Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIAN-ITALIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO STUDY THE TOMBS ADJACENT TO URARTIAN CASTLES

ARMENPRESS
17 May, 2012
GAVAR

GAVAR, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS: It is already 22 years that the
Armenian-Italian archaeological expedition is carrying out
archeological studies in the territory of Gegharkunik province. From
the Armenian part the expedition is headed by specialist of Urartian
studies Simon Hmayakyan, and from the Italian part by Doctor of
Urartian studies Raffaele Bishione.

During the past 22 years the expedition has excavated a plenty of
archeological materials and discovered historical monuments in the
territories of Vardenis, Martuni, Gavar, Sevan and Chambarak.

The ancient tombs and settlements of the province, the ancient canals
and other monuments of historical significance have been studied as
well, and several-volume books telling about them have been published
in English. Norik Hazeyan, head expert of Kotayk and Gegharkunik
Territorial Division, Historical and Cultural Monuments Preservation
Agency, told Armenpress.

This year the expedition will start the research from late June. The
tombs adjacent to 5 monuments, considered to be purely Urartian
castles, will be examined. The castles of Lchashen, Kavar, Vardadzor,
Tsovinar and Tsovak are considered purely Urartian castles, as the
Urartian records found there prove that they have been built as
military castles by the kings of Urartu.

ISRAEL ENVOY: U.S. PLANS FOR STRIKE ON IRAN READY

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 17, 2012 – 19:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – U.S. plans for a possible military strike on Iran
are ready and the option is “fully available”, the U.S. ambassador
to Israel said, days before Tehran resumes talks with world powers
which suspect it of seeking to develop nuclear arms, Reuters reported.

Like Israel, the United States has said it considers military force
a last resort to prevent Iran using its uranium enrichment to make a
bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes.

“It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically and through the
use of pressure than to use military force,” Ambassador Dan Shapiro
said in remarks about Iran aired by Israel’s Army Radio on Thursday,
May 17.

“But that doesn’t mean that option is not fully available – not just
available, but it’s ready. The necessary planning has been done to
ensure that it’s ready,” said Shapiro, who the radio station said
had spoken on Tuesday.

The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany have
been using sanctions and negotiations to try to persuade Iran to
curb its uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for reactors,
medical isotopes, and, at higher levels of purification, fissile
material for warheads.

New talks opened in Istanbul last month and resume on May 23 in
Baghdad.

Israel, which is widely assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic
arsenal, feels threatened by the prospect of its arch-foe Iran going
nuclear and has hinted it could launch preemptive war.

But many analysts believe the United States alone has the military
clout to do lasting damage to Iran’s nuclear program.

In January, Shapiro told an Israeli newspaper the United States was
“guaranteeing that the military option is ready and available to the
president at the moment he decides to use it”.

U.S. lawmakers are considering additional legislation that would
increase pressure on Iran, with further measures to punish foreign
companies for dealing with Iran in any capacity.

JOINT HEADQUARTER GOAL WAS NOT FIGHT AGAINST ELECTION FRAUDS IN ARMENIA

news.am
May 17, 2012 | 18:27

YEREVAN. – Armenian National Congress (ANC) opposition bloc member
Ruben Torosyan released a statement, expressing his discontent for
the joint headquarter, which was created to control over the recent
parliamentary election frauds.

He claims that he turned to the joint headquarter during the election
campaign offering to discuss a package on election frauds and
proposals. However, he failed to be heard by the ANC representative
and the general coordinator of the joint headquarters, as well as the
ANC coordinator. Anyway he had submitted the package of documents,
but with no results so far. It may be understood that headquarter
had neither desire, nor tendency to listen to someone. Later Torosyan
realized that it is not a place to fight against election frauds but
the key objective was different, he claims.

To note, joint headquarter featured ANC, Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP) and ARF Dashnaktsutyun during the pre-election period.

ARMENIAN PUBLIC ACTIVIST TO PROTECT SOCIETY FROM HYPOTHETICAL AGGRESSION OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

arminfo
Thursday, May 17, 17:52

The law on religious minorities should be adopted by the National
Assembly. Moreover, the Armenian government together with Education
and Science Ministry and law-enforcement agencies have to prepare
professionals to fight display of aggression in the activity
of religious organizations, the head of the Centre for Aid and
Rehabilitation of Victims of Destructive Cults, Aleksandr Amaryan,
said at today’s round table which discussed the idea of creation of
the council for protection of mass media from aggression of religious
minorities.

To note, the aggression of religious organizations is displayed in
the situation when representatives of religious organizations have
been trying to hinder dissemination of video films which discredit
and insult the Church.

Aramyan thinks that it is aggression that several of these insulting
video films and photos about the activity of the “Word of Life”
church, which had been put in Youtube by one of the news web sites,
were blocked by a priest Artur Simonyan, which did not even inform
the leadership of the site. Amaryan said that permanent threats sound
regarding the authors of these video films.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH LEADER OF PROSPEROUS ARMENIA PARTY

news.am
May 17, 2012 | 17:25

YEREVAN.- President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and leader of Prosperous
Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan met on Wednesday, MP from Prosperous
Armenia Naira Zohrabyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“Gagik Tsarukyan and Serzh Sargsyan met on Wednesday but no agreement
has been reached so far,” she said.

Asked about the meeting agenda and possible formation of a coalition,
Zohrabyan said they had discussed possible formats of cooperation.

Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party Galust Sahakyan said leaders
of the parties had discussed some issues not disclosing the details.

The parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on May 6. Five
parties and one political bloc, including Republican Party of Armenia
and Prosperous Armenia Party, will be represented in the 131-seat
National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia.

POLITICAL EXPERT: RUSSIA IS AN UMBRELLA FOR SECURITY OF ARMENIA

arminfo
Thursday, May 17, 16:30

The parliamentary election in Armenia passed rather actively. The
strong inter-party competition caused special interest. Nevertheless,
domestic political changes will hardly affect the relations with
Russia, director of the Caucasus Institute, political expert Aleksandr
Iskandanyan said at Yerevan-Moscow televised bridge, 17 May.

“They often say that the century long traditions and common cultural
heritage link our two countries. But if we really watch the situation,
we shall see that mutual interest is priority in the bilateral
relations, as Russia is an umbrella of security for Armenia”, –
he said.

Touching on inter-regional issues and global political changes,
Iskandaryan said that Armenia has formed a habit to live in the
conditions of turbulence, and Russia is the necessary factor which
helps Armenia in this matter. “Armenia is not going to put the
equality mark between the pro-Russian and anti-western orientation
like our many neighbours do. As for availability of the opposition in
the parliament, it is a very much important factor for Armenia on the
way of democracy establishment, as the problems which 7% of citizens
are concerned about, will be discussed not in the street but in the
parliament”, – the expert said.

IFC, AUSTRIA HELP ARMENIAN COMPANIES IMPROVE FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES AND INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS

armradio.am
18.05.2012 15:00

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the
Austrian Ministry of Finance is launching an advisory project to
help Armenian food producers improve food safety practices, thereby
increasing their competitiveness, sales and exports.

The IFC Armenia Food Safety Improvement Project will draw on IFC’s
global and regional expertise to help Armenia’s food producers adopt
best international food safety practices. The project will conduct
seminars and provide in-depth advice to select firms to help them
implement HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), a globally
recognized standard and the basis for most international food safety
certification schemes.

Thomas Lubeck, IFC Regional Manager, South Caucasus, said, “We have
many success stories in this region showcasing how improved food safety
creates opportunities for food producers and facilitates access to
new markets. Our work in Armenia is part of our regional efforts to
support agribusiness, which is one of the most important sectors for
employment in the region.”

The IFC Armenia Food Safety Improvement Project is supported with funds
from the Austrian Ministry of Finance. HACCP is the most widespread
and effective international system that identifies, evaluates and
controls hazards significant to food safety.

Since Armenia became a member of IFC in 1995, IFC has invested $202
million in 35 projects across several industries, including financial
markets, manufacturing, and mining. IFC Advisory Services also provides
advice through projects focusing on improving food safety practices,
the financial sector, sustainable energy and regulatory simplification.

ARAM KHACHATRYAN HOME-MUSEUM PRESENTS A PROGRAM DEDICATED TO 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF “GAYANE” BALLET
Alisa Gevorgyan

“Radiolur”
18.05.2012 14:37

May 18 is International Museum Day. Every year the International
Council of Museums (ICOM) defines a specific theme for International
Museum Day. The theme for 2012 is “Museums in a Changing World:
New challenges, new inspirations.” The Museum Day will be followed
by the Night of Museums. The doors of thousands of museums in Europe
will be open till midnight.

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is an international
organization of museums and museum professionals that is committed to
the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the
world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible
and intangible.

Created in 1946, ICOM is a non-governmental organization maintaining
formal relations with and having a consultative status with UNESCO.

ICOM comprises international committees that focus on certain types of
museums and national committees that represent all the member nations.

For the eights year in a row Armenia will join the European Night of
Museums. The year will be remarkable for the conduct of the annual
conference of the ICOM education committee ion Armenia, President of
the ICOM-Armenian national committee told reporters today.

A scientific conference titled “Book and written sources in museums”
will take place in Matenadaran and will feature about 150 specialists
from more than 30 countries.

The interest towards the event is growing year by year. 45-50 thousand
people visited museums during the Museum Night in 2010, while the
number exceeded 100 thousand in 2011.

As usual, Aram Khachatryan home-museum will present an interesting
program to visitors this year. According to its director Armine
Grigoryan, this year’s program is dedicated to the 70th anniversary
of creation of “Gayane” ballet. Last year the museum hosted 5,000
visitors during one day.

ARAM KHACHATURYAN’S “GAYANE” BALLET MARKS 70TH ANNIVERSARY

tert.am
18.05.12

Renowned composer Aram Khachaturyan’s “Gayane” ballet marks its 70th
anniversary this year.

Speaking to reporters today Aram Khachaturyan house-museum director
Armine Grigoryan said the museum’s program for the Museum Night event
is worked out over “Gayane” ballet.

Armine Grigoryan said last year during the Museum Night the museum
had 5000 visitors.

“People are coming with their families, children. This holiday gives an
opportunity to working people visit the museum on non-working hours,”
she said, adding that throughout the year, though, the museum does
not lack visitors, but the majority of them are tourists.

Sahak Sargsyan, chief specialist from Culture Ministry, said during
the last year’s event 100 thousand people visited 60 museums.

“The museums compete. Each of them wants to come up in an original
way. During the recent years Armenia’s regions are also actively
participating in the event. We welcome it,” Sahak Sargsyan said.

ARMENIA RANKS 100TH IN WB LOGISTIC PERFORMANCE INDEX

tert.am

18.05.12

Armenia ranks as the 100th country in the World Bank’s 2012 Logistic
Performance Index (LPI).

According to the WB official website, the country’s “neighbors” in
this year’s ranking are Lebanon, the Central African Republic and
Macedonia, which rank as the 96th- 99th countries, respectively.

Armenia’s 2012 score is 2.56.

The Bank has been producing the report every two years since 2007
to assesses the vital aspects of logistic performance in different
countries worldwide. LPI measures on-the-ground trade logistics
performance-this year, in 155 countries-helping national leaders,
key policymakers, and private sector traders understand the challenges
they and their trading partners face in reducing logistical barriers
to international commerce.

Russia, with 2.58 points, is the 95th country this year. It has climbed
down by one position compared to 2011. The country’s “neighbors”
in the index are Guinea-Bissau, El Salvador, Syria, Belarus, and
Bolivia. Turkey, which received 3.51 points, is the 27th.

Georgia (27.7), Iran (2.49) and Azerbaijan (2.48) rank the 77th,
112nd and 116th, respectively.

Singapore tops the index with 4.01 points. Other countries with
high logistic performance include Honk Kong, Finland, Germany, the
Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Japan, the United States and Britain.

The full report can be accessed here.