Author: admin

Baku Today
Aug 17 2004

South Korean Ambassador To Azerbaijan Completes Mission

On Monday, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received Kim Song Kwan,
the South Korean Ambassador to Azerbaijan, on the completion of his
diplomatic mission.

Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan attached particular importance to
the development of multi-faceted cooperation with South Korea.

Underlining the necessity of developing bilateral economic relations,
Mammadyarov stressed that it was necessary to take the territorial
integrity, sovereignty of state and inviolability of borders as a
priority during the discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Upper Garabagh held within the framework of international
organizations.

The South Korean ambassador, in turn, expressed his gratitude to
Azerbaijan for supporting his country within international
organizations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA News Agency
Aug 16 2004

Presidents of Armenia and Russia to conduct a working meeting in
sotchi on August 20

RA President meets with the delegation of Russkij Aluminy company
today

*********************************************************************

PRESIDENTS OF ARMENIA AND RUSSIA TO CONDUCT A WORKING MEETING IN
SOTCHI ON AUGUST 20

YEREVAN, August 16. /ARKA/. The Presidents of Armenia and Russia
Robert Kocharian and Vladimir Putin will conduct a working meeting in
Sotchi on August 20. According to the Press Service Department of RA
President, a large scope of issues of Armenian-Russian bilateral
relations will be discussed. L.V. – 0–

*********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT MEETS WITH THE DELEGATION OF RUSSKIJ ALUMINY COMPANY
TODAY

YEREVAN, August 16. /ARKA/. The RA President Robert Kocharian met
today with the delegation of Russkij Aluminy (RusAl) Company headed
by Alexander Livshits, the Deputy Director General of the company.
According to the Press Service Department of RA President, Livshits
presented the projects related to the activities of the factory and
the process of their implementation to the President. He said that it
is planned to implement a volume program of industrial reequipment of
the factory by means of attracting foreign investors. As a result of
the program, Armenal will become the most modern factory in CIS and
Europe. The Deputy Director also informed that financial mechanisms
of the investment program are currently being developed.
After the meeting, Livshits told the media, that `the meeting was
held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere’
The first meeting of RA President and the delegation of Russkij
Aluminy (RusAl) company took place on July 30, 2003. Then, it was
planned to invest $38 mln in industrial reequipment of Armenal. Now,
the investment in factory modernization will make $70 mln. L.V.-0–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

New coaches make mark as road to World Cup begins

By RAVI UBHA
.c The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) – Three of soccer’s traditional powerhouses have new
coaches. It didn’t take them long to make their mark.

Italy’s Marcello Lippi dropped a star player he long managed, the
Netherlands’ Marco van Basten left out the country’s all-time leading
scorer, and Germany’s Juergen Klinsmann named a new captain.

As part of four World Cup 2006 qualifiers and more than a dozen
warmups in Europe on Wednesday, France – also with a new manager –
begins life without Zinedine Zidane; European champion Greece has a
rematch against the Czech Republic; and England’s Sven-Goran Eriksson
is on the touchline for the first time since a sex scandal almost cost
him his job.

European World Cup qualifying begins in Groups One and Three, with
Romania hosting Finland without injured Roma defender Cristian
Chivu. In the other qualifiers, Macedonia faces Armenia, Liechtenstein
takes on Estonia and Slovakia is at home against Luxembourg. Most
European nations begin qualifying Sept. 4. There also are five World
Cup qualifiers in the North and Central American and Caribbean region
on Wednesday.

Lippi, the cigar-smoking former Juventus manager, didn’t pick Juve
forward Alessandro Del Piero for a friendly at Iceland – and he made
no guarantees about his future.

Considered one of the most gifted players in the game, Del Piero has
disappointed in big tournaments, including Euro 2004, where Italy was
eliminated in the first round.

“Del Piero doesn’t have any particular problem,” said Lippi, who
replaced Giovanni Trapattoni. “It’s just that at the moment, I
believe it’s better that he improves his general condition. He’ll be
taken into consideration again once he’s done that.”

Lippi suprised many by adding forward Luca Toni – the Serie B’s
leading scorer last season with Palermo – and Sampdoria’s Francesco
Flachi, a 29-year-old uncapped player.

