Author: Chakrian Hovsep

THE SECOND APPEARING OF THE CHRIST OR NORMAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT?

Aysor.am
21.08.2009, 13:14

There is no alternative in reducing the number of mini buses and
substituting them with small or mid-size buses, according to the
social and economic development program of Yerevan for 2009.

All this just written…

According to the same program "for this purpose, in 2009, 250 buses,
modified for towns, are to be acquired and exploited on the means
of private investors, comprising 3000 million drams. A new route,
for improving the situation of public transport in Yerevan, has been
worked out and soon will be approved, which includes the reduction
of the number of mini buses from 2600 to 650, and the number of the
buses will increase by 2010".

Harutyun Melkumyan, the head of traffic regulation at the Yerevan
municipality’s transport department, informed Aysor.am, that since the
end of 2005, when the import of buses launched, 384 buses belonging
to different brands have been imported, mostly "Bogdan", "Paz",
"Zonda", and "Nema". Daily more than 250 buses are used. According
to him, now the import of buses is realized by private companies,
not by the government, and whether "they will go on with importing
of the buses is doubtable".

It should be mentioned that as to the 2009 program 250 buses were
supposed to be imported. By the beginning of the year only 12 buses
were imported, and no more buses are expected during this year.

To the question how the government is going to make the private
companies import buses, H. Melkumyan said: "There are issues based on
contracts according to which the private companies are due to import
buses, but today there are difficulties and they cannot realize
the import".

The ratio of mini-buses should comprise 19.2 %. To improve the quality
and level of transportation more than 500-600 buses are needed. The
deadline for the reduction of mini buses is by 2012.

There are 2750 mini buses in Yerevan now. In 2005-2006 there were 3300,
and by 2010 only 650mini buses should be in use.

"Parallel with the import of the buses, the number of mini buses is
reduced. This is a long process and it is not possible to realize it
at once",- said H. Melkumyan.

He said that the route of Yerevan is to be revised and only after it
the number oh buses and mini buses will be fixed.

"The result of so many mini buses is pollution, traffic jams,
inconveniency and the danger for life. During last year we had 408
victims in traffic accidents. In peace time having 408 victims is
terrible. If we compare the quantity of our cars and the number of
our victims with any other European county, we will find that it
is 6-7 times more. If 408 people died it means that more than 1000
were damaged",-said Armen Poghosyan, the Chairman of Armenian Union
of Consumers.

Armen Poghosyan mentioned that while getting started the engine of the
capacity of the car is 17 times more, than while driving and hence
the same number of exhaustion. The stations for mini buses are more
than those for buses, so more are the exhaustions.

The president of the union talked about European countries, mentioning
Dublin. When the electric transport became prominent the number
of exhaustions reduced for 28 thousand tons. As to him the social
investigation held in London proved that 70 % of population prefers
buses.

According to the results of the investigation on the last three years,
the number of mini buses is 90-91 % and the tempo of the reduction
shows that the result of 19.2 % will be reached at "Christ’s second
appearing".

"The purpose of mini buses is to travel without stopping from one
point to another".

"The former ambassador of Italy imported 15 buses. But where are
they now?"

The head of traffic regulation at the Yerevan municipality’s transport
department was unaware of this.

"Our country leads a disgraceful economic policy. Instead of
importing oil, petrol, we want to improve the state of electric
transportation. And the trolley-buses are in terrible state", –
said A. Poghosyan.

H. Melkumyan said that there are 100 trolley-buses in Yerevan,
2 of which are technical support. During the last 2 years 18 new
trolley-buses were imported each year. By 2011 up to 20 trolley-buses
are planned to be imported each year. And the import of trolley-buses
is realized with the support of the government.

Now we have 7 trolley-buses roads instead of the 25 functioning during
the Soviet times.

JCSER: "ISRAEL IS FORCING PALESTINIANS IN JERUSALEM TO DEMOLISH THEIR OWN HOMES"
by Saed Bannoura

International Middle East Media Center

Thursday August 20, 2009 01:05

The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economical Rights (JSCER) issued
a press release stating that the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem
are forcing Jerusalemite Palestinians to demolish their own homes.

The JCSER said that the Israeli authorities forced 18 Palestinians
families to demolish their homes since last July rendering 136,
mainly women and children, homeless.

The residents are forced to do so because if the Jerusalem municipality
demolishes their homes using its equipment and workers it sends them
the bill. Usually the bill mounts to dozens of thousands of Israeli
Shekels.

In July, 10 Palestinians were forced to demolish their own homes and
70 Palestinians became homeless.

The center added that the areas that are the focus home demolitions
in the Old City, Jabal Al Mukabber, Silwan and At Tour.

It further said that there are dozens of pending demolition orders
in Jerusalem, in addition to hundreds of orders targeting additions
to existing homes.

The Research and Documentation Department at the JCSER said that two
families (16 persons) had to demolish their homes in the Old City of
Jerusalem and Jabal Al Mukabber in May.

In April, the Israeli authorities removed a mobile home inhibited by
a family living in Al Tour; eight family members became homeless.

The mobile home belongs to Ali Hasan Al Ja’ba, he and his family had
to use a mobile home as the Israeli authorities demolished his home
two years ago.

Also in April, the Israeli authorities demolished a commercial
building located in Nablus Street, in Jerusalem. The building belongs
to Mahmoud Al Shweiky, and was licensed by the Jerusalem municipality
more than 20 years ago.

In March, the Israeli authorities forced one resident, identified as
Mahammad Attoun, from Sur Baher, south of the Old City, to demolish
his home. The home in question, 100 square-meters, was inhibited by
8 family members.

The JCSER added that such orders also targeted Jerusalemite
Palestinians living in homes rented from the Greek Orthodox and the
Armenian churches.

Some of the homes are even located inside ministries. Six families
received the demolition orders, the JCSER reported.

NEW STRIKEFORCE CHAMP GEGARD MOUSASI STAYING AT 205 POUNDS FOR "TWO OR THREE YEARS"
by Dann Stupp

MMAjunkie.com
Aug 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm ET

Don’t expect Gegard Mousasi to waste too much time before making his
first Strikeforce title defense.

While current champs Alistair Overeem (heavyweight), Cung Le
(middleweight) and Josh Thomson (lightweight) have each gone more
than a year since last defending their Strikeforce belts, Mousasi,
who delivered former champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral a brutal 60-second
knockout on Saturday to claim the 205-pound title, is ready to pounce
on his new weight class.

Mousasi, who recently vacated his DREAM middleweight belt to fight
at the higher weight classes, will compete in the Japanese-based
organization’s open-weight "Super Hulk" semifinals in October before
returning to the light-heavyweight division for the foreseeable future.

The 24-year-old Mousasi, who owns a staggering 13-fight win streak,
beat Mark Hunt back in May in the eight-man "Super Hulk" opening
round. On Oct. 6 at DREAM.11, he takes on PRIDE and UFC vet Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou in the semifinals. A victory would put him in
the finals later that night against the Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa
Minowa winner.

While the novelty fights have kept the Dutch fighter entertained,
he’s ready to make a run at 205 pounds.

"I’m planning to fight (at) 205 for two or three years, get a little
bit older, put on some muscle," Mousasi said.

Eventually, though, the Red Devil Sport Club fighter wants to move
up yet again.

"Eventually, I will go to heavyweight but not right now," he said. "But
the ‘Super Hulk’ tournament, I have to fight heavyweight. Heavyweights
are also good, but being also very big, the disadvantage is I feel
with speed and explosiveness, (but) I can beat also the heavier guys.

"I see myself also fighting at heavyweight in the future."

Strikeforce CEO and co-founder Scott Coker isn’t sure whom Mousasi
will fight in his next Strikeforce bout. Despite the first-round
drubbing, Sobral remains very much in the title picture, Coker said,
but an immediate rematch doesn’t sound likely.

"We’ll do the matchmaking process in the next couple of weeks," Coker
said. "But we’re going to let [Mousasi] get through the DREAM event
in October, and then we’ll start putting something together."

Mousasi literally didn’t break a sweat in the Sobral fight, which
took the co-main-event slot on the "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg"
Showtime broadcast. After taking down the Brazilian fighter early in
the round, Mousasi stood over his opponent and rained down a dozen
punches, each of which landed. One shot that connected mid-barrage
knocked Sobral out cold, though a subsequent blow jolted him back
awake before the referee halted the action.

Mousasi wasn’t too surprised by the quick finish.

"I wanted to keep the fight standing up, but I knew if I could take
Sobral down, I would take him down," he said. "I know he’s a great
jiu-jitsu guy, but this is not jiu-jitsu. This is MMA, and I knew
I could have the advantage of top position. I was expecting a tough
fight. He’s experienced, and he’s a very tough opponent. But sometimes
fights end quickly."

For complete coverage of "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg," including
the night’s official results, check out the MMA Events section of
MMAjunkie.com.

TURKISH VILLAGERS CAUGHT ALLAH’S FISH

News.am
17:41 / 08/14/2009

Turkish villagers caught a fish with tattoo "Allah" in Tekman,
Erzurum province, "Aktifhaber" website reports.

The young men were shocked to see the tattoo in Arabic letters on
the fish back.

The men took the fish to the city, where all witnesses were totally
amazed.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION RESUMES FRIDAY PROCESSIONS

ArmInfo
2009-08-14 18:11:00

ArmInfo. Armenian opposition announces resumption of Friday processions
and actions.

According to the statement by the press service of the Armenian
National Congress, resumption of the protest actions is related to
detention of the Editor of newspaper Nikol Pashinyan in custody. ANC
youth claims that it intends to continue Pashinyan’s deed and
emphasizes inevitability of victory of the opposition once again.

To recall, N. Pashinyan was on the wanted list after March 1-2, 2008,
events in Yerevan.

NEW BOOK ENTITLED "HOLIDAYS AND CULTURE OF CELEBRATIONS" TO BE PUBLISHED IN AUTUMN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
14.08.2009 16:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Holidays and Culture of Celebrations", a book by
Hranush Kharatyan, is going to be published this autumn.

"The book which was ready two years ago will be published this
autumn. It provides a thorough description of 5 holidays celebrated in
Armenia. The book also offers the reader various ways of celebrating
holidays, without naturally limiting his creative abilities,"
Kharatyan said.

In her new book entitled "Holidays and Culture of Celebrations",
the author describes 5 holidays celebrated in Armenia on state
level. Among them are Independence Day and traditions of celebrating
Barekendan (Shrovetide) in different regions of Armenia, as well as
its variations in different cultures of world.

The book will be published under the aegis of RA Culture Ministry.

CONSTRUCTION OF "ARMENIA" HOTEL IN SOCHI TO KICK OFF IN 2010

ARMENPRESS
AUGUST 10, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: The construction of the "Armenia"
hotel complex for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi will kick off in
2010. Armenia’s chief architect Narek Sargsyan said that Russia
has provided a territory in Sochi to each of the CIS country for
building hotels.

The hotels will be constructed under the patronage of the governments
by private companies. With the decision of the Armenian government
Armenia’s private investor is "Bamo" concern.

N. Sargsyan said that so that Armenia’s hotel project is beneficial
and attractive as compared with the other ones, "Bamo" organization,
consulting with the Armenian Urban Ministry, announced an international
tender for the project.

The organizers were the Urban Ministry, Armenian and Russian unions
of architects. The chairman of the jury was Narek Sargsyan, deputy
chairman – chairman of the Russian Union of Architects.

The tender was announced two months ago, 43 applications have been
presented, 27 works have been discussed. "The presentation of 27
projects in such short period of time shows the great interest
displayed towards the project," N. Sargsyan said.

With the unanimous decision of jury the winner became the
projecting team of the Armenian Project Institute headed
by Sargis Sardaryan. "Bamo" will sign a contract with the
winner and works on developing the project will kick off

Hovnanian Shares up Sharply On Takeover Speculation

Dow Jones Newswires
August 5, 2009

By Alexandra Scaggs and Dawn Wotapka, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shares of home builder Hovnanian Enterprises
(HOV) closed nearly 11% higher and option activity surged on takeover
speculation Wednesday, with Toll Brothers (TOL) bandied about as a
possible suitor.

New Jersey-based Hovnanian declined to comment. Toll Brothers, based
in Pennsylvania, didn’t immediately respond to a call and email
seeking comment.

Rumors regarding the two companies have swirled for some time but
analysts following the companies downplayed the likelihood Wednesday
afternoon. One analyst noted the gain could be short covering, as
short interest in Hovnanian has increased for more than two months,
though it remains well below highs set last July. About 20% of
Hovnanian’s shares were held short as of July 15, compared with 10%
for Toll.

The options market appeared to be responding to the chatter. Trading
in Hovnanian options jumped to five times the normal level, with
investors picking up 8,000 calls that allow them to buy the company’s
stock and 600 puts that allow them to sell it, according to Trade
Alert. A bulk of the action took place in Hovnanian’s August $5
calls. Those contracts, priced at 15 cents, make money if the stock
climbs above $5.15 before August 21. Trading in Toll Brothers,
meanwhile, remained normal. Investors picked up 900 calls and 700
puts.

Such a takeover could make sense, given that Toll Brothers caters to a
wealthier clientele and it lacks an affordable entry-level
product. However, Toll’s niche has turned it into a brand name that
has weathered the worst housing downturn in decades better than most
builders. Hovnanian, which is more highly levered and
capital-constrained than its peers and is hoarding cash to meet future
obligations, "seems to be running out of time," Gimme Credit analyst
Vicki Bryan has noted.

Meanwhile, builder combinations have been rare during the downturn,
given that land can be snapped up for a bargain from numerous troubled
or bankrupt builders. While Pulte Homes (PHM) and Centex (CTX) are set
to merge to become the nation’s largest builder later this year, no
other big-builder combinations have been announced.

Shares of Hovnanian, which has a market cap of $264 million, closed
Wednesday up 41 cents, or 10.8%, to $4.22 but are down 1.5% to $4.16
in late trading. Shares have traded about midway between the year high
of $9.67 and low of 52 cents.

Shares of Toll, with a much larger market cap of $3.35 billion, rose
1.2% to $ 20.79 and is unchanged in late trading. Toll stock has
traded between $28 and $ 13.55 over the past year.

-By Alexandra Scaggs and Dawn Wotapka, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-2193; [email protected]

(Tenille Tracy and Geoffrey Rogow contributed to this report.)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-05-091642ET

px/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid0908051642d owjonesdjonline000811&title=hovnanian-shares-u p-sharply-on-takeover-speculation

OSCE TO IMPROVE RA DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
05.08.2009 17:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Democratic management system improvement in
regional youth centers" program is implemented in accordance with
agreement between OSCE Office in Yerevan and RA Sports and Youth
Affairs Ministry.

The program aims at experience exchange between regional youth centers,
promotion of regional youth’s participation in social and civil life.

A contest for youth events’ organization among regional youth
centers was announced within program framework. The program includes
3 stages. 25 projects were submitted at first and second stages,
with 17 projects implemented.

3rd stage of "Democratic management system improvement in regional
youth centers" program has already launched. Application deadline is
August 15, program implementation deadline -November 15.

DRUGS IN THE FRUIT JUICE

2009 /08/04 | 12:38

Criminal

On August 1, the "Kosh" correctional facility informed police that they
found a finely chopped dried green substance, packed in cellophane
bags, in the fruit juice delivered by Marina B. for her son Edward,
an inmate at the facility. The substance weighed 11.5 grams.

It turns out that the stuff was marijuana. Marina told police that
she was handed the box by a Yerevan resident named Vardan. It turns
out that 37 year-old Vardan was found guilty once before. He has
since been arrested.