Within the recent week, the American dollar rose in Armenia, to above 400 drams for the first time in four years.

Banks buy one dollar at 400-403 drams and sell at 405-407 drams.

Political analyst Yervand Bozoyan says that the abrupt devaluation of the Armenian dram after the hike in natural gas tariffs may again cause price increases in general.

“Under these conditions, a 10-15-percent price hike is inevitable in May-June,” Bozoyan told ArmeniaNow.

The official website of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia (NOCA) www.armnoc.am is not working since Wednesday, March 17, when Turkish hackers disrupted it posting their flag and statements on denial of the Armenian Genocide (1915) there.

While protocol talks have stalled, “normalization” between Armenia and Turkey, is being felt in film as filmmakers from the two countries prepare a second year of film exhibit – documentary, feature and animation -- in Yerevan.

A popular TV comedy called “Proper Program” has stopped production, leading to speculation that its content does not correspond to new standards for broadcast recently imposed by the National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR).

Georgian-Armenian political activist Vahagn Chakhalyan, who was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment, faces new charges from Georgian authorities -- the first charge is based on his attempts of interfering with Georgianization of the Armenian church in Javakheti village Samsar in July 2005, the second one is based on the protest manifestation at the Georgian-Armenian border checkpoint “Zhdanovakan-Bavra” in December 2005, according to the ‘Yerkir’ (Country) Union.

Nine year old Kamo and his 13 year-old sister Victoria say they do not want to be divided as an apple or a cookie and insist they both want to stay and live with their father.

A group protesting plans to tear down Yerevan’s only open-air cinema has collected through Facebook social network – a breakthrough in social activism for Armenia as other parts of the world have rallied causes via internet long before.

The Club, a popular entertainment restaurant/bar/bookstore in Yerevan’s downtown and known for its films presentations, exhibitions and concerts, has announced a new attraction – showing films on exclusively environmental issues free of charge, followed by a discussion. The programs take place each Saturday at 4.30 p.m.

The price of water for households and corporate consumers in capital Yerevan and nearby areas may be increased by more than 14 percent in July after a utility company has requested such a tariff change from the public services regulatory body.

The 130th birthday anniversary of famous Armenian painter Martiros Saryan is not considered a jubilee in Armenia, while in Russia, where the artist was born, raised and educated, a series of Saryan-related events have already been organized and more are planned, says the artist’s granddaughter who manages his museum in Yerevan.