Thousands of ethnic Armenians remaining in Syria braced themselves for a further escalation of the bloody conflict in their country on Wednesday amid growing talk of U.S.-led military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, Radio Azatutyun reports. 

 In the framework of his working visit to the Russian Federation, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will meet with the RF President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 3. 

 To develop cooperation with South Caucasus Railway (SCR) the representatives of JSC "Railway of Yakutia" visited Armenia, the SCR website says. 

 Ara Oskanian, the son of ex-Foreign Minister of Armenia, parliamentarian from the Prosperous Armenia Party Vartan Oskanian, was detained on Aug 29.  

"The problem of migrants is used during the campaign of mayoral elections in Moscow, because that problem is extremely popular in Russia", Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Caucasus Institute, said during the Aug 29 debates entitled "The Migrants in Russia: Legislation, Discourses and Political Practice". Iskandaryan thinks that xenophobia and interethnic scuffles will keep on growing in Russia. 

 The government of Armenia is going to keep down the unfounded growth of the tuition fee in universities, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said at today's session of the government. 

The full package of shares of the state CJSC "Stepanavan airport" will be handed over to Armenia's Emergency Situations Ministry. Such a decision was adopted at today's session of the government. 

At its today's session the government of Armenia defeated the bill of the Prosperous Armenia Party to raise minimal salary up to 75 thsd drams starting 1 January 2014. The decision of the government was submitted by Labor Minister Artem Asatryan. 

 "ArmenTel" (Beeline brand) has announced about starting the upgrading of the basic stations and extension of the mobile net in Dilijan and around it. The coverage of the mobile net will be improved much not only in Dilijan but also in its suburb. 

 The Government of Armenia is going to recreate Old Yerevan. During the Aug 29 session of the Government, some of the central streets of Yerevan were provided with the status of exclusively public interest. Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan presented the draft decision. The Old Yerevan Project implies recreation of the architectural look of Yerevan of XIX-XX centuries. The buildings and architectural constructions of historical and cultural value will be renovated.     

 The Indoor Market of Yerevan will open in the near future. According to the media, it will be able to serve its first customers on September 15. It is a big question whether the current market will resemble the one Yerevan's residents were accustomed to, especially given its interior photos published by the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper. Judging by the photos, it will be an ordinary supermarket consisting of two floors. This runs counter to the statements that the building will have its initial appearance.     

 Armenian president's brother, Sashik Sargsyan, which according to the rumors, owns the "business" on fining of drivers with a help of placement of the speed-meters in Yerevan, has decided to "enlarge" his business. As Chorrord Ishkhanutyun weekly says, Sashik Sargsyan has recently instructed the relevant centre to fine 10 thousand drivers every day.

 Within the frames of the price hike for local production eggs noticed for the last weeks, at present an egg cost 75 drams in Yerevan stores. 

 As a result of regular cease-fire breaking, a Karabakh soldier was wounded on Wednesday by the Azerbaijani armed forces. 

Do you think Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Azerbaijan will mark the beginning of Moscow’s new strategy regarding Azerbaijan and the region in general? What are its key vectors? There is an opinion that the President of Russia visited Baku on the threshold of the presidential election in Azerbaijan to support another term of office of his Azeri counterpart. What can Baku offer Moscow in exchange for that support?  

 The more time is left till the November initialing  of DCFTA and the Association Agreement with the EU by Armenia, the more the tension around this document to be signed in Vilnus. The content of this document consisting of 1500 pages has not been published yet because of an unknown reason. For this reason, when analyzing the reasons, aspects and arguments of the discussion that started between Armenian, Russian and European experts, we are forced to present not specific points of the agreement, but their general geo-political context. Anyway, we have to confess that because of several impartial reasons, the given way of the analysis has turned to be more effective than possible analysis of the text of DCFTA and the Association Agreement covered with a stamp "incognita".

The Elen inclusive recreation center (Stepanavan, Armenia) renovated by VTB Bank (Armenia) closed its summer camp season on August 25. The press service of VTB Bank (Armenia) has told ArmInfo that during the Inclusive Summer Camp 2013 Armenian showbiz representatives Nazeni Hovhannisyan, Erik Karapetyan, Sofi Mkheyan, Avet Barseghyan and others visited the children with disabilities. The guests enjoyed the children's performances and gave them gifts.

The construction of the Hamazgayin Theater building will be launched in Mashtots Park in Yerevan by early October, Vardan Mkrtchyan, director of the theater, told ArmInfo. He added that constriction will last for 2 years. So, the new building of the theater will open in 2015-2016. Mkrtchyan said that 98% of the construction costs will be covered by the state, and the remaining 2% - by investors.   

The consideration of the motion on suspension of criminal prosecution against Tigran Khachatryan, the son of the ex-governor of Syunik region, has been put off, Rouben Sahakyan, the Khachatryans' lawyer, President of the Armenian Bar Association, said at a press conference in Yerevan on Wednesday.    

Armenian ombudsman's advisor on women rights, Anna Safaryan, made a statement on sexual harassment by the policeman against the female activist during the protest action against the elite high-rise construction at Komitas 5, on 24 August