Six researchers are spending a month living in enclosed quarters, growing their own food, and testing space suits -- all in an arid part of southern Armenia. Austrian and Armenian scientists chose the site for its geologic similarities to Mars for this test-run of extraterrestrial living conditions.
For nearly two weeks, security forces in Yerevan have been in a standoff with gunmen occupying a police building. Thousands of people in the Armenian capital have unexpectedly taken to the streets in a bid to force the government to resolve the situation peacefully.
As the Armenian capital replaces its drab Soviet-era cityscape with sleek new shops, boutiques, and cafes, longtime city residents are being forced from their homes with little compensation.
The Armenian capital is thousands of miles from Tupelo, Mississippi -- where Elvis Presley was born 75 years ago today. But that hasn't kept a 26-year-old linguistics teacher there from pursuing a lifetime fascination with Presley.
