ArmInfo. The events unfolding in Armenia are becoming a serious challenge for the state. The Director of the National Security Service of Armenia Georgy Kutoyan stated in an interview with the state news agency Armenpress. As Kutoyan stated, it's time to be more vigilant and prudent in order to avoid further irreversible consequences.

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ArmInfo. In connection with the substantial increase in prices for certain types of goods in the National Assembly of Armenia parliamentary hearings session will be held. This was stated at the Parliament by Ara Babloyan, the speaker. According to the speaker, this is based on the initiative of the RA President. Ara Babloyan ordered the relevant parliamentary commission on economic issues to organize and hold hearings with the participation of representatives of state structures and public organizations. In this connection, the deputy from the opposition faction "Elk" Edmond Marukyan pointed out the strangeness of the behavior of the political power in the country in represented by the Republican Party, which suddenly became concerned with rising prices. What is to nflation processes, the lawmaker continued, it was spoken over throughout the year 2017. With the adoption of the new Tax Code, experts, experts and parliamentarians warned of a future increase in prices. "It was easy to predict the inflation if the excise tax on liquefied gas from 8 thousand drams from January 1, 2018 was increased to 25 thousand drams, and the excise tax on diesel fuel and gasoline from 25 thousand drams was raised to 40 thousand drams, which led to the domino effect In this context, the surprise of the ruling power is not clear, "the MP stressed. He considered it inappropriate to hold parliamentary hearings, urging an urgent amendment to the Tax Code. In any case, Edmond Marukyan urged the citizens of the country on January 19 to take to the streets and express their attitude to the actions of the authorities. "There is no other option, since discussions in the current format have exhausted themselves," the MP believes. In turn, the head of the Elk faction Nikol Pashinyan, referring to the official statistics, stressed that in 2017, serious inflationary processes were observed in Armenia. In particular, the oil increased by 41%, pork by 38%, tomatoes by 31%, lamb by 28%, potatoes by 28%, fish by 23%, beef by 18% diesel fuel - by 18%, gasoline - by 18%, etc. After the entry into force on January 1, 2018 of the new Tax Code, inflation in Armenia started to gather new momentum. As a result, according to the deputy, inflation jumped to 20%. And at the same time, the National Statistical Service, at least, halves the real rate of inflation. If we bear in mind that from the middle of 2018 payments will begin to be made within the framework of a mandatory funded pension, it becomes obvious that the situation in the country will become even more aggravated. In connection with the refusal of the authorities to discuss the amendments to the country's legislation, Nikol Pashinyan urged the citizens of the country to take an active part in the planned on January 19, Charles Aznavour protest action, organized by the faction "Elk". Note that since January 1, 2018 in Armenia there has been a significant increase in prices for a number of products, including poultry, oil, gasoline, liquefied gas, spirits, eggs, sugar, etc. In addition, in the near future, also expected to increase the price of tobacco products. Earlier it was reported that the rise in price was due to the increase in customs duties for more than 800 types of goods. The rise in prices is mainly due to the fact that from January 1, 2018 both the new RA Tax Code and the new Customs Code of the EAEC came into force. This implies an increase in customs duties on goods from countries that are not members of the EAEC. On January 10, President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting to discuss raising the prices of certain types of goods and working out solutions aimed at mitigating the consequences of this. The government is instructed to make a list of socially important goods, to continuously study the dynamics of prices for these goods, to provide objective and subjective factors that determine price changes, assess the risks of their appreciation and propose measures to mitigate the impact of rising prices. The results are regularly presented to the public. It is also instructed to propose options for mitigating the effects of price increases on those socially important goods that have risen in price as a result of tax or other legislative changes. First of all, for the socially important agricultural products, a program of integrated measures for the development of local production and replacement of imported goods will be developed and presented, which will make it possible to provide an affordable level of prices while encouraging local production. According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, nominal wages in Armenia accelerated growth rates from 2% in January-November 2016 to 2.6% in January-November 2017, amounting to 189631 drams ($ 393). Wages in the public sector in January-November 2017. amounted to 159 270 drams ($ 330), unchanged over the year, against the deterioration of the dynamics a year earlier - from 9.7% growth to 1.2% decline. At the same time, the growth rates of wages in the private sector continue to slow down to 3.6% from last year's 4.4%, to 225 966 AMD ($ 468). For the consumer market of Armenia in 2017 was inflationary - 2.6%, after two years of deflation - 1.1% in 2016 and 0.1% in 2015. This was mostly caused by an increase in prices of food products (including alcohol and cigarettes) by 5.3% and non-food products by 1.7%, while tariffs for services decreased by 0.5%. The average monthly increase in consumer prices in January-December 2017 was 0.2%, against a decline of 0.1% a year earlier.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. Employees of the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia on the territory of the state reserve "Khosrov Forest" have revealed an unprecedented volume of poaching of river trout with the help of an electric shock.

ArmInfo. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Serzh Sargsyan refuses to confirm whether he intends to run for Prime Minister.