Author: Antonian Lara

 13:13,

STEPANAKERT, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. In accordance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh has sent notifications to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić on taking temporary legal measures by Artsakh, provided for by these international treaties, as a result of introducing emergency situation in the country due to the threat of spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19, the Artsakh MFA told Armenpress.

The notifications indicate that an emergency situation for a period of 30 days was introduced throughout the Republic on April 12, 2020 and was extended until June 11. The Republic of Artsakh undertakes to inform the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of the legal measures it has introduced for the period of emergency, as well as to inform about the date of termination of such measures.

The Republic of Artsakh acceded unilaterally to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1992 and to the European Convention on Human Rights in 2015.

 15:02, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court approved the investigator’s motion and issued an arrest warrant for Mikayel Minasyan, the former Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican.

Investigators at the State Revenue Committee pressed criminal charges of illicit enrichment, money laundering and failure to disclose assets against Minasyan. He has been declared wanted.

Minasyan, the son-in-law of ex-President Serzh Sargsyan, has denied wrongdoing through his social media account.

Reporting by Karen Khachatryan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:35, 2 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS/WAM:  A patent has been granted by the Emirati Ministry of Economy for the development of an innovative and promising treatment for COVID-19 infections using stem cells, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reports.

The treatment was developed by a team of doctors and researchers at the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center, ADSCC, and involves extracting stem cells from the patient’s own blood and reintroducing them after activating them. The patent was granted for the innovative method in which the stem cells are collected.

The treatment was administered in the UAE to 73 COVID-19 patients who have all been successfully treated and cured of the virus by inhaling the treatment into their lungs after it has been nebulized into a fine mist. It is hypothesized to have its therapeutic effect by regenerating lung cells and modulating the immune response to keep it from overreacting to the COVID-19 infection and causing further damage to healthy cells.

The treatment has successfully undergone the initial phase of clinical trials, demonstrating its safety. None of the patients who have received the treatment reported immediate adverse effects and there have been no interactions found with the conventional treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients. Trials to demonstrate the efficacy of the treatment are ongoing and are expected to be completed in a couple of weeks.

It is worth noting that the treatment has been given to patients along with the conventional medical intervention and will continue to be applied as an adjunct to established treatment protocols rather than as a replacement.

This treatment is an addition to the arsenal of interventions and is representative of the concerted effort and commitment of the UAE government to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-pharmacological interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as staying at home, social distancing and infection prevention and control measures remain necessary to reduce the burden of the disease on the healthcare system.

The Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center is a specialist healthcare center that focuses on cell therapy, regenerative medicine and cutting-edge research on stem cells.

 14:24,

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS.  The Azerbaijani troops violated the ceasefire regime over 180 times on Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line in the period of April 19-25, during which over 3500 bullets were fired in the direction of Armenian border guards from different caliber weapons.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh, in addition to the ceasefire violations, the air defense units of the Defense Army of Artsakh downed an Azerbaijani ORBITER Reconnaissance UAV on April 21.

The front line units of the Defense Army keep control of the situation and continue to take necessary measures for protecting their military positions.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 12:14,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. The Yerevan City Council’s agenda in the upcoming sitting includes the bill on installing the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Yerevan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested the Yerevan Mayor to approve the installation of the statue on the occasion of Gandhi’s 150th anniversary of birth.

Once approved, the statue will be erected in a park between Halabyan St. and Margaryan St.

The foreign ministry told the mayor that installing the statue will “further strengthen and deepen the friendly relations between Armenia and India”.

The statue will be provided by the Indian side.

Yerevan’s Chief Architect and the City Hall Department of Urban Development and Architecture have approved the bill.

Editing and translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:09,

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Opposition Bright Armenia faction’s lawmaker Karen Simonyan calls on the government to provide assistance to all students regardless of their GPA.

“The conditions set create a problem for those students which really need that. One of the set criteria is the high GPA. This regulation already includes those students who study for free or have discounts. But those students, who really need a discount for their tuition fee, cannot us that”, the MP said at today’s session of the Parliament.

He also noted that this program doesn’t include students of private universities. “I call on the government, also the members of Parliament to revise certain provisions of this project, do not put a discrimination in terms of the GPA, if we assist, then we should assist all. All need that assistance as this crisis [novel coronavirus pandemic] touched all students”, he said.

Earlier Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that within the frames of the government’s 14^th anti-crisis measures the state is going to provide assistance to students. The government will pay the tuition fees of students having 90 and higher GPA, as well as the graduates. The tuition fees of non-graduate students, having 90 and higher GPA, will be covered by the state by 75%.

Reported by Anna Grigoryan

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan