The 2016/17 Goal of the Season nominees!
VOTE for your favourite:
— Premier League (@premierleague)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scorpion kick against Sunderland has been nominated for the Premiere League’s Carling Goal of the Season.
Voting is under way on the Premiere League official . The winner will be announced on May 26.
The goal earned the Armenian Manchester United’s award last week.
YEREVAN, May 20. /ARKA/. Tigran Kirakosyan, Armenian sambo wrestler, 52 kilograms, has humiliated 5-0 Agasif Samedov from Azerbaijan and won the Europe champion title in his weight category, the press office of the Armenian Sambo Federation reported on Saturday.
The championship kicked off Friday in Minsk, Belarus. As many as 300 athletes from 26 countries competed here for the title.
Another Armenian sambo wrestler, Harutyun Sargsyan, 57 kilograms, won bronze.
The championship will last till May 21. –0—
One of the leaders of the criminal world sentenced to prison in Turkey, Kyurshat Yilmaz, admitted that in 2005 the Gulenists offered him to kill the editor-in-chief of “Akos” weekly Hrant Dink.
According to the Turkish “Demokrathaber” news website, Yılmaz testified, telling about the meeting with the Ankara representative of FETÖ in 2005.
In the meantime, that The acronym FETÖ stands for Fetullah Terrorist Organization. This is what the Turkish authorities and the media call the Islamic movement led by the American-based Turkish billionaire Fethullah Gülen and the Gülen community.c:the
According to Yilmaz’s testimony, Ahmet Sh. In 2005, at the invitation of a non-commissioned officer named
Yilmaz noted that Ismail spoke about Dink during the meeting, noting that the latter is trying to form an Armenian lobby, puts the country in a difficult situation and needs to be eliminated. After refusing the offer, the Gulenists set a trap for Yilmaz.
Yilmaz presented another remarkable episode from the meeting with the Gulenists. During the meeting, the interlocutor pointed to the government building and said. “If we want, we can kill the prime minister (then the prime minister was Recep Tayyip Erdogan – ed.) from here.”
Lusine Avanesyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Stepanakert
Artsakh Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan says excluding war is the primary goal of the structure he heads. The Commander-in-chief of the Defense Army met with reporters today to present the path the Army has passed over 25 years and outline the issues that need to be addressed.
Referring to the aggression Azerbaijan unleashed against Artsakh last April, the Defense Minister said “the Defense Army managed to rebuff the offensive, despite the fact that the rival had put its entire arsenal into action.”
“Azerbaijan had to apply to official Moscow with a request to establish ceasefire just as it was the case in 1994,” the Defense Minister said.
Although military rhetoric is still common in statements coming from Baku, Levon Mnatsakanyan considers it is meant for the domestic audience, but serves as a guiding force for the Armed Forces, as well.
“I don’t think the rival has refused from its intentions and strives to solve issues on the political field. Baku will be trying to solve issues through force and we have to be ready for that. This is what all our efforts should be targeted at,” the Defense Minister said.
Levon Mnatsakanyan presented the changes on the frontline, which, he said, “have helped improve the reliability of defense capacity and the raise the level of security.”
“Our army has never been more powerful,” Levon Mnatsakanyan said. “We have to do our best not to allow the rival to speak with the Artsakh Republic in the language of force. It should know that all its actions are doomed to failure,” the Defense Minister concluded.
The military might of the Artsakh Army will be showcased in the streets of Stepanakert on May 9.
More than 50 miners are trapped after an explosion in a coal mine in Iran, state media reports say, the BBC reports.
It happened at the Zemestan-Yurt mine in Golestan province in the north.
Two people are reported to have died and 25 others are wounded. One emergency services spokesman said that 16 people had managed to escape.
There are some reports that the incident was caused by a gas explosion, possibly as someone was attempting to start a lorry engine.
Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergency services, told the country’s news agencies that the number of trapped miners may be much higher, with 40 trapped in one section, and a similar number in another.
He said that 12 miners had escaped unhurt, and another four were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
The rescue operation has reportedly been hampered by concerns about gas in the tunnels.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Hossein Samiei visited Yerevan during March 29–April 12 to conduct discussions for the Fifth and Final Review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and the 2017 Article IV consultation.
At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Samiei issued the following statement:
“Armenia continues to be affected by external shocks. Since late 2014, the significant decline in remittances and copper prices have weighed heavily on growth, adversely impacting the fiscal position. GDP growth in 2016 was only 0.2 percent, deflationary pressures persisted, the fiscal deficit rose to 5.6 percent of GDP, while the current account deficit remained below 3 percent of GDP and reserve buffers were rebuilt. In the financial sector, banks completed the process of meeting higher minimum capital. In early 2017, economic activity has shown signs of recovery, with robust private sector credit growth supported by monetary policy easing. We project GDP growth and end-year inflation to reach around 3 percent and 1.75 percent, respectively, in 2017. There are risks to the outlook: the recovery in remittances and copper prices may not endure, and growth in key trading partners could be weaker than expected.
“The IMF-supported program is on track. All end-December performance criteria and structural benchmarks have been met. The team discussed a policy framework for 2017 as a basis for the completion of the final review. Additional growth-friendly foreign-financed capital spending is appropriate given strong evidence that revenue collection will surpass the budget projection. However, the fragility of the recovery and risks to revenues require contingency plans, including potential cuts in non-priority current spending in the event of a revenue shortfall. The team supports the authorities’ plans to amend the existing pro-cyclical fiscal rule to enhance the credibility of the fiscal framework, while protecting growth. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) should remain open to further policy easing, consistent with the inflation targeting framework. The IMF Executive Board is scheduled to consider the review in late June 2017. Upon approval, the IMF will disburse SDR 15.69 million, bringing total disbursements under the EFF arrangement to SDR 82.21 million.
“Looking ahead, Armenia continues to face significant challenges: growth remains volatile and narrowly based; the export sector is relatively undiversified; unemployment and poverty remain high; and public and external debt are on the increase. This warrants decisive action to promote sustainable and inclusive growth, including reforms to attract foreign direct investment, improve infrastructure and education, tackle corruption, and enhance the business climate. The authorities should also remain committed to a fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability, supported by a rigorous implementation of the new tax code and prioritization of foreign-financed capital spending. The CBA should strengthen the monetary policy transmission mechanism to better support the inflation targeting framework and maintain exchange rate flexibility as a key shock absorber.
“The team met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielyan, Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan, Central Bank Governor Arthur Javadyan, Minister of Energy Ashot Manukyan, Minister of Agriculture Ignati Arakelyan, SRC Chairman Vardan Harutyunyan, as well as other senior government officials, and representatives of civil society, the business sector, and the international community. The mission thanks the authorities and other interlocutors for their cooperation and hospitality.”
The G7 group of nations has failed to reach agreement over threatening new sanctions against Russia and Syria, the BBC reports.
Foreign ministers were seeking a common position on the Syrian conflict, before the US secretary of state flies to Russia to try to persuade it to abandon its Syrian ally.
The nations agreed there was no solution to the Syria crisis with President Assad in power.
But UK proposals to target sanctions at senior military leaders were sidelined.
The diplomacy in the Italian town of Lucca follows the latest apparent use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Syria has denied it carried out a chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun last week that left 89 people dead.
In response, the US fired 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase that it said was implicated in the attack.
Speaking after the end of the G7 meeting, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the missile strike “was necessary as a matter of US national security interest”.
Armenian Patriarch’s Locum Tenens Karekin Bekciyan has released a written statement, urging the clerics who voted for him to stand up for their votes and asked for the support of the representatives of the Armenian community, reports.
Karekin Bekciyan, in a written statement, criticized Aram Atesyan, who hasn’t stepped down as the vicar, and reminded the agreement in Etchmiadzin. He wrote: “According to that agreement, my brother vicar was supposed to step down after the Locum Tenens is elected. I have to say that his insistence on holding on to that seat aimed to disrupt the election process. It seems that he succeeded in doing that.”
Stating that he is still waiting for the approval and blessing of Etchmiadzin concerning his new duty, Bekciyan said: “I don’t and cannot know why His Holiness Catholicos hasn’t taken that step yet. My understanding of church and religious ethics requires me to have respect for my religious fellows, clerics and religious seats.”
Bekciyan made a call to clerics and representatives of the Armenian society: “As the elected Locum Tenens, I must have the support of the people, representatives and the leaders of the people in order to direct the process strongly. Our people should support their Locum Tenens in order to deal with this hard situation which has been going on for 10 years.”
Armenian-Turkmen relations have been progressing over the past few years, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said at a meeting with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed that Turkmenistan is interested in and attaches great importance to the implementation of mutually beneficial projects and programs in various fields aimed at furthering and strengthening of cooperation with Armenia.
“Our peoples enjoy historically warm relations and ties. I am confident that your official visit can best contribute to the further development of our fraternal relations in various spheres of economy – energy, transport, agriculture, engineering, and industry. We have great potential for cooperation and stand ready to discuss your proposals and ideas,” the President of Turkmenistan said.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov asked to convey warm greetings to President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Karen Karapetyan thanked the President of Turkmenistan for the warm welcome and, in turn, conveyed President Sargsyan’s greetings to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Hailing the current level of Armenian-Turkmen relations, the head of the Armenian government noted that the economic cooperation does not correspond to this level.
“The purpose of my visit is to discuss in detail various issues and projects of economic cooperation that will make it possible to intensify economic interaction, increase trade turnover using the existing great potential,” the Prime Minister of Armenia said, expressing confidence that the two peoples’ friendship might provide a good basis for further development of exchanges between Armenia and Turkmenistan.
The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Turkmenistan discussed various issues of the economic sphere. Karen Karapetyan and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed conviction that economic cooperation could stimulate the growth of bilateral trade turnover.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed support for the implementation of mutually beneficial programs discussed between the two countries. The parties agreed to continue the discussions in April in Yerevan at the level of the working groups.
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative in cooperation with Scholae Mundi Armenia will grant scholarships to students from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt to study at the American University of Armenia (AUA). This scholarship fund (US $1 mln) is created as part of the Aurora Gratitude Projects.
The scholarships are for citizens of the above-mentioned countries, who wish to pursue the following degrees: BSc in Computer Science, Engineering Science, Data Science (starting 2018), Master of Public Health, Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering & Systems Management, Master of Science in Computer & Information Science, Economics, Strategic Management, Master of Political Science & International Affairs, and Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
“Armenia has a potential to become a global educational hub and we encourage the engagement of young people from the Middle East to come and study in Armenia. This scholarship offers opportunities to talented youth who have been affected, directly or indirectly, by wars in their region. We believe that it makes an impact not only on these young people who come to the country and benefit from its hospitality and qualitative education but enrich AUA community with highly motivated international students who will become ambassadors of Armenia and its culture in the future. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, thus not only offers scholarships to individual students, but also expresses gratitude to the nations who were the first to open their doors to offer a helping hand to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide,” said Veronika Zonabend, the co-founder of Scholae Mundi Armenia Foundation, and together with her husband Ruben Vardanyan, co-founder of the RVVZ Foundation which helped create the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Aurora Gratitude Projects.
“The American University of Armenia is extremely grateful to the creators of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, specifically Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend, who through their immense generosity have created an opportunity not only for students from the countries that hosted Armenian refugees from the Genocide to study in Armenia, but also afforded AUA an opportunity to serve these students. Their presence on our campus will provide enhanced diversity and enrich the lives of all students. We are proud to be a part of this initiative and, through our educational programs, be able to express gratitude to the descendants of the people who sheltered Armenians during the most tragic part of their history,” said Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, President of the American University of Armenia.
The recipients will continue to receive the scholarships throughout their study at AUA as long as they are in good academic standing. The scholarship will cover tuition fees, travel and housing costs of the students. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and Scholae Mundi Armenia have committed to granting the scholarship through the year 2023.
Scholae Mundi Armenia Foundation continues to support the Aurora Gratitude Scholarship program which initiates humanitarian and educational projects to help children, refugees and other vulnerable citizens in the Middle East. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the descendants of the survivors of the Genocide transform their gratitude into action by helping with educational initiatives and scholarships, grants to humanitarian projects and promoting public awareness of humanitarian efforts. The scholarship programs of the Aurora Gratitude Projects are valued at US $7 million.