I am still NOT the Original Poster. That is u/ThrowRA-scarecrow. She posted in relationship_advice. Thank you to u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for the original recommendation and to u/ivy5kin for letting me know about the update
Previous BORU here. New Updates (starting with one from a few months ago and ending with one 7 days old) marked with ****\*

Read trigger warnings

Trigger Warnings: infant abuse; spousal abuse; drug use; stalking; kidnapping attempt
Mood Spoiler: utterly terrifying and disturbing
Original Post: March 16, 2024
My husband (42m) and I (35f) tried for so long to have our boys and girl. Due to a health issue my husband suffered he developed fertility issues and we had to get medical assistance to be able to have our children because if we didn’t he’d probably never have kids. So we went through fertility treatment. He desperately wanted his own biological children and we spent a fortune just to bring them into the world and now he’s jealous and distant with them?
He’s constantly in competition with his own infant children. If I hold the children he gets frustrated. Any time they take my attention away he gets completely pissy. He’s always in a foul mood, irritable and just down right nasty. I don’t understand it. Why is he like this? Our children are barely 6 months and they won’t stop crying every time he’s near. I feel like they can sense his negativity. I tried talking to him. Ive suggested he take interest in the kids and spend more time with us as a family. I know it can sometimes take a little longer for parents to bond with their children but this is down right scary to experience. He’s full of jealousy and envy. He sees our children as competition to my time and affections.
A few times now he has made comments about feeling frustrated that I still breast feed our children. The thing is we mix feed so he has had ample opportunity to feed them and he just doesn’t. He also said that this (meaning our life&our marriage after children) wasn’t what he thought it would be like. I mean what did he expect? A singular baby cries and three of them cry a lot.
We’ve been together for 8 years and married for 7 years. He wanted these children. He pushed for them and now this. I never thought this would ever be me. I am scared. I am scared for my children. I have tried talking to him but he just brushes me off. I’ve suggested counseling. He refuses. He tells me it’s all in my head. I want to save this marriage but I am scared I won’t be able to and maybe it’s not worth saving.
He comes home later everyday. He avoids us on the weekends and any time he has off. I’m not ashamed to say that I went through his phone and there are a lot flirtatious text between him and a “Jessica”. I don’t think anything has happened between them but it sure looks like they are building up to it. I haven’t said anything because I’m afraid. Where do I go with three children, with no money and no family that can help me? I haven’t worked in two years and I’ve spent all my savings on having these children. My mind is in a complete meltdown. I can’t sleep I can’t think and I’m always exhausted.
What the hell happened? Is this him now forever?
Edit: Some of you are some real evil bastards ! Stop blaming me for him mistreating me! I do not deserve to be treated this way and neither do my kids! Stop messaging me evil things!
Relevant Comments:
Examples of 'competition':
If I’m with the kids and say I’m feeding them he gets upset I’m focusing on them and not him, or as he likes to say I’m fussing over them. He expects they sleep through the night and gets upset when I’m with them instead of in bed with him. He has even made weird comments about me loving them more than him.
Did he really want kids or did YOU want kids?
Due to my husband’s fertility issues he was the one pushing for us to have kids. He knew early on that he had a health condition and wanted us to have children way earlier but I asked if we could wait but then his condition worsened so we agreed to get treatment before he couldn’t have any kids. He desperately wanted to be a father and they are biologically ours. His desire to be a father was one of the qualities I liked about him when we started dating.
I’ve always worked and the plan was for me to stay home for the first 2/3 years and perhaps work part time until the kids were school aged. But that’s out the window now because I don’t want to ever be this vulnerable! I’ve been brushing off my cv and scouring the internet for a job. I will never allow myself to be this vulnerable again.
Does he help at ALL? Do you have a support system you could go to?
He doesn’t help me at all. I take care of our kids on my own. My parents are long gone and my sister is abroad. She stayed with us for the birth and a month after the children were born. She lives in France but she’s due to return home this summer. So I know I’ll have her help when she’s back. But I’m trying not to bother her as she’s going through a divorce.
I’ve suggested couples counseling and he refuses. He says everything is in my head.
I’m actually even crying writing this but I do have a small to go bag in the trunk of my car. Just incase. I feel like I’m not being rational because he doesn’t hurt me or the kids but I feel like I’m constantly walking on eggshells. Like what happened to my happy go lucky husband? Who’s this person I’m afraid of?
Are they his biologically? Did you guys go to a support group for infertility treatment?
We didn’t use any sperm or egg donations. The kids are his and mine biologically.
We also went to a support group, two support groups actually. One of them was for couples and the other for men experiencing infertility. He also went to individual therapy to deal with his emotional issues around infertility.
Update Post: March 19, 2024 (3 days later)
Title: He’s (42m) been pinching my (35f) babies?
Thank you to the person who said I should watch his interactions with my babies more closely and frequently. Not even hours after I posted here asking for advice I caught him pinching my son!
While I was scrolling on here and replying to people I decided to check my baby monitor and I watched my husband enter our children’s room and insult them in a hushed and whispery tone. I couldn’t make out much of what he was saying but he was without a doubt telling them that he hated them and wished them dead. Then he pinched my son and my baby boy didn’t even cry which made me think he’s done this many times before.
It all happened so fast and by the time I could make sense of what was happening on the monitor he was already walking down the hallway and down the stairs. At the same time I had lept off the sofa and pretty much tackled him as he came off the stairs. We got into a physical and verbal altercation, we fought, argued and shouted for hours. I guess the police were called by the neighbors because the next thing I know the police are banging on my door. I explained the situation to the police and the officers said that they could not prove that my baby was harmed since he didn’t have a bruise and my baby monitor was only on live feed and not simultaneously recording. Eventually they got my husband to agree to pack a bag and leave. He left reluctantly.
He has since been blowing up my phone begging for forgiveness, talking about how he’s been depressed and stressed by the babies, and that his anxiety and jealousy got the best of him. I just responded once telling him to go fuck himself. I’ve also been in contact with a lawyer and she’s advised me to leave him unblocked incase he further incriminates himself. I don’t even recognize who this man is! Where did this all come from?
How did this happen? Has any other parent experienced this? How did you handle this?
Before y’all start jumping down my throat I am absolutely getting a divorce and I will do everything in my power to get full custody. I did take my children to our family doctor and they are in good health and there are no other signs of abuse. I’ve filled a report with the police and my lawyer is dealing with it. I’m also about to start the process of divorce.
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: He just wants more and better access to his victims. This is someone who gets off on hurting children. Actual human beings who are stressed and depressed do not sneak around abusing children for their dopamine hits.

OOP: Exactly! I’m tired, stressed, depressed and I’m physically still not fully healed from the pregnancy and the cesarean birth but not once have I thought of hurting anyone let alone a baby! I don’t buy his bullshit excuses. He clearly knew what he was doing was wrong otherwise he wouldn’t have been sneaking around and being all hush hush. I do not believe him for one second. He’s a goddamn beastly man.

Update the monitor to one that records:
I’ve set the monitor up to record now! I’ve also ordered a home security system and will be installing it real soon!
On what OOP is doing to protect them:
I’m doing everything I can to protect them! This all happened a few days ago but I am in the process of getting a temporary restraining order. My lawyer is handling it and I understand it takes some time to actually get one and in the meantime I’ve been advised that I can just deny him visitation until he gets a judgement from the courts that forces me to grant him access to my babies but that takes time. So in the meantime he can’t force me or my babies to see him.
I’ve recorded every call and saved ever text. Literally documenting everything. Thankfully he’s saying and texting a goldmine of incriminating things that I hope would be sufficient information for a judge to give me and my babies a restraining/protective order and for family court to grant me primary and sole custody.
Did you tell him you saw the pinch?
Yes. He at first told me I was imagining things. Then switched to saying he was just frustrated our son wouldn’t go to sleep. Then he started saying that he was angry that our son was interrupting our “personal time” and that he was doing it on purpose because the other babies were asleep so why wasn’t he?
Honestly nothing he says makes sense to me. Like my baby boy was just laying there sleepy and he would’ve fallen back to sleep by himself that bastard actually woke him up with his pinching and insults.
He says he went in their room to check up on them and I call bullshit on that he went in there to torment my children. Who in their right mind whispers death to two sleeping babies and a another half asleep baby?!
Did he tell you that over phone or text?
This was on a call which I’ve recorded!
*****Update Post 2: April 10, 2024 (3 weeks after OG post)****\*
Title: How did it go so wrong? For my (36f) birthday he (42m) broke into the house?
Every conversation with him (42m) feels like I’m (36f) losing my mind. The only thing that has kept me semi-sane and able to track what he has been doing is my audio journal and my posts on here.
Last week it was my thirty sixth birthday. Actually I had forgotten it was my birthday and was reminded by my sister that it was in fact my birthday. I decided I couldn’t mope around the house and I got my kids dressed to go shopping and get groceries. We got back and I put away half of the groceries but my babies were fussy and so to tire them out and ready them for bed we went for a walk. When I got back home he was in the kitchen cooking and putting away some of the groceries I had left out. He greeted me and acted normal. I didn’t react because his entire demeanour was freaking me out so I played along. I went upstairs and got the kids down. I did think of walking out the front door but he was kind of anticipating it and so he was following me around and I thought in the moment that the best thing I could do was to get my kids upstairs and away from him. He said he wanted to talk and clear the air because this has “gone on too long”.
We had a long conversation and it started out reasonable but eventually spiralled out of control. We got into physical confrontation because I refused to let him stay. He tried to physically intimidate me and he, well hurt me. While he was hurting me I was still able to contact the police. It took them a excruciatingly long 20/25 minutes to get there.
So here I am sitting with two completely black and blue eyes, a busted lip, swollen face,massive knots on my head and bruises all over. I don’t know what happened to my life or how I got here but here I am. I can’t even look my neighbors in the eyes. I can’t go outside without seeing the shocked faces of people.
I have never felt so ashamed, so humiliated, so hurt and so utterly stupid. I thought I made all the right choices in life. What did I do wrong? When did it all get so fucked? I mean I think I did everything right? Like I created a stable life for myself then picked a man that at time was a very loving partner, I married that man and waited five years before even going through the process of having children with him and now once I’ve had his children he’s just beating on me and our babies?
Edit: My sister is now aware of what’s been happening and she is supporting me as best as she can. I have plans to move out but since I’m not working right now I need some time to save up.
His family is also aware. His family refused to believe that I saw him hurt our child but they can’t deny this attack now that they’ve seen my bruises. Also yes he was arrested and he was bailed out by his brother. He’s currently staying with his brother.
Relevant Comments:
I’m in contact with a dv organization that my lawyer has put me in contact with. I did have a locksmith come out and I have new locks. I also have a couple of safety locks for my windows, and security cameras around the house and I changed our security code but honestly he doesn’t give a shit.
He despite it all broke in and beat the living shit out of me.
Making the audio journal:
I really didn’t make my audio journal to use as evidence. I literally made it because he makes me feel like I’m insane! I never know which version of him I’ll get at any given time. I also keep my journal to keep track of what he says. Every conversation with him makes me lose grip of my fleeting sanity.
Leaving the house:
The biggest reason I haven’t left my home is because he would without a doubt say I abducted the children! I’m already withholding my children from him since I caught him hurting my six month old son.
On advice of my lawyer I have stayed put. It’s my best option for now and it shows that I’ve been reasonably measured in my actions.
Restraining order?
I am in the process of getting one.
Update Post 3: April 25, 2024 (15 days later, almost 6 weeks from OG post)
Title: It was all for the love of another woman? Who barely knew of his existence? He (42m) hurt my (36f) children to further his own selfish desires
I say all of this without exaggeration. I am certain he was getting ready to kill us. After nearly 8 months of turmoil I’m finally close to understanding.
My soon to be ex husband is in love with a woman he came across on social media and he has been obsessing over her for at least a year. She also happens to be a sex worker and he was paying her for her time and attention. In his mind he believed they could have a future together if only he could get rid of my children and me. Even though this woman gave him no inkling that she even wanted to be with him. He has spent so much of our money on this woman. I am at a loss for words that could accurately describe the situation. I can barely believe half of the things he’s been up to.
I’ve spent the past few weeks playing detective and I finally decided to contact “Jessica”. This is obviously not her name but I need to call her something. I contacted Jessica and at first she was very reluctant to speak to me but I literally begged her to and she was kind enough to get on the phone with me.
She told me that she had been seeing him for awhile but she stopped seeing him because he started to scare her. He was sending her unhinged messages and voicemails. He had been stalking her and trying to convince her to be with him. Jessica eventually stopped seeing him and had him blocked and I guess this is when he started to escalate from emotional abuse to physically abusing my children and myself. He was looking for a way out and in his crazy mind, killing us would free him because the only reason Jessica wouldn’t be with him was because me and my children were in the way.
During our long call I also explained to Jessica what had been happening to me and she was genuinely kind and helpful. She also agreed to speak to my lawyer and to send them the thousands of unhinged texts, voicemails and voice notes he sent her. For a little while after our conversation a part of me genuinely hated Jessica and wanted to blame her for everything but the rational part of me pushed out those unreasonable and dangerous thoughts especially after I read his disturbing texts and heard his voicemail/notes to Jessica. She has also been victimized by him.
Honestly there is nothing like listening to your husband and father of your children talk about how you and your children mean nothing to him and how he wishes you were dead. He could’ve just asked for a divorce or just got up and left. I sent him a few texts asking him why? (this was a one time thing and since then I’ve stopped all contact) Why do all of this? Why torment my babies? Why not just walk away? He responded with a message saying any conversation between us should be through our lawyers. His parents have him lawyered up. They know what he’s been up to and they’ve chosen to protect him. His father came to see me and in a not so direct way suggested he could pay me if I stopped talking about what his son has done and was planning on doing. Ever since he broke into the house and pretty much tried to kill me I’ve told anyone who’d listen what he has done. At this point even his colleagues know.
Relevant Comments:
I have emergency custody of my kids and a protective order. I’m in the process of getting two trained guard dogs haven’t gotten very far though and I have a security system.
I’m also seriously considering a gun. More than seriously actually I’ve applied for a permit. Of course I do plan on taking lessons in gun safety and training.
Be careful with the dogs, he may just kill them:
He probably would but the few seconds to minutes he needs in order to do that is perhaps the chance I need to save my children and myself.
This may seem horrible to you but I rather have them as a buffer then my children getting harmed. I of course don’t want this to happen but I’m in a situation now where I need to do everything I can to protect my children.
His parents:
Oh they really are bastards and refuse to believe their precious son could ever do the things he’s done despite the fact that I installed security cameras after I caught him abusing my babies and despite the fact that my neighbors have signed witness statements attesting to the fact that they saw him break into my house and attack me. They’ve seen the police report. They’ve seen the pictures of my battered face and bruised body. They are feigning ignorance but they know, and I know they know.
You don't want to give him ammunition in the divorce- maybe stop telling people?
Actually me telling people has been the best thing I’ve done so far. It’s what has kept me safe. My neighbors now look out for his car and call the police if they see he’s anywhere near the house.
What was he like before all of this? Were there any signs?
We’ve been married for nearly 8 years. Will actually be 8 years in 2 months. We never had any issues. Sure we had minor squabbles but that was few and far in between. Never did I have any issues that would lead me to think that he’d try to hurt us let alone kill us.
It was during my pregnancy and birth that he became verbally and emotionally abusive, this is also the time period he met Jessica and started fantasizing about running away with her. He was angry and jealous that my attention was more on the pregnancy and the babies and this built resentment towards me and my children. It also pushed him more into his obsession with Jessica and when he was also rejected by her, he spiraled into this insane mindset. At the same time he escalated into verbally and physically abusing our infant children and when I found out he hurt my children, I attacked him. I caught him hurting my son and we physically fought and my neighbors called the police and he was escorted out of the house. Then he came back and broke into the house, he attacked me and beat me into a bloody mess. He was arrested for this. I’ve since attained a lawyer and I’ve been granted emergency custody and a protective order.
Again- why isn't he in jail?
He’s out on bail.
Update Post 3: May 11, 2024 (2+ weeks later)
Editor's note: This post was deleted by reddit. I have transcribed it from this youtube video and this tiktok video
Title: My (36f) husband (42m) has been arrested for stalking and attempting to abduct his former “mistress”.
Last week Thursday at approximately 2:00 AM in the morning, my (36F) husband (42m) of nearly 8 years was arrested outside of Jessica's house, (the sex worker he met online and used to pay to spend time with him until he started to creep her out by his stalking and obsession.)
When he was arrested, they found in his truck small baggies with drug residue and they also found tools of abduction. I honestly do not know what these are exactly.
My soon to be ex FIL called me at around 4:45/4:50 AM to tell me that his son was arrested. My FIL was the one who used the term tools of abduction. When I asked him what the hell that means, he said he didn't have time for my interrogation tactics. He then asked if I could help them find a lawyer for him and to stand by his son throughout all of this. When I said to him "how the hell am I supposed to find a lawyer this early in the morning," he lost his shit and then was just screaming.
My soon to be ex MIL took over the phone, telling me that I'm a goddamn b****, and that all this is my fault. I hung up before she could say anymore.
I never knew this man to take drugs. Sure, he drank occasionally, but hard drugs? I honestly don't know what's happening anymore or how I got here. I mean it does make sense he was on cocaine the past 7/8 months now that I look back at things.
I mean, I don't even know anything about drugs to be able to recognize the behavior pattern, but once I researched it, it seemed clear. The moodiness, the disappearances, the lies, the anger, the sudden outburst and the violence- it all points to drug usage, as well as him being an abusive piece of shit.
His parents and the rest of his family had called and texted me so much abusive shit and they occasionally switched to begging me to go see him or pick up his calls, but I've mainly ignored them. I don't have the time, the energy or the love that is needed to be there for this man and his parents. I've given him eight years of my love and affection, and he spat it back into my face during the hardest and most vulnerable time of my life
Also, why would they think I'd help him after everything he's done? Especially since I think he deserves to be in jail for not only hurting my children, but also for hurting myself and Jessica.
I hope and pray he's jailed for the rest of his natural life. I mean I've tried being a good wife, but he has attacked my children. He has attacked me. He has lied and tormented us, and I'm supposed to help him?
I don't even know how I got here. How did we get here?
I've packed everything up and I'm leaving. I'm disappearing with my kids, and anything else between me and these people can be handled through my lawyer. The only person who knows where I'm moving to is my lawyer and my sister. I mean what else can I do to protect my children? His entire family blames me. And how do I keep my head high when I'm now being treated like I'm an evil and disgusting person by pretty much everyone I once called a family? These people are trying to destroy me inside and out, and I don't know how to survive them. How am I supposed to rebuild my life when they won't stop tormenting me?
In less than a year of their birth, I've managed to fail my children...
TLDR: My soon to be ex-husband was arrested while stalking his former mistress/sex worker and during his arrest they found drug residue and tools for abduction
Relevant Comments:
Change your surname/the kids' surnames:
My kids and I have double-barreled surnames (my surname and their dads) but when I can we will drop his and we’ll all go by just mine.
People blaming OOP:
The sad fucking thing it’s not only his parents. It seems like everyone is blaming me.
OOP's response to a crappy (now deleted) comment:
“ You need to discover the reasons why you failed to notice or do anything about everything that was going on with him. You have to build skills so you can take full ownership over your own life.”
This genuinely has me fucking raging right now! I feel like everyone keeps blaming me!
And I don’t know why everyone keeps blaming me for his shit! We didn’t have any problems in the previous 7 years of our marriage. He started doing drugs during my pregnancy and this is when he started to behave abnormally. I tried to get him help because I thought it was depression or the stress of being a new parent.
When I noticed his irritablity, combativeness and generally shitty behavior was more than just depression or jealousy of me spending more time with my new born children, I kicked him out, I got a lawyer and involved the police because there no way in hell I’d stay with someone who hurt my children or let him get away with it and I also made sure to get emergency custody of my children. This is also around the same time when he spiralled into using more drugs. I don’t know what else I could’ve done but I know I took all the right steps when I noticed his escalation!
I’m so sick of everyone acting like I was making him do drugs and like I’m suppose to know that he’d ruin my life after having had a good marriage before he started taking drugs and going out of his mind.
What has your lawyer said about disappearing?
I currently have emergency custody. My lawyer is the one who suggested to disappear (meaning moving to new house and not letting anyone know) because she says this is a time of great danger and I heartily agree. Since my ex-husband first went to look for me at the house but me and my children went to stay somewhere else for a few days because I was scared he’d come back after he broke into the house previously and attacked me.

Thanks. They deleted my last post. They Will probably delete this too. https://www.reddit.com/CashApp/comments/1cs8rt2/comment/l4j2uqe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonCash
I mailed this certified today.
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I am writing to formally address multiple unresolved issues I have experienced with your service, which have compelled me to consider legal action.
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(Interest bearing assets can be utilized for loans/leveraging on abracadabra.money, or utilized using different protocols.)
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• (https://x.com/MIM\_Spell?s=20)
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• (https://zapper.xyz/daos/abracadabra) (Check out the abracadabra treasury wallet)
• (https://portfolio.nansen.ai/dashboard/0xfddfE525054efaAD204600d00CA86ADb1Cc2ea8a) (Check out 0xmerlin.eth’s wallet on nansen.ai)
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• (https://wenmerl.in/) (Check Buybacks/Collections for sSpell/mSpell - Community Driven)
• (https://forum.abracadabra.money/)
• (https://rekt.loan/) (Community Driven, Check liquidations) - by mDreamy4
• (https://analytics.abracadabra.money/overview) (Official analytics page to keep track of Abracadabra.money)
• (https://www.abrastats.money/about) (Community Driven analytics page to keep track of Abracadabra.money (may be out of date))
• (https://dune.com/brab/beam) ($MIM Beaming analytics page, setup by brab AKA u/stablebrab)
• (https://dune.com/melenxyz/abracadabra-mim-beaming) ( $MIM Beaming Revenue page, setup by melen AKA u/melenxyz)
• (https://youtube.com/@shadowboy835) (Video versions of AMAs)
• (https://soundcloud.com/stablebrab) (Audio versions of AMAs)
• (https://mirror.xyz/0x5744b051845B62D6f5B6Db095cc428bCbBBAc6F9) (Abracadabra.Money Blog, learn more about tokens like $mAPE and $mGLP)
• (https://mirror.xyz/0x8A7f7C5b556B1298a74c0e89df46Eba117A2F6c1) (Daniele Sestagalli’s Blog, “Chief Frog of Frog Nation”) NOVEMBER 21, 2022: DANIELE HAS BEEN DECLARED NO LONGER ACTIVE AS AN ABRACADABRA TEAM MEMBER
• (https://app.bubblemaps.io/eth/token/0x090185f2135308bad17527004364ebcc2d37e5f6) (BubbleMaps for Spell Token)
• (https://app.bubblemaps.io/eth/token/0x99d8a9c45b2eca8864373a26d1459e3dff1e17f3) (BubbleMaps for MIM)
• (https://snapshot.org/#/abracadabrabymerlinthemagician.eth) (Voting Proposals for Abracadabra.Money)
• (https://www.lensfrens.xyz/magic.lens) (Abracadabra.Money’s social graph)
• (https://abracadabramoney.gitbook.io/abracadabra-english/) (Abracadabra $MIM $SPELL documents can be found on Gitbook)
• (https://github.com/Abracadabra-money/abracadabra-ui) (Check out abracadabras front end tech)
• (https://hackmd.io/@Clonescody/BJ2qk4A0F) (Awesome article by Clonescody on staking spell)
• (https://rantom.app/abracadabra) (Check Abracadabras transaction activity)
• (https://www.tally.xyz/profile/romy.eth) (Romy’s delegate profile)
• https://www.tally.xyz/profile/0xa71a021ef66b03e45e0d85590432dfcfa1b7174c (Abracadabra’s delegate profile)
• (https://dune.com/melenxyz/abracadabra-mim-beaming) (MIM Beaming Fees/Analytics by u/melenxyz)
• (Beam (dune.com)) (MIM Beaming Origin/Destination percentages by u/brab)
• Abracadabra Money Galxe - Follow Abracadabra on Galxe and try out the quests when available!!

14-minute read.

average monthly nominal salaries and YoY change in Q1 2024

Yerevan +8% to ֏324K/$836
Syunik +7% to ֏295K/$760
Shirak +7% to ֏142K/$366
Yerevan had the highest wages. Syunik had the highest wages among provinces, while Shirak had the lowest.
REPORT: While the average nominal monthly salary does not always show the level of economic prosperity in a region, its rise has made a tangible difference in Syunik.
SUREN PARSYAN (economist): Syunik has higher wages and strong employment. It is the most prosperous province with the lowest unemployment poverty rate in Armenia: 24% in Armenia, 15% in Yerevan, and 2% in Syunik.
REPORT: Over the last 5 years, the average monthly nominal salaries have risen by 40% while the inflation was 21%.
source,

Armenian army launches command staff exercises

They will exercise the practical implementation of deployment and combat plans, evaluate the commanders' skills, improve the synchronized work between various groups, develop the officers' moral characteristics and practical skills during preparation and combat operations, etc.
They will use automated control systems and modern technologies during the exercises.
source,

Armenia and India will form a new working group for defense cooperation

Defense ministries of AM and IN held a meeting on Tuesday. They discussed the 2024-2025 cooperation plan and the creation of a new working group to coordinate the cooperation.
source,

from PM Pashinyan's speech at Copenhagen Democracy Summit:

PASHINYAN: Democracy has indeed become a reality in Armenia. Before the 2018 Velvet Revolution, massive electoral frauds were the usual companion of elections in Armenia. There was no trust among the citizens that there was a real chance for them to elect the government.
Now the situation is totally different; citizens know that they are powerful enough to decide. The two general elections that were held in Armenia after the Velvet Revolution have been acknowledged as democratic, free, and competitive both by the Armenian society and the international community.
Armenia made huge progress in strengthening the democratic institutions, an achievement reflected in reputable democracy indexes:
(a) Now we are the 43rd in the Reporters Without Borders’ Freedom of Speech index, compared to 79th place in 2017.
(b) Categorized as having partially free internet in 2017 by Freedom House, now we enjoy the status of a country with free internet.
(c) In Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Armenia is now 62nd instead of 107th in 2017.
(d) In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index we are 84th compared to 111th in 2017.
In order to assess this progress, it's essential to note that alongside democratic reforms, Armenia has been contending with external security challenges: the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's invasion of Armenia in 2021 and 2022 and the occupation of over 200 km² amid inaction by [Russia's] CSTO, the forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, have cast doubts among Armenian citizens weather democracy is the right choice. So, democracy needs to prove its efficiency while dealing with security, economic and humanitarian challenges.
We are pleased with the deployment of EU monitoring mission alongside the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and we welcome EU’s decision to expand its capacity. On the other hand, we hope for the inclusion of Armenia into the European Peace Facility and in this regard, we rely on the support of all EU member states [Hungary].
A new set of commitments aimed at strengthening Armenia’s economic resilience, state institutions, and addressing the humanitarian needs of refugees has been taken on by the European Union and United States during the high-level meeting on April 5 in Brussels. The rapid and effective implementation of those commitments is of utmost importance.
Despite all the challenges, we believe that the real and most aspiring companion for democracy is lasting and sustainable peace. My government took the share of its responsibility for this. Recently we reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to launch the delimitation of our interstate borders on the basis of the Almaty Declaration of 1991. That means that during the delimitation we should simply reproduce the Soviet-era administrative borders. This is the implementation of the agreement reached in Prague in 2022. Now it is time to incorporate and reflect those agreements in the peace treaty and have it signed.
Another key point for our regional stability is the «Crossroads of Peace», project, initiated by my government. This project implies that Armenia and Azerbaijan restore and open transport and other communications in accordance with the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass, and comply with the principles of equality and reciprocity. These elements of the concept were agreed upon during the July 2023 meeting with Ilham Aliyev and Charles Michel. //

... Politico reporter's Q&A with Pashinyan

REPORTER: [Ex-NATO leader] Anders Fogh Rasmussen called your neighbor an autocracy. You are in a very difficult geopolitical and geographical position. How do you solve the security problem in that environment?
PASHINYAN: I would not like to comment on the internal situation of our neighboring countries. Democracy fully corresponds to the mentality of our people. It is a strategy for our government, it is our political belief, it is also our political identity. The members of our political team have spent most of their lives fighting for democracy, the rule of law, and freedom of speech. Now we have the opportunity to realize all these values in our country.
The security situation was complicated because of the regional and global situation; the world order is collapsing at the moment. My assessment is, and I have had occasion to say this publicly, that the 2020 war was a prelude to further developments. And now the main issue is security.
What is our strategic point of view, how are we going to guarantee the security of our country? Recently, I gave a speech in our parliament, where I said that the most important tool for ensuring security is a foreign policy based on legitimacy. This is the reason why we so often speak about the 1991 Almaty Declaration.
It is very important that during the 2022 Prague meeting, two very important agreements were reached. Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty on the basis of the Almaty Declaration and will use it as the basis for the border demarcation. This is the reason why I said that we are not drawing a new border, we just need to reproduce the existing one on the ground. This process is happening right now, and I hope that we will continue it steadfastly.
REPORTER: The border conflict that has occurred in recent years has had a negative impact on relations with Russia and Russia's role for Armenia. What would you say about this?
PASHINYAN: Armenia is a member of CSTO. We are officially a CSTO member, but I have announced that we have frozen our participation.
REPORTER: So are you still a member or...?
PASHINYAN: It is a matter for further discussion, but it is very important to record the current situation. A crisis arose in our relations after Azerbaijani troops invaded Armenia, and according to CSTO procedures, the Organization and its member states had to support Armenia in this situation. But even after the formal application, the CSTO refused to take any concrete steps, and in fact, that is the main reason for freezing our participation in the CSTO at all levels.
REPORTER: Do you expect the West to occupy the current vacuum and ensure your security?
PASHINYAN: We are diversifying our foreign relations in all spheres. Now we are developing defense cooperation with India, France, and other countries. We have a certain cooperation with the European Union because as I mentioned, we are happy about the deployment of the EU Civilian Observation Mission on the border. It is a civilian mission but in a way, it is a new factor for the security of our region. This is the first time that the European Union participates in the security agenda of Armenia.
REPORTER: Would you like to become an EU member?
PASHINYAN: We are waiting for the EU's decision to include Armenia in the European Peace Facility. We also hope to start visa liberalization negotiations, and last year I announced in the European Parliament that Armenia is ready to be as close to the European Union as the European Union deems it possible. This is our position.
REPORTER: Can you elaborate on what initiatives Armenia is taking in the fight against corruption?
PASHINYAN: We have made huge progress but have not eradicated corruption from Armenia. We must continue to be persistent in the agenda of democratic reforms. This is the reason why cooperation with the European Union is of utmost importance for us because today the European Union is our main partner in the implementation of our democratic reform agenda. We hope that the European Union, as well as the USA, will increase their support to Armenia in the implementation of democratic reforms, because, as I said, democracy is a strategy for us.
By the way, in 2019 we started a Strategic Dialogue with the USA, and today we see the strengthening of our cooperation with the European Union. We recently had a tripartite meeting with the participation of the USA, EU, and Armenia. It was an unprecedented format, where we adopted a huge agenda of institutional and economic reforms. It is also very important that we receive more tangible support from the EU and the US to address the humanitarian needs of the Nagorno Karabakh refugees because it is a very sensitive and emotional issue for us.
REPORTER: In which year would you like Armenia to become a member of the EU?
PASHINYAN: This year [as soon as possible]. //
Pashinyan met Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The latter emphasized the importance of the “Crossroads of Peace” project in the context of unblocking the regional infrastructure.
Pashinyan discussed various topics with the PM of Denmark. The latter accepted his invitation to visit Armenia.
full video, source, video, other, other, source, video,

former regime continues to hold protests and briefly shut down roads in Yerevan with demands for PM Pashinyan's resignation

ԳԼՈՒԽ 1
Dozens of participants were detained and released the same day for blocking roads. The detentions decreased from 170 on Monday to ~63 on Tuesday. They want Pashinyan to resign or to be impeached. The protest organizers visited universities to gather student supporters, some of whom joined them with a dance. The organizers also stopped by at a bakery where they were given free food.
A felony investigation was launched after a police vehicle, "with the sirens on", struck a reporter on the street. In another instance, an investigation was launched against a protester who brought a long sword. One other case was launched over alleged threats made on Facebook by a Galstanyan fan who wants scores of people to be beaten in dalans and exiled from Armenia, "մենակ էտ դեպքում էս սրբազան հողը կմաքրվի էս տեսակ շան ծնունդներից, ուրիշ ձև չկա!!!!"
ԳԼՈՒԽ 2
A ruling faction member of Yerevan City Council complained about "harassment" by opposition figures who are attempting to convince ruling party members to join the protests and the impeachment.
RULING MEMBER: That is not how it works. No one will join you with that conduct. People will join if they see you have a legitimate agenda with trustworthy leaders. Instead, you are "ethnically cleansing" the citizens of Armenia [referring to one opposition speaker telling non-Armenians to leave] և հեռու չէ են օրը երբ դուք գուցե ասեք որ հայ լինելու համար պետք է Հայկ նահապետից տեղեկանք բերել: //
ԳԼՈՒԽ 3
Yesterday the protest co-organizer Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan said he received a report suggesting that the Deputy Rector of Yerevan State University supposedly urged deans and others to retaliate against students who joined the protests. Galstanyan said he was unsure whether the report was true, but decided to read it out loud anyway. On Tuesday he rallied his supporters to the backyard of the University where he demanded to speak with the Deputy Rector for clarification.
The Deputy Rector went downstairs and greeted Galstanyan, who shook her hand but wouldn't let it go for an uncomfortably long period, prompting her to ask him to let go of her hand. The Deputy Rector declared that whatever Galstanyan read about her was a defamatory lie.
GALSTANYAN: I never believed it myself.
DEPUTY RECTOR: Then you should not have said out loud something you did not believe.
GALSTANYAN: Listen, there is a recorded fact...
DEPUTY RECTOR: Where is that "recorded fact"?
GALSTANYAN: It was on the media. As I said yesterday, I had no verification that it was true, which is why we came here to clarify it. If it's false, then I apologize.
DEPUTY RECTOR: Thank you. //
The Deputy Rector urged the protest organizers not to enter the building or disrupt the classes, and that "anyone who wants to follow you can follow you, anyone who wants to stay in classrooms should stay in classrooms".
The angry Deputy Rector left. Another university official criticized Galstanyan for not checking the information before reading it to his followers. Galstanyan said he stands behind his words, and that he was "just reading what was on the media", but reiterated that he had no intention to insult the Deputy Rector.
ԳԼՈՒԽ 4
Galstanyan and his supporters visited the monument dedicated to Operation Nemesis. He praised the figures behind Nemesis for "assuming personal responsibility". In front of the crowd, Galstanyan introduced Hambig Sassounian who recently joined his movement. He pointed to the Nemesis monument and said Sassounian is "one of the successors, one of the brightest people." In related news, on Sunday a ruling faction MP complained about receiving death threats with reference to Operation Nemesis.
ԳԼՈՒԽ 5
DANIEL IOANNESIAN (NGO chief): When this protest dies down, we need to discuss the following: (1) The transparency of political and media funding. There are some regulations in place, but they are incomplete and easily bypassed. For example, I'd like to know who paid for Archbishop Galstanyan's giant stage in Republic Square. In 2018 Pashinyan organized a fundraising for it and disclosed a detailed report. (2) Should the media organizations that do not respect the rules of financial transparency enjoy all the mechanisms for the protection of journalists? (3) Are the customs authorities confident that the church is not facilitating the business activities of certain figures disguised as donations? (4) Is it fair for the church and clergy members not to pay taxes? Should they be able to have a Bently and LX570 without paying taxes? [The "Bentley" is based on a true story.]
ԳԼՈՒԽ 6
Archbishop's fans spotted Miss Armenia 2003 and a H1 host Lusine Tovmasyan drinking a coffee at a Yerevan café and approached her.
PROTESTER: (unintelligable)
LUSINE: I was here drinking coffee yesterday, and a year before that.
PROTESTER: Why have you not joined the holy struggle?
LUSINE: Լավ եկեք թարգեք, շատ զզվելի ա, էնքան զզվելի ա․ //
ԳԼՈՒԽ 7
Pro-Kremlin propagandist Alexander Dugin praised the pro-Russian forces' protests in Armenia and criticized the pro-EU protests in Georgia.
Pro-Kremlin Russian politician Semyon Baghdasarov praised Archbishop Bagrat and the ongoing "uprising" in Armenia against the "traitor" [Nikol] who "rigged" the elections with the help of "Turkey, UK, and US". Nikol is a Turkish MI6 agent. video,
ԳԼՈՒԽ 8
Video of a protest recorded from above: video
source, video, video, video, video, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, video,

Armenian government has upgraded other diplomatic channels to reduce reliance on ARF's diaspora structures in the US, says pro-West NGO chief

KHURSHUDYAN: The status of the Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. [Lilith Makunts] has been significantly upgraded. I won't go into specifics because it's tied to our neighbors, but she plays an interesting role there. We have great conditions for the U.S. Congress to pressure Azerbaijan. This is outside of ARF's lobbyist groups in the U.S.
REPORTER: ARF Hay Dat's recent conduct has been shameful.
KHURSHUDYAN: And its influence on the Lemkin Institute was obvious. //
Yesterday Kurshudyan accused the Lemkin Institute of caving to ARF's pressure and meddling into Armenia's internal affairs to assist the protests by the pro-Russian former regime.
KHURSHUDYAN: Lemkin Institute accused Pashinyan's April 24 genocide remembrance day statement of containing "victim blaming". Lemkin did not comment on Pashinyan's statement for several weeks, waited 15 days, and as soon as these pro-Russian protests began in Armenia, they gave them a պաս:
source,

Armenia's four most prominent pro-West opposition parties announce the formation of a unified platform

Republic Party, led by ex-PM Aram Sargsyan.
Hanun Republic Party, led by Arman Babajanyan.
European Party of Armenia, led by Tigran Khzmalyan.
Christian-Democratic Party, led by Levon Shirinyan.
Have the following agenda...
(1) Promotion of Western values in Armenia and Armenia's membership in EU and NATO.
(2) United front against threats and risks of destabilization coming from Russia.
(3) Vetting judges to clean up the courts, and resolution of issues left unaddressed by the Pashinyan administration.
(4) Continuation of border demarcation based on 1991 Almaty.
(5) The use of international law to achieve a fair resolution for Nagorno-Karabakh residents.
The platform is open for like-minded forces to join.
source,

Armenian army chief denies being a Russian citizen

A statement released by the defense ministry denies media reports that CoGS LtGen Edward Asryan is a dual citizen of Russia. His wife is an ethnic Russian with Armenian citizenship and his kids are dual citizens, but Asryan only has citizenship in Armenia. The whole family has resided in Armenia since 2006, said the statement.
source,

Georgia passes controversial ‘foreign agents’ bill despite widespread opposition

The law will require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face crippling fines.
The bill will be sent to the President who is expected to veto it, but her veto is expected to be overruled by the parliamentary majority later.
Georgian PM Kobakhidze had an "honest conversation" with U.S. deputy foreign minister James O'Brien, telling him that the Georgian government is interested in deepening the partnership with the U.S., "which requires mutual efforts and relations based on fairness."
James O'Brien demanded to speak with the manager - Bidza Ivanishvili. The latter refused to meet O'Brien, saying he won't hold any meetings under "blackmail".
The White House said the U.S. will review its relations with Georgia if the bill becomes law.
source, source, source,

how many of the 101,000 Nagorno-Karabakh refugees have left Armenia and haven't returned yet?

As of...
Dec: 6.6K
Jan: 6.9K
Mar: 8.0K
Apr: 9.1K
May: 9.9K
The former Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh said many of them have family members and friends in Russia who invite them to move.
source,

temperatures are rising rapidly in Armenia

REPORTER: The rainy May is not going to be enough to alleviate the negative consequences of the rapidly rising temperatures in Armenia. With a ~3 Celsius anomaly, Armenia had the second-highest increase in temperature over the last 6 months among a group of monitored countries.
WEATHER CENTER: High temperatures increase the evaporation of water and reduce the amount of snow in the winter. In December and January, we recorded rain instead of snow in certain mountainous regions, which is bad for water resources.
REPORTER: A conference was recently held in Yerevan within the framework of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
UN official: Around 40% of global soils are degraded. Millions of people will be forced to migrate from their communities by 2050 as a result of climate problems. Emergency action is needed to reduce the rate of rising temperatures. //
Armenia joined the Convention three decades ago and has assumed the responsibility to restore degraded soil by 2030. The government is promoting drip irrigation systems for farming and wants to plant more trees.
video,

is the decline of Lake Sevan levels finally slowing down?

see the YoY chart

Yerevan Municipality to receive a €25 million loan from European Investment Bank to raise energy efficiency

It's part of the implementation of Eastern Partnership programs. The Armenian government and the EU are co-financing it.
The goal is to raise energy efficiency and carry out seismic retrofitting in 6 medical clinics and 32 kindergartens run by the municipality. The length of the program is 4 years.
video, video,

Gagik Tsarukyan is inside you

there is a bit of Tsarukyan inside all of you
see it to believe it

Gagik Tsarukyan says the new Jesus statue is ready and will be installed by the end of 2025

It will be a tourist attraction site. There will be a ropeway. Also, Tsarukyan needs you to know that he is a man of God and an avid believer.
video,

Armenia and Slovakia discussed AM-EU visa liberalization

source,

Lithuania will help retrain Armenian law enforcement agents to combat cybercrime, analyze crimes, etc.

source,

Armenia's Economy Minister Papoyan met the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt

In a Washington meeting participated by the Armenian Ministry delegation and Armenia's Ambassador, they spoke about the Crossroads of Peace logistics project proposed by Armenia, several topics relating to Armenia's energy and economic security, and the Armenian government's ongoing efforts to classify Armenia as a "market economy".
source,

Armenia and Iran discussed the construction of a second bridge over the River Araks

The first bridge began operating in 1996. It came to replace the floating bridges on the river.
Iran says the AM-IR traffic through the Meghri checkpoint significantly increased last year. Coupled with the fact that Armenia is building a modern North-South highway, they believe it's necessary to have a second AM-IR bridge to handle the rising traffic.
The parties are currently discussing the formation of a working group consisting of experts to discuss the topic.
source,

a new study on mice indicates that more exercise might be better than more sleep for clearing brain of toxins

They injected a dye into a brain and tracked the speed of its movement during sleep and exercise.
The findings show that the clearance of the dye was reduced by 30% in sleeping mice compared with mice that were kept awake. This has not been confirmed on humans yet.
Previous research has suggested that sleep is important for preventing dementia as it is during this time that toxic proteins are cleared from the brain.
source, source,

Bitcoin

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I am not The OOP, OOP is u/lolfuckno.
This post was originally posted to weddingshaming.
There was already a BoRU post by u/autochthonouschimera, which didn't include the last update yet.
TRIGGER WARNING: cheating, child neglect, extreme entitledness, talk of abortion
MOOD SPOILERS: infuriating, confusing, frustrating
The new update at the bottom of this post has been marked with --- ---
EDIT/DISCLAIMER: FFS FOLLOW THE NO BRIGADING RULE = DO NOT COMMENT ON THE ORIGINAL POSTS LINKED IN BoRUs!! THIS OFC ALSO INCLUDES NOT TEXTING THE OOP DIRECTLY, NOT REPORTING THEM TO SUBS LIKE care AND NOT INCLUDING THEM IN THREADS AND DISCUSSIONS!! LEAVE THEM ALONE, THIS SUB IS MADE TO LURK AND GET SOME SPICY STORIES WITH CLOSURE, NOT TO HARRASS PEOPLE WHO ALREADY GOT ALOT OF INPUT THROUGH DIFFERENT SUBs!!
Original story was posted on December 7, 2021
Okay, so this girl I know from high school is getting married. We're both 22, for reference. In our senior year of high school she got pregnant, with baby daddy A who will be referred to as Adam. Her super conservative parents kicked her out and she ended up moving in with a friend's family. She barely graduated high school. The only reason she did were because of the generosity and support of our teachers and students who volunteered to help her, which is how we met. We were in the same law class in the morning and she had the worst morning sickness that really affected her ability to be in class. So, I took extra notes for her, tutored her, and brought her her stuff if she hadn't come back by the bell. I wasn't the only one who did stuff like this for her and I know she really appreciates all the assistance we gave her. She had the baby a month after we graduated.
She'd signed up for a 911 dispatcher course for after high school because where we live it's a good steady job, with opportunity for certificates and promotions. But she didn't realize how intensive the course would be and had to drop out. She started working at a grocery store bakery, just until she had a better plan. Adam started an apprenticeship while working part time at a hockey rink, and proposed to her literally the day of her eighteenth birthday, and brought up marriage because "it's the right thing to do" (I don't really agree with that but this isn't about me) and she was always refusing.
She started cheating on him after a while (we're all 19 now), and eventually leaves him for another guy because... She's pregnant again and it is far more likely that this guy, baby daddy B who will be referred to as Brad, is the father of the child. Neither of them can afford lawyers so getting any kind of custody agreement is a mess, and then their parents got involved and they did 50/50 split (still not made official). She has the baby, that does turn out to be Brad's, and everything is okay for about nine months, when she finds out Brad has been cheating on her with his TA. Brad decides to pay child support but doesn't really want contact with the kid, only around holidays and one weekend a month for his parents' sake.
She moves back in with her parents (we're all 20 now) who only accept her back because there's grandchildren around. On the plus side, (when she's 21) she gets to take that year long dispatcher course, and passes with flying colours!
After working as a dispatcher for a year (we're all 22 now) she meets a police officer we'll call Chad, who's 26 and married... And Adam's second (?) cousin (I can't remember how they're related, just that Adam and Chad are related somewhat distantly). She has an affair with him (infidelity is super common among cops apparently). She gets knocked up, his wife divorces him, Chad proposes because "it's the right thing to do", she accepts, and her parents kick her out again for being a [insert expletive here], she moves in with Chad with her two kids. They've started planning the wedding, which... Given the background is something akin to a dumpster fire. Adam is LIVID. He was desperately in love with this girl and hasn't really recovered from what she did to him, and while she rejected his proposals years ago, she's accepted one FROM HIS COUSIN WHO PROPSED FOR THE SAME REASON HE DID.
Adam has basically made a call for loyalty in the family, dividing everyone one who should go, who should give money, etc plus they're having trouble planning anything because of COVID. Her parents have outright said that they're not going, along with half of her family, and her younger sister has been going around and sabotaging what plans they can make.
She has asked me to be a bridesmaid, I said that I couldn't because I live in a different province now, but the truth is, I do not want to be wrapped up in that clusterfuck in any way . I'm just watching the arguments and events unfold on social media because this is quite honestly the most entertaining thing I've seen all year. It's weird to me that she even asked because we're not friends, we never have been. We were friendly strangers in high school, I just helped her out for one class because she needed help and I could give it to her. I was just being nice. But based on how she turned out I'm just sad for her. Three kids in four years, and she's alienated so much of her friends and family because if her actions, and I'm torn between feeling sorry for her and putting my head in my hands.
EDIT 1:
First off, all of your comments are hilarious. Second, I'm going to answer some of the common questions.
We're from a city with over 400,000 thousand people, she just comes from the neighbourhood that is made of either bible thumpers or white trash, with no in between. But the high school we went to was in a completely different neighbourhood than that.
Our school had a pretty good sex Ed course, and they gave out free condoms and had resources to help girls get birth control, and they had programs in place for if students ever got pregnant/were going to be teen parents (they also had one of those classes with the dolls for girls who were high risk at teen pregnancy but she wasn't high risk so she wasn't in that class) I don't if BC just didn't work for her, or if she never tried it.
She started alienating her friends after the affair with Chad came out, because people weren't exactly jumping for joy that she'd broken up a marriage (Chad and his ex didn't have any kids, thankfully, so there were less obstacles). When people weren't immediately ecstatic for her she started getting very snippy, rude, and was "calling the bitches out" on social media for not supporting her new relationship or pregnancy. (Tbh I'm really worried about her health because having this many babies so close together is just not good for her health, mental or physical.) People are also worried that Chad will cheat on her "if he'll cheat with you, he'll cheat on you" and think she should avoid marrying him so that she can just leave him if it happens.
I'll give you updates as they come out, but so far it's just a lot of yelling on social media (mostly from her), some relatives slut shaming her, and people who are just really worried about her because, as funny as this is, this doesn't seem like healthy behaviour.
EDIT 2:
First off, I realized I never gave this girl a name. For the sake of clarity we'll call her Beth. I realize that I didn't mention this before, but all of these are fake names.
Second, to everyone commenting that Chad is at fault for his marriage breaking up, believe me I'm well aware of that. It is his ex wife and her family/friends who solely blame Beth. Chad is also older than her and has more life experience, so I do believe that he could potentially be taking advantage of her naivete. However, she is also an adult who is capable of making her own decisions and has chosen to make poor ones in the past.
Third, people who are upset that I'm posting this story here, claiming I'm humiliating her. She has been posting about this mess on every social media platform she has since they got engaged in July. She put this out there long before I did except she did so in front of friends, family, employers, and coworkers, as well as internet randos.
Fourth, despite getting engaged in July and attempting to start planning then, I was only asked to be a bridesmaid three days ago. I knew that there was a mess going on but I didn't really pay attention to it until she asked me to be a bridesmaid. I tried to ask what was going on, I said that she should talk to someone, but when she completely brushed me off I checked her FB and Instagram and found out about all of... This.
Fifth, I realized that I didn't really talk about how disastrous the wedding planning has been going, see here you go:

• they've had to rebook three times because venues and vendors kept cancelling when infection numbers got worse even thought their wedding was months away
• Beth has been flipping between having the wedding while she's pregnant saying she's proud of her bump, and wanting to wait until they're born because she feels fat, which is unfortunate because she's been breaking down due her insecurity on a public platform
• Beth is currently seven months pregnant
• Beth's great aunt was going to give her her wedding dress to wear (after she gives birth) but Beth's mom freaked and stole the dress from said aunt before Beth could get it and is now keeping it, the great aunt says she's too old to get in a fight and has shrugged it off
• Chad's immediate family is paying for the wedding and has been cut off by the rest of their extended family for 'choosing Chad'
• Beth's wedding colours are pink and green, which is usually a nice combo but the specific shades don't go great together, they're her and Chad's favourite colours, which is fine but she literally made a video talking about these colours for 14 minutes on her insta and both of her kids are just full on bawling in the background and she's ignoring them and she's gotten some flack for that
• Adam is finally settled into his trade and has now hired a lawyer and is trying to get primary custody and not allow his daughter to go to the wedding
• she's planning a zoom baby showebachelorette party and has sent out a registry and she's asking for crazy expensive things
• she's also set up a go fund me to help pay for a honeymoon and is making a lot of posts about how no one loves her cause the fund only has $1267 of the $20k she wanted

I'll update when I can but I'm still in school and while I do want to help her, she's refused help offered in the past and there's only so much of this I can take mentally right now.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE:
Hey everyone, so some stuff has gone down, and it doesn't look like it's over yet. Sorry, I didn't update sooner, but Rona came back with a vengeance and totally messed up plans with uni and family. Anyway, onto the update.
From the last update - 16th - Lots of ranting and chaotic wedding planning on social media, she found a dress and has decided she will get married while pregnant, they found a local wedding venue that is very lovely, but I'm shocked she's still trying to book stuff with all of their previous venue cancellations.
December 16th - Her little sister unblocked her to call her a s*ut and tell her that all her wedding plans were stupid. This resulted in a petty and entertaining facebook war until the little sis blocked her again on the 17th.
December 18th - Beth went nuts on social media because Adam had "kidnapped" their daughter, what really happened is that because courts are moving at a snail's pace due to COVID and Adam had reason to believe that their daughter was not safe living with Beth he decided to just... Not give her back. They don't have a custody agreement, and when Beth tried to call the cops they couldn't do anything because he was kinda right. There were dozens of videos on her various social media accounts of her ignoring their daughter, yelling at her daughter for crying or doing other things that toddlers do, it turns out that everything she needed was bought by Adam, food, diapers, clothes, toys, daycare (while it was open) etc. on top of the unofficial child support he was paying every month (which turned out to be $500 a month, a number I find ridiculous because Adam was already paying for literally everything) because she refused to buy anything for her daughter and insisted it was Adam's responsibility. Additionally, after the immediate post-birth appointments, Beth never took baby A to a doctor's appointment, she always deferred that to Adam. Baby A's pediatrician has NEVER met Beth. Beth even tried to get Chad to push back or intimidate him or something, but the local police where we live are under one hell of a microscope after a bunch of dirty cops got busted a couple of years ago. Basically, the cops, and the social worker they ended up calling, ended up saying there was nothing she could do until they get to court. The social worker tried to get her to go to therapy and parenting classes, but Beth refused and went on a fifteen paragraph long rant on Facebook about how she doesn't need parenting classes or therapy (she really, really does though) and called the social worker some choice words.
December 19-24 - Just a bunch of ranting on social media, calling everyone who doesn't enable or justify her behaviour cuss words, slurs, and a whole bunch of other horribly creative things. Also, both she and Chad are under investigation at work now, but she has no idea why. I'm gonna take this time to remind everyone that 99% of this info is coming from her public social media pages where her coworkers are friends and place of employment is listed.
December 25 - I am officially embarrassed to know this woman. I didn't go on her FB page until the evening cause I didn't want to deal with drama, first thing in the morning, on Xmas. In the morning she put on a very beautiful blue maternity dress, got Chad in his police blues, and baby B in a purple romper, and then live-streamed her and her family going to the courthouse to get married on Christmas day. (According to her Twitter, part of this was because their newest venue cancelled on them after COVID numbers spiked) Overall, a pretty tacky thing in my opinion because she stated plain as day, several times, that she intended her wedding anniversary to eclipse Christmas for her children because it's just "so much more special, you know?" (I am so glad that Baby B's grandparents are filing for guardianship) But here's the thing... The courthouse isn't open. Because of COVID for one thing, but also because it's Xmas and Canada has a predominantly Christian history. She proceeded to have a full meltdown, and when Baby B cried because, y'know, the kid's mom was screaming up a storm and scaring her, Beth called her a c*nt. Yup. So done with this bitch.
December 28 - I ran into her at a vaccine clinic cause we were both getting our booster shots. She didn't recognize me at first but one of my old bosses (cause I used to work at the hospital the vaccine clinic was in) called my name and said hi, so she came up to me after my old boss had left. We talked a bit while we sat down for the mandatory waiting period after getting the shot. She asked how I was but didn't even wait for me to respond before she started ranting and complaining about her life. I was just going to sit there until the time was up and then just politely make my exit, but when she started talking shit about her kids something inside me snapped. I just said "Do you even like your kids? Do you like being a mom?" She got pretty quiet for a second and then said "no". Idk, her voice and demeanour completely changed and we just sat in silence until our time was up. I said goodbye but it was really awkward.
December 31st (today) - I just looked at her feed and, this is such a shocking what-the-actual-f*** moment. She's thinking about giving up her kids. She went on about how recently she was asked if she liked her kids or being a mom, and how she realized that she didn't. She hates her children and blames them for ruining her life, and how she doesn't want to be a mom. I mean, nothing is official yet, but what the hell?!
I'll update as stuff happens now that I have the time, but this whole thing has been a big giant mess. Also, sorry for any formatting or grammatical errors, I'm not used to using Reddit on my PC.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE
Okay, so, some stuff has happened and most of it's good? Also, the TL:DR for this update will be at the bottom
Jan 4th - Beth (and Chad) stopped posting on all social media. I was actually a little worried she died, I mean this woman posts everything short of her trips to the bathroom on IG.
Oddly enough, this got people messaging or interacting with her social media pages because she was usually the one to start contact, and that contact was usually yelling. No one heard from them and some people started to be like "should we call the cops for a wellness check?" Until Chad posted a status saying that they're fine but are "busy, please stop trying to contact us right now". Everyone listened but it was weird.
Jan 11 - I got a notification that Beth and Chad are active on social media again, but I didn't feel like drama so I didn't check out any of their posts.
Jan 12 (today) - she messaged me on FB asking me to be her MOH. She also kept going on about the resort in Cancun that she and Chad were looking to have their wedding at... This coming February. Omnicrom is really bad where we are, so no one should be travelling anywhere. I've actually had to delay my trip back to the province where I go to university. No one should be travelling anywhere.
Beth also found out that Chad was cheating on her with one of her co-workers and called the woman a "homewrecker" on FB tagged her, and posted the texts she found on Chad's phone. But Chad is the "love of her life" so she's forgiven him, but not the other woman. Which I find very hypocritical, considering how she and Chad got together.
She also sent pics of possible bridesmaid dresses and they are the most hideous dresses I've ever seen. I know that some brides do that thing where they want to look a million times better by comparison but this was just ridiculous. One of them looked like a partially deflated balloon with feathers strapped to it. She also openly admitted that she expected everyone attending to pay 3k, 2k would go towards that guest's stay at the resort and 1k would go to her and Chad and they will expected wedding gifts, so that they could get their room for free. Apparently, she talked to someone at the resort and if she got enough people to book their rooms she and Chad would get theirs for free. She also wanted the money to be given to her instead of directly to the hotel so that people wouldn't realize that she was taking 1k of their money. Beth sent me a pic of the wedding dress she wanted, and it's definitely a clubbing dress. If that's what she wants that's fine (and for the record I do think she would look great in it, Beth's (current) dream wedding dress ) but she wants all the guests to be dressed black tie. And she's already sent a list of unreasonable requests. Such as;

• all women must wear heels (for a wedding in the beach???)
• no one is allowed to have a baby or be pregnant (really?)
• girls must have longer than shoulder length hair, boys must have very short hair, only and inch or two long
• no one is allowed to be skinnier than her
• she will be providing diets for everyone attending based on how she wants us to look
• she and Chad must get bachelor and bachelorette parties both in Canada and in Mexico that need to be "fit for a king and queen" and both must be paid for but anyone but the bride and groom "cause that's just tacky"
• no unnatural hair
• no tattoos (you have five tattoos, Beth, and in the dress you want all will be on full display)
• no one is allowed to talk to her directly, they must speak through the MOH and BM

Honestly there's a lot more but I didn't feel like typing all that out. She's posted the list on FB and IG and people are already calling her a bridezilla.
I was also just kinda weirded out because aside from the previous convo at the hospital and when she originally asked me to be a bridesmaid, we haven't spoken since high school. So I respectfully declined, stating that the virus and school were my top concerns right now. Then, I decided to check her socials to see if she'd posted anything. She had and everything was basically how it was before the hiatus... Except her kids are nowhere to be found. No "look at my cute baby" pics are kids crying in the background of her videos. Nothing. Though, based on her new pics of herself, she's given birth to baby C. I mean, she's definitely still recovering, but she also definitely had a baby and that baby is not on any of her socials, so when she responded to my decline with an attempt at guilting me to be her MOH, I asked her where her kids were. This was her response.
"Oh, I left them at the side of the road in our way home from the hospital those moochers could walk home lol"
I was like, please tell me you're not being serious (especially cause it looks like she had the baby days ago). And she replied "I was just joking you shouldn't be so serious all the time". Honey, you made a joke about child abandonment/abuse, you're not being serious enough. And then I finally got the update on the kids.

• Baby A is still with Adam, Beth signed away her rights
• Baby B and Baby C have been given to a mutual cousin of Adam and Chad who is infertile (tbh I didn't need that last tidbit of info or the three paragraph long rant about how God hates infertile women, I didn't even read all of it, I couldn't, and I didn't think that Beth could be so cruel to even think those things). I checked out the FB page of Baby B's grandparents and they're happy with their grandchild's new parents, it looks like the cousin and her husband and welcoming them to the family as another set of grandparents and will let them have access to B. So yay!
• One thing I do need to stress though is that because of COVID the courts in our areas are either moving at a snail's pace or closed, so none of this is "official" but Beth (and Chad) has signed paperwork and all that needs to happen now is presenting that to a judge.

And when I rejoined our convo she said the doc she had for baby C gave her brith control, and she was surprised cause after her first pregnancy she asked her doctor for it but he refused to give her any. She mentioned that her old doctor was also her mom's and sister's doctor, she ended up asking the doc who delivered baby C to be her new doctor, so I hope that works out.
After learning all this my convo with Beth started to go down hill...
Beth: wait, did you actually think I would just leave my kids at the side of the road! I just didn't want to be a mom, but I wasn't a bad one
Me: Beth, I think that you've been through a lot of trauma in the past few years, and that it's gotten to you mentally and that you should speak to a professional.
(Of course, Beth has been a bad mom, but she does need mental health help and I wasn't going to convince her to get it, or to not tell at me, if I said that )
Beth: what? You think I'm crazy?!
Me: no. I think that getting kicked out as a teen because of a pregnancy and having your family actively reject you and try to sabotage you must have been very painful. Plus, pregnancy puts a lot of mental stress on women and you've had three in such a short time span, I just want you to take care of yourself and get what you want in life, and I think that will start with you taking care of your mental health.
Beth: what I want... IS FOR YOU TO GO STRAIGHT TO HELL! Beth then calls me every cuss word, expletive, and derogatory word she can think of one of the words she called me was a derogatory word about people from my ethnicity and my blood is boiling that she thought it was okay to say that to me.
So, I'm now on her hit list. She's been blowing up my social media all day, on her last FB post where she called me a slur she said that she still expects a good wedding gift from me. Yeah, no. So I've blocked her on everything, and I've decided to completely cut off contact. This will be my last update.
TL:DR - Beth went on a social media blackout for a bit, had baby C. Gave up all her kids, baby A is still with Adam, Baby B and Baby C are with a mutual cousin of Adam and Chad and baby B's grandparents have access. Chad cheated on her and she forgave him, but she probably shouldn't have. She's decided to have her wedding in a little over a month in Cancun and is expecting unreasonable things of everyone already. She asked me to be MOH I respectfully declined. I also suggested that she talk to a mental health professional because she's been through a lot in the last few years and she cussed me out, she also called me a derogatory name directed at people of my ethnicity and that was the final nail in the coffin. I'm now on her hit list. But her kids are safe and I have no interest in going to wedding so I'm cutting contact completely and have already blocked her on all my socials. I'm refusing to be involved with her anymore and will not be updating on the situation.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
--- EDIT - NEW UPDATE --- - JANUARY 25, 2023 - TL:DR AT THE BOTTOM
Hi, everyone, I didn't think I would be making another update, but here I am. I don't know if anyone will even care but whatever. I saw a YouTuber, Charlotte Dobre, do an entire video about this post on Facebook (which was funny, she did it well), [editor's note: here's the video in question and also: check out Charlotte Dobre's subreddit !] and got so nervous that Beth was gonna see it. Turned out, she's seen it and does not give a single damn, because as I pointed out, the majority of the info in this post came from her public social media. She also doesn't know who posted it (more on that in the update). I am still no contact with Beth and have no plans to change that anytime soon, but we have mutual friends who have told and shown me what's happened.
First things first, she and Chad did get married, but they eloped. According to all sources they are completely and utterly miserable though. Chad has proven to be and overall lazy and unfaithful husband, and Beth has really gotten into feminism (with a focus on reproductive issues) after she started using birth control, and Roe v Wade getting overturned (even though we're in Canada) really caused tension in their marriage. As it turns out, Chad thinks that abortion is murder and God created women for the purpose of making babies.
Beth tried to argue that not all women want or should be mothers using herself as an example, and then Chad went ahead and used her as an example of why women should be forced to have kids, because in the end she gave kids to an infertile couple. She didn't take that well and said that her entire life and future was ripped away from her and destroyed the second she got pregnant with baby A. Adam was never slut shamed or demeaned like she was, both at home and at school (which is a fair point, myself and many others were helpful and supportive but there were a lot of people who judged the hell out of her and said really nasty stuff) and that if she hadn't gotten pregnant she would've gone to college or university because she lost the general and financial support of her family with that positive pregnancy test. Chad has made a Tinder account. Beth was informed but it doesn't seem like she gave a damn.
So basically you could cut the tension with a knife.
And with her family, her sister came out as gay and cut off/has been cut off from their parents. But she's got a partial scholarship so she's doing okay. She and Beth are NOT on good terms but have met up and acknowledged that their parents messed them up by being religious nuts and their parents encouraged them to be competitive with each other and sabotage each other. Apparently their dad's motto is "competition brings out the best in everyone" (ugh). But they've talked and that's good enough for now.
Neither Beth nor Chad have custody or visitation of their children, which Chad is starting to regret because he's suddenly getting more and more into the church and religion. Chad talked to Beth about getting baby C back but Beth shut that down hard and warned the cousin who adopted baby C (officially and legally btw).
Beth started going to therapy after she and Chad got married, which makes me very happy and excited for her.
There was a rumour going around that Chad has a mistress and it took me a while to confirm, but it's true. He's cheating on her with a paramedic and she knows. Beth is fully aware. Idk if she plans to do anything about it or just continue to ignore it, but I hope she leaves his ass. I'm still not gonna talk to her, she crossed so many lines, but she's grown and improved a lot and her life would be a lot better without that sac of scum in her life.
Now, I have given a few details in my post that should've revealed my identity to her, namely her asking me to be her MOH. I have found out that she actually asked around 15 girls (including myself) to be her MOH, without telling any of us about the others because she was trying to get money from all of us and because her mental health has just been very bad and she needed help. And of those 15, 8 have been going to school out of province and of those eight we all had basically the same classes in high school. And apparently doesn't remember our discussion at the vaccination clinic and had major blow up with everyone she asked to be MOH. So she knows it's one of 8 people and reportedly has no interest in trying to narrow that number down. (Chad did the same thing with his groomsmen, but idk any of the numbers)
TL:DR Beth and Chad got married (eloped), are miserable, have zero custody or visitation with any of their children, Chad's cheating and Beth doesn't appear to care, Chad is super sexist, Beth is a feminist now, Beth's sister is gay and they've talked but not reconciled, Beth asked too many girls to be MOH for money and doesn't know the ID of who made this post.
Dear "Beth", if this post gets forwarded to you or somehow graces your phone screen, leave Chad. He's trash and you'll be much better without him in your life. And though I'm not willing to talk to you again because of your words and actions, I do wish for you to have a wonderful and happy life.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please remember the NO BRIGADING RULE: do not comment on the original posts linked in BoRUs, see Rule 7. Doing so can result into a permanent ban from this sub and the other linked sub(s).
I'm not the OOP!

So Sony back peddled their requirement for PSN, which means that they would un-block the countries that dont have access right? WRONG. they still havent unblocked those countries, and they even went as far as to block 3 more countries from buying HellDivers 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFoOKSd3s7w

Hi !
My name is Oleg, I'm CEO of 4tale game development studio. We are indie game dev studio from Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia.
I want to give you a sneak peek into the development of our another project - Everwayne. Closed Beta is coming soon late May, beginning of June.
_________________________________________________
Short description
The game offers an exhilarating adventure where deck-building mechanics intertwine with role-playing elements. Characters traverse the lands of Everwane solo or gather an entire squad to stand against the forces of evil.
We've inpired STS, Heroes Might and Magic 3, Hollow knight to prepare for you trully something special.
_________________________________________________
Actual gameplay trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slbLN1gPQVI _________________________________________________
What different?
Squad - we offer players to choose style to go through a flexible campaign. Each run with a different comp.
Interactive environment - explore each location and find a new way, unblock new trails, metroidvania experience.
Characters - each charcter has their own style and detailed background
Main campaing - we prepare multiple endigns for a campaing
Lucky - interesting system, you've to manage luck to pass a quests or events or spend it in your camp.
Style - we put an exrtra ultra huge efforts in our style and visual
_________________________________________________
Links
I've just started announcements about our games, it's completely new game as well. Add to wish list, follow up our social media, join our discord server. Be a part of our community
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2498600/Everwayne/
Social media: https://linktr.ee/4Tale_Production
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/5ZWfcQMda9
Thank you! I appreciate your time and attention

7-minute read.

defense ministry will soon launch an automated management system to track the location of military-age citizens and more accurately deliver summons to reservists during peace or war

The Parliamentary Defense Committee held a meeting on Friday to discuss a new system. Context in April 12 news. Several issues were uncovered during the 2020 war: many notices were sent out to people who did not reside in Armenia, while in other instances they were unable to reach out to people located in Armenia. The government has decided to create an automated system for the defense ministry to "know the location" of potential recipients. The system will be shared with the passport service and other departments.
video, source,

the head of the Armenian military academy visited Washington for a NATO meeting

Vazgen Sargsyan Academy chief Arsen Mangasaryan was in the U.S. to take part in a meeting between the heads of other military academies of NATO members and NATO partner states.
They discussed current and future challenges and a strategy for addressing them, modern tutoring methods, etc.
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EU Ambassador and Armenia's Deputy FM met on Friday as part of monthlong "Europe Day" events

AMB. MARAGOS: Armenia and the EU are intensively discussing a new ambitious Partnership Agenda. It will be based on CEPA and Armenia's active participation in Eastern Partnership. It will help us overcome the challenges facing Armenia now and in the future.
The AM-EU cooperation continues. The implementation of €350 million in programs is underway. It will help the economy, connectivity, and reforms.
[About Hungary blocking $10 million in European Peace Facility aid to Armenia]. The Council is still discussing it. It's still too early to talk about details. We hope it will conclude soon.
REPORTER: About a month ago the U.S. Ambassador gave an interview to Azatutyun saying the U.S. does not advise Armenia to end the relations with any country [context was Russia], and that the more partners Armenia has, the more powerful Armenia will be. Do you share this view? What is your formula for increasing Armenia's resilience?
AMB. MARAGOS: I won't comment on the statements of the U.S. Ambassador. There are various goals, various approaches for raising resilience. Our formula is to strengthen institutions and democracy, and Armenia's ability to make independent decisions. In this context, establishing peace in the region is important. //
Ambassador Maragos and High-Tech Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan discussed the conditions necessary for the installation of fiber-optic cable to connect Armenia and the EU through the Black Sea.
video, source,

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan held a 4-hour-long meeting in Kazakhstan

The U.S. State Department welcomed the meeting in Kazakhstan, describing the AM-AZ peace process developments of recent weeks as "exciting".
The FMs made remarks ahead of the meeting.
FM MIRZOYAN: We are very constructively involved in the negotiation process. We should not limit ourselves to signing a peace treaty. We can go further and unblock all transportation communications in the region.
FM BAYRAMOV: I hope that in the next two days, we will be able to do positive work to find a solution to the issues that are still open.
source, source, source, source, Armenia is not the only country that lacks microphone skills, source,

Day 2 of former regime-led protests & road closures

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan urged his followers to group up and "paralyze" the whole country to force Pashinyan's removal. Together with ARF MPs and its "youth wing" activists, he visited several universities and urged students to join. Some did, others did not. After a claim that the Yerevan State University was "empty", Armenpress sent a crew of reporters and found the claim to be false. Videos were uploaded showing professors urging the activists to stop disrupting the classes. Polytechnik spokeswoman said the students did not join the protests and that the protesters did not attempt to enter the campus.
ARF MPs entered the Bryusov University to gather students.
RECTOR: Why are you here? Go do your duties.
ARF MP Gegham Manukyan: This is my duty.
VICE RECTOR: Yesterday you called for anyone who wishes to join you to come, and not to attend classes. Those who wanted to join you, have joined your strikes. Now leave this building and do not disrupt the exams. You have no right to interrupt the state exams of those who didn't wish to join you.
ARF MP: You can't lock the doors.
RECTOR: The doors are currently open. You can leave now. //
The activists traveled to the Conservatory where a group of students joined them. No general student strike was announced, said Azatutyun.
ARCHBISHOP: I don't want to be the prime minister but if that's the wish of the people, the wish of God, and if I have the blessing of Catholicos Garegin B, then who am I to refuse it? //
Galstanyan also said he is a dual citizen of Canada so he would not be allowed to be a PM under this constitution. He said the constitution could be changed to allow dual citizens to become PMs.
A group of protesters shut down the Meghri-Yerevan road in Vayots Dzor. A participant was arrested after allegedly punching a police officer in the head after being told to open the road.
12 participants were arrested in various locations. Two of them, with lengthy rap sheets, allegedly possessed knives. The others were arrested for not following police orders.
There were reportedly fewer people in Republic Square today. As of 7:20 pm, the same organization that counted 31,700 yesterday spotted only 11,300 today. That's for "trend". The peak number is expected to be higher.
The Archbishop urged young protesters: "Stretch your muscles well, young people, we will soon take action. Don't worry." There was apparently a dispute between the organizers and the bored students that he gathered from universities. He promised them with more action soon.
ARCHBISHOP (later): You want action? Now let me put YOU to work instead. Since some of you complain that the protest is "dying down", I have a task to keep you busy: (1) Close the streets, (2) hold peaceful talks with members of the ruling QP party to impeach Pashinyan. Will you do this or not? This is very important. We need to meet and convince the MPs. //
ARF MP GARNIK: Don't get tired, people! None of us have the right to abandon these trenches. This is our last chance. We are not deserters. We will go until the end! Lav exeq. //
The ARF MP boasted about shutting down the Armenia-Georgia interstate road on Friday and thanked the activists for that.
Pashinyan's deputy chief of staff Taron Chakoyan mocked the organizers, urging them to nominate "the candidate of all times - Vazgen Manukyan" to "keep his political memory alive".
There will be no rally tomorrow. The organizers intend to redraw their plans. They want to involve "expert groups" [is that Ishkhan Saghatelyan's list of 70 or so experts he couldn't use in 2022?] and also come up with concrete plans on border delimitation. The next meeting is at 6 o'clock Sunday.
In other news. The California-based Western Diocese Armenian Church will pray for the Armenian government to stay strong and for Armenia to be resilient. Context: President Khachaturyan visited the church during his US trip. They prayed together. "Consider this your home." In turn, the President reassured that the Armenian government has no problem with the Armenian Apostolic Church as an institution. He said the Armenian government has chosen a peace agenda "because we have to be able to live next to our neighbors regardless of historical problems". Video.
source, video, source, video, video, video, video, source, video, video, source, source, source, source, source, source, video, video,

the 8th Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was awarded to Congolese gynecological surgeon and human rights activist Denis Mukwege

NOUBAR AFEYAN (Aurora co-founder): Dr. Mukwege has dedicated his life not only to caring for women and girls suffering from the brutality of sexual violence, but also fiercely advocating for their rights. Dr. Mukwege and his staff have helped to care for more than 80,000 survivors. //
The other co-founder, Ruben Vardanyan, sent a message from Baku prison: "I wish you every success in your mission, and I am sending my warm congratulations to this year’s laureates."
source, source,

All Armenia Fund gifted houses to tens of Nagorno-Karabakh refugee families in two villages: VIDEO

Several 2-story 3-bedroom houses were built for families. More houses are underway.
video,

the first group of Azerbaijani settlers were given houses in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh's Shushi

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Armenia and the Kingdom of Spain sign an agreement to cooperate in sports

Anti-doping, healthcare in sports, organization of large events, retraining of experts, making sports more attractive to youth and developing their careers, etc.
source,

authorities arrested another "vor v zakone", a figure with the highest status in the criminal subculture

A few years ago Armenia criminalized participation/membership in such circles/gangs. This one is accused of racketeering in computer game zones [son of a bitch!] and taking illegal actions to "resolve" disputes between conflicting parties.
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another village is being connected to the gas network as part of a state-municipality joint program

Lernamerdz will hit the gas when the construction is complete.
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World Bank helps Armenia strengthen management of forests, wetlands, and protected areas

The WB has approved the program called RESILAND Armenia to help the government strengthen community engagement and improve the management of nature.
The $9.1 million project is supported by Sweden and the Global Environment Facility.
WORLD BANK: Armenia’s beautiful landscapes are one of the country’s biggest assets. This asset has been threatened by man-made deforestation and landscape degradation, fueled by unsustainable practices of communities and weak environmental oversight. The RESILAND project addresses forest degradation by providing alternative livelihoods for communities and by strengthening oversight mechanisms through improvements to the policy framework.
source,

economic stats from Q1 2024

services +5%
(+) financial & insurance +19%
(-) info & comm -3%
(+) transportation +17%
(+) catering +7%
(+) health & social +9%
construction +12%
domestic trade +26%
(+) retail trade, stores +11%
(+) wholesale trade +40%
(+) automobile trade -8%

... economic growth projections

Govt on 2024: 7%
CB on 2024: 5.3%-6.4%
IMF on 2024: 6%
IMF on 2025: 5.2%
source, source, source, source,

Georgia will require tourists to have medical insurance starting June

It must provide a €5,000 emergency and €30,000 hospitalization coverage. Terrorists Tourists without insurance will be fined $112. Armenian insurance agencies are currently preparing packages for Armenian travelers.
source,

17-minute read.

summarized segments from PM Pashinyan's 4-hour-long press conference

PASHINYAN: Over the last several years we came to realize that certain issues were incompatible with the idea of having an independent and sovereign Armenia. Certain agendas were shown to have a predetermined outcome with the goal of preventing Armenia's development as a state. I have shared details on numerous occasions. It became necessary to review Armenia's development strategy and the need to develop the "Real Armenia".
Today Armenia has and must have an independent foreign policy. Armenia's internal policy is driven by the will of the people.
The purpose of the existence of the Republic of Armenia is not to serve "historical justice". Its purpose is to establish personal freedoms, happiness, and prosperity for its citizens and diasporans who wish to repatriate.
We must have social justice in Armenia based on the idea of assisting those in need so they can have the skills and jobs necessary to make a living independently.
We must deepen our relations with neighboring Georgia and Iran, control and reduce the hostility with Turkey and Azerbaijan, and integrate with regional communication routes. The Crossroads of Peace logistics project would promote Armenia's integration into economic routes and reduce the likelihood of conflicts in the future.
In the area of defense, we are diversifying our foreign relations, reforming the army, and we need to implement and comprehensive defense system.
To be able to diversify foreign relations [closer ties with the West & the delivery of Indian weapons through the territory of Iran or Georgia], Armenia's stance must be based on legitimacy [no territorial claims against Azerbaijan]. We will never be able to diversify our relations or use the diversified relations effectively without having a position based on legitimacy.
The army reforms must also be based on legitimacy, and its purpose must be the protection of Armenia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. There will be no army reforms [Western advisory & assistance] if our stance is not based on legitimacy.
The economic development, which is a prerequisite for the achievement of other goals, must be based including on the development of human capital in Armenia.
The implementation of all of the above requires peace. The peace agenda has been a priority for us, partly because the mechanism of guarantees [by Russia] didn't work. Only peace can guarantee Armenia's security. The peace agenda is a tool to ensure Armenia's security.
We must create the conditions for peace, and we have launched that process in Tavush. The border posts installed in Tavush are "security guarantees" and we must do everything possible to strengthen those guarantees and multiply them. //
Border Commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on April 19 to reproduce the borders based on the 1991 Almaty Declaration. During the upcoming meeting in Kazakhstan, foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will discuss the inclusion of this principle in the larger peace agreement, said Pashinyan.
The demarcation is conducted based on the latest USSR maps that hold de jure power. That's the principle. They avoid pointing to a map from a specific year because each section of the border could have de jure maps prepared in different years. Pashinyan offered journalists to meet off the record to share more details about the de jure maps. He said it can't be publicized in order not to jeopardize the ongoing delimitation process.
Why are the parties delimiting the borders from the ground up instead of simply using the delimitation work carried out in 1988, during the final years of USSR? Pashinyan says the 1988 efforts were not legally finalized and "didn't have time" to undergo the necessary procedures to go into effect, hence the need for a new process.
PASHINYAN: Today we are using maps that reflect the borders between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. With the Tavush process, we have chosen a path to exclude the possibility of a war. This isn't just about Kirants and Tavush, this is about the Republic of Armenia.
The border delimitation aims to make the possible war illogical, unlikely, and not worthwhile. Some 90% of the work is complete. The further it goes, the more illogical a war becomes. We are delivering on our 2021 promise of taking steps to establish peace.
This is the first time in history that we create security guarantees ourselves, no matter how challenging it is. This is part of being a sovereign state, when you face your own issues and make sovereign decisions to resolve your own issues. This is a major political and socio-psychological shift for Armenia. //
Pashinyan said it's necessary to ensure that Armenia is not viewed as an "occupier" of Azerbaijani villages, and explained why it was important to launch the delimitation from Tavush:
PASHINYAN: We are talking about actual [4 Soviet-era Azeri] communities where people lived. The escalations in 2021-2022 caught the interest of the international community, and sadly, on international platforms, the aggression against Armenia was "justified" including with the use of those Azerbaijani villages. It was both surprising and unfortunate that in a situation [20121-2022] when we thought we were the "plaintiff", we became the "defendant". We were asked whether we recognize each other's territorial integrity or not. "Then what is the problem that's preventing you from resolving the issue of these villages?" So we are launching the delimitation from Tavush to avoid a new war.
Critics and I look at this through different lenses. They talk about "surrendering trenches great for defense", and I'm talking about preventing a war so you won't even need to use those trenches. Today there is a process, including by the clergy, to stop the process of developing guarantees for peace, to stop the process of strengthening Armenia's sovereignty. There will be a war if we don't delimit these 4 villages. I'm confident that this was/is the goal of certain forces that wish to create conditions to allow them to hijack power so they can make some other decisions for Armenia [Tatarstan].
Are you paying attention to what the opposition members are saying? One of their leaders went on air and questioned the expediency of holding free and legitimate elections because they - and certain external forces [in Russia] - understand that they can't win power through legitimate elections so they need to destabilize the situation by inciting a new war so they can hijack power without elections. This is their plan:
(1) Derail the border delimitation and incite a war that will lead to the occupation of Armenian territories.
(2) Use that to overthrow the government.
(3) Install an illegitimate marionette government.
(4) De facto dissolution of Armenia's sovereignty and statehood, ahead of its de jure dissolution.
Who are the supporters of this process [rally against delimitation]? Narco-barons hiding in Russia [Panama Papers' Mihran Poghosyan]; criminal elements recruited by foreign intel agencies or at a minimum people acting under their influence; the former NSS chief Arthur Vanetsyan who was recorded on tape, which wasn't published in full, with the rest of the tape being kept to ensure he served their interests. What could be in the unpublished portion of the conversation? Could we find out one day that Vanetsyan was illegally negotiating with Kocharyan's son-in-law Mikael Minasyan to register part of the Zangezur copper combine's shares under his brother's name [Context: Pashinyan has accused the ex-regime of illegally appropriating the shares of Armenia's largest miner. There was an investigation by an independent media outlet about Vanetsyan's involvement in Zangezur. This was before the recent partial nationalization.]
These are the people who claim they are worried about the homeland today. Why don't they return those illegally obtained shares if they are worried about Armenia? It is inevitable. I want to inform you that these shares will belong to the Republic of Armenia. These illegal assets will be seized and returned under the ownership of the Republic of Armenia. //
Pashinyan vented about the quality of journalism in Armenia, accusing outlets of spreading unverified information as facts and not attempting to ask him directly for clarification when they were given the opportunity during one-on-one meetings.
PASHINYAN: You read these articles about my family members visiting somewhere and returning home with a "submarine", but when the opportunity is presented, these outlets never ask me to clarify whether it was true. Why don't you grill me right now for using a submarine to travel from Gyumri to Yerevan? It's as if these articles are being written for the sake of saying something rather than presenting facts. //
Back to borders.
PASHINYAN: Today the Border Commissions are tasked with reproducing the border on the ground. They are not engaged in politics, geopolitics, or proving the other side wrong. They are reproducing the de jure borders. In the Kirants section, 8 border markings have been clarified and installed. The other 3 are more sensitive [might pass through a house] and more detailed work will be done because, in those 3 points, every centimeter will matter. It has to have a centimeter precision. It's a laborious task but the problems of Kirants residents are our problems, my personal problems. For them, we have to come up with realistic and satisfactory solutions, even if not "ideal" solutions. We are reviewing the property ownership records as well. //
Pashinyan said he had to organize this press conference on May 7 instead of May 8 - the day when he became the PM - because tomorrow he has to visit Russia for the EAEU economic meeting during which he will also meet Putin. He said a number of issues have accumulated on the AM-RU agenda that need to be discussed.
The permanent housing assistance package for Nagorno-Karabakh refugees is being drafted and will be ready soon. Pashinyan said the refugees will receive help to build or buy housing, or a mortgage subsidy if they have already purchased a house. For refugees who are unable or do not wish to take part in the aforementioned programs, they will receive assistance in the form of social housing, meaning they will live for free but won't own it.
The amount of housing subsidy will be in the ֏3M-֏5M range, per family member. So a family of 6 would receive $41,000-$77,000 depending on the geographic location of their choice.
While speaking about the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process, Pashinyan repeated that after 2016, the resolution package on the table required: the abolition of the governing system in Nagorno-Karabakh, the return of Azeris to Nagorno-Karabakh, the joint control of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenians and Azeris, no independence, and the lingering possibility of war.
PASHINYAN: We had to surrender all of that, and even then there was no guarantee there wouldn't be a war because there would be no final resolution. This outcome was predetermined. Nevertheless, the Armenian people are overcoming the mentality of being a [Russian] fortpost today. This creates the groundwork for a lasting statehood for Armenia. Today we see the horizon after overcoming all these tragedies. Since taking office in 2018 I had the feeling that Armenia was in a deadlock. Today, for the first time, I feel that we have overcome that, thanks to the delimitation in Tavush. We are the ones creating the "guarantees" for us. //
When asked why he won't take part in Russia's May 9 celebrations, Pashinyan said he visited last year and that Armenian leaders don't have a record of attending every year.
Regarding the recent ban on Russian propagandist Solovyov from Armenian airwaves and possibly a wider ban on Russian channels, Pashinyan said foreign programs must respect Armenian laws:
PASHINYAN: Can you imagine the broadcasting of a channel in Russia that uses a similar language towards Russian law, the state, and its government? Do you think the channel would exist even if they used 5% of the same language? The AM-RU media agreement requires respect for Armenia and its interests. Since we have friendly relations with Russia, we can ask nicely once and twice, then demand once and twice, and if it's still ignored, they will all be shut down in Armenia. We are serious about defending Armenia as a sovereign state. I can GUARANTEE you, guar-an-tee, that these foreign channels won't be aired in Armenia if they continue to ignore these demands. It appears we have asked twice, demanded once, so there is one more "demand" left. //
QUESTION: Russia and Azerbaijan demand a Russian-controlled corridor from Armenia, citing the 9th paragraph of the Nov 9 statement.
PASHINYAN: (1) The other paragraphs of Nov. 9 were ignored. (2) The 9th paragraph is not about connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhijevan. That's the impression they are trying to create, but the 9th paragraph is in reality about the unblocking of ALL communication routes in the region. Azerbaijan has yet to unblock any of the routes for Armenia. Name one route that Azerbaijan has unblocked. We, on the other hand, proposed the installation of border checkpoints to establish connections, including between Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan. Azerbaijan is refusing to take advantage of this opportunity. Azerbaijan says if we don't give them a corridor they will build a route through Iran. Our response is that we are ready to provide a road similar to the one provided by Iran. There is not even a "hint" in the 9th paragraph that limits Armenia's sovereignty.
(3) There is an attempt to create the impression that under the 9th paragraph, a 3rd party [Russia] must guarantee the security through the territory of Armenia. Quite the contrary; it directly states that Armenia shall guarantee the security of connections.
(4) The 9th paragraph makes no mention of any part of Armenia becoming outside of the reach of the Armenian government and being "controlled" by Russia. It's written that Russia oversees the transport connection. What does that mean, you may ask? Pay attention to the Russian government decree adopted after the Nov. 9 statement, because it clarifies what the 9th paragraph says. The Russian decree instructs Russian agencies to "oversee the implementation of transportation guarantees provided by Armenia". In other words, the subject that provides the guarantees is Armenia, not Russia. This doesn't even mean that Russia must be present on the ground to oversee this, because it's possible to oversee the process by receiving regular reports from Armenia that Armenia is delivering the guarantees [Relevant: In 2022-2023 Armenia's NatSec Armen Grigoryan suggested that Russia could use "cameras" to oversee the process remotely. It appears Pashinyan today supports even less direct involvement by Russia, in the form of "regular reports", whatever that means.]
PASHINYAN (continues): There can be no comparison between this and the Lachin corridor. They are completely different. The Lachin corridor, under Nov. 9, was a territory with a specific width that had to remain under the direct control of Russian peacekeepers. Those who accuse us of violating paragraph 9 are making baseless claims. They must admit that this is an attempt by them to coerce an unacceptable concession from Armenia that is not described in paragraph 9. That is the truth.
There is a Lachin corridor in the Nov 9 statement. Is there a Lachin corridor on the ground today? It doesn't exist. Why?
There is a "line of contact" between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the Nov 9 state. Is there a LoC on the ground today? Where is it?
The Nov 9 says there is Nagorno-Karabakh. Where is Nagorno-Karabakh today?
The Nov 9 says there are peacekeepers that will ensure the security of the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Did they? They did not. Where is the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh today? //
Regarding the delimitation of 3 problematic areas in Kirants where the border could pass through a couple of houses.
PASHINYAN: Kirants is my homeland. I grew up in these areas and my children spent their vacations there. We regularly visit Kirants and other villages with family without disclosing it. Do you know why I do not oppose delimiting the border even if it causes controversy and property issues for some residents? Because we were finally able to reach an agreement around the principle for the delimitation of the entire AM-AZ border, welcomed by the international community. We cannot throw away the hard work and the principles of delimitation.
There can be no external "security guarantees" for Armenia. Armenia itself must forge those "guarantees" with its own efforts. That is what we are doing today. These are the "security guarantees" that you asked for Kirants and Tavush. This is part of the peace agenda. //
When asked about police brutality, Pashinyan acknowledged some problems but said a legal force should be used when appropriate, citing the recent clearing of university campuses in the US. Pashinyan said the government has launched a process to clarify the rights and responsibilities of officers so they will avoid investigations and prosecutors while the public will be treated fairly.
Pashinyan accused "failed religious leaders" of attempting to pursue a political agenda.
PASHINYAN: They failed to connect people and God. There are sadly many ranking churchmen, not all, who failed. You can talk to them dozens of times and they will never make any mention of the Bible or verses from the Bible. They are focused on business dealings, cement and concrete transportation, customs clearance, moving money from one account to another, public transport ownership, comparing the latest model of Mercedes with the old model, etc. Who are these people?
I'm not really surprised that they are involved in politics because they have no place in the religious world; it's just not for them. I doubt they have read the Bible in full. Based on the language used by them, you can tell they haven't opened the New Testament for quite some time, and they don't possess the nuances of the gospel. I say this not as a Prime Minister but as a man who believes in God. I speak as a follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Our church leaders have failed in their mission. I'm probably the last person in Armenia who says this; everyone knows that's the case.
They are bored of religion, they want to be in politics. Under the old regime, the church members had their "quotas" [monopolistic privileges] to conduct business. Import and export of cars, Bentleys, Lexus, Mercedes... yev ayln. Today everyone is free to do business, which means economic competition for these church leaders. This sums up the whole story.
They say the "temple" [opposition] will defeat the "street" [Pashinyan's 2018 revolution]. How will the temple defeat the street? Who is on the streets? It's the citizens of Armenia. How do they plan to defeat the street? The people's will is unstoppable, and people want peace. Those who preach war are destined to fail. // [Should Pashinyan resign and lead the church? Leave your insightful opinion in the comment section below.]
When asked why he visited daddy Erdogan's inauguration ceremony but not papa Putin's, Pashinyan revealed that he didn't receive an invitation from Putin, but even if there was one, he said would likely miss it because of today's press conference.
When asked whether the church leader Garegin Beta should step down, Pashinyan said the Government should not interfere in those matters.
PASHINYAN: Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that Catholicos Garegin B is leading a political movement today. That is very obvious. Today we know the purpose of this movement from the spokesman of the church who said the goal of this movement is to bring back the former regime. This strategy was mentioned by the leader of Armenia Alliance [Robert Kocharyan] on how to use the church to replace the government. A churchman said he has the blessing of the Catholicos to proceed with the process. That means Catholicos is the real leader, with the primary beneficiary being Robert Kocharyan. This isn't even an assumption, this is based on their public statements.
We are aware that some members of the clergy oppose this process. You remember how there was a movement "New Armenia, new Catholicos" after the 2018 revolution. They attempted to accuse us of being behind it, but in reality, not only we did not sponsor it but we were against that process because we didn't believe the Government should meddle in those affairs. //
HOST: This just in. The administrative head of village Kirants was allowed to visit the border marking sites. During a follow-up interview with the press, he said their expectations have been met and exceeded, and that it's more positive than what they expected.
PASHINYAN: During my recent trip to Kirants, the scenario I presented to the residents was the worst-case scenario. I also informed the residents of Kirants about the positive aspects of the delimitation and the possible economic benefits. I won't rush to make more statements and politicize the work of the Border Commission. The head of the administrative district of Kirants is actually a member of a [recently formed] working group adjacent to the Border Commission [Context: Village mayors were invited to oversee the Commission's work to ensure transparency for residents].
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former ambassador-at-large Edmon Marutyan released a video praising the Armenian church for its "liberal values", criticizing the Pashinyan administration for a "Bolshevik" campaign against the church

Marukyan is upset that the ruling faction accuses the church leaders of being "Russian agents" and for dismissing them without engaging with them.
Marukyan says it's normal for the church to be in politics and for deeply religious figures to be members of the government. He brings the example of Donald Trump, who is selling Bibles for a buck; Erdogan, whose party is deeply religious; Israel, whose coalition has right-wing religious figures; the United Kingdom, which has Bishops, etc.
In related news. Former Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan has joined the anti-delimitation march organized by the ARF/church.
source, source, source, source, source, [կանսեռվա]

mayor of Tavush village Kirants about the ongoing delimitation process

REPORTER: Eight border markers have been installed. Where are they, what's the latest news?
MAYOR (Kamo Shahinyan): I've seen the markers. There is a height called Khachi located right on the cross. They moved the border about 25 meters down from there, for which we are grateful to whoever was able to accomplish this. Some of the territory went under our control, and some under Azerbaijani control.
The "nose" part is what's left, the area immediately neighboring the village, the most difficult part. The 9.5 hectares that we were supposed to lose were moved down the river; not a centimeter of land belonging to us passes through there. On the back side, there are 3 personal properties and if you draw the line straight they will be inside Azerbaijan but they said they plan to curve the line. With this technique, we can maintain control of our lands.
REPORTER: Where is the most problematic area?
MAYOR: The bridge and the [area immediately next to the village where the border protrudes into the village]. Most of the work has been done near other markers. Moreover, some of the areas that were part of Azerbaijan under the 1985 map went to our side.
Near the Gholi Chal area, we were expecting them to draw the line to pass through our side of the river, but it passes on the Azeri side.
Most of the concern is with the "nose" and the personal properties of villagers in this area. As of right now, there is no Armenian-owned registered property that has fallen under the Azeri side as long as they curve that aforementioned area instead of drawing a straight line.
Do you see this large 9-hectare orchard? Not one centimeter of it goes under Azeri control.
REPORTER: Is that Ms. Karine's property?
MAYOR: Yes, people. Ms. Karine's lands remain under her control. I'm satisfied with how it's been handled so far.
REPORTER: [The groups were home today]. Is it possible they have frozen the activities on the nose section to distract you and buy some time? Because you are assuming a responsibility, you are presenting this in a positive light...
MAYOR: I'm telling you what has been done so far. I'm not the one to provide guarantees. They are going to deploy people [border guards] near the border markers to protect the area. For now, I think they will deploy NSS agents.
REPORTER (Azatutyun): So we haven't made concessions at this time?
MAYOR: We have not made concessions. There are only 3 land plots with uncertainty and it depends on how curved the line will be. That is the latest. It's going normal so far. //
In other news. Opposition outlets reported that Azerbaijani special forces were seen in village Kirants. It turned out they were Armenian agents. The ruling party accused the opposition of recklessly amplifying the anxieties of the residents.
source,source,

mayor of village Voskepar about the ongoing delimitation

REPORTER: What was lost during the delimitation near Voskepar? Did any territories of Voskepar go under Azerbaijani control?
MAYOR: No part of Voskepar has gone under Azeri control.
REPORTER: How did the border change after the installation of border posts?
MAYOR: Do you really think people knew where the border was BEFORE this process? The process is so far in line with our expectations and understanding. There are areas where we keep more than we thought we would. Azeris moved further back in some locations so instead of a 120-meter distance it turned out to be 170.
REPORTER: What about the army positions?
MAYOR: We have not left any of the positions.
REPORTER: In other words, there has been no damage as of now and you are not displeased with the demarcation works?
MAYOR: I'm not displeased with the work so far.
REPORTER: In that case, why was there a noise generated by the opposition and the church, why did people take to the streets?
MAYOR: Ask them, but I support the fight against unilateral concessions to protect our lands.
source,

Donald Trump defends Azerbaijan's good boy U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, accused of taking $600,000 in bribes to promote pro-Azerbaijan and anti-Armenian legislation

Trump claims without evidence that Cuellar is under attack for wanting to defend the southern U.S. border.
source,

Armenia will receive $100 million from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development to fund the Government's economic reform plan

efficiency of the labor market and sustainable development

source,

Yerevan State University has a cleanroom certified under ISO 7: VIDEO

It's being used for nanotech and semiconductor research, practice for students, and projects funded by grants.
video,

Armenia will host the World Weightlifting Championship in 2027: VIDEO

It will be the first major Olympic sports to be held in Armenia.
video,

foreign trade stats: Q1 2024

Exports 2.7x ($4.4B)
Imports +76% ($4.7B)
source, source,

15-minute read.

update: Border Commissions and expert groups from Armenia and Azerbaijan have installed 40 border markers on the state border in the Tavush-Gazakh section

source,

the former regime-organized rally continues to march from Tavush to Yerevan

Context in Saturday news. An MP from ARF/Kocharyan party and an opposition churchman Bagrat Galstanyan organized a march in an attempt to "gather 50,000" protesters in Yerevan.
The organizers say "Religious Armenia will defeat Real Armenia", in reference to PM Pashinyan. Archbishop Bagrat was a participant in Robert Kocharyan's 2022 rally during which he made a similar statement: "The church will defeat the street and dux". Street & dux = Pashinyan's 2018 revolution. On Sunday Bagrat said "at this time" their demand is not Pashinyan's ouster; they want to stop the border delimitation because they believe it's "illegal". A week earlier the ARF/Kocharyan faction unsuccessfully promoted a motion to essentially declare the use of 1991 Almaty borders illegal and to rely on the 1993 "de facto" borders instead.
Archbishop Bagrat said he has received the permission and blessing of the church leader Garegin B to hold this rally. "He is our father, our leader."
Along the way, the organizers encountered supporters who brought them water and food, and opponents who called them "idiots" and "sons of donkeys".
MIKA BADALYAN (pro-Kremlin blogger, ex-regime activist): I can't imagine the condition Pashinyan is in right now. He has to meet Putin on May 8, and just a day later Archbishop Bagrat will reach Yerevan, and he won't just arrive there, but will launch a battle that will be Nikol's final one. Get drunk, Nikol, get drunk. Be prepared, Armenians around the world! Each one of you must take part in this battle. //
In related news: Mika Badalyan is accused of assaulting a journalist Zhirayr Voskanyan from a pro-Western media outlet on Sunday. According to authorities, the victim refused to pursue charges on the spot after the incident. An investigation was launched nevertheless. In a video uploaded after the incident, the victim said he plans to visit a police station.
ARTUR SAKUNTS (Helsinki NGO, about the church's role): Let's say the political resource is so low and bankrupt that you have to involve the church to achieve your political goals, but why mythologize the role of the Apostolic Church in Armenian history so much? Have you at least read the works of Leo, or a more modern author and historian Hamlet Davtyan, or the works of monumentologist Samvel Karapetyan? Are you familiar with the positions of the church during the Kingdom of Cilicia? After all, any thought and idea should be based on facts, analysis, and conclusions. There can be no salvation built on myths, it will lead to another defeat.
REPORTER (to Robert Kocharyan, 2022 protests): Would you be open to the idea of being appointed as the President?
ROBERT KOCHARYAN (2022 protests): The best candidate right now would be a respected member of a church. There are such people. They are both respected and driven by national interests. That's my offer. And on that offer, yes, it can be negotiated. //
Armenia's H1 public TV ran a segment describing the attempts to sabotage the border delimitation process as being beneficial for Russia and Azerbaijan. "Some forces do not want to turn the line of contact into a stable state border." Russia has been critical of the Tavush delimitation process and called it a Western plan, and some Armenian analysts believe Russia is afraid of losing all influence in the region if Armenia and Azerbaijan establish stable and peaceful relations. There is also criticism towards the church for "not holding a similar march to the Lachin Corridor to demand Russian soldiers to open it" in 2023. The H1 report also shows several residents of border villages who do not oppose the delimitation process. "Their voices were intentionally drowned out."
video, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source,

