Yerevan City Council fails to elect Mayor due to absence of quorum at extraordinary session

July 16, 2018 By administrator

Yerevan City Council fails

Monday’s session of the Yerevan Council of Elders, and with the agenda of electing a new mayor of Armenia’s capital city, was not convened.

After returning from the announced recess, First Deputy Mayor Kamo Areyan announced that if there was no quorum at the municipal council session, a recess was announced, and that if there was no quorum after the recess too, the session was considered non-convened.

“At this time, there is no quorum at the Yerevan Council of Elders’ session,” Areyan stated. “[So] the session is considered non-convened.”

After Taron Margaryan’s resignation from his post as Yerevan Mayor on July 9, the municipal council had decided to convene a session on Monday, and to elect a new mayor. The sole mayoral candidate was Zaruhi Postanjyan, chairperson of the Yerkir Tsirani (Apricot Country) Party and of its faction at the Yerevan Council of Elders.

But two of the three political forces represented in the Yerevan municipal council—namely, the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and the “Way Out” (Yelk) coalition—had announced that not only were they not going to nominate a mayoral candidate, but, also, they would not attend Monday’s session.

Only five members—including the three members of the Yerkir Tsirani faction and Deputy Mayor Kamo Areyan, who was chairing—were in attendance to this session.

Pursuant to the rules, if the session is not convened, a snap Yerevan Council of Elders’ election shall be conducted.

One killed in Yerevan building collapse

July 16, 2018 By administrator

building collapse

One person was killed as the result of the building collapse in Yerevan on Monday, Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia reported.

According to the source, the building collapsed on Arshakunyats Avenue, while an operative rescue team left for the scene.

The injured were hospitalized, one of the injured died in hospital, another one now in an intensive care unit.

New Mayor of Yerevan must be elected no later than within a month: Procedure of holding snap elections

July 9, 2018 By administrator

Yerevan mayor election

On July 9 Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan resigned.

Armenpress presents the procedure of holding snap elections of the Mayor.

The snap elections of the Mayor are being held within a timeframe set by the City Council, but no later than within a month.

During the snap elections, the right to nominate candidates for the Mayor belongs to the City Council’s factions.

The City Council members are voting at the snap elections. Each member of the Council has a right to one vote. If one candidate is nominated, he/she is elected Mayor if the number of votes in favor is more than the number of votes against.

During the past weeks protests were being held outside the Yerevan City Hall demanding Mayor Taron Margaryan’s resignation. Taron Margaryan was serving as Mayor of Yerevan since 2011.

11th annual DigiTec forum kicks off in Yerevan

June 29, 2018 By administrator

The 11th annual DigiTec Business Forum, titled Smart Solutions For Smart Business, has kicked off in Yerevan today.

The two-day forum will feature various discussions on information security, development of electronic systems, renewable and energy-efficient technologies, military industry etc.

Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises of Armenia (UATE) president Alexander Yesayan told reporters that the forum is a unique platform which brings together representatives of businesses and IT, featuring new tech solutions which can be applied in various sectors. UATE is the organizer of the event.

“In addition, issues of the sector are raised, the development vision is presented, we speak about the problems. Today, education can be singled out as one of the main problems of the sector, which must immediately be developed. There is always a demand for experts in this sector. Today, a good foundation must be laid in order to have a good development in the future”, he said.

Karen Vardanyan, executive director of UATE, says that a coordinated work is required in Armenia to transform it into a technological country.

“Nearly 3 million vacancies exist today in the IT sector, we must be able to take a good share of this huge cake,” he said.

He mentioned that they propose the government to create a new ministry – the ministry of innovations and technological development.

“Today various IT solutions are installed in various governmental agencies. The main problem is that they don’t speak to one another. That is why there is a need for this all to be coordinated from one place,” he said.

Air temperature to reach 41 °C on July 1 in Yerevan

June 28, 2018 By administrator

Hydromet meteorological service at ministry of emergency situations reports that air temperature will reach 41 °C in capital Yerevan from July 1 on. According to weather forecast update, the index of ultraviolet rays is predicted to reach 6, so it’s recommended to avoid direct sun rays during the period from 11:00 to 15:00.

According to the source, on June 28-30 and July 1-2 no precipitation is predicted. Southwest wind speed is 3-8 m/s.

Source Panorama.am

Armenian Ex-President’s Former Chief Of Security Arrested

June 28, 2018 By administrator

Former Chief Of Security Arrested

YEREVAN — The former head of the security service of Armenia’s ex-President Serzh Sarkisian has been arrested on charges of “illegal enrichment.”

A court in Yerevan ruled on June 28 that Vachagan Ghazarian must be held in pretrial detention for two months.

Sarkisian, who had been president for 10 years, moved to the newly powerful post of prime minister in mid-April but stepped down after weeks of peaceful street protests led by opposition leader Nikol Pashinian.

Pashinian was voted in as prime minister of the South Caucasus country on May 8.

Police detained Ghazarian on June 25 when he was leaving a bank in Yerevan with more than $1 million in cash.

On June 27, Armenia’s Special Investigative Service charged Ghazarian with illegal enrichment and not declaring properties and large cash sums to tax authorities.

First tourism information center opens in Yerevan

June 18, 2018 By administrator

The Yerevan municipality launched the city’s first tourism information center in Nalbandyan Street center on Monday to offer assistance and other necessary services to foreign visitors.
Mayor Taron Maragaryan and the senior staff of the City Hall attended the solemn event to enjoy the dance music and songs typical to the capital city, as well as the special reception.

The center operates close to the Republic Square metro station.

Highlighting the importance of the initiative, an aide to the Yerevan mayor, Maria Baraghamyan, said they came up with the idea in the context of the capital city’s 2,800th jubilee celebrations expected this autumn.“This project aims to offer assistance to our fellow citizens and guests by providing them with useful guidelines, as well as information about the tourism infrastructures and the municipality’s services.

We are planning the second [center’s] opening in the near future,” she added.
Free bilingual maps of Yerevan and information leaflets will be available at the center to inform tourists also of the planned cultural and entertainment events.

Partners companies have joined the initiative with enthusiasm. Lilit Hovhannisyan, the editor-in-chief of Armenia Tourism, finds the project very actual and necessary.“I am sure this kind of concept will allow tourists to more easily orient themselves and organize the leisure time in Yerevan much better. Our magazine will certainly assist in the program, and our latest editions will be always available in information centers,” she added.

Yerevan Police Chief fired

June 18, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN.- Yerevan Police Chief Sarkis Martirosyan has been dismissed.

The press service of the police confirmed the information.

The post of the police chief remains vacant.

Chinese-language school to open in Yerevan on September 1

June 13, 2018 By administrator

A Chinese-language school will open in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan on September 1, Chinese ambassador to Yerevan Tian Erlun said at a meeting with Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan.

At a meeting with former Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan in January, the ambassador had said that $15 million were allotted for the construction of the school in Yerevan.

The ambassador said that the Chinese side will conclude building the school in the second half of August, as agreed before.

Also, the diplomat revealed that the Chinese government is ready to provide support in the process of organizing Chinese language studies and will send teachers for the upcoming academic year.

Also, issues concerning higher education in Armenian and Chinese institutions and expanding cooperation in the field of education were high on the agenda.

13 citizens hospitalized after getting poisoned in hotel in Yerevan

June 2, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, On June 2, at 01:30, the St. Gregory the Illuminator medical center of Yerevan has notified the Police that 13 citizens have been hospitalized with a chlorine poisoning diagnosis in one of the hotels of the city, the Police told Armenpress.

According to preliminary data, the citizens got poisoned while swimming in the hotel’s pool.

Forensic medical examinations have been appointed