Striker Christian Vieri, defender Fabio Cannavaro, playmaker Francesco
Totti and another midfielder, Antonio Cassano, all on the Euro 2004
team, are injured.

“This is the national team of this moment,” Lippi said.

Van Basten, who took over from Dick Advocaat, omitted Patrick Kluivert
in selecting a young squad for a friendly at Sweden. Kluivert, with 40
goals in 79 appearances, recently joined England’s Newcastle.

“Kluivert has had a poor preparation for this season and first has to
prove at his club that he’s scoring and that a spot in the squad would
be a logical choice,” Van Basten said.

With Ruud van Nistelrooy hurt, Roy Makaay could start up front for the
first time in more than a year.

Also injured are regulars Philip Cocu and Clarence Seedorf. Speedy
winger Marc Overmars retired after Euro 2004, and defender Jaap Stam
has retired from international competition.

Arsenal’s Robin van Persie and Feyenoord’s Romeo Castelen, both
uncapped, were chosen. The Netherlands reached the Euro 2004
semifinals.

Klinsmann is trying to rebuild a German side eliminated in the first
round of the Euros. Since Rudi Voller left, he’s replaced almost every
official connected to the national team.

One of his first on-field moves was to strip goalkeeper Oliver Kahn of
the captaincy in favor of midfielder and Bayern Munich teammate
Michael Ballack.

Germany, hosting the 2006 World Cup, plays Austria in Vienna.

“I wanted an outfield player as captain, a player who is connected to
all parts of the team and will take the reins in his hands when the
going gets rough,” Klinsmann said.

France’s Raymond Domenech also appointed a new captain – though he
didn’t have much choice. Zidane, the reigning FIFA player of the
year, announced his international retirement last week.

With Arsenal’s Patrick Vieira hurt, veteran keeper Fabien Barthez will
lead the team out in a home friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“I’m aware that a goalkeeper has already a lot to think about, but
it’s going to be him for this match,” said Domenech, Jacques
Santini’s replacement.

Apart from Zidane, defenders Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly and
Bixente Lizarazu have all retired from the national team. The four had
a combined 409 caps.

France, as one of the favorites, was eliminated in the first round at
World Cup 2002 and in the quarterfinals at Euro 2004.

Greece stunned soccer by winning the tournament in Portugal, downing
the Czech Republic 1-0 in the semifinals before edging the host in the
final.

Greece coach Otto Rehhagel will be without defender Traianos Dellas in
Prague because of injury. The Czechs won’t have European footballer of
the year Pavel Nedved and fellow midfielder Vladimir Smicer, who also
are hurt for the friendly.

England didn’t change coaches – barely. Eriksson faced criticism from
the British press when it was revealed he and Football Association
chief executive Mark Palios had affairs with a 38-year-old FA
secretary. Palios eventually resigned, although Eriksson was cleared
of any wrongdoing by the FA earlier this month.

England hosts Ukraine in another warmup.

“If we don’t succeed this time, the knives will be out,” captain
David Beckham said about upcoming World Cup qualifying.

Luis Aragones manages Spain for the first time, against Venezuela in
Las Palmas. Aragones, hired to replace Inaki Saez following Spain’s
first-round exit at Euro 2004, included Arsenal’s 20-year-old forward
Jose Reyes.

08/17/04 09:28 EDT

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/17/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) New Armenian Film Foundation Documentary in the Making
2) Azeri FM Speaks about Planned Moscow Trip
3) Survey Shows 30 Percent Jobless Rate in Yerevan
4) Georgia Insists on Launching Talks over South Ossetia Status

1) New Armenian Film Foundation Documentary in the Making

THOUSAND OAKS–Caravans Along the Euphrates; Anatomy of the Secret Genocide is
expected to be the “crown jewel” of the Armenian Film Foundation’s “The
Witnesses” trilogy project. It will be the culmination of a massive
continuation of the 25th Anniversary of the foundation.
Lead creative production staff met with award-winning director/producer
Dr. J.
Michael Hagopian in Thousand Oaks this week to critique the film-in-process.
Those present included co-producer Glenn Farr–an Oscar-winning master feature
film editor and director; and Carla Garapedian, narrator and co-writer of the
first two Witnesses films, who is a former BBC anchor about to enter
production
on her own film later this fall. Associate producer and assistant editor
Barbara Gilmore, whose experience includes working as project director and
associate producer on five Armenian genocide documentaries, also was at hand.
After the initial screening, Garapedian said, “Caravans Along the Euphrates,
more than ever, has particularly powerful eyewitness testimony.” Farr stated,
“even the brightest, most rational mind cannot cast aside the history that is
portrayed in this last film of The Witnesses trilogy.”
Several other screenings will be held to solicit input from scholars,
survivors and people from other walks of life before the final production
phase.
Incorporated will be a penetrating storyline of survivor accounts selected
from a collection of over 400 interviews. The interviews were professionally
photographed by Dr. Hagopian over a span of 40 years in Europe, Australia and
North America.
Himself a survivor of the genocide, Dr. Hagopian has devoted much of his life
to documenting the legacy of other survivors and those whose lives were
brutally extinguished.
His works have to date amassed over 160 prestigious film awards and prizes
from around the world.
The Armenian Film Foundation now endeavors to raise funds in the Armenian
community to help finance the remaining work on Caravans Along the Euphrates:
Anatomy of the Secret genocide. Completion of the film is targeted for
2005–the 90th commemorative year of the genocide. Support for the first two
films of The Witnesses project, totaling $800,000, was garnered primarily from
the California State Legislature, as well as from foundations and some
individual sources through the efforts of ardent supporter and executive
producer Walter Karabian, Esq. Those who make generous donations to help
finance this project will receive recognition in the credits at the end of
Caravans Along the Euphrates.
For further information on this and other Armenian Film Foundation films and
projects, visit the foundation’s website at , or
call its Southern California office at (805) 495-0717.

2) Azeri FM Speaks about Planned Moscow Trip

BAKU (ZERKALO)–Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who arrived in
Moscow
on August 17 for a two-day official visit, revealed details about his trip to
“Zerkalo” newspaper shortly before his departure.
Noting that the meeting will mark the first with his Russian counterpart,
Mammadyarov stated that Russia’s involvement in the Mountainous Karabagh
settlement and within the OSCE Minsk Group will be on the top of his meeting
agenda. Mammadyarov said that other issues he will raise during the visit deal
primarily with the economic relations between the two countries.
According to the Azeri minister, Russia, along with the other Minsk Group
chairmen, plays a crucial role in the settlement of the Karabagh conflict and
that regional stability depends on the conflict’s resolution.
“The emergence of political stability and economic development within the
Caucuses is beneficial to all parties interested in the region,” said
Mammadyarov, adding that Russia has “deep” relations with Armenia, although it
has economic interests in Azerbaijan.
“Moving onto Russia’s stance on the Karabagh issue, it must be noted that
there are many in Russia who believe that if their country displays greater
interest in the conflict’s resolution, stability within the Caucuses will be
achieved much sooner,” Mammadyarov stated.
Commenting on the belief held by some in military circles who identify
military action as the only viable solution to the problem, Mammadyarov said:
“I am this country’s Foreign Minister, not the Defense Minister, and I will
struggle to the end in order to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.”

3) Survey Shows 30 Percent Jobless Rate in Yerevan

YEREVAN (RFE-RL/CPOD)–A survey of the labor market funded by the European
Union suggests a staggering 30 percent rate of unemployment in Yerevan
which is
three times higher than the figure reported by the Armenian government.
The EU-sponsored Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center (AEPLAC)
has
randomly interviewed one thousand people in all districts of the capital on
their employment status, professional background and incomes. According to its
researchers, almost one in three respondents said they can not find a job and
half of them have university degrees.
The findings of the poll, made available to RFE/RL on Tuesday, differ
markedly
from the official nationwide unemployment rate of roughly 10 percent
registered
by the National Statistical Service. But they are largely in tune with the
estimates of independent economists and analysts. They have long argued
most of
the Armenians out of work do not register with the government’s social
services
due to meager unemployment benefits and a lack of faith in their chances of
finding a job with state support.
The AEPLAC survey confirms this belief, with as many as 75 percent of those
polled saying that they have never applied to employment centers run by the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Most of those who have done so do not
expect positive results, the poll shows.
The poll also found that unemployment is particularly high among engineers, a
telling indicator of Armenia’s post-Soviet industrial decline. “The lack of
industrial development means that many engineers can not find work,” said Hayk
Barseghian, a leading AEPLAC analyst.
The AEPLAC, which was set up in 1999 to help Armenia forge closer ties with
the EU, also sought to ascertain incomes of Yerevan-based workers. Based on
the
respondents’ answers, its survey estimates the average wage in the city at
55,000 drams ($106). The nationwide average measured by official statistics is
40,000 drams.
The poll also found substantial gender inequality in the amount of pay, with
men earning 70,000 drams and women 40,000 drams on average. Finance and
banking
sector employees were found to be the highest paid workforce with 130,000
drams
a month, followed by lawyers who make 91,000 drams. Public sector doctors and
school teachers are in the lowest pay category with salaries averaging 29,000
drams, according to the research.
In related news, a recent survey conducted by the Armenian Center for
National
and International Studies (ACNIS) showed that 23.8 percent of the 2,021
Armenian adults polled believed that unemployment is the main social danger in
the country, while 22.8 said emigration was the greatest threat.

4) Georgia Insists on Launching Talks over South Ossetia Status

TBILISI (Civil Georgia/AFP)–Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who met
with the members of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC), welcomed
the ceasefire agreement reached with the South Ossetian side on August 17. He
added, however, that no significant breakthrough is anticipated without
launching talks over the political status of the breakaway region.
“Establishment of a long-lasting stability and peace in the region will be
impossible without resolving the problem of South Ossetia’s status. We
reiterate our readiness to launch talks over the status,” Zurab Zhvania
said at
a news briefing after the talks with the JCC members.
The conflicting sides agreed during the talks in Tbilisi on a ceasefire,
withdrawal of extra troops from the conflict zone, and securing free movement
of people in the region.
Zhvania also said that the South Ossetian side expressed readiness to release
those three Georgian soldiers, who were detained by the South Ossetian
militias
in early July.
The Prime Minister added that the Georgian side offered the South Ossetian
and
Russian sides to carry out joint operations against those armed groups, which
according to the South Ossetia are out of Tskhinvali’s control.
“The South Ossetian side claims that there is a certain third force in the
region–armed groups which do not obey Tskhinvali’s orders. Hence, we proposed
to carry out a joint operation to wipe-out these groups, if there is any,”
Zhvania said.
Georgian Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili said on August 16 that Tbilisi
is ready to pull out part of its troops from the South Ossetian conflict zone
granting that the South Ossetian militias stop attacks on Georgian villages
and
troops stationed there.
“Granting that peace is preserved for three days, the Georgian side will pull
out 30% of its troops deployed at the by-pass roads,” Okruashvili told Rustavi
2 television on August 16. These roads link the Georgian controlled areas with
the Georgian villages North of the capital Tskhinvali.
The Interior Minister said that this proposal has already been approved by
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Meanwhile, Georgian government troops and forces from South Ossetia clashed
overnight, killing a Georgian soldier and wounding three, officials said–as
the most recent ceasefire failed to hold in the region. The crisis has
prompted
President Mikhail Saakashvili to call for international peacekeepers, to
provide security for civilians and ensure that conditions for talks on a
permanent settlement are met.
He is appealing for an international peacekeeping force to be sent to South
Ossetia, specifically calling on the US, the European Union, and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to take an active
role “in high level negotiations among the parties directly involved.”
“An international peacekeeping operation that is balanced and takes into
consideration Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic partners should be mandated in South
Ossetia to provide security for the population and ensure the conditions for
political negotiations towards a lasting settlement,” Saakashvili said in an
article in the Wall Street Journal Europe.
Saakashvili claims that as a result of recent actions of his government to
halt smuggling, “the de facto leadership in this lawless region saw their
income threatened and have resorted to violence.”
He said they seek to provoke a confrontation which they hoped will undermine
Georgia’s credibility and standing in the international community–a
confrontation in which Georgian soldiers have died.
The latest clashes have led to a telephone conversation between US Secretary
of State Colin Powell and Sergei Lavrov of Russia, as US diplomats met with
Russian and Georgian officials in an effort to cool tensions. The Moscow
foreign ministry statement did not specify who made the call, but said it
focused on South Ossetia. Repeated clashes have undermined the internationally
brokered ceasefire signed late last week between Georgia, Russia, and South
Ossetia and the OSCE, in an intense drive to defuse the crisis in the region.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MOUNTAIN-CLIMBERS OF “SPITAK” RESCUE CENTER ARE GOING TO CONQUER SEVEN
TOPS OF TRANSCAUCASIA TILL OCTOBER 2004

YEREVAN, August 16 (Noyan Tapan). Members of the “Spitak” rescue
center are going to conquer tops of seven mountains of Transcaucasia
(Kazbek, Elbrus, Sipan, Nemrut, Demavend, Aragats and Hustup) till
October 2004 in connection with the 175th anniversary of Khachatur
Abovian’s and Fridrikh Parrot’s climbing mountain Ararat.
Mountain-climber Karen Amamchian, a member of the “Spitak” center,
told NT’s correspondent that the center needs financial support for
the implementation of the indicated program.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

iofilm, UK
Aug 17 2004

Edinburgh Film Festival preview

Plenty in treat with typically diverse EIFF 2004

By Rebort

EIFF opening and closing films: The Motorcycle Diaries (top) and E
J-Yong’s Untold Scandal

The glam

Edinburgh is not a big starry event on the level of, say, Cannes, but
still attracts a fair smattering of famous faces. Obvious places for
sleb-spotting are the opening and closing galas. The festival starts
strongly with Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries, a much feted
adaptation of revolutionary pin-up Che Guevara’s autobiographal
journal about his travels as a young man through South America.

Wong Kar-Wai’s follow-up to his luscious-looking In The Mood For
Love, 2046, was pulled as the closing film, at the last minute,
organisers said, because the film is still not finished. EIFF
artistic director Shane Danielsen quipped it was “one of the pitfalls
of working with eccentric artistic geniuses’. The organisers have
fallen back on E J-Yong’s Untold Scandal, a lavish period remake of
Dangerous Liaisons set in Chosun-period Korea.

The first Saturday of the fest always brings the paparazzi out, with
the world premiere of former EIFF award-winner Pawel Pawlikowski’s My
Summer of Love given the red carpet treatment at the Cameo on
Saturday night, 21 August. Pawlikowski uses his vivid cinematic style
to give a portrait of the blossoming friendship of two 16-year-old
girls during a languid Yorkshire Summer.

Hot tickets

Can’t get tickets to see those galas; or Morgan Spurlock chundering
on his umpteenth McDonald’s meal in Super Size Me; or film stars
puffing away in Jim Jarmusch’s eccentric Coffee and Cigarettes; or
those big waves in Stacy Peralta’s thrilling surf doc Riding Giants?
Don’t give up yet. Extra screenings are often scheduled in for
popular films, tickets for press and guests reallocated and people
don’t pick up tickets. Check with the EIFF box office (full details
at end of this article) what the state of play is. Alternatively,
check out iofilm’s reviews to see if our team has found any gems that
you can see instead – we cover the full programme of films.

Home-grown cinema

Obvious choices: Ken Loach presents Ae Fond Kiss, a Glasgow based
tale of inter-racial romance and Shane Meadows’ dark and gritty Dead
Man’s Shoes, about two brothers returning home to find the same old
drug dealing gangs.

In Hamburg Cell, Antonia Bird dramatises the events leading up to the
September 11 hijackings through the eyes of a young Muslim who
evolves from secular student in Germany, to Islamic ideologue,
jihadist and hijacker. Peter Mullan, a regular at the EIFF, is back
as a blind and jealous landowner caught in a love triangle of sorts
in a drama called Blinded.

Richard Eyre’s tantalising Restoration Comedy, Stage Beauty,
introduces Billy Crudup as the “compleat female actor” until he
becomes overshadowed by his own former dresser (Claire Danes) after
King Charles II (Rupert Everett) changes the law to allow women to
play themselves.

Other world premieres include Irish director Damien O’Donnell’s
Inside I’m Dancing and Terry Loane’s Mickybo and Me.

Kung fu escapes its Asiatic origins and relocates to Scotland, in the
not too distant future in Richard Jobson’s The Purefiers. The title
comes from a gang who having rejected a suspicious truce, find
themselves surrounded on all sides by factions warring to control a
disintegrating Britain. Chop-socky cinema that is one amongst a
fistful of Kung-fu films at the EIFF this year.

Documentary

Fahrenheit 9/11 has not been the only political documentary making
headlines in this US election year. Control Room, directed by Jehane
Noujaim who made the doc Start-up.com, has kept the talk shows stoked
with this embedded view of Al Jazeera, the Arab news service that has
been condemned by the Bush administration as “the mouthpiece of Osama
Bin Laden” and was shut down just days ago by the acting Iraqi
administration for a month.

Filmmakers also aimed their cameras into the darkest corners of human
existence to find stories such as Checkpoint by Yoav Shamir, which
follows the mutual insanity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and
A Social Genocide (Fernando E. Solana), an angry look at the
squandering of Argentina’s national resources. Guerrilla: The Taking
of Patty Hearst (Robert Stone) offers viewers a chance to step back
in time and re-examine the events surrounding the kidnapping of
Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army, an American 1970’s
terrorist militia.

It will be fascinating to see how Thomas Riedelsheimer, who made such
an evocative film about artist Andy Goldsworthy in River of Tides,
conveys the visual and aural harmony of Evelyn Glennie in Touch the
Sound – A Sound Journey. It just won an International Critics Award
at Locarno.

In a similar vein is Armenian filmmaker Harutyun Khachatryan’s
Documentarist where he paints a black-and-white, cinematic mosaic of
life in his ruined homeland.

In Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, the real life hard rockers give
Spinal Tap a run for their money.

The Horror, the Horror

The EIFF has successfully carved out a spot with horror fans with
edgier, late night films. This year includes the world premiere of
American director Chuck Parello’s Hillside Strangler, a true tale of
two “tag-team’ Seventies serial killers (in the Late Night Romps
section of the programme). And Colin Firth wakes from a coma to find
his wife dead and himself implicated in a celebrity murder in
psychological drama Trauma.

Retrospective

The eye in the back of the EIFF head is cast upon Italian director
Valerio Zurlini. “Who’s he?’ You might ask. Between 1955 and 1976,
Zurlini made eight feature films, looking at men and women in crisis.
The retrospective is aptly called “Il Ritrovato: the Rediscovered.”

Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the death of director Lindsay
Anderson, the EIFF will be screening two of his features, O Lucky
Man! (1973) and the Whales of August (1987), and hosting a panel
discussion with a number of Anderson’s creative associates. Actor
Malcolm McDowell, pays tribute to Scottish director Lindsay Anderson
(he made his screen debut in Anderson’s If…(1968) by performing a
one-man show consisting of his personal stories and anecdotes.

Short life

As always, the EIFF programme is chocker with short films, from the
McLaren animation programme to short docs and short form drama,
usually of 5-20 minutes.

Recommendations? Always difficult, but we will have a keen eye on
this year’s three Tartan Shorts – directors often go on from these
prestigious Scottish short fiction pieces to greater things. The EIFF
shorts programmer, who whittled the programme down from 1000 has
these recommendations:

(1) Mona Lisa (Antipodean Shorts Programme)- “A guy lives with his
mother- very low key performances, so simple but well written and
beautifully shot.”

(2) Headway (Nordic Shorts Programme)- “The director (Jens Jonsson)
has done lots of short films. I think he is destined to be the next
big European features director.”

(3) Who Killed Brown Owl (UK Shorts Programme)- “One long take shot
in a summer park. Simply fantastic, everything a short film should
be.”

And there’s more: Mirrorball is back this year with “a mad mix of
music videos, rock documentaries, live events, promos, ads and
animations”. Mirrorball programmers David Drummond and David Ladd
have lined up music videos from Sweden to Australia in Global
Selection, toured to Japan for some commercials, and gathered “the
best of Britain’ (including Basement Jaxx, The Streets and LFO) in
Fresh Tracks.

Latest Edinburgh International Film Festival reviews

Edinburgh International Film Festival Box Office and Information
Edinburgh International Film Festival,
88 Lothian Road,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9BZ,
Ticket hotline +44 (0) 131 623 8030
Information line +44 (0) 131 229 2550
Telephone +44 (0)131 228 4051
Fax +44 (0)131 229 5501

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Interfax
Aug 16 2004

Azerbaijan doesn’t need to join military blocs – ambassador

Moscow. (Interfax) – Azerbaijan sees no need to join military blocs
such as NATO, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, Ramiz Rizayev, told
Interfax on Friday.

“We do not see any need to participate in any military blocs or
organizations,” Rizayev said.

“As for cooperation that meets the interests of the parties, this is
a routine feature of modern times,” he said.

“I can assume that if we did not have the [Nagorno] Karabakh
conflict, Azerbaijan would possibly declare its military neutrality,”
the ambassador said.

Baku is still concerned over military contacts between Moscow and
Yerevan, Rizayev said. “I will not say that there is no concern. This
issue is particularly worrisome as the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
has not been settled yet,” he said.

Azerbaijan hopes that “the wisdom of the Russian authorities will
eventually prevail” in this issue “and these problems that we have
inherited from old times will be resolved as well,” he said.

“As for Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation in the military sphere, I can
remind you about one quite significant fact. We succeeded in settling
all issues related to the functioning of the Russia’s Gabala radar
station in Azerbaijan. This is a very important step on our part
toward Russia,” the ambassador said.

For details, see today’s Interfax-Diplomatic Panorama. The full
version of Rizayev’s interview is available on the
website.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sports Features Communications (press release), FL
Aug 16 2004

BOXING: Welterweight Martirosyan Showcases the Olympic Spirit

ATHENS, GREECE – After welterweight (152 lbs/69 kg) Vanes Martirosyan
(Glendale, Calif.) earned a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing
Team, fellow Olympic Team Trials – Boxing competitor Andre Berto
(Winter Haven, Fla./Haiti) chose to use his dual citizenship to
compete for the Haitian Olympic Boxing team. Although the two
athletes were competitors, they always maintained a friendly
relationship, at least outside the ring.

Martirosyan and Berto share more than just boxing, both know what it
means to come to the Olympic Games representing two countries.
Martirosyan is boxing for the United States but feels that he is
competing for his native country of Armenia as well. Berto was boxing
for Haiti but the American teenager also wanted to make the United
States proud.

Martirosyan earned a first round victory on Sunday afternoon over
Benamar Meskine of Algeria, and Berto competed for the first time on
Sunday night. During Berto’s bout, Martirosyan stood in one of the
front rows of the Peristeri Boxing Hall in Athens, Greece.
Martirosyan didn’t just come to scout or watch his possible future
opponent, he stood and cheered for him, encouraging him in his first
round contest. Although Berto fell just short, losing 36-34 to Xavier
Noel of France, Martirosyan showed true class and sportsmanship as
well as the Olympic spirit in coming to support his fellow boxer.

Martirosyan will compete in his second round bout on Thursday,
August, 19, when he takes on defending World Champion Lorenzo
Armenteros Aragon.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Olympic Weightlifting Results

.c The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Results Monday from the Olympic weightlifting
competition:

Men

62Kg

1. Shi Zhiyong, China, (1, 152.50-336; 2, 172.50-380), 325.00 kg.-717 pounds.

2. le Maosheng, China, (3, 140.00-309; 1, 172.50-380), 312.50-689.

