H.E. The congratulatory message of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on the occasion of the feast of the Annunciation.

“On the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God, we bring our Patriarchal blessing and congratulations to our pious people in our homeland and in the diaspora.

This spiritual holiday is declared as a day of blessing for women waiting for the joy of motherhood. In churches, at the end of the Holy Liturgy, a prayerful wish is made and expectant mothers receive a blessing, asking God to grant them a loving, healthy and happy life and good and worthy children.

The faithful and virtuous image of the Holy Mother of God has been a source of inspiration for mothers for centuries. Following the shining example of the Holy Mother of God, Armenian women overcame the trials they faced with unconditional obedience to God’s will in difficult times, kept their faith and love for Christ strong and unshakable, and lived with unwavering dedication to the nation and homeland.

We pray that the Almighty Lord, through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, will bless the women awaiting the joy of motherhood and grant them a successful pregnancy.

May the Almighty God grant peace to the whole world, keep our homeland and all our people around the world safe and prosperous.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace” (Romans 15:13). every

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In mid-March, American billionaire Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, found himself at the center of an unusual and controversial event. He arrived was Rome to hold closed seminars dedicated to «biblical Antichrist (antichrist)» to the topic that it names «the main drama of Western civilization»։

The closed seminars took place on March 15-18. The first event took place in the historic Palazzo Tavern building. About 100-160 invited guests – representatives of Catholic circles, journalists and businessmen – participated in the seminar. Meeting formats emphasize their closed nature. A ban on the use of mobile phones has been established, the disclosure of information is assumed under the terms of the “Chatham House rule”, and a fine of up to 10,000 euros has been established for breach of confidentiality.

Till’s lecture was preceded by a speech by Peter Robinson, former spokesman for Ronald Reagan. The program also included a Latin Mass in the Basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.

Organizer:was «Vincenzo Gioberti» cultural association that publicly thanked the billionaire as one of Donald Trump’s key backers and an ally of current Vice President James Vance.

Till’s visit took place in a tense political landscape. George Maloney’s government officially denies any meeting with the billionaire, but it is known: Italian Ministry of Defense PalantirTechnologieshas been negotiating with since 2024:

The opposition Democratic Party of Italy has already sent a parliamentary request asking: Will the “artificial intelligence king” Thiel not become the unofficial partner of the Italian government?

Critics have described him as: «techno-capitalism» ideologue, and his companies as a tool of digital control used by states. The topic of the lectures itself attracts special attention. Till has been active in religious and philosophical reasoning in recent months.

In his comment “the antichrist” is not a mystical figure, but a modern one «advanced» or a government regulator expanding public control under the guise of combating climate crises or epidemics.

Such views have caused a sharp reaction in Catholic circles. Earlier, Pope Francis warned of the danger of a “technocratic paradigm” in which AI could limit human perception of reality and impose uniform models of thinking.

This approach is in direct contrast to the views of Thiel, whose companies specialize in data analysis and mass profiling algorithms.: Catholic periodicals accuse the billionaire of having a “nihilistic” worldview, and PalantirTechnologies of creating a “false theology of espionage.”

Observers say Till’s visit to the Eternal City may be “coincidental” on the eve of the publication of current Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI and its risks.

Not surprisingly, institutions such as the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catholic University of America, which have been mentioned as possible platforms for Thiel’s lectures, have stayed away from participating in the events. According to the news, this was claimed by the State Secretariat of the Holy See.

One of the interesting questions is: Why Rome? The choice of the Eternal City as the site of the Antichrist seems highly symbolic. It is not only a settlement, but also the center of the Catholic world, where religion, politics and history intersect.

Till’s workshops remain closed and their exact locations are not disclosed. But it is already clear. it is not only about theology. The story of his visit to Rome is a clash of two worldviews: the technological (based on surveillance and data) and the humanistic (supported by the Vatican).

Behind the Antichrist debate are more mundane questions: power, influence and the future of digital society. And that is why the interest in these closed meetings is much more than the religious theme.

STANISLAW STREMIDLOVSKI

iarex.ru

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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Samvel Karapetyan’s address, April 7, 2026

Now it is clear whether the economic war unleashed with Russia because of Pashinyan in July or the changes we will bring to Armenia in June.

Honestly, I am angry with the behavior of the leader of the small group. It was embarrassing in Moscow. But what is worse, with consistent steps it turned our country into a field of geopolitical conflict.

Why was it necessary to try to remove friendly Russia from our region? His presence has somehow never hindered Armenia’s cooperation and trade with other power centers. And I am sure that it will not interfere in the future. Simply put, you need to have intelligence and grace. And then you just have to be reasonable. Our deepest economic ties are with Russia. Russia supplies us with cheap gas, welcomes our seasonal workers, and buys a significant part of our agricultural products. And if he stops all that, what answer will you give to our people, who will become even poorer?

But today’s prime minister is not interested in the fate of our compatriots, the contents of his pocket and refrigerator. The important thing is that he can stay in power for the sake of his own well-being by scaring people with false wars. Of course, it will not stay. We will remove the small group and make friendship with all the countries of the region, with all the power centers.

We saw what happened to Georgia and Ukraine.

We do not need new wars.

Voting for Nicole will get you poverty and hostility with the Russians, polarization and economic collapse. Trust us and we will have real change: a strong economy, unity and lasting peace.

It is time for a strong Armenia.

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Armen Ashotyan presented 4 conceptual proposals to the opposition on his Facebook page. He specifically wrote:

“1. As you know, two major events will be held in Yerevan on May 4 and 5. first, the summit of the European Political Community, and then the first summit of the European Union-Armenia.

And we, as an experienced and responsible party, offer the other opposition forces, who will be busy exclusively with their campaigns, to entrust us with the task of jointly, I repeat, jointly, developing and implementing initiatives on the days of these events.

2. There is a lot of talk about the fact that in order to win the regime in the upcoming elections, it is necessary to motivate our citizens, to ensure a high rate of participation.

We announce that the activities of the Republican Party from this congress until June 7 will be aimed at promoting the participation of our compatriots in the national elections, under the slogan “Let them go”, with various actions, propaganda, information campaigns, meetings with residents.

3. It is no secret that at this stage the real opposition forces declare that they exclude any cooperation with the ruling regime.

We suggest that, in addition to similar statements of the main opposition forces, those who are in the first three dozen of the pre-election list of those forces take a moral obligation not to cooperate with the capitulating regime, not to leave the opposition field, by signing a corresponding memorandum and actually combining their political and personal positions.

4. It is known that in the work of our party, not only the fight against this regime, but also the plan to remove our country from the existing situation after the change of power was important.

Since the Republican party will not take part in the upcoming elections, we are ready to provide that repository with many program provisions to any opposition force that is interested in it.”

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And the reason was Anna Hakobyan’s last reply-post, in which, in essence, she questions the fact that the soldier or regular army serviceman is not a deserter, and hints that the information of those who have no doubts in this matter needs to be updated.

We have informed that in order to obtain fresh data related to the desertion, on April 1 we sent written requests to the RA Investigative Committee, the RA General Prosecutor’s Office and the RA Ministry of Defense. We will publish the answers as soon as we receive them. Maybe Anna Hakobyan is right: what we have is old, it needs updating, even though it is a year old.

And the RA Investigative Committee has already sent a response within 5 days, and through our survey we tried to get the answers to the following questions.

1. During the 44-day war of 2020, between September 27 and November 9, how many cases of desertion were there, i.e., how many cases were initiated against how many people?

2. How many of the deserters in the 44-day war were from the regular army, how many from the reservists, volunteers?

3. How many cases of desertion were there from the National Security Service and the Police during the 44-day war?

4. Where was the volunteer squad of the Investigative Committee during the 44-day period, which part was it sent to?

“In response to your request of April 1, 2026, we inform you that during the 44-day military operations of 2020, 1,500 criminal proceedings were initiated against 11,000 and more servicemen in the units of the Main Military Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee, with which a preliminary investigation was carried out and the process of many was resolved in accordance with the law.

Regarding the rest of the mentioned issues, no separate statistics are kept in the RA Investigative Committee.”

In other words, nothing has changed during the last year.

It should be noted that in response to our inquiry on June 9, 2025, the RA Investigative Committee announced that during the 44-day military operations of 2020, about 1,500 criminal proceedings were initiated against 11,000 and more servicemen in the divisions of the Military Investigation Department of the RA Investigative Committee for crimes against military service.

Let us add that in June 2025, when we tried to find out in writing from the RA Defense Minister Suren Papikyan whether the number of 11,000 deserters is true, how many of the alleged deserters are from the regular army, and how many are not, he answered. “The issue raised by you is beyond the scope of the RA Ministry of Defense.”

Let’s wait for the next replies of the RA Ministry of Defense and the RA Prosecutor General’s Office on this topic. One thing is clear, essentially, there is no official confirmation of the disgraceful desertion from the regular army.

