Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 26.08.21:

  • Azerbaijani soldier Jamil Babayev on Wednesday was found in an apartment in Martakert, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)

Jamil Babayev, a soldier in the urgent military service of the Azerbaijani army, voluntarily left the psychiatric ward of the Ganja city hospital.

A criminal case has been filed against Babayev, an investigation is underway. The Ministry of Defense states that, presumably, the Azeri soldier crossed into an area under the control of Russian peacekeepers.

  • The Azerbaijani armed soldiers have blocked the road from Goris to Vorotan in Syunik Province of Armenia.

This is an interstate road that secures the normal movement of the civilian population of Armenia; it is directly connected with the normal life of people.

These criminal actions of the Azerbaijani armed servicemen violate the right to free movement, and have completely disrupted people’s normal life.

After blocking the interstate road in the past of Davit Bek village of Kapan community (Shurnukh-Karmrakar part) by the Azerbaijani armed forces around 11 pm last night, the movement of people through this section has been also restricted.

For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have also blocked the interstate road leading from Goris to Kapan city near the village of Davit Bek.

  • The National Assembly of Armenia on Thursday adopted the program of the new government.

A total of 70 MPs voted for the adoption of this program, and no lawmakers voted against or in abstention.

But the MPs of the opposition "Armenia" and "With Honor" Factions did not take part in this voting.

Thus, the first sitting of the new NA is over.

The first session of its second sitting will get underway on September 13.

  • As of Thursday morning, 683 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 239,739 in the country.

Also, seven more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 4,785 cases.