Q&A with Parliament President Alen Simonyan

REPORTER: What is the likelihood of a peace agreement at this phase?
SIMONYAN: There has been an opportunity to sign a peace agreement since late 2023 but Azerbaijan hasn't displayed political will. The ongoing delimitation is a signal that a peace agreement is possible and it must be signed ASAP.
REPORTER: The Azerbaijani president says the peace agreement document is fully in line with Azerbaijan's interests.
SIMONYAN: The document is fully in line with international norms, which Armenia shares. There are some disagreements, hence the back-and-forth exchange of proposals. We must ensure that all formulations are very clear and both parties understand what the language says because the Nov. 9 agreement and its bargaining by certain countries [Russia] should not happen again.
REPORTER: Do you plan to respond to the letter sent by [Russian Senator Matvienko]?
SIMONYAN: I have not received a letter from Duma. My colleague Sarkis Khandanyan, the recipient, responded within 1-2 days of receiving it. Perhaps it wasn't convenient for [Russian MFA Spokesperson] Mrs. Zakharova to acknowledge it during their usual staged press conference.
REPORTER: But the letter was directed at you, about your speech [in Spain].
SIMONYAN: I stand behind my statements and I represent Armenian voters. If in certain countries [Russia] the government doesn't represent the people, it's their problem. In Armenia, the ruling and opposition parties represent the people.
REPORTER: Does PM Pashinyan plan to attend Putin's inauguration ceremony?
SIMONYAN: No.
REPORTER: What's your assessment of the march originating from Tavush? Is their demand just or unjust?
SIMONYAN: I don't know what their political demand is. They are against the delimitation of state borders.
REPORTER: [Opposition] political parties have joined this march. Do you see a political context here? Is a change of power likely?
SIMONYAN: Not likely until the 2026 elections. How many different people is the ex-regime going to use to attempt to replicate our 2018 success? Can they come up with something new? Who has welcomed the rally so far? In the end, they are going to present the Banani Mihran Poghosyan, Kocharyan, Serj, Vazgen Manukyan, and Vanetsyan Artur [figures who have endorsed the rally].
REPORTER: But anyone can use the technologies you used in 2018. It's not your personal property.
SIMONYAN: Who said it's our personal property? Let them use it. Let them use it. They keep failing because the real actors remain the same and they only change the face of the process. Today they are playing on the emotions of the population.
REPORTER: Are Kocharyan, Serj, and others behind Archbishop Bagrat?
SIMONYAN: Are you seriously asking this? What media outlet do you represent? Is it Azatutyun? I understand your question now. I wonder, the interests of which forces does Azatutyun represent? Sometimes I wonder that. Let's say you receive your funding from international organizations, from foreign structures, do you represent their interests?
REPORTER: Will Pashinyan leave if the opposition gathers many supporters in Yerevan?
SIMONYAN: Will the opposition lay down its parliamentary mandates if they fail to gather more people than they did last time? We are confident that the public supports our effort to delimit the state borders, wants to establish peace, doesn't want a war, doesn't want the return of ex-regime, doesn't want to live in a religious theocracy, and sees through the attempts by politicians to manipulate with the use of religion and emotions. The public is wise.
REPORTER: Do you see a foreign trace behind this rally?
SIMONYAN: I see bloggers financed from various centers [Russia], and statements praising this process by figures located mostly in a single country [Russia]. So of course I see a foreign trace. Do you really not understand what's happening?
REPORTER (Azatutyun, still upset about being called an agent): If it is maybe obvious to you that doesn't mean it is for the general public. You must clarify so the public can know.
SIMONYAN: Yes, and I know what the public knows and what it doesn't know because, unlike the ex-regime, I speak with the people. I know their complaints towards me and their support towards our policies.
REPORTER: Which country is meddling in this process?
SIMONYAN: Can you guess?
REPORTER: Will PM Pashinyan take part in the EAEU (economic bloc) session [on May 8]?
SIMONYAN: Armenia holds the presidency of EAEU and I believe it's the right thing to participate in it. [Pashinyan will take part in the EAEU meeting and will meet Putin as well.]
video, [other video,](source, source,

Armenia has stopped financing CSTO and has frozen its participation in CSTO activities, while simultaneously developing relations with NATO and EU: Putin's assistant Yuri Ushakov

source,

ruling party MP accuses Russia of deceiving Armenia's opposition parties and Nagorno-Karabakh leaders

MP VAHAGN ALEXANYAN: We have to revisit the events of 2023 because the organizers of "Operation Nagorno-Karabakh" are attempting the same operation from Tavush. Let me be clear: the organizers are not located in Armenia.
Pashinyan announced that the international community [West] will support if we lower the bar [not de jure independent republic] for Nagorno-Karabakh's status. This was welcomed by our international partners. There were also international partners who, with the efforts of Armenia, attempted to organize a Stepanakert-Baku dialogue on the European platform, including in Sophia. Everything was ready for the NK-AZ meeting to discuss the safety conditions that would allow 100,000+ Armenians to continue to live in NK.
But the "owners" [Kremlin] of Armenia's opposition parties prohibited NK representatives from flying to Sophia. Simultaneously, the organizers [Kremlin] worked with its puppets in Armenia -- politicians and opposition-owned media outlets -- to convince them that Russia plans to remain 30+ years in NK. They encouraged the opposition to go shout "Nikol traitor", "QP Turks", "you are land givers", this and that. The opposition followed their orders and did those.
"Let's save Nagorno-Karabakh," they said. Today, the parliament building of NK is sadly demolished because of their idiocy. The [pro-Russian] NK forces gathered in that building with maximalist speeches. We knew where it was all headed. We knew there was a circle in NK that believed that Russian peacekeepers would not only protect the remaining parts of NK but would allow them to recapture the lost territories, "if we could only remove Nikol in Armenia".
We warned them that they were being deceived with a false sense of security; we urged them to negotiate with Azerbaijan in Sophia. They refused. "Not a step back from full independence. Who are you? Azgadavs!"
So they removed the NK government [President Arayik was open to Sophia meeting]. You know the names of those who demanded Arayik's removal. Sadly, some of them are currently in Baku jail. But these people removed Arayik and installed a figure who was the most favorable figure for the presence of Russia in NK. Then you know what happened.
After Azerbaijan launched a massive attack on NK, several public figures and politicians began to reveal the things they were told at the Russian embassy in Armenia. A figure named Nairi Hokhikyan claims he was told in the Russian embassy that Russian peacekeepers planned to remain 30+ years in the region and that he believed them and "took their bait". It's fair to say he wasn't the only person in Armenia who took this embassy's baits. There were even forces in Armenia that actively distributed those baits.
When it became obvious that Russian peacekeepers wouldn't do anything, when they stood and watched the forced displacement of 120,000 Armenians, when they watched the killings of NK civilians, it became obvious to everyone, including those who took the bait, what exactly happened.
Armenia, in turn, said that since its allies do not plan to help, it is better for Armenia to establish peace with all of its neighbors and have stable delimited borders. This was a huge psychological shock for some, especially the aforementioned forces because the clarification of Armenia's borders and the adoption of an internationally legitimate stance would open an opportunity to have excellent relations with the US and EU. Armenia with legitimate borders and Western partners is more difficult to attack than Armenia without those; it's a lot more difficult under those conditions to present Armenia as a gray zone and swallow it.
And swallowing Armenia is what this is all about. None of this was about NK. Armenia was the end goal. Robert Kocharyan said he was open to the idea of Armenia joining the [Russia-Belarus] Union State, while Serj's party leaders [Sharmazanov] announced that it's necessary to give Azerbaijan a corridor through Syunik.
Today we have a rally coming from Tavush. On the left side of its leader, we have a politician representing a force that wants Armenia to join the [Russian] Union State, and on the right side, it's a representative of a force that wants to give a Zangezur corridor to Azerbaijan.
Forgive me for saying this, friends: this latest Russian march is also destined to fail. It will fail because the Armenian population won't follow politicians who do not recognize Armenia's 29,743 km^2. Foreign forces will fail. Armenia will remain independent. //
source,

Russia continues the withdrawal of soldiers from Nagorno-Karabakh

A column of vehicles left from Ivanyan airport to a railway station before heading to Russia, through Azerbaijan.
source,

foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Kazakhstan on May 10 to discuss the peace process

The agreement was reached last week after the visit of the Kazakh president to the region.
source,

U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan visited occupied Shushi after "two months of preparations"

He was earlier criticized by the Azerbaijani regime for not visiting the occupied parts of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Ambassador said he didn't visit Shushi in the past because he didn't want to take part in "someone's shows".
During this Shushi trip, the Ambassador met state officials and local teachers who were enrolled in the embassy's English classes. The Ambassador said the U.S. will continue to cooperate with Azerbaijan for as long as there are "partners in Azerbaijan who are willing to work with the U.S."
source, source,

the armed forces/MOD of Armenia and United States held their first annual talks

US Embassy in Yerevan: Last week, representatives from across the US European Command and the Armenian Ministry of Defense participated in the inaugural Annual Staff Talks to discuss bilateral defense priorities, develop areas for further cooperation, and outline military engagements for the coming years.
source,

Informed Citizens NGO chief about Armenia's economic ties with Russia and the cost of breaking free

IOANNESIAN: Russia's leverage: Gas, supply of uranium for NPP, disposal of nuclear waste generated by NPP, and Upper Lars cargo traffic. I don't think Russia will attempt to "punish" Armenia unless they achieve a major success in Ukraine, but it can't be ruled out. Let's analyze some possible scenarios.
(1) Gas. If Russia doubles the price for Armenia to $300, which is the realistic upper limit according to experts, your household bill would likely increase by 20%. The $300 is also the price of Iranian gas. If Russia raises it above $300, Armenia will have other more economic sources of energy. I doubt household bills would double because there are a host of steps the government and West could take to remedy or even partly subsidize the cost.
(2) Uranium for NPP. This is easier. Ukraine has replaced Russia with others. Kazakhstan is also a source of uranium. It's important to have decent AM-KZ relations. Our relations have always been toxic despite never having any direct problems with one another. At some point, Kazakhs realized having great relations with Azerbaijan doesn't mean they can't build relations with Armenia. Armenia displayed the same pragmatism. There is an opportunity to move forward.
(3) Export of products. This will be difficult because a significant share of goods MADE in Armenia are exported to Russia. These are real factories, real workers, real wages. The food production industry will face issues because let's be honest, their standards are generally very low. They wouldn't be able to export to Europe today. European countries may love you but they care about the health of their citizens more. We need to raise the food standards, first and foremost for us and our health. I'm aware that the Armenian government is taking steps for a long-term solution, and as a short-term solution they are exploring the possibility of increasing exports to the Middle East and other states to reduce reliance on Russia. The government will face pushback from unhappy businesses that will no longer be allowed to dump a bag of harmful chemicals on crops. The Middle East is a mixed bag. Some countries could have standards higher than the EU, while others don't care at all. Armenian manufacturers of "fake" and lowest-quality alcohol, the type of alcohol that's even unacceptable for Armenians, are exporting their goods to some Middle Eastern countries today.
source,

Armenia and EU discuss education reforms

Education Minister Joanna and EU Ambassador Maragos met on Monday to discuss the ongoing introduction of new state standards in public education, the upcoming bills, STEM and labs, refugee teacher assistance, and AM-EU dialogue.
source,

Armenia and Hungary sign agreement on economic cooperation, will continue to restore diplomatic relations after termination in 2012

FM Mirzoyan is in Hungary to discuss AM-HU and AM-EU relations, a week after media wrote that Hungary is blocking the EU's $10 million military aid to Armenia.
Armenia and Hungary restored diplomatic relations in 2022, and in 2023 they appointed non-resident ambassadors.
HUNGARIAN FM: It's great to see Armenia's flag in this building after so many years. Today we agreed to form a working group to develop economic relations. Last year our economic turnover reached 70%. Our pharmaceutical companies are more active in the Armenian market today. We have agreed to open embassies in the capitals of Hungary and Armenia; today we have consulates. Starting this July, WizzAir will hold direct flights between the capitals of Armenia and Hungary. Hungary will provide humanitarian assistance to families [presumably Nagorno-Karabakh refugees] who begin their lives in Armenia. Some 1,200 Armenian children and parents will receive an opportunity to enjoy their vacation here in Hungary. Armenian students will receive scholarships. We have also allocated funds to help the 4,200 Armenians residing in Hungary maintain their Armenian identity and culture. Ahead of Hungary's presidency of the EU, we were able to take steps to develop AM-EU relations. We plan to develop the AM-EU Partnership Agenda [aka CEPA+]. We also plan to launch a dialogue on visa liberalization between the two parties [unclear AM-HU or AM-EU]. My 2023 visit to Yerevan and your visit to Budapest marks a successful launch of our cooperation.
ARMENIAN FM: This is a result of a process we launched 1.5 years ago, a process to start a new phase of AM-HU relations based on historically warm ties and common values. I'm glad to see the result of this process today. Today we are talking about opening resident embassies. Today we signed agreements on political consultations between foreign ministries of two states, on economic cooperation, and on the formation of an intergovernmental commission. We recently saw a business conference where they discussed possible joint projects. Personal visits are important so it's great to hear about WizzAir's direct Yerevan-Budapest flights. Armenia wants to be part of international economic projects. The CoP project aims to lift the blockade on all transport and passenger connections in the South Caucasus and to streamline the West-East connection. Under the same context, we consider the supply of Armenian renewable energy to Europe [through the Black Sea]; we will soon hold discussions on their implementation. Armenia wants to take part in all of those. Peace is a prerequisite for economic development. We have launched a process to bring Armenia significantly closer to the EU, and vice versa. On the table, we have a package of proposals and here we hope to receive Hungary's support during your EU presidency so the plan will confidentially advance under your presidency as well.
REPORTER: What disagreements remain around the AM-AZ peace treaty?
MIRZOYAN: I hope the agreement reached by border commissions on April 19 will be reflected in the peace agreement as well. That would place us very close to a final resolution of the AM-AZ conflict. Another disagreement is around the unblocking of transportation links in the region. Armenia wants to unblock all routes with full respect to the sovereignty of states. I'd like to thank Hungary for its contribution to humanitarian issues. As you remember, several Armenian POWs were freed with the help of Hungary. These efforts continue.
source, source, video,

starting next week Yerevan subway will operate until midnight, instead of 11 pm

source,

Yerevan municipality will add 50 bus shelters, some of which will come with ticket purchasing terminals and bus arrival timetable

MAYOR AVINYAN: This year we plan to launch the new transit fare system and install 50 bus shelters, which will have arrival timetables. We'll receive 171 new 8.5-meter buses and 15 new trolleybuses. The new bus pricing system goes into effect after all of this is done.
source,

Yerevan municipality wants to review the contract with French water giant Veolia

MAYOR AVINYAN: The recent floods caused issues in transport hubs, tunnels, and streets. The city has a contract with Veolia Jur to service the surface, gutter, and rainwater networks. We receive many complaints that go unaddressed. The residents do not care about the details of the contract with Veolia, although I'm confident there are objective reasons behind these problems. This year we must come to a new agreement with the Government and Veolia because the municipality itself can't chase the sewers in each backyard. We need a company that will assume the responsibility for the entire network. We must understand what the cost of this service is. Last year the city was forced to build 14 kilometers of sewers but I don't even know if we had the right to do it because it's a state property, but it had to be done so we did it. We need to make changes to the Veolia contract.
source,

VIDEO: heavy hail lasted several minutes, turning the streets of Yerevan white and damaging trees and properties

source,

inflation YoY

January -0.4%
February -1.7%
March -1.2%
April -0.7%

... food prices are still lower compared to last year (April YoY stats)

Food and non-alcoholic beverages -4.5%
Non-food -0.5%
Services +3%
Alcohol and tobacco +7%
Clothing -1%
Utilities -0.1%
Household goods & appliances -1%
Healthcare -0.2%
Transportation +8%
Communications +0.3%
Recreation -0.2%
Education +5%
Restaurants & hotels +4%
source,

country of origin of tourists who visited Georgia in Q1 2024

(1) Turkey 255K
(2) Russia 215K
(3) Armenia 192K
source,

the most popular last names in each country: MAP

Grigoryan
source,

"Dominion of Darkness” is a strategy/RPG text game in which the player takes on the role of a Sauron-style Lord of Darkness with the goal of conquering the world. He will carry out his plans by making various decisions. He will build his army and send it into battles, weave intrigues and deceptions, create secret spy networks and sectarian cults, recruit agents and commanders, corrupt representatives of Free Peoples and sow discord among them, collect magical artifacts and perform sinister plots.Note – one game takes about 1 hour, but the premise is that the game can be approached several times, each time making different decisions, getting different results and discovering something new. Feedback is very much welcome. Very, very much. Altough game is playable and winnable now, I am still working on improving it, so all suggestions are appreciated.
Here is the game: https://adeptus7.itch.io/dominion
And here are reviews:

• Indie Sampler (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM6f4UCEgWU
• [BOKC] BlancoKix (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgNpSKToOSg

PS. If You played old version of the game, please know, that I am constantly working on improving the DoD, adding new content and mechanics and fixing bugs. Here are some things I added since last post:

• harpies and serpentmen are now reruitable for some playable characters,
• new expedition to Witchlands, land once ruled by civilization older even than Your character,
• new possible way to victory by discovery of ancient secrets and accomplishment of the magical Great Work, including new endings,
• male Tempter and Warmonger can take a consort, which brings mechanical benefits and story elements,
• choice of element your character specialize in. It has influence on spellcasting and unblocks some new events;
• new ways for defeating enemy kingdoms, connected with profession of your character. Warmonger can initiate full-scale total ware between elves and dwarves, Destroyer of Life can start vampire apocalypse, Tyrant can summon hosts of angeldemons from Infernal Heaven and Temptress can seduce king Janos. And of course many lesser changes, fixes and new events.
• Oh, BTW, I invite You to listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgkSmj55jl0&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fforums.sufficientvelocity.com%2F&feature=emb_title or read: All Children of the Mother – short story "All Children of the Mother", short story featuring one of the characters You can meet and fight in "Dominion of Darkness". But beware of spoilers!

PiCoreTeam
May 2nd - 5:33pm
We’re releasing additional liveness checks to facilitate applicable Pioneers to resolve their tentative KYC status! These checks—released progressively—aim to improve their account security and supplement data to their KYC application analysis to help reach full KYC status. If you have a tentative KYC status, make sure you take these short liveness checks to unblock yourself in the KYC and migration process. Watch the video to learn more.
https://youtube.com/shorts/LLRurrvTNEc?si=CEtAvyN8hyyxso2T

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Check out gamsgo, a service that lets you split the cost of streaming services with other users!
Getting cheaper Netflix via the old turkish method is not reliable and does not work that well anymore unfortunately...

22-minute read to cover the latest developments in Armenia beyond headlines.

