Category: News

The Armenian national team will face Uzbekistan in a friendly in February, Press Service of the Football Federation of Armenia reports.

The fixture will be held in Antalya, Turkey on February 12, 2017. The kick off is at 18:00 Yerevan time.

Photo: AFP

 

Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the World Chess Championship for the third consecutive time after defeating challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia, the BBC reports.

Carlsen sealed victory following three weeks of play and a series of tiebreakers in New York.

Karjakin tied against Carlsen in 12 regular rounds but was beaten in the final phase of four quickfire games.

Organisers said the event was followed by about six million chess fans around the world.

Hundreds of spectators paid between $100 and $500 to watch the games at a former fish market in Manhattan, separated from the two grandmasters by soundproof glass.

After his victory, Carlsen’s supporters greeted him by cheering and singing “Happy Birthday”, to mark his 26th birthday.

The prize of $1.1m is divided between the two players with the winner taking 60%.

Photo: NBC

 

Police in New York City are looking for a quick-thinking thief who stole an 86-pound bucket of gold flakes worth nearly $1.6 million off an armored truck in Manhattan, the Associated Press reports.

The unidentified thief swiped the 5-gallon metal bucket off the back of the vehicle on Sept. 29 when a guard briefly went to the truck’s cab to reportedly retrieve his cellphone.

The incident occurred in broad daylight on West 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The suspect is believed to be hiding out in Florida.

Security video shows the black bucket on a pallet inside the open back door of the truck. The man looks around, approaches the truck and lifts the bucket out.

Two men are standing on the sidewalk beside the truck, engaged in animated conversation, and don’t appear to notice the man with the bucket walking past them.

Lots of other pedestrians and vehicles stream past as he heads down the sidewalk with one arm wrapped around the bucket and his other hand beneath it.

At one point, he sets it down at the curb, takes a breather for a few seconds, then hoists it again and steps into the street.

Police say it took the thief an hour to complete what would normally be considered a 10-minute walk. He then hopped into a white van and fled.

Police say the suspect likely didn’t know what the bucket contained.

Valérie Boyer, spokesman of François Fillon, was the guest of France 2 this Sunday November 27 to comment on the victory of his candidate at the primary of the right. The cross she wore attracted more attention than the speech she gave.

The deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône, known for her conservative positions, displayed an “Armenian cross,” a religious sign representing the “divine nature” of Christ, according to the .

“This is something I never take away, I always have it on me,” explained Valerie Boyer. According to her, “there is no comment to make, since it is not a symbol of.”

The cross was not seen as Valérie Boyer appeared on BFMTV a few hours later.

The cross raised a wave of criticism on social media, as under French legislation, the public display of religious symbols is prohibited in the country.

Tens of thousands of people have filled Revolution Square in the Cuban capital, Havana, for a rally honouring Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, the BBC reports.

Proceedings began with the national anthem and speeches were made by visiting dignitaries.

President Raul Castro closed the rally, referring to his brother Fidel as the leader of a revolution “for the humble, and by the humble”.

Fidel Castro, who came to power in 1959, died on Friday, aged 90.

Left-wing Latin American leaders were among those attending the event but other countries sent lower-ranking emissaries.

Opinion on Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century, remains divided.

Supporters say he returned Cuba to the people and praise him for some of his social programmes, such as public health and education.

But critics call him a dictator, who led a government that did not tolerate opposition and dissent.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today Heads of delegations of the Customs agencies of the Eurasian Economic Union member states who have arrived in Armenia to participate at the 21st session of the Joint Board of the Customs agencies of the EEU member states, President’s Press Office reports.

The President of Armenia welcomed the guests and stressed the importance of the Board’s meeting held today in Tsakhkadzor. Stressing that customs services represent an important structure which interact on a daily basis with the business community of the EEU member states, Serzh Sargsyan noted that impressions regarding the EEU are also being shaped based on their work and cooperation; the improvement of business environment considerably depends on the activities of the customs agency of any country, as well as the formation and development of the goods, services, capitals and labor markets at the common economic area.

