ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan together with his wife Anna Hakobyan within the framework of the 17th Summit The International Organization of the  Francophonie on the eve of the evening attended a gala concert  organized in Yerevan Republic Square.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. "Amulsar program does not provide tailings. The production pool is not a tailing pond and is not intended for storage of waste, but serves to store a  production liquid containing gold," Lydian Armenia, which is in  charge of exploiting the Amulsar gold ore deposit, said in an  official message yesterday that it contained false information  concerning the Amulsar program.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. Chairman of the National Statistical Service of Armenia Stepan Mnatsakanyan, referring to the statistical data, assures that in January-December of 2017 inflation was 2.6%, after two years of deflation in 2016 at the level of 1.1% and 0.6% in 2015 . Today, in the National Assembly of Armenia, in connection with a significant increase in prices for certain types of goods, representatives of state structures and public organizations participated. Opening the hearing, the chairman of the parliamentary commission on economic issues Khosrov Harutyunyan immediately stopped attempts of all those who hoped to ask questions to the head of the National Statistical Service and understand calculation methodology and reasons for the discrepancy in inflation data with the expectations of ordinary citizens. As stated by Harutyunyan, the head of the Service will deliver a message, not a report, so this format does not involve debates with Mnatsakanyan. In response, the head of the Yelq faction, Nikol Pashinyan, urged not to take away from the head of the National Service his precious time. "If so, Mr. Mnatsakanyan can go about his business," he said, noting that the stumbling blocks were the stumbling block for the discussions that started. The secretary of the "Tsarukyan" faction Vahe Enfiadjian, in his turn, noted: "We consider the commencement of hearings with such formulations unacceptable, we should have an opportunity for open discussion." In fact, the purpose of these discussions is precisely this, otherwise it is unreasonable. " The vice speaker Eduard Sharmazanov concluded the controversy, saying that they had not gathered to "throw dust in the face" and all heads of departments would answer all the questions of interest. So, as Stepan Mnatsakanyan stated in his message, on January 10 the Service summed up the data on the consumer price index for goods and services for 2017. Data for January 2018 will be presented only on February 5 this year. According to the data, in December compared to November, the consumer price index was 101.5%, recording a price increase of 1.5%. Inflation in January-December of 2017 was 2.6%. 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. On an annual basis (January-December 2017 to January-December 2016), the consumer market also recorded inflation of 1% (against deflation of 1.4% a year ago), which was due to a rise in price of food products by 4% (against a 3% decline in the year earlier), with a reduction in the price of non-food products by 1.8% (against a decline of 2.5% a year earlier) and a 1.3% decrease in service tariffs (against a 1.8% increase a year earlier). Only in December 2017, the consumption grew by 1.5%, mainly due to a 3.2% rise in the price of foodstuffs, while the prices of non-food products grew by 0.1% and a similar increase in tariffs for services. In Yerevan, consumer prices rose by 1.2% in December 2017. According to statistics, December inflation in the food market (3.6%, excluding alcohol and cigarettes) is due mainly to the rise in price of fruits and vegetables by 25.1% and 4.3% respectively (with annual growth - December 2017 to December 2016 - by 8.2% and 0.9%). In Yerevan, vegetables grew in price by 21.9% in December, and fruits - by 4.1%. In total, vegetables and fruits increased in price in December 2017 by 17.2%, and this group of products, having a specific weight of 8.58% in consumer demand, had a growing impact on inflation of 1.48 percentage points. Dairy products, cheese and eggs have risen in price by an annual 7%, but only in December - by 2.6% mainly due to the increase in the price of eggs by 7.3% (in October-December, eggs went up by 19% ,4%). In the capital, this group of products went up by 2.4%. Meat products in the annual section went up by 11%, but only in December - by 1.3%, and in Yerevan - by 0.8%. Fish and fish products rose in price by 24.8% on an annual basis, and in December they fell by 0.3%, while in the capital their price went down by 0.7%. Sugar and granulated sugar fell in annual terms by 6%, but only in December - by 0.5%, incl. in the capital - by 0.3%. In December, tea, coffee, cocoa, soft drinks - by 0.5%, bakery products and cereals - by 0.4%, butter and fats - by 0.2% also fell in price. In the group of non-food products, gasoline and diesel fuel in December grew by 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively, with an annual increase of 18.2-18.9%. In the capital, non-food items fell 0.2%. As for tariffs for services, their growth in December 2017 by 0.1% was mainly due to a rise in price of hotel services - by 1.3%, services in the sphere of culture and recreation - by 1.2%, and housing and communal services services - by 0,2%. At the same time, services in the transport sector fell in price, by 0.5% due to the decrease in prices for international flights by 1%, and in the spheres of health, communication and education, the tariffs for services for December were not changed. In the capital, tariffs for services increased by 0.1% in December. At the end of the message, Stepan Mnatsakanyan called on those doubting the given data to believe in their reliability. As he noted, the methodology of construction and calculation of the consumer price index was introduced by experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and therefore there is no reason for any doubts. It should be noted that according to the state budget for 2017, 12-month inflation in Armenia is planned at 4% (+ 1.5%).

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.Ardshinbank will join the 200th anniversary celebration of I. K. Aivazovsky. Notably, on September 14 in Yerevan the National Gallery of Armenia will host  the solemn opening of the exhibition entitled "Creation", of one of the world's greatest marine artists, where the guests and visitors will be given the wall calendars with the artist's paintings issued by the Bank.

ArmInfo.The fish in Akhuryan reservoir in Armenia began to mass die. The reason for that became a rapid discharge of water. About this corr. ArmInfo was told  by an eyewitness of the incident, the rector of the Orthodox Church  of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the archpriest Alexander  Shkarbanenko. He supported his message with photos and videos taken  from his cell phone. "SOS, the mass death of fish at the Akhuryan  reservoir." The nature protection should be used, "he wrote on his  social networking page.

ArmInfo.. Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin thinks that sanctions cannot frighten Russia. "On the one hand, sanctions imply certain restrictions, but on the other hand they encourage the Russian manufacturers to develop  directions that the Russian economy currently lacks and borrows from  Western countries," Volynkin said at a press conference on October  25, when commenting on the information about the upcoming sanctions  against Russia.