Category: 2023

 19:18,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS.  Israel will not allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza from the Israeli side of the border but will not block aid coming from Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday, Reuters informs.

"In light of President Joseph Biden's demand, Israel will not thwart humanitarian supplies from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population in the souther Gaza Strip," it said in a statement.

"Israel will not allow any humanitarian aid from its territory to the Gaza Strip as long as our hostages are not returned," it added.

 19:47,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS.  Ambassador of France to Armenia Olivier Decottignies said in Armenia he witnessed the persistent occupation of the sovereign territories of Armenia by Azerbaijan.

“In Jermuk, with the European Union Mission in Armenia, I noticed persistent occupation by Azerbaijan of entire sections of Armenian territory,” Decottignies said in a post on X.

 09:40,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. As Yerevan gears up to host the World Sambo Championships in November, organizers say they want the event to be “unprecedented” in the history of the martial art.

Karen Giloyan, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, told Armenpress that the number of invited countries could surpass 100.

“I think the World Sambo Championships will be unprecedented. We will try to make it become the biggest championships ever. We will try to invite over 100 countries. We are now in discussions with international and the Armenian federations. We also have an intergovernmental commission that is regularly holding discussions around the championships. I’m sure we will host the event on the highest level,” Giloyan said.

He said that hosting international championships in Armenia is of “vital importance” for the country. By doing so, he said, the country is “promoting itself and demonstrating that it is capable of hosting high level championships.”

“Besides, we are giving our athletes the chance to compete here at home, and enabling the fans to be part of the global sports,” Giloyan added.

The deputy minister said Armenia was chosen as the host of the World Sambo Championships 2023 due to having flawlessly organized the 2021 World Cadet, Youth and Junior Sambo Championships.

Furthermore, without revealing any details Giloyan said Armenia will host other international championships in 2024.

The World Sambo Championships (M&W, Combat Sambo) will take place November 10-12 in Yerevan.

 10:31,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Israel plans to establish 347 new “alert squads” in the coming weeks to reinforce its security forces after the October 7 Hamas attacks, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

The ‘alert squads’ are a type of militia forces consisting of volunteers who sign up for service to protect their communities.

Alert squads, which were initially established only in cities situated on or in close proximity to Israel's borders have recently expanded to other cities throughout the country, with efforts undergoing to establish 347 new squads in the coming weeks, according to the newspaper.

The alert squad, which serves as a special force under the command of the IDF Home Front Command, began its operation as a reinforcement for security forces, while also working with the police. The armed volunteers patrol the area and contribute to the residents’ personal security, while coordinating with a municipal security center that receives reports about incidents from the local community. Many civilians across Israel were recruited to the IDF Home Front Command, received firearms, and began training and patrols, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Israeli authorities earlier said they intend to sign up over 13,000 volunteers.

 11:39,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan on Thursday and commemorated the Armenian Genocide victims.

PM Šimonytė placed a wreath at the memorial and laid flowers at the Eternal Flame.

She then visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and planted a tree at the Memory Alley.

The Lithuanian Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan and Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan.

 11:30,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will allocate 2 billion drams from the state budget’s reserve fund to provide the financial assistance of October to 40,000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The decision was approved at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“The government will provide assistance for six months, 40,000 drams for temporary accommodation and another 10,000 drams for utility expenses. The payments for the month of October will be allocated by this decision,” Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

 11:46,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. More than 3,000 of the over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh who arrived to Armenia have now left the country, PM Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“As of today, more than 3000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh have left the Republic of Armenia. I don’t want to make conclusions regarding this topic. Perhaps most of them are visiting their family members to spend some time with them. I hope we are giving this message very clear, and also calling upon our brothers and sisters forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to consider staying in Armenia a priority . We are doing everything to support them. In the case when there will be de-facto no desire or opportunity to return to Nagorno-Karabakh, our policy is to do everything so that they stay in the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

“We’ve allocated over 100 million dollars, we will implement the most various projects,” Pashinyan said, calling on the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh to stay in Armenia.

 12:44,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Belgium is intensifying its relations with Armenia and the opening of the embassy is an important step on that path, Ambassador of Belgium to Armenia Eric De Muynck said at a press conference on October 19.

Belgium decided to open an embassy in Armenia in June and the embassy is already functioning. There are several important factors for the embassy, particularly the geopolitical situation in the world and in the region, as well as the Armenian government’s desire to have closer relations with Europe, the ambassador said.

“In addition, Belgium also wants to support the democratic processes in Armenia. Belgium is one of the founding members of the EU and our country wants to participate in the peace process in the region. As you know, President of the European Council Charles Michel is from Belgium and is contributing to the process,” Ambassador Eric De Muynck said. He said that the Belgian Foreign Minister has approved the assistance which is to be provided for supporting the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh.

3 victims of the Stepanakert fuel depot blast will receive medical treatment in Belgium. The ambassador said he personally coordinated this process in cooperation with the Armenian healthcare ministry and the World Health Organization.

 19:55,

 20:16,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday slammed the United Nations Security Council which failed to pass a resolution for a humanitarian pause in the conflict between Palestinian and Israeli forces.

“The United Nations Security Council, which has become even more ineffective, has once again not fulfilled its responsibility,” Erdogan said on social messaging platform X.