Commission for organization of events dedicated to 20th anniversary of Spitak earthquake to be formedNovember 23, 2007 - 15:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian President Robert Kocharian signed a decree on formation of a state commission for organization of events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Spitak earthquake, the RA leader's press office reported. Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan will head the commission instructed to approve the program of events till January 15, 2008. The government was charged with the task to finance and implement the events scheduled by the program. December 7, 1988 at 11.4 a.m. local time a severe earthquake destroyed several towns and over 300 villages in Armenia. About 25 thousand people died, 140 thousand were injured and over a million became homeless. Tremors ruined Spitak, Kirovakan (Vanadzor), Leninakan (Gyumri) and Stepanavan. The calamity zone covered some 30 thousand square km; tremors were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi. Experts say the energy outburst in the epicenter was equivalent to explosion of 10 atomic bombs thrown at Hiroshima. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Ameriabank's Trade Finance portfolio enriched with four prestigious awards from EBRD and IFC Ameriabank received the awards from international financial institutions in recognition of its trade finance operations. Armenian Economy Minister to make trip to UAE May 20-22 A delegation led by Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan will travel to the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi on May 20-22 Armenian PM sends condolences to Iran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a message of condolence to the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. |