Latvians reject granting Russian a status of second state languageFebruary 19, 2012 - 14:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - In a national referendum on Saturday, Feb 18, over 470,000 Latvians voted against granting the Russian a status of the second state language, the Latvian Central Election Commission said on Sunday, Feb 19. With votes counted at the 770 out 1,035 voting polls, 138,336 people voted in favor of the Russian language and 470,548 against. Russian-speakers make up 44% of Latvia's 2.3-million population. Latvian is the official state language and Russian is treated as a foreign language. Latvia’s Central Election Commission gathered signatures last November for a petition to hold a nationwide referendum on granting Russian official-language status. The move was initiated by the Native Language organization and backed by Riga Mayor Nil Ushakov, RIA Novosti reported.   Top stories Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive.   Partner news |  Latest news Viva sees growing demand for cloud services  In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud servicesArmenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin.Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats.Balance of attached cards in the Idram&IDBank app From now on, users will be able to view the online balances of cards issued by ArCa system banks and attached to the app. |
