Author: Badalian Vardan

INTEL INTRODUCES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN ARMENIAN SCHOOLS

YEREVAN, June 27./ARKA/. Intel company is rolling out the advanced
information technologies in about ten Armenian schools within the
framework of its Corporate social responsibility, Unicomp director
Armen Baldryan told ARKA Thursday.

Unicomp CJSC is an official partner of Intel in Armenia.

“As a part of its CSR, Intel is committed to develop appropriate
information technologies for schools, besides, many technological
programs, developed jointly with Microsoft, are delivered to schools
for free,” Baldryan said.

According to him, Intel is implementing pilot projects targeted at
adapting high-tech to educational process in such Armenian schools as
Mkhitar Sebastatsi, Anania Shirakatsi lyceum, and the schools located
in Lori, Shirak, Aragatsotn regions.

“These schools received nearly 60 computers to open computer classrooms
as a part of this pilot project,” he clarified.

Based upon the efficiency of the pilot project, a large-scale project
may be unleashed.

“The research made in other countries demonstrated the academic
performance rose by 30% due to high-tech. Students with low academic
performance got involved into educational process because they got
interested in technology,” he noted.

According to Baldryan, Intel doesn’t have any business interests in
equipping schools, the goal of its project is to create an effective
technological model for Armenian schools.

“Due to information technologies, students can continue studying
outside schools, thus they ensure regularity of education process.

School education requires new approaches, students should be interested
in studying using new technologies. Of course, technologies are
just tools for education, they can’t replace a teacher, school,
educational environment, but on the other hand, technologies improve
the educational environment,” he noted.

Armenia should step up with the global tendencies to offer competitive
products, he added. Baldryan said Intel offers a lot of programs
which can solve the issues of distance education, as well as some
other projects which should be united into a single complex within
an educational system.

“We need to solve the problem of Armenian translation of the content
in many programs, and if there is Armenian content, it can be used not
only in Armenia, but also in Armenian schools abroad,” he clarified.

U.S.-based Intel Corporation was established in 1968. It
produces a broad spectrum of electronic devices and computer
components, such as micro processors, chips, etc. Its head
office is located in Santa Clara, California.-0- – See more at:

IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH SOLUTION WITHOUT KARABAKH’S FULL PARTICIPATION IN TALKS – ARMENIAN OFFICIAL

June 28, 2013 | 15:04

Deputy Speaker of the Armenian parliament Eduard Sharmazanov on
Friday met with his Greek counterpart Ioannis Tragakis during hsi
trip to Athens.

The sides discussed issues related to integration with the European
Union. Noting that Greece will assume presidency of the EU starting
from January 2014, Tragakis reiterated his country’s readiness
to support Armenia’s efforts aimed at strengthening and expanding
relations with the Union.

Eduard Sharmazanov spoke about security in the South Caucasus,
assuring that Armenia is ready to live in peace with all nations.

Deputy Speaker presented the current stage of negotiation process on
Karabakh, stressing that it is impossible to reach solution without
Karabakh’s full participation in talks.

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh support exclusively peaceful resolution of
the conflict which is in line with the approach of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs. Eduard Sharmazanov shared his concerns over Azerbaijan’s
belligerent rhetoric, noting that it is damaging the peace process.

In his turn, Ioannis Tragakis said Greece supports peaceful resolution
of the conflict.

The sides discussed issues related to cooperation between the states
and development of inter-parliamentary contacts. They also touched
upon development of bilateral trade, while Ioannis Tragakis informed
of an Armenian-Greek business forum scheduled for this September.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

SWISS JOURNALISTS’ WORKS ON ARTSAKH WIN TOP PRIZES AT INT’L CONTEST

June 28, 2013 – 16:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Swiss journalists Andreas Schneider and Meinrad
Schade, who visited Artsakh in 2011, won top prizes at the
international contest Eastern Report Network.

Schneider’s article about people of Artsakh rebuilding their country,
published in Reportagen, won in best text category while Schade scored
a win for best photos made in Artsakh.

Following the award ceremony, Schade shared impressions of his visit
to Artsakh, describing it as a well-established state. As he noted,
the photos made in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic will be included in a
collection of pictures Before and After the War to be released in 2014.

The international contest hosted journalists from Germany, Switzerland
and Austria.

ARMENIAN DESIGNERS TO HOLD CHARITY EVENT TO HELP 4-YEAR-OLD BOY

JUNE 28, 13:42

YEREVAN. – Armenian designers will launch a charity event called
“‘Fashion Can Do More” to raise funds for treatment of a 4-year-old
boy.

