to recognize and condemn the Genocide of the Christian population in the Ottoman Empire, and particularly the Genocide of Greeks, as well as to condemn the Turkish denial policy.”

Rescuers in Sri Lanka are searching for scores of people missing after massive landslides following days of rain, the BBC reports.

The Red Cross says more than 200 families are feared buried in the mudslides in three villages in central Kegalle district.

At least 13 bodies have been recovered so far. Another three bodies were found elsewhere in the district.

Disaster officials say about 150 people have been rescued but more than 60 houses have been buried by mud.

At least 32 people have been killed in flooding during three days of torrential rain in Sri Lanka, according to official figures.

Nearly 350,000 people have been displaced by the flooding.