Armenia

BELGRADE - The Football Association of Serbia (FSS) said on Wednesday that top officials of the Football Association of Albania have rejected a proposal for a replay of the EURO 2016 qualifying match between the two countries' national teams.

NYON - The UEFA appeals committee has rejected the appeals to the penalties given out regarding the incidents that occurred at a cancelled match between Serbia and Albania.

It means Serbia will remain 3 points short in the fight to qualify for the next European championship. The points were taken away in the original decision by the UEFA disciplinary committee.

Pope Francis has voiced his hope for the opening of the Turkey-Armenia border, during a flight back to Rome after a three-day visit to Turkey.

The pope voiced hope that gestures over the coming anniversary year of the 1915 incidents would bring the two nations closer together, and he specifically voiced hope that Turkey would open its border with Armenia.

The Turkish art of paper marbling, known as Ebru, has been added to the United Nations' world cultural heritage list.

Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik said Turkey applied to UNESCO for the art to be included in the cultural heritage list in March last year. "With the addition of Ebru art, Turkey is now represented on the list 12 times," Çelik said.

U.S. rockers System of a Down will play a free show next year in Armenia to mark the centennial of the World War I-era mass killings, recognized by many countries as genocide.

The California hard rock band, whose four members are of Armenian heritage, announced a performance in Yerevan's Republic Square on April 23, a day ahead of the country's main commemorations.

Director General of Romania's National News Agency AGERPRES Alexandru Giboi on Tuesday was elected to the board of the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies (BSANNA).

The election was part of the 7th convention of the BSANNA general assembly hosted by Erevan, Armenia.

Turkey remains committed to normalizing its relations with Armenia, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has stated, while underlining that Turkey will be monitoring Armenia’s “accelerated campaigns” in third countries, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the mass massacres of Anatolian Armenians, which many countries recognize as genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu highlighted Nov. 22 the importance of the use of Cyrpus's natural resources for peace, adding that Turkey would be the primary user of gas coming out of the divided island.

Davutoğlu made the remarks in a speech at the closing session of the sixth Atlantic Council Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul.

Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) governor Ivan Iskrov is likely to step down by the end of November, sources in Parliament say.

The arrangement has been made after consultations Iskrov held with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the parliamentary groups of parties in the ruling axis, the website Mediapool.bg reports citing the sources.

Armenian troops on Nov. 20 killed an Azerbaijani soldier, the defense ministry in Baku said, amid escalating tensions in the longstanding conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

Last week, Armenia threatened "grave consequences" after Azerbaijani forces shot down a helicopter belonging to the army of the breakaway ethnic Armenian region.