Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 18.03.22:

  • The suffering in Ukraine’s cities shows no sign of ending.

Between 24 February and 15 March, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 1,900 civilian casualties – with 726 people killed, including 52 children – mostly caused by explosive weapons in populated areas.

Meanwhile, 12 Armenians in Ukraine have been reportedly killed during the Ukrainian war.

The last such case has been recorded earlier on Friday as Armenian volunteer worker Artyom Ayvazyan, 26, from Pavlohrad, Ukraine, has died in Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, the international community continues punishing Russia.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have expelled a total of 10 Russian diplomats, the foreign ministries of the three Baltic countries have said.

While Russian and Belarusian diplomats are banned from entering the EU buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, tweeted.

However, Iran, in turn, noted that they are ready to support Russia during crisis.

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oudji at a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted that Iran is ready to support Russia and develop cooperation in a more intensive mode.

“Russia was next to us when we came under sanctions, so today we consider it our duty to be next to Russia in these difficult conditions and provide assistance,” he assured.

  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the US deployed more than 300 bio-laboratories around the world, many of them located in former Soviet republics.

According to him, Ukraine is probably the biggest project from the Pentagon's point of view, which disposes of the activities of these laboratories.

Lavrov said Moscow will insist that the issue be taken up within the BWC as well as within the UN Security Council because it poses a clear threat to international peace and security.

  • Several current and former European politicians addressed the Norwegian Nobel Committee with a request to nominate Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and for this reason extend the nomination procedure until March 31, Asian News International reported.

The politicians also called on the committee to reopen and reconsider the 2022 nomination procedure for the Nobel Peace Prize," according to the statement.

This year's Nobel Prize announcements will take place from October 3 to 10.

As many as 251 individuals and 92 organizations applied for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

- When President Joe Biden speaks Friday with China's Xi Jinping, it won't be just another phone call in an ongoing flurry of telephone diplomacy.

According to the international community, this call comes at a potential turning point for ties between the US and China.

White House officials said they expected the call could turn intense; a preliminary meeting between the two leaders' aides stretched for seven hours earlier this week. And Biden upped the stakes when he alluded to his call a day beforehand, declaring his Chinese counterpart "does not believe democracies can be sustained in the 21st century."

Earlier, Blinken said China bears responsibility for using its influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

  • Hundreds of flights have been canceled in Istanbul due to snowfall, Sabah reports.

Turkish carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) has canceled 100 flights scheduled for Saturday.

Snowfall is not expected to be as heavy as last week or January, but authorities have already taken precautions. The Governorate of Istanbul announced that all public and private schools would be closed due to snowfall on Friday.

The mayor of the city, Ekrem Imamoglu, advised city residents to refrain from driving on Friday and instead use public transport to prevent traffic from getting worse due to snow.

  • French President Emmanuel Macron has revealed his proposals to boost the national economy if he wins a second term at next month’s elections.

The French President held his major campaign event on Thursday to detail his vision for the next five years.

Macron also pledged to fight inequality and improve France’s reactions to global crises amid the war in Ukraine.

He vowed to push ahead with a controversial pension reform that would “progressively” raise the retirement age from 62 to 65 years. Under the new policy, French citizens who start working at a young age would still be able to retire before 65.

Macron also promised to keep investing in the French military and fight inequalities at school and healthcare access.

  • The Azerbaijani authorities held an event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of their partnership with the UN. And this event is being held in the occupied Armenian city of Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Vladanka Andreeva, is also attending the event.

The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) MFA  on Friday released a statement strongly condemning the holding of such an event in Shushi.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia is still silent and not responding in any way to this event.

  • Due to the war in Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund has revised its forecast for Armenia's economic growth rate for 2022, setting it at 1.5%.

The external position strengthened, especially in 2021, as the current account deficit narrowed during the pandemic, remittances remained high, and international reserves replenished. The banking system remained liquid with adequate capital, and asset quality improved.

The IMF has also reached an agreement with the Armenian authorities on the completion of the final review of the economic program of Armenia, implemented with the support of the "Reserve Program".

It may provide $36 million to Armenia.

  • For over 1,5 week for now there is no natural gas supplies in Karabakh after the accident happened on March 8. Since then Azerbaijan did not let Armenians visit the scene and start repair works. Although Azerbaijanis should have started the repair works, the pipeline has not been repaired as of Thursday noon and the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh has been without gas supplies for a week.

The gas resumption work in Artsakh has not yet been completed because of the difficult terrain and weather conditions.

The Artsakh government apologizes to all the citizens for the difficulties encountered and assures that the gas supply will be restored as soon as possible," the statement reads.

  • Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan met with NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana.

Mirzoyan also spoke about the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan's ceasefire violations, and the facts of psychological pressure on civilians.

The FM expressed satisfaction with the political dialogue between Armenia and NATO.

The sides touched upon the participation of Armenian peacekeeping units in the international peacekeeping missions and Armenia's contribution to the strengthening of international security and stability.

  • According to the 2022 World Happiness Report, Armenia is ranked 82nd among the happiest countries; last year it was ranked 86th.

Its neighbors Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey are ranked 105th, 92nd and 112th, respectively.

Finland ranks first for the fifth year in a row.

The 2022 World Happiness Report covered 150 countries.

  • French film star Alain Delon says he does not want to become an infirm old man and suffer from disease. The actor wants to end his life by euthanasia.

Delon has asked his son Anthony to help him die, saying he wants to leave this life with euthanasia.

"Getting old sucks! And we can’t do anything about it. We lose face and vision, get back on our feet and feel like a fucking ankle hurts. The torment is terrible," the actor was quoted by the French publication Le Point.