Syria’s Assad forms new government, no changes in key postsJune 23, 2012 - 15:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's state news agency says President Bashar Assad has formed a new government headed by a loyalist member of his Baath Party. Assad had promised after the May 7 parliamentary elections to make the government more inclusive to politicians from other parties. But the appointment as prime minister of Baathist Riad Farid Hijab, a former agriculture minister, raised questions about his commitment to that pledge. There was no change in the key posts at the foreign, defense and interior ministries, the Associated Press reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |