Author: Lara Antonian

Jose Mourinho admits he is “very pleased” that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is off the mark for Manchester United after the Armenian scored his first goal for the club on his return to Ukraine, according to United’s official website.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk star dribbled through the Zorya Luhansk defence to open the scoring on an icy pitch in the second half in Odessa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late clincher set the seal on a victory that takes the Reds through to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

“It was a strong mentality,” said the boss when asked about Mkhitaryan’s attitude. “He was determined to fight against his difficult adaptation.

“He worked hard physically and tactically – the talent was there, we knew that when we bought him. Now he’s playing good – in the Premier League, Europa League and EFL Cup, and now the goal means a little more happiness for him, so I’m very pleased.”

Dec 8 The European Union will soon let Ukrainians and Georgians visit the bloc without needing a visa after officials said a deal had been struck on Thursday to end an internal EU dispute that had been holding up the promised measures, reports.

Late-night talks involving EU member states and the European Parliament had reached a compromise on the terms of a mechanism that can be used to suspend the visa-free schemes in emergencies.

The two former Soviet republics are seeking to move further away from their former master Moscow and closer to the West but have grown frustrated that the EU was failing to deliver. After last year’s migration crisis, EU governments had grown nervous of popular reaction against a move to make visits easier for 45 million Ukrainians, as well as 5 million Georgians.

Photo: Reuters

 

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has been named as prime minister, replacing Manuel Valls, who resigned in order to make a bid for the presidency next year, the BBC reports.

Mr Valls presented his resignation to President Francois Hollande on Tuesday.

Mr Cazeneuve will be in charge of the Socialist government until June’s parliamentary elections.

He has played a key role in managing France’s security since the jihadist terror attacks in Paris last year.

Mr Valls will face other contenders in the Socialist primary next month.

 

 

 

Living in Talish will be as safe as in Mataghis or Martakert, authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic assure. Some residents of the village that was abandoned after the April war, have now returned to their home. The authorities pledge to create conditions for the villagers to return to Talish and stay there.

The NKR leadership has invited architects from Armenia and Diaspora to participate in reconstruction works. Secretary of the NKR Security Service Vitaly Balasanyan, who keeps the reconstruction works in the spotlight, says today’s modernized defense systems allow to ensure the security of all borderline settlements, including Talish.

The power supply has been fully restored, the water supply system will start working in the coming days. The road to the village is being reconstructed. Vitaly Balasanyan says residents of Talish will enjoy tax and energy benefits.

Speaking to Public Radio of Armenia, Spokesman for the NKR Prime Minister Artak Beglaryan said it’s hard to estimate the number of Talish residents still living in Armenia. “The numbers change, because more and more families opt for return to Artsakh,” he said.

On 29 November Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the village of Talish and got acquainted with the process of implementation of his earlier instructions, NKR President’s Press Office reports.

On November 22, 2016, Deputy Minister of Finance of Armenia, Armen Hayrapetyan, and the Speaker for the South Caucasus at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Johannes Dopffel, signed the results of the bilateral governmental consultations on development cooperation.

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Matthias Kiesler, praised the good cooperation between Armenia and Germany in his opening speech at the beginning of the consultations. “One of the hallmarks of German development cooperation is partner orientation. That is why our joint projects are so successful,” said Ambassador Kiesler.

For the bilateral financial cooperation via the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), loans and grants of EUR 54.4 million were agreed. The funds will finance the federal government programs of the German-Armenian Fund (GAF) on sustainable economic development (36.1 million euros) and promote the introduction of an agricultural insurance system (5.3 million euros). In the area of municipal infrastructure, EUR 8.3 million will be used for waste management in the Lori region, EUR 2 million to strengthen the water sector, and EUR 2.7 million for integrated water resource management in the Akhouryan River.

The German federal government will provide 22 million euros for regional projects within the framework of the Federal Government’s Caucasus initiative. Of these, EUR 21 million relates to technical cooperation and EUR 1 million to regional projects for financial cooperation.

The ongoing regional projects of the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ) in the field of sustainable economic development, energy and the environment as well as democracy, municipal development and the rule of law are being pursued.

Thirteen Aleppo Armenians have arrived in Yerevan under the IDeA Foundation’s “Support to Syrian Armenians” program.

On October 15 the IDeA Foundation announced a $250 000 contribution to Syrian Armenians. The sum will be allocated through the strategic partner AGBU that has been involved in relief efforts from early days of the conflict and other non-governmental organizations who currently implement Syrian Armenian support projects in Armenia – RepatArmenia, Mission Armenia, Aleppo NGO, and the funds will be aimed at planning and implementing the following:

– aid to those who continue to remain in Syria

– aid to those who seek temporary refuge outside Syrian borders

– aid to those who have decided to relocate to Armenia

– aid to those who want to work and live in Armenia

“The IDeA Foundation is committed to improving the lives of Armenia’s citizens. Yet, we do not do this in isolation. We are aware of what is happening in the world around us and we feel an obligation to participate in doing what can be done to alleviate pain and suffering wherever possible,” the IDeA Foundation said in a statement today.

“As we watch the continuing violence in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, we feel compelled to offer financial support to bring Syrian-Armenian refugees to Armenia. We are prepared to join other organizations and individuals around the world in this effort. This is something that must happen now. Even those who stayed and continued to stay throughout the years of fighting are now looking for safe haven elsewhere. We believe it is our duty as Armenians to help them.

We are joined in this by several private foundations and we are working with the Armenian government to ensure that those who come are offered the basic official facilitation necessary to be able to legally seek refuge in Armenia.

In the years following the Genocide, the Armenians of Aleppo were the first-line saviors for Armenian survivors in Anatolia. Today, they are looking for first-line saviors themselves”, the statement reads.

Today, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Armenia Kai Kaarelson (residence in Tbilisi) presented her credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

The President of Armenia congratulated the Ambassador on her nomination, wished her success and underscored that Armenia is interested in giving a new quality to the Armenian-Estonian relations in the bilateral as well as multilateral formats. Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of invigorating the cooperation in all areas, using the high-level political dialogue, interparliamentary relations, and opportunities of the civil society.

Noting that her previous diplomatic experiences were related to international organizations such as the UN and EU – the organizations which are equally important to Armenia and Estonia Ambassador, Kai Kaarelson noted that it will help her to be more efficient in the implementation of her diplomatic mission in Armenia.

The parties discussed opportunities of developing cooperation in the areas of mutual interest, including areas of high technologies, in which Estonia has registered impressive progress, while Armenia in recent years has achieved considerable success.

On November 18^th, 2016, 2 postage stamps dedicated to the theme “Museums of Armenia. Sergey Paradjanov Museum” have been cancelled and put into circulation.

The postage stamps with nominal values of 300 AMD and 380 AMD are printed in “Cartor” printing house in France.

The postage stamp with nominal value of 300 AMD depicts a part of the facade of the Sergey Paradjanov Museum and the stamp with nominal value of 380 AMD represents the collage image of the halls of the S. Paradjanov Museum.

The postage stamps were cancelled by the “HayPost” CJSC Trust Manager Juan Pablo Gechidjian, the President of the Union of Philatelists of the RA Hovik Musayelyan and the Director of the Sergey Paradjanov Museum Zaven Sargsyan.

Date of issue: November 18, 2016

Designer: David Dovlatyan

Printing house: Cartor, France

Size: 60,0 x 30,0 mm

Print run: 50 000 x 2

The Armenian national team will face Montenegro on November 11 in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

The fixture will take place at Republican Stadium in Yerevan, the kick-off is at 21:00.