Month: June 2009

ANC DOESN’T RENOUNCE CITY COUNCIL MANDATES YET

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 13:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Despite the statement of the Armenian National
Congress (ANC) at the rally on June 1 about renunciation of the
Yerevan city council mandates, ANC representatives have not still
sent statements on mandate renunciation to the Central Electoral
Committee (CEC) of Armenia, CEC press-secretary Tatevik Ohanyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"Even if ANC representatives renounce their mandates, their places
in the City council would remain vacant, since the Armenian law does
not allow conducting re-elections to complete vacant positions in
the Yerevan City Council," she said.

All representatives of ANC in voting lists must make separate
statements, Ms.Ohanyan stressed. "As Armenian media have reported, ANC
has 12 to 13 mandates in the City Council. However, only preliminary
data have been available so far. The process of recounting of votes
is conducted at the moment. After ultimate results of the elections
become public, then the sitting will be called to resolve the number
of mandates for each political party in the Council," Ms. Ohanyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIA CUTS INVESTMENTS TO ARMENIA BY 3.04 PCT

ARKA
June 2, 2009

YEREVAN, June 2. /ARKA/. Russian investments in Armenia dropped almost
3.04 pct to $33.1mln this year, the RA National Statistical Service
(NSS) reports.

According to statistics, Russian investments comprised 17.8% of total
investments in Armenia and 20.1% of direct investments. During the
period under review, Russian direct investments in Armenia’s economy
dropped 49% year-on-year.

Russia is the third largest investor in Armenia and the number two
direct investor in the country’s economy.

The lion’s share (86.1% or $28.6mln) of investments was injected into
the communications sector. Russia invested $1mln 782,400 (5.4% of
total investments) in electricity, gas, water and steam distribution,
$930,000 (2.8%) in cultural activities and recreations, $881,200
(2.7%) in others services, $769,200 (2.3%) in wholesale trade and
brokerage business (without cars and motorbikes trade).

Russia also allocated funds for hotel and restaurant business
($109,000), shoe and leather making ($79,900), food and beverage
industry ($30,000) and education ($13,500).

Russian investments in Armenia totaled $186.3mln in Q1 2009, compared
to $100.8mln in the same period last year, with direct investments
totaling $54.9mln.

Foreign quarterly investments in Armenia reached $186.3mln with
$139.3mln direct investments.

OSCE TO CONDUCT REGULAR MONITORING ON JUNE 3

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 14:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The regular monitoring of OCSE along the line of
contact of defense army of NKR and military forces of Azerbaijan
will be conducted on June 3. From the Armenian side monitoring
will be conducted by field assistants of personal representative of
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Anjey Kasprchik Imre Palatinus and Vladimir
Chontulov, from the Azeri side – Piter Ki and Jaslan Nurtazin.

CSTO TO HOLD LARGE-SCALE JOINT MILITARY DRILLS IN AUG.-SEPT.

RIA Novosti
17:4203/06/2009

MOSCOW, June 3 (RIA Novosti) – The Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) will conduct joint military exercises in
August-September in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, the Belarusian
defense minister said on Wednesday.

The defense ministers of the post-Soviet security bloc comprising
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan held a regular meeting in Moscow on June 3.

"The joint drills will be held in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus
to practice the deployment of CSTO’s joint rapid-reaction force,"
Leonid Maltsev told reporters after the meeting.

He said the exercises in Belarus will also involve the Russia-Belarus
joint military grouping created within the framework of the CSTO.

According to media reports, Russia is planning to build a strong
military contingent in Central Asia within the CSTO comparable to
NATO forces in Europe.

The new force will comprise large military units from five countries –
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Russia already has joint military contingents with Belarus and Armenia
in as part of CSTO cooperation.

