28-year-old Vahan Keshishyan has been arrested after a body was discovered at a residence in Glendale. Law enforcement officials stated that Keshishyan was arrested as a suspect after a hectic standoff. The area was shut down for quite some time after the incident for investigation purposes. At least two educational institutions were also shut down during that time.

Authorities are investigating the case and trying to discover the relationship between the suspect and the victim. Law enforcement officials have not revealed the identity of the victim. They are trying to find what possibly happened during events that led to the death of the victim.

Authorities made a horrific discovery at a house in Glendale after they responded there at about 2:15 pm local time on Wednesday, . According to cops, they arrived at the scene on the 3300 block of Reta Street after receiving a report of assault with a deadly weapon. The World Time Todays reported that after cops arrived at the house, they found shreds of evidence to prove that an assault had taken place but couldn't find either a suspect or a victim.

Meanwhile, three schools were shut down for safety purposes, and since authorities were conducting an investigation. Authorities discovered a suspect inside the house, later identified as Vahan Keshishyan. However, due to lack of cooperation, SWAT and a crisis negotiation teams had to be called for assistance. Eventually, after a lengthy standoff, Keshishyan gave up and surrendered to the authorities.

When the SWAT team arrested 28-year-old Vahan Keshishyan from La Crescenta, he was found barefoot and shirtless. He was arrested on suspicion of murder. However, cops have yet to reveal the victim's identity. They are reportedly awaiting a notification from the family.

CBS News reported that the suspect, Vahan Keshishyan, had barricaded himself inside the house and allegedly assaulted someone with a machete. Glendale Police Department issued a news release stating that they canvassed the entire residence to look for the victim after the arrest. Upon thorough investigation, they discovered the deceased victim, who also seemingly sustained some "unspecified injuries."

Among the schools shut down, Clark Magnet High School and Valley View Elementary School have been named as two of them. The lockdown has, however, been lifted as of now. The Glendale Police Department is currently investigating the case to unearth all possible details. The case is a developing story, and new updates are anticipated. In an update by the Glendale PD on X (formerly Twitter), they wrote,

"The Glendale Police Department is responding to an active critical incident at a residence in the La Crescenta area."

Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1989, Hovig Keşişyan identifies himself as a person from Gaziantep: "I was born in Aleppo but I consider myself from Gaziantep. When people asked where I was from in Aleppo, we would say 'we are from Gaziantep.' I had other friends from Gaziantep too. They used to say to me, 'You are 18 karat Gaziantep, we are 24 karat!' because they were Gaziantepi on both their mother's and father's sides. My mother, however, is from Sivas."

His grandfather, who shares the same name, was born in Gaziantep in 1913. In his diary passed down from his grandfather, it is written: "I was born in Eblahan, Gaziantep. Somewhere near the Eyüboğlu Mosque."

Hovig Keşişyan, who visits the city where his ancestors were born every year, despite warnings from his family to not go to Gaziantep due to potential risks, met with us in an old Gaziantep house. We talked to him about being from Gaziantep and being Armenian.

Hovig Keşişyan and his family still speak Turkish at home: "This is a legacy passed down to us from Gaziantep. We see it as a cultural richness. I first came to Gaziantep in 2015. I feel like I belong here. I believe my roots and connection are here."

"Dad and grandpa used to say that the people of Gaziantep have a rich and deep-rooted history," says Keşişyan, recalling his memories:

"In Aleppo, you can find books and materials about Armenians from Gaziantep. We have kept the spirit of being from Gaziantep alive there too. If someone in Aleppo is awake, skilled, and clever, they ask, 'Is he from Gaziantep?' This is my sixth visit to Gaziantep. I met historian and writer Murad Uçaner, and through him, I learned about the city's history. When I first saw Kurtuluş Mosque, which used to be Surp Asdvadzadzin Church, I felt drawn to it, psychologically feeling like I belonged there. Later, I learned that my grandfather was baptized at Surp Asdvadzadzin Church in 1914."

Keşişyan, who says he feels a nostalgic melancholy with each visit to Gaziantep, describes 1915 as follows:

"I say, if we hadn't experienced the events of 1915, we wouldn't have migrated to Aleppo. We wouldn't have experienced a situation like 1915 in Aleppo either. If it weren't for 1915, we wouldn't have suffered due to what is happening in Syria today. And every time I come here, I also get angry with our people. I wish our ancestors had converted to Islam so we could have stayed here!

"Because we experienced trauma. We are now the fourth generation. We know my grandfather's father, but we don't know those before him. My grandfather was born in Gaziantep, my father and I were born in Syria. My son was born in Armenia. Four generations, three different countries… What does it mean to change three countries in 100 years? Every time I come here, I feel a pain."

Keşişyan is the only one from his family that has been going back and forth to Gaziantep. In fact, his mother worries every time he comes back, fearing that something might happen to him. She says things like, "Why are you going there, son? It could be dangerous. They might cause you trouble. Go to Europe instead, why are you going to Gaziantep? It's all in the past. Don't reopen closed chapters."

He says, "Bey Mahallesi attracts me. The old Armenian Quarter. I love places that smell of history. Especially when that history belongs to my family, my ancestors, and my grandfather. I don't want to be separated from it. I would prefer to stay in Gaziantep, to live here. I would like my son to have the spirit of Gaziantep as well. I want him to live here just like his ancestors did. (CÖ/TY/PE)    

https://bianet.org/haber/a-gaziantep-armenian-following-in-the-footsteps-of-his-ancestors-in-the-city-291986

Tehran, IRNA — The Islamic Republic, in the 18th meeting of the Iran-Armenia Joint Economic Commission, has expressed readiness to export Iran-made pharmaceutical products to Armenia.

On , Fast Bank in Armenia announced its receipt of a license to issue and acquire Mastercard cards, including Mastercard World and Mastercard World Black Edition cards. This collaboration is poised to revolutionize the banking industry in Armenia, making financial operations more accessible and simplified for customers.

Fast Bank's partnership with Mastercard signifies a significant leap forward in the modernization of Armenia's banking sector. By offering Mastercard World and Mastercard World Black Edition cards, Fast Bank aims to broaden its customer base and enhance the availability and speed of financial services.

Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, connects businesses in over 210 countries, facilitating everyday business activities. This partnership enables Mastercard to extend its reach in Armenia and promote a cashless future.

Fast Bank's initiative to issue and acquire Mastercard cards is part of a larger effort to modernize the banking industry in Armenia. By providing customers with more financial management options, Fast Bank aims to simplify financial operations, making it more convenient for individuals and businesses alike.

The introduction of Mastercard World and Mastercard World Black Edition cards will provide Fast Bank customers with access to a wide range of benefits, including enhanced security features, exclusive rewards, and seamless transactions across borders.

Mastercard views this partnership with Fast Bank as a crucial step towards a cashless future in Armenia. With the increased availability and speed of financial services, customers will have the opportunity to transition to more convenient and efficient payment methods.

This shift towards a cashless society will not only benefit individuals but also contribute to the overall growth and development of Armenia's economy. By streamlining financial operations, businesses can focus on expanding their services and reaching new markets.

As Fast Bank and Mastercard embark on this collaborative journey, they remain committed to delivering innovative and accessible financial solutions that cater to the evolving needs of customers in Armenia.

In conclusion, Fast Bank's recent acquisition of a license to issue and acquire Mastercard cards marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Armenia's banking industry. This partnership between Fast Bank and Mastercard will undoubtedly contribute to the modernization of financial services in the country, providing customers with more accessible and efficient payment options.

By embracing the cashless future, Armenia is poised to join the ranks of countries leading the way in financial innovation and technological advancement. This collaboration signifies a promising step towards a more interconnected and streamlined global financial landscape.

https://bnnbreaking.com/finance-nav/fast-bank-and-mastercard-revolutionize-armenias-banking-industry

As in Ukraine, so in the South Caucasus, 2024 will be a critical year, and one that will also test European decisionmakers.

The second half of the year will be difficult for Georgia. In October, there will be an election in which the Georgian Dream ruling party seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term and tighten its increasingly illiberal grip on the country—while still keeping its newly acquired EU candidate status.

Before that looms the issue of Azerbaijan and Armenia and whether, yet again, this is a year of war or peace. Negotiations are ongoing for a bilateral peace agreement that would normalize relations between the two countries after thirty years of conflict, but there is still the threat of violence in and around southern Armenia—in the region called Syunik, historically known as Zangezur.

On February 13, the Armenian military reported that two of its soldiers had been killed by fire from the Azerbaijani side near the village of Nerkin Hand in Syunik. It is an area close to Azerbaijan, where monitors from the EU border mission, EUMA, have previously been denied access by Russian border guards.

Azerbaijan still holds most of the cards. President Ilham Aliyev was re-elected for a fifth term as president on February 7. He has never looked so confident. Aliyev derives new legitimacy with the public from his military victory last September when his forces captured Nagorny Karabakh in a lightning operation, forcing the entire Armenian population to flee and resolving the decades-old conflict by violence.

The Karabakh operation accelerated a cooling of relations between Azerbaijan and the West, which had been trying to broker a peaceful resolution of the conflict until the last moment. This as the Armenia-Russia relationship is in a process of spectacular breakdown and the EU steps up its engagement with Armenia.

Conversely, Aliyev’s confidence derives from a double insurance policy with his two big neighbors: a tight alliance with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a mutually advantageous partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The stress on the two leaders rather than their countries is deliberate—these are very personal bonds between men who speak the same macho language of power and money.

The Western-facilitated negotiation tracks in Brussels and Washington have been suspended since last summer. What is left is a bilateral process, led by the Armenian and Azerbaijani national security advisers, working on the text of a peace agreement.

It is a serious process that delivered a good outcome on December 7, when Armenian detainees were released in return for Armenia dropping a veto on Azerbaijan hosting the COP-29 climate summit in Baku at the end of 2024.

A bilateral peace process without mediators has the advantage that no foreign agendas or egos can get in the way of a deal. But the Armenian side also fears that in a situation of asymmetry Baku can use it to impose its agenda, demanding concessions while still threatening to use force.

There are reported to be three main sticking points in reaching a deal. One is the demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where multiple maps from different parts of the Soviet era give different interpretations of where lines should be drawn.

The second issue is what kind of international guarantees and dispute resolution mechanism there will be to make an agreement sustainable. The Armenians want as much international backup as possible, while the Azerbaijanis want to see very little written here.

The third issue is the highly contentious one of reopening a long-closed corridor or transit route across 43 kilometers of Armenian territory connecting the main part of Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, bordering Türkiye. Azerbaijan has an interest in reconnecting the two parts of its territory with routes that have as little Armenian control over them as possible. Armenia does not want to cede sovereignty or security over its strategically vital southern border area.

There is a strong Western strategic interest in the second point, and even more so in the third one—the issue of the so-called Zangezur Corridor. When it comes to security, Azerbaijan is insisting that Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) border guards should guard the rail and road connection. They cite a trilateral Armenian-Azerbaijani-Russian ceasefire statement of November 2020, which explicitly mentions this point—even though the rest of that agreement has now been rendered defunct by events. In January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again insisted that this part of the deal must be enforced.

For its part, the Armenian side is working to rid itself of Russian influence, including the border guards deployed there after the fall of the Soviet Union. It would be a major strategic blow if the Russians were to stay, at the behest of Azerbaijan.

The working assumption in Armenia is that there is a deal between Baku and Moscow here, which Ankara has quietly assented to. There is at least circumstantial evidence to back this up. For the Russians, control of the transit route would be a big success. They would be formally handed control of a stretch of railway that links Russia and Iran—and routes onward to the Persian Gulf—for the first time in decades. This would be the major north-south rail route for Russia to rebuild its connections with the Middle East as war with Ukraine and contestation with the West stretch into the future.

The worrying scenario is that a peace deal will not be signed until Azerbaijan gets what it wants in southern Armenia. To put it another way, in 2024 Armenia is likely to come under big pressure from both Baku and Moscow, using different methods, to accede to a plan for the Zangezur Corridor that suits neither Yerevan nor the Western powers.

That is also why local incidents of violence, such as the one near Nerkin Hand, need to be watched very closely. New conflict and fateful consequences for the entire region could flow from small clashes like this one.