Category: News

Photo: Getty Images

 

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he has sold football club AC Milan to a Chinese consortium, the BBC reports.

Berlusconi, who owns the Serie A team, made the remarks to local newspapers on Tuesday.

He said they will be paying at least €400m (£220m) over the next two years, which may value the club at up to €750m including debt.

“Milan has now embarked on this path towards China,” he said without disclosing the identity of the buyers.

However other media outlets, citing their own sources, said the terms of the deal are still being finalised.

 

 

 

On July 5 the Israeli Knesset held an hour long debate on the Armenian genocide, but did not vote on a motion presented by Meretz party chairwoman Zehava Gal-On, sending it to the Education Committee.

Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Giro Manoyan says it was done to avoid further aggravation of relations with Turkey, which have been normalized with great difficulty.

He says, however, that the bill is an additional lever in the hands of Israel to show Ankara its place.

MP Tevan Poghosyan does not see grounds for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israel. He’s confident, however, that the number of supporters of recognition will gradually increase, which will finally lead to the acknowledgement of the fact.

The discussion at the Knesset was accompanied by rallies in front of the parliament building. Speakers at the rally included Israeli historian Yair Auron, Members of Knesset.

“Israel remains an unjust country,” Head of the Armenian National Committee of Jerusalem Hagop Seven said, commenting on the decision of the Knesset.

During Tuesday’s special plenary debate Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein said, ”It is no secret that [in Israel] as well this event has been controversial, at least with regards to the publicity it should be given. I am reiterating this year as well, and from this podium: We must not ignore, diminish or deny this terrible genocide. We must differentiate between our current interests and the difficult past, which this dark chapter is a part of.”

”This is the correct and appropriate thing to do, seeing as we are part of the family of nations and a nation whose values of morality and compassion towards every human being are paramount. Let us not remain indifferent, albeit a bit late, to the suffering the Armenians experienced,” Edelstein said.

“We cannot remain apathetic, even if it’s late, to the suffering the Armenians experienced. Recognizing the Armenian genocide is important to us as human beings who carry the moral responsibility and constantly hope to improve the world and society,” Edelstein stated.

Photo: AFP

 

The death toll from Sunday’s suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has risen to 250, the Iraqi government says, making it the deadliest such attack since the 2003 US-led invasion, the BBC reports.

A lorry packed with explosives was detonated in the Karrada district while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide attack.

An earlier estimate for the attack had put the toll at 165.

Iraq remains under an official state of mourning following the bombing.

The destruction of the area was all but complete. Bewildered local residents have held candlelight vigils and prayed for peace.

 

 

 

Organizers of the 13^th Golden Apricot Yerevan Film Festival today presented the cooperation with a number of Foreign Missions accredited to Armenia. The best French, Russian and British films will screened within the framework of the festival.

Golden Apricot Film Festival in cooperation with British Council in Armenia will present a special film program, dedicated to the 400th anniversary of renowned British writer William Shakespeare’s death. The best films, based on Shakespeare’s works, will be screened in the frames of the program.

The “French New Cinema” program will be realized in cooperation with the Embassy of France in Armenia. It includes the best three films of French production.  The program will open with Two Remis, Two, (2015) by Pierre Léon.

The “Danish New Cinema” program will be implemented in cooperation with the Danish Film Institute. The program will present the best Danish films of the last five years. The Commune (2015) by Thomas Winterberg will open the program.

The four best films by Basque directors will be presented in a separate film program titled “Basque New Cinema.” The film Autumn without Berlin (2015) by Lara Izagirre is to open the film program.

The Golden Apricot 13^th International Film Festival will kick off on July 10 with the screening of Hamo Beknazaryan’s Zareh and will run through July 17.

Georgia and Armenia are jointly looking at ways to better harmonise the international transit corridor through Georgia – the E60 Highway – to ensure swift, efficient transporting of goods via European standard rods, reports.

Today Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met Armenia’s Minister of Transport and Communication Gagik Beglaryan in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

The two officials spoke about moving cargo through Georgia as a transit corridor and along its main highway. While transit traffic currently used this route, both officials agreed more could be done to improve the local infrastructure and develop the country’s transit potential.

Kvirikashvili and Beglaryan noted the importance of the E60 Highway, which spans the width of the country, from east and west. The road connects Black Sea coastal Batumi and Poti to Tbilisi in the east, and continues on to the Tsiteli Khidi (Red Bridge) border checkpoint between Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The highway is regarded as part of a corridor that connects Europe in the West and Asia in the East via a network of international standard roads.

The two officials also spoke about several other main roads in Georgia that connect the country with neighbouring nations, such as the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road that heads up from Tbilisi towards Russia and the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi road that goes east.

Kvirikashvili and Beglaryan agreed that the most efficient way to transit cargoes from Armenia through Georgia is via Rustavi and on to Sadakhlo, and from Tbilisi to Geguti.

President Serzh Sargsyan received EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Conflict in Georgia Herbert Salber.

The interlocutors referred to the Armenia-EU cooperation and the development of relations. They exchanged views on the latest developments in the Karabakh conflict settlement process after the summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg, the implementation of the agreements reached and the perspectives of furthering the negotiation process.

President Sargsyan stressed that “Armenia highly appreciates the European Union’s commitment to create a favorable atmosphere for the comprehensive settlement of the Karabakh conflict and the efforts towards ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region.”

President Sargsyan briefed the guest on the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group towards the resolution of the conflict through peaceful negotiations mediated by the Co-Chairs. He reiterated the willingness of the Armenian party to continue the constructive steps and cooperation for the sake of establishment of peace and security in the region.

The Armenian President and the EU Special Representative agreed that the Armenia-EU relations are developing dynamically thanks to bilateral political will and commitment.

They voiced the hope that the negotiations on a new Armenia-EU framework agreement would be successfully completed in the coming months.

Photo: Getty Images

 

Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud, the BBC reports.

His father, Jorge Messi, was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain of €4.1m ($4.5m) between 2007 and 2009.

They also face millions of euros in fines for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to conceal earnings from image rights.

However, neither man is expected to serve time in jail.

Under the Spanish system, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.

The footballer and his father were found guilty of three counts of tax fraud in Wednesday’s ruling by the court in Barcelona.

As well as the jail terms, Messi was fined about €2m and his father €1.5m. They made a voluntary €5m “corrective payment”, equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest, in August 2013.

The sentence can be appealed through the Spanish supreme court.

Jose Mourinho all but confirmed Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s move to Manchester United during his first press conference as Red Devils boss, reports.

Prior to his appearance at Old Trafford, the Portuguese has already signed Eric Bailly for £30million and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer. But when asked about any further new signings, Mourinho let slip. Which you can watch in the video above.

Turning to his PR assistant, he asked: “The third player is already official, or not yet?”

To which she replies: “No.”

Continuing, the new Reds boss says: “The new signing will be official, when?”

“Soon,” she replies.

Mourinho then adds: “I am very clear in my approach and model to play and I need specialists in that. I like one or two multi-functional because you need them when you are in a bit of trouble.

“I want specialists. We decided four targets. Until we have the fourth, we are still working hard. Myself, the structure, Mr Woodward, the owners – we are working hard on that. When we have the fourth, I breathe, we all breathe. We will not get the fourth on 31st August. We will get it before that and then we are stable.”

Maria Zakharova, Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, walked in downtown Yerevan, took some photos and shared her impressions on Facebook.

“While the bosses are having supper after a “good job” as Sergey Lavrov said, there is an opportunity to walk about post-afternoon Yerevan. This city attracts with its character, not luxury,” Zakharova wrote.

Maria Zakharova was accompanying Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who had arrived in Armenia to participate in the meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers.