Armenia 79th in RSF’s freedom index, down from last year’s 74thApril 26, 2017 - 11:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has placed Armenia 79th out of 180 countries - down by five scores from the previous report - in its latest world rankings for press freedom. Published every year since 2002 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the World Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists. The print media are diverse and polarized in Armenia, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, the report added. Pluralism, however, lags behind in the broadcast media, said RSF. According to the media watchdog, police violence against journalists "continues and still goes unpunished in the country." Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Iran come in the 162nd, 64th, 155th and 165th, respectively. The United States takes the 43rd spot, while Russia is the 148th in terms of press freedom. Norway comes out top of the index with the world’s freest media, closely followed by Sweden and Finland. North Korea, Eritrea and Turkmenistan, on the other hand, took the bottom places. 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 | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |