The hydrometeorology and monitoring center has presented weather forecasts for the coming days. In the capital Yerevan, in the afternoon of April 29, short rains and thunderstorms are possible in some parts of the city. Weather without precipitation is expected on April 30, but between May 1 and 4, in the night and evening hours, brief rain and thunderstorms will be observed again.

Wind intensification with a speed of 16-19 m/s is also predicted during thunderstorms.

On the entire territory of the republic, during the daytime hours of April 29, 30, as well as from May 1 to 4, short-term rain and thunder are expected in some regions, and hail is also possible in some places. The wind will be south-westerly at a speed of 2-5 m/s, but during a thunderstorm, wind strength is expected, reaching 16-20 m/s.

As for the air temperature, it will decrease by 2-3 degrees in the afternoon of April 29. On the following days, on April 30 and May 1-3, the temperature will gradually rise by 4-5 degrees, and in Lori, Tavush and Syunik marzes, the warming will be sharper by 7-10 degrees.

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International lawyers representing the families of seven Armenian hostages imprisoned in Azerbaijan have submitted an official request to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Imprisonment, demanding their immediate and unconditional release. The application submitted on April 24, 2026, the day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, demands the annulment of the verdicts passed against those persons, claiming that they are the result of gross violations of international law and are arbitrary in nature.

The hostages, Davit Babayan, Madat Babayan, Levon Balayan, Vasili Beglaryan, Erik Ghazaryan, Davit Ishkhanyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan, are Armenian citizens who were captured by Azerbaijani forces between September 19 and October 3, 2023, shortly after Azerbaijan’s military offensive against Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh). Among them are former political leaders of Artsakh, servicemen and one civilian.

Three of them, Davit Ishkhanyan (former Speaker of the National Assembly of Artsakh), Davit Babayan (former Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Levon Mnatsakanyan (former Minister of Defense and former Commander of the Defense Army), were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Baku military court on February 5, 2026. The other four received 15 to 19 years in prison. As of today, these persons have been in Baku prison for 934 to 948 days.

Although seven of the 19 hostages were selected for this round of the application, all Armenian captives meet the criteria for arbitrary detention and the Working Group’s conclusion will apply to all hostages.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Imprisonment is a body of independent legal experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate cases of arbitrary deprivation of liberty around the world. The application was made because the prisoners’ families and legal teams have no realistic means of appealing their wrongful convictions inside Azerbaijan. The applicants argue that the deprivation of liberty of all seven persons is arbitrary based on the following criteria:

· Absence of a valid legal basis. The hostages were taken during an armed conflict that meets the definition of an international armed conflict under the Geneva Conventions. As combatants, they should have been recognized as prisoners of war and benefited from the protection and repatriation rights provided for in the Third Geneva Convention. Instead, Azerbaijan falsely prosecuted them for common crimes, including terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, and genocide. These charges cannot legally be brought against combatants who acted within the limits of the laws of war.

· Criminalization of political beliefs. Davit Babayan and Davit Ishkhanyan have peacefully defended the right to self-determination of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. Just days before their arrest, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, publicly called the leadership of Artsakh “criminals”. The applicants claim that their deprivation of liberty is aimed at silencing political dissent, which is a direct violation of the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and association guaranteed under international law.

· Fundamentally unfair trials. The hostages were tried collectively, along with eight other Armenian defendants, in closed-door military proceedings and without access to lawyers of their choice. Five of the seven refused to confirm their testimony during the investigation, raising serious concerns among outside observers about the possible use of coercion and torture. Furthermore, the verdicts have not yet been officially delivered to the convicted, effectively depriving them of the opportunity to appeal.

· Denial of humanitarian access. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which visited Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, was expelled from the country in September 2025. This removed the last independent control mechanism over prisoners.

· Illegal rental charges. Six of the seven captives named in the lawsuit were charged with mercenary charges. The applicants claim that this accusation is legally impossible to substantiate. both under international law and under the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, a person cannot be considered a mercenary if he is a citizen or permanent resident of the conflicting party. All seven persons are representatives of the Armenian nation who lived in Nagorno Karabakh.

· Discrimination based on ethnicity and political views. The UN, the European Court of Human Rights and many international structures have documented the systemic nature of anti-Armenian discrimination in Azerbaijan, including in the justice system. The applicants argue that the prosecution of these individuals reflects that discriminatory pattern, and that they would not have been targeted or detained but for their Armenian identity and connection to Artsakh authorities.

The application was submitted to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Imprisonment pursuant to a number of UN Human Rights Council resolutions (1997/50, 2000/36, 2003/31, 6/4, 15/18, 20/16, 24/7, 33/30, 42/22 and 51/8).

These seven individuals are among the 19 Armenian prisoners currently being held in Azerbaijan following the 2020 and 2023 conflicts. Their plight has been repeatedly highlighted by the United Nations, the European Parliament, the European Court of Human Rights, Amnesty International and other major international organizations, all of which have called for their release and expressed deep concern about the detention conditions.

On March 3, 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that “all those who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in Azerbaijan, including ethnic Armenians, must be released immediately, and the rights to a fair trial must be fully respected.” The European Parliament has adopted six resolutions on this issue since 2021, the last one in March 2025. In addition, the International Court of Justice has published several decisions that require Azerbaijan to protect Armenian prisoners from harm and ensure their equality before the law. decisions that Azerbaijan did not fulfill.

The application requests the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Imprisonment:

1. Issue an official conclusion that depriving the hostages of their freedom will be recognized as arbitrary.

2. Call for their immediate release and demand compensation for the damage caused by their long and illegal deprivation of liberty.

3. Demand an opportunity for representatives of the Working Group to visit the Armenian hostages in Baku prison before their release.

The application, with the authorization of the prisoners’ families, was submitted jointly by the following persons:

· Siranush Sahakyan – Lawyer (Yerevan, Armenia)

· Artak Beglaryan – President of the Artsakh Union (Yerevan, Armenia)

· Aitor Martinez Jimenez – Lawyer (Madrid, Spain)

· Megan Chaureau-Lyon – Lawyer (Paris, France)

· Irene Massimino – Lawyer (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

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Artur Avanesyan, Kandaz, a member of the “Strong Armenia” party, announced a hunger strike in the “Vardashen” prison, News.am writes.

Let’s remind that a member of the “Strong Armenia” party, a well-known detective, Commander Artur Avanesyan, known as Kandaz, was arrested on April 27, within the framework of the criminal proceedings being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Committee. According to the announcement of the Anti-Corruption Committee, he is accused of promising election bribes. The court decided to detain Kandaz for two months.

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Shahin Mustafayev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan who arrived in Armenia today, and the delegation led by him are in Aghveran. 24News writes about this, referring to its sources.

Earlier, the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the information circulating in the mass media that the delegation headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan is in Armenia.

“A delegation of Azerbaijan headed by Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev has arrived in Armenia. An additional press release will be issued,” the MFA said.

Shahin Mustafaev is the chairman of the state commission for the delimitation of the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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We discussed the main provisions of the pre-election program “Offer Armenia” and the upcoming steps with the team members of the “Prosperous Armenia” party.

As we announced earlier, we are participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections with the “Offer to Armenia” program, which was formed on the basis of citizens’ suggestions with the participation of experienced professionals.

The program includes the main directions of the country’s development, from security and defense system to economic development and improvement of the social sphere.

Gagik Tsarukyan

[see video]

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Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, made a comprehensive statement in which he presented the main provisions of the pre-election program and pointed out the main challenges facing the country.

According to him, a person is valued by the path he has taken and the work he has done, and it is thanks to his many years of activity that the party has been able to win the trust of the citizens. Tsarukyan emphasized that his team always fulfilled the promises made and consistently worked for the benefit of the state and society.

Responding to the criticism, the politician noted that he never had the opportunity to lead the country. “I’ll take your pain, when did I manage it? Tell me something, let me see. Who made it possible for me to manage with my team so that you can feel the difference every day?” The plan is there, the opportunity is there, the team is there, and the people are there. Today, if you undertake any business, you must calculate one hundred percent with the right people, the right specialist, what you will do, what you will get in return, so that everyone’s life will change immediately within three months,” he stated, adding that if the changes are organized correctly, the results can be significant. to be already in a short time.

Tsarukyan paid particular attention to the country’s economic potential, particularly to the tourism sector. According to his assessment, Armenia has significantly greater tourism potential than is actually used. He gave an example of the conversation he had with the representative of the Kempinski international hotel chain, who, after traveling around the country, noted that Armenia’s tourist opportunities exceed Georgia’s, but they are not properly used.

The politician called tourism a “golden vein” and emphasized that the development of this sector can bring tens of billions of dollars and trigger a chain reaction of economic growth (from the hotel business to the development of marzes).

According to Tsarukyan, the key direction of the program continues to be security. He emphasized that it should be built not on statements, but on the balance of forces, interests and obligations. The politician spoke in favor of “guaranteed peace”, the presence of reliable allies and a strong army, stressing that the country should exclude the recurrence of war.

Tsarukyan also criticized the current political agenda, within the framework of which, according to him, society is forced to make a choice between unilateral concessions and permanent confrontation. He called such an approach a “false choice” and proposed an alternative: a reasonable containment policy based on historical experience and national interests.

Speaking about the foreign policy, he emphasized the need for a balanced course, which should take into account the country’s own resources, as well as alliance and partnership relations. At the same time, according to him, relations with Azerbaijan should be built on the principles of peaceful settlement, but without unilateral concessions and external pressure.

Special attention was paid to the economy in the speech. Tsarukyan announced the need to create a competitive environment and implement large-scale investment projects. Among the priorities, he singled out the construction of a new nuclear power plant, noting that the delay of this project may lead to serious energy problems in the future.

A significant part of the program is devoted to agriculture. The politician spoke in favor of the restoration of the sectorial ministry, the creation of product storage and processing infrastructures, as well as subsidizing agricultural loans (up to the actual zero interest rate level).

Speaking about the development of the capital, Tsarukyan emphasized the need to turn Yerevan into a modern and technological city. Among the recommendations are the improvement of the environment, the development of public transport, the construction of parking lots and the introduction of waste recycling systems.

Particular attention was also paid to the development of marzes, in particular the city of Gyumri was discussed. According to the politician, the problems of the city are of national importance and require the coordinated support of the authorities.

In the social sphere, Tsarukyan mentioned a number of priorities, including the fight against drug addiction, the increase of pensions and the development of education. He emphasized that the state should ensure a decent standard of living, where people do not have to choose between food and medicine.

Summarizing, he noted that the team still has a lot to do, including regional visits and meetings with citizens. The politician considered the creation of a “strong, developing and safe Armenia” as his main goal.

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Today, people are being offered to sell their houses, so that those three hundred thousand Azerbaijanis should come and live here. Gagik Tsarukyan, the chairman of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, announced this during a meeting with his supporters.

The pre-election program of the party was drawn up with a new logic and format. Proposals were received from residents of different regions of Armenia, which were coordinated and edited by leading specialists.

Garik Tsarukyan, who is currently visiting many villages, noted that people are disappointed, but all problems will be solved quickly if an opportunity is created.

“We have a lot of work to do. I go to regions and see people’s problems. As candidates for the National Assembly, you are obliged to work hard, not to sit in offices, but to personally interact with people from different fields. There are many problems today and there are certain things that we need to add to our program. There are 18-20 areas in total, and we will offer their solutions. There are problems not only in the villages, but also in the capital. Many beautiful promises were made to the people, but they remained in limbo. Another vivid example was the promise of a new metro station. People never saw that, instead the tax burden increased. Nothing was done in Yerevan. no new road, no new tunnel, no bridge was built. In addition, there are “propkas”. In other countries, they build eight cities in eight years, in our country, not a single metro station is built in eight years, especially now, when Yerevan’s budget has increased so much: 5860 billion, which is about 150 million dollars, which can be used for the right purpose, every year, 50 million can be put for some kind of improvement,” Tsarukyan said, News.am reports.

