Armenia police arrest archbishop over alleged coup plot
Last week, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan was detained on accusations of making public calls to usurp power after he accused the government of waging a campaign against the church and said he would act "in his own way" to stop it, according to state agency Armenpress.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
North Korea opens tourist zone on coast
North Korea has completed construction of a massive tourist zone on its east coast according to state media, a key project driven by leader Kim Jong Un for years to promote tourism. With "great satisfaction", Kim attended an inaugural ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area that could accommodate about 20,000 visitors and said the country would build more large-scale tourist zones swiftly, KCNA news agency reported. Kim has been rebuilding the seaside city of Wonsan, a vacation destination for locals, to turn it into a billion-dollar tourist hotspot. Development plans for Wonsan have mushroomed since they were first announced in 2014. However, while tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea not targeted by United Nations sanctions, the reclusive state did not have a major foreign partner for the Wonsan project against the backdrop of sanctions over its weapons programs. The tourist zone will open for domestic guests from July 1, KCNA said, without mentioning foreign tourists. North Korea sealed its borders in 2020 at the start of the pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023. It has allowed Russian tourist groups into the country but its capital and other parts of the country remain closed to regular tourism, though in April it held a marathon event hosting foreign runners. Moscow and Pyongyang, both economically and politically isolated, have drawn closer as North Korea has deployed thousands of troops and supplied ammunition, artillery and missiles for Russia's Ukraine war. The Russian ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff were invited as special guests for the Wonsan ceremony, according to KCNA. The two countries have agreed to expand cooperation on tourism, restarting a direct passenger train service between their capitals for the first time since 2020. "Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the wave of the happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort", KCNA said. North Korea has completed construction of a massive tourist zone on its east coast according to state media, a key project driven by leader Kim Jong Un for years to promote tourism. With "great satisfaction", Kim attended an inaugural ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area that could accommodate about 20,000 visitors and said the country would build more large-scale tourist zones swiftly, KCNA news agency reported. Kim has been rebuilding the seaside city of Wonsan, a vacation destination for locals, to turn it into a billion-dollar tourist hotspot. Development plans for Wonsan have mushroomed since they were first announced in 2014. However, while tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea not targeted by United Nations sanctions, the reclusive state did not have a major foreign partner for the Wonsan project against the backdrop of sanctions over its weapons programs. The tourist zone will open for domestic guests from July 1, KCNA said, without mentioning foreign tourists. North Korea sealed its borders in 2020 at the start of the pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023. It has allowed Russian tourist groups into the country but its capital and other parts of the country remain closed to regular tourism, though in April it held a marathon event hosting foreign runners. Moscow and Pyongyang, both economically and politically isolated, have drawn closer as North Korea has deployed thousands of troops and supplied ammunition, artillery and missiles for Russia's Ukraine war. The Russian ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff were invited as special guests for the Wonsan ceremony, according to KCNA. The two countries have agreed to expand cooperation on tourism, restarting a direct passenger train service between their capitals for the first time since 2020. "Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the wave of the happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort", KCNA said. North Korea has completed construction of a massive tourist zone on its east coast according to state media, a key project driven by leader Kim Jong Un for years to promote tourism. With "great satisfaction", Kim attended an inaugural ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area that could accommodate about 20,000 visitors and said the country would build more large-scale tourist zones swiftly, KCNA news agency reported. Kim has been rebuilding the seaside city of Wonsan, a vacation destination for locals, to turn it into a billion-dollar tourist hotspot. Development plans for Wonsan have mushroomed since they were first announced in 2014. However, while tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea not targeted by United Nations sanctions, the reclusive state did not have a major foreign partner for the Wonsan project against the backdrop of sanctions over its weapons programs. The tourist zone will open for domestic guests from July 1, KCNA said, without mentioning foreign tourists. North Korea sealed its borders in 2020 at the start of the pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023. It has allowed Russian tourist groups into the country but its capital and other parts of the country remain closed to regular tourism, though in April it held a marathon event hosting foreign runners. Moscow and Pyongyang, both economically and politically isolated, have drawn closer as North Korea has deployed thousands of troops and supplied ammunition, artillery and missiles for Russia's Ukraine war. The Russian ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff were invited as special guests for the Wonsan ceremony, according to KCNA. The two countries have agreed to expand cooperation on tourism, restarting a direct passenger train service between their capitals for the first time since 2020. "Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the wave of the happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort", KCNA said. North Korea has completed construction of a massive tourist zone on its east coast according to state media, a key project driven by leader Kim Jong Un for years to promote tourism. With "great satisfaction", Kim attended an inaugural ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area that could accommodate about 20,000 visitors and said the country would build more large-scale tourist zones swiftly, KCNA news agency reported. Kim has been rebuilding the seaside city of Wonsan, a vacation destination for locals, to turn it into a billion-dollar tourist hotspot. Development plans for Wonsan have mushroomed since they were first announced in 2014. However, while tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea not targeted by United Nations sanctions, the reclusive state did not have a major foreign partner for the Wonsan project against the backdrop of sanctions over its weapons programs. The tourist zone will open for domestic guests from July 1, KCNA said, without mentioning foreign tourists. North Korea sealed its borders in 2020 at the start of the pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023. It has allowed Russian tourist groups into the country but its capital and other parts of the country remain closed to regular tourism, though in April it held a marathon event hosting foreign runners. Moscow and Pyongyang, both economically and politically isolated, have drawn closer as North Korea has deployed thousands of troops and supplied ammunition, artillery and missiles for Russia's Ukraine war. The Russian ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff were invited as special guests for the Wonsan ceremony, according to KCNA. The two countries have agreed to expand cooperation on tourism, restarting a direct passenger train service between their capitals for the first time since 2020. "Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the wave of the happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort", KCNA said.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Putin thought he could take this city in three days. Now they wait to toast his demise with champagne
But Kyiv didn't fall. It fought. And it hasn't stopped fighting since. Today, it's the beating heart of a country that refuses to be broken – and the home of a man who became an icon. Volodymyr Zelensky, the comedian-turned-president, was told to flee in the early days of the invasion. Instead, he stayed. 'I need ammunition, not a ride,' he said. Tony Abbott recently called Zelensky 'the greatest freedom fighter' of our times. It's hard to disagree. Around the world, his leadership has become a symbol of resistance. But here in Kyiv, he's no demigod, he's simply another Ukrainian fighting. The city itself is a contradiction – part defiant metropolis, part bruised monument. It has been called 'the new Berlin', a nod to its gritty charm and creative energy. The food is brilliant, the bars are packed, the streets hum with life – even as sirens sound above. But while this surreal, magnetic city sits hours from the front, it is far from safe. The war doesn't respect geography. A day before I arrived, Russia launched one of the biggest air assaults Kyiv has seen in months – a 3½-hour barrage of drones and missiles. Explosions were heard across eight of the city's 10 districts. Nine people were killed, including four children; 33 more were injured. The next day, as I headed towards Dnipro, news came through that a Russian missile had struck a passenger train and civilian infrastructure there. Seventeen people died. Nearly 280 were wounded – among them 27 children. My trip so far has avoided the worst. But the trauma lingers everywhere. The night is filled with the buzz of drones and the thunder of anti-aircraft batteries. Some sleep in corridors, basement carparks and metro stations. Yet somehow, life goes on. Kyiv's endurance didn't begin in 2022. This city has been surviving invasions for more than 1500 years. Founded in 482 AD (or so the legend goes), Kyiv was once the capital of Kievan Rus – a medieval state that laid the foundations for modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. In the 10th and 11th centuries, it rivalled Constantinople. The domes of Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery still rise above the skyline, reminders of a deep and complex history – stretching back to long before Moscow was little more than a forest clearing. Kyiv has been invaded by Mongols, ruled by Poles and Tsars, occupied by Nazis. It has burned and been rebuilt more times than seems fair. It has never stayed down for long. At its heart lies Maidan Nezalezhnosti – Independence Square. The site of student protests in the '90s, the Orange Revolution in 2004, and the bloody Euromaidan uprising in 2014 that ousted a Kremlin-backed president and sparked this long war. Today the square is lined with flags and photographs of the fallen – soldiers, civilians, children. And yet, just around the corner, a bar promises free champagne the day Putin dies. Kyiv's defiance is often laced with wit. Culture has become a front line. Theatres perform through blackouts. Museums preserve war artefacts. Comedians still take the stage. One official put it simply: 'It's culture that helps us resist. It keeps our soul alive.' Because this isn't just a war for land. It's a war over identity, memory and truth. Russia wants to erase Ukrainian language and culture. But what I see here is a nation redrawing its future – sometimes with spray paint, sometimes with blood. This one final visit, alongside a World Vision Australia crew, in my last week as Europe correspondent, is not enough – but it's something. And to everyone I meet, I say the same thing: We won't forget you. We can't afford to.