YEREVAN TO HOST "THE TURKIC WORLD, THE CAUCASUS, AND IRAN: CIVILISATIONAL CROSSROADS OF INTERACTIONS" CONFERENCE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 14:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The International Journal Iran and the Caucasus
(BRILL: Leiden – Boston), the Department of Iranian Studies at Yerevan
State University, the Makhtumquli Feraqi Centre for Turkic Studies at
ARYA International University (Yerevan), the Association for the Study
of Persianate Societies (Armenian Branch), in collaboration with the
International Society for the Study of Iran and the Caucasus (ISSIC),
Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies (Yerevan), the Armenian-Turkmen
Cooperation Centre "Partev" (Yerevan), and the Armenian Association
for Academic Partnership and Support – ARMACAD (Yerevan) are organizing
an international conference entitled "The Turkic World, the Caucasus,
and Iran: Civilisational Crossroads of Interactions".

The Conference will be held at ARYA International University, Yerevan,
Armenia on July 10-12, 2009, The region of civilization interactions
from Central Asia to Eastern Europe and from Southern Russia to
Northern Iran has been one of the focal geographical points in world
history. The main cultural, political and civilization players in this
domain have been the Iranian and Turkic peoples, while the Caucasus
and the Transcaucasian region with their cultural, ethnographical
and linguistic uniqueness have served as a connecting link and an
arena for wars and peaceful cohabitation. Though the main stress of
the conference will be on cultures, histories (including archaeology,
etc.), languages and the literatures of this vast area, presentations
on modern political and regional issues, as well as the human ecology
topics are also welcomed. The conference seeks to emphasize links
between the Turkic world, the Caucasus, and Iran.

Working languages of the conference are English and Russian.

NATO RENDERS ASSISTANCE IN CRISIS SITUATIONS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 14:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NATO information center hosted Wednesday a
meeting between NATO expert Jan Mulder and journalists, students and
specialists representing Armenian state agencies.

Presenting the reports on managing crisis situations and role of
media under the circumstances, Mr. Mulder said, "If Armenia faces
a crisis situation, it can appeal to the Euro-Atlantic Disaster
Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), which is a "24/7" focal
point for coordinating disaster relief efforts among NATO member and
partner countries."

He stressed that collection and dissemination of information is
extremely important for Armenia in case of natural disaster.

He also said that the Alliance has changed since the end of cold war
and is now acting as political rather than a military organization.

MICROSOFT LAUNCHES BING SEARCH ENGINE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 14:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With the June 1 launch of its new search engine,
Bing, Microsoft is attempting to claim more market share in the
competitive search-engine arena, where it sits in third place behind
Google and Yahoo. According to a ComScore report, Microsoft held 8.2
percent of the U.S. core search engine market in April 2009, behind
Google with 64.2 percent and Yahoo with 20.4 percent.

In addition to traditional search, with its pages of hyperlinks,
Bing also allows users to drill down into specific search categories,
such as Videos, Shopping, News, Maps and Travel.

With this step, Microsoft says it wants Bing to provide intuitive
tools to help customers make better decisions, with an initial focus
on four key vertical areas: making a purchase decision, planning a
trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business.

Or to put it another way, Microsoft is hoping that Bing presents
such utility to users that the company can increase its search market
share and related financials, according to eWEEK.

The internet giant is planning a $100m multimedia advertising push
created by JWT to promote the new search engine, in a bid to draw
web users away from Google.

As Microsoft Armenia director Grigor Barseghyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter, launch of Armenian version of the search engine is a matter
of time.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARTHUR ABRAHAM: I WOULD BE LYING IF I DIDN’T SAY I WANT TO WIN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 14:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The first press conference ahead of the IBF World
Title fight between King Arthur Abraham (29-0, 23 KOs) and Mahir
Oral (25-1-2, 10 KOs) in the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin was held
today, almost four weeks before the middleweight showdown. The
two title rivals met on Tuesday to give their first statements
regarding the June 27 fight. Whoever expected insults to fly from
the 29-year-old IBF champion and his challenger from Hamburg was
left disappointed. Instead, both gave a rather laid-back, relaxed
impression.

"It was a great pleasure for me to hear that I was going to fight
Arthur," opened Mahir Oral. "We know each other from our early days
as sparring partners, although now we have both matured. Arthur has
become King and I have developed a lot too." Although Oral can well
remember Abraham’s brutal knock-out triumph over Khoren Gevor in Berlin
in August 2007, that does not scare him in the slightest. "Of course
you have respect as a boxer. Khoren was giving a good impression
of himself to begin of that fight. The knock-out in the 11th round
looked spectacular, but had that not happened, we would be looking
back on that fight in a different way," added the 29-year-old.

Ahmet Oner, the challenger’s manager, is delighted with how the World
Title fight came about. "First of all I have to say that this has not
unsettled Mahir at all. Many others in the middleweight division are
avoiding Arthur because they don’t think they have any chance against
him, but I told Mahir that he has nothing to lose. Should he actually
be beaten, then it will be against the strongest ever World Champion
in his weight division. And that is Arthur Abraham. So we have nothing
to lose," he said. "Mahir is a fighter and although Arthur Abraham
is the favorite, we still think we have a chance. We will all know
the answer on June 27."

For King Arthur, the fight in the German capital is a real home
fight. "I have very good memories of the Max-Schmeling-Halle,
particularly the fight with Khoren Gevor," he said. "That was a tough
one back then," added the IBF title holder who lives and trains in
Berlin. He is not going to take the fight with Mahir Oral lightly
either. "In 2003 and 2004, we sparred a lot together in Cologne,"
he said. "We got on well with each other. We are both sportsmen
and are training hard. We both do our own job – he does his and I
do mine – but of course I would be lying if I didn’t say I want to
win. Afterwards, things will revert to how they were before," added
the IBF World Champion.

"Mahir is a great lad. We will let what happens in the ring decide
who is the best," added Abraham’s trainer Ulli Wegner. "I believe
that it is going to be a great fight; one which will excite the
spectators. Boxing fans have had to witness a few bad fights recently
and that is why we want to put on a particularly good show. Obviously,
we want to defend our title, but the important thing is we deliver
the fans a decent, exciting event on 27 June," he said, fightnews.com
reports.

EX-MAYOR CALLS ON WITNESSES NOT TO COLLABORATE WITH GENERAL PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 15:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ All that happened on May 31 was not elections but a
pre-arranged process of falsifications implemented by the authorities,
former Mayor of Yerevan Vahagn Khachatryan, currently member of
Armenian National Congress (ANC), told a news conference. Ex-Mayor
finds that Armenia should cease the practice of holding elections
in the present-day totalitarian regime. "These were not elections,
but a pre-arranged process of mass falsifications implemented by the
authorities," Vahagn Khachatryan said.

Before the elections opposition had some hopes that at least Yerevan
Municipality would become a legitimate and accomplished structure. But
what happened on May 31, proved the contrary, ex-Mayor finds. "During
elections, ANC and its co-thinkers realized that authorities would
not manage to change," he noted.

When asked by a anARMENIAN.Net correspondent why ANC representatives,
journalists and observers refused to cooperate with General
Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Khachatryan said he didn’t have faith in state
government bodies, especially Prosecutor’s Office and Police. "I call
on everybody to follow the example of the correspondent of ‘168 Zham’
and observer of Transparency International – Armenia: not to go to
polling stations, exposing their lives to danger." To the question
how the Prosecutor’s Office and Police should work in that case,
Khachatryan said they’d better think about restoring their image and
people’s trust instead of falsifying elections.

RA MINISTRY OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS TO ESTABLISH CRISIS MANAGEMENT CENTER

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 15:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations will
establish a crisis management center, a Ministry official said.

"A similar center functions within the Ministry at the moment but
we are planning to expand it," colonel Nikolay Grigoryan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. "Representatives of all Armenian state
agencies will be engaged in activities of the center, what will
help prevention and elimination of consequences of natural disasters
in Armenia."

Colonel Grigoryan also said that the IPAP also features crisis
situations management.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress