Author: Garo Vardanian

The Danish Parliament is expected to consider a resolution on Armenian Genocide recognition at a plenary session today.

The issue has been brought to the agenda by Nikolaj Villumsen (EL) , Rasmus Nordqvist (ALT), according to the Danish Parliament’s official website.

The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen, today called for the immediate agreement on the extension of mandates of OSCE field operations, some of which are currently being held up by representatives of OSCE countries.

“Field missions have long been the crown jewel of the OSCE, both helping OSCE countries to live up to their commitments through practical project work and representing a vital element of the Organization’s outreach capacity. The excellent work being done by our professionals in the field is now effectively being held hostage by diplomats in Vienna, some of whom are vetoing this most important work of the Organization,” said Muttonen.

The mandates of the OSCE’s field operations in Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan all expired on 31 December 2016 without agreement on their extension. The OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk is set to expire on 31 January, currently with no agreement on extension.

“OSCE parliamentarians have repeatedly called for OSCE field missions to be given robust mandates that allow them to get on with their work and help OSCE countries. Whether it is promoting women’s participation in political life, undertaking anti-corruption training for judges, or supporting professional work by parliamentary staff, OSCE missions add value to the security and good governance of the countries in which they work. I call on all diplomats to the OSCE to redouble efforts and reach agreement, enabling OSCE staff to do their jobs; continuing to block this work is simply not acceptable,” said the President.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received a delegation led by Coca-Cola Hellenic Regional Director Keith Sanders. Stressing the importance of Coca-Cola Hellenic’s activity in Armenia, the Prime Minister expressed willingness to discuss their future plans, questions and problems of interest to the Company.

Keith Sanders said to be aware of the Armenian government’s special attitude toward the business community and added that his company attaches great importance to Coca-Cola Hellenic’s Armenia activities.

Mr. Sanders revealed plans to implement new investment projects in Armenia, saying “there are significant opportunities for it, especially as the business community has a reliable partner in the face of the Government.”

Noting that they are ready to present Armenia as a desirable destination for foreign investors, the Regional Director of Coca-Cola Hellenic said his company’s social and educational programs would be continued ahead.

Prime Minister Karapetyan welcomed Coca-Cola Hellenic’s initiative to expand activities and noted that his government is ready to support their implementation. The interlocutors took the opportunity to touch upon the legislative initiatives aimed at improving the business environment and discuss issues relating to antitrust policy.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been credited as the key player in Manchester United’s upturn in fortunes, accoridng to .

The Armenian was initially frozen out by Jose Mourinho but since being brought into the fray has excelled. It’s coincided with a run of results that sees Manchester United unbeaten in 11 Premier League games and on a nine-game winning run in all competitions.

Liverpool legend Didi Hamann believes Mkhitaryan deserves much credit.

‘Mkhitaryan has been a key man in United’s changing fortunes,’ said the German. ‘He’s played a far greater role in the league since the end of November, scoring against Sunderland and bagging the winner at home to Tottenham, and in that time United have won six and drawn two in the league. He’s been excellent playing just off Ibrahimovic and has helped shape United’s style of football.’

“The launching of a criminal case against famous blogger Alexander Lapshin and his detention cause serious concern,” Press Service of the NKR Foreign Ministry said in comments to News.am.

Lapshin, who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship,  last Wednesday at the request of the Azerbaijani government over his visits to Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Azerbaijan, where harassment and political persecution against civil activists and journalists on fabricated pretexts have long become a tradition, tries to spread its “standards” of human rights beyond the borders of the country,” the Artsakh Foreign Ministry said.

“Such actions are not only an obvious violation of fundamental human rights, namely, the freedom of movement and freedom of speech, but also a policy of intimidation, which should be adequately assessed by the international community,” the Ministry said.

Gazprom Armenia CJSC intends to apply to the Public Services Regulatory Commission with a request to review the gas prices.

The Company will propose to cut the price from 146,700 AMD to 139,000 AMD per 1 thousand cubic meters of gas for consumers using up to 10 thousand cubic meters monthly.

For those consuming 10 thousand cubic meters or more, the tariff will be calculated according to the formula P = 242.1 * E (instead of current P = 257.56 * E), where P is the P is the monthly cost of natural gas for consumers of 10 thousand cubic meters of gas or more, and E is the average exchange rate of AMD against USD 1 as of the 25th of the previous month.

Users of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) are voting politically on The Promise without having seen it, writes.

The Terry George-directed film stars Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac and is set during the final days of the Ottoman Empire, leading up to the Armenian Genocide that killed 1.5 million.

Despite having been screened to the public three times only, The Promise now has 86,704 ratings on , 55,126 of which are one-star and 30,639 of which are 10-star, with very few ratings falling anywhere in between. The majority of votes come from males outside the US.

It is IMDb’s policy not to interfere with user ratings, but many have called for the database to step in following the tide of negative ratings.

According to the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), pro-Turkey Armenian Genocide deniers have begun efforts to undermine the film, urging negative reviews and ratings on popular movie sites including IMDB, where over 80,000 ratings have been logged, most from outside Canada – the only venue where the film has been shown.

Armenian American billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s Armenian Genocide-era epic The Promise premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 11th to wide acclaim.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan hosted His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to His Holiness for visiting the government and noted that “he highly values the state-church cooperation.”

The Catholicos wished success and effective activity to the Prime Minister and the newly-appointed Ministers for the sake of prosperity of the country, overcoming of difficulties and reinforcement of achievements.

PM Karen Karapetyan and His Holiness Karekin II discussed a number of issues related to the further reinforcement of church-state ties and other questions.

At least 25 inmates have been killed in clashes between two rival factions in an overcrowded prison in northern Brazil, the BBC reports, quoting local media.

Seven of the dead were beheaded and six others burned to death, a police official reportedly said.

The incident in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, happened during visiting hours.

Some 100 visitors who were taken as hostages have been freed and the riot has ended, the reports added.

The state government said it was waiting for a prisoner count to confirm the death toll.

The violence started when inmates broke into another section of the prison where members of a different faction were being held.

Reports say there are 1,400 inmates currently in the prison, which has a capacity of up to 740.

Bastian Schweinsteiger has been named in Manchester United’s Premier League squad for this season, the reports.

The 31-year-old has been deemed surplus to requirements under new manager Jose Mourinho and was free to leave Old Trafford ahead of Wednesday’s transfer deadline.

But a move failed to materialise and the German midfielder has now been included in United’s Premier League squad. Mourinho has previously said it will be ‘difficult’ but not impossible for Schweinsteiger to play for United again.

Also listed in United’s squad is Sadiq El-Fitouri. The 21-year-old was signed from Salford City – owned by former United players Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes – in January 2015 and has been a regular in Warren Joyce’s reserve team.

He is yet to make a senior appearance but signed a new one-year deal in the summer.

New signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba are also in the squad while the Premier League have confirmed Pogba counts as a ‘homegrown’ player.

Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are included on the list of Under-21 players due to their age along with academy arrivals Tahith Chong, Nishan Burkart and Joshua Bohui.