17:00 News in Brief: Vote Buying Scandal, Pashinyan's Tough Statement, Arrests in Shirak

Brief and substantive news from the last hour:

• The Anti-Corruption Committee has carried out arrests and searches in the Shirak Province related to a vote-buying case. The investigation concerns attempts to financially incentivize and pressure voters during the parliamentary elections.
• The number of citizens registered to vote has been announced, currently exceeding 2.48 million. The data was presented ahead of the parliamentary elections on June 7.
• Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia and Azerbaijan should close the topic of refugees and avoid returning to the risk of new conflicts, emphasizing the need to focus on the real Armenia.
• A new head has been appointed to the Ararat Province Investigative Department following the dismissal related to the controversial incident in Vedi.
• Representatives of the Belarusian opposition have reported that Lukashenko's regime attempted to secure the arrest of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Armenia, but the Armenian side rejected the request.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington is reviewing its role in NATO and is awaiting Iran's response to the proposal for resolution.
• The Latvian Minister of Defense has stated that he is ready to resign following an incident involving a Ukrainian drone breaching the country's airspace.