The Brussels Airlines will start regular flights between the Belgian and Armenian capitals.
A corresponding application of the Belgian civil aviation was handed over to Armenian Ambassador Tatul Margaryan today.
The parties have agreed to launch the flights next year and increase their frequency, if necessary.
Russian citizen Sergei Mironov, who was detained in Armenia following a request by the United States and later released, will return to his home country on August 31, his lawyer Karen Nersesyan said Tuesday.
On Saturday, Mironov, 33, was detained in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. US authorities suspect Mironov of laundering $50,000 and of an illegal technology transfer.
“Mironov has a round-trip ticket. He has a return ticket for tomorrow, for August 31. If the prosecutor’s office does not summon him, we will leave for Russia,” Nersesyan told RIA Novosti, adding that no summons has been received so far.
On Monday, the court denied the request of the prosecutor’s office for Mironov’s provisional detention. The prosecutor’s office may file an appeal against the court ruling within five days.
The Armenian National Security Service has issued a statement warning that it will no longer tolerate the “escalation of situation by the armed group through terrorist actions, the firing in the direction of law enforcers and citizens outside the seized police station.”
The NSS says that after the events that took place late on June 29 all reasonable opportunities of reaching a peaceful settlement of the situation have been exhausted.
‘The use of force envisages by RA legislature and justified by the current conditions is extremely necessary to protect citizens from attacks threatening their health and lives, to rebuff an armed assault threatening the life and health of servicemen of the law enforcement bodies, to prevent the use of weapons by the armed group, release the hostages and free the seized state buildings, as well as pressure the resistance of the armed group,” the statement reads.
The NSS calls on the members of the armed group to lay down arms and surrender to the authorities. The deadline is set at 17:00 today. Otherwise, the NSS sais, the special forces of the law-enforcement bodies are authorised to open fire without warning and neutralize any armed man inside or outside the seized police station.
Members of Washington, DC’s diplomatic, international finance, government, and public policy communities joined Armenian American leaders at an Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) roundtable talk – led by the Development Foundation of Armenia’s (DFA) Garen Mikirditsian – exploring strategies to expand U.S.-Armenia trade and investment and grow Armenia’s economy.
The two hour program was held in the ANCA’s Aramian Conference Room.
“We were pleased to provide this opportunity for Garen Mikirditsian to share his compelling vision for Armenia’s economic growth, to openly address concerns raised by friends of Armenia, and to cooperatively explore ways that Armenian stakeholders in Washington, DC’s international affairs community can continue to contribute to the growth of the U.S. – Armenia bilateral economic relationship,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who moderated the talk.
Mikirditsian outlined the short term and long term goals of the Development Foundation of Armenia, which promotes the economic growth and global competitiveness of Armenia based businesses by attracting and encouraging investments and expanding export markets, as well as promoting Armenia internationally as an attractive tourism destination. The DFA was established by the Government of Armenia in 2015 with a Board of Directors chaired by the Prime Minister and includes representation both from the private sector and the ministries of Economy, Finance and Agriculture. Mikirditsian was appointed acting chief executive officer in April, 2016.
Roundtable participants asked detailed questions about a broad range of topics, including efforts to expand Armenia’s burgeoning IT sector, new tourism sector opportunities, the growing wine industry in Armenia, and the need to overcome longstanding obstacles to investment. Mikirditsian highlighted ongoing cooperation with the World Bank and a close working relationship with the U.S. Embassy and USAID, particularly in the joint effort with the Smithsonian Institute to develop Armenia’s tourism strategy and targeted capacity building initiatives. Upcoming 2016 efforts to spotlight Armenia’s textile and light manufacturing sectors during a trade exposition in Yerevan, Armenia and a planned investors’ forum in the U.S. were also discussed.
The focus on U.S. – Armenia trade relations increased significantly last year with the signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a bilateral accord advocated by the ANCA for over a decade as part of a broader campaign to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation. To build on that understanding, the ANCA is working to secure a double tax treaty in order to establish a clear legal framework for investors and individuals that have business activities in both jurisdictions, preventing double taxation and facilitating the expansion of economic relations.
A news agency linked to so-called Islamic State has confirmed the death of key leader Omar Shishani, whom the US said it killed in March, the BBC reports.
The Amaq news agency said Shishani was killed in combat in the town of Shirqat, south of Mosul in Iraq.
The Pentagon said in March he had died from injuries sustained in a US air strike in north-eastern Syria.
Shishani’s real name was Tarkhan Batirashvili but he was also known as Omar the Chechen.
The red-bearded jihadist was said to be a close military adviser to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The confirmation came on the Amaq website, which IS regularly uses to issue news and which had denied the Pentagon’s claims in March.
Amaq said he died trying to repel forces campaigning to retake the city of Mosul.
– The head of the Catholic Church in Armenia says Pope Francis’ recent visit to the country has helped to strengthen and confirm people in their faith. The Pope visited the Armenian capital Yerevan, the northern city of Gyumri and the ancient monastery of Khor Virap on the Turkish border from June 24th to 26th. He will return to the region for a visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia at the end of September.
Among those accompanying the Pope during his stay in Armenia was Archbishop Raphael Minassian who is responsible for the Armenian Catholic Church throughout the Eastern European region.
The Archbishop says there has already been a visible result “in the soul of the people” who heard the Pope’s message during the Mass at Gyumri and it resounded deeply within them. The heart of that message, he says, was the simplicity, spirituality and modest style that the Pope showed in his approach to all people in Armenia.
Archbishop Minassian says people have already reacted by visiting churches more frequently and contacting their clergy. He recalls the profound silence of the 30.000 people attending the Mass who were “hypnotized” by the Pope’s presence and atmosphere of prayer.
Commenting on the political implications of the visit, he says: “For me, the genocide is a historical fact” so the Pope’s use of the word to describe the 1915 massacre is not so significant. Also he notes that since the battle of Vartanantz in 451, so many thousands of Armenian Christians have been martyred for their faith.
He says that of all the places in the world where he has served in his 43 years of priestly ministry, it is in the Caucuses region where people of all ages are most strongly attached to their Christian faith.
Asked about his hopes for the Pope’s visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia, Archbishop Minassian speaks of the Holy Father’s “magic” way of reaching out to people but he adds that all Christians have an obligation to be messengers of peace like him.
Photo: Getty Images
The Iraqi government has declared three days of national mourning after a huge bomb in the capital Baghdad killed at least 125 people and wounded about 150, 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.
Rescuers said whole families had been wiped out and many victims were burned beyond recognition.
So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide attack.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the mainly Shia area on Sunday but his convoy was greeted by angry crowds.
His office later announced the three days of mourning, adding that Mr Abadi understood the angry reaction of residents.
As night fell on Sunday, teams of workers were still clearing debris from the site and searching the charred remnants of buildings.
Vatican Radio – On the last day of his three day visit to Armenia, Pope Francis participated Sunday in the Divine Liturgy celebrated by the Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II. In a discourse at the conclusion of the celebration, Pope Francis spoke of his “already unforgettable” visit and prayed that the two Churches “follow God’s call to full communion and hasten to it.”
Thanking Catholicos Karekin for his hospitality, Pope Francis said, “you have opened to me the doors of your home and we have experienced ‘how good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity’.”
“We have met, we have embraced as brothers, we have prayed together and shared the gifts, hopes and concerns of the Church of Christ. We have felt as one her beating heart, and we believe and experience that the Church isone,” Pope Francis said.
Citing Saints Bartholomew and Thaddeus “who first proclaimed the Gospel in these lands” and “Saints Peter and Paul who gave their lives for the Lord in Rome,” the pontiff said they “surely rejoice to see our affection and our tangible longing for full communion.”
Francis prayed the Holy Spirit to “make all believers one heart and soul; may he come to re-establish us in unity” and, “may the cause of our scandal be dissolved” by God’s love, “above all the lack of unity among Christ’s disciples.”
Calling for peace in the Armenian Church and “complete” communion, Pope Francis prayed for “an ardent desire for unity” among Christians. But such unity, he stressed, must not mean “the submission of one to the other, or assimilation, but rather the acceptance of all the gifts that God has given to each.”
Concluding, Pope Francis urged the faithful to “listen to the voices of the humble and poor, of the many victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for the faith” and to young people “who seek a future free of past divisions.”
From this holy place, the Pope said, “may a radiant light shine forth once more… and to the light of faith which has illumined these lands from the time of Saint Gregory…may there be joined the light of the love that forgives and reconciles.”
Below, please find the English translation of Pope Francis’ discourse:
Your Holiness, Dear Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the end of this greatly-desired visit, one already unforgettable for me, I join my gratitude to the Lord with the great hymn of praise and thanksgiving that rose from this altar. Your Holiness, in these days you have opened to me the doors of your home, and we have experienced “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity” (Ps 133:1). We have met, we have embraced as brothers, we have prayed together and shared the gifts, hopes and concerns of the Church of Christ. We have felt as one her beating heart, and we believe and experience that the Church is one. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6). With great joy we can make our own these words of the Apostle Paul! Our meeting comes under the aegis of the holy Apostles whom we have encountered. Saints Bartholomew and Thaddeus, who first proclaimed the Gospel in these lands, and Saints Peter and Paul who gave their lives for the Lord in Rome and now reign with Christ in heaven, surely rejoice to see our affection and our tangible longing for full communion. For all this, I thank the Lord, for you and with you: Park astutsò! (Glory to God!).
During this Divine Liturgy, the solemn chant of the Trisagion rose to heaven, acclaiming God’s holiness. May abundant blessings of the Most High fill the earth through the intercession of the Mother of God, the great saints and doctors, the martyrs, especially the many whom you canonized last year in this place. May “the Only Begotten who descended here” bless our journey. May the Holy Spirit make all believers one heart and soul; may he come to re-establish us in unity. For this I once more invoke the Holy Spirit, making my own the splendid words that are part of your Liturgy. Come, Holy Spirit, you “who intercede with ceaseless sighs to the merciful Father, you who watch over the saints and purify sinners”, bestow on us your fire of love and unity, and “may the cause of our scandal be dissolved by this love” (Gregory of Narek, Book of Lamentations, 33, 5), above all the lack of unity among Christ’s disciples.
May the Armenian Church walk in peace and may the communion between us be complete. May an ardent desire for unity rise up in our hearts, a unity that must not be “the submission of one to the other, or assimilation, but rather the acceptance of all the gifts that God has given to each. This will reveal to the entire world the great mystery of salvation accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit” (Greeting at the Divine Liturgy, Patriarchal Church of Saint George, Istanbul, 30 November 2014).
Let us respond to the appeal of the saints, let us listen to the voices of the humble and poor, of the many victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for the faith. Let us pay heed to the younger generation, who seek a future free of past divisions. From this holy place may a radiant light shine forth once more, and to the light of faith, which has illumined these lands from the time of Saint Gregory, your Father in the Gospel, may there be joined the light of the love that forgives and reconciles.
Just as on Easter morning the Apostles, for all their hesitations and uncertainties, ran towards the place of the resurrection, drawn by the blessed dawn of new hope (cf. Jn 20:3-4), so too on this holy Sunday may we follow God’s call to full communion and hasten towards it.
Now, Your Holiness, in the name of God, I ask you to bless me, to bless me and the Catholic Church, and to bless this our path towards full unity.
The Associated Press – You’ll soon see four new names on the periodic table of the elements, including three that honor Moscow, Japan and Tennessee.
The names are among four recommended Wednesday by an international scientific group. The fourth is named for a Russian scientist.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which rules on chemical element names, presented its proposal for public review. The names had been submitted by the element discoverers.
The four elements, known now by their numbers, completed the seventh row of the periodic table when the chemistry organization verified their discoveries last December.
Tennessee is the second U.S. state to be recognized with an element; California was the first. Element names can come from places, mythology, names of scientists or traits of the element. Other examples: americium, einsteinium and titanium.
Joining more familiar element names such as hydrogen, carbon and lead are:
– moscovium (mah-SKOH’-vee-um), symbol Mc, for element 115, and tennessine (TEH’-neh-seen), symbol Ts, for element 117. The discovery team is from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
Vanderbilt physics professor Joseph Hamilton, who played a role in the discoveries, proposed naming an element for Tennessee. He had hoped to use the symbol Tn, but it had been used in the past and couldn’t be reassigned to the new element.
– oganesson (OH’-gah-NEH’-sun), symbol Og, for element 118. The name honors Russian Armenian physicist Yuri Oganessian.
– nihonium (nee-HOH’-nee-um), symbol Nh, for element 113. The element was discovered in Japan, and Nihon is one way to say the country’s name in Japanese. It’s the first element to be discovered in an Asian country.
An official at a Japanese institute involved in the discovery said the name was chosen to recognize government funding for the project. “We wanted to show our research has been supported by the Japanese people,” said Kosuke Morita, a research group director at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Science.
The public comment period will end Nov. 8.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital with a heart problem, according to a spokeswoman for his party, the BBC reports.
The 79-year-old’s condition was “nothing to worry about”, she added.
A statement by the San Raffaele hospital in Milan said the hospitalisation was necessary after what it called a “cardiac deficiency”.
Mr Berlusconi was Italy’s prime minister four times, but has since been convicted for tax fraud and bribery.
The leader of Forza Italia, who had a pacemaker implanted in a hospital in the US when he was 70, would undergo tests “in the next few days”, the hospital statement said.