The week started with a ceremony of bestowing RA Defense Ministry’s medals on Armenian peacekeepers for an excellent service in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Head of RA Armed Forces General Staff, Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov congratulated the Armenian peacekeeping brigade on being conferred the military unit status and called on them to never forget the main task of protecting their native land. Commemorating the soldiers who died in Karabakh war, Colonel General Khachaturov said: “We love peace. We don’t want anything belonging to others. Karabakh is our land and we won’t cede an inch of it.”

1% inflation was registered in the Armenian consumer market in May 2010, prices for foodstuff rising by 1,8% and for nonfoods by 0,9%. The inflation is mostly being explained by the rise in prices for fruit and vegetables by 10,4-16,7%. According to statistical data, the consumer price index made 106,3% as compared to the same period of 2009.

May 29 was the day all were waiting impatiently. From the very beginning, Eva Rivas’s Apricot Stone was screened with mystery. Some said that David Copperfield will make an apricot tree grow at the stage for a huge fee. Participation of famous duduk player Djivan Gasparyan was also questioned.

Open Society Institute Foundation (Soros Foundation) announced localization contest for Symbian, Android and Windows mobile operational systems. With application process completed, expert team will announce the winner to be in charge of project development. Armenian Mobile OS localization program development will be finalized by autumn 2010. Localization package requirements are: Symbian 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.5 (Nokia S60 3rd and 5th Editions), Maemo, Android and WindowsMobile 6.1, 6.5 7.0. OS support; open source programming language.

The upcoming elections in Javakhk, if held, might bring this Armenian-populated region in Georgia to confrontation with the central government of Tbilisi. Today’s Akhalkalaki, alas, is no different from what was here 20 years ago: broken roads, poverty, unemployment, mass migration of the working population into Russia. In fact, all of the Georgian President’s statements on the “care taken of the problems of this region” have no value: there are neither normal roads, nor jobs. People here warm themselves with wood not because the region has no gas, but because the latter is too expensive. The situation in Akhalkalaki further deteriorated after withdrawal of the Russian military base, thanks to which Armenians could work in Javakhk instead of leaving it.

With passions over the demolition of Moscow Cinema Open-Air Hall fading, Yerevan residents launched a collection of signatures against construction under way in the Student Park. A group of public activists made a statement, saying that “construction works carried out in the Park can transform the urban green belt into another ferroconcrete structure.” “We are ready to use all legal tools to rescue the parks of Yerevan,” people say.