Author: Badalian Vardan

CURIOSITY DOUBLES

A1+
[07:36 pm] 01 September, 2008

Yerevan’s Hrazdan sports ground is supposed to be overcrowded on
September 6. Over 55 thousand football fans will arrive in Armenia
to watch the upcoming Armenia-Turkey football match.

Tickets for the forthcoming 2010 World Cup qualifier are comparatively
more expensive. Generally, people pay 1500-5000 drams to watch a match
in Yerevan with the participation of local teams but a ticket for the
forthcoming event costs 3000-10000 drams. As for European standards
this is a symbolic sum but there are few solvent people in Armenia. Not
everyone can afford a ticket at such a price in Armenia. Nevertheless,
the tickets are of great demand as Turkey’s team doesn’t arrive in
Yerevan every day.

Tickets costing 7000-10000 are said to be sold out.

According to the FIFA regulations the host part is to place 5% of
tickets at the guest’s disposal. The Armenian Football Federation
has foreseen at least 2500 for Turkish fans but they will not arrive
in Yerevan.

Thousands of Turks wished to come to see the match but departing from
security norms the Turkish side decided not to allow their arrival.

Naturally, Armenian fans will not have the opportunity to leave for
Turkey next year.

Recently there have been a series of clashes at international matches
with the participation of Turk fans. Therefore, the sides fear lest
these skirmishes should repeat.

Europe is also interested in this match.

Representatives of various European Mass Media have been accredited
to enlighten the match.

Many expect to see Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul in Yerevan but at
present there is no clear information of his possible arrival.

Even bookmakers have set stakes on Gul’s arrival. The index for
arrival is 1.60, and that for refusal – 2.10.

LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER

Panorama.am
17:58 27/08/2008

Nearly 80 invalid children from most vulnerable families are now in
"Learning to live together" summer camp organized in Kapan, the center
of Syunik region.

The camp lasts only 10 days and is organized in frames of OSCE
programs department of Syunik. The main goal of the summer camp is
encouragement of child’s self-confidence, independence. Besides, the
camp tends to create equal opportunities for all vulnerable groups
and ensure their integrity.

"This camp is a kind of continuation to the last year’s cooperation
with UNESCO," the OSCE program system manager Gagik Chilingaryan
says. "Now we have a serious business sponsor -"Dino Gold Mining"
company. This will certainly promote the creation of bounds between
business community and local residents. Such kinds of relations
can serve as strong grounds for economic and social development,"
Chilingaryan added.

Note that Kapan summer camp has interactive study program which has
already helped 8-13 year-old children develop capacity building
abilities: now they can find, analyze and solve differenet kinds
of problems. Moreover, at the end of the program the children will
update small charts for their own communities; the best projects will
be carried out with financial support of "Dino Gold".

FOOTBALL: NANTES SACK DER ZAKARIAN AND HIS ASSISTANT

Agence France Presse
August 26, 2008 Tuesday 5:02 PM GMT

French first division side Nantes have sacked coach Michel Der
Zakarian and his assistant Patrice Gentil, according to a club
spokesman Tuesday.

Nantes are anchored in the second-bottom slot after a bad start to
their league campaign, losing twice and drawing once.

Armenian Der Zakarian, 45, is a former Nantes player. He has been in
charge of the club since 2006.

AZERBAIJAN REITERATES SUPPORT FOR GEORGIA’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

Turan news agency
Aug 25 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has reiterated its support for Georgia’s territorial
integrity and said that the conflict with this country’s separatist
regions should be resolved on the basis of international law.

"The conflicts in the South Caucasus, including the Karabakh conflict,
should be resolved in keeping with the norms of international law,
and within the framework of the territorial integrity [of states],"
the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Xazar Ibrahim, told reporters on 25
August, the Turan news agency said.

Asked if Azerbaijan was going to seek foreign military aid following
the Russian invasion of Georgia, Ibrahim said that this was not on
the government’s agenda. He added that every state should rely on
its own military might, Turan reported.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman was also quoted as saying that
Azerbaijan was going to hold security consultations with the USA
later this year.

