Armenia

by Vladimir Rozanskij | CENTRAL ASIA

The Eurasian military alliance has presented new guidelines for law enforcement operations to be applied in all member states to prevent ‘terrorist infiltration’. Last year 420 illegal organisations were identified, but there were also many summary actions against Tajiks after the attack on Krokus City Hall. Dushanbe is insisting that its citizens fully legalise their residence status in Russia by the end of April.

by Vladimir Rozanskij

The visit to Armenia by Stéphane Séjourné, outgoing French government minister and candidate for European commissioner, was viewed with suspicion in Moscow, which seeks to keep its historical ties strong. While in Yerevan, the ‘minor partners’ of Pašinyan's coalition are collecting signatures for a referendum on the country's entry into the EU.

| 20/09/2024
| ARMENIA

Today's news: Police in Laos rescue 17 girls (as young as 10) from sex slavery for Chinese tourists;  UN report denounces "institutionalized" forced labor in North Korea; Six Vietnamese men poisoned in a Bangkok hotel room; Recruitment among ultra-Orthodox begins next week, clashes in Tel Aviv; Hindu group offers prayer for Trump's "health" after attack. 

| 17/07/2024
| ASIA TODAY

Today's news: partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza after a week-long offensive; Kathmandu towards new coalition government following parliamentary no-confidence vote for K.P. Sharma Oli; Thailand increases visa-free countries to 93 to boost tourism (and trade); 'Wandering' monk Thich Minh Tue reappears after a month.

| 13/07/2024
| ASIA TODAY
by Vladimir Rozanskij

One of the most important festivals in Armenian Christianity recalls in its name the ancient custom of washing oneself with rosewater. This is why - in the hottest time of the year - everyone is allowed the playful gesture of bathing each other that children eagerly await. A gesture of purification, feeling part of a single family, a sentiment yearned for in this time of great conflict in the country.

| 10/07/2024
| ARMENIA
by Vladimir Rozanskij

According to Russian political scientist Dmitry Trenin, with a change in leadership Armenia would no longer find allies in the West; the US would step aside, and Azerbaijan and Turkey would be free to deal with an insurgent Armenian government on their own. The important thing for Moscow is that "another unfriendly front is not formed".

| 28/06/2024
| ARMENIA

This morning, the pontiff received the members of ROACO in Rome for their plenary assembly. The pontiff spoke about the various areas torn by violence in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He also referred to the demographic decline of Christians and expressed concern for the pastoral care for diasporic communities. War is a “senseless and inconclusive venture,” he bemoaned. “There is urgent need for a ceasefire,” he said, since in war, “no one emerges a winner.”

| 27/06/2024
| VATICAN – MIDEAST
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