Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 31.08.2020:

Also, two more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 879 cases.

The total number of people who have recovered so far is 37,722, and the number of people currently being treated is 4,912.

A total of 205,940 tests have been performed to date.

  • Samvel Mkrtchyan, former Director of Nubarashen Penitentiary in Yerevan, has been detained, spokesperson Marina Ohanjanyan of the Special Investigation Service (SIS) of Armenia told Armenian News - NEWS.am

According to her, Mkrtchyan was detained within the case under investigation by the SIS, and its details will be announced later.

  • Well-known Iranian-Armenian retired football player Serjik Teymourian died on August 28 in Tehran at the age of 46.

He was in a coma for about a month after a car accident.

The Tehran diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church informed NEWS.am that Teymourian had played for Iran's Ararat and Esteghlal clubs, as well as for Mainz 05 in Germany and the Iranian national teams.

  • Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has signed a decision to grant him vacation from August 31 to September 4, inclusive.

Also according to this decision, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan will replace the PM during his vacation.

  • The outrageous cases of vandalism against Armenian monuments have become more frequent after the escalation of tension on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in July.

This time the vandals desecrated the monument to the great Armenian composer Komitas in Paris, Facebook user Anzhela Kzhdryan wrote on her Facebook.

"In Paris, they wrote ‘It’s fake’ on the statue of Komitas symbolizing the Armenian Genocide," she wrote, and posted the respective photo of this monument.