The President of Armenia expressed hope that current issues and decisions adopted during the meeting in Tsakhkadzor will promote the resolution of the mentioned issues and implementation of the objectives set by the members of the Union in the framework on the integration processes.

Heads of delegations of the Customs agencies of the Eurasian Economic Union member states presented to Serzh Sargsyan the results of the 21st session of the Joint Board and expressed thanks to the Armenian colleagues for organizing the meeting at a high level. They underscored that any union is based first and foremost on mutual trust, and the works of the Joint Board of the Customs agencies is aimed at strengthening that trust through the daily close cooperation. The participants of the meeting reported to the President on the works aimed at the improvement of the new Customs law, problems and challenges existing in the Customs area, and prospects of development.

FourFourTwo has ranked Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan 60th in its list of  2016.

“Mkhitaryan’s meagre two starts in 2016/17 – Jose Mourinho being oddly reluctant to play the £27m signing – are comfortably outweighed by the playmaker’s phenomenal 2015/16. After all, Mkhitaryan was named Player of the Year by 235 Bundesliga pros surveyed in German magazine Kicker and came third in the official players’ vote. How quickly we forget. How quickly Jose forgets,” the website writes.

The Armenian was reborn under Thomas Tuchel in his final Borussia Dortmund campaign. Mkhitaryan scored or assisted – and this isn’t a typo – 55 goals in 52 games, which is frankly obscene. Operating sometimes behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but more commonly drifting in from the right, Mkhitaryan showed he’s a true raumdeuter, a space investigator, and one who knows where the goal is.

“If that’s not enough, he speaks seven languages fluently and his dad was called Hamlet,” FourFourTwo reminds.

Harlem Désir, French Secretary of State for European Affairs, received a delegation of the Armenia-France Friendship Group of the Armenian National Assembly.

They spoke about the development of bilateral relations and the prospects for the process of settling the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Harlem Désir recalled the commitment of France, whcih co-chairs the Minsk Group.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Armenian counterpart signed an agreement on establishing combined forces, a RIA Novosti reports.

Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said the group would include Russia’s military base in Armenia, as well as units of the Armenian armed forces. The ministers signed a cooperation plan for 2017.

Russian President Vladimir Putin singed off on a decree to establish a combined task force on November 14. Previously, Russia and Armenia signed the agreement that established regional Unified Air Defense System as part of Joint Commonwealth of Independent States Air Defense System in December 2015.

The United States has pledged to fund concrete measures designed to improve confidence in the election process and help prevent fraud in next year’s Armenian parliamentary elections. The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) strongly encouraged the U.S. government support this initiative considering its importance to strengthening the democratic process in Armenia.

U.S. funding will support agreements signed by the Armenian government and three leading opposition parties on voting conduct for the April 2017 elections.  Funds will go toward equipment required for live online broadcasts of voting and ballot counting, as well as electronic verification of voters’ identity, and other amendments to Armenia’s Electoral Code. The United States joins the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Germany in providing financial support towards the new voting processes and equipment for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“Both the government and the opposition deserve credit for working out the agreement which sets Armenia apart,” stated Armenian Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian. “The need for national unity was dramatically reemphasized after the April war initiated by Azerbaijan and the ongoing ceasefire violations attempting to goad Armenia to respond,” the Assembly Co-Chairs continued.  “We commend the U.S. and the EU for providing financial assistance to support this initiative to further the rule of law in Armenia. We are nonpartisan in both the American and Armenian contexts but this type of support to improve confidence in the democratic process serves us all,” they concluded.

According to the statement by the United States Embassy in Armenia: “The U.S. Government welcomes the agreement that was reached in June and September between the Armenian government and parliamentary political factions – with input from civil society representatives – on strengthening the integrity and credibility of the Armenian election process. We consider this agreement a meaningful step towards restoring public trust and accountability in Armenia’s electoral processes.”

“With our fellow international donors, all of whom are working in partnership with the United Nations Mission to Armenia, the U.S. Embassy will help fund the efforts of the Armenian government, political opposition, and civil society to strengthen trust in the Armenian electoral process via same-day voter authentication and the publication of signed voter lists after the elections, all as agreed in the June and September agreements,” stated the U.S. Embassy in Armenia.