Azeri public continues to discuss the possible return or exchange of Armenian exclave Artsvashen currently under Azerbaijani control

Context in Monday news digest. A ranking member of Azerbaijani parliament suggested returning Artsvashen to Armenia in exchange for the Azeri exclaves, or swapping them so each side can keep what it currently controls. An Azeri analyst called it dangerous to allow Armenians to return to Artsvashen because he believes it would make the entire territory of Azerbaijan "up to Ganja" vulnerable.
AZERI JOURNALIST (Fatima Movlamli): There are currently [Azeri] military positions near the entrance of the village [Artsvashen]. Although the local population is not strictly checked upon entry and exit, some control appears to be in place. The army checks "strangers". The village is also observed from far away. All the houses are empty; they are crumbling. There is no one around. The only people you see are nearby villagers who take their cattle to [Artsvashen's] pasture.
NEARBY AZERI VILLAGER: I visit the [Armenian] village to feed my cattle and my family. If they give it to Armenians, it will be my end. This is our source of bread, and these areas will no longer be safe for us. Many of us rely on these territories for a living. There is total unemployment and none of us have other jobs. We will have to emigrate if they give this village.
NATIN JAFARLI (ReAl party): There are two reasons why the village was not populated [by Azeris, after the capture in 1992]. The first is for legal reasons because Armenia could claim it's their land and demand compensation. There are also socio-economic components that have forced the population to migrate to Baku over the past 30 years. If there was a normal socio-economic policy, there would be no migration. It's not easy to create social infrastructure in Bashkend [Artsvashen] for natural reasons. If we decide to swap the enclaves, then referendums must be held in both countries. Can you imagine the Armenian police or army marching 30 kilometers deep into Azerbaijan? It doesn't sound realistic. The same about Azeris entering the exclaves inside Armenia. How will you guarantee the population's food, banking, communication, gas, etc.? It doesn't seem realistic.
ELKHAN SHAHINOGLU (Atlas research center): Even if Armenians return our 4 villages [presumably within Azeri exclaves], it will be difficult for Azeris to live in them because we will be forced to reach the villages through Armenia. The same is true if we transfer [Artsvashen] to Armenia. Therefore, I believe this issue can be resolved if the lands are exchanged.
AZERI RESIDENT: I used to work as a nurse in [Artsvashen]. I remember how I attempted to save the lives of the soldiers who captured it. I don't want it to be returned to Armenia because I'm concerned that the same events will repeat. Nothing good will happen if Armenians return here. This place connects Shinikhi to the entire Ganja region. Should we allow Armenians to stand between the two? I'm 65 so the future generations will have to live here but no one will dare to come if they hear about the presence of Armenians.
source,

Azerbaijan is still reluctant to include the Almaty Declaration in the final peace agreement despite the April 19 separate agreement to use it for border demarcation

FM MIRZOYAN: Recently we agreed that the demarcation should take place on the basis of the Almaty Declaration and the Regulations of the border commissions should also refer to the Almaty. This is one of the principles, and if we manage to include Almaty in the peace agreement, then we will get very close to a final resolution. Our neighbor is still reluctant to make a clear reference to the Almaty Declaration in the peace treaty, which is a more comprehensive document.
The second issue is with the unblocking of communication routes. Armenia is ready to become a part of the international transit route. The Crossroads of Peace will benefit Armenia and the entire region. Turkey and Azerbaijan would also benefit by connecting East and West. If this is implemented, it will be another interesting way to connect the Persian Gulf countries with the Black Sea economic region.
QUESTION: You froze your participation in CSTO. Do you plan to join NATO?
MIRZOYAN: We do not want to be part of a dysfunctional mechanism [CSTO]. But we are still a CSTO member so it's necessary to take steps to make it function; we are discussing the issues on the AM-RU agenda. Simultaneously we have launched a process to strengthen AM-West relations and to diversify Armenia's economy.
source, video,

interview with Azeri opposition activist-in-exile Arif Yunusov

REPORTER: Azerbaijan had long refused to use 1991 Almaty for delimitation but on April 19 they agreed to launch the process based on Almaty. Why did they change their position?
YUNUSOV: Because of the problems Aliyev developed with the West. When Blinken makes a phone call, that means extensive work was done prior to the call. The issue of sanctions raised earlier this year was also raised after months of work. The collective West is pressuring Azerbaijan. We have entered the decisive phase of the West-Russia confrontation. The physical fights are taking place in Ukraine, while diplomatic wars rage in the South Caucasus.
Russia attempted on several occasions to destabilize Armenia's internal stability by using Azerbaijan but their efforts have failed and there hasn't been any serious escalation on the AM-AZ border. Pashinyan was not exaggerating the possibility of a war in Tavush a few months ago; there was indeed a real threat. However, the likelihood is much lower now and Azerbaijan has given its approval to launch the delimitation process. The ongoing delimitation process is part of the effort to regulate AM-AZ relations and push Russia out of the region.
REPORTER: Blinken spoke on Sunday with Aliyev and Pashinyan. I'm under the impression that this AM-AZ delimitation, despite being called "bilateral", is actually being moderated by the US.
YUNUSOV: Absolutely agree. Aliyev has a lengthy history of rejecting many Western efforts and being close with Putin, so the fact that he didn't reject it this time indicates serious pressure from the West. By the way, Aliyev became president in February but Biden hasn't congratulated him yet. For Aliyev, it's very important to receive a congratulation personally from Biden.
The US is moderating this process step-by-step. This process began in 2022 when Pashinyan recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan; that was part of the US plan to normalize AM-AZ relations. Under this plan, Azerbaijan announced the formation of a commission to "integrate" Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. Obviously, it all changed later and the US officials began to raise the issue of Aliyev being too close to Russia and about a need to pull him away from Putin. It appears the US is gradually getting what it wants because the US's role in this demarcation process is huge.
REPORTER: Is this also why Azerbaijan asked Russia to withdraw its military base from Nagorno-Karabakh? Was it under the US pressure?
YUNUSOV: I'm not entirely sure about the full details behind their withdrawal. I don't even know if they are truly being withdrawn because there is a motive to calm the Azerbaijani public that's anti-Russian.
There is also the fact that Russia was unable to deploy those peacekeepers on the AM-AZ border and push out the EU border monitoring mission from Armenia. Russia attempted to achieve this in December 2023 during a meeting in St. Petersburg but Pashinyan rejected Putin's efforts. Moreover, Pashinyan said that Armenia is no longer interested in the fate of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh and that this topic must be resolved between Russia and Azerbaijan. This was followed by Pashinyan's order to remove Russian agents from Yerevan's airport by August 2024. So Russia's effort to pressure Armenia with the hands of Azerbaijan has totally failed.
It's a strange situation, the withdrawal of peacekeepers. We don't know how many were removed and how many remain. I do not have information that the US pressured Azerbaijan to remove the Russian peacekeepers. [audio cuts off] The US is only strong when there is Armenia, during meetings, and we tend to receive information whenever Armenia is part of a negotiation process, whereas Azerbaijan-Russia talks are more secretive.
It appears Russia is withdrawing the equipment first because they need it ahead of the May offensive in Ukraine, before possibly a wider withdrawal by September.
Regarding the demarcation of the AM-AZ border, Russia understands that if the parties reach an agreement, that could mean the end of Russian presence in the South Caucasus. The AM-AZ border is a geopolitical issue. Russia will publicly formally welcome the delimitation efforts but it's not in their interest.
REPORTER: Why is France silent about the April 19 delimitation agreement?
YUNUSOV: France has adopted the correct position. First of all, Western states coordinate their policies [including on delimitation], but in each region, each Western state takes up a different position. For example, on the Ukraine issue, France provides support to Ukraine but the main locomotive is the US. In the South Caucasus, it's the opposite: the US provides the moderation efforts while the main locomotive - in this case, support for Armenia - is France. There is a crisis in FR-AZ relations. So France doesn't want to hinder the delimitation effort by intervening; they let the US handle it. There is currently an anti-French hysteria in Azerbaijan. The French endorsement of the AM-AZ delimitation agreement would be a big blow to the process.
full,

ruling party rejects opposition's motion to conduct the AM-AZ border delimitation based on 1993 "de facto" borders instead of 1991 Almaty borders

Context and debates in April 23 news digest. The opposition is against delimiting borders with the 1991 Almaty maps.
The opposition accuses the ruling party of serving Turkey's interests while the ruling party accuses the opposition of attempting to derail the 1991 delimitation process so they can drag Armenia into a new conflict before bringing the Russian "empire" as a savior to establish their rule in Armenia.
One thing that struck the ruling party's nerves was the opposition's narrative that "Armenia ends where the Armenian soldier stands". The ruling party believes that this principle is both dangerously expansionist [in the case of 2.5 Azeri villages] and would also endanger the fate of occupied Armenian lands. "We have a clear border with Azerbaijan, and it must be reproduced on the ground," said a ranking ruling party MP. Yesterday the government said over 50% of the task was done on a section of the Tavush-Gazakh border.
In response to the opposition's accusations that the ruling party serving the interests of Azerbaijan by "surrendering lands", a ruling MP accused the opposition of pressuring the government to surrender a corridor to Russia and Azerbaijan.
RULING MP: Mr. Sharmazanov [ex-president Serj's party] routinely says the quiet part out loud. At first, he spoke about the need to give a corridor [to Azerbaijan and Russia, via Syunik], and more recently he made another fantastic statement. Sharmazanov said "a homeland is eternal while a state is variable. The state's borders can expand or shrink." This stems from their mentality that today they are MPs of the Armenian parliament but tomorrow they could just as easily be Russian Duma MPs, representing the Armyanski Oblast. This is the clash of values: a stable state with borders vs. a "homeland" with variable borders. For us, the Republic of Armenia is irreplaceable and the independence of Armenia is non-negotiable. //
source, video, source, source,

the independent TV & radio regulator was summoned to parliament to report the 2023 activities

REGULATOR: Last year the broadcasters under our watch operated freely, without government intervention. The TV outlets stated that they were not pressured or obstructed by any branch of the government to limit their freedom of expression.
The issue persists with misinformation and hate speech, but our 3-year-long monitoring reveals that this negative content has been significantly reduced in public multiplex. This positive trend has multiple reasons, including our Committee's fight against the abuse of "freedom of speech". This type of negative content has, by in large, moved from television to the internet and social media.
We are strongly against the government's electoral code amendment that required private media outlets to allocate a limited number of free hours to candidates during electoral campaigns. How is this different from requiring gas stations to provide free gas to candidates? The media outlets are deprived of hours that they could use to generate income.
We've been calling for reforms in the law regulating the media. The 2020 law on liberalizing media regulations is a welcoming change. The field is free, with minimal intervention from the Committee (regulator) or the government.
However, this liberalization also endangers Armenia's media security. For example, foreign channels broadcasted over Armenia's public multiplex and cable often spread content illegal under Armenian law and against the Republic of Armenia's interests. The law does not grant the Committee enough powers to curtail this. At the moment, the Committee has jurisdiction over public multiplex TV and licensed radio channels only. This creates an uneven competition field with channels broadcasted over the net, which do not have to follow the same rules. Under European directives, a minimal level of regulation of internet content has become a requirement for European countries. We advise the government to follow European practices.
The public often wonders what share of cable TV content is in Armenian or made in Armenia. Our research reveals the content based on the country of origin: Armenian 71 (vs 68 last year), Russian 174 (vs 167), European 75, American 38, Other 15. As you can see, relevant parties should take steps to increase the share of Armenian content.
We have very important progress in another metric: Armenian-language programs aired over Armenian channels, nationwide or in Yerevan. The Armenian-language programs accounted for 95% of the air. This includes foreign content translated into Armenian or with Armenian subtitles.
2018: <60%
2020: 79%
2021: 81%
2023: 95%
We have progress in another important area. Over the last 3-4 years, on the public multiplex, the share of partisan ideological content has been gradually replaced by content more beneficial to the general public. For example, (1) we now have a sports program that promotes the development of local sports and provides coverage of local events. (2) We have a family channel called Noor available in Yerevan. Despite some challenges and flaws, they are doing their best to establish themselves as a family channel. (3) We have an educational channel Bun. (4) We have a music channel Dar21.
By in large, the public multiplex still falls short of delivering what we envisage. We believe the time has come to adopt a new state strategy on media to prevent a crisis. We could have a crisis because the state has too many regulations and not enough incentives to allow channels to use their slots to generate income and produce quality content.
We fear that during the next auction for slots in 2027, several slots could be left uncontested, which could pave the way for the entry of propagandistic channels or clearly weak channels unable to deliver quality content. If the channels fail to generate income, they could also be sold to foreign buyers. Therefore, some channels could begin to serve the interests of foreign states and serve foreign propaganda to Armenian citizens.
We advise the government to...
(1) reduce the number of channels on public multiplex. It's an unreasonably high number for a country size of Armenia. Fewer public multiplex channels means each channel would receive more ad dollars, which would raise the quality of content.
(2) establish a media assistance fund to incentivize quality content over the public multiplex.
How do we monitor media channels for compliance? The monitoring phase lasts 2 months per year. In Lithuania and Georgia, it's 1 month. The rest of the time the monitoring is done by NGOs, the public, and other institutions.
We penalized 34 companies for broadcasting pirated content. This is a shamefully high number. There are unfortunately companies that do not respect intellectual property. The only option left is to ramp up the enforcement. The atmosphere of impunity among channels is driven by the fact that the size of the penalty is only $130, which is a lot less than what they'd spend on obtaining the rights to the content.
We've been enforcing rules more vigorously, and in 2023 alone there were 64 administrative proceedings. In comparison, between 2011-2018 there were a total of 17 such proceedings.
2011-2018: 17
2021: 84
2023: 64
Reasons for administrative proceedings: copyright violation, illegal ads, content harmful to children, gore & violence, cussing on air, failure to meet the minimum threshold of 20% for certain types of content, etc.
In December we made a decision to suspend the re-broadcasting of [Russian] Sputnik Radio for a month. We were accused of violating their free speech [by Armenia's opposition factions], however, the radio's leadership visited Armenia, apologized for their content, and agreed to exclude the violating show [Kremlin propagandist Tigran Keosayan] from their programming aired in Armenia. We lifted the suspension.
Once again, the Committee reminds that it will suspend any foreign outlet that broadcasts content that spreads hatred towards the Republic of Armenia or its people, interferes with Armenia's internal affairs, questions Armenia's sovereignty, or engages in provocative actions.
Along with increased enforcement, we also have more complaints filed against our decisions in courts, which shows that the enforcement & appeals process is functioning freely. Sometimes we lose these trials. We learn and gain experience.
We recently signed the first-ever agreement with a country outside Eurasia. The agreement with friendly Argentina's state media agency will allow Armenia's public channel to film a big սերիալ.
The Committee is cooperating with the high-tech ministry to use AI in our work to save resources and raise efficiency.
ASSYRIAN-ARMENIAN MP: The law requires television to provide content in the Assyrian language. Similar programs exist for Yezidis but not Assyrians.
REGULATOR: The law requires the content to be either in Assyrian language or about Assyrian culture. The latter requirement was met.
ASSYRIAN-ARMENIAN MP: But we would like to hear content, speech, in Assyrian language.
REGULATOR: We want to do that by requiring local television channels [presumably where Assyrians mostly live] to provide content in Assyrian language, rather than requiring the public channel to broadcast that content nationwide, because the vast majority of nationwide consumers would not be able to consume content in a language they do not speak. It should be more targeted. Assyrian subtitles on public nationwide channels are also an option so submit your suggestion and we'll negotiate with H1.
RULING MP: I welcome your decision to take action against [Kremlin's] Solovyov and Keosayan for their anti-Armenian and anti-Armenian Republic content, but people wonder why you don't take similar measures against others, like [Kremlin's] Kisilyov. What have you done in this regard and what suggestions have you sent to the high-tech ministry?
REGULATOR: Our Committee has the authority to suspend re-broadcasted radio channels, as in the case of Sputnik, but we cannot suspend television channels. We can only send complaints to the high-tech ministry so they can take action against TV channels based on the AM-RU interstate agreement. We have been frequently sending reports to our high-tech ministry, and after 3 years of inaction, they finally decided to take steps recently. You already know about their actions against Solovyov's content. The ministry is working with Russia to replace the [empty] Solovyov timeslot with other cultural or entertainment content. You can forget about Solovyov. As a reminder, this program was banned in Armenia not for being "anti-Armenian", which is a vague term, but for violating specific laws of Armenia. They often call for violence, incite steps to launch a war, etc. Even Armenian channels are not allowed to broadcast such content. We need to revise the AM-RU interstate agreement to grant the Committee more powers to regulate foreign channels as well. In the future, we should entirely ban all foreign channels on Armenia's public multiplex.
RULING MP: What is Shoghakat TV, who owns it, and does its content meet the requirements? [It's the channel operated by the church]
REGULATOR: Shoghakat was formerly called a religious-cultural channel. Under the new law, it must broadcast cultural-educational content; its genre legally is not religious-cultural. A recent study shows that the share of religious content is too high and it must be reduced by raising the share of cultural-educational programs to meet the requirements. The channel is receiving funds from the state and must therefore meet the cultural-educational programming requirements.
RULING MP: In other words, Shoghakat is a public channel, at least in part financed by the taxpayers, and does not provide the content it is legally required to? Religious content is not a bad thing but we must be mindful of the state resources.
REGULATOR: It's co-financed by the church and state. Shoghakat is also operating from a building owned by the church, and not the public TV.
OPPO MP: Isn't it time to also regulate the TV channels' social media accounts on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok? They get more views than the content aired over the public multiplex. Children consume dangerous content on YouTube and TikTok. There are countries that are attempting to regulate it. Can Armenia do this? There are also unlicensed channels on the internet that spread whatever they want. How do we regulate all of this?
REGULATOR: This morning the EU's Ursula von der Leyen announced the possibility of banning TikTok in the EU. The same about the US. Even the most democratic states restrict platforms that pose a danger to their societies. It will be expensive to technologically restrict these platforms in Armenia but we must consider any measure that would protect the Armenian society. Armenia is falling behind the EU directives in terms of content restrictions.
OPPO MP: Today a 9-year-old boy sees as many naked girls in one day as the world's richest sultan throughout his whole life. This is going to have a negative impact on children. The same about narcotics. When are we going to amend the law to regulate this?
REGULATOR: In the case of the 9 y/o boy, the most important institutions are the school, parents, and the surrounding environment. As for regulating the media field, I've been saying this for 4 years and this appears to be a bipartisan issue so let's get together and decide how to regulate it.
RULING MP: Under the existing media regulation law, foreign companies are not allowed to operate a cable service in Armenia. Why is Rostelecom able to operate? Should we lift the ban on all foreign firms or should we ban Rostelecom?
REGULATOR: I believe they meet the requirement by not owning over 49% of the company shares. I believe 51% of their shares belong to an Armenian resident company. In their defense, Rostelecom has voluntarily banned Solovyov's show in Armenia.
full report, source,

անախորժ միջադեպ պառլամենտի բակում

The bodyguard of Armenia/ARF MP Levon Kocharyan, the son of ex-president Robert Kocharyan, is accused of punching and knocking down a journalist in the backyard of the parliament building after the outlet's criticism of opposition churchman and his portrayal as a corrupt agent of Russia.
REPORTER (Davit Levonyan, civic.am, affiliated with ruling party): After finishing an interview with a ruling party MP, I noticed that Levon Kocharyan's assistant/bodyguard Arthur Sukoyan was waiting nearby. He approached me and asked to speak for 2 minutes. I asked my operator to stand a bit further from us so we could talk. The bodyguard attempted to provoke a fight. He was unhappy about my opinion about churchman Bagrat [the co-organizer of the opposition's road closures in Tavush] and he said my actions were blasphemy. I said dear Arthur I have the right to free speech and I don't force my opinion on others, and that he can express his own opinion and that I don't really care about his opinion. He went on to escalate it into a physical fight in a way to present it as "two boys fighting" rather than hooliganism. He began to cuss at me. I said, "If you think I'm that type of person then I can say the same about you". I never punched him, knowing well that it was a provocation. He punched me and knocked me to the ground. I got up and cussed at him but chose not to fight. I told him that "you and the likes of you will answer for this". I wanted to verify whose assistant he was so he said Kocharyan's, and he invited me to his office to "settle the dispute". I told him to get the hell out of here and that he will answer later pa lyubomu.
QUESTION: Were there witnesses and is there a video recording?
REPORTER: My operator witnessed it and it was in front of the parliament building's security cameras. //
The alleged suspect, Arthur Sukoyan, is the son of Judge Alexei Sukoyan whose duties as a judge were terminated by SJC last year for "severe violations".
OPPO MP (Mher Sahakyan): That guy has no right to be called a journalist because I've seen his video [about the opposition churchman] and as a Christian Armenian, it's prosto unacceptable for me. Are you telling me you can describe a representative of a church any way you like and not answer for it? //
MP Mher Sahakyan himself was arrested last year after punching a ruling party MP and forcing him to get stitches.
What was the outlet's report that angered Kocharyan's bodyguard? The outlet accused the churchman of serving Russian interests and owning a meat production business in Tavush. A fact-checker has found that the churchman is indeed reported as a 25% shareholder of the company but the company says the churchman hasn't received profits. The ruling faction accuses the church of unethically using the church's media resources to advertise the "churchman's meat business".
source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source,

PM Pashinyan hosted the European Commission's Director-General of EU Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Pashinyan considered the AM-EU-US high-level meeting held in Brussels on April 5 as key and emphasized the need for effective implementation of the agreements reached.
Koopman noted that the European Commission is ready to contribute to the implementation of the priorities of the Armenian government to strengthen the resilience of Armenia and its economic growth.
Koopman expressed confidence that Armenia-EU relations will continue to develop and expand dynamically. The interlocutors discussed a wide range of issues related to Armenia-EU cooperation.

... On Tuesday Armenia, the EU, and Germany signed an agreement to reduce the Armenian rural population's reliance on imported Russian gas

They want to help low-income villagers and municipal buildings of Tavush, Shirak, Gegharkunik, and Syunik provinces to switch to solar energy. It will include solar water heaters, etc.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION rep.: The EU-Armenia relations are stronger than ever and the EU's dedication to Armenia is reflected in the agreements reached on April 5 in Brussels. This is a 3-year program worth €12.5 million.
GERMAN EMBASSY: Why not use the sun's energy for daily activities? Yesterday we noticed on our faces and skins how powerful the Armenian sun is. [please SPF 100 yourselves]
source, source,

World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $116 million program for Armenia to enable reforms aimed at promoting green, resilient and inclusive development

It includes a $100 million loan from IBRD and a $16 million grant. This budget support will help the Government of Armenia to build climate resilience and reduce vulnerabilities to future shocks, as part of the 2021-2026 plan.

It includes actions that will fortify anti-corruption measures by implementing a robust framework with a whistleblowing system and gift monitoring mechanism for public servants. Further, it is aligned with the Paris Agreement.

source,

Azerbaijani regime arrested another pro-democracy activist as part of a crackdown on an independent outlet

Mammadli, the head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre, had his home raided by the police and was detained on Monday on charges of smuggling.
EUROPEAN UNION: This detention is the latest in a series of arrests of independent journalists & activists, and a matter of concern for the EU. All those imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights should be released.
UNITED STATES: We are deeply concerned about the ongoing arrests of representatives of the Azerbaijani political society, in particular, Anar Mammadli. We call on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately release all those unjustly arrested. We continue to call on the government of Azerbaijan to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all.
source, source,

Armenia's Ambassador to the US Lilith Makunts met the experts of the US-based analytical center RAND that recently advised the West to provide defense assistance to Armenia and not to pressure Armenia to cut all ties with Russia prematurely

Ambassador Makunts presented the latest developments in the AM-AZ peace process and the Crossroads of Peace logistics process.
source, source,

Hungary is blocking the €10 million military assistance to Armenia

Context in April 17 news digest. Hungary is so far preventing the transfer of European Peace Facility resources to provide Armenia with a mobile field camp capability for a battalion-size unit, including a medical treatment facility as well as relevant services and facilities
Armenia submitted the application for funding in 2023. Georgia had earlier received €30 million in assistance as part of the same fund. They received equipment for controlling artillery divisions and engineering equipment.
Hungary, led by Turkish-Azeri-Russian ally Orban, demands that Azerbaijan receive assistance with demining activities in exchange for authorizing the transfer to Armenia. However, since Azerbaijan has not formally requested assistance with demining, it's possible the process could reach a dead end. The internal negotiations continue.
source,

Armenia's Defense Minister discussed AM-FR defence cooperation and army reforms with a French Senator

MOD Papikyan hosted Ronan Le Gloyot from the French Senate Committees on Foreign Relations, Defense, Armed Forces and European Affairs. The parties discussed AM-FR defense ties, the AM-EU ties, the Armenian army reforms, etc.
source,

Armenia and France discussed cooperation in military industry and aerospace (🤔)

High-Tech Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan hosted the French Senate delegation led by Ronan Le Gloyot. They discussed cybersecurity, digitization, the establishment and operation of French high-tech firms in Armenia, defense, military industry, and aerospace cooperation.
source,

France donates 4 diesel power generators with 100 kW to city halls and hospitals in Syunik

source, source,

Saudi Arabia's ethnic Armenian Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal Al Saud will visit Armenia

The agreement was reached during the recent visit by Armenia's Labor Minister to SA. The Prince and the Minister also agreed to establish cooperation between the Prince's AGFUND and Armenia's labor ministry.
source,

Armenia's Central Bank continues to cut the refinancing rate

2020: 4.25%
2022: 10.75%
2023: 9.25%
Jan 2024: 8.75%
Mar 2024: 8.50%
Apr 2024 8.25%
source, source,

Armenian migrant workers are sending fewer remittances from Russia and could find working in Armenia more beneficial

The net inflow of individuals' remittances from Russia in Q1 2024 amounted to $656.6 million compared to $1.1 billion in Q1 2023.
CENTRAL BANK: There is a decline this year due to economic and geopolitical issues, the exchange rate, and the ratio of salaries. It is necessary to have an understanding of whether Armenian migrant workers plan to continue working in Russia. Some prefer to return to Armenia and work here, as the difference in salaries now is much smaller than, for example, 10 years ago.
source, full,

agreement is signed to build a World Trade Center in Yerevan

Details in September 7 news digest.
Construction company RenShin presented the $212 million project to the government for approval. It's expected to create 10,000 jobs. There will be 4- and 5-star hotels as well.
PASHINYAN: It will be in place of the HayPost [post office] building on 22 Saryan St. Modern construction standards will be introduced in Armenia. Since our independence, there has never been a complex of this scale. It will help Armenia raise the "we are open for business" flag.
MHER GRIGORYAN: Armenia is the only country in the region without a World Trade Center. Being the last means we can have the best quality and newest technology. //
Armenia-based Renshen will invite the international architectural giant Norman Foster, known for developing the Apple Park in California, Germany's Reichstag Building, New York skyscraper Hearst Tower, the City Hall of Southwark (London), Millennium Bridge in London, Bilbao Metro, and more.
Who will own the complex? 50% investors, 30% HayPost, 20% Government. The company will buy HayPost's shares within the next 5 years. The revenue will help develop HayPost. It will have a new modern sorting facility to handle more parcels.
source,

16-year-old boy survives a fall from Kievian Bridge

source,

Yerevan's Yeritasardakan subway station has new lighting: VIDEO

It's the first of several to come.
video,

I am looking for help mastering combat in KCD. I consider myself above average at PC games, but I can't seem to get it what the game wants from me in order to succeed.
My stats are 9 Str, 6 Agi, 5 Vit, 6 Def, 7 War, 9 Sword. I'm practicing wooden bastard(long) swords with Cpt. Bernard (I am not going on the hunt, instead choosing to skill up more). I have learned master strike for sword, and passed all hist other tutorials. However, I still cannot seem to get it what I should click to succeed...

1. Clinching. He wins 100%. No matter what I do. Run at him, slowly advance at him, hold block or not, mash block/use/left mouse/right mouse or not. Immediately when we get close my five star edges dim, and he performs a move on me.
2. Parrying / perfect block / riposte / Master Strike. A lof of confusion with these. Read a lot online, watched many vids, I dont' get it.

2.a. So, I assume master strike cannot be parried and does not require me to click the attack?
2.b. But first of all, is the window really like, frame perfect? How wide is it if I didn't guess his direction? I am hitting block while the green shield is up but I seem to be getting mostly parries, when I don't counterattack.
2.c. The animation I see is like a slow mo and I've parried his sword. On the interface, the green shield lights up with a border, so I assume I got something right. However, this does cost me stamina, unlike it says in the "Perfect block" so is this not even a perfect block then? Also it does not put him off guard or anything! And if I try to left click immediately after it, Bernard master strikes me (the animation changes into me attacking and him performing a move on me)!
2.d. If I spam block, (click-click-click) the shield never appears at all, so I assume after you release block there's a window before you are allowed to attempt parry/perfect block/master strike?
2.e. On the other hand, one of his master strike animations are when he hits me in the face with his sword's handle. However, when I did it and mashed the left click, I hit him like 4 times in the face. So can you somehow "improve" master strike with left clicking or not? Are those animations essentially equal?
2.f. When he counterattacks me after blocking (not perfect, not master), I have the green shield lit up, but it doesn't recognize my input! I've tried standing still and I can reliably get at least something (whatever that is, most likely some "imperfect" parry). However, when I attack and then he blocks and counters, I mash, I hold, I click once the block button, nothing helps. He always gets me unless I backpedal (which sometimes saves me from getting hit). While videos online state you should be able to parry each other unless one of you master strikes.

1. I assume not all the things he teaches me are perks? They are like hidden unlocks? Because I don't see, say, master strike anywhere.

4.a. I tried combos and its very hard. I play with the mouse. It seems that its very hard to input precise direction. It says top, right, bottom left, but when I try it, it often misreads what I input. It seems the issue is that as soon as I stop moving the mouse, it recognizes some other direction. LIke, with a gamepad, I would just point the stick up, and keep it there, and it would keep registering up, but with a mouse, I move it up, and stop moving, and it registers tiny jerk to the left and thinks I'm doing left?
4.b. The combo he teaches you, is it a valid combo? I dont' get a perk for it, and it seems to do nothing special. I assume its just a "demo" and you have to "buy" combos (perks) to actually use combos against him or others?

1. Longswords I see in the game require Str, and short swords require Agi, but when I duel him on wooden bastard(long) swords my Agi goes up? And Str seemingly does not. Why?
   
2. On another parry topic, this is practice with a short sword and a shield. I poke him. If he doesn't master block, often the animation goes like this: he blocks with the shield, then strikes me from the bottom left (my screen), then top right. Here, I get no green shield for the first attack. But I get one for the second. If I try to block the first one, the second one become unblockable/unparryable (it wont accept my input). If i intentionally let the first go through, I can block/parry the second one?
   
3. I hold block and it costs no stamina, despire game telling me blocking depletes stamina. Am I correct to assume that all that block does it makes me match my opponent's direction with some delay to allow for feints? And actual block is when the opponent attacks into you holding your weapon on the same side)?
   
4. Am I right to assume that attacking first is pointless in this game? Because all you do is open yourself to master strike from a skilled opponent? The only three valid moves seems to be clinch (if I'd know how to win it), backpedal until they run then poke, and wait for their attack then master stike then start attacking?
   

PS: If it matters, I have no armor on, to save money on repair costs. Can this be the issue?
PPS: I have uploaded my training video with the issues I have currently. Maybe you can take a look and comment, thank you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YSNe04--mE

A Collection of all the Media Articles about Ryan Grimm's Major Rape-Hoax Claims
Since the D-Man will be debating Ryan Grimm and others on Breaking Points on the 1st of May, I thought I'll link a few sources that took a look at what you could call "weaponized sexual violence", perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7th.
Grimm seemed to be aware of Destiny's claims, that he did shoddy journalistic work with his widely shared debunk-piece that was targeted at a New York Times story, and I would not be surprised if he and especially Omar Badar would bring this claim up again, to outline - what they perceive as - more "lies" by the mainstream media.
Original NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html
The Intercept's (&Ryan Grimm's) response:
https://theintercept.com/2024/02/28/new-york-times-anat-schwartz-october-7/
The NYT's Response to CNN:
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/01/media/ny-times-stands-by-reporting-hamas/index.html
Wikipedia Section "Aftermath & Response":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screams_Without_Words#Aftermath_and_criticism
The Atlantic's Piece about the Controversy:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/october-7-hamas-sexual-assault/678091/
The Writer's (Atlantic Story) Twitter-Thread with more Infos:
https://twitter.com/speechboy71/status/1781060890374050045
Some of these links are paywall'd since I don't want to break any rules by posting links to the unblocked articles.
EDIT1:
New Documentary "Screams Before Silence" (by LilArsene, 3dsmax23):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAr9oGSXgak
Edit2:
Document by "The Association of Rape Crisis Centers Israel":
(By adito99):
https://www.gov.il/BlobFoldenews/arcci-submits-first-report-to-un-21-feb-2024/en/English_Swords_of_Iron_DOCUMENTS_Sexual%20violence%20crimes%20on%20Ocober%207-Feb.%202024.pdf

I have never once had to tick this "unblock" area when downloading anything. I am extremely cautious when downloading anything and this is making me feel like just not ticking it. I dont know the person who created the website, the website that has been mentioned in youtube videos is a ".io" and not ".com" which was only a few years ago so I am pretty worried about having to tick this box. I just wanted to ask for any help? Is it legit?

“Ability Score Improvements”
Welcome to another edition of a random card being turned into an EDH Deck! Every Friday I create a budget (<$100) EDH Deck based entirely around a random card that I pull from scryfall.com (or that is suggested by someone else, either way it’s still random to me). I would love it if anyone has any suggestions for future random cards/decks or just wants to share their own experiences with any cards or decks discussed, I think this is a ton of fun.
Random Card of the Week (Image Download Link)
Random Card of the Week (Scryfall Link)
Deck List
Deck Tech/Gameplay Video: (Lord Windgrace vs Jon Irenicus, Shattered One vs Akroma, Vision of Ixidor & Vial Smasher the Fierce vs The Second Doctor & Vislor Turlough)
This week’s deck uses [[Butcher of the Horde]] as our random card and [[Akroma, Vision of Ixidor]] & [[Vial Smasher the Fierce]] as the partner commanders. Butcher of the Horde is a unique card because it could do well in aristocrats or demons but I wanted to try to do something a little different with it, which is why we’re focused on keywords. Butcher can give itself a total of 4 different keywords, meaning that if we have Akroma in play, it’s getting an additional +4/+4 every time we go to combat. Additionally, we can make use of cards like [[Odric, Lunarch Marshal]], [[Concerted Effort]], and [[Angelic Skirmisher]] to give all our creatures specific keywords and then pump them all with Akroma. Because of this, we’re also running creatures with as many keywords as possible so that we can always have a huge board. That includes creatures like [[Zetalpa, Primal Dawn]], [[Scavenged Brawler]], and [[Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh]] but it also includes creatures that can take other creatures’ abilities like [[Thunderous Orator]], [[Urborg Scavengers]], and [[Cairn Wanderer]]. Additionally, we have [[Eater of Virtue]], [[Odric, Blood-Cursed]], and [[Henrika Domnathi]] as payoffs for our creatures having a ton of keywords, letting us close out the game even faster.
Other than keywords, we’re leaning hard into aggro so we want to make sure we can do as much damage as possible (with cards like [[Aurelia, the Warleader]] to give extra combats or [[Gisela, Blade of Goldnight]] to double our damage) while also protecting our team (with spells like [[Your Temple is Under Attack]] to give indestructible or a hexproof package consisting of [[Swiftfoot Boots]], [[Mask of Avacyn]], and [[Mirror Shield]]). Obviously, our gameplan of turning all our creatures sideways (or technically not if we have Vigilance) also means we need plenty of ways to interact with our opponents’ permanents. That’s why our main source of removal is universal: [[Generous Gift]], [[Wild Magic Surge]], and [[Tibalt’s Trickery]]. Being able to remove any permanent opens us up to attacking but also gets rid of anything that may prevent our creatures from dealing damage. Finally, I’m a huge supporter of having a backup plan so we do have an infinite combo hidden in the deck just in case we’re unable to win through combat damage (I’ve been burned by Spore Frog too many times if you can’t tell). We have no way to tutor for the pieces but if we combine [[Brash Taunter]] and [[Blazing Sunsteel]] we’re able to create an infinite loop where we can do infinite damage to the Taunter and, by extension, infinite damage to each opponent. Now I know that infinites are not everyone’s thing so if you’re interested in putting this deck together but don’t want the combo I would recommend just swapping out the Sunsteel and keeping the Taunter since it has Indestructible which is one of the hardest keywords to come by.
In the end, this deck came in at $80.82 with Aurelia, the Warleader being the most expensive card at $9.14. Since Aurelia has three keywords on her own and also provides an extra combat she’s one of the strongest finishers in the deck. However, she is almost 1/8 of the total deck price on her own so if you did need to cut down on the price then there are plenty of other creatures with keywords that could take her place.
On the other hand, if you want an out-of-budget upgrade as well as the card to take out for it then I’ve got you covered. That’s why I’d recommend putting in [[Akroma’s Will]] ($20.53) and taking out [[Crystalline Giant]]. Crystalline Giant is a bit of a pet card of mine and I try to squeeze it into any deck I can but it never winds up doing what I want it to do. In this deck it has the possibility of getting more keywords than any other creature we have but it would take way too long for it to get to that point and our opponents will probably remove it before then. Akroma’s Will, though, is an absolute game winner in this deck. Normally, I try not to suggest staple cards as upgrades but this one deserves a bit of an exception. Akroma’s Will can give our entire team a grand total of 6 keywords (one of which is protection from all colors so they’re essentially unblockable) so they’ll get +6/+6 from Akroma and Double Strike so even if we only have one other creature on board we’re doing a minimum of 12 damage and gaining 12 life. You can probably see how that gets out of hand with a full board.
Thanks for checking out the deck and reading about it/watching the video! I hope you all like it and if you think there are improvements to be made, if you have suggestions, or just want to chat about it, then let me know. Also, a quick plug: if you want to guarantee that your suggestions get turned into decks or a variety of other benefits (including access to a discord channel to play in the games, help build the decks, getting the decklists a week early, and one of the random cards shipped to you every month) then check me out on www.patreon.com/dungeonlearnersguide or consider becoming a channel member over on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/dungeonlearnersguide.

“Ability Score Improvements”
Welcome to another edition of a random card being turned into an EDH Deck! Every Friday I create a budget (<$100) EDH Deck based entirely around a random card that I pull from scryfall.com (or that is suggested by someone else, either way it’s still random to me). I would love it if anyone has any suggestions for future random cards/decks or just wants to share their own experiences with any cards or decks discussed, I think this is a ton of fun.
Random Card of the Week (Image Download Link)
Random Card of the Week (Scryfall Link)
Deck List
Deck Tech/Gameplay Video: (Lord Windgrace vs Jon Irenicus, Shattered One vs Akroma, Vision of Ixidor & Vial Smasher the Fierce vs The Second Doctor & Vislor Turlough)
This week’s deck uses [[Butcher of the Horde]] as our random card and [[Akroma, Vision of Ixidor]] & [[Vial Smasher the Fierce]] as the partner commanders. Butcher of the Horde is a unique card because it could do well in aristocrats or demons but I wanted to try to do something a little different with it, which is why we’re focused on keywords. Butcher can give itself a total of 4 different keywords, meaning that if we have Akroma in play, it’s getting an additional +4/+4 every time we go to combat. Additionally, we can make use of cards like [[Odric, Lunarch Marshal]], [[Concerted Effort]], and [[Angelic Skirmisher]] to give all our creatures specific keywords and then pump them all with Akroma. Because of this, we’re also running creatures with as many keywords as possible so that we can always have a huge board. That includes creatures like [[Zetalpa, Primal Dawn]], [[Scavenged Brawler]], and [[Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh]] but it also includes creatures that can take other creatures’ abilities like [[Thunderous Orator]], [[Urborg Scavengers]], and [[Cairn Wanderer]]. Additionally, we have [[Eater of Virtue]], [[Odric, Blood-Cursed]], and [[Henrika Domnathi]] as payoffs for our creatures having a ton of keywords, letting us close out the game even faster.
Other than keywords, we’re leaning hard into aggro so we want to make sure we can do as much damage as possible (with cards like [[Aurelia, the Warleader]] to give extra combats or [[Gisela, Blade of Goldnight]] to double our damage) while also protecting our team (with spells like [[Your Temple is Under Attack]] to give indestructible or a hexproof package consisting of [[Swiftfoot Boots]], [[Mask of Avacyn]], and [[Mirror Shield]]). Obviously, our gameplan of turning all our creatures sideways (or technically not if we have Vigilance) also means we need plenty of ways to interact with our opponents’ permanents. That’s why our main source of removal is universal: [[Generous Gift]], [[Wild Magic Surge]], and [[Tibalt’s Trickery]]. Being able to remove any permanent opens us up to attacking but also gets rid of anything that may prevent our creatures from dealing damage. Finally, I’m a huge supporter of having a backup plan so we do have an infinite combo hidden in the deck just in case we’re unable to win through combat damage (I’ve been burned by Spore Frog too many times if you can’t tell). We have no way to tutor for the pieces but if we combine [[Brash Taunter]] and [[Blazing Sunsteel]] we’re able to create an infinite loop where we can do infinite damage to the Taunter and, by extension, infinite damage to each opponent. Now I know that infinites are not everyone’s thing so if you’re interested in putting this deck together but don’t want the combo I would recommend just swapping out the Sunsteel and keeping the Taunter since it has Indestructible which is one of the hardest keywords to come by.
In the end, this deck came in at $80.82 with Aurelia, the Warleader being the most expensive card at $9.14. Since Aurelia has three keywords on her own and also provides an extra combat she’s one of the strongest finishers in the deck. However, she is almost 1/8 of the total deck price on her own so if you did need to cut down on the price then there are plenty of other creatures with keywords that could take her place.
On the other hand, if you want an out-of-budget upgrade as well as the card to take out for it then I’ve got you covered. That’s why I’d recommend putting in [[Akroma’s Will]] ($20.53) and taking out [[Crystalline Giant]]. Crystalline Giant is a bit of a pet card of mine and I try to squeeze it into any deck I can but it never winds up doing what I want it to do. In this deck it has the possibility of getting more keywords than any other creature we have but it would take way too long for it to get to that point and our opponents will probably remove it before then. Akroma’s Will, though, is an absolute game winner in this deck. Normally, I try not to suggest staple cards as upgrades but this one deserves a bit of an exception. Akroma’s Will can give our entire team a grand total of 6 keywords (one of which is protection from all colors so they’re essentially unblockable) so they’ll get +6/+6 from Akroma and Double Strike so even if we only have one other creature on board we’re doing a minimum of 12 damage and gaining 12 life. You can probably see how that gets out of hand with a full board.
Thanks for checking out the deck and reading about it/watching the video! I hope you all like it and if you think there are improvements to be made, if you have suggestions, or just want to chat about it, then let me know. Also, a quick plug: if you want to guarantee that your suggestions get turned into decks or a variety of other benefits (including access to a discord channel to play in the games, help build the decks, getting the decklists a week early, and one of the random cards shipped to you every month) then check me out on www.patreon.com/dungeonlearnersguide or consider becoming a channel member over on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/dungeonlearnersguide.