Category: News

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s remarkable scorpion kick for Manchester United against Sunderland has unsurprisingly taken a landslide victory in our latest Goal of the Month poll, according to United’s official webpage.

The instinctive, skilful finish, which sealed a 3-1 win over the Black Cats at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, claimed 79 per cent of fans’ votes on ManUtd.com, from a 10-goal shortlist.

After the game, Mkhitaryan admitted to MUTV it was “the best goal I’ve ever scored”, adding: “I was very excited. The first thing I did was look at the assistant and I saw it was not ruled offside so I just started to celebrate.

“I was expecting the ball to be in front of me and then I realised I was in front of it. As the ball was behind me, the only thing I could do was a backheel so I did that and I succeeded.”

In an unprecedented result, the playmaker also finished second and third in the voting, for his efforts against Zorya Luhansk (nine per cent) and Tottenham Hotspur (four per cent).

They were Mkhitaryan’s first three strikes in a United shirt and capped an impressive December for the Armenian, who also finished as runner-up to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for our Player of the Month award.

 

 

 

After the closure of the OSCE Office in Baku, the OSCE Office in Yerevan has been the only full-functioning representation in the region.

“The role of the office is valued by the OSCE presidency, the secretariat, other OSCE bodies, as well as the overwhelming majority of the participating states, except one” Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan told .

He added that the OSCE acts on the basis of consensus decision-making. “Despite large-scale support, it has not yet reached consensus on the decision to extend the activities of the Yerevan Office,” Balayan said.

The Spokesman said the negotiations continue, and Armenia is a party to talks. He refrained from disclosing further details of the negotiations, saying it would be ‘inexpedient’ at this point.

– The co-leader of Germany’s Green Party Cem Özdemir—a German Member of Parliament of Turkish origin and one of the initiators of the Armenian Genocide resolution that was approved by Germany’s Parliament (Bundestag) on June 2, 2016—will be the keynote speaker at events in Toronto and Montreal, commemorating the 10^th anniversary of Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist, and columnist Hrant Dink’s assassination.

Several community organizations in Toronto have come together for the past 10 years to remember the former editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos and to honor his legacy.

Speaking to the Armenian Weekly, chair of the organizing committee Raffi Bedrosyan said that the commemorations are not merely a remembrance, but rather a way for the community to continue Dink’s pursuit for justice. “Remembering Hrant Dink on the anniversary of his assassination is not simply commemorating a slain Armenian journalist. By remembering, we continue his journey toward reconciliation and justice regarding the Armenian Genocide. We also help realize his vision of dialogue between Armenian and Turkish people—a dialogue that is based on truth and a common body of knowledge,” Bedrosyan said.

Many influential figures have attended commemorations in Toronto honoring Dink over the years, including Turkish-German scholar Taner Akçam; lawyer, writer, and human rights activist Fethiye Çetin; and prominent Turkish journalist and writer Hasan Cemal. “These people all share Hrant’s vision and break taboos in Turkey. They stand against the denial of the truth about the Armenian Genocide,” Bedrosyan explained.

Dink was assassinated outside of his Istanbul office on Jan. 19, 2007. He had written and spoken about the Armenian Genocide extensively, and was well known for his efforts for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians, as well as advocating for human and minority rights in Turkey. At the time of his murder, Dink was under prosecution for violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and “denigrating Turkishness.” His assassination sparked huge national protests and outrage both in Turkey and internationally.

This year’s keynote Cem Özdemir was a leading force behind the German Parliament’s June 2016 resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and acknowledging German responsibility in not preventing the genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey—Germany’s WWI ally. Born in Bad Urach, West Germany, Özdemir is ethnically Turkish—his family emigrated from Turkey to Germany as “guest workers.”

Before introducing Ozdemir to audiences, Bedrosyan will present Wolfgang Gust’s book Armenian Genocide: Evidence from German Archives.  “He and his German parliamentarian colleagues were greatly influenced by the German historian’s book, which was financed by the Zoryan Institute of Toronto,” Bedrosyan said.

In his keynote addresses, Özdemir will explain Hrant’s role in his decision to get involved in the Armenian Genocide resolution, and his journey as one of the most prominent human rights advocates in Europe.

“These commemorations and—more critically—the German Armenian Genocide recognition resolution, demonstrate that the genocide issue is not a historical issue of the past; not just something that happened a hundred years ago. It is, indeed, a current issue, deeply affecting relations between different peoples and different states, sometimes with serious consequences,” Bedrosyan said.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a meeting with the Ambassadors accredited to Armenia, the heads and representatives of international organizations.

