As a result of the procedural and evidentiary actions carried out during the preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings initiated by the RA Investigative Committee’s Serious Crime Investigation Department of the Yerevan City Investigation Department, it was revealed that J.K. attempted to sell large quantities of narcotics, as well as purchased large quantities of “a-PVP” weighing 16.98 grams and 13 kg of “Marijuana” narcotics (valued at around 700 thousand USD) in different places. the circumstances of cases of keeping.

A public criminal prosecution was initiated against J.K. under Article 44-393, Part 3, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code (in particular, the attempt to illegally sell large quantities of narcotics) and Article 393, Part 3, Clause 2 (in particular, for the purpose of carrying out illegal trafficking of large quantities of narcotics or their illegal sale).

Arrest was applied to the latter as a preventive measure.

The criminal proceedings regarding J.K. were sent to the supervising prosecutor with an indictment.

Notice: the person accused of a crime is considered innocent until his guilt is proven in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Criminal Procedure by a legally binding court verdict.

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“Luys” Foundation analyzed the socio-economic developments of the RA economy in 2026. in January-April.

Thus.

2026 In the months of January-April, the economic activity continued to be maintained at a relatively high level, but there are signs of slowing down in the growth structure. In April, the growth of the economic activity index was around 7.1%, slightly accelerating compared to March, but the cumulative growth decreased to 6.9%, compared to 7.1% in January-March. The main drivers of growth are industry and services, while weak trade dynamics continue to limit faster growth in economic activity. This proves that the high growth of economic activity is maintained, but its structure has become more unbalanced.

The growth of the industry recovered somewhat in April, but the dynamics of the sector remains unstable. The growth of industrial output in April was 11.7%, as a result of which the cumulative growth of January-April was 13.0%, remaining close to the level of 13.4% in January-March. At the same time, the sector’s growth continues to be significantly influenced by individual subsectors and short-term factors, including high growth in mining and base metal production. The high growth of the latter is largely due to factors related to re-exports and may stop or decline sharply at any time.

The dynamics of foreign trade worsened again in April, confirming the unstable nature of the increases recorded in previous months. Export volumes decreased by 25.9% in April, as a result of which the cumulative indicator for January-April became negative, making -3.3%, against the 6.4% growth of January-March. Import growth has also weakened. In April, imports decreased by 5.8%, and cumulative growth slowed to 2.5%. This proves that the recovery of foreign trade in the previous months was not stable and continues to depend mostly on factors related to individual product groups and re-exports.

The inflationary environment has become more worrisome as inflation continued to accelerate in April. 2026 In April, the 12-month inflation reached 5.3% against 4.5% in March. The acceleration of inflation is mainly due to the increase in the prices of food and transport services. In these conditions, despite the strengthening of inflationary pressures, the Central Bank kept the refinancing rate at 6.5% at the beginning of May, which shows that the position of the monetary policy has not been tightened yet.

 In the fiscal sector, revenue growth has been maintained, but the structure of expenditures remains a concern, especially due to the reduction of capital expenditures. 2026 In January-April, the total revenues of the state budget increased by 13.7%, and tax revenues by 14.4%. At the same time, the 7.6% increase in general expenses was mainly due to the 14.7% increase in current expenses, while capital expenses decreased by 41.3%. This means that the budget spending policy continues to be dominated by the expansion of current expenditures, and capital expenditures do not fully fulfill their role in increasing the quality and long-term potential of economic growth.

High growth rates in the construction sector and high credit growth continue to support domestic demand, but at the same time may increase macroeconomic risks. The cumulative growth of construction in January-April reached 22.9%, and the volume of loans provided to the construction sector increased by 23.6% (by 168.3 billion drams) compared to the same period last year. The combination of high growth in the construction sector and expansion of lending to construction calls for additional attention, especially in terms of potential risks around real estate market demand and future price dynamics.

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Human rights defender Ruben Melikyan wrote:

“Placing a propaganda image, an outline of Stalin’s map, which is not a state symbol of RA and is used by the ruling force on the coat of arms of the RA armed forces, is a clear manifestation of the politicization of the army.

This circumstance is an additional argument for ignoring the “shameful parade” to be held tomorrow.

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Citizens who have been deprived of the right to drive in Armenia will be given the opportunity to restore the document once without passing an examination, upon payment of a state fee and a strict one-year probationary period.

The relevant legislative draft was presented by the Minister of Internal Affairs at the government meeting on May 27 Arpine Sargsyan. Under current regulations, the restoration of driving license after the expiration of the period of revocation requires the passing of mandatory examinations, regardless of whether the revocation is for the first time or not. The new model proposes to allow citizens to restore the right to drive by paying a state fee of 50,000 drams within one year after the expiration of the one-year period of deprivation.

This opportunity will be given only once and comes with strict restrictions. After reinstatement, a probationary period is established, during which the driver will be given only 6 penalty points instead of the standard 13. If the driver consumes those 6 points or during that time again commits such a violation that implies deprivation, he will automatically be deprived of the right to drive a vehicle for another year. The minister emphasized that a stricter methodology is emphasized in the new model, because under normal circumstances, when 13 points are consumed, the right is only suspended, not deprived.

In the case of the second and every subsequent deprivation, rehabilitation will be carried out exclusively through examinations. The draft also contains a transitional provision that will allow deprived persons between January 1, 2020 and May 1, 2026 to also benefit from this new rehabilitation procedure.

The norm will apply only to the decisions made by the police within the framework of the administration. It will not apply to forfeitures imposed by courts or foreign competent authorities. In addition, the procedure will not work in the case of recognizing a person as incapable, as well as in the case of suspension of the right to drive based on mental illnesses, use of narcotics or psychotropic substances and other health contraindications.

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The other day, we paid off another 9 million US dollars from the credit obligations of “HETC” CJSC to international banks. Romanos Petrosyan, the temporary manager of the National Economic and Social Committee, wrote about it on his Facebook page.

“2025 as of July, at the time of the initiation of administrative proceedings by the President of the PSC, the Company had credit obligations to international and local banks, as well as issued bonds (including accrued interest) of about 396.8 million. in the amount of US dollars, of which only international banks – about 123.3 million. USD (in addition: with the pledge of 100% of the Company’s shares).

At the moment, the credit portfolio of HEC is about 347.6 million. US dollars, of which the amount of international loans is 93.2 million. USD.

According to that, during the period of temporary administration, we reduced the financial obligations of the National Bank of Ukraine to international and local banks by about 50 million US dollars (including early repayments).

Moreover. the payments were made exclusively at the expense of own funds, in parallel with the current financial and economic normal operations, without the involvement of additional financial funds,” the note states.

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The Armenian government is launching a new phase of reforms in the cultural sector. with the introduction of the certification system, the salary of museum employees will increase by 57 percent on average, with the aim of solving the problem of the lack of young personnel.

On May 27, the executive approved the redistribution project in the state budget, allocating 151.8 million drams for the implementation of this cultural initiative. According to the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, the main goal of the program is the introduction of an interrelated, effective mechanism for professional development and salary growth in the museum sector.

Low wages in the sector have led to serious systemic challenges. The minister emphasized that unattractive financial conditions limit professional growth, reduce the interest of young professionals and create significant risks for the quality of museum management and preservation. In order to solve the problem, a new certification procedure has already been developed and approved, which involves checking professional knowledge and skills in written and oral stages.

The process will start in July, and employees who successfully pass it will receive corresponding bonuses. It is planned that the average monthly salary of the specialists included in the eight job groups will be around 200 thousand drams. As an additional social guarantee, most certified employees will also have access to a health insurance package. Next, it is planned to introduce a similar mechanism in the library system.

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