On June 29-30 a selling exhibition will be held. The guests can
purchase designer clothes and help 4-year-old Vahe Melkonyan who is
suffering from acute leukaemia.

Designers Gayane Soghomonyan, Lusine Kostanyan, Aram Nikolyan, Ani
Iskandaryan and others will participate in the action.

NEWS.am STYLE

PARUYR HAYRIKYAN: EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT MASTERMIND OF ATTEMPT ON MY LIFE IS NOT REVEALED

14:51 28/06/2013 ” SOCIETY

Chairman of National Self-Determination Union, former presidential
candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan, who was wounded in a shooting attack on
January 31 in Yerevan, appeared at today’s press conference accompanied
by security guards.

“Everybody knows that the mastermind of the attempt on my life is
not revealed yet,” he told reporters.

He reiterated that Russian imperialism and KGB (Committee for State
Security) ordered the attempt on his life. Hayrikyan stressed that he
does not say that the force that ordered the attack has any connection
with the current Russian authorities.

“The attack was directed not against me but against you,” he added.

Source: Panorama.am

ZHOGOVURD: RECTOR IS PARTLY TO BLAME FOR NEGATIVE PHENOMENA AT YSU

Friday,
June 28

During a talk with the correspondent of ‘Zhoghovurd’ newspaper,
Rector of Yerevan State University (YSU) Aram Simonian commented on
the recent embezzlement of a large sum by senior accountants of the
university. Aram Simonian said he is partly to blame for what happened.

‘Facts of embezzlement were revealed in the accounting department. I
applied to the prosecutor’s office. I cannot say anything at the
moment because the investigation is underway,” the rector said.

Asked who is to blame for what happened, A. Simonian replied: “It was
the program’s fault. Since they were not specialized and did not have
the appropriate education, they evidently resorted to manipulation by
means of the program”. The rector added that he as rector is partly
for blame for any negative phenomenon at the university, but it is
difficult to control their actions because of the computer fault. In
his words, the accountants have not been dismissed yet. “They will
be dismissed when there are grounds,” the rector said.

TODAY, 12:42

Aysor.am

STATE DEPARTMENT AWARE OF REPORTS ABOUT MEDIA DIFFICULTIES IN AZERBAIJAN

June 28, 2013 | 12:35

State Department has seen reports that RFE, RL, and other outlets
have encountered difficulties broadcasting satellite programming into
Azerbaijan, representative of State Department said.

During the Thursday briefing Patrick Ventrell commented on reports
saying RFE/RL news programming to Azerbaijan has been interrupted in
such a way that it appears that it’s being disrupted and jammed by
the government.

“We’ve been in touch with Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty and the
Azerbaijan Government to discuss this issue. We think that Radio Free
Europe is an important contributor to the Azerbaijani media landscape,”
he said. “Its reporting provides a much-needed model of objective and
independent journalism in Azerbaijan, and the United States strongly
supports media freedom and freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.”

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

PUBLIC JUSTICE TRIBUNAL TO BE SET UP IN ARMENIA – CIVIC INITIATIVE

June 28, 2013 | 12:46

YEREVAN. – The initiative group of the “Vahe Avetyan” movement
states the need to establish a Public Justice Tribunal in Armenia,
initiative group member Garegin Chugaszyan said during a press
conference on Friday.

He noted that the objective of this tribunal will be to expose
the crimes committed by the representatives of Armenia’s governing
system-or by their beneficiaries-, and to oversee and make legal and
political assessments on the activities by the judicial authorities
and the officials of the country.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, an incident had occurred
at capital city Yerevan’s Harsnaqar Restaurant Complex on June 17,
2012, where several military doctors including Edgar Mikoyan, Arkadi
Aghajanyan, Garik Soghomonyan, Artak Bayadyan and Vahe Avetyan were
brutally beaten by Restaurant security personnel, and Avetyan had
died in hospital on June 29.

Subsequently, a criminal lawsuit was filed into this incident, and
six people were arrested.

The Restaurant’s owner is ruling Republican Party former MP, Football
Federation of Armenia President, and businessman Ruben Hayrapetyan,
who formally gave up his parliamentary seat in connection with this
incident.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

EX-TERRORIST: AL-NUSRA LEADER IN SYRIA IS A CIA OPERATIVE

Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:34AM

Members of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front in Syria (file photo)

A former member of al-Qaeda has said the leader of al-Nusra Front,
the primary terrorist group in Syria fighting against the government
of President Bashar al-Assad, is a CIA operative.

“I personally believe that the leader of the Nusra Army who declared
his support for Ayman al-Zawahiri, is a CIA operative in the al-Nusra,”
Sheikh Nabil Naiim, who led an al-Qaeda training camp in Egypt,
made the revelation in a recent video testimony.

Addressing the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra militants, Naiim said,
“You are fighting the war in Syria on America’s behalf.”

Naiim, who has renounced violence, also identified al-Qaeda chief
Ayman al-Zawahiri as a U.S. double agent.

Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the head of the terrorist al-Nusra Front,
pledged allegiance to al-Zawahiri on April 10.

Naiim was a high profile militant in Egypt and is believed to have
been involved in the assassination of former Egyptian president Anwar
al-Sadat in 1981. He was released from prison after the regime of
Hosni Mobarak collapsed in February 2011.

He said the United States funded and supported al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
for 18 years and that he was personally “fooled by an American plot.”

The United Nations Security Council has added the al-Nusra Front
operating in Syria to the UN sanctions blacklist.

The terrorist group has been behind hundreds of deadly bombings
targeting both government and civilian institutions including hospitals
and schools across Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.

The group is also responsible for killing American troops in Iraq.

According to U.S. media reports, the U.S. military has been secretly
training some militant groups since November last year.

The United States has begun shipping weapons to Jordan to arm the
militants in neighboring Syria, after the White House said the Syrian
government had sued chemical weapons against the militants. Damascus
has strongly rejected the allegation.

Damascus says the conflict is being engineered from outside the
country, and there are reports that a very large number of the
militants fighting in Syria are foreign nationals.

HJ/HJ

ARMENIAN TRADE NETWORK HOLDS 3RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN MARSEILLE

10:08, June 27, 2013

Toronto, June 26, 2013 – The historic city of Marseille was the
location of the third general assembly of the Armenian Trade Network
(ATN) that coincided with La Semaine de l’excellence Franco-Armenienne
organized by the French-Armenian Chamber of Commerce (CCIFA).

Close to 40 delegates and observers from 17 countries representing
member organizations and new business communities took part in
the deliberations. The Network expanded by the admission of two new
members, the Argentinean Armenian Chamber of Commerce and the Romanian
Armenian Chamber of Commerce. The first is among the oldest business
organizations of the diaspora counting more than 30 years of operation,
while the second is one of the youngest ones.

Partnership and cooperation with several associations such as the
Armenian Business Network founded in the East Coast of USA was also
discussed and approved. Invited observes from Italy, Spain, Russia,
Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark and Poland presented their business
communities possibilities for establishing communication with the
ATN community. The Executive Board also presented its efforts in
establishing contacts with several new communities. Among other issues
deliberated, the existing Executive Board of ATN was given another
2-year mandate.

On June 22, 2013, the first ATN Business Forum was held at the
Marseille Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Opening the forum were
Armenia’s Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, ATN President
Vahram Pirjanian, CCIFA President Bernard Holassian and ATN VP
Jacques Avdoyan.

The first session of the forum entitled “Promoting Armenian Global
Entrepreneurship through Innovation & Networking” featured as keynote
speaker Romania’s Minister of Economy Varujan Vosganian whose talk on
Opportunities in the Shifting Global Economic Landscape ended with a
panel discussion on the significance of developing new ties and the
role Armenians can play through the ATN.

The second session called “Promoting Business & Investment in Armenia”
featured a number of speakers including the Director of External
Relations of the City of Yerevan David Gevorkyan, the Governor of
Gegharquniq Rafik Grigoryan, Governor of Lori Artur Nalbandyan,
Beer of Yerevan President Ashot Baghdassaryan, Synopsys CEO Hovik
Musayelyan. Panelists included Didier Parakian of the Didier Parakian
brand, Vartan Sirmakes of Franck Muller and Armenia’s Honourary
Council to Marseille and HE Ambassador Vigen Chitetchyan. The forum
was moderated by ATN board member H. Gaspar.

The ATN is the modern trade network for the Armenian entrepreneurs,
acting as an “Armenian Global Chamber of Commerce” joining business
communities in various parts of the world by creating a forum for
member organizations (i.e. local chambers of commerce and business
organizations) to interact and collaborate.