Armenian national team and Aktobe midfielder Marcos Pizzelli named Kazakhstan Premier League top scorer.
During the current season, a 33-year-old football player scored 18 goals in 24 appearances.
As reported earlier, due to heavy knee injury Pizzelli missed the last five matches.
Alina Oganesyan. In Armenia, there is a significant increase in lending to SMEs in comparison with other countries in the region. In an interview with ArmInfo, such an opinion was expressed by the founder, CEO of the SME Banking Club Andrei Gidulyan on the margins of a seminar initiated in Armenia on the initiative of Converse Bank.
"In Armenia, the level of financing for small and medium businesses is quite high. In particular, in comparison with Ukraine, where the bank's coverage of SME segment clients is about 10%, in Russia it is 20-25%, and in Armenia this figure reaches 60%" he remarked.
According to A. Gidulyan, the corporate sector is less widely represented in Armenia, as banks focus mainly on SMEs. "In Armenia, all 17 banks provide loans to small and medium businesses, whereas in Ukraine, out of 80 banks, only 20 lend to SME," – he said.
However, in terms of financing and servicing SMEs, in his opinion, Armenian banks should focus on the development of digital banking and electronic channels.
"Now we see that the business need to use mobile technologies has already been formed. Clients are ready to use messengers, chat bots, make payments, use mobile applications of banks. We are now trying to stir up banks and give a small impetus, showing the best practices so that they too to launch similar solutions that are already used in other countries, "he said, stressing that about 90% of the clients of the Baltic countries are already using online banking.
It should be noted that the SME Banking Club seminar is held in Armenia in order to provide participants with comprehensive information on trends SME development, provides for the exchange of information and experience on the conditions of lending to SMEs of global, regional, local banks and financial companies. Since 2010, SME Banking Club constantly organizes regional and international banking events in Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Egypt.
Recall that, according to EBRD, the share of Armenian SMEs in the structure of GDP in 2017 was 34.4%, with a turnover of 1,920.3 billion drams, which is more than a year ago by 14.2%. In the structure of active taxpayers, the share of SMEs is 77% or 82,209 companies. At the same time, in the general list of taxpayers, the share of active reached 59.2% or 106,596 companies, which, in numerical terms, is 5,593 more than a year ago.
According to the latest data of the National Center for SME Development (SME DNC) for several years, the share of SMEs in the structure of Armenia's GDP remains unchanged, at about 28%. As of the beginning of July of this year, according to the criteria of the National Center, out of 75 thousand 60% of SME business entities operating in Armenia are private entrepreneurs and only 40% are organizations.
4:05 pm
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III and Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian offered to mediate between the Egyptian and Ethiopian churches to settle the issue of Deir Es-Sultan Coptic Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem, an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox official said on Saturday.
A delegation from the Coptic Orthodox Church is due to arrive in Cairo on Sunday after a four-day visit to Jerusalem commissioned by Coptic Pope Tawadros II, Pope of the Church of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.
The delegation, headed by Anba Daniel, bishop of Maadi and secretary-general of the Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod, met with Bishop Antonious, bishop of the Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Gulf countries, to show support for him and the right of the Coptic Orthodox Church over Deir Es-Sultan Coptic Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem.
In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm on Saturday, Anba Daniel said that they met during the visit with the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox patriarchs, who offered to mediate between the two churches to solve the issue in a friendly manner.
The delegation also met with Egypt’s ambassador to Israel, who was very cooperative and stressed the full coordination of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry with the Coptic Church for its right to the monastery, which cannot be debated.
Anba Daniel suggested that the delegation may visit Ethiopia to hold talks on the issue. “Despite the problem of the monastery, there are church relations at the highest level between the Ethiopian and Coptic churches,” he said.
According to the Coptic Church, the history of the monastery dates back to the reign of Sultan Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (684-705 AD), who granted it to the Copts, who named it after him as Deir Es-Sultan Monastery. The Coptic Orthodox Church’s ownership of the monastery was confirmed during the reign of Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi in the 12th century.
The Coptic Church says that Abyssinian people resorted to the Coptic Church in the last half of the 17th century as a temporary shelter until they solved their problems and returned to their own churches, which were acquired in 1654 by the Greek and Armenian churches because of the inability of the Ethiopian Church to pay taxes. The Coptic Church temporarily hosted the Abyssinian monks as guests in some rooms of the monastery.
On April 25, 1970, during the Easter Mass in the Church of the Resurrection, the Israeli government sent military forces to enable the Ethiopian monks from the monastery to change the locks and take control of the monastery. When Coptic monks learned of this, they rushed to the monastery but the Israeli forces prevented them from entering.
The Bishop of the Copts filed an appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court, which unanimously approved the restoration of the monastery to the Coptic Church on March 16, 1971, but the Israeli government still refuses to implement the Supreme Court ruling to this day.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
The decision was made in connection with the claim of the Armenian Embassy. The Ambassador of Armenia to Germany Ashot Smbatyan, who, according to journalists, is associated with Armenian criminal groups, is mentioned in the materials of the investigation of Der Spiegel and MDR.
On the basis of the claim of the Armenian Embassy in Germany, the decision of the Berlin court postponed the screening on of the documentary film “Godfathers in Germany: Armenian Mafia and Thieves in Law” on MDR channel, scheduled for November 7.
The film show was delayed a few hours before the broadcast. Instead of a 30-minute documentary on television, a 7-minute video report was shown about the activities of the Armenian mafia in Germany and its exposure by law enforcement agencies.
The joint journalistic investigation of the MDR channel and Der Spiegel, which caused the diplomatic tension between Armenia and Germany, was also mentioned in the report.
Recall that the newspaper Spiegel and the broadcasting company Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk conducted an independent journalistic investigation about the Armenian mafia in Germany and its relations with thieves in law. The materials of the investigation mention the Ambassador of Armenia to Germany Ashot Smbatyan, who, according to some sources, is associated with Armenian criminal groups.
According to German media reports, the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA), together with the German land police agencies, has been conducting a classified operation to search for and detain representatives of Armenian criminal groups and thieves in law for three years. German law enforcement authorities are supported in the investigation by the federal intelligence service BND and Europol. In connection with the data on the merging of criminal structures with the Armenian authorities, the BKA did not recommend the investigators to accept the assistance of the Armenian diplomatic mission in Germany.
Ashot Smbatyan denied his connection with the mafia and called these accusations absurd, demanded refutations from journalists and sued the TV channel. After this, the Berlin court banned the Spiegel newspaper and the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk TV company from disseminating unfounded statements about the Armenian ambassador to Germany Ashot Smbatyan.
According to the verdict, these media "are forbidden literally or, in a context of meaning, to approve or disseminate unfounded statements about the plaintiff." For any violation of the court decision, the media are threatened with a fine of up to 250 thousand euros, or disciplinary arrest of defendants, i.e. the companies' representatives, for up to 6 months.
Goris community leader thinking about leaving RPA
16:20,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Goris community leader Arush Arushanyan says he is thinking about leaving the Republican Party of Armenia, but has no plans to join any other party, Armenpress reports.
“As a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, of course, I am going to participate in the early parliamentary elections, but will not nominate my candidacy”, he told reporters in Yerevan, stating that he may leave the RPA.
The early parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held on December 9, 2018.
Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
Ambassador Kirakossian introduces key points of Armenia’s position on NK conflict settlement at OSCE Permanent Council session
16:36,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Arman Kirakossian, Head of Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE, delivered remarks at the 1200th session of the OSCE Permanent Council in response to the annual report of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Armenian foreign minister told Armenpress.
In his remarks Ambassador Kirakossian thanked the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the efforts put for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and added that 2018 is marked with an important anniversary: in February 1988, the regional council of the people’s deputies of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast made a decision asking the Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan to approach with understanding to the will and dreams of the Armenian population of Karabakh and agree on the transfer of the Oblast from Azerbaijan to Armenia. It was stated that Azerbaijan, in response to this appeal of self-determination, carried out violence, deportations, crimes and unleashed a war.
Ambassador Kirakossian stated that since that time the status and security of Artsakh became the most important elements of the conflict settlement.
The Armenian side highlighted that today the Armenian people highly value democracy and human rights, which was approved this spring by the peaceful and democratic changes that took place in Armenia as a result of which early parliamentary elections will be held this December.
Talking about the position of the new Armenian leadership on the conflict settlement, the Ambassador outlined several key points:
The first one – the status and security of the Artsakh people are one of the most important issues for the conflict settlement and are the absolute priority of Armenia.
The second one – the people and authorities of Artsakh must have a decisive voice in the conflict settlement process. Any attempt to isolate Artsakh and its people from the conflict settlement process contradicts to both the causes of the conflict’s origins and the existing reality. Artsakh is populated by its native people who historically constantly comprised an absolute majority, including at all stages of the conflict.
The third one – Armenia continues supporting the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Russia, US and France) aimed at settling the conflict exclusively through peaceful means.
The fourth one – the conflict cannot have a military solution, and the military scenarios should be rejected unconditionally. The 2016 April military adventurism had a negative impact on the peace process. The current positive dynamics, which was formed as a result of the recent meetings and the agreements reached in Dushanbe, must be followed by an implementation of actions aimed at strengthening trust and security already agreed upon in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva, which in its turn will strengthen the OSCE presence in the conflict zone.
The fifth one – the creation of atmosphere contributing to peace requires not only reduction of tension and introduction of monitoring mechanisms, but also preparing people to peace. The hostile rhetoric and maximalist positions question the possibilities of mutual concession.
Ambassador Arman Kirakossian also thanked the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and his team for strengthening the ceasefire regime and the trust between the sides. He expressed confidence that the only international presence in the NK conflict zone and the only OSCE presence in South Caucasus play an important role in mitigating the tension in the Line of Contact and the border.
Armenia’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the midfielder of London’s Arsenal, has been named Man of the Match of the Arsenal – Sporting Europa League match that ended 0:0.
Gunners forward Danny Welbeck has suffered a “very big injury” after he was carried off on a stretcher during his side’s Europa League game against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday, BBC reported.
Arsenal secured a place in the last 32.
“He is at the hospital. The news is that we are going to wait, but we think it’s a serious injury,” said Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
Welbeck was hurt in the 25th minute when he jumped for a header and landed badly on his right ankle.
Some of Welbeck’s team-mates were also visibly affected by the incident.
“They saw it was a big injury,” added Emery.
2-year-old Arthur Martirosyan, the child who was missing since November 6, has been found dead in a lake in Vanadzor, Armenia, police said.
Earlier today search and rescue operations had resumed.
Police did not specify other details yet.
A day after the news broke on Kim Kardashian willing to adopt a baby from Armenia, ARMENPRESS contacted the ministry of justice for details. However, the Armenian-American reality TV star and her hip hop artist husband Kanye West have not applied to Armenian governmental bodies for adopting a child, justice ministry spokesperson Lusine Martirosyan said.
She said that adoptions between USA and Armenia are carried out exclusively within the framework of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (or Hague Adoption Convention).
“Within the framework of the convention, the central authorized body is the Armenian justice ministry, which hasn’t at this moment received an application of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West from authorized US bodies. In the event of receiving it from our American partners, procedures will be launched as required by the convention and Armenian legislation,” she said.
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian argues that processes are taking place rapidly, and one must wait in order to understand what the real US policy in the region will be in the nearest times.
The president was speaking to reporters today in response to questions about his conclusions over US National Security Advisor John Bolton’s statements made in Armenia and what kind of a situation the US sanctions on Iran will create in the region and how they will affect the Armenian-Iranian relations.
“I don’t believe that conclusions must be drawn proceeding from any given statement,” the president said. “Domestic, foreign and regional policy is a dynamic process. And, certainly, it’s not only about the Armenia-USA relations, but rather about the USA-region relations. And the regional is very large – it’s not just our neighboring states and Iran, but also USA-Europe, USA-Russia etc. I didn’t personally meet Bolton. I believe and I advise not to draw conclusions too quickly, because processes are rapid, variable, and we ought to wait, see, what the real policy of the US will be in the region in the nearest time,” Sarkissian said.