Latest news with #Western-friendly
Listly
06-05-2025
- Listly
How to experience Phuket like a Local – Live Phuket, Don't just visit it
When it comes to food, avoid places that say Western-friendly menus if you want to enjoy Phuket like a local. Instead, go to places where the locals eat from. It is very easy to spot, especially during lunch hours. You can try unique food like thin rice noodles served with spicy curry, pickled vegetables and boiled eggs, Moo Hong, a slow-cooked pork dish that is very famous among the locals in Phuket and is a speciality of Phuket. Markets like Lock Tien or the Sunday Night market on Thalang Road are perfect for trying dishes from different regions. You can try out local cafes as they serve better coffee and desserts than most tourist spots. Always be on the lookout for small Thai-style bakeries and cool coffee bars to enjoy some fresh pastries. Follow the locals and look for places the locals are lining up; usually, they will spend less and find food that tastes amazing. You can always ask them for recommendations as well.
Saudi Gazette
08-04-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Billionaire on trial in Azerbaijan who risks being left behind by peace deal
BAKU — Ruben Vardanyan is one of Armenia's richest men, but his millions are of little use now that he is facing a possible life term in jail in neighboring Azerbaijan. The two neighboring Caucasus countries have agreed the text of a historic peace deal to end decades-long conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Vardanyan and 15 other former ethnic Armenian leaders are not part of the agreement. They are on trial in a military court in Baku, accused of war crimes dating back decades. Vardanyan, a 56-year-old Russian-Armenian entrepreneur, is facing 42 charges including planning and waging war, mercenary activities and terrorism. A picture of him in court appeared to show bruises on his forehead and there have been allegations of torture, denied by Azerbaijan which insists his rights have been respected in custody. It marks a dramatic downfall for a man who made his fortune in Russia and once rubbed shoulders with celebrities such as George and Amal Clooney. He set up Russia's first investment bank back in the early 1990s, and as founder of the country's prestigious business management school "Skolkovo" he enjoyed the reputation of a progressive visionary, a Western-friendly voice in Russia's business community in the 2000's. But a 2019 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said that employees of his investment bank built a financial system laundering billions of dollars in the mid-2000s. Vardanyan denied being aware of any criminal activities, and was never legally charged. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars on philanthropic projects in Armenia, and transformed a quiet town in the snow-capped mountains in the north of the country, setting up a school with the aim of attracting students from all over the world. "This school was imagined as an institution that would bring Armenia to the world and the world to Armenia," says Adam Armanski, the principal of the United World Colleges (UWC) of Dilijan. Everything changed for Ruben Vardanyan in September 2022 when he decided to move to Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region that was historically populated by ethnic Armenians but part of Soviet Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan had already fought two full-scale wars over the region, which was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The first Karabakh war in the 1990s resulted in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azeris. Then, in 2020, Azerbaijan — backed by Turkey — regained control of big swathes of the lost territory, while the Karabakh enclave remained in the hands of ethnic Armenian separatists. Within months of Vardanyan's arrival Azerbaijani authorities blocked the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia, subjecting the region's population to severe food shortages. Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship and became the de facto prime-minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians call Artsakh. He used his name, contacts and the ability to speak fluent English to raise the awareness of the plight of Karabakh Armenians. "My father did more interviews with international media in three months than all the other Nagorno-Karabakh presidents in 30 years. The amount of attention this was receiving from the Western media clearly irritated Azerbaijan," his son David Vardanyan told the BBC. There had been speculation that Vardanyan had moved there to avoid international sanctions imposed on Russia's billionaires with links to the Kremlin. The government in Baku considered his decision to take up the position as illegal. His son insists he was driven by the desire to help local Armenians. "We had an argument on our last family holiday, I was completely against his decision, which was putting the entire family at risk. He said he would not be able to live with himself knowing he did nothing for the Armenians of Karabakh." His father's long-term friend Arman Jilavian said even the remotest of chances of helping ethnic Armenians remain in their ancestral land was enough for him. "Some would say this was irrational, some say this was super calculated political move. I think none is true," he says. In September 2023 Azerbaijan launched a military operation and took control of the entire territory in 24 hours. Nagorno-Karabakh's leaders capitulated and more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to leave their homes. Vardanyan was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities as he joined a mass exodus to Armenia. Much of his time since has been spent in solitary confinement, his family says. He has already been on hunger strike twice, protesting at what he has called a lack of proper judicial process, amid allegations of torture. Fifteen other former Karabakh leaders are also being tried in Baku's military court for alleged war crimes committed since the late 1980s. Vardanyan has been dealt with separately, but many in Armenia see all the cases as show trials. Only the main Azerbaijani state TV channel has been allowed to film the trials. Azerbaijan insists it is complying with international legal standards, and that it has a responsibility to hold to account those suspected of having committed war crimes. But last month, the government in Baku ordered the closure of the local offices of the International Red Cross, the only international organisation with access to Armenian prisoners. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the "unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages", calling for their immediate release. Vardanyan returns to court on Tuesday, but supporters fear his case will be overshadowed by a historic peace deal taking shape between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The details are yet to be made public but officials say the draft text does not include the issue of the prisoners on trial or the right of ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to return to their homes. The failure to mention the prisoners has prompted criticism of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government at home and abroad. But Arsen Torosyan, the MP from the Armenian governing party Civil Contract believes this issue needs to be solved separately. "It is a peace treaty between the conflicting countries with a long history of hatred between each other. I personally think that only completing or signing of this peace treaty can make ground to solve the issue of political prisoners. I don't see any other way to do it." Vardanyan has warned this is a mistake. "This is not the trial of just me and 15 others – this is the trial of all Armenians," he said in a voice message to supporters. "If you don't understand this – it is a big tragedy because this is not the end of the story, not the end of the conflict, it's only the next stage of the conflict, for all sides." — BBC
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire on trial in Azerbaijan who risks being left behind by peace deal
Ruben Vardanyan is one of Armenia's richest men, but his millions are of little use now that he is facing a possible life term in jail in neighbouring Azerbaijan. The two neighbouring Caucasus countries have agreed the text of a historic peace deal to end decades long conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Vardanyan and 15 other former ethnic Armenian leaders are not part of the agreement. They are on trial in a military court in Baku, accused of war crimes dating back decades. Vardanyan, a 56-year-old Russian-Armenian entrepreneur, is facing 42 charges including planning and waging war, mercenary activities and terrorism. A picture of him in court appeared to show bruises on his forehead and there have been allegations of torture, denied by Azerbaijan which insists his rights have been respected in custody. It marks a dramatic downfall for a man who made his fortune in Russia and once rubbed shoulders with celebrities such as George and Amal Clooney. He set up Russia's first investment bank back in the early 1990s, and as founder of the country's prestigious business management school "Skolkovo" he enjoyed the reputation of a progressive visionary, a Western-friendly voice in Russia's business community in the 2000's. But a 2019 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said that employees of his investment bank built a financial system laundering billions of dollars in the mid-2000s. Vardanyan denied being aware of any criminal activities, and was never legally charged. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars on philanthropic projects in Armenia, and transformed a quiet town in the snow-capped mountains in the north of the country, setting up a school with the aim of attracting students from all over the world. "This school was imagined as an institution that would bring Armenia to the world and the world to Armenia," says Adam Armanski, the principal of the United World Colleges (UWC) of Dilijan. Everything changed for Ruben Vardanyan in September 2022 when he decided to move to Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region that was historically populated by ethnic Armenians but part of Soviet Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan had already fought two full scale wars over the region, which was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. The first Karabakh war in the 1990s resulted in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azeris. Then, in 2020, Azerbaijan - backed by Turkey - regained control of big swathes of the lost territory, while the Karabakh enclave remained in the hands of ethnic Armenian separatists. Within months of Vardanyan's arrival Azerbaijani authorities blocked the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia, subjecting the region's population to severe food shortages. Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship and became the de facto prime-minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians call Artsakh. He used his name, contacts and the ability to speak fluent English to raise the awareness of the plight of Karabakh Armenians. "My father did more interviews with international media in three months than all the other Nagorno-Karabakh presidents in 30 years. The amount of attention this was receiving from the Western media clearly irritated Azerbaijan," his son David Vardanyan told the BBC. There had been speculation that Vardanyan had moved there to avoid international sanctions imposed on Russia's billionaires with links to the Kremlin. The government in Baku considered his decision to take up the position as illegal. His son insists he was driven by the desire to help local Armenians. "We had an argument on our last family holiday, I was completely against his decision, which was putting the entire family at risk. He said he would not be able to live with himself knowing he did nothing for the Armenians of Karabakh." His father's long-term friend Arman Jilavian said even the remotest of chances of helping ethnic Armenians remain in their ancestral land was enough for him. "Some would say this was irrational, some say this was super calculated political move. I think none is true," he says. In September 2023 Azerbaijan launched a military operation and took control of the entire territory in 24 hours. Nagorno-Karabakh's leaders capitulated and more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to leave their homes. Vardanyan was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities as he joined a mass exodus to Armenia. Azerbaijan arrests former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Armenians fear another war despite talk of peace Much of his time since has been spent in solitary confinement, his family says. He has already been on hunger strike twice, protesting at what he has called a lack of proper judicial process, amid allegations of torture. Fifteen other former Karabakh leaders are also being tried in Baku's military court for alleged war crimes committed since the late 1980s. Vardanyan has been dealt with separately, but many in Armenia see all the cases as show trials. Only the main Azerbaijani state TV channel has been allowed to film the trials. Azerbaijan insists it is complying with international legal standards, and that it has a responsibility to hold to account those suspected of having committed war crimes. But last month, the government in Baku ordered the closure of the local offices of the International Red Cross, the only international organisation with access to Armenian prisoners. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the "unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages", calling for their immediate release. Vardanyan returns to court on Tuesday, but supporters fear his case will be overshadowed by a historic peace deal taking shape between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The details are yet to be made public but officials say the draft text does not include the issue of the prisoners on trial or the right of ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to return to their homes. The failure to mention the prisoners has prompted criticism of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government at home and abroad. But Arsen Torosyan, the MP from the Armenian governing party Civil Contract believes this issue needs to be solved separately. "It is a peace treaty between the conflicting countries with a long history of hatred between each other. I personally think that only completing or signing of this peace treaty can make ground to solve the issue of political prisoners. I don't see any other way to do it." Vardanyan has warned this is a mistake. "This is not the trial of just me and 15 others – this is the trial of all Armenians," he said in a voice message to supporters. "If you don't understand this – it is a big tragedy because this is not the end of the story, not the end of the conflict, it's only the next stage of the conflict, for all sides."
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Billionaire on trial in Azerbaijan who risks being left behind peace deal
Ruben Vardanyan is one of Armenia's richest men, but his millions are of little use now that he is facing a possible life term in jail in neighbouring two neighbouring Caucasus countries have agreed the text of a historic peace deal to end decades long conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Vardanyan and 15 other former ethnic Armenian leaders are not part of the are on trial in a military court in Baku, accused of war crimes dating back a 56-year-old Russian-Armenian entrepreneur, is facing 42 charges including planning and waging war, mercenary activities and terrorism. A picture of him in court appeared to show bruises on his forehead and there have been allegations of torture, denied by Azerbaijan which insists his rights have been respected in marks a dramatic downfall for a man who made his fortune in Russia and once rubbed shoulders with celebrities such as George and Amal set up Russia's first investment bank back in the early 1990s, and as founder of the country's prestigious business management school "Skolkovo" he enjoyed the reputation of a progressive visionary, a Western-friendly voice in Russia's business community in the 2000' a 2019 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said that employees of his investment bank built a financial system laundering billions of dollars in the denied being aware of any criminal activities, and was never legally spent hundreds of millions of dollars on philanthropic projects in Armenia, and transformed a quiet town in the snow-capped mountains in the north of the country, setting up a school with the aim of attracting students from all over the world."This school was imagined as an institution that would bring Armenia to the world and the world to Armenia," says Adam Armanski, the principal of the United World Colleges (UWC) of Dilijan. Everything changed for Ruben Vardanyan in September 2022 when he decided to move to Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region that was historically populated by ethnic Armenians but part of Soviet and Azerbaijan had already fought two full scale wars over the region, which was internationally recognised as part of first Karabakh war in the 1990s resulted in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic in 2020, Azerbaijan - backed by Turkey - regained control of big swathes of the lost territory, while the Karabakh enclave remained in the hands of ethnic Armenian months of Vardanyan's arrival Azerbaijani authorities blocked the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia, subjecting the region's population to severe food renounced his Russian citizenship and became the de facto prime-minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians call Artsakh. He used his name, contacts and the ability to speak fluent English to raise the awareness of the plight of Karabakh Armenians."My father did more interviews with international media in three months than all the other Nagorno-Karabakh presidents in 30 years. The amount of attention this was receiving from the Western media clearly irritated Azerbaijan," his son David Vardanyan told the had been speculation that Vardanyan had moved there to avoid international sanctions imposed on Russia's billionaires with links to the government in Baku considered his decision to take up the position as son insists he was driven by the desire to help local Armenians."We had an argument on our last family holiday, I was completely against his decision, which was putting the entire family at risk. He said he would not be able to live with himself knowing he did nothing for the Armenians of Karabakh." His father's long-term friend Arman Jilavian said even the remotest of chances of helping ethnic Armenians remain in their ancestral land was enough for him."Some would say this was irrational, some say this was super calculated political move. I think none is true," he September 2023 Azerbaijan launched a military operation and took control of the entire territory in 24 leaders capitulated and more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to leave their was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities as he joined a mass exodus to Armenia. Much of his time since has been spent in solitary confinement, his family has already been on hunger strike twice, protesting at what he has called a lack of proper judicial process, amid allegations of other former Karabakh leaders are also being tried in Baku's military court for alleged war crimes committed since the late has been dealt with separately, but many in Armenia see all the cases as show the main Azerbaijani state TV channel has been allowed to film the insists it is complying with international legal standards, and that it has a responsibility to hold to account those suspected of having committed war last month, the government in Baku ordered the closure of the local offices of the International Red Cross, the only international organisation with access to Armenian European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the "unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages", calling for their immediate returns to court on Tuesday, but supporters fear his case will be overshadowed by a historic peace deal taking shape between Armenia and details are yet to be made public but officials say the draft text does not include the issue of the prisoners on trial or the right of ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to return to their failure to mention the prisoners has prompted criticism of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government at home and Arsen Torosyan, the MP from the Armenian governing party Civil Contract believes this issue needs to be solved separately."It is a peace treaty between the conflicting countries with a long history of hatred between each other. I personally think that only completing or signing of this peace treaty can make ground to solve the issue of political prisoners. I don't see any other way to do it."Vardanyan has warned this is a mistake."This is not the trial of just me and 15 others – this is the trial of all Armenians," he said in a voice message to supporters. "If you don't understand this – it is a big tragedy because this is not the end of the story, not the end of the conflict, it's only the next stage of the conflict, for all sides."
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
I'll rip up British defence treaty, threatens Europe's latest far-Right firebrand
The frontrunner in Romania's controversial presidential elections has threatened to tear up a defence pact with Britain unless Ukraine 'learns how to behave'. Measures in the pact have Romanian troops train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK. However, speaking exclusively to The Telegraph, George Simion said that under his presidency, this would only continue if Kyiv learnt to 'respect the rights of Romanian speakers in Ukraine'. The far-Right presidential frontrunner, who is banned from entering Ukraine, demanded Kyiv show greater respect to the country's Romanian ethnic minority, including to their schools and churches, while painting himself as a more moderate, Western-friendly candidate on Russia and Nato. Romania's presidential elections have gained international attention after a first-round ballot was won by a pro-Putin candidate in November, before being annulled over allegations of Russian interference. The annulment has drawn interventions from European nations, the White House and the Kremlin as the fate of Romania has become both a litmus test for free speech and a proxy for tensions between the East and West. The first-round ballot was won by Calin Georgescu, a pro-Kremlin ultra-nationalist, with the support of Mr Simion and his far-Right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party. Marcel Ciolacu, the Social Democrat party candidate and the architect of Sir Keir Starmer's Anglo-Romanian defence treaty, resigned after the two mainstream Romanian parties failed to get their candidates to the second round for the first time in the country's post-Communist history. Romanian politics were then thrown into disarray when the country's top court voided the results after the national intelligence agency claimed 'aggressive hybrid Russian attacks' had taken place during the election and that Mr Georgescu's popularity was driven by a 'guerrilla' messaging strategy co-ordinated by a 'state actor'. As the country geared up for an election re-run set for May, the election bureau made the decision last week to bar Mr Georgescu along with the boxing-glove-wielding Diana Sosoaca, another ultra-nationalist pro-Putin candidate, from running in the do-over. Ms Sosoaca, a former member of Mr Simion's AUR party who was expelled for damaging its image and has been accused of anti-Semitism, applied