AGBU Press Office 55 East 59th Street New York, NY 10022-1112 Website: PRESS RELEASE Monday, AGBU YOUNG PROFESSIONALS SOLVE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING WITH LIVE STREAM SERIES The Young Professionals of Los Angeles (YPLA) have launched an innovate virtual series aimed to unite individuals throughout the AGBU community during this global pandemic. With seven successful episodes under their belt and three more in the works, the Young Professionals are continuously working to keep the community engaged, entertained, and enlightened. From Armenian cooking classes in Madrid to a remote comedy show featuring YPs from all over the world, the live series has garnered over 300 avid participants with an ever-increasing audience. "Even in the most isolating moments, we're able to connect with chapters around the world. We've met Young Professionals from other countries and chapters that we may not have met otherwise or have been able to connect with," noted YPLA Communications Manager Rita Chakrian. The idea for an episodic virtual series came to fruition during a virtual YPLA meeting when co-chairs Tenny Kachatourian and Carin Kellzi and Communications Chair Rita Chakrian realized that all future events would have to be conducted virtually. Rather than view this as a loss, YPLA leadership decided to keep their momentum going by orchestrating a virtual event they had long wished for: a global talent show. After reaching out to various chapters, YPLA leadership gathered musicians and dancers from all over the world to participate, engaging a global audience of almost 100 participants on their first episode. "This all happened within two or three days," said Chakrian. "We had the call with our YP Group and the mass chain started." The YPLA leadership credit the inspiration behind this series to the AGBU spirit of unity. "We launched YP Live as a way to bring everyone virtually together while we must physically stay apart," noted Kachatourian, adding that this initiative will continue as long this quarantine persists. "We will be continuing our YP Live virtual events for as long as social distancing measures last in any of our global YP communities so we can all be together, keep our spirits up, and learn some new skills while being safe." The first episode of the YP Live series, "YPs Got Talent" launched on March 28th and featured talent from all over the world. "We wanted it to be open to all the YPs, but we really didn't know it would become this huge event involving chapters in Buenos Aires to Toronto to London and all their communities," said Kellzi. After a successful first run, the YPs of Texas carried the virtual torch and kept the momentum going with a square-down tutorial, re-creating the YP Houston Hoedown that was cancelled due to COVID-19. "Every episode hits a different target audience. We figured every locality would have something unique to bring to the table, and we could use that for continual content," commented Chakrian. Shortly after came a Zumba tutorial from YPLA, an Armenian Cooking Class hosted by the YPs of Madrid, and a virtual game of "YPictionary" hosted by the YPs of Buenos Aires. Each episode is highly curated, with Kachatourian as the host and interactive messaging encouraged throughout the hour-long episode. One of the most recent episodes, "Coast to Coast Comedy," provided comedic relief and became one of the most highly attended virtual episode to date, eliciting laughs from Egypt to LA and New York. "The comedy show really proved that a lot of people would tune in because there were over 300 people." "We may be on the other side of the world, but even though we can't go out and see each other anyways, it feels like we're all two feet apart," mused YPLA co-chair Kachatourian. The AGBU Young Professionals (YP), a global network, strive to promote the Armenian identity and heritage for young Armenians between the ages of 22 to 40 and empowered ambitious individuals to make a positive difference in their communities. It has grown to become one of the largest Armenian networks of its kind, with over 33 groups across the globe. Tune in to the next YP Live using this link: bit.ly/AGBUYPLIVE. May 2: Young Professionals Live: Episode 10 - Music for the Soul May 3: Young Professionals Live: Episode 11 - Boozy Brunch Recipes The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world's largest non-profit organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian diaspora. Since 1906, AGBU has remained true to one overarching goal: to create a foundation for the prosperity of all Armenians. To learn more visit .
Author: Hambik Zargarian
Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 14-04-20
17:25,
YEREVAN, 14 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 14 April, USD exchange rate down by 1.01 drams to 485.52 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.72 drams to 531.30 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 6.61 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.92 drams to 609.28 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 54.57 drams to 26234.66 drams. Silver price down by 0.49 drams to 236.88 drams. Platinum price down by 23.87 drams to 11473.22 drams.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1012151.html?fbclid=IwAR3abnIlHSTGqayASEqWvjp36GBKwN6j9ptmJBhvRAaxUOqiq-YwIFhyyx8
Armenpress: Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 06-04-20
Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 06-04-20
17:33, 6 April, 2020
YEREVAN, 6 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 6 April, USD exchange rate down by 1.42 drams to 501.55 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.48 drams to 542.38 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 6.58 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.49 drams to 616.76 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 133.48 drams to 26011.57 drams. Silver price up by 2.82 drams to 232.04 drams. Platinum price down by 242.81 drams to 11513.4 drams.
Deputy minister: Over 80% of schoolchildren have access to distance learning in Armenia
Panorama, Armenia
April 7 2020
Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport cooperates with regional TV companies, as a result of which video classes are also available on regional TV stations, ensuring greater participation amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, a deputy minister told a news conference on Tuesday.
According to Zhanna Andreasyan, this is a key achievement because, according to the data received from the Armenian regions and Yerevan, certain groups of school students and teachers have no devices to join distance learning.
“We are short of at least 24,000 devices; the data may need additional clarification, but it has been collected at first hand. I think that the video classes and the content we create and make accessible under such conditions ensures the involvement of people, if they lack devices,” the deputy minister said.
Zhanna Andreasyan says that they have already collected 600 devices, including computers, tablets and smartphones, mostly new ones, and have provided them to the provinces together with SIM cards. Some organizations, as well as individuals have donated devices to the ministry, she said.
According to the official, an electronic class register has been launched since March 26, with the education authorities monitoring the distance learning process in separate schools and the work of teachers. According to him, 80% of teachers are already registered there.
According to the information provided by the regions, more than 80% of schoolchildren have access to distance learning, Andreasyan said.
He noted that the ministry cooperates with telecommunications operators and has reached an agreement on an affordable tariff for educational services.
“These services have already been provided by VivaCell-MTS. They will be available for Beeline and Ucom subscribers in the near future,” she said.
CIVILNET.Pashinyan and Putin Discussed the Price of Russian Gas for Armenia
CIVILNET.AM
6 April, 2020 21:05
By Ani Paitjan
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Armenia’s government, they discussed issues related to the supply of natural gas to Armenia.
No further details were provided on the issue.
A gas price hike has become a worrying issue for Yerevan since the coronavirus pandemic.
Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan wrote a letter to Gazprom (Russian gas supplier to Armenia) Chairman Alexey Miller, proposing that both sides start negotiations on the matter. Grigoryan argued that it was time to start a new round of negotiations on changing the price of gas supplied to Armenia, since economic disruptions caused by coronavirus will significantly reduce energy consumption levels in Armenia.
Armenia imports more than 80% of its gas from Russia. At the beginning of 2019, Russia increased the price of gas to Armenia by 10%, from $150 to $165 per thousand cubic meters.
Despite that price rise, the cost of gas supplied to Armenian consumers remained unchanged.
Before the negotiation process proposed by Armenia to decrease the gas price, Gazprom Armenia, the Armenian subsidiary of Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, applied to the Public Services Regulatory Commission with a request to increase gas tariffs for consumers from July 1.
Currently, households entitled to social benefits are charged $200 a year for 600 cubic meters of natural gas annually. Gazprom Armenia’s plan is to increase the rate by about 36%, which means that some Armenian consumers will be charged around $270 instead.
At the same time, the company is proposing to reduce the $277 currently charged for consumers for 10,000 cubic meters per month by 2.2% to $270.
Armenia and Russia have begun talks on gas prices. Negotiations are not over yet, but time is of the essence, as the coronavirus pandemic is damaging the world economy as well as collapsing oil and gas prices.
The standards of European regulations implemented in Artsakh – Tigran Hakobyan
Panorama, Armenia
April 1 2020
Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan met today with the delegation of the Television and Radio Commission of the Republic of Armenia led by head of the structure Tigran Hakobyan.
Issues related to the cooperation of Armenia and Artsakh in the sphere of telecommunication were discussed during the meeting attended by chairman of the Artsakh Republic State Commission on Regulating Public Services and Economic Competition Michael Virabyan.
Bako Sahakyan welcomed the monitoring of TV and radio companies conducted during the pre-election campaign within the framework of the cooperation between the regulatory bodies of the two Armenian states qualifying it significant and demanded.
The Head of the Television and Radio Commission of Armenia Tigran Hakobyan, in turn, attached importance to the monitoring conducted by the Artsakh State Commission on Regulating Public Services and Economic Competition, including its technical equipment, methodology, the process of monitoring and the final conclusion. “This means the standards of European regulations are implemented in Artsakh Republic,” Hakobyan noted.
Minister of health: Coronavirus peak in Armenia can be any time
News.am, Armenia
April 3 2020
13:42, 02.04.2020
Armenian parliament allocates 500,000,000 drams from annual budget for coronavirus response
16:07, 3 April, 2020
YEREVAN, APRIL 3, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament will re-direct 500,000,000 drams from its annual budget to the government budget for the coronavirus response, Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan said on social media.
The funds were meant for the annual bonuses of 700 administrative employees and lawmakers, representative spending and other various budgetary expenditures.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
The Netherlands considers Armenia a safe country of origin
News.am, Armenia
21:11, 30.03.2020
RA Ambassador: The situation with coronavirus will seriously affect RA citizens who have left for Russia to work
Arminfo, Armenia
ArmInfo.The situation with coronavirus will seriously affect RA citizens who have left Russia to work . Ambassador of Armenia to Russia Vardan Toghanyan expressed this opinion in an interview with the Lurer program of the Public Television of Armenia, answering the question of how quarantine and restrictions will affect the social status of Armenian citizens who have left for Russia to earn money.
“This is an important issue that will have a serious impact on Armenia in terms of economic consequences. This problem is a set of problems due to restrictions introduced in such areas as construction, services, wholesale, shopping centers, which either limited or almost non-work, or are on the verge of closure. The number of RA citizens involved in work in these areas, both seasonally living in Russia and on an ongoing basis, is actually large. Naturally, now there is the problem of closure, temporary suspension of these enterprises or facilities, return to Armenia. And this is an objective problem: without income, these people will be forced to return to their homeland. The problem will arise a bit later, because the restrictions have only been introduced, and people should take appropriate decisions, “Toganyan noted.
To clarify how many RA citizens or Armenians are infected with coronavirus in the Russian Federation, the Ambassador said that they have information about only one Armenian citizen, who, after arriving from Krasnodar, was isolated in the infectious diseases hospital in Sochi.