Protesters in Erevan

1 Armenia

An opposition rally is taking place in Yerevan. The protesters started to block the governmental buildings and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia. The situation on the Republic Square, where a rally began earlier with a demand to resign the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, remains tense. A group of oppositionists blocked a government building on the Vazgen Sargsyan Street, where a number of departments, including the country’s Foreign Ministry, are located. The rally on the Republic Square was started by 17 opposition parties of Armenia, which created the «Movement to Save the Homeland». The rally is being attended by several thousand people.

2 The Persian Gulf

The press service of the 5th US Navy Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, reported that on Monday, a nuclear submarine and 2 missile cruisers of the US Navy entered the Persian Gulf. It was reported that the nuclear submarine ’Georgia’ with up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles on board has entered the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz together with the missile cruisers ’Port Royal’ and ’Philippine Sea’. The press service stated that the presence of the submarine «demonstrates the commitment of the USA to the regional partners and the maritime security with the full potential of the US forces, as well as the constant readiness to repel any threat at any time». The report didn’t announce for how long the US Navy’s nuclear submarine and 2 missile cruisers will stay in the Persian Gulf.

3 Nagorno-Karabakh

«35 wagons with humanitarian aid from Russia have arrived for a further distribution to the affected areas of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is the largest volume of aid sent by rail so far. The specialists from the joint group of the Russian Emergencies Ministry have unloaded 9 railroad cars and 5 platforms at the moment» — the Russian Emergencies Ministry stated. The weight of the unloaded aid is more than 250 tons. 10 diesel generators, 5 fire tankers, 4 cars, 280 cubic meters of lumber, and 35,000 household items were unloaded. «The cargo will be delivered by 25 trucks of the Russian Emergencies Ministry to the city of Stepanakert. Later the cargo will be distributed among the points of delivery in the region» — the ministry concluded.

4 Turkey — Azerbaijan

The Turkish Minister of National Defense, Hulusi Akar, stated on-air of the NTV channel that Turkey has sent 60 representatives of the military personnel to Azerbaijan, according to an agreement on the construction of the control center over the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. «60 of our representatives are in Azerbaijan. All the agreements on the construction of the center have been reached. A number of issues, related to the construction, remains to be solved. Our people will work together with the Russians. We will still talk with Russia about the duration of their stay at the center» — the minister concluded.

5 China

The Chinese Central Television reported that China has successfully launched the newest launch rocket ’CZ-8’ with 5 satellites on board. It was reported that the launch took place from the Wenchang spaceport, in the southern province of Hainan, at 12:37 by the local time. After 15 minutes, the rocket reached the orbit at an altitude of 512 km. 5 satellites separated from the rocket at that distance — 1 experimental satellite and 4 private probes.

6 The Central African Republic

The Russian Presidential Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa, the Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, condemned the attempt to disrupt the presidential elections in the Central African Republic, which are to be held on 27th of December. He stated that Russia supports the legitimate authority of the Central African Republic, but not with the help of military force. “One can’t disrupt the democratic process by force” — he explained. While commenting on the reports about the dispatch of Russian troops to the country, Bogdanov stated that there are no Russian troops in the country. «There is only a representation group of the Russian Ministry of Defense of 4 or 5 people. That group, of course, does not take part in the hostilities. The group is there for the political presence» — he concluded. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.