Day: May 6, 2024

#Azerbaijani, #Armenian foreign ministers to meet in #Almaty this week #Azerbaijan #Armenia #SouthCaucasus #peace https://t.co/RbqHL03eTi pic.twitter.com/a3KphvPSKt

— News.Az (@news_az) May 6, 2024

UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) is visiting Armenia.

Ivana Živković, UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) on 5 May arrived on a four-day visit to Armenia.

The objective of Ms. Živković’s visit will be to review UNDP’s partnership with the Government of Armenia, familiarize herself on the ground with UNDP key interventions, including the response to refugee crisis, as well as discuss the UNDP development agenda and key priorities with international and national counterparts.

Together with UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia, Natia Natsvlishvili, she will meet with the President of the National Assembly to launch a new project on parliamentary democracy in Armenia, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Deputy Foreign Minister. She will also hold discussions with the UN Country Team, members of the diplomatic corps and development partners, and civil society. Ms. Živković will visit UNDP project sites and meet with beneficiaries in Gegharkunik, Tavush, Ararat, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik regions.

Ivana Živković assumed her duties in September 2022. Prior to her appointment, she served as Director-General for Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia.

Ms. Živković holds a Master’s degree in International Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Zagreb.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Baryamov will meet in Almaty on May 10.

“As agreed earlier, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet for negotiations on May 10 in Almaty, Kazakhstan,” Spokesperson for the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ani Badalyan informs.

Two Nasa astronauts are due to head for the International Space Station aboard a new spacecraft, the BBC reports.

Boeing’s Starliner will blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, in its first crewed test flight.

The mission has been delayed for several years because of setbacks in the spacecraft’s development.

If it is successful, it will become the second private firm able to provide crew transport to and from the ISS, alongside Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Nasa no longer wants to own and operate such vehicles, preferring now to buy the service from the commercial sector.

The scheduled lift-off is set for 22:34 local time on Monday.

But the launch is also a moment of jeopardy for Boeing. Its airline business is under pressure because of a series of accidents. And the firm’s space sector is also under scrutiny following difficulties in developing Starliner itself.

“It’s a really big day for Boeing”, commented Dr Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University.

“The company has been working on the spacecraft for so long, they have had a few problems with the test flights and there’s a lot riding on this”.