Two policemen held hostage at the police station in Yerevan’s Erebuni district since Sunday have been released.
“The negotiations with members of the Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sasoun) group continue,” Head of the Press Center of the Armenian National Security Service Samson Galstyan said in comments to Tert.am.
“Members of the group have voluntarily released two police hostages,” he said, without going into details about the negotiation process.
Photo: AP
A Russian balloonist has set a new record for flying non-stop around the world, his support crew have said, the BBC reports.
Fyodor Konyukhov’s balloon was said to have passed directly over the airfield in the Australian town of Northam where he began his journey 11 days ago.
If his record is confirmed by the World Air Sports Federation he will have taken more than two days off the record set by American Steve Fossett in 2002.
Konyukhov, who is 65, is expected to land later on Saturday.
Konyukhov’s route took him from Australia to above New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean, South America, the Cape of Good Hope and the Southern Ocean.
His crew said the balloon, which is 56m (183ft) tall and uses helium and hot air, covered the route in 11 days and six hours, beating Fossett’s record by more than two days.
The American, who also started from Northam, took 13 days and eight hours in setting his record.
On July 21, Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, received Jim Costa, U.S. House of Representatives Congressman.
Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian highly appreciated the friendly partnership between Armenia and the United States, as well as the steps being undertaken in that direction. In this regard the Foreign Minister of Armenia attached importance to the intensive cooperation established between the legislative bodies of the two countries. Edward Nalbandian thanked Jim Costa for his efforts towards the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Expressing gratitude for the reception, Congressman Costa mentioned that for years he has been pursuing issues of high importance for Armenia and the Armenian people in the U.S. Congress, and he is glad to visit Armenia to get first-hand information and exchange views on the regional problems and the ways to resolve them.
During the meeting a wide range of issues on the expansion of cooperation between Armenia and the United States was discussed.
Minister Nalbandian and Congressman Costa exchanged views on regional issues.
Edward Nalbandian informed Jim Costa on the efforts being undertaken towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the overcoming of consequences of the large-scale military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) this April.
Jim Costa mentioned that as the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country, the United States will continue its efforts aimed the exclusively peaceful settlement of the issue through negotiations.
The Armenian National Security Service informs that a group of people connected with the gunmen that attacked the premises of the patrol service of RA Police has been arrested.
The NSS says the group supported crimes committed in the past and keeps supporting the planned ones.
“Members of the armed group currently on the territory of premises of the patrol service directly guide and give instructions to their supporters in order to organize and perpetrate criminal actions threatening the life and health of citizens and inciting provocative and criminal actions,” the statement reads.
The National Security Service warns that other persons intending to support the armed group have also been individualized and are under constant monitoring of the authorized state bodies. All legal and accessible measures are being taken for the prevention of the possible criminal actions.
Taking note of the above-mentioned, the NSS strongly urges the citizens to be watchful at places of gathering, to leave any area in case of spotting strange behavior or suspicious items and immediately inform the law-enforcement bodies.
Phoos: Getty Images
Jose Mourinho suffered his first defeat as Manchester United manager as his side slipped to a 4-1 defeat against a classy Borussia Dortmund in the International Champions Cup on Friday, Goal.com reports.
Dortmund, who were competing in their fifth pre-season affair compared to United’s second, made their extra sharpness count as they raced into a two-goal lead in the first half in Shanghai.
Gonzalo Castro stabbed home a scrappy opener and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a penalty after Antonio Valencia handled inside the box, before new boy Ousmane Dembele scored a fine solo effort to stretch the lead after the break.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who joined United from Dortmund earlier this month, scored his first goal for the club to reduce the arrears, but Castro’s classy long-range finish restored his side’s three-goal cushion.
Borussia Dortmund’s head coach Thomas Tuchel has no hard feelings ahead of Friday’s reunion with Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
“I am very excited to see him and to give him a hug,” he said speaking ahead of the International Champions Cup match against Manchester United in Shanghai. “He is and remains a champion and was a big factor in our outstanding season last year.
“We are not here to take it personally, since it comes down to financial matters and to sporting challenges. From my side there are no reservations, although I would have loved it if he would wear a yellow jersey tomorrow.”
The standoff at Armenian police station enters the sixth day. No incidents were reported overnight.
In the eventing it was decided that the protesters would stay on Khorenatsi Street without taking any actions.
The issue of food for the members of the armed group was also solved last night. The issue had been the cause of tension over the past two days.
As Turkey contemplates the reintroduction of the death penalty to punish those responsible for the coup attempt, the mayor of Istanbul has allocated space for a “graveyard for traitors,” where people will have a chance to “curse” those responsible, reports.
Following the failed July 15 coup attempt that left 246 people dead, including many members of the security forces and civilians, cemeteries across the country are refusing to bury those who plotted against the government.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas said that he has ordered the allocation of space for the final resting place for “traitors” where “the passersby will curse the ones buried there.”
“I ordered a space to be saved and [for it to be called] … ‘the graveyard for traitors’,” Topbas told a group of pro-government protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. “Everyone visiting the place will curse them and they won’t be able to rest in their graves.”
The decision to provide space, Topbas said, came after the mayor of Ordu, a port city on the Black Sea coast did not provide burial plots. As a result, the family of one of the dead took a body and buried it in their garden.
“I congratulate the mayor,” Topbas said as quoted by Anadolu Agency, adding that coup plotters “won’t be saved from hell.”
The mayor of Istanbul, a city of some 15 million people, also said that even the cemetery of the nameless was not a suitable place for the coup plotters to be buried with religious people.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he isn’t surprised at his former club Borussia Dortmund’s decision to sell a number of top stars, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who signed for Manchester United for £30m, according to .
The German manager also said that it was a perfect time for Mkhitaryan to make the move and enhance his career.
Klopp brought Mkhitaryan to Dortmund in 2013 for a record-breaking €27.5m fee, but he failed to find his feet until last year, when he excelled under Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel.
“I was not swept off my feet when I heard about it,” Klopp told . “If a player plays such a season he gets so much attention and opportunities he never dared to even dream of before.
“It was clear from day one that Mkhitaryan would not be at Dortmund forever. Last season was his year and there could not have been a better market than the current one for him.”
Klopp went on to say the sales of Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich and Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester were formalities, and that Dortmund need to deal with selling top players every year.
“It’s necessary to do the utmost to avoid new bloodshed and solve issues through negotiations,” Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan said as he commented on the seizure of a police station in Yerevan.
“As a rule, any state, nation or society puts aside any domestic disagreement, when facing external challenges to the Motherland and unites to resist the threat,” he said.
“After the April war the Armenian nation is facing the challenge of ensuring the security of Artsakh Armenians and finding a favorable solution to the Karabakh conflict, which overshadows all other issues,” Levon Ter-Petrosyan said.
He said “any step, words or action of the authorities, parties, NGOs, analysts or journalists should be assessed from the viewpoint of contributing to or causing harm to this utmost issue.”
Levon Ter-Petrosyan said its’ useless to discuss the reasons that have led to the radical step of an armed attack against a state institution. He stressed the importance of avoiding new bloodshed and solving the issue exceptionally through negotiations.
“It’s useless to give lessons of patriotism to Jirair Sefilian and his comrades-in-arms. Their patriotism needs no proof. They have proven it on the battlefield by voluntarily participating in the Artsakh war,” he added.
“No matter how fiery and radical Jirair Sefilian could seem, I have got convinced during personal contacts that he is able to judge soberly and make reasonable decisions. I hope this ability will not betray him and he will put the fate of Armenia and Karabakh above everything,” Levon Ter-Petrosyan said.