Category: News

, a travel company located in Bristol, United Kingdom, is planning new group tours to Nagorno Karabakh.

Two tours are scheduled for May 6 and August 28, 2016. The trips will start from Armenian and last 11 days; visits to the cities of Shushi and Stepanakert, Gandzasar and Dadivank Monasteries, the Mayraberd and Tigranakert fortresses are envisaged.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has said the trips are “illegal.” Spokesman for the Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev told APA that the Azerbaijani Embassy in the UK will inform the country’s state bodies about the “illegal” activity of the travel company and take necessary measures in this regard.

The travel company doesn’t organize trips to Azerbaijan.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomes news that the negotiation of a U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty, a longstanding ANCA policy priority, will be on the agenda of the upcoming U.S.-Armenia Economic Task Force meeting, an annual bilateral gathering taking place in Washington, DC on November 19th.

“An updated U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty is long overdue and badly needed to establish a clear legal framework for investors and individuals that are conducting business activities in both jurisdictions,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.  “Beyond the immediate benefits of preventing double taxation and removing a key barrier to increased investment, such an accord would, more broadly, reinforce the friendship of the American and Armenian peoples, facilitate the expansion of bilateral economic relations, deepening Armenia’s ties to the West, and providing Yerevan with greater strategic options and independence in dealing with regional powers.”

In August of this year, the ANCA met with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew regarding the Treasury Department’s role in the further growth of the U.S.-Armenia economic relationship, with a special focus on the mutual benefits of a new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty.

The Republic of Armenia has repeatedly asked for a new agreement to replace a 1973 U.S.-U.S.S.R. Tax Treaty. This outdated, forty year-old accord, which Yerevan no longer considers in force, was intended as a limited agreement, even by the standards of the 1970s, between two hostile superpowers. It is clearly insufficient to the needs of the present-day economic relationship with Armenia.  The lack of a modern treaty, acceptable to all parties, results in a lack of clarity and represents a substantial deterrent for potential U.S. investors. Without an updated Tax Treaty, U.S. businesses will continue to face significant burdens on investment and cross-border services and payments, as well as a lack of transparent information exchange and obstacles to cooperation on tax and related matters.

Prior to the November 19th U.S.-Armenia Economic Taskforce meeting, the first-ever meeting of the newly created U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council will take place on November 16th and 17th. This inaugural meeting is set to be chaired by the U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, and Armenia’s Minister of Economy Karen Chshmaritian.  The signing of a U.S.-Armenia TIFA, the result of nearly a decade of ANCA advocacy and bilateral dialogue, took place this May in Washington, DC.

On November 3, the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Church, began its work session at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

At the opening session on November 4, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; a prayer was offered for the souls of the departed Armenians who were killed in the Moscow-Yerevan bus crash on the Don highway in Tula, Russia.

The Supreme Spiritual Council members expressed sympathies to the families and relatives of the deceased. The Council members also wished a speedy recovery to all the injured.

Photo by Reuters

Yerevan has dismissed reports that the An-12 cargo plane that shortly after takeoff from South Sudan’s airport was registered in Armenia.

“The crashed plane is not Armenian and is not registered in the Republic of Armenia, the plane is not connected with any Armenian company,” Press Secretary of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia Ruben Grdzelyan told Interfax.

He added that the information about the crew is being checked.

Interfax reported earlier that the plane could belong to an Armenian company.

Starting November 9, 2015, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia will be changing its visa procedures to make it easier for approved visa applicants to pick up their visas and for certain current visa holders to renew their visas. There is no additional cost for this improved service.

Starting on November 9, approved visa applicants will no longer have to return to the Embassy to pick up their passport containing their visa. Rather, all approved applicants will pick up their passports with their visas from UMAKS, the DHL representative in Armenia, located at 27 Amiryan St. in Yerevan. Applicants told during their visa interview that they were approved, will later receive an e-mail notification that their visa is ready for pick up at the Amiryan location. Applicants can also designate third parties to pick up their passports for them. More details will be available at .

“We know it can be difficult to get to the Embassy,” Consul Frank Tu said. “We hope our visa applicants will find this process easier. For no additional fee, they will be able to stroll over to the DHL office on Amiryan and pick up their approved visas. We aim to make the visa application procedure as simple and easy as possible.”

Some individuals, those who have previously had visas and meet certain requirements for interview-free visa renewal, will also be able to renew their visas by dropping their application packets off at the Amiryan DHL office after submitting the on-line application and paying the regular visa application fee. If approved, these applicants will receive a notification e-mail to return to DHL to pick up their new visas. For more information on who qualifies for interview-free visa renewal, visit the Embassy website: .

Even those applicants who come to the Embassy for an interview and are asked to provide additional documents, will be able to submit those documents via the DHL location, eliminating the need for additional trips to the Embassy.

This change affects all applicants scheduled for interviews after November 9. No additional fee is required to be paid at the DHL office, as the service is covered by the regular visa application fee, which is not changing.

Steven Gerrard in action for LA Galaxy, GETTY IMAGES    

Steven Gerrard is in line for a sensational return to Liverpool following discussions with the club’s manager, Jürgen Klopp,  reveals.

Klopp has spoken to the former captain several times on the telephone since arriving at Anfield last month. The manager is now convinced that Gerrard’s presence will help define the standards of professionalism he expects around Melwood, Liverpool’s training ground.

Although Klopp has so far only debated the possibility of Gerrard training with Liverpool until 15 January when he is due back in the United States to rejoin Los Angeles Galaxy for pre-season, there is a chance of a formal playing agreement being brokered. However, that possibility is made complicated by Galaxy’s probable demands for a transfer fee, as Gerrard has another year left on his contract with the Major League Soccer club.

Gerrard is expected to attend Liverpool’s home match with Crystal Palace on Sunday and should meet Klopp in person for the first time early next week when the pair will try and plot the way forwa

A private Cessna plane has crushed in Crimea, killing four, Pravda reports.

The aircraft crashed on Wednesday night in the area of Klementieva Mount, Pravda.Ru reports with reference to LifeNews, citing a source in law enforcement bodies of the peninsula.

Four people were killed in the air crash; the causes of the tragedy are now being specified.

On November 4, a transport An-12 aircraft crashed in South Sudan, killing 39 people, 21 of them were residents of the village, on which the plane crashed.

On October 31, passenger jetliner Airbus A321 with 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board, crashed in Sinai, Egypt, leaving no survivors.

Photo by AFP    

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said he is resigning, a day after some 20,000 people took to the streets to protest against a nightclub fire that left 32 people dead, the BBC reports.

Friday night’s blaze in Bucharest started when a band performing at the club set off fireworks.

Demonstrators called for Mr Ponta to step down, complaining of government corruption and poor safety supervision.

Mr Ponta is already facing trial on corruption charges.

He became the first sitting Romanian prime minister to be formally accused of corruption during the summer on allegations of fraud, tax evasion and money laundering dating back several years.

He repeatedly denied the charges, accusing prosecutors of being “totally unprofessional”.

Mr Ponta said on Wednesday he was “handing in my mandate, I’m resigning, and implicitly my government too”.

“I hope the government’s resignation will satisfy the people who came out in the streets,” he said on Romanian TV.

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed the names of the crewmembers of the An-12 plane that crashed in South Sudan this morning:

Gevorg Tovmasyan
Samvel Hambartsumyan
Samvel Mkrtchyan
Armen Antonyan
Suren Petrosyan

The Ministry informs that the plane belonged to the Asia Airways.