10:00, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. Prosecutor-General Artur Davtyan and Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan are expected in parliament today to present their reports on 2021.
The agenda of the session includes 23 items, including the election of a member to the Television and Radio Commission.
10:57, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. 70 protesters were detained by police in Yerevan as of 10:00, police said in a statement.
Police said the protesters are detained for failure to obey a lawful order.
Opposition protesters demanding the resignation of the Pashinyan administration were marching in central Yerevan and blocking streets early Tuesday morning in what they describe as civil disobedience actions.
10:59, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. For already 7 years, the USAID-funded Civic Engagement in Local Governance (CELoG) Program has been supporting the increase of civic engagement in decentralization and local self-government reform in Armenia.
It provides citizens with reliable information and strengthens civil society’s capacity to promote effective, accountable and participatory local governance.
The program has been a platform for dialogue between government and residents of the communities.
USAID Project Management Specialist Arthur Drampian said during the ARMENPRESS Podcast program that the program has achieved all its original goals ever since its inception in 2014, and in 2018 additional goals were set.
Drampian said that the cooperation between 6 organizations as part of the program resulted in achieving rather tangible results.
The Program is implemented by a Consortium of local organizations led by the Communities Finance Officers Association (CFOA) in cooperation with the partner organizations: the Information Systems Development and Training Center (ISTDC), the Yerevan Press Club (YPC), the Asparez Journalists’ Club (AJC), Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), and the Caucasus Research Resource Center-Armenia (CRRC).
Drampian said that there was a need for a dialogue platform in 2014 when the territorial and administrative reforms were announced.
“An open and simple conversation around all questions was much needed. There were several questions, concerns, and the residents of the communities had to be given the chance of engaging in an open dialogue with each other, with the community leadership, with representatives of the government and parliament, to collect all opinions and present them to the decision-makers, so that they’d be able to draft the reforms accordingly and implement the merging in a way that the risks get reduced with maximum benefits,” Drampian said. He attached importance to the fact that the program prioritized the involvement of youth.
In 2014, four InfoTuns were already launched under previous programs of the USAID. The InfoTun is a resource center where the youth come together to discuss various issues concerning their communities, learn media-literacy, civic journalism, watch films, engage in discussions and learn about volunteerism.
Another 6 InfoTuns were opened during the 7 years of the CELoG program. Now, one InfoTun functions in every province across Armenia. CELoG program is completed, but the InfoTuns will continue functioning.
Another notable initiative of the program is the School of Local Democracy, a mobile school which is moving from province to province. Participants learn leadership skills, human rights, community service, local self-government and other subjects.
The School of Local Democracy is now registered as a foundation and will continue to work.
“I want to say that we’ve had so many achievements during these 7 years that it is difficult to mention them all, but we can say that the CELoG program left a very serious legacy. I can confidently say that these programs developed a new culture in our communities. The residents and especially the youth in the communities understood and believed that it is possible to be involved in solving community issues, present clear demands and implement a number of reforms in their own communities,” Drampian said.
Podcast host: Gayane Gaboyan
Photos: Hayk Badalyan
11:03, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) General-Secretary Artur Azaryan is appointed as UEFA match delegate for the upcoming UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg match between Real Madrid CF (Spain) and Manchester City FC (England), the FFA said in a press release.
The match will take place at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Madrid on May 4.
11:04, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. The actual tax revenues and state fees paid to the state budget in April 2022 amounted to 231.3 billion drams, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan said in a statement on social media.
“The figure envisaged for April 2022 was overfulfilled by 31 billion drams or 15.5%. Compared to April 2021, the money collected is more by 51.2 billion drams or 28.4%”, he said, adding that the number of deals made by cash register receipts and other settlement documents has also increased compared to the same period of the previous year.
“The number of settlement documents (including cash register receipts) issued on January-April 2022 was 178.2 million and the money received was 2.6 trillion drams. The number of deals increased by 14.3 million or 8.7% compared to the same period of 2021, and in monetary terms, the increase comprised 526.3 billion drams of 24.9%”, he said.
11:23, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. No new cases and no new deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours, the Armenian Ministry of Healthcare said.
1,745 tests were administered (total tests: 3,057,702).
16 people recovered (total recoveries: 412,019).
Total cumulative confirmed cases so far: 422,874.
As of May 3 the number of active cases stood at 549.
The death toll stood at 8,622.
11:35, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki on the occasion of the country’s national holiday.
“Your Excellency,
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and on my personal behalf I cordially congratulate you, the friendly people of Poland, on the national holiday of the Republic of Poland – Constitution Day.
This year we mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Poland. I am confident that the experience gained during this period provides an opportunity to discover the full potential of interstate cooperation based on the centuries-old friendship of our peoples, to supplement the bilateral agenda with multifaceted programs, raising the Armenian-Polish cooperation to a qualitatively new level in both bilateral and multilateral formats.
I reaffirm the readiness of the Armenian side to promote the development of the Armenia-EU partnership with joint efforts, which is expanding year by year.
Taking this opportunity, I wish you good health, and prosperity, progress to the friendly people of Poland.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration,” Pashinyan said in the letter published by his office.
12:01, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan commented on the actions of the police during the opposition civil disobedience campaigns in Yerevan, describing the law enforcement agency’s conduct as appropriate.
Simonyan thanked the police officers for protecting the rights of citizens.
“I once again express gratitude that they are protecting the rights of the other citizens and are not allowing the various small activities that are taking place to disturb the rights of other citizens. But at the same time, I say this again, I am treating with respect all those citizens who are exercising their right to freely demonstrate and I think that their rights must be protected as well,” Speaker Simonyan said.
Simonyan said that the opposition itself has noted that police are helping and supporting whenever any incidents take place.
12:11, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. Embassy to Armenia welcomed Major General David Weishaar on his first visit to Yerevan since he was appointed The Adjutant General (TAG) of the State of Kansas, the Embassy said in a statement.
“Major General Weishaar, along with other leaders from the Kansas National Guard, will meet with senior officials from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the State Revenue Committee. He will visit the 12th Peacekeeping Brigade, the Military Hospital, the National Defense Research University, and the Military University.
The Republic of Armenia signed a bilateral affairs agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense and the State of Kansas in 2003 establishing the Kansas-Armenia State Partnership Program. Under the program, the Kansas National Guard works closely with the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and other governmental offices and agencies. Types of cooperation include military-to-military, military-to-civilian, and civilian-to-civilian events.
Since the beginning of the partnership in 2003, the Republic of Armenia and the State of Kansas have engaged in a number of military, emergency preparedness, law enforcement, business, medical, public health, educational, and humanitarian exchanges”, the statement says.
“I am very proud of the robust partnership between the State of Kansas and the Government of Armenia over the last 20 years. With every exchange and collaboration, the relationship between Kansas and Armenia grows stronger. It is always an honor working alongside our Armenian friends allowing both sides to learn and grow with each other,” Major General Weishaar said.
12:19, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. At its meeting today, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia decided to leave the refinancing rate unchanged, at 9.25%, the Central Bank said in a press release.
The Lombard repo facility rate at 10.75%.
The Deposit facility rate at 7.75%.