“Not a single question or issue has been left out of the program, and provisions will be added. “Proposal to Armenia” program, the main approach and principle of which we have changed, we don’t have to sit down and make a plan with serious faces, but on the contrary, we have to ask people, as we asked the students, we made a survey, what is their problem, the problem both for studying and for working. People wrote. The same is the case with different sectors, let’s say, starting with an employee, a servant, a small and medium business, a farmer. Everyone knows well what their problem and problem is, that it needs to be solved, so that people can work conscientiously and keep their homes prosperous,” Gagik said. Tsarukyan.

He also pointed out the driver’s license issue, which also requires a priority solution. “The problem of driving rights is that nobody knows that he has already been judged, that he has disturbed some kind of order, for that there is a sentence on a person. Today there are taxi drivers, there is a lecturer, there is an artist, people go and drive at night to support their families. He can drive even after work so that he can keep his house. He drives for twelve to twenty hours to be able to provide for his child’s bread, school fees, parents, health care,” added Tsarukyan.

Serious reforms are also needed in the banking system. People everywhere complain about the burden of debt, so debt slavery and bank extortion must be abolished. “We have six hundred and fifty thousand families, two million four hundred and fifty thousand borrowers. Is it true or not? Because someone said yesterday: there is no such thing here. The banking system, I said today, I say it once again, is a pawnshop system. There is no banking system here. If you take the program to any foreign country, they look at the program, it is not completely fair, it cannot bring profit, they do not provide money to the person. And it doesn’t matter here, you put the house as a pledge: one hundred thousand, twenty thousand, they give you thirty thousand on the spot, take it and go. If not, they will immediately take it from you,” he said.

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RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan met with directors and administrative and economic coordinators of a number of public schools in Charles Aznavour Library of Ajapnyak administrative district.

Director of the library Elmira Poghosyan, presenting the activities of the structure, noted that the library was established in 1998 as a result of the reunification of five community libraries. It has three branches and functions as a centralized system of libraries.

The minister emphasized that libraries should be active public environments, and school-library cooperation should be a priority.

“Cooperation between libraries and schools is paramount. Encouraging reading among children should be seen as a priority issue, because if reading and text comprehension skills are not sufficiently developed, the development of knowledge is limited,” said the minister.

Referring to the development of libraries, Zhanna Andreasyan informed that it is planned to allocate a separate line in the school budgets for the purchase of books. “We plan to purchase and provide new book collections for newly built schools, according to the package logic. They will be books appropriate to the school curriculum and age characteristics. At the same time, continuous renewal of library funds is planned, which will enable schools to replenish their literary resources every year.”

At the meeting with the principals, a number of issues were discussed in a question-and-answer format, which, in particular, related to the functions of administrative and economic coordinators, safety issues in schools, laboratory saturation, implementation of the “School Meals” program in Yerevan schools, etc.

Referring to the formation of the administrative and economic coordinator system, the minister noted that the new management model introduced a few years ago is based on the following principle: a number of functions: purchasing, accounting, security, cleaning, food, etc., can be performed through specialized services. The goal, according to the minister, is to free principals from the burden of administrative functions so that they can focus on the quality and content of education.

The Minister of Education and Culture also informed that the schools of Yerevan will receive the necessary laboratory equipment this year, which will be followed by teacher trainings to ensure their effective use.

“The most difficult thing is the effective use of the created environment. It is important that the laboratories are active, not empty and fully included in the learning process. For this purpose, different groups and other educational formats can also work,” he said, adding that video lessons on the use of laboratories have been prepared to support schools.

During the meeting, Zhanna Andreasyan also presented the plans for school construction, noting that the next phase of the 300 schools project is being discussed, which will also include schools in urban areas, including the capital. “Yerevan will be represented in the program to a very large extent. In the first phase, we mainly focused on the educational institutions of regional settlements, and in the second phase, our attention will be no less focused on schools in Yerevan.”

Issues related to teachers’ safety, new approaches to work with parents, detection of children excluded from compulsory education, registration of student absences and other issues were also discussed at the meeting.

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