Category: News

What did make of the draw that pits against his brother Florentin’s club?

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s dedication and commitment enabled him to win back his place at Manchester United.

Mourinho admits he has been impressed by the player’s determination to prove his worth.

“I have had similar processes and adaptation with other players,” Mourinho told a press conference today.

“We bought him, he was not chosen by other people, he was bought because I asked the club to do it.

“So it would be more frustrating for me if everything went wrong.

“In that period, when he did not play, he was a great professional.

“Another guy would blame the pitch, the weather, the manager — but he was quiet, closed his mouth, worked really hard and waited for opportunity.”

Jose Mourinho said he was “scared” about losing Henrikh Mkhitaryan to a lengthy lay-off after watching a replay of the tackle on the Manchester United midfielder which saw him stretchered off during the Premier League win against Tottenham Hotspur.

Mkhitaryan is expected to be sidelined for just two weeks as a result of the ankle injury sustained after Danny Rose’s challenge during the 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

But Mourinho, who is hopeful of having the Armenian back in the team during the Christmas period, feared the worst initially.

“When I saw the tackle on TV, I was scared,” Mourinho said. “It’s a pity because he will miss matches in his best period, but at least we won’t miss him for long.

“Hopefully he can play at Christmas. We believe that is possible. When I saw on stretcher, I thought it was more difficult.”

– Jamie Redknapp believes that the Red Devils would be occupying a top-four position in the Premier League had they used their Armenian summer signing more frequently.

Manchester United’s reluctance to offer Henrikh Mkhitaryan regular football during the early part of the season has cost them “six or seven points”, according to former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp.

The Red Devils spent big on the Armenian forward over the summer, with a reported £26.3 million fee taking him to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund.

Mkhitaryan has impressed since being brought back in from the cold and, after he netted the winner in Sunday’s crucial victory over Tottenham, Redknapp believes that United would be sitting inside the Champions League places had they shown greater faith in his ability.

“I don’t buy the argument that Henrikh Mkhitaryan needed time to adjust to the Premier League,” he wrote in the Daily Mail.

“If he had started sooner, I’m convinced Manchester United would have six or seven more points.

“He is like Philippe Coutinho or Mesut Ozil in his ability to unlock the door and see passes that others don’t.

“He shone in the fast and furious pace of the Bundesliga so why wasn’t he even on the bench for so long?”

 

The death toll in the deadly Istanbul bomb attacks rose to 41.

Two explosions struck Saturday night outside a major soccer stadium in Istanbul after fans had gone home, the Associated Press repots.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement saying “unfortunately we have martyrs and wounded” but did not specify the number.

One of the blasts was thought to be a car bomb and the second appeared to have been caused by a suicide bomber.

Police cordoned off the area as smoke rose from behind the newly built Vodafone Arena Stadium, known colloquially as Besiktas Stadium after the local team and neighborhood. Witnesses also heard gunfire after the explosions.

 

 

 

A plaque to academician, long-time Director of the Hermitage Museum Boris Piotrovski was unveiled today at Zakyan, 2, Yerevan – the place, where the renowned scholar lived. The plaque was opened by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and Boris Piotrovski’s son – famous orientalist and current Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovski.

The plaque is not only a tribute to the memory of the scholar, but also a symbol of strong Armenian-Russian ties, Mikhail Piotrovski said at a solemn opening ceremony.

“We have ancient and strong ties, but there are also a lot of programs we are discussing now. One of them is the program of research on archeological materials of Karmir Blur to be signed between the Hermitage and the Armenian Ministry of Culture,” he added.

The bronze plaque has been authored by Tigran Muradyan, Tigran Barseghyan is the architect.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today Argentine Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian.

The Prime Minister hailed Eduardo Eurnekian’s activity in our country, noting that he’s one of the largest and most successful investors in the Armenian economy. He pledged the willingness of the government to maintain the effective cooperation.

Karen Karapetyan and Eduardo Eurnekian exchanged views on the ongoing programs in Armenia, as well as the perspectives of launching new projects. In particular, the interlocutors discussed issues related to the construction of a solar station in Armavir province and an Hydro Power Plant in Meghri, development of infrastructures of Zvartnots and Shirak Airports and promotion of tourism, investment in the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Prime Minister presented the steps being taken towards the development of Armenia and its economy and informed about the government’s plans to establish a Center of Strategic Initiatives that will serve as a platform for the implementation of joint programs under the state-private sector cooperation.

Karen Karapetyan noted that the government attaches importance to the permanent contacts with investors and businessmen and is open for discussion of issues of reciprocal interest and creation of a convenient business climate.

Welcoming the reforms undertaken by the government, Mr. Eurnekian said he’ll keep implementing investment programs in Armenia and voiced willingness to engage in the work of the Center of Strategic Initiatives.

 

 

 

Some of the provisions of the Hamburg Statement of the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries were unprecedented, MP Khosrov Harutyunyan told reporters today. According to him, the statement was a “yellow card” to Azerbaijan.

In light of the dramatic escalation in violence along the Line of Contact in April, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and France and the US Secretary of State expressed concern over continuing armed incidents, including reports on the use of heavy weapons, and strongly condemn the use of force or the threat of the use of force.

“There is no military solution to this conflict and no justification for the death and injury of civilians,” they stressed.

“The situation in the region threatens to explode. The international community is worried about the developments and will not tolerate any attempt to further aggravate the situation or solve domestic issues, resorting to political adventurism,” Khosrov Harutyunyan said.

President Serzh Sargsyan, who conducted a working visit to the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh on December 8-11, in the evening of December 11 in Stepanakert met with art workers of Armenia who are visiting Artsakh.

The President of Armenia expressed readiness to hold such gathering days ago during his meeting with the Minister of Culture of Armenia Armen Amirian. The meeting, which took place in the capital of Artsakh was also attended by the Ministers of Culture of Armenia and NKR.

First, at the request of the participants, the President of Armenia spoke about the purpose of his visit to Artsakh, meetings and discussions held in the framework of the visit, results of his visits to the defense positions of the Defense Army and then answered the questions raised by the art workers, listened to their concerns regarding problems existing in the area and proposals on the possible avenues to address them.

Turkish police have detained 118 Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) officials over alleged links to Kurdish militants, state media report, the BBC reports.

They were rounded up on suspicion of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), reports said

The arrests come two days after twin bomb attacks near a football stadium in Istanbul which killed 44 people.

Meanwhile, Austria says that talks with Turkey over membership of the European Union should be suspended.

The Islamic State (IS) group has retaken the Syrian city of Palmyra, hours after Russian air strikes appeared to have driven it back, the reports.

The governor of Homs province, Talal Barazi, said government forces were now regrouping outside the ancient city, preparing to launch a fresh assault.

IS held the city from May 2015 until it was forced out in March this year.

Correspondents say IS appears to have taken advantage of the government’s focus on Aleppo, further north.

Mr Barazi confirmed the withdrawal from Palmyra but insisted “the army is using all means to prevent the terrorists from staying”.

Activists in the city said militants were going door to door looking for any remaining forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored for the second match in succession to give Manchester United a much-needed victory over Tottenham in the Premier League.