Category: News

Switzerland’s Gianni Infantino has succeeded countryman Sepp Blatter as Fifa president, the BBC reports.

The Uefa secretary general polled 115 votes in round two, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa.

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein was third with four, while Jerome Champagne failed to get any. Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before voting began in Zurich.

The first round of voting had failed to determine an outright winner.

“I accept the result of this election, thank you,” said Infantino.

“I went through an exceptional journey, met many fantastic people who love football, who breathe football.

“I want to be the president of all of you, of all 209 nations.

“I want to work with all of you to work together and build a new era where we can put football at the centre of the stage.”

A simple majority of more than 50 per cent – 104 votes – was sufficient for victory in the second round.

Infantino is a 45-year-old lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter’s hometown of Visp.

Blatter, who led world football’s governing body since 1998, stood down last year and was later banned from football for six years.

Tensions were high at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night, the NKR Defense ministry reports.

The rival used artillery weapons of different caliber as it fired more than 2,000 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

“The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the situation at the state border and resort to retaliatory measures if necessary,” the Ministry said in a statement.

President Serzh Sargsyan held consultations today on Armenian-Austrian relations, the ongoing programs and the perspectives of development. Arman Kirakosyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Austria and the country’s representative to a number of international organizations accredited to Vienna, presented a report.

“Austria is a friendly country, a developed country and we are building our relations, taking note of the joint historic path., i.e. we develop our relations on the basis of firm historic grounds,” he said. The President reminded that Austria was one of the first to respond after the devastating earthquake of 1988.

President Sargsyan said Austria is extremely important to us for its rich experience of development in the fields of information technologies, medicine, tourism and infrastructures.

“I think we have good chances of increasing the Austrian investments in Armenia, especially in the field of industry, as there are a number of powerful companies in Austria investing in different countries of the world, and Armenia could provide wide opportunities as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union,” the President said, adding that “we are ready to create favorable conditions for any serious investor.”

High Representative of the ‪‎European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica‪ Mogherini will visit Armenia on March 1 at the invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Federica‪ Mogherini is expected to have meetings with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Photo: AFP

 

Almost 100 rebel factions have agreed to respect an imminent cessation of hostilities in Syria, the main Syrian opposition group has said, the BBC reports.

The High Negotiations Committee said Free Syrian Army factions and the armed opposition had signed up to the temporary truce from midnight Saturday.

World powers agreed on 12 February that a truce would start within a week but that deadline passed and scepticism had lingered over the new plan.

Warring parties in Syria were meant to make their intentions known by midday (10:00 GMT) Friday ahead of the pause in fighting.

Announcing the intentions of rebel factions, the HNC said the Syrian government and its allies must not use the “proposed text to continue the hostile operations against the opposition factions under the excuse of fighting terrorism”.

Fifa will get a new president on Friday when 207 delegates from around the world gather in Zurich, Switzerland to vote for a successor to Sepp Blatter, the BBC reports.

In charge of world football’s governing body since 1998, Blatter, 79, said last year he was standing down amid a growing corruption crisis.

Five candidates want to replace him.

They are Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne.

The election process is expected to begin at 12:00 GMT, but several rounds of voting may be required before a winner is known.

 

 

 

Having a house has become a sacred dream for many families in Gyumri that have been living in temporary dwellings for 27 years now. A photostory was created about three years ago to draw attention to the issue. The photos were even posted on the pages of the National Geographic, but the initiative failed to bring the desirable results.

Photographer Hayk Barseghyan, one of the authors of the initiative, said they tried to find a different solution to the issue. They organized a fund-raising campaign on the British Crowdfunder website earlier this year to help 13 most vulnerable families. All families would have homes, had 120,000 Armenians donated £1 each.

Hayk Barseoghyan tld reporters today that the sum will be enough for just one house, but added they have found alternative ways to raise funds. They have worked out a comprehensive program of events. In particular, personal items of famous Armenians will be put on sale at a charity auction expected in a few days. Wrestler Arsen Julfalakyan, footballer Henrikh Mkhitaryan and many others have joined the initiative.

World-famous pianist Tigran Hamasyan will perform an hour-long concert in Gyumri to benefit the families in need.

The photography exhibition “Sınırda” (On the Border), featuring a total of 49 black and white photographs by three young photographers from Koç University’s Photography Club (KUSHOT), will be on display at Istanbul Archeology Museum’s Assos Hall until March 20, reports.

Students Hüseyin Karabacak, Orhun Şener and Çağatay Gürbay, whose paths crossed “on the border,” explore the borders of life in the eastern part of Turkey, as well as people and their voices, faces and feelings from the eastern province of Kars to Armenia’s Yerevan and Gyumri provinces. Curated by academician Laleper Aytek of Koç University, the exhibition reveals the photographers’ journey to the unknown. “On the Border” displays various layers in the society, which were formed as an expression of collective memory.

On 26 February, 2016, the United Nations in Armenia and the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Armenia signed the Customs Facilitation Agreement, a bilateral agreement allowing the expedition of the import, export and transit of relief consignments and possessions of relief personnel in the event of disasters and emergencies. This marks a major step forward in strengthening preparedness and a pioneering initiative for others in the region.

Armenia’s vulnerability to natural disasters led the Government to prioritize the rapid deployment of international aid in emergency situations by lowering customs barriers. The negotiations between the UN and the Government of Armenia started in 2013. To date, similar agreements have been signed with the governments of Belarus, Bhutan, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Liberia, Mali, Moldova, Nepal and Uzbekistan.

Developed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 1994 and approved by the World Customs Organization in 1996, the Model Customs Agreement between the UN and member states includes recommended measures to expedite customs clearance procedures, including simplified documentation and inspection procedures, the temporary or permanent waiving of duties and taxes on imports, as well as clearance arrangements outside official working hours and locations.

The agreement signed today will allow aid consignments, including search and rescue teams, search dog teams and mobile medical units, high technology emergency communication equipment and other emergency relief items a speedy import / export and transit into the country in the event of a disaster requiring external assistance.

Such agreements along with vital information shared by natural authorities enable UN agencies, intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as other humanitarian actors to quickly contact appropriate National Customs Authorities to bring in relief consignments for saving lives and reducing the suffering of the affected people.

Iranians are voting in elections for their country’s parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that appoints the supreme leader, the BBC reports.

The poll is the first since Iran and world powers agreed a landmark deal over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Reformists and moderates who back President Hassan Rouhani have formed a coalition called The List of Hope that aims to reduce the number of hardliners in the two bodies.

Almost 55m people are eligible to vote.

The parliamentary elections are to elect 290 MPs for four-year terms. Voters will also select 88 clerics to the Assembly of Experts, who serve eight-year terms.

Voting started at 08:00 local time (04:30 GMT) and closes at 18:00. But officials say polling stations could stay open longer if there are queues and more time is needed.