Category: 2022

 13:20,

BEIJING, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Reporter of international department at China Daily, Yang Ran, sees the future of classical journalism and social networks in a balanced development.

Yang Ran delivered a lecture for reporters who are participating in the program organized by China International Press Communication Center, touching upon the Chinese social platforms. She said that Chinese social platforms have two main directions, they are means of entertainment and development.

Cultural peculiarities and relevant trends are one of the main directions of Chinese social platforms.

“Currently, the traditional media outlets are facing a serious problem how to keep the balance between the classical journalism and social platforms. The future of classical journalism and social networks is in the joint, balanced development of both”, China Daily’s reporter said.

According to the study made by China International Press Communication Center, 1,32 billion people in China are connected to the internet. 90.5% of the internet users mainly use those social platforms where short videos are posted.

Now, social platforms considered to be entertainment platforms are more popular in China, they pass the Chinese Wechat, which is quite widespread across the country.

Wechat is not only a social platform for exchanging messages, but also serves for monetary payments and other programs.

There are also the Chinese versions of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook in China.

 

Reporting by Varvara Hayrapetyan

 13:22,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Artur Martirosyan received Ambassador of Albania to Armenia Luela Hajdaraga (residence in Athens, Greece), the ministry said.

Congratulating the Ambassador on appointment, the Armenian Deputy Minister wished her a productive work for the benefit of the development of the Armenian-Albanian ties. He expressed confidence that the Ambassador will contribute to further strengthening and deepening the relations between Armenia and Albania.

The Ambassador of Albania thanked for the reception and stated that there are many commonalities between Armenia and Albania, and the close cooperation in educational, cultural and a number of other directions has a very big potential.

Deputy Minister Martirosyan in turn noted that the cooperation with Albania is also special in a sense that being a transitional country it has significant achievements that could be taken into consideration in the context of developing Armenia’s education, cultural, science and other sectors.

The sides discussed the bilateral and multilateral cooperation prospects in education, culture and youth spheres and expressed readiness to encourage the agencies operating in these areas to expand the partnership. As a first step they highlighted the opportunity of inter-university cooperation within Erasmus+, Horizon Europe programs, the cultural mutual visits and the partnership between youth structures.

The Deputy Minister of Culture drew the attention of the Ambassador to the issue of preservation of Armenian cultural heritage in the territories under the Azerbaijani control, stating that the Armenian side is expecting the support of the international community, including Albania, so that Azerbaijan refrains from destroying and distorting the Armenian cultural heritage.

In response the Ambassador said that the government of Albania is well aware of the current situation and expressed readiness to convey these concerns to the Albanian government.

Artur Martirosyan invited the Ambassador to attend the STARMUS VI festival in Armenia on September 5-10.

 13:31,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan says he opposes the National Security Service’s proposed bill that would set strict requirements for Diaspora-Armenians seeking to become citizens of Armenia.

However, at the same time he said that the changes won’t impact repatriation.

“This won’t impact repatriation. People who have the goal to move to Armenia and haven’t stayed in Armenia for 60 days in the past two years can apply for citizenship only after spending 60 days in the country. It is another matter that overall this is not a positive change in terms of the Armenia-Diaspora relations. Our agency is not in favor of this change. We have expressed our opinion,” Sinanyan said.

 14:21,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. A rise in COVID-19 cases is recorded in Armenia over the past month, Healthcare Minister Anahit Avanesyan warned Thursday.

Avanesyan said the rise is connected with travel.

“As you know the wave is rising rather actively in European countries, and we were predicting that parallel with activation of travel some infiltration could happen into our country. We are closely following the developments and our healthcare system stands ready for any scenario,” the minister said.

The next two weeks will show whether or not this current wave has the tendency to spread or stabilize, she said.

Avanesyan did not rule out that there will be the need to re-impose certain restrictions in the event of the situation getting worse.

“We advise people to wear masks in hospitals. Those you’ve received two doses of the vaccine are advised to get the booster shot by September, in order for them to be ready for the autumn waves. The summer heat is not a contraindication for getting the vaccine,” she said.

 15:26,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The government approved new amendments in the regulations of granting exemption from military conscription, expanding the list of sports where distinguished athletes can be eligible for the deferment.

Under the new regulations, Armenian athletes winning WBC, IBF, WBO or WBA professional boxing championship titles or mixed-martial arts titles in UFC will be granted the exemption.

 17:20,

YEREVAN, 21 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 21 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.76 drams to 414.84 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.90 drams to 422.76 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.31 drams to 7.24 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.58 drams to 496.27 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 91.88 drams to 22797.64 drams. Silver price down by 2.06 drams to 250.48 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 17:57,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. During the consultation held at Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the problems related to grape processing during the current year and the possibilities of their solution were discussed, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

It was reported that during the last years, the volume of exports of bottled brandy from our country has continuously increased. A similar trend is present in the case of grape wine. The volume of consumption of the latter is also increasing in the territory of the country.

In this context, reference was made to the volume of harvest expected this year, the organization of the procurement process, the course of work with farms and companies.

It was noted that within the framework of the state subsidy program, a contract for procurement of about 97 thousand tons of grapes has been signed between producers and suppliers, the process is continuous.

The implementation of daily consistent activities in the direction of solving possible problems and providing assistance to procurement companies within the framework of the government tools in order to increase export volumes were highlighted.

In this regard, it was emphasized that the Government plans to take an initiative to optimize the payment of duties in the export process in the near future.

Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the consistent increase in the volume of exports of bottled brandy and wines from our country and noted that the Executive will continue to keep the issue in the center of attention.

 18:08,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. On July 21, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Armenia Lukas Rosenkranz presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the President, Vahagn Khachaturyan congratulated the Ambassador, wished him productive work and expressed confidence that he will use his long-term professional abilities in the best way to further strengthen and develop the relations between our two countries.

The President noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Switzerland, and during these three decades, Armenian-Swiss relations have been distinguished by high-level political dialogue and close cooperation in many fields. According to the President, since the independence of Armenia, in difficult moments for our country, the Armenian people have always felt the support and help of Switzerland. The President also highly appreciated the work of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, which implements various programs in Armenia, particularly in the fields of agriculture and fight against corruption.

Ambassador Lukas Rosenkranz noted that it is a great honor to represent his country in Armenia and during his tenure he will do his best to further strengthen and expand the already existing high-level relations. According to the Ambassador, there is great potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of trade, high technologies, science, and education, and Switzerland is ready to double the number of existing programs, particularly aimed at the development of agriculture and the fight against climate change.

 19:49,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. President of the United States of America Joe Biden has tested positive for coronavirus has shown a positive result, ARMENPRESS reports says the statement of the press secretary of the White House Karine Jean-Pierre.

The statement noted that Biden is fully vaccinated, has received two booster doses and is now showing mild symptoms. The US President has started taking the drug Paxlovid.

It is noted that he will be self-isolated in the White House and will continue to perform all his duties during that time. Biden was in contact with White House staff members by phone on the morning of July 21, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House by phone and via Zoom from the residence.

 20:33,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The World Health Organization has confirmed 14,000 cases of monkeypox virus worldwide, with 5 deaths in Africa.

ARMENPRESS reports The Guardian informs, WHO director Tedros Ghebreyesus announced this.

Most of the confirmed cases so far have been found among men in Europe, although all deaths have been reported in Africa.