Category: 2020

Russia prosecution finds Khachaturyan high-profile patricide case is self-defense

 10:16, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Russian General Prosecution has refused to submit to court the case of the three Russian-Armenian teen sisters who killed their father on grounds of having suffered severe physical and sexual abuse. The General Prosecution ruled that their actions constitute self-defense, Interfax reported.

“The prosecution is noting that they have acted in a state of necessary defense,” one of the lawyers of the young women said.

The lawyer, Alexey Liptser, further argued that now the criminal proceedings against his clients must be dropped.

Maria, Angelina, and Kristina Khachaturyan bludgeoned and stabbed their 57-year-old father, Mikhail to death in 2018, and claimed they’ve done so in an attempt to escape from abuse.

They were 17, 18 and 19 years old at the time of the killing.

 The sisters reported the attack to police and admitted carrying it out. They claimed their lives were in danger if they didn’t take the action. Detectives determined that the Khachaturyan sisters were beaten almost daily by their father, and also suffered sexual abuse.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Number of cameras installed at Armenia’s military positions increases by 59%

 10:58, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Number of video-surveillance devices installed in the military positions of the Armenian Armed Forces increased by 59% since May 8, 2018, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Facebook.

“Number of military positions equipped with industrial electricity increased by 70%, number of those equipped with solar energy grew by 38%. Number of military positions equipped with water supply increased by 194%”, the PM said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

US issues ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ highest alert advisory for China as coronavirus spreads

 10:36, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The US State Department has advised against all travel to China amid the coronavirus outbreak, and raised its travel warning to Level 4, the highest alert level.

“Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China. On January 30, the World Health Organization has determined the rapidly spreading outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice.  Commercial carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China.

Those currently in China should consider departing using commercial means. The Department of State has requested that all non-essential U.S. government personnel defer travel to China in light of the novel coronavirus. 

In an effort to contain the novel coronavirus, the Chinese authorities have suspended air, road, and rail travel in the area around Wuhan and placed restrictions on travel and other activities throughout the country. On January 23, 2020, the Department of State ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members from Wuhan. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Hubei province”, the US State Department said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Two cases of new coronavirus confirmed in Italy

 11:11, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Two cases of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV were confirmed in Italy, ANSA news agency reported on Thursday citing Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, reports TASS.

“The first two confirmed cases are two Chinese tourists who came to our country”, Conte said.

Reuters reported that Conte also announced temporary suspension of air travel to China.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan v a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent: coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

According to latest reports, a total of 8,100 people were infected with the new coronavirus in China, and the death toll reached 171.

Cases of the new coronavirus were also confirmed in 18 other countries, including Australia, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Canada, Malaysia, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, Thailand, the Philippines, Finland, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and Japan.

 11:18, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has signed an order on creating a governmental inter-agency commission to coordinate the efforts on preventing the novel coronavirus spread in Armenia.

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan is heading the commission.  The PM has ordered the commission to brief him on the situation and the work.

Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan is serving as Deputy Chairman of the commission.

The composition of the commission includes Deputy Healthcare Minister Lena Nanushyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Avet Adonts, Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Harutyunyan, Deputy Director of the National Security Service Samvel Hayrapetyan, Deputy Chief of Police Hayk Mhiryan, Tourism Committee director Susanna Safaryan, Civil Aviation Committee administrator Tatevik Revazyan, Healthcare and Labor Inspection Agency Director Hakob Avagyan, State Service for Food Safety Director Georgi Avetisyan, Disease Control and Prevention Center director Artavazd Vanyan, WHO Armenia Office Director Yegor Zaytsev and UN Food and Agriculture Organization Program Manager Zaruhi Beglaryan.

Speaking at a press conference on January 31, Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said that the commission has already held its first sitting and the situation around the coronavirus outbreak in China has been discussed. He said they have also discussed the possibility of a potential evacuation of the Armenian citizens who are currently in China. He noted that among the Armenian nationals in China, not all are willing to leave.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:36, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia already has an agreement with a Chinese company and will soon acquire the laboratory test for the novel coronavirus, Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said at a news conference on January 31.

“We have a problem of medical diagnostic tests, everyone has this problem because this is a new disease, and the test is under development. However, we already have an agreement with a Chinese manufacturer for acquiring this test. Our embassy will acquire these tests in a few hours and will send it to Armenia in order to be used in the event of necessity,” he said.

He said the testing methods are used only in the event of a patient displaying clinical symptoms.

So far, he said, there hasn’t been any suspected case in Armenia among arriving travelers. Those who had fever or other flu-like symptoms turned out to have simple respiratory infections or illnesses.

“I can say with 99,9% certainty that we don’t have any [confirmed coronavirus] case in Armenia as of now,” he said.

On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:59, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Former National Security Service Director Artur Vanetsyan has been questioned at the Investigations Committee, the investigative agency’s spokesperson Naira Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS.

She said that Vanetsyan, who is also a former President of the Football Federation of Armenia, was questioned as a witness amid the criminal investigation into the 2018 wiretapping case as well as another criminal investigation into misconduct committed at the federation.

In 2018, when Vanetsyan was NSS Director, his phone conversation with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was wiretapped and the audio recording was leaked online. Vanetsyan’s phone conversation with Special Investigations Service director Sasun Khachatryan was also leaked. In the audio recordings they are discussing high profile criminal proceedings against ex-president Robert Kocharyan and Yuri Khachaturov, a former military commander who also served as CSTO secretary general. Separate investigations are underway, one to determine whether the discussions constitute obstruction of justice and another is focused on the illegal wiretapping itself.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:11, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is not a high-risk country in terms of the coronavirus, and therefore there is no need to shut down schools or other venues or restrict the movement of citizens, Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan said at a news conference when asked about such possibility given the World Health Organization’s declaration of an international public health emergency.

“The Public Health Emergency of International Concern was issued because of a confirmed human-to-human transmission outside of China. This implies a stricter approach by countries for prevention of the spread. Now, Armenia is not in a high-risk zone. And the actions that will be increased during these days will make us refrain even more from becoming a high-risk country,” he said, adding that they aren’t considering shutting down schools, workplaces or other events.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:44, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Statistics Committee has released the 2019 December economic activity figures, and the number shows that December of 2019 broke all records and secured a 10,7% economic activity growth, PM Nikol Pashinyan said on Facebook.

“Moreover, exports grew 13%. Services grew 11,6%, industry grew 6,4%, construction – 4,9%, and salaries grew 5,4%. The results of the year are more record breaking. I will present it later,” he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:00, 31 January, 2020

ALMATY, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is participating at the ongoing Eurasian Inter-Governmental Council session in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Russian delegation is headed by the new Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Heads of government of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states are in attendance of the session.

Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu is taking part by virtue of Moldova’s status as observer in the organization.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan