2019 – Page 557 – Armenian Directory & News

Spanish police arrest tennis players in match-fixing ring

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Maral Chavushian

Associated Press International

Thursday 1:22 PM GMT

Spanish police arrest tennis players in match-fixing ring

By TALES AZZONI, AP Sports Writer

MADRID

MADRID (AP) – Spanish police say 28 professional tennis players, including one who participated in last year's U.S. Open, have been linked to an international organized group accused of fixing matches.

Authorities said on Thursday the players tainted results after taking bribes from an Armenian ring that was dismantled in October. Fifteen people were arrested at the time, including some of the tennis players.

Eleven houses were raided and police seized luxury vehicles, a shotgun, credit cards, and 167,000 euros ($191,000) in cash.

It wasn't clear if the player who took part in the U.S. Open was among those detained.

Police accused Spaniard player Marc Fornell-Mestres, whose highest career singles ranking was 236th in 2007, of acting as the link between players and the Armenian ring that bribed them for betting purposes.

No other names had been immediately disclosed by authorities.

The 36-year-old Fornell-Mestres was provisionally suspended from professional tennis at the end of last year, according to the Tennis Integrity Unit, which said the suspension related to an investigation into "alleged breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program." Fornell-Mestres was ranked 1007th in singles and 772th in doubles at the end of 2018.

It was a warning by the Tennis Integrity Unit in 2017 that prompted Spanish authorities to begin the investigation.

Police said the organized group bribed the players to guarantee predetermined results and used the identities of thousands of citizens to place international bets on the matches. Authorities said members of the Armenian ring attended the matches to ensure the players complied with what was previously agreed.

European Union law enforcement agency Europol, which supported the operation led by Spanish authorities, said at least 97 matches from lower-tier Futures and Challenger tournaments were fixed.

In total, 83 people were implicated in the probe, including the alleged leaders of the Armenian group. More than 40 bank accounts used by those allegedly involved with the ring were blocked by authorities.

Police are also investigating what they suspect are strong links between some of the suspects arrested in Spain and an Armenian-Belgian crime gang broken up by Belgium police last year, also suspected of fixing tennis matches. In the Belgium case, police announced in June the arrest of 13 people in Belgium and said the gang also targeted lower-level tennis matches.

No Mnatsakanyan-Pompeo meeting planned – Armenian Foreign Ministry

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Alex Jidarian

Interfax – Russia & CIS Diplomatic Panorama

Thursday 8:34 PM MSK

No Mnatsakanyan-Pompeo meeting planned – Armenian Foreign Ministry

YEREVAN. Jan 10

There is no meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the schedule of acting Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenian Foreign Ministry press secretary Anna Nagdalyan told Interfax on Thursday, speaking of the minister's upcoming visit to Washington.

Suren Sargsyan, an Armenian political analyst and expert on U.S. affairs, had said that such a meeting was in the works.

"A meeting between Mnatsakanyan and Pompeo is being prepared. It will be held in Washington, D.C. in approximately two months. The last meeting in this format was held in 2013," Sargsyan wrote on Facebook.

"The media is kept duly informed about the minister's meetings with his colleagues. Please rely on official sources in such cases," Nagdalyan said.

Azerbaijani Press: Baku decided to give lesson to Paris

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Emil Lazarian

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press

Thursday

Baku decided to give lesson to Paris

Baku / 10.01.19 / Turan: The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan reacted painfully to the statement by the representative of the French Foreign Ministry about the need to release the blogger Mehman Huseynov and the letter from the OSCE representative for the press Arlem Desir of similar content.

Instead of responding the claims, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called on Paris to respond to the facts of violence against demonstrators in France, stated the head of the press service of the Foreign Ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva.

According to her, commenting on the situation with Mehman Huseynov, at a time when France itself was embraced by the actions of "yellow vests", is ridiculous. "Against the protesters in this country, water cannons, batons and other means of violence are used, more than 4,500 demonstrators were detained. Azerbaijan hopes that the charges against the demonstrators detained in France will be dropped, and they will soon be released," she said. According to her, France has long held a pro-Armenian position, and this can be perceived as pressure on Azerbaijan.

French citizen Arlem Desir, the State Secretary of the French Foreign Ministry, and overseeing the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, was known in Azerbaijan as a person with a pro-Armenian position. Apparently, Desir, forgot the principle of impartiality, preferred to speak from the position of the country he represents. Therefore, we can recommend that he evaluate violence against demonstrators in his country, Abdullayeva said.

Earlier the Foreign Ministry expressed itself more diplomatically and with a greater degree of logic.

From this statement, it follows that Baku took care of the fate of 4,500 demonstrators detained in Paris only after Paris touched upon the fate of Mehman Huseynov. In addition, official Baku always justifies cases of police violence against its own citizens by the need to maintain stability and order. -02D-

Azerbaijani Press: Pashinyan will try to hold on to status quo in Karabakh conflict: UK political analyst

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Yeghisabet Vorskanian

AzerNews, Azerbaijan

Jan 11 2019

18:09 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will try to hold on to status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Thomas de Waal, a UK political analyst, senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region, Trend reports.