BBCM Note: Such consultations are routine. They are held twice a year.

JUNIORS TO TEST THE WATERS BEFORE CRUCIAL GAME

Turkish Daily News
Aug 20 2008
Turkey

Two weeks before an eagerly anticipated football match between Armenia
and Turkey, the junior teams from the two countries with troubled
relations are set to take to the pitch tonight, in what some consider
a test of whether sports and politics can really be separated.

Turkey is set to play in Armenia in a World Cup qualifying round
game Sept. 6, which will be the first time that the two countries’
national football teams play at the highest level. Doubts were
expressed late last year when the two countries were drawn to play
each other, but politicians from both countries and national team
members gave assurances that the game would go ahead. Å~^enes Erzik
was one of the first names to play down the tension. A former chairman
of the Turkish Football Federation, and the vice president of European
football’s governing body, UEFA, Erzik drew attention to the fact that
both countries were already playing football against one another at
youth levels.

Mahmut Ozgener, who was elected as the new chairman of the federation
yesterday succeeding the late Hasan Dogan, agreed with Erzik, recalling
past occasions where no problems were experienced.

"Our U-19 team played a tournament in Armenia in May, and now the
U-21 team is heading there," said Ozgener. "Football is a global game,
you should go anywhere to play. So, we will go to Armenia to play."

The Armenia game on Sept. 6 will be Ozgener’s first important game
as the federation chairman, but he is not making a big deal of it.

"Just because our relations with Armenia are not good, it is not right
to talk about other things before a football game," said Ozgener. "The
tension may be high but at the end we are going there to play ball."

Armenian President Serj Sarkisyan also played his part to reduce
the pressure before the game, as he sent an invitation to Turkish
President Abdullah Gul in mid-July to watch the game together.

The Armenian press hailed the president’s invitation, calling it
an early goal, and saying Armenia took the first step, and now the
decision was up to Turkey. Gul has yet to issue a response, but it is
a near certain that the game will be a stage where Armenian-Turkish
relations will be tested, albeit on a smaller scale.

Meanwhile, the Turkish national team plays its last friendly fixture
before the Armenian game against Chile tonight in Kocaeli.

Coach Fatih Terim said Chile is a serious contender on the South
American stage.

"Chile is playing for the World Cup currently," said Terim. "It is now
ahead of Brazil in the qualifying group, which is something for us."

The game at the Kocaeli Ataturk Stadium kicks off at 9:00 p.m, while
the Armenia-Turkey U21 game starts at 7:00 p.m.

–Boundary_(ID_9cEnYplMBQ+lWoI2uTcZ4g)–

IRAN, ARMENIA DISCUSSED BILATERAL TIES

Moj News Agency
August 19, 2008 Tuesday
Iran

At the meeting the two sides reviewed bilateral ties, as well as the
Caucasus region`s recent developments. Referring to the depth and
wide span of the bilateral ties, Sheikh Attar emphasized that the two
countries` relations are still in need of further development. The
Armenian side, for his part, announced of Yerevan`s determination to
expand the level of its cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran
in various fields. "Iran`s role in the region is quite significant and
your country enjoys a unique geographical status," he added. 2008/08/19

Panorama.am

18:41 15/08/2008

EXTRAORDINARY MUSIC: JAZZ & ROCK ENSEMBLE

On 19 August Armenian-French jazz-rock concert is to take place in
Yerevan with the participation of guitarist Marcello Cordova, pianist
Wensan Buig, percussion instruments Ando Parseghyan and Armenian
musician guitarist Boris Andreasyan, said Boris Andreasyan in a press
conference.

`The concert is separated into several parts. Jazz and rock will be
presented ensemble, which is an extraordinary thing,’ he said.

The musicians said that they have had two experimental meetings but
they have felt they understand each other though they do have a
language problem.

Source: Panorama.am

KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IS A SECONDARY TYPE OF ACTIVITY FOR MATTHEW BRYZA, ARMENIAN POLITICAL EXPERT THINKS

arminfo
2008-08-15 11:46:00

ArmInfo. Karabakh conflict settlement is a secondary type of
activity for the American co-chair of the OSCE MG Matthew Bryza,
Armenian political expert Levon Melik-Shakhnazaryan told ArmInfo
correspondent. ‘The main direction of Bryza’s activity is to supervise
oil and gas pipelines running from region to region; and the main task
is to do everything for the pipelines to bypass Russia’, – he said.

At the same the political expert did not rule out that in his priority
activity Bryza might gain serious success, but in the inter-ethnic
American co-chair "failed" and one cannot say he is a serious expert.

‘I have repeatedly said that M. Bryza acts as cowboy that throws a
lasso. If he succeeds, it is good. If he didn’t, he will pretend
like not throwing it at all. Geopolitical power of the state he
represents at OSCE MG gives him confidence in it. M.Bryza is not a
serious politician and apparently it seems to him that if he states
something in Baku, they in Yerevan will not know about it and vice
versa’, L. Melik-Shakhnazaryan said. To recall, earlier M. Bryza
stated that the residents of Nagorny Karabakh will decide if the
country will be transferred under jurisdiction of Azerbaijan or it
will get independence. Karabakh residents will determine their will
at a referendum, he told media. Later Bryza refuted his statement.

OLYMPICS SCOREBOARD: FIRST EDITION

Winston-Salem Journal
The Associated Press
August 13, 2008
NC

Synchronized 10-m Platform

Women’s final

1. China (Wang Xin; Chen Ruolin), 363.54. 2. Australia (Briony
Cole; Melissa Wu), 335.16. 3. Mexico (Paola Espinosa; Tatiana
Ortiz), 330.06. 4. Germany (Annett Gamm; Nora Subschinski),
310.29. 5. United States (Mary Beth Dunnichay, Indianapolis; Haley
Ishimatsu, Indianapolis), 309.12. 6. North Korea (Choe Kum Hui; Kim
Un Hyang), 308.10. 7. Canada (Meaghan Benfeito; Roseline Filion),
305.91. 8. Britain (Tonia Couch; Stacie Powell), 303.48.

Equestrian

Eventing

Individual Final Ranking

1. Hinrich Romeike (MARIUS), Germany (7, 37.40; 3, 12.80; 19, 4.00; 1,
0.00), 54.20. 2. Gina Miles (MCKINLAIGH), Creston, Calif. (10, 39.30;
12, 16.80; 1, 0.00; 1, 0.00), 56.10. 3. Kristina Cook (MINERS FROLIC),
Britain (13, 40.20; 13, 17.20; 1, 0.00; 1, 0.00), 57.40. 4. Megan Jones
(IRISH JESTER), Australia (4, 35.40; 9, 15.60; 19, 4.00; 11, 4.00),
59.00. 5. Ingrid Klimke (ABRAXXAS), Germany (3, 33.50; 13, 17.20;
19, 4.00; 18, 5.00), 59.70. 6. Didier Dhennin (ISMENE DU TEMPLE),
France (17, 42.80; 8, 14.00; 18, 3.00; 1, 0.00), 59.80. 7. Clayton
Fredericks (BEN ALONG TIME), Australia (6, 37.00; 11, 16.40; 19,
4.00; 11, 4.00), 61.40. 8. Andreas Dibowski (BUTTS LEON), Germany
(11, 39.60; 16, 17.60; 1, 0.00; 19, 8.00), 65.20.

U.S. Finishers: 42. Becky Holder (COURAGEOUS COMET), Mendota Heights,
Minn. (5, 35.70; 58, 82.00; 32, 8.00), 125.70. 44. Karen O’Connor
(MANDIBA), The Plains, Va. (16, 41.90; 59, 84.80; 30, 5.00),
131.70. NR. Amy Tryon (POGGIO II), Redmond, Wash. (24, 46.50; , EL),
EL. NR. Phillip Dutton (CONNAUGHT), Avondale, Pa. (14, 40.60; 20,
19.60; 32, 8.00), DQ.

Team Final Ranking

1. Germany (Hinrich Romeike; Ingrid Klimke; Andreas Dibowski;
Frank Ostholt; Peter Thomsen), 166.10. 2. Australia (Megan Jones;
Clayton Fredericks; Sonja Johnson; Lucinda Fredericks; Shane Rose),
171.20. 3. Britain (Kristina Cook; Mary King; William Fox-Pitt; Daisy
Dick; Sharon Hunt), 185.70. 4. Sweden (Linda Algotsson; Katrin Norling;
Dag Albert; Viktoria Carlerback; Magnus Gallerdal), 230.50. 5. New
Zealand (Caroline Powell; Mark Todd; Joe Meyer; Heelan Tompkins; Andrew
Nicholson), 240.90. 6. Italy (Vittoria Panizzon; Susanna Bordone;
Roberto Rotatori; Stefano Brecciaroli; Fabio Magni), 246.40. 7. United
States (Gina Miles, Creston, Calif.; Phillip Dutton, Avondale, Pa.;
Becky Holder, Mendota Heights, Minn.; Karen O’Connor, The Plains,
Va.; Amy Tryon, Redmond, Wash.), 250.00. 8. Ireland (Austin O’Connor;
Geoffrey Curran; Louise Lyons; Niall Griffin; Patricia Ryan), 276.10.

Fencing

Men’s Individual Sabre

Bronze Medal: Mihai Covaliu, Romania, def. Julien Pillet, France,
15-11.

Gold Medal: Zhong Man, China, def. Nicolas Lopez, France, 15-9.

Gymnastics

Men’s Team

Final Ranking

1. China (Chen Yibing; Huang Xu; Li Xiaopeng; Xiao Qin; Yang Wei;
Zou Kai), 286.125. 2. Japan (Takehiro Kashima; Takuya Nakase;
Makoto Okiguchi; Koki Sakamoto; Hiroyuki Tomita; Kohei Uchimura),
278.875. 3. United States (Sasha Artemev, Highlands Ranch, Colo.;
Raj Bhavsar, Houston; Joey Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M.; Jonathan
Horton, Houston; Justin Spring, Burke, Va.; Kevin Tan, Fremont,
Calif.), 275.850. 4. Germany (Thomas Andergassen; Philipp Boy;
Fabian Hambuechen; Robert Juckel; Marcel Nguyen; Evgenij Spiridonov),
274.600. 5. South Korea (Kim Daeeun; Kim Jihoon; Kim Seungil; Kim
Soomyun; Yang Taeyoung; Yoo Wonchul), 274.375. 6. Russia (Maxim
Devyatovskiy; Anton Golotsutskov; Sergey Khorokhordin; Nikolay
Kryukov; Konstantin Pluzhnikov; Yury Ryazanov), 274.300. 7. Romania
(Adrian Bucur; Marian Dragulescu; Flavius Koczi; Daniel Popescu;
Razvan Selariu; Robert Stanescu), 274.175. 8. France (Thomas Bouhail;
Benoit Caranobe; Yann Cucherat; Dimitri Karbanenko; Danny Pinheiro
Rodrigues; Hamilton Sabot), 272.875.

Shooting

Men’s Double Trap

Final

1. Glenn Eller, Katy, Texas (145, 45), 190. 2. Francesco D Aniello,
Italy (141, 46), 187. 3. Hu Binyuan, China (138, 46), 184. 4. Jeff
Holguin, Yorba Linda, Calif. (140, 42), 182. 5. Russell Mark, Australia
(136, 45), 181. 6. Richard Faulds, Britain (137, 43), 180. 7. Ahmed
Almaktoum, United Arab Emirates (136), 136. 8. William Chetcuti,
Malta (136), 136.

Tennis

U.S. Men’s results

Second-round singles: James Blake (8), Tampa, Fla., def. Dominik
Hrbaty, Slovakia, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3.

First-round doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (1), Wesley Chapel,
Fla., def. Mark Knowles and Devin Mullings, Bahamas, 6-2, 6-1.

U.S. Women’s results

Second-round singles: Serena Williams (4), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.,
def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 6-2, 6-0. Venus Williams (7), Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., def. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-4.

First-round doubles: Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber (5), Newport
Beach, Calif., def. Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska, Poland, 6-2,
6-1. Serena Williams and Venus Williams (2), Palm Beach Gardens,
Fla. def. Iveta Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova, Czech Republic, 4-6,
7-5, 6-1.

Weightlifting

Men’s 69kg

Final

1. Liao Hui, China (1, 158-347.6; 1, 190-418), 348 kg.-765.6
pounds. 2. Vencelas Dabaya-Tientcheu, France (5, 151-332.2; 2,
187-411.4), 338-743.6. 3. Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan, Armenia (3,
153-336.6; 3, 185-407), 338-743.6. 4. Yordanis Borrero, Cuba (6,
148-325.6; 6, 180-396), 328-721.6. 5. Turan Mirzayev, Azerbaijan (9,
146-321.2; 4, 181-398.2), 327-719.4. 6. Kim Chol Jin, North Korea
(8, 146-321.2; 5, 180-396), 326-717.2. 7. Afgan Bayramov, Azerbaijan
(10, 145-319; 7, 175-385), 320-704. 8. Sitthisak Suphalak, Thailand
(7, 147-323.4; 12, 171-376.2), 318-699.6.

Women’s 63kg

Final

1. Pak Hyon Suk, North Korea (2, 106-233.2; 1, 135-297), 241
kg.-530.2 pounds. 2. Irina Nekrassova, Kazakhstan (1, 110-242;
2, 130-286), 240-528. 3. Lu Ying-Chi, Taiwan (3, 104-228.8; 3,
127-279.4), 231-508.2. 4. Christine Girard, Canada (6, 102-224.4; 5,
126-277.2), 228-501.6. 5. Thi Thiet Nguyen, Vietnam (7, 100-220; 6,
125-275), 225-495.

Wrestling

Greco-Roman

Men’s Under 55g

Bronze Medal Final 1: Roman Amoyan, Armenia, def. Yagnier Hernandez,
Cuba, 3-0, 5-0.

Bronze Medal Final 2: Park Eunchol, South Korea, def. Hamid Soryan,
Iran, 1-1, 2-2.

Gold Medal Final: Nazyr Mankiev, Russia, def. Rovshan Bayramov,
Azerbaijan, 4-3, 2-2.

Men’s Under 60kg

Bronze Medal Final 1: Ruslan Tiumenbaev, Kyrgyzstan, def. Roberto
Monzon, Cuba, 8-0, 1-0.

Bronze Medal Final 2: Nurbakyt Tengizbayev, Kazakhstan, def. Sheng
Jiang, China, 4-1, 1-2, 3-0.

Gold Medal Final: Islam-Beka Albiev, Russia, def. Vitaliy Rahimov,
Azerbaijan, 2-0, 4-0.

Yesterday’s team scores

BASKETBALL (Men)

Lithuania 99, Iran 67

Croatia 85, Russia 78

Greece 87, Germany 64

Spain 85, China 75, OT

United States 97, Angola 76

Argentina 85, Australia 68

BASKETBALL (Women)

Russia 71, Belarus 65

Spain vs. Czech Republic, late

FIELD HOCKEY (Women)

Argentina 2, Britain 2, tie

Australia 6, Spain 1

United States 1, Japan 1, tie

China 3, South Africa 0

Netherlands 3, South Korea 2

Germany 2, New Zealand 1

FIELD HOCKEY (Men)

Australia 10, South Africa 0

China vs. South Korea, late

SOCCER (Women)

Germany 1, North Korea 0

Brazil 3, Nigeria 1

China 2, Argentina 0

Sweden 2, Canada 1

United States 4, New Zealand 0

Japan 5, Norway 1

SOFTBALL

Canada 6, Taiwan 1

United States 11, Venezuela 0 (5)

China 10, Netherlands 2

Japan 4, Australia 3

China vs. Venezuela, late

TEAM HANDBALL (Men)

Croatia 33, Brazil 14

Russia 28, Egypt 27

France 33, China 19

Spain 30, Poland 29

South Korea 31, Denmark 30

Iceland 33, Germany 29

TEAM HANDBALL (Women)

Russia 28, Brazil 19

Romania vs. France, late

VOLLEYBALL (Men)

Russia 3, Germany 2 (25-27, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14)

United States 3, Italy 1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 25-21)

Poland 3, Egypt 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-10)

Brazil 3, Serbia 1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21)

China 3, Venezuela 2 (25-21, 21-25, 16-25, 25-21, 16-14)

Bulgaria 3, Japan 1 (27-29, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25)

WATER POLO (Men)

Montenegro 12, Canada 0

Spain 9, Australia 8

United States 12, Italy 11

Hungary 17, Greece 6

Croatia 11, Serbia 8

Germany 6, China 5

WATER POLO (Women)

Italy vs. Algeria, late

Medals

(Through 53 medal events)

Country G S B Tot

United States 7 7 8 22

China 13 3 4 20

South Korea 5 6 1 12

Australia 3 2 5 10

Italy 3 4 2 9

Russia 2 4 3 9

France 0 7 2 9

North Korea 1 2 4 7

Germany 4 1 1 6

Japan 3 1 2 6

Britain 2 1 3 6

Netherlands 1 1 2 4

Azerbaijan 1 2 0 3

Brazil 0 0 3 3

Czech Republic 2 0 0 2

Slovakia 1 1 0 2

Finland 1 0 1 2

Romania 1 0 1 2

Spain 1 0 1 2

Zimbabwe 0 2 0 2

Austria 0 1 1 2

Cuba 0 1 1 2

Kazakhstan 0 1 1 2

Armenia 0 0 2 2

Indonesia 0 0 2 2

Taiwan 0 0 2 2

India 1 0 0 1

Thailand 1 0 0 1

Colombia 0 1 0 1

Hungary 0 1 0 1

Norway 0 1 0 1

Sweden 0 1 0 1

Turkey 0 1 0 1

Vietnam 0 1 0 1

Algeria 0 0 1 1

Argentina 0 0 1 1

Belarus 0 0 1 1

Croatia 0 0 1 1

Georgia 0 0 1 1

Kyrgyzstan 0 0 1 1

Mexico 0 0 1 1

Switzerland 0 0 1 1

Tajikistan 0 0 1 1

Togo 0 0 1 1

Ukraine 0 0 1 1

Uzbekistan 0 0 1 1

HAFIZ PASHAYEV: "GEORGIA HAS A RIGHT TO SETTLE THE ISSUE OF ITS CIS WALKOUT INDEPENDENTLY"

Today.Az
13 August 2008
Azerbaijan

Decision to leave CIS is Georgia’s own business, said deputy
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Hafiz Pashayev, according to
Interfax-Azerbaijan.

"Each country has a right to take a decision independently", said
Pashayev Wednesday, commenting on the decision of President Mikhail
Saakashvili to leave CIS.

According to the diplomat, such a decision is adopted on the basis
of discussions on the high political level and "probably Georgia’s
decision should also be approved by the parliament".

Commenting on the recent developments around South Ossetia, Pashayev
confirmed Azerbaijan’s support to territorial integrity of Georgia.

"As it was announced earlier, we support the territorial integrity of
Georgia. We have always considered this principle the most important
and we are confident that it should be the key one in the international
relations", noted the Deputy Minister.

The diplomat noted that events in South Ossetia should underline for
the world society the need for the soonest resolution of all conflicts
in the region, including Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

It should be noted that an international conference "Azerbaijanis
and Americans, as we see each others" opened in the capital of
Azerbaijan. It is organized by the diplomatic academy of Azerbaijan,
led by H.Pashayev. Events in Georgia are one of the main topics of
discussions at the conference.