3. Leonidas Sampanis, Greece, (2, 145.00-320; 3, 167.50-369), 312.50-689.

4. Israel Jose Rubio Rivero, Venezuela, (8, 132.50-292; 4, 162.50-358),
295.00-650.

5. Armen Ghazaryan, Armenia, (6, 135.00-298; 9, 160.00-353), 295.00-650.

6. Gustar Junianto, Indonesia, (7, 132.50-292; 5, 160.00-353), 292.50-645.

7. Samson Ndicka, France, (10, 127.50-281; 6, 160.00-353), 287.50-634.

8. Umurbek Bazarbayev, Turkmenistan, (9, 130.00-287; 10, 157.50-347),
287.50-634.

9. Sunarto Sunarto, Indonesia, (11, 125.00-276; 8, 160.00-353), 285.00-628.

10. Sheng Hsiung Yang, Taiwan, (14, 120.00-265; 7, 160.00-353), 280.00-617.

11. Manuel Minginfel, Micronesia, (12, 120.00-265; 11, 152.50-336),
272.50-601.

12. Toshio Imamura, Japan, (13, 120.00-265; 13, 150.00-331), 270.00-595.

13. Asif Malikov, Azerbaijan, (15, 115.00-254; 12, 150.00-331), 265.00-584.

14. Gert Trasha, Albania, (16, 115.00-254; 14, 140.00-309), 255.00-562.

15. Ioan Florin Veliciu, Romania, (17, 110.00-243; 15, 135.00-298),
245.00-540.

16. Yacine Zouaki, Morocco, (18, 95.00-209; 16, 130.00-287), 225.00-496.

NR. Kamran Panjavi, Britain, 0.00-0.

NR. Sevdalin Angelov, Bulgaria, 0.00-0.

NR. Im Yong Su, North Korea, 0.00-0.

NR. Diego Fernando Salazar Quintero, Colombia, 0.00-0.

Women

58Kg

1. Chen Yanqing, China, (1, 107.50; 1, 130.00), 237.50 kg..

2. Ri Song Hui, North Korea, (2, 102.50; 2, 130.00), 232.50.

3. Wandee Kameaim, Thailand, (3, 102.50; 3, 127.50), 230.00.

4. Aylin Dasdelen, Turkey, (4, 100.00; 4, 125.00), 225.00.

5. Aleksandra Klejnowska, Poland, (5, 97.50; 5, 122.50), 220.00.

6. Pak Hyon Suk, North Korea, (9, 95.00; 6, 122.50), 217.50.

7. Alexandra Escobar, Ecuador, (6, 95.00; 7, 120.00), 215.00.

8. Patmawati Patmawati, Indonesia, (7, 95.00; 10, 117.50), 212.50.

9. Michaela Breeze, Britain, (10, 92.50; 9, 120.00), 212.50.

10. Franca Gbodo, Nigeria, (8, 95.00; 11, 117.50), 212.50.

11. Maryse Turcotte, Canada, (11, 90.00; 8, 120.00), 210.00.

12. Zlatina Atanasova, Bulgaria, (13, 90.00; 12, 115.00), 205.00.

13. Charikleia Kastritsi, Greece, (12, 90.00; 13, 110.00), 200.00.

14. Bayarmaa Namkhaidorj, Mongolia, (14, 87.50; 14, 107.50), 195.00.

08/16/04 15:29 EDT

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

12TH ARMENIAN FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RESTARTS

YEREVAN, August 16 (Noyan Tapan). The 12th Armenian Football
Championship restarts with the matches of Day 15. Leaders of the
highest team of the tournament again registered victories. Armenian
champion “Pyunik” beat “Ararat” with a score of 2:1, “Mika” beat
“Kilikia” with a score of 5:1. The following standings were registered
in two other matches: “Kotayk” – “Dinamo-Zenit” 2:1, “Banants” –
“Shirak” 1:1. After Day 15 the teams occupy the following places in
the tournament table: 1. “Pyunik” (Yerevan) – 39 points, 2. “Mika”
(Ashtarak) – 35 points, 3. “Ararat” (Yerevan) – 22 points, 4.
“Banants” (Yerevan) – 21 points, 5. “Dinamo-Zenit” (Yerevan) – 20
points, 6. “Kilikia” (Yerevan) – 11 points, 7. “Kotayk” (Abovyan) – 9
points, 8. “Shirak” (Gyumri) – 9 points.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress