Author: Greg Madatian

Manchester United’s defence of the Emirates FA Cup came to an end on Monday evening, as the Reds were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho’s men more than matched the Premier League leaders for much of the first half, but it was Ander Herrera’s dismissal on 35 minutes that proved the game’s pivotal moment.

It took six minutes of the second period for the home side to make their numerical advantage count, as N’Golo Kante fired home from the edge of the box, a goal which ultimately separated the sides.

Marcus Rashford, who came off his sick bed to play – with Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended, and Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial injured, created United’s best chance for himself but Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois saved with his feet to set up a semi-final against Tottenham at Wembley.

“I don’t speak [about the red card]. I just want to say that I’m really proud of my players and Manchester United fans,” manager Jose Mourinho said after the match.

“Everybody can analyse from different perspectives but we all watch the match until the red card and after the red card. So we can compare the decisions of the two yellow cards, in this case with others which were not given,” he said.

Manchester United were held to a draw by FC Rostov in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie in Russia, the BBC reports.

On a challenging pitch at the Olymp-2 Stadium – which was criticised by United manager Jose Mourinho before the match – midfielder Paul Pogba miscued from inside the box early on.

But United grabbed a vital away goal through Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s close-range finish following excellent work by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Swede shot over the crossbar in the second half, before Rostov forward Aleksandr Bukharov latched on to Timofei Kalachev’s pass for the equaliser.

Aleksandar Erokhin stabbed a shot wide for the hosts from a promising position and United’s Marouane Fellaini headed straight at the goalkeeper from a corner.

The return leg takes place at Old Trafford next Thursday (kick-off 19:45 GMT).

Levon Ayvazyan, Head of Defense Policy Department of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, received today the Military Attachés of foreign countries accredited to Armenia.

The Military Attachés were briefed on the intrusion attempt by the Azerbaijani forces at the line of contact with Artsakh troops last night, its prevention and the losses of the rival, as well as the current situation at the frontline.

According to Levon Ayvazyan, under the current conditions the Armenian side hopes Azerbaijan will refrain from steps that will further escalate the tension.

He noted that all necessary measures would be taken to prevent any further adventurism on the part of the rival.

Azerbaijan will achieve nothing with senseless and false statements, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender has said.

“The Members of the European Parliament are not wanted by the Interpol, and this has already been confirmed by RA Police,” Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan said, commenting on the information that a criminal case has been instigated against MEPs Frank Engel, Eleni Theocharous and Jaromir Stetina for visiting Artsakh and observing the Constitutional Referendum.

Arman Tatoyan is confident that Azerbaijani’s steps will make the visits of journalists and politicians more frequent. “A vivid evidence of this was the visit of 104 foreign observers from 30 countries during the Constitutional referendum in Artsakh. All of them, including Frank Engel, Eleni Theocharous and Jaromir Stetina, are carriers of democratic values. The visits of foreign guests and their activity in Artsakh have always and will always be lawful.”

“We have to do our best to reach the recognition of Artsakh with its democratic institutions,” the Ombudsman said.

Arman Tatoyan reiterated his commitment to work to ensure the democratic recognition of Artsakh.

He believes “it’s high time to eliminate the so-called “black list.” “No vicious step by Azerbaijan will ever hamper the development of democracy in Artsakh,” the Human Rights Defender concluded.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his election as President of Germany and expressed confidence that Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s impressive political and civil biography and profound experience would serve the best for Germany’s further advancement and continuous rise, promoting Germany’s greater role at the international arena and prosperity of the friendly people of Germany, President’s Press Office reports.

The President of Armenia noted that over the twenty-five years of diplomatic relations betweenArmenian and Germany the two countries have registered serious achievements in the political, economic, and humanitarian areas and are willing to deepen them further, which is proven by the high- level political dialogue and the increased dynamics of the reciprocal visits, expansion of the inter-parliamentary and decentralized ties, as well as Germany’s steadfast support to Armenia-EU cooperation.

“Today, Germany is also Armenia’s leading economic partner and donor, a constant supporter of the large-scale reforms carried out in our country.

I attach great importance to the fact that our cooperation is anchored not only on mutual interests but also on the common system of values. It is proved also by the adoption last year in the German Bundestag of the Resolution on the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Aware of your professionalism and patriotism, I am confident that during your tenure our bilateral relations will not only preserve the current dynamics but will also give a new impetus for the prosperity of our countries and peoples.

I congratulate you once again and wish you new achievements on that high and responsible position,” reads the congratulatory message of President Serzh Sargsyan.

Ukraine and Azerbaijan have decided not to allow goods ‘made on the territories that are not under control of Baku and Kyiv’ to enter their territories without permits from official authorities, Interfax reports, quoting Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Oleksandr Mischenko.

“During the visit of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Baku the heads of the two states instructed chiefs of customs agencies of Ukraine and Azerbaijan to meet and discuss the issue of passing goods coming from occupied territories of the two countries. Heads of customs agencies met and drew up a mechanism, according to which goods from these territories can be supplied only if they are licenses by central authorities – Kyiv and Baku,” Mischenko said.

The rules apply to goods made in Nagorno-Karabakh and Donbas.

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has announced the jury for the Aurora Photo Competition. The professional jury chaired by American photographer John Stanmeyer will select the best photos illustrating the ideas of humanism.

“The narrative of our world is always before us. Within us. At the ground beneath our feet. It takes courage to grasp this importance. Working towards awareness, peace, takes commitment. Not in complexity, but in kindness and humility. The result, a profound impact that shepherds our collective humanity forward, towards the betterment of all. It is in this spirit, this purpose, that I am honored to be the Chairperson for this year’s Aurora Photo Competition. Please join me in helping turn, through photographic storytelling, the wheel of change,” said John Stanmeyer.

The members of the jury are photographers Anush Babajanyan and Zaven Khachikyan, art historian and curator Vigen Galstyan, composer and member of the Aurora Prize Creative Council Marine Ales and CEO of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Arman Jilavian. The short bios of the jury members are presented below.

Aurora Photo Competition launched in December, 2016 expects to receive photos exploring the understanding of themes including humanity, hope, selflessness and a belief in a brighter future. Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will award US$2,500 to the photographer of the best image. Second and third places will receive awards of US$1,500 and US$1,000 respectively. The deadline for submissions is March 20, 2017. More information about the competition is .

Competition Jury

John Stanmeyer (Chairperson) – American photographer John Stanmeyer has been working for National Geographic magazine since 2004. He has photographed in over 100 countries. For 10 years John worked for TIME magazine. In 2014 he received prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award. In 2015 Stanmeyer arrived in Armenia working on a National Geographic story. Ghostlands, a story on what genocide means all of us today, 100 years ago and in the future, using the Armenian Genocide at the fulcrum for the overarching narrative. Since then, John worked in a number of projects and workshops in Armenia, including his latest, @Bridging.Stories, working with 24 young photographers in both Armenia and Turkey to tell their own stories to bridge hope, build peace.

Marine Ales – Marine Ales is a famous Armenian composer and theatre critic. She is the author of 300 songs in Armenian and Russian. Her songs were released in 5 albums: I’ll Leave You (1999), My Poplars (2001), Thoughts (2003), With and Without You (2007), Barefoot in the Sky (2010). She was jury member of the 2016 Golden Apricot International Film Festival. Marine Ales is co-founder of Gift of Life Foundation. She is the laureate of numerous awards for life-time achievements. In 2010, Marine Ales published the collection of her poetry Shards. Marine Ales is the member of the Aurora Prize Creative Council.

Anush Babajanyan – After completing her degree in Journalism from the American University in Bulgaria in 2006, Anush Babajanyan began working as an independent contractor for the BBC Monitoring Service in Yerevan, Armenia. After more than one year working at the BBC, Anush began, and has since been working, as a freelance photographer in Yerevan, focusing on women’s issues in Armenia, the aftermath of the Gyumri earthquake and social narratives related to women. In 2012, Babajanyan co-founded a women’s cooperative 4Plus. Much of Anush Babajanyan’s activity has been dedicated to peace building processes between Armenia and Turkey. Anush Babajanyan’s photography has been published in Washington Post, VICE News, National Geographic, and other international and regional publications.

Vigen Galstyan – Working between Australia and Armenia, Vigen Galstyan is an art historian and curator specialising in photography, film and Armenian art of the modern era. In 2011 he co-founded ‘Lusadaran’ Armenian Photography Foundation, which aims to collect, study and preserve photo-media art from Armenia and beyond:. Since 2006 he has authored numerous exhibitions, essays and books related to photography and Armenian art: His essays on photography and cinema have appeared in significant publications such as ‘Sweet sixties’ (Sternberg Press, 2013), ‘We used to talk about love’ (Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 2013) and ‘Garden of the East: photography in Indonesia 1850s-1940s’ (National Gallery, Canberra, 2014). He is currently completing his PhD thesis on indigenous, 19^th century Armenian photography of historic architecture at the University of Sydney.

Arman Jilavian – Arman Jilavian leads Aurora Humanitarian Initiative as CEO. He is a member of the Board of Directors at RVVZ Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees of UWC Dilijan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of MEDIACRAT. In 2011, he was named the Media Manager of Russia in the Printed Media / Magazines category. Arman Jilavian graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State Universtiy with a PhD in philology. He has held various positions in Russia’s leading media groups (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Eurasian Media Group) and managed the Time Inc.’s business in Russia (FORTUNE and Popular Science magazines).

Zaven Khachikyan – Zaven Khachikyan is an Armenian photographer and documentarian. He started his career in 1980s. Since 1988 as a photographer he documented the Karabakh movement from its inception to the years of war. He was present at the war zone for a few times. His focus is on man with all his feelings, hardships and problems. He worked on assignments for AP, TASS, Time, Paris Match and many other magazines.

MP Gagik Tsarukyan has revealed plans to participate in the 2017 parliamentary elections.

“The 2017 parliamentary elections will be fatal for Armenia,” Tsarukyan said in a statement today.

“Considering the domestic and foreign challenges facing our country, as well as the public demand for my return, I declare I’m reopening the closed page of my political activity and will participate in the 2017 parliamentary elections, forming a broad coalition,” Gagik Tsarukyan said.

“Our doors are open to all political forces and politicians concerned by the future of our country,” he said.

“We can and we have the potential develop and strengthen our country,” he stated.

Photo: TASS

 

The agreements on the implementation of the mechanism of investiagyion of border incidents and the expansion of the OSCE monitoring mission in the Karabakh conflict zone have not been called to life because of the lack of consensus within the OSCE, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference today, TASS reports.

The Foreign Minister reminded that “considering the mutual accusations of Armenia and Azerbaijan after the aggravation of the conflict in April it was decided to create an investigation mechanism and increase the number of the OSCE monitors immediately along the line of contact.

He voiced regret over the lack of consensus on the implementation of the decision and said that for the reasons behind its absence, “one should ask representatives of the OSCE.”

“There is a whole set of solutions on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” Lavrov said. He reminded about the OSCE Security Council resolutions demanding to cease fire and said that the requirement to return the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh remain in place, but “never by force and only in case of determination of the final status of Nagorno Karabakh.”

The Russian Foreign Minister said “all this is enshrined in numerous decisions of the OSCE Minsk Group, also as statements and decisions signed by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

Lavrov said that “the bloody events of April 2016 cause serious concern” and reminded that “Russia played a key role in stopping the bloodshed at the time.”

Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish parliament, has appealed to the Constitutional Court for interruption of his January 13^th speech and his further suspension from Parliament, Agos reports.

Paylan labels the incident as “the violation of the right to immunity and the freedom of speech.”

Garo Paylan has also applied to the Grand National Assembly, demanding to overturn the decision on his suspension, as it “contradicts the Parliament’s rules of procedure.”

Garo Paylan representing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) on Saturday was suspended from parliament for three days after speaking about the Armenian Genocide during the legislature debate of a new Turkish constitution.

In his speech, which angered the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members, Paylan said that from 1913 to 1923 the Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Jews registered in the country, were “exiled from these lands or subjected to tortures as a result of large massacres and genocide”.

“At one time we comprised 40% of the population,” Paylan said despite an uproar by AKP members.  “Today we are one among 1000. Something happened to us, and I call it genocide whatever you call it. The Armenian people know very well what happened to them. I know very well what happened to my father, grandfather. Let’s face [history] together,” he added.

AKP member Metin Külünk demanded that Paylan  “correct  the word genocide.” The legislative session ended, with parliament members condemning Paylan’s statements.