Suicide bombers and gunmen have killed at least 35 people at a Shia shrine in Iraq, which so-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out, the BBC reports.
At least one bomber blew himself up outside the mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, in Balad, which was then stormed by gunmen, officials say.
Another bomber blew himself up among fleeing worshippers, reports say.
Meanwhile the death toll from Sunday’s suicide bombing in Baghdad has again been raised, from 250 to 292.
The NATO summit is an opportunity to continue discussions on Nagorno Karabakh, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in a Twitter post.
“Just arrived in Warsaw for the NATO summit. It’s an opportunity to continue discussions on Nagorno Karabakh peace process with Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Warlick said.
The summit will be held in Poland July 8-9.
Four Dallas police officers have been killed and seven wounded by sniper fire during protests against the shooting of black men by police, authorities say, the BBC reports.
Police are in a standoff with one armed man in a garage. Three other people have been detained.
Gunfire broke out at around 20:45 local time on Thursday (01:45 GMT Friday) as demonstrators marched through the city.
The protests were sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.
President Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Poland today to participate in the NATO meeting on Afghanistan with Resolute Support Operational Partner Nations at the level of Heads of State and Government held within the framework of the NATO summit.
The delegations were welcomed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.
President Sargsyan is expected to meet with US Secretary of State John kerry later today.
Hosts France advanced to the Euro 2016 final with their first victory over Germany in a major tournament since 1958 on a night of high emotion in Marseille, the BBC reports.
Antoine Griezmann, the tournament’s top scorer, made the decisive contributions in each half to set up a final against Portugal at the Stade de France on Sunday.
Griezmann scored from the penalty spot right on half-time when Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger was penalised for handball by Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli in an aerial challenge with Patrice Evra.
France held out against German pressure before Griezmann settled the destination of a pulsating semi-final with 18 minutes left when he turned in from close range after keeper Manuel Neuer could only half-clear Paul Pogba’s cross.
Joshua Kimmich then hit the woodwork for Germany and also saw a header brilliantly saved by France keeper Hugo Lloris – but there was no way back for the World Cup holders.
The issue of implementation of common currency is not on the agenda of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Eurasian Economic Commission Timur Suleymanov told reporters in Yerevan today.
“Implementation of the common currency is not being considered on any EEC platform, because neither the Agreement on EEU, nor other documents make mention to the issue,” Suleymanov said on the sidelines of the sitting of the Consultative Committee for Entrepreneurship.
He added that the banks should harmonize their monetary policy. He also stressed the need to exclude any restrictions in mutual trade, and ensure access to a common market.
Turkish officials slammed the passage of a measure by the French National Assembly last week criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide, among other crimes against humanity, reported the .
The Turkish foreign ministry warned that the bill would limit freedom of expression, while a former Turkish diplomat tied the passage of the measure to what he called “personal interests” of French politicians, claiming that their ties to wealthy French-Armenians prompted their legislative action.
“We have closely followed the preparation and approval processes of the draft amendments to the Law on the Freedom of Press that the French National Assembly adopted concerning criminalization of the denial of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide under certain conditions,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç in a written statement released late on Wednesday.
“In the event that the draft is enacted in its present form, it has the potential to pose the risk of unlawfully limiting the freedom of expression, especially imfringing on the jurisprudences of the ECtHR [the European Court of Human Rights] and the Constitutional Council of France,” said Bilgiç in the statement, which came in the form of an official answer by the spokesperson to a journalist’s question.
“We will also closely follow the upcoming process at the French senate in the near future regarding the draft, which has not yet been enacted,” said the statement. “We expect that the French senate will remove the elements that may have the potential to pose the risk of limiting the freedom of expression from the draft.”
Last Friday, the French National Assembly—the lower house of the country’s legislature—passed a measure that criminalizes the denial of the Armenian Genocide, among other war crimes.
In an interview with the Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA), Osman Korutürk, a former ambassador of Turkey to Paris, said that France’s adoption of a bill criminalizing genocide denial was “not due to love for Armenians,” but rather it’s “an issue completely relating to the personal interests of French politicians.”
“There are Armenians in France’s different regions who own great wealth,” said Korutürk, a former Istanbul deputy for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), in the interview posted on Wednesday.
“They can influence the policy. One of [French President Francois] Hollande’s advisors during his election was Armenian. Hollande had promised Armenians that this bill will be adopted. After the parliament adopted the bill with the initiative of a politician like [former French President Nicolas] Sarkozy, who did not obey rules of law, the Constitutional Council of France had rejected the bill because it was against freedom of speech and expression, human rights. We were happy at that time that the Constitutional Council of France foregrounded the human rights [because] France is the cradle of the freedom. Now, the bill with the same content was adopted by the parliament with the initiative of Hollande. Compared to [the] previous bill, a small amendment was made in it: to criminalize ‘genocide’ denial, the ‘genocide’ does not need to be confirmed by any independent court,” said the retired veteran diplomat.
“This time, the Constitutional Council of France may not reject the bill. [The] Turkish government has sent the representatives of [the] other three parties in the [Turkish] parliament, who are engaged in this issue, to relevant countries to struggle politically, diplomatically and legally… [against] such issues,” he also said.
A museum of statues of famous Turkish political and public figures has been opened in the yard of the ancient Armenian Church of Holy Trinity in the city of Sivrihisar in Turkey’s Eskesehir Province, Akunq.net reports, quoting Turkish sources.
The idea of such a museum was born back in 2011 and the project was proposed by then Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Gunay.
The statues of anti-Armenian politicians Ataturk and Kazim Karabekir are among more than 100 monuments installed in the yard.
The Holy Trinity Church is a historical Armenian Apostolic temple in the former Armenian quarter of Sivrihisar in the Western Turkish province of Eskishehir. It was used as a store after the Armenians of the town had been deported and killed during theArmenian Genocide.
It was built in the year 1650 but set under fire in 1876. In 1881, the Holy Trinity Church was rebuilt by the architect Mintes Panoyat under patriarch Nerses II. After the Armenian Genocide in 1915, the church stood empty. A restoration plan was given up in 2001, but reconstruction of the dome started in 2010. The church at the stage of building reopened.
The Holy Trinity Church itself is a rectangular basilica. The old frescoes and Armenian inscriptions inside the church are almost completely destroyed.
An Armenian government delegation headed by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan will leave for Russia tonight for a working visit.
On June 8 the Prime Minister will participate in the regular sitting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Armenia and Russia to be held in St. Petersburg.
Massis Post – Real Salt Lake forward Yura Movsisyan was voted Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month by fans on MLSsoccer.com for the month of June of the 2016 MLS season.
In his second stint with Real Salt Lake after re-joining the club this offseason from Spartak Moscow, Movsisyan had a tremendous month, scoring three goals in three consecutive games as RSL went 2-1-1 in June. The one-time Russian Premier League Golden Boot winner has proven incredibly important for RSL this season, as the team is 4-0-2 in matches where Movsisyan scores He now has six goals on the season as RSL sits third in the Western Conference standings (27 points, 8-5-3 record).
“When I came back to Real Salt Lake, I said I wanted to score goals and win games. Doing both right now has made this a great homecoming,” Movsisyan said. “I want to thank all the fans who voted for me and continue to support RSL.”
Movsisyan is the second Real Salt Lake player to earn Player of the Month honors this year after FW Joao Plata did the same in March. He is the fifrth different RSL player to earn the award, joining FW Jeff Cunningham (August, 2006), GK Nick Rimando (July, 2008 and June, 2010), Alvaro Saborio (May, 2010) and Plata (March, 2016).
Movsisyan’s first goal of June came in RSL’s 3-2 victory over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on June 2. With NYCFC leading early in the second half, Movsisyan made a run into the box, collecting a pass and overpowering a defender to create enough space for a right-footed shot to bring the match level 1-1. Movsisyan has proven unbelievably clutch with all six of his goals this season coming in the second half of play.
After a two-week break for Copa America Centenario, Movsisyan picked up right where he left off, as he scored the game-tying goal against the Portland Timbers on June 18 at Rio Tinto Stadium. With Real Salt Lake trailing by a goal late in the match, Movsisyan attacked the Timbers defense, drawing a foul and setting up a penalty kick. Movsisyan would proceed to convert the penalty in the 70th minute to draw RSL even for a final 2-2 score.
In yet another positive result for RSL, Movsisyan again scored an equalizing goal in a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on June 22 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Down a goal in the 65th minute, midfielder John Stertzer sent a wonderful ball into the box that Movsisyan rose to and headed past Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles, drawing the match even at 1-1.
Voting for MLS Player of the Month presented by Etihad is open to public. The five final nominees are chosen by MLSsoccer.com editorial staff.
June Voting Results
Real Salt Lake forward Yura Movsisyan – 36.77%
New York City FC midfielder Jack Harrison – 22.01%
Philadelphia Union midfielder Roland Alberg – 21.15%
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri – 12.32%
D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid – 7.75%