make preferableArmenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 01.04.21:
- The Armenia national football team, which began the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup with two victories for the first time in its history, won the third game as well.
In the third round of the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, the team managed by Joaquin Caparros played against the Romanian team and scored a fantastic 3-2 victory in Yerevan.
Squad boss Joaquin Caparros commented on the clash noting that 'this is our country's victory.'
Roma and national squad midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, in turn, noted the 'fantastic job' of the team.
During the next qualifying match, the Armenia national football team will play against the team of North Macedonia on September 2. Three days later, the national team led by Joaquinn Caparoos will face off against the Germany national football team, and will host Lichtenstein on September 8.
- White House sources told American political scientist and well-known international commentator Ian Bremmer that the Biden Administration will recognize the Armenian genocide.
“[Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is about to face another diplomatic challenge, which is from the United States. As I’ve heard from the White House that President Biden is going to recognize the 1915 killing of the Armenians under the Ottomans’ rule as a ‘genocide,’” Bremmer added in a video posted at GZERO Media.
- Remains of 2 more Armenian servicemen have been found in Hadrut and Fizuli regions of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] that have been transferred to Azerbaijan.
Rescuers on Thursday also found the body—according to preliminary data—of a civilian, in the Askeran region’s Avetaranots village, which has come under the control of Azerbaijan.
The total number of dead bodies found—or transferred to the Armenian side—ever since the ceasefire last November is now 1,527, and 27 of them are presumably of civilians.
Meanwhile, the citizen reception center continues its activities at the Stepanakert humanitarian response center of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh.
More than 3,500 people have turned to the reception center for help; including, more than 800 such applications from the hotline.
Within a few days, the Russian military delivered more than 16.5 tons of humanitarian aid to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
- At Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, the government has decided to dismiss Hayk Chobanyan from the post of Governor of Tavush Province of Armenia.
According to media reports, Chobanyan will be appointed Minister of High-Tech Industry, replacing Hakob Arshakyan who has resigned amid the scandal as he was captured in footage attacking the erporter in Yerevan cafe.
- Ahead of the snap parliament's elections, the government is changing the electoral code.
At Thursday’s special sitting of the National Assembly of Armenia, the draft law on amendments and addenda to the Electoral Code was passed in the first reading, and by 83 votes in favor.
The respective debates in the second reading will be held within 24 hours.
This bill proposes to remove the so-called rating electoral system and introduce the electoral system with closed proportional-representation electoral lists.
By the way, the snap parliament elections are scheduled to be held on June 20.
- As of Thursday morning, 1,097 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 193,736 in the country.
Also, 18 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 3,533 cases.
Meanwhile, Armenia has kicked off its vaccination campaign.
At the moment, Armenia will use the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus.
As health minister Anahit Avanesyan told reporters on Thursday, the American FDA, the European Medicines Agency, and the World Health Organization have issued their findings on this vaccine. No cause-and-effect relationship was found between the reported side effects and the vaccination.
