Author: Vicken Chmshkian

A last-minute goal from Gevorg Ghazaryan earned Armenia a 3-2 win against Montenegro in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

An incredible  strike from Gevorg Ghazaryan completed the turnaround, giving Armenia their first win since a 2-1 victory against Bulgaria in October 2013.

It was the first victory for Armenia in a competitive match since October 2013 after 12 winless efforts.

In the first half, Montenegro went 1-0 ahead in the 36th minute with a goal from Damir Kojasevic. Captain Stevan Jovetic needed just two minutes to double the lead for his sixth goal for his country in the last eight games, lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Arsen Beglaryan.

Artak Grigoryan reduced the lead to 2-1 five minutes after the interval on a solo effort that began in the middle of the field and was completed with a little bit of luck and help from Ruslan Koryan.

Varazdat Haroyan scored his first international goal to tie the match in the 73rd from close range.

 

A car bomb attack in the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast region killed eight people Friday, hours after authorities detained at least 12 pro-Kurdish legislators for questioning in terror-related probes, the Associated Press reports.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said two police officers, a technician and five civilians died in the attack near a building used by the riot police. Up to 100 people were hurt in the blast but only seven of them remain in hospital, he said.

Yildirim also said one of the assailants was “caught dead” but did not provide details.

The Diyarbakir governor’s office said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, had claimed the attack, which the state-run Anadolu Agency said was carried out with a minibus laden with a ton of explosives.

The end is near for the building that once housed St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church at the corner of Winter and Main Streets in Lawrence, Massachusetts, reports.

Key architectural features of the 110 Main St. building across from Haverhill City Hall have been removed, interior contents hauled away and the building boarded in preparation for demolition.

Although some expressed concern about the original design of a retail plaza to replace the church, Haverhill Building Inspector Richard Osborne said he is pleased with revised plans the city requested. In its place will go a strip mall with a Domino’s Pizza as the main business.

Late last June, in a 6 to 2 vote, councilors defeated an ordinance which would have granted the Haverhill Historic Commission authority to both delay demolition of properties in the historic district and regulate designs of new buildings. Most councilors argued church parishioners need the money from the sale of the iconic church to complete a new building that has been in the works for 15 years.

Councilor William J. Macek called the quick plan to halt demolition of the church an 11th hour attempt. “I’m not going to roadblock the church or make it any harder,” he said.

St. Gregory the Illuminator Apostolic Church merged in 2002 with Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church of Lawrence to form the Armenian Church at Hye Pointe. Rev Vart Gyozalian, pastor, told councilors the church hopes to have its new Bradford building open by next January.

PHOTO: ABC/AP

 

Two men and two women have been killed on a ride at a theme park on Australia’s east coast, the BBC reports.

Two victims were thrown from a raft on the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on Queensland’s Gold Coast, while two others were trapped inside, officials said.

The park in Coomera has been closed and an investigation is under way.

Dreamworld bills itself as Australia’s biggest theme park with more than 50 rides and attractions.

The Thunder River Rapids ride whisks visitors in circular rafts along a fast-moving artificial river. Dreamworld describes it as a “moderate thrill” attraction.

Queensland Ambulance spokesman Gavin Fuller blamed a “malfunction” for the accident.

The victims have not been named but are reported to be two women aged 32 and 42 and two men aged 38 and 35.

Photo: AFP

 

Turkish foreign minister voiced concern Monday over the French senate’s recent adoption of an amendment that bans the denial of the Armenian genocide, Daily Sabah reports.

Speaking at a joint press conference in the capital Ankara alongside his visiting French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the recent ban was limiting the freedom of expression.

“The core values of the European Council such as the freedom of expression and the superiority of law is binding for all European countries. We hope that the French constitutional council overturns the law,” the diplomat added.

The 14 to pass a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today French Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier.

Stressing the special friendly nature of the Armenian-French relations, the Prime Minister praised the rich and comprehensive agenda of bilateral cooperation in different spheres and attached importance to the intensification of joint economic projects.

In this respect, Karen Karapetyan emphasized the significance of the second conference on Armenian-French decentralized cooperation to be held in Yerevan in December.

