Author: Andres-Papazian

250 HAIL SUPPRESSION STATIONS WILL BE SET IN ARMENIA BY 2012

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 16:12 AMT 12:12 GMT

Armenian Minister of Agriculture Gerasim Alaverdyan said that 250
hail suppression stations will be set throughout Armenia by 2012.

The program on setting hail suppression stations was approved in
Armenia in 2008 and it is being implemented gradually, Alaverdyan
told a press conference on December 24.

28 stations have been set and put into operation in Armavir and
Ararat through funds of a Japanese grant, while another 48 stations
have been constructed in the same regions through provided subsidies.

“If earlier the share of damage caused by hail could amount to AMD
6mln in the total damage caused to agriculture at the amount of AMD
12-13bln, the program implementation will allow us to considerably
reduce the damage,” Alaverdyan said.

From: A. Papazian

NORWEGIAN NEWSPAPER CLAIMS IT HAS ALL WIKILEAKS CABLES

Tert.am
24.12.10

A Norwegian newspaper has claimed that it has all of the Wikileaks
US State Department cables in unencrypted form and can print the lot
of them without any censorship, The Inquirer reported.

Wikileaks released all of the cables to four of its favourite
newspapers – the New York Times, Le Monde, the Guardian and Der Spiegel
– on the condition that they could only print the censored versions on
a piecemeal basis. The newspapers have so far made public only about
1,900 of the more than 250,000 leaked US State Department documents.

The rest have been encrypted and placed on servers all around the
world. However Norway’s largest circulation daily newspaper Aftenposten
claims that it has the lot.

Aftenposten managing editor Ole Erik Almlid told the Associated Press
that the newspaper has no restrictions on how to use the material
and will be publishing articles about the US documents that it finds
relevant in its online and paper editions.

Almlid has promised to redact sensitive information such as names if
needed, but he said there is no requirement to do so.

He said that the newspaper did not have to pay for the documents but
would not say where he got them from.

There could be three possible scenarios. The tinfoil hat option is
that a world power that likes seeing the US embarrassed has dedicated
some computer time to cracking the password.

Another possibility is that the US, which might prefer to see all of
the documents leaked at once so that reporters will pick out only a
couple of news stories from them, gave the newspaper a copy. Either
of these options is possible, but it is not clear why anyone would
give the entire file to a newspaper in Norway.

The last option is that Aftenposten got the entire file of cables
from someone in Wikileaks. Not everyone in the organisation is happy
with the way Julian Assange is running the operation.

From: A. Papazian

CIA LAUNCHES A WIKILEAKS TASK FORCE

Tert.am
23.12.10

The CIA has launched a WikiLeaks Task Force, better known by the
agency as the acronym: WTF, the Los Angeles Times reported.

According to a report by the Washington Post, the agency has launched
the task force to appraise the impact of thousands of sensitive
diplomatic documents and military files hitting the web thanks to
WikiLeaks.

Among the task force’s responsibilities is “whether the agency’s
ability to recruit informants could be damaged by declining confidence
in the U.S. government’s ability to keep secrets,” the report said.

CIA spokesman George Little told the paper that the panel is being
led by the CIA’s Counterintelligence Center. It is made up of more
than two dozen members from departments across the agency.

“It’s just a huge vulnerability,” an unnamed former high-ranking CIA
officer told the Post. “Nobody could carry out enough paper to do
what WikiLeaks has done.”

From: A. Papazian

VARDAN VARDANYAN: 10-12% GROWTH REGISTERED IN THE FIELD OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Liana Yeghiazaryan

“Radiolur”
22.12.2010 15:20

The budget allocations to the sphere of urban development will
increase to 7 billion AMD next year, Minister of Urban Development
Vardan Vardanyan told a press conference today.

“This allows to hope that the Ministry will be able to work more
effectively in 2011,” the Minister said, adding that the urban
development sphere, which suffered most as a result of the global
financial-economic crisis, has overcome its consequences.

“A 10-12% growth has been registered,” he said, voicing confidence
that the trend will continue into 2011.

To avoid shortcomings in the quality of construction, the Minister
holds consultations once a fortnight. The main emphasis is put on
aseismic stability of the newly constructed buildings.

The main objective is to complete the construction works in the
earthquake zone by 2013, he said.

From: A. Papazian

RESHUFFLINGS WON’T BE ENOUGH, FAIR ELECTIONS ARE NECESSARY, SAYS OPPOSITIONIST

Tert.am
24.12.10

It is necessary to stage free and fair elections in Armenia as
reshufflings in government will not significantly improve the situation
in the country, an opposition party leader has said.

At a press conference today, Stepan Demirchyan, the leader of People’s
Party of Armenia, affiliated with the opposition alliance Armenian
National Congress, said that the opposition has on several occasions
made this clear for the authorities.

“For several times we have mentioned that first of all free and fair
elections should be held. A couple of replacements will not bring about
significant changes, and it is this requirement that the opposition
always has put forward,” said Demirchyan.

Speaking about the achievements in 2010, Demirchyan said that a lot
of issues still need to be addressed, such as exodus, poverty and
political prisoners.

“The 2010 cannot be considered a year of achievements,” Demirchyan
said. “If we sum up the year, the country is hit by a socio-economic
and moral crisis.”

Armenia, according to him, did not have achievements in the peace
talks over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict either as the talks were
not beneficial for Armenia.

The first thing to do, in his opinion, is to include Karabakh in the
peace talks spearheaded by the OSCE Minsk Group, Demirchyan added.

From: A. Papazian

DOLPHINS KEPT IN DOLPHINARIUMS CAN POSE THREAT TO HUMAN LIFE

Tert.am
24.12.10

Dolphins kept in a non-free environment often suffer stress and
can pose a serious threat to human life, the Foundation for the
Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Values and several Armenian
environmental NGOs (Eko dar, Eko dashink and ProwPaws) have said in
a joint statement, calling on the Yerevan Municipality to suspend
the operation of the newly opened dolphinarium in the capital.

The activists of the joint environmental initiative find that
dolphins which are kept in dolphinariiums cannot have theurapethic
effect on humans, as the organization importing the dolphins had
announced earlier.

“Taking advantage of society’s non-awareness, businessmen today earn
mega money in this way. I don’t think Armenia is a proper country
for such adventurers,” the head of the foundation, Ruben Khachatryan,
told a news conference on Friday.

He said a large quantity of chlorin is needed for keeping dolphins
in blue water and that makes the animals blind.

Speaking further of the possible hazards, President of ProwPaws
organization Elsik Azizyan enumerated five main conditions for keeping
dolphins, adding that the the dolphinarium in Yerevan meets none
of them.

“Dolphins pass an average of 100 meters per day and dive into water
from a depth of 20 meters, while the dolphinarium in Yerevan is just
18 meters in diameter and 5 meters in depth. Besdies, the dolphins
in Yerevan will be fed frozen fish, which violates their right to
get proper food,” he said.

The Armenian environmentalists’ initiative is supported by their
Ukrainian colleagues who are going to hold a protest outside Ukraine’s
Nature Protection Ministry on Monday.

The Ukrainian company Nerum reportedly intended to import four
dolphins and other water animals to Armenia. The company’s activities
in Ukrain have been officially declared illegal and it is currently
facing several lawsuits.

From: A. Papazian

NAIRIT RUBBER PLANT NEEDS ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT OF $70 -$100 MILLION: PM

/ARKA/
December 24, 2010
YEREVAN

Armenian prime minister Tigran Sarkisian said Nairit synthetic rubber
plant in Yerevan needs an additional investment of $70 -$100 million in
order to organize a modern production. He was speaking to journalists
after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russian
St. Petersburg. The prime minister was quoted by Armenia’s Public TV
as saying that special instructions were issued to relevant bodies
in both countries.

He said also the Armenian side will work closely with Russian
colleagues to take correct decisions.

Nairit plant was closed in 1989 for ecological reasons, but resumed
partial operation in 1992-93. In 2006 some 90 % of its shares were sold
to a British-registered Rainoville Property Limited at $40 million. The
Armenian government has a 10 percent stake in the Soviet-built company,
which has repeatedly changed owners over the past two decades.

From: A. Papazian

DASHNAKTSUTYUN CALLS FOR PEACEFUL CHANGE OF POWER IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 15:48 AMT 11:48 GMT

ARF Dashnaktsutyun has again called for peaceful change of power
in Armenia.

“Government reshuffle will not help, system changes are necessary,”
ARFD member Artyusha Shahbazyan said.

As to rumors about parliament dissolution, he said he “doesn’t
believe such.”

From: A. Papazian

ARTYUSHA SHAHBAZYAN: I HOPE FOR PROGRESS IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT NEXT YEAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 16:39 AMT 12:39 GMT

Secretary of ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group Artyusha Shahbazyan
will celebrate the New Year with his family.

“I will spend this holiday with my family, welcoming guests and
visiting our relatives and friends,” he told journalists on December
24.

Asked about his wishes for the coming year, he said: “I wish a good
year for all. I hope for progress in Karabakh settlement and in
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.”

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER DENIES RUMORS ABOUT HIS RESIGNATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 15:42 AMT 11:42 GMT

Armenian Minister of Agriculture Gerasim Alaverdyan said that rumors
about his resignation are untrue.

According to him, the matter has not been discussed by Orinats Yerkir
party, of which he is a member.

“I am a soldier of the party. If it decides that my work in another
field is more appropriate, of course, I will accept the decision.

However, I have not been told anything yet,” he said.

Armenian media spread reports recently that the resignation of Minister
of Agriculture Gerasim Alaverdyan is being discussed.

From: A. Papazian