Author: Andres-Papazian

IT IS FINAL !
Simon Aynedjian

Gibrahayer e-magazine
Thursday 17 February

DESPITE TURKISH REACTIONS, CYPRUS IS MOVING AHEAD WITH PUMPING GAS
FROM PLOT 12

It is final !

Drilling in plot 12 will begin immediately. Energy consortium
“Noble”, together with the government of Cyprus, are moving ahead
with a strategic partnership that goes beyond pumping natural gas
from an area in the South seas of Cyprus. This move that has had
its reaction from Turkey is set to shake the political scene and to
re-shuffle the geo-strategic balances in the eastern Mediterranean.

It is final !

The government of Cyprus and “Noble” energy consortium are moving ahead
with their plans for piping gas from eastern Mediterranean towards
Europe, in a move that is destined to invite renewed threats from
Turkey, who has been barking about plot 12, as well as neighbouring
plots which are believed to be as fertile. It is believed that this
turn of events will be bringing Cyprus to a stronger position in
the battle for securing not only alternative sources of energy, but
playing a card as means to establishing its sovereignty and emerging
as a regional player. There is no doubt that Turkish reaction will
continue and Turkey will continue claiming spoils that are far away
from its sphere and boundaries, but one thing is clear, we are into
an era of renewed re-shuffling, similar to the S-300 missiles saga
of a decade ago, with the only difference that European Cyprus will
probably not succumb to threats reminiscent to the S-300 saga.

It is final !

“Noble’s” Operations Manager of Eastern Mediterranean Chris Kendal said
yesterday that work will be begin as early as end of December 2011,
for pumping natural gas. As a partner in the venture, the Republic
of Cyprus will take the majority of the profit. However, the most
important political factor in the equation is the involvement of
Turkey’s new-found foe and military ally Israel, with neighbouring
Arab countries – like Lebanon – raising eyebrows.

From: A. Papazian

EXPERT: NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY CAN SECURE ARMENIA’S PARTICIPATION IN BLACK SEA RING HIGHWAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 13:13 AMT 09:13 GMT

Member of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group Ara Nranyan said
that construction of North-South highway, which is aimed at connecting
Meghri with Georgia, may secure Armenia’s participation in the Black
Sea Ring Highway project.

“Though not directly connected with the Black Sea Ring Highway, the
construction of North-South highway can be viewed as part of it,”
Nranyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

In reality, the agreement on construction of the Black See Ring
Highway provides not for construction of the new highway, but for
expansion of the existing motor roads, improvement of their traffic
capacity as well as connection with each other, said Nranyan.

He added that North-South highway may have a significant role in
increasing the volume of cargo transportation. According to Nranyan,
motor cargo transportation makes a significant part in cargo
transportation, specifically, it amounts to 90% in Turkey.

From: A. Papazian

21.8% GROWTH RECORDED IN SALE PROCEEDS OF ARMENIA’S LARGEST TAXPAYERS IN DEC 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 15:56 AMT 11:56 GMT

According to the Analysis of Summarized Indices of Large Taxpayers’
Monitoring conducted at 343 largest taxpayers in December 2010 by
the State Revenue Committee, the sale proceeds of Armenia’s largest
taxpayers totaled AMD 239.5bln in December 2010 that is 21.8% higher
compared with the same period in 2009.

Meanwhile, growth in this index was recorded at 186 companies –
AMD 58.95bln. At the same time, decrease in sale proceeds of 134
taxpayers was recorded – AMD 23.3bln.

80 inspections were conducted by tax bodies in December 2010, as a
result of which around AMD 2.8bln additional payments were made to
the state budget.

2.8% growth was recorded in the average number of employees in
December 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, bringing it to
115,448 people.

Besides, salary costs grew by 13.1% during the reporting period.

From: A. Papazian

GROWTH REGISTERED IN IMPORT VOLUMES OF ARMENIA’S LARGEST TAXPAYERS IN DEC 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 15:58 AMT 11:58 GMT

According to the Analysis of Summarized Indices of Large Taxpayers’
Monitoring conducted at 343 largest taxpayers in December 2010 by
the State Revenue Committee, the import volumes by Armenia’s largest
taxpayers totaled AMD 78.7bln in December 2010 that is 23.2% more
compared to the same period in 2009.

121 companies secured AMD 29.8bln growth in this index. At the same
time, 81 taxpayers reported AMD 14.7bln decrease.

The export volumes by Armenia’s largest taxpayers totaled AMD 27.5bln
in December 2010 that is 7.8bln more compared to the same period
in 2009.

From: A. Papazian

NALBANDIAN: I FEEL GOOD AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO WEAR MYSELF OUT

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 15:52 AMT 11:52 GMT

Third seed David Nalbandian summarized his match against Pablo
Brzezicki at Copa Claro 2011.

“Today everything worked really well, I feel good and I didn’t have
to wear myself out, physically. That’s also important,” he said.

With two fairly easy victories under his belt now, David is not only
happy with the way he played so far but also thinks that it’s time
to aspire to greater things, elcomercial.com.ar reports.

As to the quarterfinal match against Tommy Robredo, he said: “I feel
great, in those two matches that I’ve played I was aggressive, I was
always in control and I moved with ease. I think that if I can keep
up this level I have chances of winning the tournament.”

From: A. Papazian

DAVID NALBANDIAN STORMS INTO COPA CLARO QUARTERFINALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 13:47 AMT 09:47 GMT

Third seed and home favorite David Nalbandian scored a clinical 6-1,
6-2 win over compatriot Juan Pablo Brzezicki in just 68 minutes to
secure his last eight berth at Copa Claro 2011.

“I did almost everything perfectly, it was a great match,” said
Nalbandian. “I didn’t have to run or defend too much. Some matches
you can do more things depending on what your rival does, but the
idea is to keep up this tennis.”

Sixth seed Tommy Robredo also advanced to the quarterfinals with a
6-3, 7-5 win over Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He was later joined
by unseeded Argentine Jose Acasuso, who took two hours and 41 minutes
to battle past Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-1 to move ahead
in the draw.

Top seed Nicolas Almagro staged a comeback to beat crowd favorite,
Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes
of struggle, TennisEarth reported.

From: A. Papazian

ANDRE WARD: I’M WORKING AND I AM HIGHLY MOTIVATED FOR BOUT AGAINST ABRAHAM

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 16:29 AMT 12:29 GMT

The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Ca will host the upcoming super
middleweight championship bout between Andre Ward (23-0, 14 knockouts)
and Arthur Abraham (32-2, 30 knockouts) on May 14.

On fighting in Los Angeles, Ward said: “I think it is good. He is
going to have a large contingent of Armenian fans and I am going to
have my fans. So it is going to be fun.”

Despite all of the signs pointing towards victory in his favor, Ward
feels like he has plenty to prove on May 14. He is already working
out four days a week and looks forward to fighting away from his
hometown for the first time since 2009, thesweetscience.com reported.

Ward went on saying: “I am not satisfied with 2010. I am trying to
get better in 2011. You know, I am thankful for everything that has
happened to me, but there is work to be done. I feel like I have to
redeem myself because I was not satisfied with my last performance. I
was not happy with it. So, I am trying to continue to grow. That is
why I am not sitting around waiting for this date to come along. I’m
working. And I am highly motivated.”

From: A. Papazian

111 PEOPLE ARRESTED FOR MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEMES

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 16:40 AMT 12:40 GMT

A total of 111 individuals made up of doctors, nurses and health
care company owners and executives were arrested and charged Feb 17
for Medicare fraud schemes that involved more than $225 million in
fake billing.

The 111, who are from nine cities, were arrested and charged by
the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
announced.

Holder said the arrests were the largest federal health care fraud
takedown in the country’s history. He said more individuals may be
added to the list.

Of those arrested, 32 were from Miami, 31 from Detroit, 11 from
Chicago, 10 from Brooklyn, nine from Houston, seven from Dallas,
six from Baton Rouge and five from Los Angeles.

According to Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, the medical
personnel charged for procedures that were not performed and for
unnecessary equipment.

Because of the stepped up federal drive to halt Medicare fraud,
Washington recovered in 2010 $4 billion from medical fraudsters.

During the last two years, for every dollar that the federal government
spent to stop healthcare fraud, Washington recovered $6.80.

Washington is plugging holes in the program because more than $6
trillion is expected to be allocated to Medicare in the next 10 years,
which will likely attract fraudsters and organized crime groups.

Because of the prevalence of fraudulent billing practices done in
cooperation with medical practitioners, the strike force added two
cities to its operations – Dallas and Chicago, AHN reports.

From: A. Papazian

343 LARGEST TAXPAYERS OF ARMENIA PAID AMD 14.7BLN TO STATE BUDGET IN DECEMBER 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 18, 2011 – 16:13 AMT 12:13 GMT

According to the Analysis of Summarized Indices of Largest Taxpayers’
Monitoring conducted at 343 largest taxpayers in December 2010 by
the State Revenue Committee, the largest taxpayers paid AMD 14.7bln
to the RA state budget in December 2010 that made 42% of the total
tax revenues.

As of January 1, 2011, taxpayers’ overpayments amounted to AMD 69.1bln.

At the same time, AMD 4,051.4mln were returned from the state budget
for VAT overpayments.

From: A. Papazian

VAHRAM PETROSYAN SHOULD CREATE SONGS IN AZERBAIJAN

Aysor.am
Friday,February 18

“Vahram Petrosyan is an imposter composer who states that the
Azerbaijani music is in his nature, Sayat-Nova is Azeri and as if
the Armenian girls are belly dancers by their nature. Perhaps his
mother dances a belly dance at home, if he says so,” said political
scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan at the meeting with the journalists.

He mentioned that these “Petrosyan style” statements in Armenian
reality have found a negative response while the Azerbaijani press
writes these statements in great letters.

The political scientist is surprised that such people are allowed to
create in Armenia and implement such kind of propaganda.

“War is not only a shooting at each other by weapons, it also includes
cultural propaganda. They are trying to weaken the vigilance of the
Armenian public by such ignorant people, it is a hit. Society should
be more vigilant,” H. Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

He added that if Petrosian is Azerbaijani in his nature then, “Let
him go and create in Azerbaijan”.

An expert in information security Vahram Mirakyan who was present
at the meeting noticed that there are several groups that realize
the Azerbaijani lobby, one gets the money, the other realizes the
propaganda and one is “a group of ignorant people in which included
also Vahram Petrosyan.”

“There exists Eastern culture, but we have got the offal of that
culture. Now there is a kind of automatic mechanism established for
developing the anti-culture. The anti-cultural things develop more
than the national music,” V. Mirakyan said.

From: A. Papazian