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Showing posts from May 4, 2018

ARMENIA CRISIS: OPPOSITION LEADER STRUGGLES TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER

Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan attends a rally in Yerevan on 2 May AFP On May 3, National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairman, RPA spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov told that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) would support the election of Prime Minister,  the state-run Armenia News reported. “As for the [RPA NA] faction’s view that we will support the PM candidate who has the [respective] signature of the one-third [of the MPs] and it shouldn’t be allowed that Armenia has a political crisis and we will have a PM on May 8, everything is said in that address,” Sharmazanov stressed. On April 23, Prime Minister Sargsyan resigned amid anti-government protests. The opposition demanded to carry out parliamentary election to hand over the power. On May 1, the NA did not elect Prime Minister. The only candidate Nikol Pashinyan (opposition movement leader) gained 45 for and 56 against votes. The parliamentary majority faction of the ruling RPA voted against Pashinyan.

JOINT KOREAN DECLARATION: FIRST MEASURES AND RESULTS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un The historical April 27 inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un resulted in a joint declaration. According to the document, North and South Koreas are to cooperate to bring peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Two countries have already started to take measures in the framework of the signed declaration. Citing the statement of South Korea’s presidential office, North Korean authorities expressed its willing to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in May,  the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported on April 29 . According to the report, the site’s dismantling process would be public. As countries agreed to “completely cease all hostile acts” along the Demilitarised Zone from May 1, South Korea began the removal of loudspeakers. “We see this as the easiest first step to build military trust,” South Korean Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman Choi Hyun-s