18 Years Passed since Devastating Spitak EarthquakeDecember 7, 2006 - 13:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - 18 years have passed since the devastating Spitak earthquake. December 7, 1988 at 11.4 a.m. local time a severe earthquake demolished several towns and over 300 villages. About 25 thousand people died, 140 thousand were injured and over a million became homeless. Tremors ruined Spitak, Kirovakan (Vanadzor), Leninakan (Gyumri) and Stepanavan. The calamity zone covered some 30 thousand square km; tremors were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi. Experts say the energy outburst in the epicenter was equivalent to explosion of 10 atomic bombs thrown at Hiroshima.Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian and other officials will visit Gyumri and lay wreaths to the Memorial to the earthquake victims. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |