According to preliminary information, there are Armenian nationals among the suspects captured over the murder of an Armenian in Istanbul, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
“The opportunities of providing consular assistance are restricted because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs follows the development of the situation and will provide additional information, if needed.
On February 4, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the south-east direction of Kuropatkino settlement of the NKR Martuni region.
From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his Field Assistants Yevgeny Sharov (Ukraine) and Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria), as well as by representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nepokritikh (Russia).
From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic), Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain) and staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden), as well as by representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) Colonel Tuncay Sevim (Turkey).
The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered.
From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have each been handed a transfer ban by Fifa, prohibiting the two clubs from registering players in the next two windows, Goal.com reports.
The Spanish sides were found to have broken the organisation’s rules in relation to international transfers of players under 18 years of age. The suspension is similar to that which world football’s governing body handed Barcelona.
Atletico were fined €820,000, while their city rivals must pay €330,000. The two clubs will be permitted to sign and register players in the current transfer period, which closes at the end of January, but will then be unable to bring in new additions until the summer of 2017.
Read the Fifa Disciplinary Committee’s statement below:
“The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned Spanish clubs Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.
The two clubs were found to have violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of minor players as well as other relevant provisions with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in competitions.
Both clubs are to serve a transfer ban that prevents them from registering any players at national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods for breaching articles 5, 9, 19 and 19bis as well as annexes 2 and 3 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the “Regulations”). The transfer ban, which does not affect the current registration period at all, given that it opened before the decisions were notified, applies to each club as a whole – with the exception of the women’s, futsal and beach soccer teams – and does not prevent the release of players.
Additionally, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid have been fined CHF 900,000 and CHF 360,000 respectively, while both clubs have been issued with a reprimand and given 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned.
The decisions, which were notified to the parties concerned today, were made based on the specific elements of each case. They follow investigations initially conducted by Fifa Transfer Matching System GmbH (Fifa TMS) and subsequently by the Fifa Disciplinary Committee as part of disciplinary proceedings. The investigations concerned minor players who were involved and participated in competitions with the clubs over various periods between 2007 and 2014 (Atlético de Madrid) and between 2005 and 2014 (Real Madrid).
Fifa works hard to protect the rights of players under the age of 18 – whether male or female, amateur or professional. This is done through the enforcement of regulations prohibiting the international transfer of minors, or the first registration of minors in a country other than their own, except in specific circumstances (cf. art. 19 of the Regulations) that must be approved by the sub-committee appointed by the Players’ Status Committee. As such, the provisions relating to the protection of minors need to be strictly applied. This has been confirmed on various occasions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Opening up the door to exceptions beyond those carefully drafted and included in the Regulations would unavoidably lead to cases of circumvention of the rationale for these provisions.
On December 9, in London, at St Cuthbert’s Church, the annual “Christmas Carol Concert” was organised by Baroness Caroline Cox in support of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). The concert featured the Armenian Komitas Choir, the Ugandan Acholi London Choir and St Martin singers, Gibrahayer E-Magazine informs.
The Komitas Choir was founded in 2013 by the Tekeyan Trust London, a registered charity since 1979, the backbone of the London TCA and the Tekeyan Centre Fund Armenia. The TTL has always been dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the national identity as well as to furthering links between Armenia and the Diaspora through various cultural, educational, community life activities.
The performance of the Komitas Choir at “Christmas Carol Concert” was the highlight of the programme, since 2015 is the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, and December 9 has been announced the “International Day of Commemoration of Victims of Genocide and of its Prevention”.
Once again to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide and to raise the awareness of the British audience, honourable Baroness Caroline Cox delivered her impressive speech. She condemned the Genocide denial policy of the Turkish government and mentioned historical injustice and deprivations of the Armenian nation.
At the concert, the Komitas Choir, conducted by Sipan Hakobyan and accompanied by pianist Ella Babayan, performed “Hymn of the Nativity” by Komitas, “Arpa-Sevan” by Edgar Hovhannisyan and “New Armenia” by Stepan Lusikyan.
The Choir Conductor and artistic director Sipan Hakobyan, as a soloist, performed Hymn of “Christ’s Baptism” by Grigor Pahlavuni and Hymn of the “Blessing the Water” by Hovhannes Yerznkatsi.
Garen Arevian of the TCA London recited “The Sorrow of Armenians” by Z. Boyajyan.
At the concert, among the audience present were representatives of a number of organizations, politicians and clergymen.
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has conducted its first combat operation against ISIL targets in Syria, Sputnik News reports.
Warplanes from the French aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” engaged in their first combat mission, striking Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq on Monday.
The French media reported that the Charles de Gaulle’s mission is expected to last at least four months and that it may be prolonged.
The ship houses 18 Rafale fighter jets, eight Dassault Super-Etendard supersonic deck attack aircraft and two Hawkeye aerial early warning aircraft (AEW). The carrier’s crew consists of 1,9 thousand sailors, pilots and mechanics.
France’s only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle was deployed in the Mediterranean late Saturday after the November 13 terrorist acts in Paris saw 130 killed and over 360 injured.
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs held meetings in New York and Washington, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in a Twitter post.
“The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs had excellent meetings in New York and Washington. We stand united in our work as mediators for peace in Nagorno Karabakh,” Warlick said..
Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up goals for Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Azerbaijan outfit proved no match for Thomas Tuchel side, acording to Goal.com.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan starred as Borussia Dortmund routed Qabala 4-0 in the Europa League, with the hosts dispatching their visitors with ease to consolidate Group C leadership.
The 26-year-old set up Marco Reus to open the scoring in the 28th minute, the winger collecting a passbefore unleashing a long-range effort that found the back of the net.
Mkhitaryan then assisted BVB’s second when he sent Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang through on goal, allowing the club top-scorer to finish with ease.
The contest was as good as over when Sergey Zenjov put the ball past his own goalkeeper, before Mkhitaryan deservedly got his name on the scoresheet when he crashed his drive in off the underside of the crossbar three minutes later.
The countries in which people feel the safest to walk home alone at night have been revealed in the 2015 Gallup Law and Order Index, reports. Armenia is placed 9th in the list.
is a worldwide measure of people’s sense of personal security in local areas, as well as their own experiences with law enforcement.
The report is based on more than 142,000 interviews with adults in 141 countries in 2014.
For one of the measurements, respondents were asked: “Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?”
Singapore and Hong Kong share the honour of the countries in which people are most likely to feel safe, both achieving 91 per cent.
Venezuelan adults are the least likely to say they feel safe walking alone at night, with only 22 per cent.
The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire about 150 times overnight, the NKR Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The rival fired more than 2,500 shots from weapons of different caliber in the direction of the Armenian positions from weapons of different caliber, including 60 and 82mm mortars.
The activeness of the rival was pressured as a result of retaliatory measures taken by the front divisions of the NKR Defense Army.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council has authorized the European Commission to launch negotiations with Armenia on a new legal base, Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Afairs Tigran Balayan said in a Facebook post.
In a statement released today French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir welcomed the approval of the negotiating mandate for an agreement of cooperation between the European Union and Armenia.