France and Armenia paid tribute to the legendary French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.

President of France Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister delivered speeches during the ceremony in the courtyard of Les Invalides in Paris. The ceremony was attended by politicians, celebrities and former officials, including ex-presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

His coffin was covered with the national flag of France, and an Armenian tricolor wreath was being carried behind it.

In his speech, President Macron called Aznavour “the son, the ambassador, the friend of Armenia” who sang “as if his life depended on it”. In turn PM Nikol Pashinyan said it was Aznavour “who raised the name of an Armenian to a new height”.

A commemoration event devoted to the late Aznavour was also held at the square that has been named after him in Yerevan.

October 6 has been declared a Day of National Mourning both in Armenia and in Artsakh.

The President of Armenia signed a decree to appoint three new members of the Cabinet.

Thus, member of the Civil Contract party Hakob Arshakyan has been appointed the Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies. Garegin Baghramyan has been appointed the Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, and MP Feliks Tsolakyan, former member of the Republican Party of Armenia faction, has been appointed the Minister of Emergency Situations.

Five ministerial seats remained vacant after Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan dismissed the ministers representing ARF Dashnaktsutyun and Prosperous Armenia parties.

By another decree, incumbent spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan has been appointed the Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Prosperous Armenia party will not oppose snap parliamentary elections in December, if the people want it, leader of the party Gagik Tsarukyan said during a TV interview late on Thursday. 

The PAP leader recalled that his faction had allocated one-third of the votes needed for Pashinyan to be elected PM in the parliament, in the case when he could have nominated his own candidacy to this office.

 “Mr. Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan] should seek those counterrevolutionary people in his [own political] team,” he said, adding that it is impossible to single-handedly carry out a revolution.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.

Overall, 217 people and 112 organizations were claiming for the Peace Prize this year.