as the candidate for the SOS Romania party. But Mr Simion received the green light from the election bureau on Saturday despite having been put under criminal investigation for calling for electoral body members to be 'skinned alive' for barring Mr Georgescu. With polls currently putting him in the lead for the first round of the re-run, Mr Simion is looking to unite the far-Right. In comments to The Telegraph, Ms Sosoaca called Mr Simion a 'Trojan horse of the globalists' while characterising the rejection of her candidacy as a 'coup d'état in continuous form'. Mr Simion has had a rapid rise in Romanian politics after creating the AUR in 2019 with the intention of unifying ethnic Romanians and gaining prominence as an anti-vaccine campaigner during the Covid-19 pandemic. He has moderated some of the party's earlier stances, which had led it to being rebuked internationally over anti-Semitism after its leaders expressed admiration for Ion Antonescu, a Romanian wartime dictator and ally of Hitler. He also opposed a mandate of Holocaust education in Romanian schools. The party has in the past called for restoring the Romanian state 'within its natural borders', through claiming territories including the regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and Transcarpathia in western Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Mr Simion cast doubt over the future of the defence pact between Britain and Romania. Under the Anglo-Romanian defence treaty agreed between Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Ciolacu in November, the two countries have a joint defence committee co-ordinating support for Ukraine and as part of 'Operation Interflex', Bucharest sends military personnel to the UK to train Ukrainian recruits. 'We helped a lot with the Ukrainian war efforts, with money, with guns, with cyber and with humanitarian aid,' Mr Simion said. Discussing the training of soldiers conducted under the defence treaty, he added: 'This can continue for defensive missions only if Ukraine learns how to behave and to respect the rights of the 500,000 Romanian speakers in Ukraine. 'Meaning respecting their right to have schools, respecting Romanian churches, and meaning that Ukrainians do not behave in Soviet style like their cousins, the Russians. 'They should learn also respect and they should learn to give a little back. 'This didn't happen even after we supported Ukraine quite a lot, and the population in Romania is not happy with this.' Mr Simion clarified that he was willing to support the deal but would need an 'understanding with Kyiv that they will finally respect the rights of the Romanian minority'. Mr Simion was banned from entering the country over security concerns as well as promoting 'unionist ideology questioning the legitimacy of Ukraine's borders' and 'narratives alleging the violation of rights for Romania's ethnic minority in Ukraine'. Mr Simion denied any wrongdoing to The Telegraph, claiming he 'did not promote a criminal ideology' and 'didn't promote anything against international laws'. Whilst decrying Romania's historical loss of parts of Bukovina and Bessarabia during the Second World War as having its borders 'teared out', Mr Simion said: 'We respect Ukrainian territorial integrity'. 'We will continue to respect all countries that are recognised by the UN because this is the current international security architecture and because we believe in respecting the laws inside and outside Romania.' He also stated his continued support for unification with Moldova, for which the republic, like Ukraine, has banned Mr Simion from entering the country. Mr Simion said: 'We will not demand territories. So yes, I want to unite with the Republic of Moldova, but only if the Republic of Moldova will want it. 'I cannot go with guns and bombs and tanks in Putin style, in Stalin and Hitler style.' Romania has been an important part of European and Nato efforts to support Kyiv, sharing a 400-mile border with Ukraine and sitting across the Black Sea from Russia-occupied Crimea. The country has provided transit routes for Ukrainian grain supplies, has been expanding its Nato airbase to become the biggest in Europe. Romania also recently hosted British military drills on its eastern border. It also hosts an American Aegis Ashore missile defence system. Mr Georgescu's success caused concern within the Nato alliance, as the Nato-skeptic candidate labelled the American missiles a national 'shame' and called for 'Russian wisdom' in foreign policy. But Mr Simion distanced himself from the views of the candidate he previously supported, telling The Telegraph that he believes 'Russia is a geopolitical enemy' and that he is 'in favour of Nato bases'. The controversy surrounding the presidential election has caused tensions between Romania and the Trump administration in the United States, an opening Mr Simion has attempted to harness. Elon Musk was a vocal supporter of Mr Georgescu and supported Mr Simion's protests against his prosecutors. At his Munich Security Conference speech, JD Vance, the US vice-president, cited the Romanian election annulment as evidence that the 'retreat' from free speech and the 'enemy within' is a greater threat to European democracy than external actors like Russia. 'The speech of Mr Vance was an ointment to our souls because we want justice, we want free elections, we want democracy', Mr Simion said. It comes as a growing rift has emerged between Europe and the United States since Mr Vance's conference speech and Zelensky's disastrous White House meeting with Donald Trump last month. The European Union has pursued rearmament in an attempt to reduce reliance on the Americans. When asked about Sir Keir Starmer's proposal of a peacekeeping force of British and French troops in Ukraine, which Mr Vance appeared to denigrate earlier this month, Mr Simion said 'we don't have a European peacekeeping force that is effective', and added that a European army outside Nato could not work. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
