Business

YEREVAN (Tert.am), March 9–The draft law on making amendments and additions to the Republic of Armenia’s Land Code was presented in today’s Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs meeting.
“Under this draft law, the sale of border lands to juridical persons and organizations will be prohibited: they are only able to make use of the [...]

YEREVAN (ARKA), March 9–The number of tourists visiting Armenia in 2009 increased 3 percent from 2008.
According to the data published by the National Statistical Service of Armenia, the total number of tourists who visited the country in this period reached  575,300 people, up from 558,400 in 2008.
At the same time, as indicated by the statistics, over [...]

Economy

YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow.com), March 9–The only motorway gateway on the Russo-Georgian border, Upper Lars, resumed work on March 1, after staying closed for more than three years. The border crossing was closed in 2006 by the decision of the Russian side that cited repairs as the formal reason. In September, with $2.5 million financial assistance from [...]

YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net), March 10–The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will allocate 15 million euro to Yerevan underground railway reconstruction.
The Armenian Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan and head of EBRD Yerevan office Valeriu Razlog will sign a loan agreement on March 10, 2010.
To increase the effectiveness of the reconstruction program, contracts on program support with [...]

Politics

YEREVAN (RFE/RL), March 9—”The whole beauty of the document, discussed in the last five years in the Karabakh settlement lies in the fact that as a result of its implementation, Karabakh will receive an intermediate independence and security guarantees, while keeping hope of full independence in the future,” said British journalist Thomas de Waal on [...]

YEREVAN (Aysor.am), March 9–Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian hosted Poland’s Ambassador to Armenia Zdzisław Raczynski on Tuesday.
They discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the scheduled visit of his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk to Armenia. He said that the upcoming visit will contribute to strengthening Armenian-Polish relations.
Ambassador Raczynski commented [...]

Special Report

BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER
(Eurasianet.org), March 9–Turkey watchers in Washington must have been feeling a sense of déjà vu after the March 4 passage by a congressional committee of a resolution recognizing the mass killing of Armenians during World War I as genocide.
The same House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a similar resolution in 2007, leading Turkey to [...]

BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN

March 3–Birth rates are reportedly booming in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh after the launch of an Armenian-Diaspora-financed program that offers cash payouts of at least $2,000 for each baby born.
Russia-based, Karabakh-born entrepreneur Levon Hairapetian, along with Ruben Vardanian, the chief executive officer of the Russian investment bank and asset management firm Troika [...]

Social

YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia), March 9–The Brazilian affiliate of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund continues to support major renovations at Yerevan’s Nork-Marash Infectious Diseases Hospital. The latest project benefiting the facility, the sixth such initiative sponsored by the Brazilian affiliate, will result in the reconstruction of the hospital’s Pediatric and Adolescent Infections departments.
Currently under way, [...]

YEREVAN (Novosti Armenia), March 9 — President of Armenia Serge Sarkisian considers that the system of pension provision in the Republic of Armenia, inherited from the Soviet times, does not meet the present demands and requires transformations.
According to the report by the presidential press service, President Sarkisian talked about this issue on March 6 during a [...]

Arts and Culture

YEREVAN (Novosti Armenia), March 9 – On March 7 Antonia Arslan, a famous Italian writer of Armenian origin and the professor of modern Italian literature at the University of Padua, was awarded the gold medal of the Armenian Ministry of Culture. The award ceremony was held at the Armenian Ambassy in Italy.
The Armenian Ambassador to [...]

YEREVAN (Novosti-Armenia), March 9—President Serge Sarkisian received the world famous Serbian film director Emir Kusturica on March 6, according to the press service of Armenia.
The cult director and musician was in Armenia for the first time. On March 5 he held a concert in Yerevan together with his band “The No Smoking Orchestra.”
“We are very pleased to [...]

Sports

YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow.com), March 9–A veteran Armenian boxing champ said he was going to raise the stakes by moving to a higher division or seek a rematch with a longtime Filipino foe after he defended his WBC/WBA super flyweight belts against a Mexican challenger Saturday night.
Vic Darchinyan (34-2-1. 27 KOs) looked solid against his younger challenger [...]

YEREVAN (Combined Sources), March 5–World Boxing Council/WBA super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (33-2-1, 27 KO’s) will be fighting contender Rodrigo Guerrero (13-1-1, 9 KO’s) on March 6, at the Agua Caliente Casino, in Rancho Mirage, California.
“This is a good fight for me and a fight where I will showcase all my skills – not just [...]