Category: 2021

 11:44,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The Israeli authorities have upheld Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov’s initiative to grant entry to foreign tourists inoculated with Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine starting on November 15, an Israeli government source told TASS. 

“A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett upheld Tourism Minister Razvozov’s initiative to grant entry to tourists vaccinated with Sputnik V”, the source said. “The decision on Sputnik V is yet to be approved by the cabinet”, he added.

According to the source, if Israel’s government approves the move, tourists “fully vaccinated with Sputnik V” will be allowed to enter the country starting on November 15, provided they receive the second vaccine dose “no later than six months before the trip”. Travelers will also need to do a PCR coronavirus test and a serological test at the airport upon arrival in Israel.

 12:15,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Over 2.9 mln people have contracted the coronavirus infection worldwide over the past week, more than 49,000 died. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of new infections has increased by 4% over seven days, while the number of fatalities has gone up by 5%, reports TASS.

“During the week of 18 to 24 October 2021, the global number of new cases increased slightly (4%) compared to that of the previous week, with just over 2.9 million new cases,” the WHO’s COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update said. The European region accounted for more than half of new weekly cases. Over one week, only this region has recorded an increase in incidence (by 18%), while it decreased in five other regions. The largest decrease in new cases was documented in Africa (by 21%) and the Western Pacific region (by 17%). The mortality has increased by 5% globally over the past seven days. The highest growth was registered in Europe (by 14%) and South-East Asia (by 13%). At the same time, the number of fatalities has significantly decreased in the Western Pacific (by 16%), Eastern Mediterranean (by 13%) and Africa (by 11%).

According to the statistics cited in the document, from October 18 through October 24, some 2,940,336 infections and 49,413 fatalities have been recorded worldwide. The US reported the highest number of weekly infections (512,956), followed by the UK (330,465), Russia (248,956), Turkey (196,850) and Ukraine (134,235).

According to the WHO, as of October 26, some 243,857,028 people have been infected worldwide and 4,953,246 deaths have been reported. Over the past 24 hours, 295,432 infections and 5,469 fatalities have been reported.

Substitute for General Affairs of Holy See’s Secretariat of State visits Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

 13:45,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra will arrived in Armenia on a two-day official visit.

He will take part in the official opening of the Vatican’s Apostolic Nunciature in Armenia.

He is scheduled to meet with Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:13,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Governor of Aragatsotn Davit Gevorgyan tendered his resignation, his deputy Tigran Yeghiazaryan told ARMENPRESS.

Yeghiazaryan did not comment further and said that Gevorgyan will issue a statement.

Gevorgyan was serving as governor of Aragatsotn since October 2018.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:17,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The incumbent government will do everything in order to bring to justice the masterminds of the 1999 parliament shooting, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan said after a commemoration event.

Asked whether or not their political team had the goal of re-opening the investigation to reveal the potential plotters of the assassination who are still at large, Simonyan said: “I think that our society knows the main reasons, main participants and the issues which have been left open, like they knew that the elections were being rigged for more than 20 years. I find it needless to voice names now, but I assure you that we will all have the answers to these questions also from the legal perspective.”

He noted that as a government official he doesn’t have the right to make any statement which would be deemed as containing accusations and would potentially impact any possible future legal process. “But politically I already said that it is natural that the main actors are convicted and jailed. Today we must understand the reasons, the true instigators, the people who perhaps had either political or non-political interests from that all. And our society knows the interests of those people, and I think I am entitled to voice this now,” he said.

He didn’t rule out the possibility that the 1999 assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Speaker Karen Demirchyan, and several other government officials could had been linked with the purported plan on “exchanging Meghri”.

“The situation which we have today pertaining to the war began on October 27, 1999. If the October 27 [attack] didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have reached this situation,” he said.

“We will do everything in order for the masterminds to appear behind bars, I think no one should have doubts about this. What happened [on October 27] broke the backbone of our statehood. We are still reaping the consequences of everything that happened on October 27. This is what we should be careful of, we should think that at some moment this process must come to an end, because the flywheel which started on October 27 of 1999 is unfortunately still spinning and having its consequences to this day,” Simonyan said.

The Speaker of Parliament said that the current opposition ought to avoid speaking about the October 27 attack because it had happened during their tenure as government. “Both the society and all of us can have many questions, for example why the National Security Service director was not in attendance in parliament on that day,” he said.

22 years ago on this day, a group of five heavily armed gunmen led by Nairi Hunanyan stormed into the parliament while it was in session and assassinated Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Speaker Karen Demirchyan, Deputy Speakers Yuri Bakhshyan and Ruben Miroyan, as well as three lawmakers and a Cabinet member. The gunmen held the remaining MPs in parliament hostage until surrendering to authorities the next day.

The five perpetrators, which include Hunanyan’s younger brother and uncle, were sentenced to life in prison in 2003.

 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:56,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian departed for the United Arab Emirates from Saudi Arabia on a working visit, his Office said today.

President Sarkissian visited Saudi Arabia yesterday, on October 26 where he was welcomed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. Sarkissian’s Office described this trip as a historic visit as no diplomatic relations exist between Armenia and Saudi Arabia and it was the first visit of an Armenian head of state to Saudi Arabia.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:07,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The opening of the Vatican’s Apostolic Nunciature in Armenia will become a symbol of building bridges in the region and opening new paths for fair and lasting peace for Armenia and the international community in general, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra said in Yerevan during the joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Edgar Peña Parra said his official visit to Armenia and the meeting held with the Armenian FM reaffirms the cooperative and friendly relations that have always existed between Armenia and the Holy See.

“I brought the greetings of Pope Francis, who has bright memories from his visit to Armenia in 2016 and the recent meeting with President Sarkissian and the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II”, he said.

Edgar Peña Parra said the purpose of his visit is the opening of the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Armenia. On this occasion he expressed his deep gratitude to the Armenian President and the government, which urged the Holy See to open a diplomatic representation in Armenia at the mediation of Ambassador Karen Nazaryan.

“Despite the lack of resources and staff, the program turned into a reality within several months, because we all believed in that. I am convinced that this Apostolic Nunciature will be a symbol of building bridges in the region, creating opportunities for contact and opening new paths for fair and lasting peace for Armenia and the international community in general”, he said.

He said that the physical presence of the Apostolic Nunciature will definitely be useful in solving the potential problems and finding sufficient solutions with proper legal means.

“Today’s event also shows the respect that Peter’s successor and the Catholic Church have for this noble land where some of the ancient nation, that was the first to adopt the Christian faith, lives”, he said.

Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra also talked about the friendly relations between the Holy See and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, stating that the two churches are committed to continue the work for common welfare.

Summing up his remarks, Edgar Peña Parra reaffirmed the Holy See’s support to the issues on the agenda of the Armenian government and the international community, aimed at peace and disarmament, human rights, human and cultural development, protection of religious freedoms and environment.

“I pray to the God with the hope that the whole Armenian nation would enjoy a lasting peace and real social progress, continuing the Christian traditions inherited from your ancestors for centuries”, he said.  

Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra arrived in Armenia on a two-day official visit.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 16:41,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS (Press Release, HayPost). On October 27th, 2021, a souvenir sheet with two postage stamps dedicated to the theme “Apostolic Journeys of the Roman Pontiffs to Armenia. Pilgrimage to the first Christian nation” has been cancelled and put into circulation.

 

The souvenir sheet has been canceled by H.E. Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Mr Ararat Mirzoyan, the Minister of High-Technological Industry of the Republic of Armenia VahagnKhachaturyan, Chief Executive Officer of HayPost CJSC Mr Hayk Karapetyan, President of the Armenian Association of Philatelists MrHovikMusayelyan.

 

Each postage stamp of the souvenir sheet has the nominal value of 630 AMD. The left postage stamp of the souvenir sheetdepictsPope John Paul II who visited Armenia in 2001 and the right postage stamp of the souvenir sheet depicts Pope Francis who visited Armenia in 2016.

 

The upper and lower parts of the souvenir sheet depict the inscriptions “Apostolic Journeys of the Roman Pontiffs to Armenia” and “PILGRIMAGE TO THE FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION” in Armenian and English languages.

 

The background of the souvenir sheet depicts KhorVirap Monastery and Mount Ararat.

Date of issue: 

Designer: David Dovlatyan

Printing house: Cartor, France

Stamp size: 30,0 x 30,0 mm

S/sheet size:100,0 x 80,0mm

Print run: 25 000 pcs

 16:43,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The opening ceremony of the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Armenia was held today in the capital city of Yerevan.

The ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra.

Before the ceremony, Ararat Mirzoyan and Edgar Peña Parra held a joint press conference and a cancellation of two new stamps titled “Papal Visits to Armenia: Pilgrimage to the first Christian nation”.  

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 16:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that there haven’t been changes in the positions of border guards in the Paylasar section and that Armenian border troops are on duty in the same positions where they’ve been deployed since December 2020.

“The National Security Service Border Troops Commander explained to lawmakers here yesterday that there haven’t been any positional changes and our border guard service is conducting service in the same positions as before,” Pashinyan said during a Q&A session in parliament when asked by MP Narek Ghahramanyan.

He said that the Armenian border guards are deployed in the given section since December 2020.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan