Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of news as of 05.08.2019:

·       An explosion occurred on a bridge on the Yerevan-Sevan highway on August 2, and as a result, a Range Rover and Nissan Patrol were damaged.

According to reports, the aforesaid Range Rover belongs to former MP, businessman Melik Manukyan. A criminal case was launched in connection with the incident and on charges of attempted murder.

Robert Manukyan, the brother of former MP, businessman Melik Manukyan—a.k.a. Shshi Melo, has filed a crime report with the Special Investigation Service of Armenia, Manukyan’s attorney, Hovsep Sargsyan said.

Robert Manukyan was detained on August 3 but released Monday, along the lines of the criminal case into unlawfully removing the car from the scene of the murder attempt against Melik Manukyan.

He demands to launch a criminal case on police violence against him, to give a criminal and legal assessment on unlawful actions by police, and to recognize Manukyan as an injured party in this case.

·       The Armenian personnel at Sochi International Airport of Russia recently issued an announcement stating that they were being dismissed because of their nationality. A voice recording has been posted on the internet, in which an official of Sochi International Airport of Russia explains to an Armenian employee why he was fired. In the recording, it is said that this person was dismissed for signing a letter of protest addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We don’t like it when people protest. You had to wait and be silent,” the airport official says, claiming that nationality has nothing to do with this.

·       The fourth annual Sevan Startup Summit - 2019 forum summed up its results on Saturday. This year, startups participating in the Sevan Startup Summit competed for an investment fund of $ 100,000. It is envisaged to purchase investment agreements for over $ 1 million.

The fourth annual forum Sevan Startup Summit - 2019 forum started on the shore of Sevan, in which 120 startups from Armenia and 45 countries of the world took part.

Over 100 mentors and successful businessmen, investors arrived in Armenia as part of the event.

·       Vahe Davtyan, a well-known and beloved Armenian singer of the 1990s, has died after a long illness.

Davtyan had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

·       A trend of external national debt reduction has been recorded in Armenia for the first time since 2015, the Armenian government said on Facebook.

As of June 2019, the country’s external national debt has dropped by $120 million, or by 2.1 percent, over the past 15 months.