Large Wildfires in Armenia Enter Fourth Day as Thousands Join Firefighting Efforts
Armenia is facing one of its most challenging wildfire situations in recent years, with major fires burning across several provinces and emergency crews working day and night to stop the flames. More than 1,800 rescue workers, firefighters, police officers, and eco-guards are now involved, along with military aircraft and dozens of units of equipment. The main wildfire started on November 21 in dry grassland between the villages of Chambarak and Ttujur. Strong winds and steep
Phone-Tapping Requests Rise Sharply in Armenia, Fueling Fears of Expanded State Surveillance
Armenia is seeing a fast and steady rise in the number of court-approved phone-tapping and surveillance requests, creating new concerns among lawyers, civil society groups, and opposition figures about how state monitoring tools are being used and controlled. Official court data shows a clear and sharp escalation. Requests for operational-intelligence measures, which are mostly phone interceptions, have increased every year since 2018. The trend has grown even more quickly du
Armenia’s Government Preparing to Release Non-Classified Sections of 2020 War Report
Armenia’s government is preparing to slowly release the non-classified parts of its long-delayed report on the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The update was shared by senior lawmaker Andranik Kocharyan in an interview with Hetq as public criticism grows over concerns that the authorities are withholding important information about the country’s mistakes during the war. Kocharyan leads both the parliament’s defense committee and the special inquiry commission that prepared the re
Armenia Elected to UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the First Time
Armenia has been elected to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the first time — this an important moment for the country and its work in protecting culture. The vote was held on November 24 in Paris during the 25th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention. The Armenian Foreign Ministry shared the results in a public statement. During the elections for open seats on the committee, Armenia received the strongest result among all ca
