Armenians yesterday began voting in an early parliamentary election as Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sought a stronger mandate, having been elected by lawmakers to the post in May following a peaceful revolution earlier this year.
Pashinyan came to power in the wake of weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in the ex-Soviet republic.
The former newspaper editor, who was jailed for fomenting unrest in 2008, represents a dramatic break from the cadre of rulers who have run Armenia since the late 1990s.
He stepped down in October so parliament could be dissolved for the early election.
Former high-ranking officials were sacked and some were arrested following the power change.
A court of appeals again on Friday ordered the detention of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan on charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.
He was first arrested in July, but freed the following month and the case was sent to the appeals court.
Kocharyan was Armenia’s second president, serving from 1998 to 2008, when mass protests erupted over a disputed election.
However, the former ruling Republican Party still dominates the parliament elected last year.
Pashinyan has said he expects yesterday’s vote to lead to a legislature that better reflects the nation’s new political landscape.
Nine parties and two blocs were taking part in the election, and opinion polls suggested that the My Step Alliance, which included Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party, would easily win a parliamentary majority.
After taking office, Pashinyan promised there would be no major shifts in Armenian foreign policy and has offered assurances that he will not break with Moscow.
Armenia hosts a Russian military base and is a member of Russia-led military and economic alliances.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese