There are 400 households in the village of Gosh in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush province; 1,200 residents in all. Housing appears to be a pressing problem facing the village, but the extent of the problem differs, according to whom you speak to.

There’s a neighborhood in the village that residents call “Verin Tagh”. It lies in a sinkhole zone. »»»»»

Residents Say Town Becoming a “Little Sicily”

Residents of the town of Martuni, in Gegharkunik Province, are fearful and angry. During the past month, crimes have followed one another like clockwork but none of the perpetrators have been caught. The situation has riled local inhabitants to the point where they are preparing to collect signatures and send the petition off to the president and chief justice, demanding that the lawbreakers be found and prosecuted. »»»»»

Moscow benefactor promises to help; has already sent $20,000

Alla Soghomonyan remembers what happened after they moved into their new home in Shushi. The family had been living in Shushi since 2001. The three room house was built for them by the NKR government, after Mr. and Mrs. Soghomonyan had their seventh child. The government wants to encourage large families.

“We moved into the new house in October, 2003. Soon after, we noticed that the walls would get damp and the plaster crack,” she said. »»»»»

There are foreign citizens living among us who work in our country and perform their official obligations. Generally, it is their official activities which are the center of attention. But they also have their personal life and live with their personal feelings. What follows is an interview with Marie Yovanovitch, who has been serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia for over a year now. We talked to Ambassador Yovanovitch about her life here in Armenia. »»»»»

RoA Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan will head a delegation to Syria on February 9-11 to participate in the next round of talks between the foreign ministries of the two nations.

While in Syria, Deputy FM Kirakosyan will attend the opening ceremonies of an ‘honorary’Armenian Consulate in Der Zor, a town in eastern Syria designated by the Young Turks as a destination point and final killing center for Armenians who survived the death marches in 1915. The desert contains a large number of mass graves. A memorial was dedicated on the site in 1990.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a group of Turkish reporters on Saturday that he normalization process between Turkey and Armenia would benefit the entire Caucasus.

FM Davutoglu commented on relations between the two neighbouring states at the 46th Munich Conference on Security in Germany. He said that the Turkish vision involves not just the normalization of relations but also improvement of Turkish-Armenian commercial relations and turning the Caucasus into a “field of peace and welfare”. »»»»»

‘There are only two international agreements on the recognition of the existing border – the treaties of Moscow and Kars.’ Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Turkish Grand National Assembly, 21 October 2009

It is clear today that whatever be the end-result of the ratification process of the unfortunate pair of Armenia-Turkey protocols, there will no longer be a return to the status quo ante. Certain short-sighted people have let the genie out of the political bottle, and it is now difficult to predict what sort of conduct such a policy will have, though it has nothing to do with us anymore. »»»»»

Turkey will be paying Azerbaijan 150% more for gas imports this year after lengthy negotiations between the two countries agreed on a price of $300 per thousand cubic meters.

Although no official deal has been signed, Turkish press reports that Ankara has given its approval. According to the informal agreement, Turkey will pay $1.8 billion to Azerbaijan in exchange for 6 billion cubic meters of gas this year. Baku had been seeking a price hike for some time as world gas prices are hovering around $400. Turkey had been paying $120 per thousand cubic meters.