Reporters Without Borders (RSF) took to Twitter on Thursday to warn against a draft law that restricts access to environmental information in Armenia, following approval of amendments by the government.
“It violates the principle of transparency yet adopted by the authorities,” RSF tweeted.
The statement refers to the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Environment to the Armenian law on Freedom of Information.
The ministry claims that the adoption of the bill will ensure full compliance with the Aarhus Convention, as well as will enable the entity managing environment-related information to protect the public interest and security while dealing with the sectoral issues within the framework of the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Armenia and the law on Freedom of Information.
Meanwhile, information freedom experts oppose the measure, arguing that the proposed amendments should be put up for a public discussion. They stress that drafting laws guided by the opportunism of some of the sides, without open and transparent discussions, undermines the mechanisms of cooperation between the government and civil society and weakens the public confidence in the state.
ArmInfo. The Holy Spear stored in Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin will be taken out on April 5 In connection with Tsakhkazard. Head of the press office of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Vahram Ter-Melikyan, said this on his Facebook page.
He stressed that on April 5, the AAC will celebrate the solemn entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem- Tsakhkazard.
The message, in particular, says:
Tsaghkazard this year will be celebrated in Armenia on April 5. This holiday is dedicated to the solemn entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem before Easter. This holiday is celebrated on the last day of Lent.
It should be noted that the Holy Spear or the Spear of Longinus is stored in Etchmiadzin, which, according to legend, the Roman legionary pierced the body of the crucified Christ.
ArmInfo. The MP from “Bright Armenia” Armen Yeghiazaryan questioned the feasibility of the hot button bill, according to which law enforcement officers had the opportunity to track the location and calls of patients with coronavirus.
According to the party’s statement, on April 1, Yeghiazaryan sent his inquiries to VivaCell-MTS, UCOM and Beeline with a request to provide information on whether it is possible to determine the exact location of a mobile phone or smartphone via GPS and triangulation. In particular, he was interested in whether it is possible to establish the exact movement of subscribers living on the second, fifth and fourteenth floors of a 15-storey building in 3D (X, Y, Z) format. < Based on the answers received, it becomes clear that it is impossible to establish the exact location, or the deviation is from 20 to 100 meters. In fact, the bill cannot solve the task, in connection with which the Government should give explanations regarding its adoption>, the statement said.
To recall, according to the bill, the Police and the NSS, through a special system, are able to track the location and calls of patients with coronavirus. This, in turn, will help in establishing the circle of contacting people and their timely isolation if necessary. Subsequently, all received data is subject to destruction. According to the Ministry of Justice, the law does not provide for wiretapping and access to text messages. The possibilities for establishing geolocation provided by the bill are valid only in the event of an emergency declared in connection with the threat of an epidemic.
Armenia has confirmed 73 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases to 736 in the country as of 11 a.m. Friday, April 3, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
So far, 43 people have recovered and 7 have died from COVID-19 in Armenia.
All coronavirus victims in the country had underlying health conditions.
The results of 3,258 tests have come back negative.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3
Trend:
Australia supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and does not recognize the so-called “elections” held in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 31, Marc Innes-Brown, Australian Ambassador to Turkey, tweeted, Trend reports.
“It is more important than ever the OSCE Minsk Group continues its role in the peace process to achieve a negotiated settlement,” he wrote.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Fri 03 Apr 2020 19:41 GMT | 23:41 Local Time
ABC.AZ reports with reference to the State Border Service that 28.7% of them are citizens of the Russian Federation, 28.7% – Georgia, 11.2% – Turkey, 6.2% – Iran, 2.6% – Saudi Arabia and India, 1.8% – the UAE and Ukraine, 1.6% – Kuwait, 1.5% – Pakistan, 1.4% – Kazakhstan, 1.1% – Turkmenistan and Iraq, 0.9% – UK, 0.8% – Israel and Uzbekistan, 7.1% – citizens of other countries, 0.1% – stateless persons. Of them, 72.3% were men and 27.7% were women.
In general, the number of arrivals from the EU member states increased by 5.7% up to 12,200 people, from the CIS countries by 21.2% up to 147,700 people, from the Persian Gulf countries by 17.4% up to 62,200 people.
17:27, 2 April, 2020
YEREVAN, 2 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 2 April, USD exchange rate down by 0.46 drams to 504.50 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.45 drams to 551.62 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 6.43 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.33 drams to 628.41 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 549.32 drams to 25571.72 drams. Silver price up by 1.17 drams to 227.32 drams. Platinum price down by 221.61 drams to 11581.12 drams.
19:59, 2 April, 2020
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. The EU will provide Armenia with 51 million Euro assistance to fight against coronavirus, ARMENPRESS reports the EU Office in Armenia announced.
“Particularly, €18 million new funds + €33 million redirected towards supplying medical devices and equipment, training for medical and laboratory staff, support to SMEs and business community, as well as social and humanitarian assistance to those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
More is yet to come through access to important regional banking facilities and further restructuring of projects”, reads the statement.