Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 05.02.2021:

  • After a two-day break, the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) rescue squads resumed Friday their search and rescue operations to find the bodies of the fallen soldiers and those who have gone missing during the recent Karabakh war.

Relatives of these servicemen are also taking part in the search.

Head of Communication and Prevention Programs of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia Zara Amatuni told RFE/RL that ICRC representatives have visited four Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, including civilians.

Azerbaijan has officially confirmed that they have only 57 Armenian prisoners of war, but based on the Armenian side’s data, there are over 200 Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan.

Overall, Azerbaijan has returned 59 captives to Armenia, including civilians, while Armenia has returned 15 captives, including Azerbaijanis Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov, who were convicted of the murder of a child and other crimes in Artsakh.

  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) hopes that the trip of its preliminary mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan will take place in the near future.

A spokesman noted that discussions on this matter are continuing.

On November 20, 2020, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay declared the organization's readiness to send a mission to Karabakh to help restore the Armenian cultural and historical heritage.

"It is the constitutional right of every individual—and in some places, the obligation, too—to run in this limited, hopeless situation," he noted.

Meanwhile, Hraparak daily reported that Pashinyan is discussing a matter of holding snap elections in June; even specific days are noted: Sundays, June 6 or June 20.

During the meeting, Pashinyan noted that Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have close cooperation, and Armenia is interested in deepening their partnership ties.

The PM of Kyrgyzstan, in turn, stressed that his country attaches great importance to a closer partnership with Armenia.

  • Armenia Investigative Committee officer has resigned, saying he can't work with the treacherous government.

Member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun political party Hakob Hakobyan has resigned from the post of acting Head of the Department of Legal Support and Statistics of the Administration of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

"I don’t consider my work compatible with the work of the treacherous authorities," he noted.

The death toll has reached 3,109 cases.

The number of people who have recovered is 159,350, and the number of people currently being treated is 4,488.

Gor Minasyan, a silver medalist of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, was crowned the champion in this weight category, by lifting a total of 435 kg.

More than 100 athletes participated in the Armenian Men's Weightlifting Championships in ten weight categories.

From February 1 and 3, the average daily temperature across the country was above the norm by 4-6 degrees.

The irregular high temperature will not only be maintained, but will also increase in the next few days.

Armenia’s meteorologists predict record-setting high temperatures (up to +20…+23 degrees) in the valley areas of Syunik and Tavush Provinces.

On those days, the temperature in Ararat Plain and Yerevan will go up to +12…+14 degrees.

The dollar exchange rate against the Armenian dram (AMD) comprised AMD 521.13/$1 in Armenia on Friday; this is up by AMD 0.53 from Thursday.

The exchange rate of the euro totaled AMD 624.21 - up by AMD 0.27.