Thomas de Waal said he doesn’t expect many changes by the new Armenian government, at least not soon.

“Pashinyan is going to just try to hold on to the status quo and this is probably not to the liking of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan does not want to see a quiet status quo, but a quiet status quo is unfortunately what I think the new Armenian leadership wants,” the expert told the Caucasus Watch.

Further, taking about the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he noted that this conflict is deeply intractable and it cannot be solved quickly.

Thomas de Waal noted that there is a very weak international mechanism in place for the conflict’s settlement.

“There is a small monitoring mission with six OSCE observers, as well as the very modest Minsk Group under the co-chairmanship format that is trying to mediate the conflict. So basically everything comes down to the will and decision-making of the leaders on both sides,” said the political analyst.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Film: ‘Don’t go to Armenia as you might get back with too many stories’: Unique travel film by Tolt

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Albert Nalbandian

Panorama, Armenia

Jan 11 2019

French travel blogger Benjamin Martinie, aka Tolt, has unveiled a unique video about Armenia he has made during his recent trip to the country.

In the video titled “Don't go to Armenia” that was posted on YouTube on Thursday, the blogger sarcastically tells the viewers to not visit the country as “you might get back with too many stories.”

The video depicts Armenia's colourful landscapes, wonderful nature, historical sites, ancient churches, traditional dishes and entertainment places.

View the video at

Sports: Armenian skiers to compete in international tournaments in Lebanon and Finland

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Ani Kharatian

MediaMax, Armenia

Jan 10 2019

Armenian skiers to compete in international tournaments in Lebanon and Finland

Secretary General of the Armenian Ski Federation Gagik Sargsyan told Mediamax Sport that Tadevos Poghosyan and Katya Galstyan will represent Armenia in the tournament for developing ski nations in Lebanon.

Another Armenian skier Mikael Mikaelyan will compete in the U20 World Cup in Finland.

The team for the World Cup, due to be held in Austria, will be decided by the results of the second round of the Armenian championship, scheduled for February 8-10.

Sports: Mkhitaryan is making a recovery

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Raffi Khondkarian

MediaMax, Armenia

Jan 11 2019

Mkhitaryan is making a recovery

Photo: Getty Images

Arsenal has noted on its official website that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is gradually making a recovery.

The Armenian midfielder has been training with the team in light sessions and is expected to return to action in February.

Meanwhile, the English press continues claiming that Mkhitaryan won’t stay with Arsenal till the end of his contract in 2021.

Unai Emery said yesterday that club is working on signing Denis Suarez, but he could not give concrete information. The media believe that Mkhitaryan’s future at Arsenal depends on that transfer and report that even if the Armenian footballer stays at Arsenal in the January transfer window, he will definitely move to Milan or Everton in summer.

Sports: Armenian judokas join Olympic training camp in Austria

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Emil Lazarian

MediaMax, Armenia

Jan 10 2019

Armenian judokas join Olympic training camp in Austria

On January 14-15, Mittersill will host a seminar for coaches and referees, which will include the presentation on the changes planned for 2019.

Armenia has sent two judokas to the camp, Ferdinand Karapetyan (73 kg) and Arsen Khanjyan (90 kg), as well as head coach of the national team Armen Nazaryan and Secretary General of the Armenian Judo Federation Tatul Hovhannisyan.

Sports: FC Zenit interested in Armenia’s Arsenal midfielder

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Vardan Badalian

Vestnik Kavkaza

Jan 11 2019

11 Jan in 10:15

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's contract with Arsenal is set to expire in the summer of 2021 and according to Calciomercato, Mkhitaryan's next destination could become AC Milan.

But according to Aravot-en.am, Russia's Zenit is also interested in Mkhitaryan as the club's midfielder Leandro Paredes is being linked with a move to Chelsea.

If the transfer of Leonardo to Chelsea happens, Zenit will try to make a profitable offer to arsenal for Mkhitaryan.

"There is also interest from Russia! Zenit are also interested in Henrikh Mkhitaryan (SPB)," Armenian journalist Hrach Khachatryan wrote on Twitter.

Sports: Armenian boxers prepare for 2019 competitions

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 Mike Maghakian

MediaMax, Armenia

Jan 10 2019

Photo: Mediamax

The Head Coach of the team Davit Torosyan told Mediamax Sport that the trainings will be held in Yerevan, and then a training camp will be organized in Tsaghkadzor.

“This is very important year for us before the Olympics. We have already decided which tournaments we will take part in to understand the final composition of the team,” Torosyan said.

The coach also noted that the European Games in Minsk will be followed by the World Championship, which will be a qualifying competition for the Tokyo 2020. He expressed hope that his athletes will be able to perform successfully and achieve their goals.