Category: News

 

 

 

Ending a two-day state visit to Azerbaijan, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt said “Azerbaijan continues to face the consequences of the deadlock over the conflict concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh region.”

“It is essential that solutions are found to the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan. This conflict not only destabilizes both Armenia and Azerbaijan, affecting their economies and their societies, but it also adversely affects the capacity of these countries to progress in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” he said.

Spokesperson for the NKR President David Babayan said in comments to that “the statement is a result of caviar policy and lobbying or lack of knowledge.”

“PACE and its representatives should have a strong immune value system, which should not yield to the amount of sum or products. If the immune system is week, the Parliamentary Assembly or other European structures may find themselves in a very hard situation,” David Babayan said.

“If the PACE President talks about expansion of relations with a state that glorifies axe-murders, it’s not good. We must not be too sensitive towards these issue, but at the same time we have to do our best to strengthen our security and not rely upon some corrupt officials. We must pursue our national interests,” David Babayan said.

There are five Armenians on 2016 World’s Billionaires list published by Forbes on March 1.

Founder and CEO of Magnit, Russia’s biggest supermarket chain and owner of football team Krasnodar (Arutyunyan) (219th) is the world’s richest Armenian with an estimated net worth of $$5.7 billion.

Other Armenians on the list include head of Taship Group  (549th), Argentinean Armenian businessman (810th), and (1275th), CEO of Rosgosstrakh Insurance Company.

Volatile stock markets, cratering oil prices and a stronger dollar led to a dynamic reshuffling of wealth around the globe and a drop in ten-figure fortunes for the first time since 2009. For our 30th annual guide to the world’s richest, the Forbes found 1,810 billionaires, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. Their aggregate net worth was $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year.  It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year.

remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75 billion, despite being $4.2 billion poorer than a year ago. He has been No. 1 one for 3 years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years.  Also holding steady is at No. 3. Zara ’s moves up to No. 2 for the first time, displacing Mexico’s Carlos Slim, who slips to No. 4. Slim’s fortune fell $27.1 billion to $50 billion in the past year, as shares of his telecom business América Móvil tumbled.

Facebook’s had the best year of all billionaires. The 31-year-old added $11.2 billion to his fortune and moved up to No. 6 from 16. He and Amazon’s both make their first appearance in the top ten of Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest.

Russia will launch negotiations with the Armenia on the latter’s accession to Defense Systems interstate financial and industrial group of Russia and Belarus established in 1996, RIA Novosti reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the government’s proposal to launch negotiations with Armenia on the latter’s accession to the Defense Systems interstate financial and industrial group. A corresponding decree was posted on the Russian official legal portal on Wednesday.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants to win trophies with Borussia Dortmund, and as soon as possible. asked before the Saturday game against Bayern whether the second spot could be seen a title, the Armenian said: “No! A title is a title. As a footballer you want to finish the season holding something in your hands – no matter what competition.”

“We have the opportunity in spring and we have no intention to waste any opportunity. We want to squeeze the maximum out of us, especially when we fight against the best ones,” the Armenian told Sport Bild.

In the Bundesliga, BVB is in second place in the table, eight points behind Bayern. In the Europa League Dortmund meets in the second round at Tottenham, the DFB Cup in the semifinals in faces Hertha BSC.

Mkhitaryan, whose contract expires in 2017 expressed, spoke about the possible extension: “I feel totally comfortable in the city, in the team, and we have good understanding with BVB.  Borussia is a wonderful club – ambitious, hungry for success, with unique fans.”

Galatasaray have been suspended from European competition for a year for breaching financial fair play rules, Uefa has confirmed, the BBC reports.

The club will be excluded from the Champions League or Europa League if they qualify this season or next.

European football’s governing body said in January that the Turkish champions had broken regulations on the level of financial losses allowed.

The Istanbul club is currently fifth in Turkey’s Super League.

Finishing in that position would leave Galatasaray outside the qualifying places for next season’s Champions League and Europa League.

The Azerbaijani side used weapons of different caliber as it fired more than 900 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions last night, the NKR Ministry of Defense reports.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army mostly refrained from retaliatory actions and confidently continued with their military duty all along the line of contact.

Indonesia issued a tsunami warning on Wednesday after a massive and shallow earthquake struck off the west coast of its island of Sumatra, a region devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, Reuters reports.

The warning was issued for West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh after the quake of magnitude 7.9, the National Meteorological Agency said, but rescue efforts will be hampered by the darkness that falls early in the tropical archipelago.

The epicenter was 808 km southwest of Padang, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was 10 km deep.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the shallower a quake, the more likely it is to cause damage. USGS originally put the magnitude at 8.2, and then 8.1, before lowering it to 7.9.

“So far there have been no reports (of damage) yet,” Andi Eka Sakya, an official of the National Meteorological Agency, told TVOne. “In Bengkulu (on southwest coast of Sumatra) they didn’t feel it at all.”

Neighboring Australia issued a tsunami watch for parts of its western coast.

 

 

The military-political leadership of Armenia maintains efforts to reach the settlement of the Karabakh conflict through peaceful means, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said at a meeting with the presidency of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.

The Minister added, however, that the rival refuses to work constructively and continues to violate the ceasefire agreement.

“The rival is consistently aggravating the situation to solve certain domestic problems on one hand, and to exert pressure on the Armenian side on the international arena in order to grab unilateral concessions,” Minister Ohanyan said.

“We’re afraid of war, but we’re not afraid of fighting, i.e. we are ready to protect Armenia and Artsakh – a sacred part of our country. The Armenian Ministry of Defense is preparing for war every day,” the Defense Minister said.

Seyran Ohanyan added that the current military-political conditions and the international development do not indicate to the possibility of large-scale military actions or war, since everything is being done to prevent all those intentions and goals through creation of international guarantees.

Photo: Getty Images

 

US actor George Kennedy, who starred in movies including Cool Hand Luke and the Naked Gun series, has died at the age of 91, his grandson has announced.

Cory Schenkel said his grandfather died on Sunday morning in the city of Boise, Idaho, celebrity news website TMZ reported.

Kennedy won an Oscar in 1968 for Best Supporting Actor in Cool Hand Luke.

As well as the Naked Gun comedies, he also made memorable appearances in Earthquake and Airport 1975.

Mr Schenkel, quoted by TMZ, said the veteran actor had been in poor health since the death of his wife, Joan, more than a year ago, and had been in a hospice for the past month.

Kennedy was born in 1924 in New York where his father worked as a musician and his mother was a dancer.

He served with the US infantry during World War Two, winning several decorations, and in the 1950s he worked for Armed Forces Radio and Television before moving to Hollywood.

The actor quickly became well known for playing tough-guy characters.

Kennedy’s final film role was in The Gambler in 2014, TMZ added.

Newly minted Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio partied so hard after his big win he reportedly left his Oscar at a bar.

He attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, followed by Ago restaurant in WeHo.

Long-time pal Tobey Maguire was there along with Leo’s mates Vincent Laresca, Lukas Haas and nightclub honcho, Richie Akiva.

captured the moment a man ran out after Leo’s car with his Oscar, as if he’d forgotten it.