Sevan Hotel will be under repair from now. Surrounded by new hotels, dilapidated and dysfunctional Sevan had been fallen into neglect for years.{BR} Rumours are going around that the hotel belongs to British businessman Vahe Manukyan. The building was privatised in 1996. It isn’t clear yet what barred the owner to start the works in time.

Armenian Telephone Company /ArmenTel/ starts subscription for easy cards from Monday.{BR} The company’s press secretary Hasmik Chutilyan said this time the term given for subscribing for the card and the number of subscribers are not limited as ArmenTel decided to explore the market and the demand for the cards.

On Monday, Boris Kocharyan, deputy chief of the Yerevan Municipality unite responsible for urban planning and architecture, speaking at a news conference, voiced his concern about mounting number of unauthorized construction of new buildings in Yerevan and said Armenian capital’s mayor intends to crack down on that.{BR} Relevant organization trying to set their control over the situation recently...

A five-day training course on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) for 12 officers of Armenian Armed Forces has started today in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor (60 km north of Yerevan). The course for future IHL instructors is organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of Armenia. {BR} Conducted by the ICRC regional IHL expert,...

A number of Armenian organisations convened a news conference on Friday in Armenian Culture Fund support.{BR} It should be reminded that National Sciences Academy state organisation sued the Fund demanding it to be evicted from the premises belonging to the Academy. The Fund’s chair Arevshat Avagyan is strongly opposed to the demand denouncing it as greed and consumerism. In his words, the...

Restored pantheon of Sevan soldiers perished in Karabakh war was opened Friday in Armenian town of Sevan. Armenian defense minister Serge Sargssyan was present at the opening ceremony.{BR} Repair works lasted four months. Necessary amount of money – about 8 million drams – was raised thanks to TV marathon staged by STV1, Sevan’s TV Channel, in June. The action initiator Sevan...

Government has today discussed 3 bills on ecology sphere, in particular on restoration of Sevan Lake ecosystem, disafforestation and usage, mining and protection of entrails. {BR} Ecology Deputy Minister Simon Papyan informed that it’s envisaged to work out the management plan of Sevan national park, determination of the boundaries and mapping. Referring to the illegal disafforestation Mr....

”Democracy” social organization keeps discussing the versions for constitutional reforms. No Coalition member came to the seminar held in “Armenia-Marriott” Hotel. Shavarsh Kocharyan from Opposition and President’s Councilor Seyran Avagyan were present. {BR} The following problem was mainly discussed – to establish Constitution to restrain the Authorities who...

”Vox Populi” Center for Study of the Public Opinion has conducted a telephone survey on detaching 50 doctors and sappers to Iraq. The survey was held on September 25-29, 2004, among 664 Yerevan residents of 18 and above. {BR} 60% of those surveyed has opposed the idea, 24% doesn’t care, 10% is at a loss to answer and only 6% is for. By the way, 22% of the surveyed persons think Parliament...

Great Britain Government has financed elaboration of the Armenian bill on “Ecological Examination”. “For the first time the bill provides an independent ecological examination”, Boris Ghazaryan, Vice-Director of “Ecological Examination” state non-trade organization of Ecology Ministry said during introduction of the bill in Teqeyan Cultural Center. {BR} Who are...

Since 1994, about 23.000 people have migrated in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic for permanent residence, 150 settlements have been reconstructed, 120 of which - from “zero”.{BR} According to Chief Department on the Issues of Migration, Refugees and Resettlement under the NKR Government Serge Amirkhanian, 623 people (120 families) migrated in the republic for 8 months - since January...

This morning before the Italy Embassy in Yerevan a tree was cut. “The tree was withered and decayed”, Central Commune representative who wished to remain unknown, said. {BR} He watched the process of tree cutting. According to him, the tree was cup under the decision of Yerevan Municipality. The firewood will be stored and distributed among the needy citizens in winter.

Armenian Ballet School’s new-appointed principal Karen Gevorgyan resigned Tuesday because the school’s staff protested his appointment to that post and went on strike together with students demanding return of former principal Norik Mehrabyan.{BR} It isn’t still clear if the Culture Ministry will comply with their second demand on Mehrabyan. It will be known when culture minister Hovik Hoveyan returns from China.

On June, 2004, the U.S. court upheld agreement on suits over insurance policies issued by New-York Life Insurance Company at the time of Armenian Genocide.{BR} As it is known, Armenian Justice Ministry intends to support all heirs and relatives of the genocide victims in their demand on insurance policies repayment. To help them, a group of consultants is set up by the ministry on Monday. The ministry...

Two precious stones costing 11,5 million euros – a 47-carat white diamond and 15,74-carat blue diamond – were stolen Monday night from a jewelry exhibition in Paris Louver.{BR} The case is now under investigation by Paris police.

Residents of Charishat, a village of Armenia’s Shirak region, gathered Tuesday outside the presidential seat in Yerevan demanding to give them their cattle back or compensation of $8,000.{BR} The thing is that 26 heads of cattle were stolen on June 9 with alleged implication of Armenian and Russian border guards in that. Villagers say the cattle were sold to Turkey. The villagers’ suspicion...

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal again postponed the hearing of the suit filed by National Academy of Sciences non-commercial organization against Armenian Culture Fund. The plaintiff demands to evict the Fund from the premises rented.{BR} The previous session was postponed at the defendant’s plea to give him time to read the papers submitted by the plaintiff. This time, the Fund’s representatives...

Abrupt rise of prices for firewood and coal in Javakhq made the local population appeal to President Mikhail Saakashvili. {BR} More than 2.000 residents of Akhalqalaq and Ninotsminda Districts have signed an application addressed to the President asking him to take steps to regulate the prices for winter fire-wood. To provide fire-wood for winter firewood of 400 $ or coal of 600 $ are necessary on average in Javakhq, A-INFO informs.

It seems strange to people living on the shore of Mediterranean Sea that a Martuni resident calls Sevan a sea. Irrespective of the size, Sevan is a sea for people in Armenia. Geghama beauty is a sea for a country having no seas. {BR} Today is the International Day of Sea. The international ecological organizations like Caucasus Regional Ecological Center congratulated everyone on the holiday wishing...

”Culture Minister Hovik Hoveyan advised the staff of Dance College to stop the strike since the newly-appointed director Karen Gevorgyan will no longer hold the post”. The news was spread today, through which an attempt is made to calm down the members of “strike committee” of the college. {BR} Pedagogical, parental and student group of 500 people has set up the committee as...

”Protection of the environment is a worldwide value. It’s a problem to simplify the ecological mechanisms and to apply new criteria”, Armenian Ecology Minister Vardan Ayvazyan said at the 6th annual meeting held by Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation. {BR} 60 officials and experts of 18 states partake in the meeting. The aim of the meeting is to discuss the ecological...

From October 13-16 Yerevan-Erebuni annual festival will take place in Yerevan. Yerevan Municipality has already approved the project on the entertainment. {BR} On October 13 the grand opening of the festival will take place in National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after Alexander Spendiaryan. Yerevan Mayor Ervand Zakharyan will hand Yerevan' new flag, the lyrics and the music of the anthem...

One of international organisations has sent 650 tons wheat seeds as assistance to the republic’s six regions stricken by frost in 2002 and 2003.{BR} It became known recently that 2,100 kg of that amount were distributed wrongly. Journalists without borders organisation discussed that incident Friday. The thing is that Lyudvig Khlghatyan, the headman of Armavir region’s Dimitrov village,...

In the wake of the terrorist act in Beslan, North Ossetia, resulted in heavy toll, security is tighten in Russia. All individuals with non-Russian appearances undergo checking everywhere.{BR} A part of them are released after being fined, another part are forced to leave Russia. Several cases are known of Georgian and Azeri citizens’ deportation from the country. Armenian Foreign Ministry’s...