RSF: Armenia's position on press freedom index unchanged at 61April 22, 2020 - 17:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's position in Reporters Without Borders‘ fresh World Press Freedom Index has remained unchanged at 61. The country had significantly improved the state of press freedom in the previous edition, jumping by 19 notches among 180 countries of the world. The organization said media diversity has blossomed but the government that emerged from Armenia’s “velvet revolution” in the spring of 2018 has failed to reduce the media’s polarization. "The editorial policies of the main TV channels coincide with the interests of their owners. Journalistic independence and transparent media ownership are still far from being achieved," the report said. "There is concern about the volume of judicial proceedings against journalists and about excesses in the fight against fake news. The involvement of the security services in combating disinformation, followed by arrests of social media users, and attempts to legislate without prior discussion with civil society and journalists are alarming. However, investigative journalism is flourishing online and is well placed to play a major role in a national offensive against corruption." Norway has taken the 1st spot for the fourth year in a row, and is followed by Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |