Armenia receives Russia-made COVID-19 vaccine, ex-president sues PM Pashinyan, 08.04.21 digest
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 08.04.21:
VACCINE
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Armenia has received the first batch – 15,000 doses - of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.
This is a continuation of the large-scale assistance provided by Russia to Armenia in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Thursday morning, Armenia has confirmed 1,231 new cases of the coronavirus, the total number of these cases has reached 200,129 in the country. The death toll is 3,675.
The number of people who have recovered over the past one day is 816, the total respective number so far is 179,043
EX-PRESIDENT
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Second President Robert Kocharyan has sued Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Armenia. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday and assigned to the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan.
The lawsuit demands to confirm the violation of the plaintiff's right to a fair trial, to compensate the non-pecuniary damage caused as a result of this violation, to obligate to publicly deny the statements made about the plaintiff, and to compensate the non-pecuniary damage caused to the plaintiff by defamation.
Robert Kocharyan's legal team said this lawsuit is based on Nikol Pashinyan's statements made during his March 1 rally at Yerevan's Republic Square.
The total amount of compensation asked for these violations is 4 million drams - nearly $7,500.
MONEY
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In the first two months of this year, the outflow of money from Armenia to the United States has increased sharply—by about 80%—, whereas the inflow from Russia decreased—by about 20%. It is assumed that a new wave of emigration from Armenia will follow them.
The economic crisis of 2020 was unprecedented compared to the last ten years. Amid deep economic downturns, remittances to Armenia also fell, worsening the living standards of the country’s people who are living on remittances. In 2020, individuals in Armenia received $1.84 billion in remittances through banks, which is $116 million—or 6%—less than the previous year.
DUTCH
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Over 150,000 people have signed a petition calling on the justice ministry to rethink a decision to deport a 13-year-old boy to Armenia, even though he is a Syrian Christian and has never been in the country, DutchNews reported.
Jacob and his mother have lost their right to stay in the Netherlands because the immigration service has decided they can settle in Armenia with distant relatives.
The boy's mother Tina got Armenian passports for herself and her son, so they could get a visa to travel to Europe from Syria.
The final straw had come when Jacob was injured in a bomb blast that killed one of his friends, De Groene Amsterdammer reported.
However, stories about a visa for Armenians proved to be false and Tina and Jacob made the journey to Europe in a small boat over the Mediterranean Sea. But because Armenia is classed as a safe third country, she and Jacob have now been repeatedly refused the right to stay in the Netherlands.
AMNESTY
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At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, the Armenian government approved the bill on granting amnesty to men who have avoided term military or alternative service, military training, or conscription in the country.
PM Nikol Pashinyan noted that the idea of adopting such a law has been discussed for a long time.
"This is an opportunity for us to fix a point and move forward," Pashinyan said adding that this was a political decision.
At the meeting, the Armenian government also appointed Hayk Ghalumyan as Governor of Tavush Province.
Ghalumyan is the wedding best man of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the acting mayor of Ijevan—Pashinyan’s hometown.
MEETING
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The relatives of the missing and fallen servicemen - following the Nagorn-Karabakh [Artsakh] war - have gathered again in front of the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Armenia.
Arsen Ghukasyan, a relative of one of these missing soldiers, said live on Facebook that the promises that were made during their previous meeting at the MOD had not been fulfilled yet, and therefore they had to come to the ministry again.
DOLMA
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After her last visit to Armenia, Poosh founder Kourtney Kardashian shares more posts about Armenian cuisine. Earlier, she has already shared a photo of freshly baked Armenian bread 'matnakash', and today she showed three types of dolma.
All three dishes were prepared by the most famous fan of the Kardashian family Narbeh with his grandmother Hasmik.
