Two days after vowing to “take out” his three main election challengers, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced on Wednesday the impending nationalization of Armenia’s largest cement plant belonging to one of them, Gagik Tsarukian.
Campaigning in the northern Lori province, Pashinian said prosecutors have recommended its “very quick” seizure after detecting “machinations” by its owner. He gave no details of the alleged fraud.
The plant is located in Ararat, a town 50 kilometers south of Yerevan. It is one of Tsarukian’s business assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars which prosecutors moved to confiscate in 2023, invoking a controversial law that allows the state to seize money, property and companies deemed to have been acquired illegally.
The confiscation has to be sanctioned by court. No such court ruling is known to have been handed down so far.
Tsarukian, whose Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) is one of the three main opposition groups running in the June 7 parliamentary elections, said he is undaunted by Pashinian’s statement and will continue to fight for regime change in the country.
“This is a sign that they feel their end has come,” he told reporters during a campaign trip to the Syunik province.
“I was told, ‘Mr. Tsarukian, when you start rightly criticizing [Pashinian] he gets mad; they are going to harm your assets; [law-enforcement authorities] have already received such orders,” he said. “But I said that I can’t swap my homeland for my assets.”
Pashinian drew parallels between the Ararat plant’s nationalization and the Armenian government’s controversial seizure last summer of Armenia’s national electric utility that followed the arrest of its owner, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian. The latter set up in the following months what analysts now view as the country’s largest opposition group, the Strong Armenia alliance.
Pashinian pledged on Monday to “take out” Tsarukian, Karapetian and the leader of another major opposition force, former President Robert Kocharian, during a furious argument with a disgruntled voter in Yerevan. The prosecutors made clear on Tuesday that they will not investigate the legality of what critics see as death threats. The opposition leaders said, for their part, that Pashinian is exposing his fears of losing power as a result of the elections.
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168: Not to transform the army, but to revive it
May 20, 2026
Unfortunately, there are no signs of deep dissatisfaction in the army against this situation.
Of course, in meetings with the middle and lower officers, they express terrible grievances, but the elite has somehow adapted to the agenda of the current government and is doing everything to serve it.
It is difficult to say who is prompting Nikol Pashinyan, but he is taking steps to make the elite of the army subservient to him.
Details in the video
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Armenpress: Xi says all hostilities must end immediately in Middle East
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said that the situation of the Gulf region in the Middle East is at a critical juncture between war and peace, and all hostilities must end immediately, the Chinese Xinhua news agency reported.
Xi made the remarks when holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on an official visit to China.
Xi pointed out that renewed fighting should be avoided, and most importantly, negotiation should continue.
An early end of the conflict will ease disruptions to the stability of energy supply, the functioning of industrial and supply chains and the international trade order, Xi said.
“I have put forward four propositions on safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East to further build international consensus, and help deescalate the situation, end hostilities and promote peace,” Xinhua quoted the Chinese president as saying.
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Armenpress: OpenAI defeats Elon Musk’s lawsuit, removes obstacle to IPO
A U.S. jury ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence company not liable to the world’s richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity, Reuters reported.
In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California, federal court said Musk brought his case too late. The jury deliberated less than two hours.
The verdict simplifies the path for OpenAI to proceed with a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion.
But OpenAI’s public face, Chief Executive Sam Altman, must also address the challenges to his reputation from some extremely personal testimony during the trial, including multiple witnesses describing him as a liar.
Musk said he will appeal, repeating his claim that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman viewed OpenAI as a means to great wealth.
“Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!” Musk posted on X. “Creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.”
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who oversaw the trial, said in court after the verdict that Musk may face an uphill battle in an appeal, because whether the statute of limitations ran out before he sued was a factual issue.
“There’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss on the spot,” the judge said.
OpenAI was founded by Altman, Musk and several others in 2015. Musk left its board in 2018, and OpenAI set up a for-profit business the next year.
Musk has since founded his own artificial intelligence startup, xAI, which is now part of his SpaceX rocket and satellite company.
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Putin addresses Chinese people ahead of visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered a video message to the people of China ahead of his official visit to Beijing, which is set to take place days after U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to China.
In the message, Putin said he was “delighted” to be visiting Beijing again at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he described as his “long-time good friend.”
“Regular mutual visits and Russia-China top-level talks are an important and integral part of our joint efforts to promote the entire range of relations between our two countries and unlock their truly limitless potential,” RT quoted Putin as saying.
Putin is due to visit China on May 19-20 at the invitation of Xi. The trip coincides with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Russia-China Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.
The Russian president said the treaty had laid “a solid foundation for a genuinely strategic relationship and comprehensive partnership” between the two countries. He added that Moscow-Beijing ties had reached “a truly unprecedented level,” citing mutual trust, cooperation, and support on issues affecting what he called the “core interests” of both states.
Putin said Russia and China are expanding cooperation in politics, the economy, defense, and humanitarian exchanges, adding that these issues will shape the agenda of the upcoming talks in Beijing.
“I deeply appreciate President Xi Jinping’s commitment to long-term cooperation with Russia,” Putin said. “I am convinced that our warm and friendly ties enable us to chart the boldest plans for the future and bring them to life.”
The Russian president also highlighted growing trade between the two countries, saying it had “long surpassed the US$200 billion mark,” and noted that mutual settlements are now conducted almost entirely in rubles and yuan.
RT reported, citing Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, that Putin would travel with a high-level delegation that includes senior officials, ministers, and heads of major Russian companies.
Around 40 bilateral documents are expected to be signed during the visit, including a joint statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
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Cuba warns U.S. military action would cause ‘bloodbath’ after drone report
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Monday that any U.S. military action against Cuba would lead to a “bloodbath” with incalculable consequences for regional peace and stability.
“Cuba does not represent a threat,” Diaz-Canel said in a post on X.
The comments follow an Axios report published on Sunday, citing classified intelligence, that said Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones and had discussed plans to use them to attack the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and Key West, Florida.
Cuba said the U.S. was fabricating a case to justify potential military intervention, Reuters reported.
On the streets of Havana, some residents said they would resist any attack despite the island’s deep economic hardship, according to Reuters.
POLITICO reported, citing a U.S. official and a person familiar with the administration’s discussions on Cuba, that President Donald Trump and his aides have grown frustrated that the U.S. pressure campaign—which includes starving the island of fuel—has not led Cuba’s leaders to agree to significant economic and political reforms. According to POLITICO, they are therefore taking the military option more seriously than before.
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WHO chief concerned at speed and scale of Ebola outbreak
The head of the World Health Organization expressed deep concern on Tuesday at the speed and scale of the Ebola outbreak, Reuters reported.
There have been at least 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths from Ebola since the new outbreak began, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Later figures put the toll at 131 fatalities associated with the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. There have been 516 suspected cases and 33 confirmed cases in Congo, according to a daily bulletin published by health authorities, and two confirmed cases in neighboring Uganda.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told members of the World Health Assembly meeting this week in Geneva that the “numbers will change as field operations are scaling up, including strengthening surveillance, contact tracing and laboratory testing.”
“I’m deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” Reuters quoted the WHO Director-General as saying.
A meeting of the WHO’s Emergency Committee is scheduled for later on Tuesday to discuss the Ebola outbreak, he said.
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Trump says US may attack Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States may need to hit Iran again and he was only an hour away from deciding on a strike before he postponed the attack.
“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon,” he said.
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Court places three more suspects under house arrest in campaign obstruction ca
A court has approved house arrest for the three remaining suspects accused of obstructing a campaign event of the ruling Civil Contract Party in Lori Province, concluding hearings for all 10 individuals detained in connection with the case, Investigative Committee spokesperson Kima Avdalyan said in a statement.
The decision comes days after authorities alleged that supporters of the Strong Armenia alliance disrupted campaign events in Norashen and Metsavan on May 16, prompting criminal proceedings over the alleged obstruction of election campaigning.
Six other suspects in the case had previously been placed in pre-trial detention, while another was placed under house arrest.
At the time, the Civil Contract Party’s campaign in Lori Province was led by Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, who was officially on leave to campaign for the party.
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FC Noah unveils new training base
Three-time Armenian Cup winner, Super Cup winner, and reigning league champion, FC Noah, has unveiled its new training complex located on Margara Highway in Armavir Province, as well as the design of its new stadium.
The ceremony was attended by Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office; Zhanna Andreasyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports; Portuguese former footballer Luís Figo; FC Noah President Vardges Vardanyan; and other officials, as well as other football stars.
The building includes state-of-the-art dressing rooms equipped with various recovery rooms, medical and massage areas fitted with the latest equipment, a modern, spacious gym, hotel rooms for training camps, a library, a dining area for first-team staff, meeting halls, offices, and several leisure rooms equipped with table tennis tables and gaming consoles.
“A new beginning toward excellence and toward all the goals FC Noah continues to pursue with unwavering determination,” the club said in a press release.
The club also presented the large-scale architectural and engineering concept for the “Noah Park” project, which is planned to be implemented in Vagharshapat.
The project integrates sports, educational, infrastructural, and public spaces, aiming to create a modern football and development ecosystem. The philosophy of “Noah Park” is based on long-term development, territorial integration, and contemporary architecture.
The plan includes a stadium, a football academy, public and recreational areas, as well as multifunctional spaces designed for both matchdays and everyday use.
“Our goal is to develop youth football and introduce European football standards. We will do everything in that direction. Over the past 2.5 years, we have done a significant amount of work. Thanks to these years of effort, we already have something to show. I believe that with this step by Noah, other clubs will also invest in infrastructure and youth football,” said FC Noah president Vardges Vardanyan.
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