Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan thanked the Hungarian justice system for its unequivocal and fair stance regarding the murder case of the Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, killed by an Azeri officer Ramil Safarov during the NATO English courses in Budapest in 2004.

In his speech delivered to the President of Hungary Laszlo Solyom during his three-day official visit to Budapest, Sargsyan noted that at the time of the murder, he was the Defense Minister of Armenia and that “the horrendous crime shocked him to the core.”

The annual International Religions Freedom Report 2009 released by the State Department this week says the restitution of the property confiscated during the communist regime remains a contentious issue in Georgia.

The report says Georgian Government did not return any additional churches, mosques, synagogues, or meeting halls.

The Armenian Constitution provides for freedom of religion, however, the law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents and there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice, according to the International Religious Freedom Report 2009 released by the U.S Department of State.

The twisted road carved in the lofty mountains to the reclusive Tatev monastery was full of people on May 27, who gathered for the inauguration of information panels installed inside and outside of the monastery complex.

Seven information panels containing information about the complex in English, Armenian, Russian, Italian, and French now welcome visitors to one of Armenia's most revered religious and cultural destinations.

No more than a decade ago the Armenian New Year celebration was a predictable family affair kept at home with local or Russian television as entertainment.

But time and circumstances have changed and so, too, are traditions.

“The number of people wishing to spend New Year abroad goes up with each year,” says Anna Gabrielyan, travel consultant from Levon Travel agency. “I think the tendency is because people changed their perception of holidays and vacation. For example many couples prefer now a wedding trip abroad instead of having a big wedding. We met a couple who married in fall, but waited for New Year to go abroad for the honey moon.”

Among many signs indicating Armenia’s drastic turn to a free market economy is the growing restaurant industry.

While in Soviet times the number of restaurants in the city hardly exceeded 10, today, according to some estimation (there is not any official statistic) there are more than 500 restaurants in the city, with greatest concentration in the center. The restaurants are not only found in plenty, but offer the gastronomic diversity from Western to Eastern cuisine. Unlike Soviet times, when the restaurants menu was comprised mostly of barbecue or kebab today in Yerevan Italian, French, Spanish, Indian, Chinese, Tai, Lebanese, Mexican and other cuisines (or at least a “version” of them) can be found.

Adjacent to the capital’s most important administrative structures, such as Office of the President and Parliament, Lovers Park opened in Yerevan last month has already become a beloved spot for Yerevan citizens.

The park with a long history, known to date as Pushkin Park (renamed into Lovers Park in 1995) endured economic crisis of early 1990, furthermore, luckily avoided the fate of many other green areas in Yerevan., which are covered with cafes and restaurants. In 2005 the Boghossian Foundation belonging to Swiss Armenian benefactors Albert and Jean Boghossian, initiated the park renovation as a gift to the city. The construction works were done by Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and the overall reconstruction and renovation project cost $1.3 million.

Several non governmental organizations (NGO) from the Armenian provinces of Vayots Dzor and Syunik completed today the second session of the Coalition building educational program organized by the Armenian Assembly of America, the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) and NGO Center Civil Society Development Organization. The sessions took place in Yeghignadzor, about 120 kilometers south of Yerevan.

Leadership, Coalition building and Advocacy are the main topics the NGOs discuss during sessions, which started in September. The training, which is presented through a series of focused coaching sessions, homework assignments and team building exercises is led by American lecturers, (as well as attended by Yerevan-based NGOs and journalists) while topics range from the basic skills of addressing the issue, to public presentation and coalition building and maintaining.

The Brown Camel, which for 95 years has attracted smokers and is a symbol of Turkish blend has turned its back on Turkey, where on Monday a law banning smoking in public places came into force.

The law for now extends on the closed areas such as educational establishments, public transport, taxis, shopping malls, whereas the restriction on smoking in the cafes and restaurants will be applied by July 2009. In psychiatric hospitals, retirement homes and prisons smokers are allowed to smoke in the special areas.

A glance across Yerevan’s panorama shows a city in the throes of construction, with cranes and dust and noise, and expectation mixed with apprehension. Barely a street in the center of the capital is unmarked by blue tarpaulin stretched over unfinished projects, or great craters chiseled into the ground for still more building work to begin.

Apartment buildings, hotels, offices and retail shops are constructed, renovated, enlarged or redesigned. The face of the city changes with each multi-storied tower – many rising to replace or obscure the skyline imagined by city architect Alexander Tamanian a century ago.