17 June, 2020 10:07
National Assembly Lifts Gagik Tsarukyan’s Immunity, National Security Service Issues Arrest Warrant Amid Ongoing Criminal Investigations
On June 16, Armenia’s National Assembly voted 87-0 to strip lawmaker Gagik Tsarukyan of his parliamentary immunity and issue a permit for his arrest after Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan brought the issue before the legislature. Of the 87 members of the 132-seat parliament who took part in the ballot, all but one were members of the ruling My Step alliance. In contrast, representatives of the opposition parties Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia boycotted the vote. The National Assembly’s decision paves the way for Tsarukyan’s formal indictment and arrest on criminal charges recently brought against him by Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS).
16 June, 2020 20:56
Armenian Parliament Strips Gagik Tsarukyan of Immunity, Approves his Arrest
Armenia’s parliament has stripped Gagik Tsarukyan of his immunity and has approved his arrest. 425 new cases of COVID-19 are confirmed. Renovation of Yerevan’s Circular Park has begun.
16 June, 2020 11:01
Armenian Government Turns Down Further Russian Funding for Metsamor Nuclear Plant Upgrades
Suren Papikyan, Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, announced on June 11 that the country will use only 60 percent of a loan offered by the Russian government to finance the ongoing modernization of the Soviet-era Armenian nuclear power plant. The plant, which carries the name of the nearby town of Metsamor, remains the only active nuclear power plant in the South Caucasus.
15 June, 2020 22:03
Gagik Tsarukyan Faces Charges As Security Service Raid Residence
Opposition party leader and business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s house has been raided by security officials. 397 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.
13 June, 2020 15:20
Confusion over Hospital Capacity in Armenia Reflects Widespread Distrust in Institutions and Highlights Government’s Public Communication Problem
Beyond the public health response, the confusion over Armenia’s hospital capacity also highlights ongoing issues within the government and between state institutions. The extent to which government bodies are successfully coordinating and collaborating with one another in crafting the state’s pandemic response and messaging remains unclear. If, at his press conference, Pashinyan failed to mention the expansion of rural hospital capacity simply because he was not briefed about the development by the Health Ministry—as some observers have speculated—then the entire hospital bed issue is the outcome of intra-governmental communication problems.
12 June, 2020 22:00
Armenia Refuses Russian Loan to Renovate Nuclear Plant
The State of Emergency in Armenia has been extended till July 13. Armenia will only use part of a Russian loan to renovate the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. The European Parliament has condemned the construction of a third highway connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh. 
12 June, 2020 21:07
Domestic Violence Cases Increase During Coronavirus Lockdown in Armenia
Maryam (not her real name), a victim of domestic violence for 16 years, has just left her husband with her two children to find shelter. Her situation was significantly exacerbated during the coronavirus lockdown. In Armenia, domestic violence is a recurrent and anchored issue. According to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women and the Women’s Support Center, in the last couple of months the number of calls reporting domestic violence has increased by 30%.
12 June, 2020 16:51
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Policy: Disorder and Disarray
What the Saudi leaders hadn’t expected (or had underestimated, at least) was the reaction of Donald Trump, who was infuriated by the disaster that struck the US oil industry. The rest of the story is well-known: Trump admonished the Saudi leaders and requested the cooperation of … Vladimir Putin. Under the latter’s leadership, OPEC+ agreed to a plan of action on April 12: production cuts amounting to 9.7 million b/d in May and June 2020, subsequently renewed for July, on June 6. On the very next day, Aramco issued a new pricing initiative, this time with greatly improved price differentials ($5 to $6/b). Within only three months, the situation has transitioned from a “price war” to a game of one-upmanship… And it’s probably not over, as the market has no clear vision of the long-term objective pursued by the Saudis, if any such goal even exists. Disorder in Riyadh, disarray in the markets.
12 June, 2020 15:01
A Human-oriented Approach is Needed in the Karabakh Context
On June 6, the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan and Armenia's minister of territorial administration and infrastructures Suren Papikyan visited the southern part of the Kashatagh region of Artsakh. The aim of their visit was to discuss plans to build a new road that will connect Armenia's Syunik region to the town of Hadrut in Nagorno-Karabakh. The road will pass through territories (Lachin, Qubatly, and Jebrayil) outside the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) and will become the third highway connecting the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh. The road is of crucial importance for the economic development of this underdeveloped part of the Karabakh. It will lift hundreds of people out of poverty, creating economic opportunities for the emergence of self-sufficient households. Thousands of farmers will get opportunities to deliver their agricultural products to markets in Southern Armenia.
11 June, 2020 22:08
Armenia Jumps 19 Places in Global Peace Index
Armenia has jumped 19 places in the Global Peace Index. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated that the coronavirus situation is showing signs of stabilizing. The government has accused business tycoon and opposition party leader Gagik Tsarukyan of cooperating with elements of the old regime. Georgia and Lithuania are set to send medical staff to help with Armenia’s pandemic response. 
10 June, 2020 22:02
Record High in Covid-19 Recoveries in Armenia
Armenia is set to extend the state of emergency. Georgia has offered to assist Armenia with coronavirus testing. Additional covid-19 outbreaks have occurred in Armenia’s textile factories. 
10 June, 2020 20:28
Is COVID-19 A Global Equalizer? A Conversation With Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Dr Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak speaks to CivilNet’s host interviewer, AUA Adjunct Lecturer, PhD Narek Mkrtchyan about the challenges the COVID19 pandemic has posed to the world 
10 հուլիս, 2020 09:33
The majority of Armenians now report that the gender of their child “does not matter,” according to the latest data from the Caucasus Barometer, an annual household survey conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers think tank network.
7 հուլիս, 2020 18:39
“Significant increase in public trust in state institutions” is what the latest data from the Caucasus Barometer shows, more than two years after the 2018 Velvet Revolution ushered in dramatic changes to the country’s domestic political landscape. The annual household survey—and the largest coordinated data collection effort in the South Caucasus—was last conducted in Armenia from February 21 to March 15, 2020 by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers think tank network.
6 հուլիս, 2020 21:48
Recently released data from the Caucasus Barometer, an annual household survey and the largest coordinated data collection effort in the South Caucasus, highlight widespread public uncertainty in Armenia and Georgia about the region’s geopolitical path. The surveys, organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers think tank network, were conducted in Armenia from February 21 to March 15, 2020 and in Georgia from October 9 to November 4, 2019.