During the meeting reference was made to the activity of the Armenian government, the reforms agenda, the economic development programs, the measures and steps targeted at fighting corruption.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of periodic meetings with the diplomatic corps for raising the effectiveness of cooperation. He said the government is open to advice, criticism and offers.

Speaking about the forthcoming parliamentary elections, Karen Karaetyan said: “We expect new qualitative level from these elections. We are preparing to do the utmost to ensure the transparency of the voting.”

The Prime Minister said that over the past 10o days in office the government has been trying hard to reveal the existing problems and added that a report on the work done in the due period will be presented in the near future.

Karen Karapetyan revealed plans to ease the tax administration process and shift to an electronic system with a view of improving the investment climate and reducing the corruption risks. He said the government keeps the fight against corruption in the spotlight and pledged consistent steps to cut the corruption level.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent today a congratulatory letter to  RA People’s Artist Ruben Matevossian on the occasion of his 75th birth anniversary, President’s Press Office reports.

The President noted that “Ruben Matevossian is one of the greatest performers of  folk music who has been justly enjoying the immense love and respect of the Armenian people and wished him good health, bliss, and new artistic achievements.”

“The Council of Europe does not have a direct role in the negotiations, and always refers to, and supports the role of, the OSCE Minsk-Group. However, we are concerned about the humanitarian aspects of the conflict,” CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said in a statement.

“I am aware that the violations of the ceasefire on 29 December resulted in casualties, and that the Armenian Armed Forces are still holding the body of an Azerbaijani serviceman killed in the fighting,” he said.

“I urge the parties to respect the ceasefire, and I fully support the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group’s call for the return, without delay, of human remains – in accordance with the agreements of the Astrakhan Summit of 2010 – bearing in mind the humanitarian nature of this issue,” the Secretary General added.

A seven-member family was killed in Gyumri on this day two years ago. Soldier Valry Permyakov from the Russian military base #102 in Gyumri entered  Avetisyans’ house and killed six. The youngest member of the family, Seryozha Avetisyan succumbed to injuries days later.

On August 23, a court in Armenia sentenced Permyakov to life in prison. He was found guilty on all accounts including murder, assault related to robbery and attempt to cross the border illegally.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015. Valery Permyakov, a soldier at a Russian base in the Armenian town of Gyumri, was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.

On August 12, 2015, Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.

On October 13, 2015, Permyakov was found sane despite certain deviations. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime and could recognize the consequences of his actions.

On October 16, he was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing.

Vice-Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov met with the Head of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran Sepuh Archbishop Sargsyan at the National Prelacy of Iran.

During the meeting the interlocutors highlighted the unique role of the Armenian Apostolic Church in preservation and spreading of Armenian identity, spiritual, moral and national values.

“The role of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church is unique in the life of the Armenian people and particularly in the life of the Iranian Armenians. Today, in the world of challenges we should remain faithful to our spiritual and national values,” Sharmazanov said.

In the course of the meeting the interlocutors highlighted the strengthening of the Armenia-Diaspora-Artsakh unity.

The Museum for Islamic Art is hosting Dor Guez’s solo exhibition in Jerusalem. The project’s title, The Sick Man of Europe, quotes a term coined in the 19th century to describe the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, accoding to .

Using this term, Guez examines the culture and history of some of the nation states that have emerged from the Ottoman debris. He appropriates this metaphor by reconstructing “the sick man” as a historic figure. Each section of the project recounts the story of an individual who embodies a subject fallen victim to military conditions,

The exhibition is centered on a film in which Guez presents the story of Hagop, an Armenian composer whose family was expelled from Kütahya during World War I. Guez accompanies Hagop on his first visit to sacred sites in contemporary Armenia. Along the way we hear an archival conversation between Komitas and Suni, two renowned early Armenian composers. The two compare composing to a journey, and point out a connection between the art of composition and Armenian topography.

The exhibition also includes a series of photograms featuring ground plans of Armenian churches, ceramic objects from Kütahya that Guez traced and extracted from the museum’s collection, and showcases containing prints reproduced from glass slides, documenting the Ottoman army during WWI, among them, a slide showing Enver Pasha, one of the principal perpetrators of the Armenian genocide.

Three people have been released without charge by French police investigating a Paris jewellery robbery that targeted TV reality star Kim Kardashian West, the BBC reports.

They include her chauffeur in Paris, Michael Madar. The three were among 17 people arrested in co-ordinated raids across France on Monday.

The driver’s brother is still being questioned by police, reports say.

Kardashian West was held at gunpoint and tied up by the robbers while staying at a hotel in Paris in October.

She was targeted at the exclusive flat near Place de la Madeleine while her bodyguard looked after her sister at a nightclub.

The gang stole €9m of jewellery, including a diamond ring valued at around €4m.