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
Putin thought he could take this city in three days. Now they wait to toast his demise with champagne
But Kyiv didn't fall. It fought. And it hasn't stopped fighting since. Today, it's the beating heart of a country that refuses to be broken – and the home of a man who became an icon. Volodymyr Zelensky, the comedian-turned-president, was told to flee in the early days of the invasion. Instead, he stayed. 'I need ammunition, not a ride,' he said. Tony Abbott recently called Zelensky 'the greatest freedom fighter' of our times. It's hard to disagree. Around the world, his leadership has become a symbol of resistance. But here in Kyiv, he's no demigod, he's simply another Ukrainian fighting. The city itself is a contradiction – part defiant metropolis, part bruised monument. It has been called 'the new Berlin', a nod to its gritty charm and creative energy. The food is brilliant, the bars are packed, the streets hum with life – even as sirens sound above. But while this surreal, magnetic city sits hours from the front, it is far from safe. The war doesn't respect geography. A day before I arrived, Russia launched one of the biggest air assaults Kyiv has seen in months – a 3½-hour barrage of drones and missiles. Explosions were heard across eight of the city's 10 districts. Nine people were killed, including four children; 33 more were injured. The next day, as I headed towards Dnipro, news came through that a Russian missile had struck a passenger train and civilian infrastructure there. Seventeen people died. Nearly 280 were wounded – among them 27 children. My trip so far has avoided the worst. But the trauma lingers everywhere. The night is filled with the buzz of drones and the thunder of anti-aircraft batteries. Some sleep in corridors, basement carparks and metro stations. Yet somehow, life goes on. Kyiv's endurance didn't begin in 2022. This city has been surviving invasions for more than 1500 years. Founded in 482 AD (or so the legend goes), Kyiv was once the capital of Kievan Rus – a medieval state that laid the foundations for modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. In the 10th and 11th centuries, it rivalled Constantinople. The domes of Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery still rise above the skyline, reminders of a deep and complex history – stretching back to long before Moscow was little more than a forest clearing. Kyiv has been invaded by Mongols, ruled by Poles and Tsars, occupied by Nazis. It has burned and been rebuilt more times than seems fair. It has never stayed down for long. At its heart lies Maidan Nezalezhnosti – Independence Square. The site of student protests in the '90s, the Orange Revolution in 2004, and the bloody Euromaidan uprising in 2014 that ousted a Kremlin-backed president and sparked this long war. Today the square is lined with flags and photographs of the fallen – soldiers, civilians, children. And yet, just around the corner, a bar promises free champagne the day Putin dies. Kyiv's defiance is often laced with wit. Culture has become a front line. Theatres perform through blackouts. Museums preserve war artefacts. Comedians still take the stage. One official put it simply: 'It's culture that helps us resist. It keeps our soul alive.' Because this isn't just a war for land. It's a war over identity, memory and truth. Russia wants to erase Ukrainian language and culture. But what I see here is a nation redrawing its future – sometimes with spray paint, sometimes with blood. This one final visit, alongside a World Vision Australia crew, in my last week as Europe correspondent, is not enough – but it's something. And to everyone I meet, I say the same thing: We won't forget you. We can't afford to.
