Category: News

Photo: Reuters

Tens of thousands of Iranians have turned out in the capital Tehran for the funeral of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the BBC reports.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will perform prayers at the ceremony, which is being held at Tehran University.

Mr Rafsanjani, president from 1989 to 1997, died of a heart attack on Sunday at the age of 82.

Three days of official mourning began on Monday.

The former president will be buried next to Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

Armenian Parliament’s Vice-Speaker Edward Sharmazanov is also attending the funeral.

The resolution of the Karabakh conflict is impossible without Artsakh returning to the talks, Spokesman for the NKR President David Babayan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.

Speaking about the expectations from the settlement process,the Spokesperson said “the emphasis will be put on the maintenance of stability, as there is no other option at this point.”

“It is impossible to reach a comprehensive settlement without Artsakh returning to the negotiating table, but there are no prerequisites to believe that this will happen in the near future,”David Babayan said.

However, he sees changes in the behavior of the international community.

“The international community is trying to open at least one of the brackets. The criticism of Azerbaijan has grown, the term ‘Nagorno Karabakh Republic is being used by international structures more frequently,” Babayan said.

Member of the NKR National Assembly Hayk Khanlaryan has no expectations from the negotiation process.

“It would be desirable for Artsakh to return to the negotiating table as soon  as possible, but it’s nearly impossible considering Azerbaijan’s stance and the current political conjuncture,” he said.

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazaryan and MEP Frank Engel discussed the Armenia-EU relations at a meeting in Yerevan on January 9.

During the meeting reference was made to the negotiations on a new framework agreement, the ongoing dialogue and other issues. The Armenian Deputy FM briefed the guest on the current status of Armenia-EU relations and the perspectives of their development.

The parties stressed the importance of permanent support for their implementation on the legislative and executive levels.

In the context of elimination of consequences of Azerbaijan’s April aggression against Artsakh and the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to thfurer the negotiation process, the interlocutors attached importance to raising awareness in the European Parliament and among the European community, at large.

The parties exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments.

Photo: Reuters

President-elect Donald Trump has named his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as one of his senior White House advisers, the BBC reports.

The 35-year-old played a key role in the presidential campaign and his new White House job will cover both domestic and foreign policy.

Mr Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, is a property developer with a wide range of business interests.

Democrats immediately called for a review of the appointment, citing nepotism laws and potential conflicts.

Members of the House Judiciary Committee urged the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics to step in.

Earlier, Mr Trump hailed his son-in-law as a “tremendous asset” and he was proud to give him a “key leadership role” in the administration.

A statue of Argentine football star Lionel Messi has been vandalised in Buenos Aires, the BBC reports.

The bronze statue, unveiled last June, was broken in half and the torso, arms and head removed.

The motive for the damage was not clear but city officials say repairs to the statue are already under way.

It was unveiled just as the striker announced he was retiring from the national team – a decision he later reversed.

The statue stood on Paseo de la Gloria (Glory Street), which also displays casts of other famous Argentine sports stars such as tennis player Gabriela Sabatini and basketball player Manuel Ginobili.

Statues in the area have previously been targeted by vandals or thieves.

“The statue of Lionel Messi… was victim of an act of vandalism that left the footballer’s sculpture without its top half,” the Buenos Aires municipal government said in a statement.

“The city government is already working on its repair.”

The World Cup will be expanded to host 48 teams, up from 32, FIFA has decided, the BBC reports.

An initial stage of 16 groups of three teams will precede a knockout stage for the remaining 32 when the change is made for the 2026 tournament.

The sport’s world governing body voted unanimously in favour of the change at a meeting in Zurich on Tuesday.

The number of tournament matches will rise to 80, from 64, but the eventual winners will still play only seven games.

The tournament will be completed within 32 days – a measure to appease powerful European clubs, who objected to reform because of a crowded international schedule.

The changes mark the first World Cup expansion since 1998.

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Richard Hoagland of the United States), released the following statement today:

Baku and Yerevan continue to accuse each other of a December 29, 2016 attempted incursion on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border resulting in casualties. Armenian Armed Forces are still holding the body of an Azerbaijan serviceman killed in the fighting.

Violations of the ceasefire are unacceptable and are contrary to the acknowledged commitments of the Parties, who bear full responsibility, not to use force. The Co-Chairs urge the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to strictly observe the agreements reached during summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg in 2016, including obligations to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Co-Chairs also urge the return, without delay, of human remains, in accord with the agreements of the Astrakhan Summit of 2010, bearing in mind the exclusively humanitarian nature of this issue. We call upon the Parties to cease mutual accusations and undertake all necessary measures to stabilize the situation on the ground.

The Co-Chairs extend their condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and to all Armenians and Azerbaijanis for whom hopes for the New Year have been darkened with the grief of senseless loss.

Fierce debate has broken out after fans raised two Turkish flags at a Lebanese basketball match, apparently in an attempt to anger Armenian players and fans, reports.

The flags were photographed on Sunday during a game between the Riyadi and Homenetmen clubs in Lebanon’s basketball league. Homenetmen are a Lebanese-Armenian team, representing the estimated four percent of the Lebanese population who are of Armenian descent, according to Minority Rights Group.

The recent flag waving appears to have been pre-planned and deliberately provocative, as one Riyadi fan, Mohammed Khoder, tweeted on Sunday morning “Tonight we’ll be raising the turkish flag in the basketball game against homentmen ‘Armenian Lebanese team’! BURNNN”. The tweet was later taken down.

A Riyadi fan page posted the following unapologetic message on Facebook: “If you want to prevent us from raising the Turkish flag at the stadium, then prevent them from singing the Armenian national anthem at their stadium.”

Meanwhile, one Lebanese blogger called the flag-waving “disgusting, disgraceful, hurtful and despicable.”

Riyadi club issued a statement on their Facebook page, “denouncing” and “rejecting” the raising of the Turkish flag, emphasizing that no provocative chanting took place during the game, and that the flags were flown after it had finished. The club also offered assurances that it would increase its efforts to prevent a repeat of what happened.

President Serzh Sargsyan has sent  a letter of condolences to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani on the demise of the former President of the IRI Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

“Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will be remembered by the Armenian people as a President of the neighboring country whose tenure in office was signified by the establishment of the initial interstate relations between the newly independent Armenia and Iran, which gave a new impetus to the centuries-long friendship of our two nations. Based on the strong foundation, which was formed in those years, today we continue to expand and deepen our cooperation,” the letter reads.