Author: Aris Ekmekjian

Glasgow based cycling charity Bike For Good faces a immediate funding crisis. “We need £15,000 by the end of January to survive the winter and keep our communities cycling.” says Gregory Kinsman-Chauvet, Founder and Cycling Enthusiast Officer (CEO) at Bike for Good. The charity exists to teach cycle mechanic skills, provide cycle training, sell and service refurbished bikes, and deliver community programmes. The finding crisis directly impacts capability to deliver it work, and finds the organisation under critical threat as its cash flow is plummeting, and its reserves are at an all-time low. As a result, the charity has launched a £15…

If the Europeans end up securing relative peace for Armenia and corroborate Azerbaijan’s border encroachments, it will be undeniable that Russia is not the only force Yerevan can rely on. The international presence in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict zone is once again expanding, with an EU monitoring mission set to join Russian peacekeepers there. Since the Europeans were invited by Armenia, they will only be able to work on the Armenian side of the border: they won’t be permitted to enter Azerbaijan, including the Armenian-controlled part of the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region. But following the hostilities of 2020, the internationally recognized Armenia-Azerbaijan…

What is discussed today in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia – a daily review of local media. February, Armenia ● “The term “Nagorno-Karabakh” exists: under the document where it appears, you can find signature of the head of Azerbaijan” – Pashinyan and Aliyev take part in a panel discussion in Munich. ●The campaign “Read in Armenian” was held in Yerevan on Book Donation Day. People gathered together in the park, read their favourite works, and various publishing houses sold books in Armenian at a discount. ●To mark the 154th anniversary of the great Armenian writer and poet Hovhannes Tumanyan, a guard of honour took up his post…

China’s economy will be “on fire” in the second half of 2023 as the economic performance of East and West diverges, according to Standard Chartered Chairman José Viñals. The reopening of the Chinese economy following several years of strict “zero-Covid” measures has buoyed sentiment among economists that the global growth and inflation picture may be less bleak than initially feared this year. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann earlier this week said the reopening was “overwhelmingly positive” in the global fight to tackle sky-high inflation. Chinese GDP grew by just 3% in 2022, official figures revealed earlier this week, its second-slowest growth rate since 1976 and…

Although 2023 is shaping up as a more normal year for travel after three abnormal ones, we can’t pretend travel will cease being complicated. Flight disruptions, labour shortages, high energy and food prices, disruptions due to climate and a global economic downturn are factors weighing heavily on the travel industry. Yet if the past three years have proven anything, it’s that a love of travel remains undimmed for a vast majority of Australians. In 2023 we just want to do it differently. More thoughtfully, certainly, but also with more flexibility and economic savvy as global upheavals continue to present shocks…

The US has secured access to four additional military bases in the Philippines – a key bit of real estate which would offer a front seat to monitor the Chinese in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. With the deal, Washington has stitched the gap in the arc of US alliances stretching from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia in the south. The missing link had been the Philippines, which borders two of the biggest potential flashpoints – Taiwan and the South China Sea. The deal, which in part reverses the US’ departure from their former…

By Nigar Bayramli January 14, 2023 President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to local TV channels, January 10, 2023 / President.Az In an interview with local TV channels on January 10, 2023, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev commented on multiple issues on the internal and foreign policy agenda of Baku. He gave detailed insights into the country’s economic and political achievements in 2022, the future of the regional transport projects, the energy cooperation with Europe, the future of the Zangezur Corridor, the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization, the peace with Armenia, the growing national military potential, the main foreign policy directions and more. Caspian…

The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) remains ready to send a mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border if Armenia deems it necessary, the former head of the bloc said Monday. “As for the direction of the CSTO mission – those proposals to provide assistance to the Republic of Armenia – one of the points was the direction of the CSTO mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border … This remains in force. If Armenia considers it necessary either to decide on the entire package of measures or on individual points, this can be implemented,” Stanislav Zas said during a press conference. Saying…