Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 18.11.21:

  • No significant incidents were registered as of 2 pm at the Armenian borders.

The Armenian Unified Infocenter reported that the operational situation is controlled by the Armed Forces.

The videos about border clashes that have been actively shared online in recent hours are constantly being studied by the relevant structures.

  • The dead body of an Armenian soldier who fought during Tuesday’s Azerbaijani provocation was transferred from Baku to Yerevan on a special flight Wednesday.

It was done through the mediation of the deputy commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces, Rustam Muradov, the former commander of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The work continues on finding the missing Armenian servicemen, as well as the return of the Armenian captives as a result of Tuesday’s battles.

  • US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez has described as “deeply concerning” the reports of Armenian casualties and Armenian soldiers taken as political prisoners by Azerbaijan as a result of the latter's attack on the eastern border of Armenia on Tuesday.

Menendez's respective statement has been posted on the Twitter account of the aforesaid committee.

“Defense aid to Azerbaijan helps enable these heinous acts against ethnic Armenians. It is time to pass my National Defense Authorization Act) amendment cutting this aid,” Menendez said.

  • Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Yerevan Thursday on a working visit until Friday.

In the Armenian capital, Mishustin will attend the meeting of the intergovernmental council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

The current issues of deepening integration within the framework of the EEU are on the agenda of this meeting, the press service of the Russian government says in a statement.

  • A Los Angeles couple who were convicted of trying to steal $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds were sentenced to years in federal prison, although they remain fugitives, according to CBS News.

CBS Los Angeles reports Richard Ayvazyan, 43, and his wife and co-defendant, 37-year-old Marietta Terabelian, remain at large after the FBI says they removed their electronic tracking bracelets in August.

Ayvazyan was sentenced Monday in absentia to 17 years and his wife got six years, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office.

Ayvazyan's brother, Artur Ayvazyan, 41, was sentenced to five years.

  • As of Thursday morning, 1,019 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 331,914 in the country.

Also, 30 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 7,183 cases.