Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 22.06.2020:

·       Armenian parliament discussed Monday the draft amendments to the Constitution.

The opposition Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia factions were not participating in the sitting.

According to the amendments, the Constitutional Court (CC) judges who have been in office for 12 years and more shall be removed from office, while the current president of the court, Hrayr Tovmasyan, will continue to be a judge of the court, but no longer as its president.

[UPDATE] Armenian parliament passed, in the second and final reading, the draft amendments to the Constitution. A total of 89 MPs voted for the bill.

·       The Venice Commission said in a statement it regrets that a proposal for constitutional amendments was introduced in the Armenian Parliament on the day of the adoption by the Venice Commission of its opinion.

According to Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric, "the constitutional crisis in Armenia can be solved with the Venice Commission’s guidance."

"I invite all authorities to be guided by the Venice Commission recommendations to overcome the constitutional crisis through smooth implementation of the relevant provisions of the 2015 Constitution and in accordance with Council of Europe standards," she concluded.

·       Yerevan court of general jurisdiction denied the petition to arrest Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan who is charged with obstructing the will of voters through electoral fraud. Tsarukyan doesn’t accept the charge and views the case against him as unlawful.

The Prosecutor's Office will appeal the decision.

According to the National Security Service statement, taking into account the public interest in fully solving the aforesaid crimes, the NSS also expects to receive public aid, and therefore it urges Armenian citizens to immediately notify the body conducting the proceedings if they have any information about this case.

·       Armenia recorded 320 COVID-19 new cases on Monday bringing the total number to 20,588: the total number of tests conducted so far is 96,843, while 10,980 people are currently being treated and 9,131 people have already recovered.

The death toll in Armenia has reached 360.

According to the World Health Organization, a record number of COVID-19 infections have been confirmed globally during the past day.

The total number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded nine million. The death toll is over 470 thousand, and over 4.8 million people have already recovered.

·       A woman about 45 years old fell from the 8th floor of a 9-story building under yet unknown circumstances on Monday morning in Armenia's Gyumri.

The woman died on the spot.

"The ambulance brigade found the woman already dead; the residents have not provided any information about her identity," the ambulance station added, in particular.