And the RA Investigative Committee bypassed the question of whether or not to send a volunteer squad to the 44-day war in our written inquiry, and where they participated in combat operations, if they did.

It should be noted that during the war, the RA Investigative Committee message spread that “followed by the call of the RA Prime Minister, he enlisted in order to participate in the sacred work of protecting the motherland 180 volunteers”.

“Four platoons were formed, 2 of which, on October 28, headed by the chairman of the RA Investigative Committee, went on combat duty through the RA Armed Forces General Staff,” the Central Committee detailed.

We can make different assumptions as to why the issue has now been completely or completely ignored in this regard.

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Satik Seyranyan’s guest in “Pressing” program is human rights defender, lawyer Ruben Melikyan is

The main points of the interview are below.

• I have seen our justice system from inside and outside for many years. Much more important is not the state, but the direction of development. From the 90s to 2019-2020 the system has been better every year than the year before. Hard work has been done, but starting from 2019-2020, we are constantly regressing. The current government is an anti-democratic government. If we remember what words Nikol Pashinyan used to describe judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan, and what cases they are putting him under now, the last example was the case of Davit Minasyan, I will prove what was said. Those values, whose default guardians were the international structures, do not work today because they are politicized. Nikol Pashinyan is given the green light to be anti-Russian, and everything is forgiven him along the way. In terms of global geopolitics, Nikol Pashinyan is allowed to do everything, including something unheard of, for example, to change the law 2 months before the elections, that is, to change the rules of the game during the game. As if you sit down to play chess, and a minute before turning on the clock, someone says: I’m sorry, but we have changed the rules of the game, we have to play a different way… 

• Let me give an example of the 2 cases of “Imnemnim” podcast hosts: 2024. and now. Let’s compare two similar cases. 2024 they were not allowed to enter people’s houses, wearing masks, armed, to conduct searches, they did not enter the media, taking everything, but in 2025 they did it. Until now, computers and many other devices, including those confiscated from the boys’ homes, have not been released.

• The case with the incident that happened during the liturgy in “St. Anna” has a personal and psychological component, because the injustice towards the Minasyan brothers is extreme. I got involved in this case on the 3rd day, because before that I was busy defending another 18-year-old boy, Mikael, who spat on Nikol Pashinyan’s car, not the Prime Minister, but Nikol Pashinyan himself, because he was not performing the Prime Minister’s function that day, but was engaged in concrete propaganda. Spitting is not a good thing, you don’t need to take an example from Alen Simonyan, but we did not accept the crime, because maybe the expression is ugly, but it is not a crime, it cannot qualify as hooliganism. The charge is not certain. Mikael’s words are a disagreement with Nikol Pashinyan’s policy and his behavior due to which we lost a part of our homeland. Bring Allen’s verdict, and not only Michael, but I will admit that we committed a crime. In other words, spitting in a person’s face is not hooliganism, spitting on a car is hooliganism, and let me repeat, at that moment Nikol Pashinyan was not a state symbol, he was not performing the functions of prime minister, but propaganda.

To remind: in another case, this 18-year-old boy spat on Nikol Pashinyan’s car, and when asked why he did it, he said: the Turk sold our fresh lands. That sentence is the basis of the boy’s accusation, the act was described as hooliganism.

• Davit Minasyan’s classmates show a very good example of how to consistently fight for the protection of the rights of friends who are in trouble.

• We got involved in this case with certain stereotypes that it is alleged that Davit Minasyan committed the pre-aggressive action during the liturgy in “St. Anna” church, which is absolutely not the case, and it is also an absolute lie that David’s actions were directed against Nikol Pashinyan. It’s not like that either. But the Nicolaitan Goebbelsian propaganda presented the situation like that for several days. There was nothing to suggest that Nikol Pashinyan would go to that church that day. No one could have known that he would decide to go to that church at that moment. I suppose he decided to enter at that very moment, during the liturgy. David and Michael, no one knew that they would have a “guest”. Therefore, the case investigation’s hypothesis that this was organized is not only contrary to law, but also to common sense. This is the crux of this case.

• That incident in the church happened after Pashinyan left. The preliminary investigation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the court recorded that Nikol Pashinyan carried out political activities in the church. He should be interrogated, we should understand whether he was there in the capacity of a believer, in the church, or politically? If I say yes, I came as part of political activities, the question arises: why did you interfere with the ritual, why did you disturb people? The children were not just in the church, but were participating in the liturgy, as they always did:

• Pashinyan and the bodyguard are already disturbing the children while passing through the dense crowd, they separate the two brothers. Mikael hugs David, holds his back. This also has a medical component. David’s illness is such that he must be constantly under the supervision of a relative in order to provide help if necessary. And when Mikael saw that his brother was not by his side, because Pashinyan and the bodyguard broke through and cut them off, he was worried… it is also in the footage that he was looking for his brother. Nikol Pashinyan passed by him, but Mikael didn’t even react, because he wasn’t interested in him, but was looking for his brother with his eyes… They made it so that the parents had to make the child’s entire medical history public so that they could protect themselves.

