Armenian News – NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 24.01.22:

• The National Assembly (NA) of Armenia received Sunday the letter of Armen Sarkissian's resignation. The powers of the President will be exercised by the Armenian speaker Alen Simonyan until the newly elected President assumes office.

Sarkissian has submitted his resignation citing lack of influence.

According to the constitution, Armen Sarkissian has 7 days to recall his decision. If his decision comes into force, new presidential elections should be held in 25 days.

Armen Sarkissian has been on duty only for four years of active work as president.

Sarkissian was in a standoff with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last year over a number of issues, including the dismissal of the head of the armed forces following the defeat at Nagorno-Karabakh.

He had even called on Pashinyan to step down.

By the way, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan prior to Sarkissian's resignation, said he is going to answer questions of media, NGOs live on Facebook, although he has already had a big press conference this month.

• The Armenian parliament has elected a new Ombudsman. Kristine Grigoryan - nominated by the ruling Civil Contract party - will replace Arman Tatoyan in his position.

Her candidacy was supported by the parliamentary faction of the ruling Civil Contract party with 68 votes. Deputies from the opposition blocs "Armenia" and "I have the honor", in fact, boycotted the vote.

Kristine Grigoryan was the former Deputy Minister of Justice.

Before submitting his resignation, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian was on a short vacation during which he underwent a medical examination abroad. 

To note, it was also from abroad that Armen Sarkissian had resigned from the post of Prime Minister of Armenia in February 1997.

• The winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will be held from 24 to 28 January in a mixed format.

The session will hold discussions on combating the growth of hatred towards LGBT people in Europe, the violation of their rights in the South Caucasus, business and values in football management, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, as well as functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia.

• According to Armenian News-NEWS.am’s information, the Azerbaijani armed forces fired at the Armenian positions located in the Karmir Shuka village section of the Martuni region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), at around midnight.

No shots were fired in the direction of Karmir Shuka village.

• French fashion designer Thierry Mugler, whose flamboyant creations transformed haute couture, has died at the age of 73, according to a message posted to his official Instagram account, CNN reported.

"We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr. Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday, January 23rd, 2022," the post read, using his full name. "May his soul Rest In Peace."

The designer's brand, Mugler, also confirmed the news via an Instagram post, describing its founder as "a visionary whose imagination as a couturier, perfumer and image-maker empowered people around the world to be bolder and dream bigger every day."

• The situation over the Russian-Ukraine crisis has deteriorated during the weekends.

NATO allies are putting forces on standby and sending more ships and fighter jets to NATO deployment sites in Eastern Europe, bolstering allied deterrence and defense as Russia continues to build up its military presence in and around Ukraine, the NATO website notes.

In recent days, a number of allies have made announcements about current or upcoming deployments, including Denmark, Lithuania, Spain, France, and the Netherlands.

The US has also made it clear that it is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.

• The Armenian health ministry on Monday shared the latest information on the coronavirus vaccination process in Armenia.

Accordingly, as of Sunday, a total of 1,825,382 inoculations against COVID-19 have been administered in Armenia, of which the first dose was 999,891, and the second dose—819,841.

And 5,650 people in Armenia have already received the third—booster—shot.

Meanwhile, Armenian government has applied some restrictions.

On January 22, by the order of the Minister of Health, new restrictions came into force in Armenia, according to which a certificate confirming the negative result of a vaccine or coronavirus test is required to enter a number of public places.

There will be a requirement to submit a vaccination certificate or negative test results when visiting food courts in malls.