Russia postpones constitutional referendumMarch 25, 2020 - 21:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia’s April 22 public vote on a package of constitutional amendments will be postponed until after the coronavirus outbreak is under control, President Vladimir Putin said in a surprise televised address to the nation Wednesday, March 25, The Moscow Times reports. The constitutional changes include an amendment that would reset the number of terms served by current and former presidents. The amendment, which has been approved by lawmakers and the Constitutional Court, would potentially allow Putin to remain president until 2036. Putin said the vote would be postponed indefinitely. He added that next week would be a nationwide paid holiday to encourage Russians to stay home and slow the spread of the virus. “We managed to restrain the spread of the disease, but it is impossible to completely block the infiltration of the coronavirus,” he said. "Don't think that 'This can't happen to me.' It can happen to anyone. ... The most important thing is to stay home," he added. 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 | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |