Author: Hovhannisian John

Manchester United star Henrikh Mkhitaryan paid tribute to the Armenian supporters who backed him at the Olimp-2 stadium and insists the Reds will keep fighting to win every game after a 1-1 draw away to FC Rostov in the Europa League.

The Armenia international returned to the United side for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the 1-0 away win over Saint-Etienne in the round of 32 and he marked it with a goal, scoring the opener from close range. He was backed by fans who made the trip from his homeland to join the travelling Reds in cheering Jose Mourinho’s men on.

It was Mkhitaryan’s third successive away goal in the competition and he accepted it was crucial for the club to go into next week’s second leg at Old Trafford with a slight advantage.

“I am happy to be back and I’m happy to score today,” he told . “I am thankful [to the Armenian fans] that they came to support me and maybe I did a good present for them, scoring a goal, so they enjoyed watching our game. I think it’s good that we scored an away goal and we have good chances for the second game.”

United were in control of the first half but conceded early in the second period, in what were tricky conditions for the Reds.

“They scored a goal and everything changed,” Mkhitaryan continued. “We played as well as we could on this pitch so I don’t even want to speak about it because, for both sides, the pitch was an awful thing.”

United have conceded just once at Old Trafford in the Europa League this season – Robin van Persie scoring in the 4-1 victory over Fenerbahce – and Mkhitaryan believes the second leg “is going to be more important” than the first.

Mourinho’s side now turn their attentions to Monday night’s Emirates FA Cup quarter-final against Premier League leaders Chelsea before welcoming FC Rostov to Manchester on Thursday.

Photo: ESA

One of the key spacecraft in Europe’s new multi-billion-euro Earth observation (EO) programme has launched from French Guiana, the reports.

Sentinel-2B carries a large camera to image all land surfaces and coastal waters in visible and infrared light.

It joins an identical spacecraft, Sentinel-2A, already in orbit.

The duo will be flown on the same path but 180 degrees apart so that they can provide a complete map of Earth – clouds permitting – every five days.

The Sentinels constitute the space segment of the European Union’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme.

A suite of sensors is being lofted over the next few years to gather critical information on the state of the planet and to acquire the data needed to inform and enforce EU policies.

Applications range from urban planning and air-quality monitoring to tracking deforestation and glacier retreat.

Britain’s upper house of parliament defeated Prime Minister Theresa May’s government on Wednesday, voting in favour of a change to her Brexit plan that says she can only trigger exit talks if she promises to protect the rights of EU citizensm, Reuters reports.

The House of Lords voted 358 to 256 to make an amendment to the “European Union (Notification of Withdrawal Bill)” – legislation that will give May the power to trigger the legal process of leaving the EU.

The change requires the government to publish proposals on how to protect EU citizens currently living in Britain – including their residency rights – within three months of triggering exit negotiations.

May’s Conservatives do not have a majority in the upper chamber.

The Azerbaijani side used special equipment as it launched an offencive in the southeastern and eastern directions of the line of contact at 03:00 and 04:00 respectively, the Artsakh Defense Ministry reports.

“The attempt was a complete failure,” the Ministry said, adding that, as usual, the Azeri side tried to ascribe its actions to the Armenian side.

In particular, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry issued a statement, claiming that the Artsakh forces had undertaken an attack with a view of improving their positions and noting that the Azerbaijani side had incurred losses in the “defensive.”

Press Service of the  Artsakh Defense Ministry declares that the claims have nothing to do with reality. The Ministry adds that the defending side could not have left losses in the neutral zone.

A delegation of the Armenian National Assembly will visit Stepanakert February 19-21 to observe the Constitutional referendum in the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic.

The delegation will be led by Vice-speaker of the National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov and will comprise MPs Gagik Melikyan, Lyova Khachatryan, Karen Shakhmuradyan, Vahram Mkrtchyan, Alexander Arzumanyan and Head of the Public and Media relations Department Arsen Babayan.

Armenia’s Ambassador to the US Grigor Hovhannisyan will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20.

“Armenia is usually represented by Ambassadors at the inauguration ceremonies of UIS Presidents,” Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters today.

Asked about the expectations connected with the Karabakh issue and Armenian Genocide recognition after Trump takes office, Shavarsh Kocharyan said: “The US is an established country with all its institutions.”

“Of course, much depends on the President, but it’s hard to expect radical changes,” he said, adding that “there will certainly be certain corrections, particularly in the foreign policy field.

Turkey’s foreign minister says officials know the identity of a gunman who carried out the Istanbul nightclub attack on New Year’s Eve but he has stopped short of naming him, the BBC reports.

Mevlut Cavusoglu gave no further details about the inquiry into the murder of 39 people at the Reina club.

Jihadist group Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind the nightclub attack in which dozens more were hurt.

A number of suspects have been arrested in the western city of Izmir.

The police operation on Wednesday was said to have targeted families who had recently travelled to Izmir from Konya, a central city where the main suspect was said to have stayed for several weeks before the attack.

Turkish authorities released images of the main suspect on Tuesday but later discounted reports that he was a 28-year-old Kyrgyz national who had flown home from Istanbul.

Turkey is under growing pressure while the gunman remains on the loose. Checkpoints were set up in Istanbul on Wednesday as officers checked cars and taxis. Police arrested 12 people in raids in the city on Tuesday.

Photo: AP Photo/ Petros Giannakouris

Greek Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General for International Economic Relations Giorgos Tsipras held a meeting in Moscow with the delegation of the Eurasian Economic Commission and discussed the prospects of further cooperation between Athens and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the Greek Foreign Ministry said, Sputnik reports.

According to the ministry, the sides discussed the development of trade and economic relations between Greece and all EAEU member states and the upcoming visit of Tigran Sargsyan, the chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission to Athens.

“The sides put an emphasis on the conference scheduled to take place in Thessaloniki on December 15 and organized by the Hellenic-Russian Chamber of Commerce, during which the Eurasian Economic Commission members will present tasks and goals of the EEU, as well as business opportunities and prospects for Greece and the EEU members,” the ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the statement, Tsipras also held a meeting with Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexander Tsybulskiy. The sides discussed some issues of the bilateral economic relations.

Photo: RIA Novosti

 

The air authorities of Azerbaijan have not allowed the Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft to fly to Syria through its air space, forcing the plane to return to the airport in Sochi.

reports, quoting a conversation between the command post and the pilot, that the plane was flying in the “Syrian” direction through Armenia.

“You can’t reach Yerevan. Azerbaijan won’t allow. The flight is prohibited,” the dispatcher said. The crew was later instructed to return to the Sochi airport.

On November 27, the XVI Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie being held in Antananarivo adopted Final Resolution on the Settlement of Crisis Situations and Enhancement of Peace. On Armenia’s initiative, the full support of the member states of the Organization to the efforts being exerted by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was enshrined in that document.

“We urge all the parties to the conflict to refrain from the threat or use of force, which can undermine the peaceful settlement process, to continue negotiations on the basis of proposals presented by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs as an integrated whole, particularly, non-use of force or threat of use of force, territorial integrity and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples,” reads the Final Resolution of the XVI Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie.