Armenian surgeon Narek Amiryan stunned the jury during the 12th edition of The Voice of Ukraine on Sunday.
All coaches turned as he performed the song Nessun dorma during the blind auditions.
The 27-year-old doctor says he sings during the surgeries and adds he will never abandon medicine.
10:04, 22 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The BA.2 sub-strain of the Omicron variant was detected as a result of analyses of samples of positive PCR tests for COVID-19, the Armenian Healthcare Ministry announced.
The sequencing of the PCR positive samples was carried out jointly by the Institute of Molecular Biology and the Armenian-Russian University. The results revealed that the COVID-19’s Omicron variant and the Omicron variant’s BA.2 sub-strain are now also circulating in Armenia.
According to scientists, the BA.2 strain is more contagious and could lead to more severe disease.
Smoking ban to take effect March 15
10:10,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. A smoking ban will take effect March 15 in Armenia. The smoking ban will be enforced in both indoor and outdoor restaurants, cafes, bars and other similar venues, as well as other public spaces.
The smoking ban is part of a law aimed at preventing and reducing the harmful effects of smoking and other tobacco products. The main provisions of the law took effect starting March 2020, while other provisions are gradually taking effect to enable the public and businesses to adapt.
Speaking to ARMENPRESS, Ministry of Healthcare Department of Public Health Chief Organizer Mariam Mnatsakanyan reminded that the recent ban that took effect prohibits retailers from publicly displaying tobacco products to customers.
“Tobacco products were frequently displayed next to sweets or children’s products, on the visual level of children, which was creating a false impression for them that tobacco products are harmless everyday items. Studies show that the ban on displaying tobacco products reduced the tobacco advertisement effect on teenagers by up to 83%,” Mnatsakanyan said.
In addition to restaurants and other eateries, the smoking ban will also be enforced in some outdoor public spaces, for example parks for children and bus stops: spaces were the risk of secondhand smoke exists.
Those violating the smoking ban will face 50,000 drams, while administrations of eateries will face from 150,000 to 200,000 drams.
Mnatsakanyan said businesses should call the police in the event of patrons refusing to adhere to the law. The police will carry out the functions of inspecting the restrictions.
All businesses have been notified about the smoking ban as early as 2020, giving them enough time to prepare for the changes, Mnatsakanyan said.
Citing international experience, Mnatsakanyan said the restrictions don’t lead to decline of visitors to public eateries, but on the contrary the numbers increase.
Asked about hookah bars and pubs, Mnatsakanyan noted that the hookah bars are also classified as public food facilities and thus the smoking ban will be enforced there as well.
“Our goal isn’t only to make smokers quit smoking, but so that non-smokers don’t start smoking, and that our children don’t become smokers and face health hazards. This is a healthcare measure and the full implementation of this law will contribute to the decrease of the number of smokers. The number of nicotine-addicts will drop, the number of numerous diseases that are caused from smoking will decrease,” Mnatsakanyan said.
Vanik Gabrielyan, the director of the Yeremyan Projects’ Seasons, Renommee, Casa Nostra and Smoking Chef restaurants of Yerevan, noted that initially the smoking ban could be controversial for restaurant customers, especially those who are used to smoking while dining.
“I believe that some time later they will get used to this change because this is a common practice around the world. Indeed, due to national mentality this process could take a bit longer. The changes will cause a bit of inconveniences for us and our guests, but, I think there won’t be any issues a few months later,” Gabrielyan said.
Gabrielyan said that even without the smoking ban people mostly started preferring non-smoking areas in restaurants.
Wednesday,
Opposition Bloc Ends Boycott Of International Bodies
Armenia - Deputies from the opposition Hayastan bloc wear T-shirts emblazoned
with pictures of arrested opposition figures during the inaugural session of the
recently elected National Assembly, Yerevan, August 2, 2021.
The main opposition Hayastan alliance said on Wednesday that it will stop
boycotting sessions of international parliamentary bodies because the Armenian
authorities have freed three of its lawmakers and lifted travel bans imposed on
several others.
The bloc announced on December 7 that its parliament deputies not charged with
any crimes will not join Armenian parliamentary delegations travelling abroad
out of solidarity with their colleagues facing what they see as politically
motivated charges.
Two days later, the Constitutional Court declared the arrest of the three
Hayastan deputies illegal, saying that they enjoy immunity from prosecution.
They were set free the next day.
In a statement, Hayastan’s parliamentary group said their release was followed
by the lifting of some of the travel bans.
“Given that a considerable part of our demands for the lifting of illegal
restrictions on the deputies’ activities have been fulfilled, the Hayastan
faction has decided to resume its participation in the work of international
organizations,” read the statement. It did not specify which of those lawmakers
can now go abroad.
As of December 7, twelve of the 29 Hayastan deputies were not allowed to leave
Armenia because of having been indicted in various criminal cases. They included
the bloc’s parliamentary leader Seyran Ohanian, deputy speaker Ishkhan
Saghatelian and Armen Gevorgian, the chairman of the parliament’s Committee on
Regional and Eurasian Integration.
Gevorgian is the sole full-fledged opposition member of the Armenian delegation
in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). He and Hayastan’s
top leader, former President Robert Kocharian, are standing trial on corruption
charges strongly denied by them.
The judge presiding over the trial refused to allow Gevorgian to attend the
PACE’s winter session held in Strasbourg late last month. Earlier, she also
banned Kocharian from visiting Moscow at the invitation of Russia’s ruling party.
Hayastan condemned those decisions, saying that they were made under strong
government pressure. The bloc expressed confidence on Wednesday that it will
also succeed in forcing the authorities to scrap the remaining travel bans and
free several other opposition figures still held in detention.
Authorities Still Vague On Constitutional Changes
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks at an official ceremony outside
the presidential palace in Yerevan, September 21, 2019.
Justice Minister Karen Andreasian declined to shed more light on constitutional
changes planned by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian after chairing on Wednesday a
second meeting of an ad hoc body formed for that purpose.
Pashinian called for major changes to the Armenian constitution last spring. He
said at the time that his administration will consider restoring the
presidential system of government. But he stated afterwards, most recently in
late January, that Armenia should remain a parliamentary republic.
Andreasian insisted that the premier’s remarks on the subject were
“complementary, not contradictory.”
“The purpose of all those statements is this: to find the most optimal way of
resolving the government order in Armenia and to distribute the powers of all
government branches in a way that will give people a sense of justice and at the
same time ensure efficient governance,” he told reporters.
He would not be drawn on which concrete articles of the constitution could be
amended and how.
Andreasian heads a constitutional reform “council” that consists of state
officials, pro-government politicians and representatives of non-governmental
organizations. It is due to nominate five legal scholars who will be tasked with
drafting constitutional amendments.
The two opposition alliances represented in the Armenian parliament were offered
to appoint two other council members. But they refused, saying that the purpose
of the planned amendments is to help Pashinian cling to power.
Former President Serzh Sarkisian, faced similar accusations when he engineered
Armenia’s transition to the parliamentary system through sweeping constitutional
changes enacted in 2015. Sarkisian’s attempt to remain in power as prime
minister after completing his second and final presidential term in 2018 sparked
mass protests that brought Pashinian to power.
Andreasian confirmed that his council will discuss the wisdom of reverting back
to the presidential system of government.
“A political decision on what form of government Armenia should choose will
start from this council,” he said. “I can assure you that no other body has made
such a political decision.”
Armenia's Vaccine Rollout Slowing Down Despite Health Pass Rule
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia - A medical worker fills a syringe with COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile
vaccination center in Yerevan, January 14, 2022.
The pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Armenia has slowed further since the
recent introduction of a mandatory health pass for entry to cultural and leisure
venues.
The requirement, effective from January 22, means that only those people who
have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have had a recent negative test are
allowed to visit bars, restaurants, museums, theaters or other public venues.
The Armenian government hoped that this will boost the country’s vaccination
rate which remains the lowest in the region. Government data shows an opposite
trend, however.
According to the Ministry of Health, the daily number of people receiving the
first dose of a coronavirus vaccine averaged roughly 3,200 from January 23
through February 13, down from about 3,370 earlier in January and more than
5,100 in December.
About 877,000 people making up approximately one-third of the country’s
population were fully vaccinated as of February 13. Only 15,539 of them also
received “booster” shots. The vaccination rate is especially low among elderly
Armenians.
Armenia -- Customers at a cafe in Yerevan, May 4, 2020.
There is growing anecdotal evidence that many Armenian bars and restaurants have
stopped checking the health passes of their customers. Government agencies
tasked with enforcing the requirement are not known to have fined any of them.
Some restaurant owners strongly criticized the introduction of the health pass
last month, predicting a major loss of their revenues.
Davit Melik-Nubarian, a public health expert, suggested on Wednesday that the
vaccination numbers are falling also because Armenians are now less worried
about the more contagious but less severe Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Omicron was the main driving force behind the latest wave of coronavirus
infections in Armenia that began in mid-January. The daily number of cases
recorded by health authorities reached a new record high of over 4,500 on
February 2. But it has fallen significantly since then, with an average of
roughly 1,500 cases a day reported in the last few days.
Armenia - People line up outside a mobile vaccination center in Yerevan's
Liberty Square, September 24, 2021.
Still, the number of coronavirus-related deaths reached 145 in the first half of
February, sharply up from 81 fatalities reported in the whole of January. On
Tuesday alone, 28 people died from COVID-19, according to the Ministry of Health.
“We have virtually no vacant beds right now,” said Petros Manukian, the deputy
director of Yerevan’s Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, the largest
hospital treating COVID-19 patients.
“During the previous wave [of infections,] we admitted many young and
middle-aged citizens with infected lungs and serious breathing difficulties
whose condition deteriorated rapidly,” Manukian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“The picture is a bit different at this stage. There are more patients with
underlying diseases that are aggravated by COVID-19 and often cause their
deaths.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
10:07,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ambassador to Egypt Hrachya Poladyan had a meeting with Ambassador Dahlia Abdel-Fattah, the Director of the Department of Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, the Armenian Embassy said in a press release.
The Armenian Ambassador presented the simplified system of group visa regime for Egyptian citizens, which is already in force. Both sides underscored that the changes will encourage the development of tourism.
In this context, taking into consideration the agreements reached during the November 28, 2021 meeting between Ambassador Poladyan and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El Anany, the sides discussed the issue of organizing the first ever business-forum between Armenian and Egyptian tour-operators.
In terms of developing cooperation in tourism, the Ambassador and the Egyptian official highlighted the presence of regular flights from Sharm-el-Sheikh and Hurgada to Yerevan, noting that their potential isn’t fully utilized yet.
At the end of the meeting, Dahlia Abdel-Fattah spoke about the positive role and importance of the Armenian community for Egypt, as well as for the Armenian-Egyptian relations.
YEREVAN, February 4. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stressed the importance of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and signing a peace treaty, the press service of the Armenian government said on Friday after Pashinyan’s videoconference with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that was mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel.
“Prime Minister Pashinyan stressed the necessity of a lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement under the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group and a peace agreement,” it said.
“The sides exchanged views on ways to resolve the current humanitarian problems, unblock regional infrastructures on the territories of the two countries, reduce tensions at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, on the activities of international organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh, and on a wide spectrum of other matters,” it said.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian expressed the country’s determination to broaden relations with Armenia in various fields.
– Politics news –
In a message to his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister offered congratulations on the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Iran was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia’s independence, Amirabdollahian noted, highlighting Tehran’s resolve to promote mutual and regional cooperation with Yerevan.
After a meeting in Tehran in October 2021, the foreign ministers of Iran and Armenia unveiled plans for a new road map leading to the expansion of relations at the “strategic level”.
By Hovhannes Nazareyan
This is part of the weekly series by #CivilNetCheck – an initiative that will look at the week’s fake news and dubious claims – circulating in Armenia (and about Armenia).
Presidential Candidate Wrong on Corruption Report
On February 3, Vahagn Khachaturyan, Minister of High-Tech Industry and the ruling party’s presidential candidate, made baseless claims on the legality of demonstrations and Transparency International’s reports on corruption. (President Armen Sarkissian had resigned from the post on January 23 and the country’s National Assembly is due to elect a new president in the coming weeks).
Khachaturyan told journalists that Transparency International, an international anti-corruption organization based in Berlin, had, for years, singled out Armenia as having “systemic corruption” and described Armenia’s corruption level as “state capture.” This is defined by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) as a timeframe “when the ruling elite and/or powerful businessmen manipulate policy formation and influence the emerging rules of the game (including laws and economic regulations) to their own advantage.”
Khachaturyan noted that under the current government, assessments of “systematic corruption” and “state capture” have been removed from the organization’s reports. However, #CivilNetCheck found that Khachaturyan’s claims are dubious. Transparency International has never singled out Armenia as having systemic corruption. The organization’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), an annual ranking of countries based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be, countries with a score below 50 are considered to have “systemic corruption”. Since the current methodology was put in place in 2012, Armenia has always scored below 50. From 2018 to 2020, after the Velvet Revolution, Armenia’s score climbed significantly, from 35 to 49, but still remained below 50.
Khachaturyan also claimed that the protests against the spike in car insurance prices a few days earlier were “most likely illegal.” On January 31, several protesters demonstrating against the price hike were arrested in Yerevan’s Republic Square. Khachaturyan was referring to the legal requirement to get permits for demonstrations beforehand. However, this requirement does not apply to small demonstrations consisting of less than 100 participants, or demonstrations that are “urgent and spontaneous.” The January 31 demonstration had several dozen participants and, thus, was excepted from the requirement to get a permit. So, unlike his claim, the protests were completely legal.
Ruben Vardanyan Hasn’t Acquired ArmNews
In January, several Armenian outlets claimed that Ruben Vardanyan, a Russian-Armenian billionaire and philanthropist, had acquired shares in ArmNews, a TV channel with nationwide coverage. However, Vardanyan denied this in an interview with CivilNet. Furthermore, there have been no changes in the declaration of real owners of ArmNews. Its current shareholders are four former parliament deputies from then-ruling Republican Party: Arman Saghatelyan, Samvel Farmanyan, Mihran Hakobyan, and Karen Bekaryan.
Ruben Vardanyan is seen as being behind or affiliated with the A Country to Live In Party founded in August 2021 by Mane Tandilyan and Mesrop Arakelyan, two former Ministers of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia. Tandilyan is the incumbent Minister of Social Affairs of Artsakh. Although Vardanyan has denied that he’s behind the party, he participated in their campaign in the local elections in December 2021.
The alleged acquisition of ArmNews is speculated to become Vardanyan’s media base for his prospective political career in Armenia, which he has hinted at previously.
Turkey-Armenia Flights Didn’t Begin in 2003
On February 2, the first Yerevan-Istanbul and Istanbul-Yerevan flights took place for the first time since 2019.
#CivilNetCheck wrote a few weeks ago that despite claims to the contrary, the first Yerevan-Istanbul flights did not take place in the 2000s, but much earlier. This week a more detailed historical review of Yerevan-Istanbul flights was published by CivilNet. The first Yerevan-Istanbul flights actually occurred, according to Armenia’s Civil Aviation Committee, in the late 1980s. In 1993, after Armenian forces captured Kelbajar (Karvachar), Turkey closed its airspace for Armenia, but these flights resumed in 1995. By then, Armenian Airlines had irregular weekly flights to Istanbul.
With the ongoing attempt to normalize relations with Turkey, Yerevan-Istanbul flights are often used by politicians, especially in parliament, to attack each other and score points. Earlier Vagharshak Hakobyan, a parliament deputy from the ruling Civil Contract Party, had claimed that the first Yerevan-Istanbul flights had taken place in 2003, during Robert Kocharyan’s presidency. Hakobyan was likely referring to the first flight by a Turkish airline. It took place in October 2003 and was organized by Tower Travel, a Turkish company owned by the Turkish-Armenian businessman Dikran Altun.
PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijani soldiers have been filmed vandalizing the St. Astvatsatsin Church in the Nagorno-Karabakh village of Karin Tak, which came under Baku’s control in the Second Karabakh War in fall 2020.
Fresh footage published online shows that the Lord’s table at the altar of the church has been broken, the inside of the church is in a state of disarray, while Azerbaijani soldiers are moving between the sacristies and climbing onto the altar.
In addition, the Azerbaijanis are heard saying a Muslim prayer inside the Christian site of worship and desecrating the Armenian cultural heritage, Monuments Watch said.
In was reported days earlier that Azerbaijan’s government has announced that it intends to erase Armenian inscriptions on religious sites in the territory that came under Baku’s control in the 2020 war.
Concerns about the preservation of cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh are made all the more urgent by the Azerbaijani government’s history of systemically destroying indigenous Armenian heritage—acts of both warfare and historical revisionism. The Azerbaijani government has secretly destroyed a striking number of cultural and religious artifacts in the late 20th century. Within Nakhichevan alone, a historically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani forces destroyed at least 89 medieval churches, 5,840 khachkars (Armenian cross stones) and 22,000 historical tombstones between 1997 and 2006.
France24 'Normal' ties with Turkey viewed with scepticism by residents of the Armenian capital There is a 1-minute video with this by Shona Bhattacharyya, FRANCE 24's special correspondent at the memorial to the victims of the 1915 genocide in Yerevan, Armenia. © FRANCE 24 Feb. 4, 2022 Special envoys from Turkey and Armenia will hold a second round of talks in Vienna later this month to normalise ties after decades of animosity. The day after direct flights re-started between Yerevan and İstanbul, FRANCE 24's Turkey correspondents Shona Bhattacharyya and Ludovic de Foucaud traveled to the Armenian capital to find out what residents there think of the thawing of relations. Shoppers and vendors who would agree to speak on camera are few and far between. Many are angry that Armenia's prime minister Nikol Pashinyan accepted Turkey's invitation to talk without first recognising what Armenia calls the 1915 genocide. As Haïg, one Yerevan resident said, "Opening the borders is mostly for encouraging economic development. But building a more fraternal relationship, no, that's out of the question. An Armenian proverb says, 'If your enemy becomes your friend, you should still keep a stick in your hand.'" As part of the former Soviet empire, Armenia's economy is still largely dependent on Russia. Half of its citizens live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Dikran Altun, a Turkish Armenian, and founder of a now bankrupt airline, is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of stronger ties. "One of the ways to give more proper life to the people is to have some connections with Turkey. It's one of the ways; it's not the only way but [up] until now we had no connections and people are living like this..." he said. Overlooking the city is a memorial to the victims of the events of 1915. Although the Armenian government is in favour of stronger ties with Turkey, starting with trade, on the street the most important ingredient for normalisation remains elusive: trust. And without trust, reconciliation is highly unlikely.