YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Speaking about a proposal made by several parliament members to–in abolishing the death penalty–preserve it for vicious crimes–including first degree murder–child rape and terrorism–the political representative of the ARF Supreme Body and co-chairman of the foreign affairs commission of the Armenian National Assembly Armen Rustamian–called the issue political rather than legislative.
Rustamian who stated that [...]

YEREVAN (RFE/RL-Noyan Tapan)–The Armenian military categorically denied on Wednesday reports that the Azerbaijani army has made territorial gains in fierce fighting along the heavily fortified Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
An Azerbaijani radio station–ANS–claimed that Azerbaijani forces have liberated two Armenian-occupied villages in the country’s western Qazakh district without sustaining any casualties. It said–however–that the Defense Ministry in Baku [...]

PARIS (Armenpress)–Fifty-two works by French-Armenian artist Edgar Chahine are on display at an exhibition in The Louvre dedicated to prominent French painters.
The bulk of Chahine’s works are from his Venetian series. According to Chahine’s son Pierre–who was on hand at the opening ceremony– Venetians admit that no other painter has felt the illumination of the [...]

YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Armenia’s Foreign Ministry–through the Ministry’s spokesperson Tsuinig Aghadjanian released a statement responding to allegations that the ministry has been conducting polls and surveys concerning upcoming elections: "The Armenian mass media recently reported about an alleged survey conducted by the Foreign Ministry of Armenia. I must state this bluntly: the Foreign Ministry has never [...]

YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net)–Commenting on militant statemen’s by official Baku representatives–the Defense Minister of Mountainous Karabagh Republic Seyran Ohanian–said that the army of MKR is ready to fend off any attack by the opposition and ready to successfully counterattack. At the same time–however–he emphasized that the army command does not underestimate the opposition. "In 2002 attention was [...]

High ranking Ministry of Defense official Colonel Hayk Kotanjian announced that the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Serge Sarkisian issued the order of decoration of Mrs. Gayane Kanayan with the "Drasdamat Kanayan" medal. Congratulations to the Honorable Mrs. Gayane Kanayan and to the members of Kanayan family.

ANKARA–The Turkish Daily news writes that in an attempt to get Recep Tayyip Erdogan in office–the three-article constitutional amendment package which was due to pave the way for election to Parliament and therefore premiership of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader is to be taken up by Parliament once again this week after [...]

LVIV–UKRAINE (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)–The Armenian community in western Ukrainian Lviv has invited Charles Aznavour to Lviv to give a benefit concert for the reconstruction of the city’s fourteenth-century Armenian Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God. According to Myroslav Otkovych–director of the National Museum in Lviv–Aznavour’s concert will be sometime in [...]

AKHALKALAK (Yerkir)–The Press secretary of Washington–DC-based Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Elizabeth Chouldjian–visited Akhalkalak on December 20 and 21.
During the visit Chouldjian– met with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGO)–recipients of US government gran’s–as well as gran’s from other foreign countries and various international sources. During these meetings–the ANC press secretary became acquainted with the [...]

PARIS–Beirut-based Azdag daily reports that France’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Renaud Muselier–during a recent interview–declared that Turkey must recognize the systematic killing of Armenia’s in 1915-1917 as genocide.
During the radio interview–Muselier said: "In order to advance–it is necessary to accept the past. Such a step signifies intelligence and stability.

WASHINGTON–DC–The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed today a Congressional Armenian Caucus letter requesting a formal explanation from the Attorney General–by January 15–2002–on the erroneous inclusion and subsequent removal of Armenia from an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) program that would have required all Armenian males legally working or studying in the United States [...]