MOSCOW: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was swept to power in pro-democracy protests in 2018, triggered an early election on Sunday to try and overcome criticism over his handling of last year’s conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
His resignation, which was expected, came a day after US President Joe Biden said that massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 constituted genocide, a move welcomed by Armenians worldwide and condemned by Turkey.
Pashinyan told Biden the symbolic decision was a matter of security to Armenia after the six week conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, in which Turkey backed Armenia’s neighbor Azerbaijan, where the ethnic Armenian-populated enclave is located.
Pashinyan had been under pressure to resign since he agreed to a cease-fire after ethnic Armenians lost territory in the fighting with Azeri forces in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
He had already named a June 20 date for an early election.
Announcing his resignation, he said on his Facebook page on Sunday that he was returning power received from citizens to them so they could decide the future of the government through free and fair elections.
He said he had been compelled to agree to the peace deal, which was brokered by Russia, to prevent greater human and territorial losses. The Armenian army called for his resignation and he then tried to sack the chief of staff, a decision blocked by the former Soviet republic’s president.
Pashinyan updated Russian President Vladimir Putin about the elections and the situation over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed, in a phone call on Saturday, the Kremlin said.
The Armenian Prime Minister has complained before that some issues over the region, including the return of prisoners of war, have not been resolved yet.
According to the Sputnik media outlet, Pashinyan’s My Step ruling alliance led an opinion poll conducted by Gallup International Аssociation at the end of last month.
Its main rival is likely to be a grouping led by Robert Kocharyan, Armenia’s president from 1998-2008.
Armenian PM triggers early election a day after Biden’s genocide announcement
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Armenian PM triggers early election a day after Biden’s genocide announcement
- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation came a day after US President Joe Biden said that massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 constituted genocide
UK, Ireland to set out new framework to address legacy of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’
BELFAST: Britain and Ireland will jointly announce a new framework on Friday to address the legacy of decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and replace a controversial British law that offered amnesties to ex-soldiers and militants. The agreement will fulfil a pledge by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to repeal the previous Conservative government’s Legacy Act, a section of which offered immunity from prosecution for those who cooperate with a new investigative body — a provision that was ruled incompatible with human rights law.
The law halted inquests into cases from the three decades of conflict between Irish nationalist militants seeking a united Ireland, pro-British “loyalist” paramilitaries and the British military. It was opposed by victims’ families, all political parties in Northern Ireland, including pro-British and Irish nationalist groups, and the Irish government, which brought a legal challenge against Britain at the European Court of Human Rights.
Britain’s Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Benn said this month that the plans would significantly reform the contested new investigative body, make it capable of referring cases for potential prosecution and give it independent oversight.
A separate information recovery body, as envisioned in a 2014 UK-Irish legacy agreement that was never implemented and overridden by the Legacy Act, will also be included, a source familiar with the framework said. Dublin has said it would revisit its legal challenge against Britain if a new framework is put in place and is human rights-compliant. Starmer’s government has sought to reset relations with Ireland that were strained during Brexit.
The previous Conservative government defended its approach by arguing that prosecutions linked to the events of up to 57 years ago — also known as the Troubles — were increasingly unlikely to lead to convictions and that it wanted to draw a line under the conflict. While some trials have collapsed in recent years, the first former British soldier to be convicted of an offense since the peace deal was given a suspended sentence in 2023. The trial of the sole British soldier charged with murder over the 1972 “Bloody Sunday” killings of 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers also began this week.
Strong quake off Russia Far East, tsunami alert issued
- The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for possible hazardous waves along nearby coastlines, but said several hours later that the threat had passed
MOSCOW: A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula early Friday, rocking buildings and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami alert, later lifted.
Videos posted on Russian social media showed furniture and light fixtures shaking in homes, while another showed a parked car rocking back and forth on a street.
The quake struck 128 kilometers (80 miles) east of the region’s capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The local branch of Russia’s state geophysical service gave a lower estimated magnitude of 7.4. It reported at least five aftershocks.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for possible hazardous waves along nearby coastlines, but said several hours later that the threat had passed.
“This morning is once again testing the resilience of Kamchatka residents,” the governor of the region, Vladimir Solodov, said on Telegram.
“There are currently no reports of damage. I ask everyone to remain calm,” he added.
The Kamchatka peninsula lies on a tectonic belt known as the Ring of Fire, which surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean, and is a hotspot for seismic activity.
In July, an 8.8-magnitude mega-quake off the region’s coast triggered a tsunami that swept part of a coastal village into the sea and sparked warnings around the Pacific.
US lawmaker wants Trump to restrict Chinese flights over rare earths access
- US airlines are flying only a percentage of flights to China they are allowed to operate given persistent low demand between the two nations
WASHINGTON: The chair of a US House of Representatives committee on China on Thursday called on the Trump administration to restrict or suspend Chinese airline landing rights in the US unless Beijing restores full access to rare earths and magnets.
Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican, also said the US should review export control policies governing the sale of commercial aircraft, parts and maintenance services to China.
“These steps would send a clear message to Beijing that it cannot choke off critical supplies to our defense industries without consequences to its own strategic sectors,” Moolenaar said.
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements used in products from lasers and military equipment to magnets found in electric vehicles, wind turbines and consumer electronics. China is sensitive about rare earths and its control over supply, adding several rare earth items and magnets to its export restriction list in April in retaliation for US tariff hikes.
US airlines are flying only a percentage of flights to China they are allowed to operate given persistent low demand between the two nations.
Reports suggest China is consideringbuying as many as 500 Boeing airplanes as part of trade talks with the US
On Wednesday, the US Transportation Department approved another six-month extension that allowed United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines to fly just 48 total flights weekly to China out of 119 approved. Chinese carriers fly an equivalent number to the US.
A group representing the US carriers declined to comment. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
Last year, major US airlines and aviation unions successfully urged former President Joe Biden’s administration to pause approvals of additional flights between China and the US, citing ongoing “anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government.”
Flights between China and the US were a point of contention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walt Disney executives to meet with Kimmel, assess talk show future, Bloomberg News reports
- The suspension of Kimmel’s show marked the latest action taken against media figures
Walt Disney executives will meet with suspended talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel to discuss the future of his program, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.
The parties will discuss whether there is a way to return “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to the air, the report said.
Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday it was pulling Kimmel’s show off the air over comments by the late-night show host about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The suspension of Kimmel’s show marked the latest action taken against media figures, academic workers, teachers and corporate employees over their remarks about Kirk following his assassination.
Kimmel, who has frequently targeted US President Donald Trump on his late-night comedy show, drew fire for remarks he made about the killing in his monologue.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
His comments led to a response from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who urged local broadcasters to stop airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC.
Carr suggested that the commission could open an investigation and that broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comment.
Trump, during a state visit to Britain on Thursday, said Kimmel had been punished for saying “a horrible thing” about Kirk, a close political ally of the president who is credited with building support for Trump among young conservative voters.
Disney did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
US again vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding permanent Gaza ceasefire
- It marks the 6th time the US has used its power of veto to block such a move since the war between Israel and Hamas began nearly 2 years ago
- The other 14 members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, which was tabled by its 10 elected members
NEW YORK: The US on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries to the enclave.
The draft resolution, tabled by the 10 elected members of the 15-member council, received 14 votes in favor. It was the sixth time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas nearly two years ago that the US has used the power of veto it holds as one of the five permanent members of the council.
The veto was delivered by US representative Morgan Ortagus and the resolution therefore failed despite the near-unanimous support.
Washington has consistently argued that UN ceasefire resolutions risk undermining peace negotiations on the ground, as well as Israel’s ability to take action against Hamas and its “right to self-defense.” Critics accuse US authorities of shielding Israel from international accountability.
“Colleagues, US opposition to this resolution will come as no surprise,” Ortagus, a senior US policy adviser, said before the vote.
“It fails to condemn Hamas or recognize Israel’s right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimizes the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this council.”
Other council members “ignored” US warnings about the “unacceptable” language and instead adopted “performative action designed to draw a veto,” she added.
The text of the resolution expressed alarm at reports of a growing famine and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war, and voiced concern over the expansion of Israeli military operations. It also reaffirmed obligations on states under the principles of international law, including the protection of civilians and the rejection of forced displacements.
It demanded three key measures: an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire agreement respected by all parties; the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups; and the lifting of all Israeli restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, alongside the restoration of essential services in Gaza. It asked the UN secretary-general to report back to the council within 30 days on implementation of the resolution.
Algeria, one of the leading proponents of the resolution, expressed dismay at another failure by the Security Council to act on the situation in Gaza, and apologized to Palestinians for not doing enough to save the lives of civilians.
The country’s ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, said that despite the failure to pass the resolution, “14 courageous members of this Security Council raised their voice. They have acted with conscience and in the cause of the international public opinion.”
