Soldier of the Russian Military Base #102 in Armenia was found dead at the Mother Armenia monument in Gyumri in the neighborhood of the military base. The serviceman was identified as Ivan Novikov.
The Investigative Committee says a criminal case has been launched under Article 104 of the Armenian Criminal Code (murder). All urgent investigative and legal measures are being taken to reveal the details of the murder.
Three Armenians were killed as a result of heavy flooding in Tbilisi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports, quoting the Armenian Embassy in Georgia.
The victims are citizens of Georgia and are identified as Zhanna Yeghiazarova, Svetlana Yeghiazarova and Liana Yeghiazarova.
June 15 is the day of Armenian state symbols. The symbols are “eternal truths” that pass not only information, but also values from generation to generation. In a way, they represent the collective memory of mankind.
Like every nation, Armenians have created their symbolsin the course of centuries, but the state symbols are particularly dear to us, as a nation that has lost and regained statehood several times in history.
The third Republic of Armenia inherited and adopted all three symbols of the first Republic of Armenia proclaimed on May 28, 1918 – the flag, the coat of arms and the anthem.
The coat-of-arms of the Republic of Armenia was confirmed on August 23rd 1990 by the Armenian Supreme Counsel. The new modern design is based on the coat-of-arms of the first Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), which originally was designed by architect Aleksandr Tamanyan and painter Hagop Kodjoyan.
In the centre of the shield is Mount Ararat – the symbol of the Armenian nation. On its peak rests Noah’s Ark, which, according to the Bible, came to rest here after the great flood. Surrounding Mount Ararat are symbols of old Armenian dynasties.
At the bottom of the shield are five objects: a broken chain representing our freedom and independence; a sword, which stands for the power and strength of our nation; a bundle of wheat flower, representing the industrious nature of the Armenian people’ a feather pen symbolizing the intellectual and cultural heritage of the Armenian people, and a tricolor ribbon – the flag of the Republic of Armenia.
The Armenian flag has three equal sized horizontal bands: the top stripe is red, the middle one blue and the bottom stripe is orange. The colors on the Armenia flag represent its people.
The red symbolizes the Armenian Highland, the Armenian people’s continued struggle for survival, maintenance of the Christian faith, Armenia’s independence and freedom. The blue stands for the will of the people of Armenia to live beneath peaceful skies. The orange symbolizes the creative talent and hard-working nature of the people of Armenia.
“Mer Hayrenik” (Our Fatherland) is the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia. Adopted on 1 July 1991, it was also the national anthem of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), the first modern Armenian state.
The lyrics of the anthem are adapted from a version of Song of an Italian girl by Mikael Nalbandian (1829–1866) later set to music by composer Barsegh Kanachyan (1885–1967).
A support group of four were delegated from Yerevan Zoo to Tbilisi to render necessary help to the partners in Tbilisi Zooafter the Georgian capital was hit by deadly floods.
The trip is financed by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets, the Yerevan Zoo informed on its Facebook page.
Yerevan has expressed its willingness to provide refuge to the animals left without shelter after the Tbilisi Zoo was destroyed as a result of heavy flooding in the Georgian capital, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan said during working consultations at the City Hall.
Specialists of the Yerevan Zoo left for Tbilisi immediately after the disaster on Sunday to provide every assistance to the Georgian counterparts.
Pope Francis said on Monday that oil and weapons seem to weigh more on the scale of economic interests than the lives of thousands of Christians in the Middle East, and while proclaiming peace and justice the world tolerates traffickers of death, Vatican Radio reports.
The Pope’s words of condemnation were pronounced as he greeted participants of ROACO’s 88th Plenary Assembly in the Vatican.
In his address the Pope said the continuing conflict in the Middle East “make us feel the cold of a winter and a frost in the human heart that never seem to end”, and he remarked that “the land in these regions, crossed by the footsteps of those who seek refuge, is irrigated by the blood of so many men and women, including many Christians persecuted for their faith.
Pope Francis spoke with gratitude of the daily work and experience of the “sons and daughters of the Eastern Churches and their Pastors”, who share the suffering of the people and carry out the work of listening and service that is inscribed in the statute of the agencies coordinated by the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
He encouraged the delegates to continue in their humanitarian assistance with a Christian approach promoting people and nations with compassion and mercy.
Looking back to the drama that has been unfolding in the past months, Pope Francis said it would appear that the world’s conscience has been jolted and it has opened its eyes to the fact that Christians have been present in the Middle East for millennia.
And with a heartfelt appeal, Pope Francis encouraged those present to “continue the service of Christian charity, to denounce all that tramples on human dignity.”
Pope Francis also noted that during the Assembly particular attention with be devoted to the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
According to the Official Vatican Network, on the occasion of the centenary memorial of the Medz Yeghern suffered by the Armenian people, a session will be dedicated to the Armenian Catholic Church in Eastern Europe, which is present in Georgia and Russia, as well as Armenia.
Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Mihran Harutyunyan (66 kg) won a silver medal at the European Games in Baku.
In the final Harutyunyan lost 0:2 to Artem Surkov of Russia.
The Armenian wrestler defeated opponents from Spain, Bulgaria, Serbia and Azerbaijan to reach the final.
According to Reuters, Armenian Mihran Harutyunyan failed to win his nation’s first European Games gold medal, losing in the final of the men’s 66kg Greco-Roman wrestling, much to the delight of a vociferous Azeri crowd on Sunday.
Silver medalist Harutyunyan was subjected to a hostile reception from home spectators who chanted ‘Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’ and cheered wildly for his Russian opponent and gold medalist Artem Surkov throughout an electric bout.
Harutyunyan’s compatriot Maksim Manukyan also fell short in the bronze medal bout for the men’s 85kg event, losing in another highly-charged affair against Turkey’s Metehan Basar.
Both Harutyunyan and Manukyan had enraged the crowd earlier by beating home favorites on their way to the latter stages before quickly disappearing into the safety of the changing rooms to escape the cacophony of noise.
“It is clear the judges were influenced by the public,” Harutyunyan told reporters. “No matter, it is what I expected before I came here. It was very difficult for me to focus with all the pressure that was on me.
“However, it is very important for my country that we are here, each victory (in the preceding rounds) was important and an enormous amount is expected of us back home.”
On Saturday, Games chief Simon Clegg told reporters the events organizers were aware that anti-Armenian feeling would run high but said they were well prepared for any eventuality.
Armenian athletes had been loudly booed and jeered during the opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games in Baku, which run from June 12 to June 28.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has sent a telegram of condolences to his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili over the deadly floods in Tbilisi, which left more than 10 people dead and many missing and caused destruction.
President Sargsyan offered his sincere support to Giorgi Margvelashvili and the friendly people of Georgia and extended words of regret to the families and friends of the victims.
Heavy flooding in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, has killed at least 12 people, with officials warning people to stay indoors to avoid animals that have escaped from a zoo, the BBC reports.
The missing animals include tigers, lions, bears and wolves. Three of the dead people were found within the zoo.
A hippopotamus was cornered in one of the city’s main squares and subdued with a tranquiliser gun.
Rescue workers are searching submerged homes to check for trapped residents.
Dozens of people have been left homeless.
Tbilisi Zoo spokeswoman Mzia Sharashidze told the InterPressNews agency that three bodies had been found in the zoo, including those of two employees.
She said the grounds had been turned into “a hellish whirlpool”.
Ms Sharashidze said that 20 wolves, eight lions and an unknown number of tigers, jackals and jaguars had been shot dead by special forces or were missing.
The bodies of a lion and a pony lay near the zoo.
The flooding began when heavy rains caused the River Vere – normally little more than a stream – to burst its banks.
Thousands of people have been left without water and electricity while others have had to be airlifted to safety.
Mayor Davit Narmania said the situation was “very grave”.
Several main roads have been destroyed while small houses and cars were swept away.
Coffins in a city cemetery have reportedly been washed out of the ground and left lying on the mud.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has called on residents to stay indoors until the animals have been found.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili has visited affected area and extended his condolences to relatives of the victims.
It remains unclear how many are animals missing. Helicopters are circling the city as part of a search and rescue operation.
Vice-mayor Irakly Lekvinadze estimated the preliminary damage at $10m.
Cristiano Ronaldo completed his third straight hat-trick in as many games for club and country as Portugal came from behind to defeat Armenia in the Euro 2016 Group I qualifier in Yerevan, according to UEFA’s official website.
In the 14th minute Armenia were ahead, thanks to Marcos Pizzelli’s superb free-kick from around 25 metres out to get Sargis Hovsepyan’s first game as coach off to a deceptively fine start.
The visitors were level 15 minutes later. Henrikh Mkhitaryan brought down João Moutinho in the box and Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty.
Just before half-time Armenia goalkeeper Roman Berezovski pulled off a good stop from Fábio Coentrão. Howvber, Armenia were holding their own and in the 54th minute Pizzelli shot just over.
There was a sting in the tail, though, as Ronaldo ran on to a Ricardo Carvalho clearance and snuck in ahead of Robert Arzumanyan to chip the ball in over Roman Berezovski and increase his record number of UEFA European Championship goals to 25.
It did not take him long to make it 26, the Portugal captain superbly controlling Rui Patrício’s clearance, turning and beating Berezovski from distance. Soon after Portugal were down to ten men, Tiago receiving a second booking for a foul on Artur Sarkisov.
With 20 minutes left Armenia had a lifeline, Hrayr Mkoyan pouncing after Patrício could only parry a shot from substitute Aras Özbiliz. Portugal held out with comfort though.