Author: Greg Madatian

Ireland-based bookmaking giants Paddy Power have been forced to pay out at what is believed to be the highest price for a winning betting slip after Armenia’s win victory over Montenegro in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

One lucky Coventry punter defied all odds to land an incredible 820,728/1 11-fold accumulator after placing a 25p bet at a city betting shop, the reports.

It was Gevorg Ghazaryan’s goal just seconds before the final whistle was due to be blown in Armenia’s Group E World Cup Qualifying game against Montenegro which landed the shock accumulator.

As a result, Ireland-based bookmaking giants Paddy Power have been forced to pay out at what is believed to be the highest price for a winning betting slip – and losing them £250,000.

Placed on Friday, the bet looked to be off as four of the eleven teams he selected were behind at one stage during their game – these being France, Plymouth, Cambridge United and Port Vale.

Incredibly, Port Vale netted a winner against Fleetwood Town in the 86th minute and the Czech Republic then scored a third goal for Czech Republic with just three minutes of time left.

However those results came nothing close to the shock that Armenia caused against Montenegro.

With a population of less than three million, the underdogs found themselves 2-0 down at half time – meaning Armenia had to score at least three times in 45 minutes for the bet to be landed.

Five minutes after half-time Varazdat Haroyan pulled one back, but Armenia only struck the equaliser after 74 minutes.

The clock ticked past 90 minutes, however with just seconds left in the game hero of the hour Ghazaryan scored – netting the city punter a massive £250,000.

A Paddy Power spokesman said the £250k win is one of the biggest on record from such a small stake.

They added: “We already took a beating after Donald Trump was elected as US president, and this Coventry lad has rubbed salt into our wounds by landing this miracle punt.

“I’ve no idea where Armenia is but hopefully this lucky fella will spend some of his winnings on a flight to thank them in person.”

At least 239 migrants have died in two shipwrecks off Libya, the United Nations said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said the information was confirmed by two survivors brought ashore on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Leonard Doyle, chief spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said 4,220 lives had now been lost in the Mediterranean so far this year.

Pope Francis has sent a medal and a signed photo to Armenian micro miniaturist Eduard Ter-Ghazaryan.

The miniaturist carved the Pope’s smallest portrait and handed it over to the Pontiff during the latter’s visit to Armenia in June.

“Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin handed me a surprise gift from Pope Francis, a medal and a signed photo,” Eduard Ter-Ghazaryan said in a Facebook post.

Kim Kardashian West has dropped a court case against a website that claimed she staged an armed robbery in Paris, the BBC reports.

Her lawyer said the two sides had resolved the issue.

The reality star said she would take US celebrity gossip site MediaTakeOut to court but has dropped the case after it .

The site reported the 35-year-old had faked being robbed at gunpoint at a luxury apartment in the French capital earlier this month.

The publication also accused her of making a fraudulent insurance claim for millions of dollars of jewellery.

French police said Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint by at least two men dressed as police officers who stole a box containing jewellery worth up to $6.7m.

Kardashian West’s husband, Kanye West, was on stage at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York at the time of the robbery.

He ended his set as soon as he heard the news, telling fans: “I’m sorry, family emergency. I have to stop the show.”

Armenia’s Acting Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan visited the Armed Forces divisions located in the northeastern section of the country’s border.

He visited the military positions and examined the living conditions of the soldiers. He also followed the process of ongoing construction works.

Seyran Ohanyan visited the families of servicemen killed in the April war – Benyamin Yeghoyan, Armenak Urfanyan, Sargis Sahakyan and Vladimir Alikhanyan.

The Acting Defense Minister underlined that the feats and sacrifice of their sons will serve an example for the youth.

Seyran Ohanyan pledged the Defense Ministry’s support to the solution of the problems the families face.

At least two people were killed when a train derailed near Pontevedra in north-western Spain on Friday, the BBC reports.

About 60 passengers were on the Portuguese train when it derailed at 09:30 (07:30 GMT) near the town’s station, El Pais news website reported.

One carriage came off the tracks completely, the other two partially.

Emergency workers are at the scene. The crash was at O Porrino, on the coast, just south of Santiago de Compostela and north of Portugal.

In July 2013 Spain suffered one of its worst train crashes in the same region, when a high-speed train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 79 people and injuring some 170. The driver failed to brake in time before a bend.

President Serzh Sargsyan has issued the following statement on the occasion of Knowledge and Schooling Day:

Dear schoolchildren and students, teachers and parents,

I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of the September 1 – Knowledge Day.

Once it was important to propagate the importance of knowledge; however, in the 21st century there is no doubt about that. Knowledge has become the most powerful weapon and tool in the world for every individual and society at large. In Armenia, we are highly aware of that. We all see the readiness and dedication, which parents put in to provide their children with good education.

We are improving our educational system consistently. We do realize that we have issues at schools and higher education institutions which need to be fixed. These issues have mainly to do with the level of education, which cannot satisfy us. We are not content just because perfection has no limits but also since in the contemporary world the pace of development has increased dramatically. We have to keep up with the world. We have to accelerate the development of education.

We also must make good education affordable for all. No teenager should lose the opportunity to receive good education only because he or she cannot pay for it.

Judging from the results demonstrated by our schoolchildren at the international competitions, our schools are not doing badly. Our school is competitive; however, we cannot be complacent, and it is necessary to raise the bar of our requirements every year, otherwise, we will be lagging behind the developing world.

I once again congratulate you all on the occasion of the Knowledge Day and wish you an academic year full of success and achievements.

The chief strategist of the Islamic State group, whose calls for attacks against the West during Ramadan led to mass bloodshed, has been killed in Syria, IS-affiliated media say, the BBC reports.

The Amaq news agency said Abu Muhammad al-Adnani died in Aleppo province.

The Pentagon said an air strike had targeted Adnani in the town of al Bab and the results were being assessed.

Reports of his death come as IS is suffering a series of military reverses in both Syria and Iraq.

Adnani – who was also the group’s spokesman – was “martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo”, Amaq said, without giving details about how he died.

Fighting has escalated around the city in recent weeks, with rebels breaking a siege by government forces and Syrian and Russian warplanes bombing rebel-held areas.

Beyonce was the big winner at last night’s MTV VMAs in New York, the BBC reports. 

The singer scooped seven awards in total including the prestigious prize for video of the year for the track Formation.

“First of all I’d like to thank my beautiful daughter and my incredible husband for all of their support,” she said during one acceptance speech.

Held annually, the VMAs, rewards musicians for their visual efforts.

This year’s ceremony was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Beyonce, who was nominated for eight awards, also went home with the prize for Best Female Video, Best Direction and Best Cinematography.

She was presented with one of her awards by four members of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

The 34-year-old rounded off an impressive night with a 16 minute medley of songs taken from her latest album, Lemonade.

Other winners included Calvin Harris, Fifth Harmony and Drake.

David Bowie meanwhile was posthumously rewarded, the late singer’s album Blackstar won the Best Art Direction accolade.

Rihanna was honoured on the night with the, Michael Jackson Vanguard Award, which recognizes an artist’s entire catalogue of work. Canadian rapper Drake presented Rihanna with her trophy.

 

Germany has said it will recall troops at its Incirlik airbase in Turkey if Ankara continues to block German MPs visiting the camp. It is perhaps the clearest sign yet of escalating tensions between the two NATO member states, reports.

Ankara, angered by a resolution passed by Germany’s parliament in June that terms the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces genocide, has denied German MPs access to the base.

“The German army answers to parliament,” Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told the regional newspaper “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.”

“And if parliament cannot visit its army, then the army cannot stay there. This is absolutely clear,” Gabriel said, adding that all 250 soldiers at the base – part of NATO operations against “Islamic State” militants in Iraq – could be pulled out.

Crucial partners in efforts to stem mass migration to Europe, Germany and Turkey have fallen out in recent months, with Erdogan angry over a broadcast of a satirical song about him on German television. The Armenian resolution, prompting Ankara to recall its ambassador to Germany, has deepened the rift.

German forces are currently on missions in around 13 countries, including Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as monitoring in the Mediterranean.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that German MPs must be allowed to visit soldiers at the base, adding that she would try to resolve the issue with the Turkish government.

Chairman of the Armed Forces Association Andre Wüstner also on Wednesday warned against withdrawing German troops from Incirlik. “It is completely clear that MPs need to be allowed to travel,” Wüstner said on Wednesday as published in the ARD “Morning Magazine.”

A withdrawal of German soldiers fighting against so-called “Islamic State” (IS) would be “extremely detrimental,” Wüstner added.