Armenia outpaces some European countries in Press Freedom IndexApril 20, 2016 - 15:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The print media are diverse and polarized in Armenia, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday, April 20, in this year's World Press Freedom Index. World press freedom deteriorated in 2015, especially in the Americas, the advocacy group said as it warned of "a new era of propaganda." Having registered “a mix success,” Armenia took the 74th spot among 180 nations; the country ranked the 78th last year. “In the crucial transition to digital TV in Armenia, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process,” the report said. “Police violence against journalists still goes unpunished but the Ilur.am news website and the Hraparak newspaper won an important legal victory in October 2015 when the constitutional court issued a ruling upholding the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.” Interestingly, Armenia outpaces some southeastern European countries in the rankings, including Bulgaria (113), Cyprus (81), Greece (89), Macedonia (118), and Montenegro (106). According to the Index, Georgia ranks the 64th, Turkey took the 151th spot, followed by Azerbaijan and Iran, which rank the 163th and 169th, respectively. Three north European countries head the rankings. They are Finland (ranked 1st, the position it has held since 2010), Netherlands (2nd, up 2 places) and Norway (3rd, down 1). The countries that rose most in the Index include Tunisia (96th, up 30), thanks to a decline in violence and legal proceedings, and Ukraine (107th, up 22), where the conflict in the east of the country abated. Related links: Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Putin secures fifth term as Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office through a dubious national plebiscite. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. IDBank unveils three sad stories about fraudsters IDBank has unveiled three scenarios of card fraud that have been happening more and more often in Armenia. |