17:24,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is the leading country in the South Caucasus region by GDP per capita, which is at $8,280, according to the IMF 2023 data.
In Georgia and Azerbaijan, the GDP per capita is $8,160 and $7,530 respectively.
10:16,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The “The Last Repair Shop,” a short documentary from the Academy Award-nominated directing duo Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers, which features an Armenian character that is central to its story, has made the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Short Film, Asbarez reports.
The film tells the story of four devoted craftspeople who help keep over 80,000 student musical instruments in good repair in the city of Los Angeles, led by the charming general manager, Steve Bagmanyan, who faced ethnic persecution in Azerbaijan in the 1980s. The film blends the unexpectedly intimate personal histories of the repair people with emotional, firsthand accounts from the actual student musicians for whom their instruments made all the difference.
Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers were both nominated for an Academy Award in 2021. Ben Proudfoot won an Academy Award in 2022.
“The Last Repair Shop” is available online on Los Angeles Times’ YouTube channel.
With one month to go until the nominations are unveiled for the 96th Oscars, the Academy has announced shortlists in 10 categories: Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound, and Visual Effects.
Each shortlist is determined by members of that corresponding branch, except for International Feature Film and Live Action Short Film. (Members from all branches are invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.)
The nominations for the 96th Oscars will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
[see video]
00:25,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Filmmaker Michael Goorjian’s Amerikatsi, representing Armenia, has been shortlisted in the International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. This is the first time that an Armenian film is shortlisted by the Academy.
Amerikatsi, an Armenian drama film written, edited, directed by, and starring Michael Goorjian, has been shortlisted alongside 14 other films.
Films from 88 countries and regions were eligible in the category.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Armenia, Amerikatsi
Bhutan, The Monk and the Gun
Denmark, The Promised Land
Finland, Fallen Leaves
France, The Taste of Things
Germany, The Teachers’ Lounge
Iceland, Godland
Italy, Io Capitano
Japan, Perfect Days
Mexico, Totem
Morocco, The Mother of All Lies
Spain, Society of the Snow
Tunisia, Four Daughters
Ukraine, 20 Days in Mariupol
United Kingdom, The Zone of Interest
The final shortlists will be unveiled on January 24, 2024.
10:53,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has extended condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the December 21 shooting in Prague.
“Deeply saddened by news of tragic shooting in Charles University, Prague. My heartfelt condolences to families & friends of victims, wishing them endurance, & speedy recovery to those injured. Armenia stands in solidarity with friendly Czech people,” Foreign Minister Mirzoyan said in a post on X addressed to his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavský.
Lipavský in turn thanked Mirzoyan for the support. “Dear Ararat, thank you for your kind words. Your support means a lot in this tragic time,” the Czech FM responded on X.
On December 21, a gunman shot dead 14 people and injured another 25 at a university in Prague in the deadliest attack in modern Czech history.
Local police said the 24-year-old gunman was also "eliminated" following the shooting at Charles University in the historic center of the capital.
11:41,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Nearly all contracts between Russia and Armenia on military-technical cooperation have been fulfilled, but there are problems with certain contracts, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin has said.
“Military-technical cooperation between our countries has long tradition and is based on the agreement on military-technical cooperation between Russia and Armenia signed on June 25, 2013. Nearly all signed contracts are either completed – on time and high quality, or are in the final phase of fulfillment,” the Russian ambassador told TASS news agency.
He said that Armenia and Russia are discussing the signing of new contracts of military-technical cooperation.
At the same time, the Russian ambassador admitted that in relation to certain contracts there have been problems regarding Russia’s fulfillment of its obligations.
“In terms of certain individual contracts there are indeed issues related to the obligations on fulfilling the state order by Russian enterprises in the defense sector, however these are working issues that are resolved during dialogue between respective government agencies of Russia and Armenia,” the Ambassador said.
Armenian authorities have said that Russia has failed to deliver armaments for which Armenia has paid for.
12:52,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Chief Executive Officer of the M. Target Group (Cyprus) Odysseas Melikides is visiting Armenia to explore opportunities to enhance Armenia-Cyprus business ties.
Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan, Melikides mentioned that there’s little information about Armenia in Cyprus. “Many in Cyprus are unaware of the business opportunities in Armenia and Armenian products,” he said. “We are here to study the conditions on spot and establish new contacts. We’ve already met with local businessmen from various sectors, beverage production, textile, IT. We’ve discussed the main issues regarding access to foreign markets. This is my first time in Armenia and I am very impressed. For 2024, we have the goal to help Armenian businessmen enter not only the European market, but also to make businessmen in Cyprus get to know the Armenian market. There’s big potential to intensify the cooperation and we must work,” Odysseas Melikides said.
The visit is organized by the Council of the International Business Relations Support.
Mariam Manukyan, the President of the Council of the International Business Relations Support, said that she visited Cyprus together with a business delegation earlier this year. She said that her partners in Cyprus are engaged in serious work to intensify economic ties and raise awareness about customs and tax regulations. The most various sectors are being considered : tourism, textile, beverage production and IT.
The experts said that Cyprus could be a window for Armenian businessmen towards Europe, in addition to being a good market itself.
A business forum and expo will soon take place in Cyprus.
In addition to Cyprus, the Council of the International Business Relations Support will also work in other directions, such as the Czech Republic and the U.S.
13:00,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Moscow assumes that Russia and Armenia will remain partners and strategic allies united by common interests, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin said in an interview with TASS.
"We believe that Russia and Armenia remain partners and strategic allies united by common interests, shared history and close views on international issues, and that this alliance corresponds to the main interests of both participants. The embassy continues to work and develop our contacts on the basis of this understanding," he pointed out.
According to Kopyrkin, "the existence of certain disagreements in the bilateral and multilateral agenda cannot be denied, but both the Russian and Armenian sides are ready to discuss any controversial issues openly and in a constructive atmosphere, as befits allies."
"At this stage we do not observe any significant changes in the working process. We continue to work on the tasks set within the framework of the Russian-Armenian comprehensive cooperation. We are confident that the implementation of these tasks will benefit both the Russian and Armenian peoples," he added.
14:05,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan hasn’t ruled out that Armenia and Azerbaijan could separate the border delimitation issue from the possible peace treaty.
“I think that we can consider such an option because in terms of time it could take longer, perhaps even years. A country heading towards true peace won’t see any obstacle in such things,” Simonyan said, stressing that this is his personal opinion.
The border delimitation and demarcation could take very long, he added.
“Yes, I don’t rule out that such an option could be acceptable for Armenia,” Simonyan said.
16:00,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Investgiative Committee of Armenia has released interim results of the investigation into the September 25 fuel depot explosion near Stepanakert.
218 people were killed in the blast. 2 of the victims were police officers patrolling the depot and 31 were military servicemembers.
At least 120 others were injured in the explosion and subsequent fire.
21 people are missing.
DNA tests were performed to identify 138 victims.
3 bodies are still unidentified because no claims have been made by next-of-kin, and subsequently no DNA samples are available to perform the test.
15:25,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will continue granting revenue tax privileges to IT startups.
A bill on extending the privileges until December 31, 2024 was adopted by parliament with 67 votes in favor and 25 abstentions on Friday at the first reading.
The current law envisaged tax privileges (0% profit tax and 10% revenue tax) for IT startups. The new law will abolish the profit tax privilege but keep the 10% revenue tax regulation.