Jean-Francois Charpentier voiced his willingness to cooperate with the Armenian Government towards implementation of joint programs, further development of bilateral relations and expansion of economic ties.

The Ambassador said the French Development Agency will maintain support for the improvement of infrastructures and is going to invest about $40 mln for that purpose. He also stressed the willingness of a number of French companies to launch activity in Armenia.

The parties pointed to the fields of agriculture, information technologies, tourism as promising spheres of cooperation.

Photo: AFP

 

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has died after 70 years on the throne, the palace says, the BBC reports.

The king, 88, was widely revered in Thailand. He was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups.

He had been in poor health in recent years and made few public appearances.

The king’s death comes as Thailand remains under military rule following a coup in 2014.

The palace had warned on Sunday that the king’s health was “not stable”.

Many Thais had been wearing pink to try to bring good luck to the ailing monarch. Hundreds of people had gathered outside the hospital where he was being treated.

Pope Francis visited the earthquake-hit towns of central Italy in a surprise journey on Tuesday morning, praying with the residents of Amatrice on the feast day of his namesake, St. Francis, telling them to ‘move forward’ together for ‘there is always a future,’ reports.

His first visit was to the newly constructed ‘Capranica’ school, where the Pope met with elementary and middle-school aged children, who gave him several of their handmade drawings.

Pope Francis hugged them one-by-one and listened to their stories of the deadly earthquake in Amatrice where 231 of the total 297 people died.

During his visit, Pope Francis told the residents of Amatrice, “I thought long and hard in the first days of these many pains that my visit, perhaps, would be more of a hindrance than a help, a greeting. I didn’t want to be a bother so I let a little time pass, so that some things could be resolved, like the school. But from the first moment, I felt that I needed to come to you! Simply to express my closeness to you, nothing more. And I pray, pray for you! Solidarity and prayer: this is my offering to you. May the Lord bless you all; may Our Lady watch over you in this moment of sadness, pain, and trial.”

After blessing them, he said, “Let’s move forward; there is always a future. There are many loved ones who have left us, who fell here under the rubble. Let us pray to Our Lady for them; let us do it together. Always look ahead. Courage, and help each other. One walks better together, alone we go nowhere. Forward! Thank you.”

The Holy Father then went to the heavily damaged centre of Amatrice accompanied by the Mayor Sergio Pirozzi. There he paused for several minutes to pray.

A press release by the Holy See Press Office said, “Already on Sunday, during his inflight press conference on the flight from Baku to Rome, Pope Francis had said he would make this visit ‘privately, alone, as a priest, as a bishop, as Pope. But alone. This is how I want to do it. And I would like to be close to the people.’”

Nearly 4,000 people are living in tents near Amatrice after their homes were destroyed in the 6.0-magnitude earthquake.

Afterwards, the Pope stopped to have lunch with around 60 elderly people living in the ‘St. Raphael Assisted Living Facility’ in Rieti, whilst on his way to nearby Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto to bring his message of hope and solidarity to them as well.

The Armenian neighborhoods of Aleppo came under rocket attack of the opposition militants on Wednesday, reports, quoting its sources in Aleppo.

According to the source, the rockets fell in the area adjunct to the Armenian Evangelical Church in Aleppo. Head of the Armenian Evangelical community of Aleppo, Rev. Harutyun Selimyan confirmed no fatalities were reported.

He said there were children taking exams at the school at the moment of the attack. “They were lucky to survive,” Rev. Harutyun Selimyan said. He added, however, that the attack had caused serious material damages.

Other districts of Aleppo were also targeted by militants. Six were killed, dozens were wounded.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has visited the Armenian Taverna restaurant in Manchester with his teammate Adnan Januzaj. Established in 1968, it serves traditional Armenian dishes.

has described the Armenian Taverna as “The Manchester Museum of The 1970s.”

“This is a privilege for the management and all the staff in Armenian Taverna to welcome our precious footballers Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Adnan Januzaj to Manchester and to Armenian Taverna. We wish them all the best playing for Man Utd,” reads a post onthe restaurant’s Facebook page.

Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined Manchester United earlier this month. He’s now traveling to China with Man Utd for Tour 2016.

The team is set to play two International Champions Cup matches against Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai (22 July) and Manchester City in Beijing (25 July).