full image - Repost: Jun/8/2022, Wednesday. Your daily news digest from Armenia. (from Reddit.com, Jun/8/2022, Wednesday. Your daily news digest from Armenia.)
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11 minutes. 2906 words.authorities looking for prominent "underworld boss" and his family member over alleged plot to assassinate opponentsDon Pipo is an Armenian businessman considered by many as a criminal subculture boss.Authorities report: We have several suspects accused of preparing an assassination, organization of a criminal scheme, purchase and possession of illegal firearms.Don Pipo and his wife's relative organized a gang in Vagharshapat and began recruiting their friends. To conceal the illegal nature of the gang, they registered a business that supposedly provided security services.Among the recruits were Sensei Arthur [lol?], the acting director of Vagharshapat's agricultural market, and others. They followed orders to commit serious crimes.In March 2021 the ringleader Pipo got into an argument with several residents. Overwhelmed with the feeling of revenge, Pipo decided to publicly punish them.Together with his gang members, he met the residents at a restaurant. There were around 40 people. Bullets started flying. One of the participants sustained a skull injury.Pipo ordered his men to wipe clean their fingerprints, wear new clothes to conceal their identities, and lie low for a while. Pipo's brother was killed. Pipo and his relative left the country, leaving the gang leadership to a trusted person.To avenge the murder of Pipo's brother, the trusted person organized a plan to assassinate the participants of the restaurant fight, who were now located in Russia and Armenia.The trusted person recruited assassins and began training them, but they later refused to carry out the order.Pipo and his relative are placed on the wanted list. Their trusted person is under arrest. They are facing multiple criminal charges. //article, Գեդինը մտնեք․anti-corruption: school director loses the right to hold office after a bribery scandalDeputy Education Minister Zhanna: Last autumn a scandal unfolded after a recorded tape about demands for a newly appointed teacher to hand over part of the salary every month to the director.The now-former director has been stripped of her accreditation. The court verdict is in. The director won't be allowed to hold certain positions and work in the pedagogical field.I know that this problem is more common and that many people choose not to speak up, but I think this verdict proves that it's necessary to step forward. Hopefully this will be a precedence. //Background: the press reported that a teacher at "Aleksandr Blok" No. 122 school was told to pay $1,500 to get hired, plus part of the monthly salary to retain the job. The suspect was director Narine Malkhasyan. The minister suspended her in September.articleconsumer protection agency goes after several factories for "misleading consumers" with terminology that made it appear their eggs were "organic"Competition Protection Commission: An investigation was launched against Arzni, Project Inter-Invest, and Araks. They sold eggs with words similar to "eco", making it appear as if the eggs were certified organic. They have been asked to fix the violations. //articleVIDEO: a group of opposition MPs broke into a government building a "made a scene"Report: HD MP Aspram Krpeyan, HD MP Kristine Vardanyan, and PU MP Anna Mkrtchyan broke into the healthcare ministry building, bypassed the security gates, and moved towards Healthcare Minister's office despite security guards' orders to stop. They wanted to meet the minister.The security tried to stop them, but the MPs told them "you can't touch us, we are MPs". The MPs entered the room during a ministry session.MP Vardanyan took a stack of papers and threw them in the minister's direction. They were unhappy that the minister "defended the police officers". "Do you like working with traitor Nikol?" [It's presumably over the minister's kind words towards the dozens of officers who were hospitalized with injuries during the June 3rd attack.]Minister's spokeswoman: Chirps. They literally broke into the building and disrupted the session. They only chirped and threw papers. Is this behavior appropriate for an MP? //The papers they threw on the ground in front of the minister contained photos of soldiers' remains in morgue bags that were waiting for a funeral last year.Public Council chief Styopa Safaryan: That was disrespectful to our fallen soldiers, including Minister Avanesyan's own brother who died in the 44-day war during fierce battles on Lisagor-Shushi road. //Ruling party MPs urged the security to increase the protection of state buildings.Minister responded to the incident: Gross behavior and hooliganism. If you want to meet, you can schedule an appointment, go through the security gate, and show your passport at the entrance. The authorities should respond to this hooliganism. Armenia is a country of law. //The Ministry sent an official letter to Parliament urging an investigation of their conduct.video article article article article articleformer chief of general staff Onik Gasparyan loses lawsuit against Pashinyan and ex-president Armen SargsyanOnik was fired after his early 2021 letter that led to a political-military crisis. He filed multiple lawsuits. The Constitutional Court recently ruled against him, finding that the law, which was used to fire him, was constitutional.The second lawsuit was about the decree that fired him. His lawyer says the court has ruled against Onik.articleEU ambassador commented the ongoing judicial reforms and street protests during a meeting with Armenian judges and Venice Commission representatives:Armenia is facing numerous challenges, and we are very impressed that the authorities willingly continue moving on the path of reforms. We highly value the efforts Armenia has made in recent years in terms of democratic processes.It’s also very important that the political leadership is committed to continuing the constitutional reforms that are envisaged by the 2019-2021 judicial reforms strategy.EU has always supported the implementation of justice reforms, and for this purpose, we have provided long-term and short-term support. An idependent judiciary is the guarantor of human rights and freedoms.There is currently big tension in the country. It’s important that all sides work together to protect the rights of the citizens. It’s important for the people to be able to voice their opinion freely, and for the police not to use brute force. Some incidents that have taken place should be investigated, it already happens in some of the cases, the cases reach the court and a ruling is being made. That’s how democracy works.All sides should refrain from hate speech and provocations. Any violence must be condemned. //articlePashinyan hosted the head of Venice CommissionThey spoke about the ongoing judicial reforms and independence of courts.articleU.S. State Secretary's assistant will visit Armenia to discuss democratic reformsKara McDonald will meet state officials and pro-human rights NGOs. "The United States is committed to working with Armenia to strengthen our bilateral partnership based on shared democratic values, including respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms."articleArmenia and Norway exchange touching letters to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relationsFM Mirzoyan: Mutual respect between the two countries, adherence to democratic values, rule of law, and respect for human rights, as well as historically rooted warm ties, formed a basis for our cooperation over the three decades.Armenian people remember with gratitude Fridtjof Nansen [helped Armenians who escaped the Genocide], prominent Norwegian humanitarian, faithful and caring friend of Armenians, who epitomizes the collective identity of the Norwegian people for the Armenians.Thank you for the unprecedented support in the fight against COVID-19. //FM Anniken: As members of the UN, Council of Europe, and OSCE, our countries have built bilateral relations on the basis of international commitments, shared values and principles. It's important to further strengthen our relations. Norway is ready to continue cooperation based on democratic values and respect for human rights. //articleexplosion took place at "Araz" plant run by Azerbaijan's Defense MinistryOne employee was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds. The authorities are investigating the boom. According to preliminary investigation, it's related to a 60mm mortar.articlesomeone jumped from Yerevan's Kievyan bridge but survived after landing on a treeThe 17yo resident was hospitalized.articleTurkey responds to European ParliamentRead Tuesday digest if you missed the European Parliament's latest resolution that called on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide and protect minorities.Turkey: We condemn the resolution. You have no reputation in Turkey. The resolution is short-sighted. //articleresidents of Artsakh's Khramort village are returning home after a tense situation in February-MarchKhramort is next to Parukh, which was invaded by Azeri soldiers earlier this year. Khramort residents, including women and children, are starting to return home, said the mayor.Mayor Zorik: There used to be 4 Azeri flags on the nearby Karaglukh hill. Today we can only see one. They removed their flags from the top of the hill. The Azeri soldiers are not visible from here anymore. A quarter of residents have returned home already. The process is gradual because we want to ensure it's safe. There are Armenian and Russian soldiers here.articleRussian FM Lavrov vists ArmeniaThe next 3+3 meeting between regional states will take place "soon", said Lavrov during a meeting with Turkish FM.He then arrived in Yerevan to meet ranking officials.article articleArmenia and Azerbaijan now have the opportunity to normalize relations: U.S. Assistant Secretary of StateKaren Donfried: "I believe that there is real hope now that Armenia and Azerbaijan have the opportunity to move forward in normalizing relations and in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully. I think we have seen both countries taking important steps." //articlewhich municipalities will be merged next, and what impact does it have on infrastructure programs and administrative efficiency?A process launched in 2015 and expanded in 2021 to merge the administrative centers of 908 smaller settlements into 79 larger municipalities, in to improve the efficiency of governance, utilities, transport, etc.Soon, 13 of those merged settlements will further merge into 5. This will bring their populations to 15K-38K.Infrastructure Ministry: The numbers speak for themselves. The merged settlements have more state-subsidized infrastructure programs. The number of petitions they sent to the government to receive subsidies has gone up, which shows that the settlements themselves have consolidated enough resources to pay their share of the co-financed projects.These are the volumes of subsidy projects in Armavir:2019: ֏0.8b2020: ֏2.0b2021: ֏3.8b2022: ֏6.2bSince half of the project is paid by the municipality, that means the settlements in Armavir have been able to consolidate ֏3.1b this year alone. This is observed in other provinces as well, with an average of 2x increase. //... higher salaries after a mergerShirak governor: Thanks to the savings from better management of resources, we've seen a 40%-50% salary increase in municipalities. Here are the co-subsidy program volumes in Shirak:2021: ֏2.7b2022: ֏7.6bThis includes programs to build 20 kindergartens, roads, gas networks, and other infrastructures. //... settlement mergers led to administrative optimizationsMinistry official: The mergers led to the layoffs of 1,500 workers in public offices. We were able to do this without a significant negative effect on the quality of municipal work. On the other hand, municipality-run organizations have since hired 2,300 workers. This means we have more teachers, childcare workers, and technicians now.article article article article videothe government is selling a... government buildingThere is a state-run organization that handles public communication and information. They will be relocated to another facility. The 9905 m2 government-owned building and adjacent lands will be sold for $36.9 million.articlecapital expenditures will hit a new record next year, after this year's 62% growth: MPQP MP Papoyan: Next year it is planned to increase the capital expenditures by several 10s of %. We are discussing the bill with the Finance Ministry. This year the capital expenditures increased by 62%.The increase in capital expenditures will enable communities to greatly increase their projects. //articleWorld Bank predicts 3.5% economic growth in Armenia this year, twice higher than IMF's estimate in AprilWorld Bank predicts 3.5% in 2022 (was 4.8% before Ukraine), 4.6% in 2023, 4.9% in 2024.article article article articlequarter of Russians expect their incomes to rise within the next year37% believe their income won't change (including 42% of seniors)24% believe it will increase (42% in the 18-30 age group)17% believe it will decrease (higher % in the 46-60 age group)Survey by Հասարակական կարծիքի ֆոնդ among 1500 citizens in late May.articleRussia's car industry is in deep trouble after Ukraine sanctionsCar prices +50% and sales -84% in May.Top western carmakers led by Renault either suspended operations or left Russia since sanctions took effect. The country's car industry depends on global supplies, and the shortage of parts has shrunk production volumes several times."A few suppliers still haven’t sold out all their stocks, so that’s what’s selling. But they’re running out rapidly,” said a consultant at Avtostat. Only two of Russia’s more than 20 auto factories are operating now, a locally owned one and a Chinese plant.article articleRussia donates 6 brand new "URAL-5557" firetrucks to ArmeniaArmenia's Emergency Ministry sent an envoy to pick them up from a parking lot in Russia's North Ossetia-Alania region. The trucks will be used to fight fire in difficult terrains.Minister Pambukhchyan: I'd like to thank our Russian colleagues for the donation. This is not the first time. A few months earlier we received all-terrain vehicles and emergency equipment as a donation.video articlecity Sevan begins painting new street lines "to make the roads safer"10km of lines will be drawn on primary and secondary streets and pedestrian crosswalks in the city. It cost them $5,000. Another project to rebuild several streets will launch soon.articleIMAGE: government could shut down traffic on a bridge built in 1800s after a series of earthquakes raised concerns about its stabilityShirak province has 1,300 state monuments, many of which are endangered by frequent earthquakes. 60 of them are in particularly bad shape. There is a state agency tasked with keeping the area near state monuments clean and tidy.State agency: The biggest problem is with the bridge near Krasar located on top of Akhuryan. It was built with black and red կոպտատաշ tuf stone in the 1800s. It resembles the bridge in historic Kars. Considering its condition, we've asked the government to suspend traffic on the bridge and organize its protection. //articlePashinyan envoy visits Turkmenistan to discuss cooperation in energy and tradeEnvoy Tumanyan met Turkmenistan's oil minister and officials from the trade sector. They spoke about cooperation in the areas of gas, energy, and upcoming intergovernmental meetings.Armenian government recently held negotiations with Iran to swap Turkmen gas.articleVIDEO: British-Dutch fuel firm SHELL is coming to ArmeniaEconomy Minister Kerobyan on May 12: Shell will launch a network of filling stations in Armenia this autumn. They will be of new quality and standards. The plan to open the gas stations existed since last year. We've done everything to support them and remove the barriers. //The importer company has been negotiating for Shell's entry since 2017. The fuel will likely be imported from Shell's processing plant in Greece.video articleOscar winning director Terry George will be the president of this year's Golden Apricot feature film juryThe 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival will take place on July 10-17.In 2016, George directed the film "Promise" about the Armenian Genocide. He is also known for his work on "Hotel Rwanda", "The Boxer", etc.articlefilmmaker Artavazd Peleshyan's "Nature" will premiere in Yerevan on June 18The global festival premiere was held at the New York Film Festival in September. "Nature" brings together amateur shots of nature, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and grandiose landscapes from the internet.Peleshyan received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA) for the movie.The entrance is free of charge.articleUEFA Nations League: Scotland-Armenia: 2:0The second match is over. Armenia lost 0:2. The group standings: Scotland, Ukraine, Armenia, Ireland Republic ofarticleZambian government is using a program developed by Armenian experts to help thousands of families avoid hygiene-related diseases.Armenian company "Synergy" made a program for Zambia. They are using it to help 15,000 families to avoid various diseases. The number of recipients will increase by 250,000 soon. The program helps manage sewage and other sanitation infrastructure.Զամբիայի կառավարությունն իրականացնում է Լուսակայի սանիտարական ծրագիրը, որը հիգիենիկ պայմաններով կապահովի ամենաաղքատ տնտեսություններին: Ծրագիրն ընդգրկում է կոյուղու ցանցի ընդլայնում, սանիտարական ենթակառուցվածքների և ոլորտի կառավարման համակարգերի մշակումarticleArmenia's postal service will provide more in-home and digital servicesHayPost: We will soon launch a unified civic center in Abovyan that will provide over 400 state services. Starting July, our clients will be able to receive letters via email. Certain services will be digitized.26 branches were revamped in Yerevan. Dozens of electric motorcycles will provide express delivery soon.continuetoday in history1949: George Orwell's 1984 is published. That is all you need to know.articledo not miss the interview with Yerevan mayor Hrachya SargsyanHe discusses public transport, the subway, waste management, the Hrazdan River and nature, dust, and more.English, Russianin case you missedYesterday's news in English, русский (by Impossible-Ad-). Archive by Armeniapedia. Donate to Armenia & Artsakh hereThe accused are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.
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