Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of the Armenian-top news as of 17.04.2020:

·       The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 1,201 in Armenia, another death has been reported.

According to the latest data, 402 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far, whereas 19 others have died in Armenia from the disease.

The latest casualty was a famous singer and songwriter Sargis Shiboyan.

In the meantime, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan will address the nation via a TV regarding the plans to overcome the coronavirus epidemic and the socio-economic consequences that have arisen because of this.

·       Martin Galstyan has been elected the governor of the Central Bank of Armenia.

A secret ballot was being held Friday in the Parliament to elect the new governor of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA).

Galstyan’s candidacy was proposed by the ruling My Step bloc. And 104 MPs voted for him, 15 - opposed. 

·       Armenian MPs adopted legislative amendments to the law on trade and services on Friday in the second and final reading.

The law proposes to ban the sale and use of plastic bags in commercial establishments, as of January 1, 2022. A total of 105 MPs voted in favor.

·       The meeting of the commission examining the circumstances of the April war, in which the third Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan took part, ended late on Thursday. The meeting lasted for about five hours. After the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan and the chair of the committee Andranik Kocharyan answered the journalists' questions.

According to Sargsyan, he made sure that his decision to take part in the meeting was fully justified.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of mutual respect, he added. “I am very glad that I was able to provide additional information about the April hostilities.”

According to the chair of the committee, Serzh Sargsyan was right when he said it was right for him to attend the session. 

As Kocharyan noted, the committee’s activities are in the final stage.

·       The photo of a 15-year-old Armenian girl was among the winners of the World Press Photo international contest.

Photo by Tomek Kaczor was taken for Duzy Format, Gazeta Wyborcza.

Ewa, a 15-year-old Armenian girl who has recently woken from catatonic state brought on by Resignation Syndrome, sits in a wheelchair, flanked by her parents, in a refugee reception center in Podkowa Leśna, Poland, the official website World Press Photo said.