• Akhrannik, who committed a crime by hitting Davit, and one day he will answer for that, comes back, instructs him to step aside. What has the right to instruct? Yes, David does not follow the instruction, he says: I will stand here. David had no obligation to step aside. They are rushing him and coming and going. David’s act of putting forth his hand was due to his being hindered by the achrannik. Akhrannik’s blow was not a disruptive blow, because Nikol Pashinyan had already been taken out of the church. It was a punitive blow and it was the instigator who should have been held accountable, not David. Moreover, this crime has no statute of limitations. Their leader is not forever, he will not be one day, and even 1000 years will pass, the time of responsibility will come.

• Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan decided that even the parents do not have the right to see the sick child in the hospital, the mother is forbidden to visit the son. I don’t remember such a strict restriction, even in political matters, being applied, even in the case of adults. I don’t know whose initiative it is, but the signatory is Mnatsakan Martirosyan, therefore, the responsibility is his:

• The boys didn’t do anything, they came to touch them, then imprisoned Davit, sent him to a detention center and hospital. The boys had just gone to mass.

• The Minister of Health, Anahit Avanesyan, “being a mother who brought up good children”, talks about Davit’s upbringing… Or that crocodile breeder who was evil. As they say, for a person who allegedly received a “bad education”, it is already the third week, his classmates are standing every day, would they?

• My attitude towards HRD Anahit Manasyan’s work is well known. I have stated that he is the worst MP of Armenia. Since today is April 7th and I have a sale for her today, I won’t say much. But there was a sentence in his incomprehensible statement yesterday, he said: I wrote a letter and requested that the possibility of applying an alternative restraining order against Davit Minasyan be discussed. 

• Human rights defender is not a bureaucrat, but Anahit Manasyan behaves like a bureaucrat. I mentioned the HRD tool, he went, he said, I am resigning. The strength of HRD is its reputation, if there is no reputation, the work is meaningless. In any case, I have the impression that Anahit Manasyan understands the problem. So much:

• Do we want a humane or an inhumane society? 2022 Armen Grigoryan, who died in the courtroom on July 15, was a righteous man, and staying under righteous blood is a hard thing. I am sure that Mnatsakan Martirosyan would have extended the detention, but he did not manage to do so. Therefore, I cannot take the blame and say that he was guilty of Armen’s death. Armen Grigoryan was detained by another judge named Arusyak Aleksanyan, who later ended up behind bars (of course, not in Armen’s case, but in another case, and was later released). One day, whenever, when the country is freed from the Nicola disaster, I will file a special appeal. Armen should be acquitted:

• The target of the Nicolas politics of these years is our self-esteem, that we should always live with our necks crooked like a lamb. But the response to this incident in “Saint Anna” church was different, people wrote, asked, approached on the street… The information field and all of us should do to keep this case in the center of attention, not to allow Goebbelsian propaganda to be carried out.

Details in the video.

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Nikol Pashinyan’s statement about the need for the CP to obtain a constitutional majority in the National Assembly and scaring people with a “new September war” means that the current government really knows that it has no chance of being re-elected. He expressed such a view 168 TVof Revue on the air of the program political scientist Tevan Poghosyanspeaking about the National Assembly elections to be held in June.

According to the former member of the National Assembly, all external actors are interfering in Armenia’s internal affairs even before the elections have started.

“Before the elections have started, the great powers have already stated their preferences, and these are the same countries that once taught us democracy, which is the opinion of the people. The people’s opinion is: wait patiently, who is asking you to name the candidates? It means that the world has lost everything of democracy, they used to educate us with the vain fairy tales, putting all this aside, we simply understand that we have entered into a wild struggle for power, and the only bearer of power, which is called the people, must have its say,” says Tevan Poghosyan.

According to Poghosyan, if the people will rise up and not allow the intervention of foreign forces, then June 7 will be our election, and if we pay tribute to external pressures: “Oh, Putin said this”, “Trump said this”, “Vance said this”, “Fidan said that” or someone in Europe said something else, then what is the Armenian election?

Putin-Pashinyan April Fool’s Day in Moscow meeting Tevan Poghosyan says: “The world has changed, there is more transparency in diplomacy. today everyone speaks openly like that. Every country advances its interests as best it can. That is how they imagined their interests in Russia, they said. We have heard, we have taken note. But if you look at it from the other side, he also said.

“If Putin won’t call to ask me to meet, I have to call.” So, in his perception, he understood well, he knew where he was going. It means that it does not feel strong, in fact, even those who are acting rely only and only on foreign countries and forces, be it Russia or Europe. Europe was asked to send some “hybrid group”. Armenian atyshniks are the best all over the world, but we invite some people from Europe to give us advice on what is hybrid and what is not. We have fantastic specialists. In fact, the operatives did not rely on the people either. they are looking for a mechanism to maintain their power in external support.”

To the question of “Review”, why did Putin and Pashinyan put the blame for the loss of Artsakh on each other, and who among them was more right in his accusations, the former member of the National Assembly answered: first of all, we are to blame for not being able to keep our land. However, Tevan Poghosyan puts this question aside and pays attention to another question, why the Russian president mentions the Karabakh issue during the meeting with Pashinyan.

“If Russia talks about it, then it had interests there. When America tells you not to talk about Artsakh, then it has interests here too. When Europe says, let’s forget everything, then it is also in their interest. It is the framework of understanding their interests that is necessary to read. If a person did not feel that he lost his interests there, there would not be such a conversation. So he [Putin] considers that there were some previous agreements that you should have acted like this, but you didn’t do it, that’s why I’m accusing you openly about it now. What the President of Russia said that day is the consequence of what he did before, which was revealed that day. I cannot say how many years it is.

For example, in 2021, the same Russia was not against it, they kept the war of 2020 with their teeth, but then that same Russia, without changing people, gives heresy after 5 years. So something happened. Perhaps history will reveal what happened,” Tevan Poghosyan thinks.

To the question of “Review” whether the operatives are anti-Russian or hidden pro-Russian, Poghosyan answered: “They are pro-establishment “кресло”. If necessary, they will become Russian in a day. The fact that you say that I should call and ask for a meeting, why are you surprised that they will tell you whatever you say? Why did you go because something was more important? That something is holding power. Why are you scaring your people with war? A month before that, you said, “it’s over, there’s peace, there won’t be a war.” Who will bring this “catastrophic war”? What does that mean? Who said that it is in person? That you were signing there, were you signing in your own person? Wasn’t it an LLC or a private individual? If it was on behalf of the country, then that peace belongs to the country. The choice is our internal problem. And why do they say: don’t interfere in our internal affairs, the government is formed by the people? Where did all that go? If you signed that document, then there will be peace. Where did this war come from? Orient yourself!’

“Aside from what Russia, America, and Europe said, what have we done?” You told me, as a part of the people, that we are the guarantor of Artsakh. That’s how they came to ask for votes. Was it? And how did they deceive me: the de-occupation of Shushi, the de-occupation of Hadrut, the guarantor of security? Our whole problem is that we meet, we talk about other people’s worries. Where is ours? Deceiving us – nothing? We put this lie aside, we say that we have not seen this, let me think about what they promised and what they did.

Powerful countries always know how to advance their interests, that’s why they are powerful. Let them take care of themselves, we have to live today. If we have decided that it is very good for us, let them deceive us, even more than that, we have reached the historically smallest Armenia from the historical Sea to Sea Armenia, because we have always carried the burdens of others, not our own. Once we went on our own, we were guided, we restored the Motherland a little, in 30 years we fell into the hands of our victory, we decided that we don’t need it,” the interlocutor added.

Tevan Poghosyan notes with pain the current division of the Armenian society, which was sown by the current government, and those “actors” also understand that it is easier to manage in this situation by bringing in the intervention of external forces. “Any nation was able to win only when it relied only on its strength and unity. Unfortunately, our society is divided, and this division has been sown by the perpetrators.

Hybrid war is exactly that, when you see that one Armenian can bribe another Armenian without thinking about anything. This is where our inner caring comes in… We say “dear” to each other, but we have forgotten that word, we have forgotten to bear each other’s pain, love has disappeared from us. The consequence of all this will be that others will take advantage. We live in a region where elements of the third world war are already visible. In any case, our region will no longer be the first, conflicts will continue, but the only resource with which any nation will stand is national unity, which, unfortunately, we do not have. No matter what changes come, if we are going to be divided, we will end up facing the pit of defeat.”

Full interview in the video.

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