Author: Chavushian

NATO HELPS ARMENIA IN MILITARY EDUCATION – ENVOY

Mediamax
Oct 20 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 20 October: The Armenian Army has the same problems, as
the remaining ones, formed in the territory of former Soviet Union,
Special Representative of NATO Secretary General in Central Asia and
the South Caucasus Robert Simmons stated in Yerevan today.

Mediamax reports that, speaking at the meeting with students of Yerevan
State Linguistic University, Robert Simmons stated that NATO helps
Armenia to create a system of military education, aiming at educating
a generation of military, who would realize today’s challenges and
know how to react to modern crises.

Robert Simmons also stressed the necessity to competently plan the
military budget for the parliament to have active participation in
composing it.

Answering Mediamax’s question on NATO’s attitude towards
Armenian-Russian strategic partnership, Robert Simmons stated that
NATO realizes the necessity of that cooperation for Armenia and does
not criticize it.

WRAPUP 2-RUSSIA MUST USE FX RESERVES CAUTIOUSLY-KUDRIN
By Gleb Bryanski and Dmitry Sergeyev

Reuters
Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:04pm EDT

Adds Kudrin on currency, energy ministry on OPEC, Kremlin aide on
plan to rescue real estate, retailers)

MOSCOW, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Russia must be cautious in using its foreign
exchange reserves, which have already fallen by a tenth in the last
few months, and the emphasis should be put on supporting the rouble,
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday. The reserves, the
world’s third largest, are now at $530.6 billion, down $66.9 billion
since early August. Credit rating agencies have said Russia’s reserves
are a key factor in its investment grade rating.

The call on the cash pile is rising because Russia has to support
its currency, fund high social spending and finance a $210 billion
financial system rescue plan, a tough task as oil prices are tumbling.

"We need to be careful when we use this (reserves) stabilising
influence," Kudrin told fellow finance ministers from former Soviet
states. "Gold and forex reserves allow us to guarantee the currency
rate stability," he said. "Currency market speculators will be
disappointed."

Reserves have fallen mostly because of heavy intervention by the
central bank in the past few months. It has managed to keep the rouble
stable against the dollar/euro basket at around 30.40.

But as ordinary Russians track their savings through the dollar rate,
officials have had to intervene almost daily to persuade the population
that the rouble will not weaken. "No rouble devaluation is planned,"
Kudrin’s deputy Sergei Shatalov said in the Armenian capital of
Yerevan, where he was travelling with President Dmitry Medvedev.

Also in Yerevan, Russian Energy Ministry Sergei Shmatko said Moscow
would cooperate with OPEC but would not join oil output cuts despite
calls from the producers’ organisation to help it support flagging oil
prices. "We want to have the possibility of having fairly independent
policies," he told Reuters.

Russia needs high oil prices as badly as OPEC members as its budget
is balanced at $70 per barrel for this year and at $95 for next
year. This compares with $64.5 for its Urals crude on Tuesday.

BIG REFINANCING DEMAND

A broadly strong dollar rose against the rouble <RUB=> to 26.57,
its highest level since February 2007, while exchange rates on the
streets of Moscow were as high as 28.

Traders estimated the central bank’s currency sales at around $2
billion on Tuesday after no interventions on Monday and interventions
of $4-$5 billion per day last week.

The reserves are poised to fall by a total of $74 billion in the next
few weeks. Russia has earmarked $50 billion to help its companies
refinance foreign loans, another $6.7 billion to buy local stocks and
$17.3 billion in subordinated loans for the country’s largest banks.

The money will mainly flow via the state agent, Development Bank,
known in Russian as VEB. Its head, Vladimir Dmitriyev, said on Tuesday
it had already received $97 billion in refinancing applications.

Russian companies have borrowed aggressively abroad to fund growth
and acquisitions in the past gew years and are now struggling to
refinance loans as capital markets are shut.

"Banks have applied for twice as much as companies — $64 billion from
the banks and $33 billion from companies," Dmitriyev told reporters,
adding that the first 10 applications would be cleared in the near
future.

He also said the bank may start investing state funds in the stock
market this week.

Top Kremlin aide Arkady Dvorkovich said the government was working on
a new rescue package for the real estate and retail sectors, one of the
most leveraged Russian industries. The state could go as far as to buy
unfinished buildings, but he did not say how much money could be spent.

The idea to support developers is unlikely to please Kudrin, who warned
finance chiefs of ex-Soviet republics that they would be affected by
a slowdown in Russia’s construction industry, which employs migrants
from all over the region.

"The industry is overheated and will suffer a decline in demand, and
many who only just started their projects feel it already," Kudrin
said. (Additional reporting by Denis Dyomkin and Andrei Ostroukh,
Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by David Stamp)

TWO FACES OF DIFFERENT WORLDS

Daily News Egypt
October 9, 2008 Thursday

Ursula Schulz-Dornburg is taking time out on the roof of the
Windsor Palace rooftop garden watching fisherman toil in the murky
waters of Alexandria’s eastern harbor to explain the origins of her
latest exhibition. She is a busy woman and her current exhibition,
"Sonnenstand" alongside Egyptian artist Bahaa Medcour’s "Two Faces
of Eternity" is currently showing at Bibliotheca Alexandrina and
sponsored by the Goethe Institute.

She recently exhibited in Bilbao and Paris before returning to
Dusseldorf, her native city. Ursula’s also putting the finishing
touches on the next big event due in January 2009, an exhibition in
Munich alongside celebrated Polish artist Miroslav Balka. At first
glance, Ursula’s photographs strike the viewer with their several
references to contemporary society and the overriding sense of loss
and disappointment seen firsthand by the celebrated photographer.

The images are shot in black and white, accompanied by some literature
from well-known artists including the conceptualist artist Lawrence
Weiner.

Four months prior to the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, Ursula was
photographing the marshes and remarkable archaeological sites of one
of the world’s oldest civilizations. The devastation and disappearance
of such beauty left an impression on her that has lingered throughout
her career. As her exhibits go from Europe to the US, she continues
to explore other diverse cultures such as Burma, Russia, Armenia,
Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yet it was during her trip to Iraq that Ursula
started researching Arab influence on Christian architecture, which
is the main theme of her latest exhibition.

Central to the exhibition is the Cordoba Calendar that is displayed
in Arabic within the exhibition hall. The calendar, believed to date
to the 10th century, includes important dates and festivals of both
Muslim and Christian faiths.

Ursula used the calendar to tie together the many themes of the
exhibition, including life, light, seasons and cycles, astronomy,
enlightenment and the complexity of human nature.

Seven blown up shots of various species of seeds echo the feeling
of loss and struggle. The seeds were a difficult subject to capture
due to their size and were photographed in a fashion that makes them
look like they’re shaking; a technique that Ursula admits was time
consuming. Ursula said seeds were chosen because they represent one
of the most basic and fundamental elements of life. They were taken
from a seed bank, highlighting the current threats including genetic
modification and the delicate balance of the seasons. A quote that
reads "Stars don’t stay still for anybody" splits the photographs on a
large panel, once again highlighting the idea that we are governed by
the earth’s cycle and not the other way around. The following section
of the exhibition includes shots of 10th and 11th century Spanish
hermitages. Despite being a Christian sanctuary, their design is
subtly influenced by Islamic architecture and highlights the intricate
multi-faith relationships that existed during the period. The role
and cycle of the sun is captured in the sequences that illustrate the
differing positions of light illuminating the dark interior. Ursula
said that the concept came to her while she sat on the cold floor
of a hermitage in Estaban, summing up the experience by quoting a
well known saying, "If you travel by car you see nothing, if you walk
you see more and if you sit on the side of the road you see all." On
the adjacent walls of the Bibliotheca’s exhibition hall hangs Bahaa
Medcour’s work entitled "The Face of Eternity." Photography has
been a passion for the electrical engineer, who said that he can’t
remember the last day that went by without him using a camera. The
subject of Medcour’s exhibitions have included the Great Pyramid,
Philae and Rome’s Coliseum.

The 47 colored prints focus on one of Egypt’s most famous edifices,
the Great Pyramid, and the stunning tombs of the southern village of
Hiw, some 550 km south of Cairo. As you look over the shots, you are
immediately struck by the apparent differences of the subjects – one
is an immense stone structure designed for the elite, the other very
small and modest clay tombs. Still, he said, they are both ‘houses of
eternity’ and therefore one of the overriding themes of his exhibition
is unity. The images, most of which have never been printed before,
capture the Great Pyramid in a unique way. Medcour is well aware of
the difficulties of photographing a subject that has been covered
to death, but his approach, focusing on interesting details of the
pyramid and not shooting it in its entirety. "Every stone deserves
more than a second look. Every shadow needs to be studied. Every
angle needs to be measured.

So many aspects of this Great Pyramid are still ignored till this day."

The exhibit’s other focus, the tombs of Hiw (nicknamed the merry tombs
due to the use of color by the villagers) provide some remarkable
images of the graves and simple architecture of the cemetery. Many
of the prints, said Bahaa, compliment those of the pyramids thus
highlighting the notion of unity between the two subjects. First
displayed in the Egyptian Academy of Arts in 1984, the first
photographer to do so, Bahaa has been to Hiw four times and exhibited
these images extensively, including inaugurating the exhibition hall in
the museum of Turin, as well as being included in numerous magazines.

NEW TRENDS IN CONNECTION WITH NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS IN STEPANAKERT

armradio.am
21.10.2008 11:44

On October 23, 2008 the Caucasus Institute will hold a roundtable
discussion on New Trends in Connection with Nagorno-Karabakh in
the Light of Recent Parliamentary Hearings in Stepanakert. The
roundtable will discuss current and potential political developments
in connection with the Karabakh conflict, and their influence on the
regional security of the South Caucasus.

Short introductory presentations will be made by two experts who
participated in the parliamentary hearings in Nagorno-Karabakh on
October 10, 2008: Sergey Minasyan, Head of the Caucasus Studies
Department at the Caucasus Institute, and Stepan Grigoryan, Head of
the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation.

The speakers will present their views on main trends in the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and share impressions of the parliamentary
hearings held in Stepanakert. The reports will be followed by a
discussion with the participation of prominent political scientists,
journalists, NGO activists, members of international organizations
and diplomatic missions.

The round table is part of a series of expert seminars and public
debates organized by the CI in the framework of a project supported
by the South Caucasus Bureau of the Heinrich Boll Foundation and
aimed at focusing the public discourse in Armenia at crucial issues
of regional development.

ARMENIANS – OUT OF DANGER

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
15 Oct 2008
Armenia

Armenian businessman Farkes Batoul, owner of a musical shop, was killed
in the town of Mosoul, north of Iraq, in the evening of October 12.

His nephew who is a teenager was injured as a result of the operations
of the Sunni extremists who launched an armed attack on the musical
shop.

Following the murder of the Iraqi-Armenian businessman, his family
moved from the town, leaving his injured nephew in the hospital.

As reported by Tigran Balayan, Head of the press service of the
Foreign Ministry, there are currently 30-40 Armenian families in
Mosoul, and their life is out of danger.

MOSCOW AND BAKU HAVE NOT SYNCHRONIZED THE CLOCKS

Turan News Agency
Sept 17 2008
Azerbaijan

On 16 September, the presidents of two self-sufficient countries
Azerbaijan and Russia, as they like to underline in the Kremlin, had
a two-hour talk in the Meindorf residence of the Russian president
outside Moscow. As Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev said upon
receiving his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, he invited him
to synchronize the clocks.

The Russian president did not elaborate under which time zone the
synchronization of the clocks will take place under Moscow or Baku
times. The political hands of clocks in Moscow and Baku rotate in
different ways, not only with one-hour time difference but also in
opposite directions. This is a cause of a certain discomfort at the
one-to-one meeting or to be precise, when they have to look each
other into faces and synchronize the clocks.

The results of the check for the durability of the Azerbaijani-Russian
relations with the Georgian crisis turned out to be deplorable. In
such a vitally important issue for the partitioned Azerbaijan as the
territorial integrity, Russia behaved unpredictably (it is not by
chance that at the meeting Aliyev made an emphasis on a factor of
predictability in the Caucasus) as usual, destroying fragile hopes
which emerged three months ago that Moscow would clearly adhere to
the principles of inviolability of borders in the Nagornyy Karabakh
problem.

As early as July when the presidents synchronized the clocks in Baku,
nothing predicted a military threat in the Caucasus and the sides were
satisfied with the talks each obtained what they could. Having signed a
joint Declaration on Friendship and Strategic Partnership, Azerbaijan
obtained from Russia a guarantee on unacceptability of forcible
changes of internationally-recognized borders, swift settlement of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict on the basis of universally recognized
norms and principles, and first of all, adherence to the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of the states.

For its part, Moscow obtained a guarantee from Baku that it will
increase bilateral trade from 1.7bn dollars to 2bn dollars by the
end of the year and a vague pledge on cooperation with [the Russian
gas giant] Gazprom.

The violation of Georgia’s territorial integrity by Russia has become
a threatening signal for Baku, which tried to sit in own trench during
hot days of the Georgian-Russian confrontation. The timid words of
support for Georgia’s territorial integrity by the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry and the regret about what happened obviously did not remain
unnoticed in Moscow.

At the end of the meeting with Aliyev, Medvedev in his public statement
did not say anything this time about the resolution of the Karabakh
conflict on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Moreover,
he returned to Putin’s vision of the settlement, backing the need
for continuing direct talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia without giving preference to any of the sides publicly.

This shows that the sides have not managed to synchronize the clocks
together: at the meeting in Moscow, Medvedev most likely did not
manage to hear a clear answer to the proposal on re-orientation of
the geopolitical and energy course of Azerbaijan in favour of Russia.

Ilham Aliyev could only guarantee an increase in turnover between the
two countries in the amount wished by Moscow. Thus, Russia obtained
only a guarantee for the purchase of its consumer goods for extra
300m dollars, including tractors, vehicles, equipment and popular
commander’s watches. And prudent Azerbaijan so far managed to keep a
certain freedom for manoeuvring. So the Moscow way of synchronization
of the clocks has not led to any changes.

ARMENIA, CHINA EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERPARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION

armradio.am
09.10.2008 17:28

On October 9 Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Hovik
Abrahamyan received the Ambassador of the People’s Democratic Republic
of China to Armenia Hong Jiuyin.

The Ambassador conveyed to the Armenian Parliament Speaker the
congratulations of the President of the Standing Committee of the
All-China Assembly of People’s Representatives of the People’s Republic
of China U Bango and an invitation of an official visit. Believing that
the Armenian-Chinese parliamentary ties and cooperation are part of
the friendly relations between the two peoples, Mr. U Bango expressed
willingness to deepen the contacts and have a positive contribution in
all spheres of development of interstate cooperation. The Ambassador
noted that U Bango is preparing to pay an official visit to Armenia,
which was postponed because of the devastating earthquake in China.

During the meeting the parties stressed the importance of
interparliamentary cooperation. It was noted that the Chinese
experience is very educating and important for Armenia, therefore the
parties agreed to hold joint business forums, where the perspectives
of economic ties will be discussed.

JHANGIRYAN TO TAKE PART IN SESSION?

A1+
[06:57 pm] 07 October, 2008

Tomorrow the court will resume the case of Vardan Jhangiryan, brother
of former Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik Jhangiryan. However,
Vardan’s attorney Yervand Varosyan says that he is not feeling better.

Let us remind that Vardan Jhangiryan is diagnosed with tuberculosis
of the vertebral column and that is why on September 22 the trial was
dismissed so that Vardan could take part in the sessions later. But
actually, he is not doing well. "Vardan is out of the hospital,
yet his condition is critical. There was no sense in leaving him at
the hospital because the doctors only gave him tranquilizers. He
can take them at home too," told A1+ Yervand Varosyan. "The court
resumed the trial based on the fact that Vardan is at home. But we
don’t understand the logic because his diagnosis hasn’t changed. He
still needs to stay in bed."

SMALL US BUSINESSES FEEL PINCH OF TIGHTENED CREDIT
By Mike O’Sullivan

Voice of America
07 October 2008
Los Angeles

As the U.S. Federal Reserve System announced measures to ease the
credit crisis Tuesday, small business owners around the United
States say the tight credit market is hurting them. Mike O’Sullivan
reports from Los Angeles, the financial crisis is affecting nearly
all businesses, including car dealers, fast-food restaurants, and
retail stores.

Alfred Minas, an Armenian immigrant, runs a Los Angeles shoe repair
shop, and he says business is terrible. "Seems like people are
panicking. People with money, they’re holding back. People with no
money, still they don’t have money. Business is just going down day
by day," he said.

Economist Eduardo Martinez of the Los Angeles County Economic
Development Corporation says some businesses are feeling the squeeze
at both ends, with banks reluctant to lend and few customers willing
to spend any money. "Especially car dealers, people who are dealing in
furniture, they’ve been hit pretty hard by the downturn in consumer
spending, not having that many customers go to their showrooms, but
now, they’re having a hard time getting the funds to be able to order
products to fill their showrooms."

He says the downturn is hurting franchise businesses like McDonald’s,
which have been investing in new equipment to offer high end
coffees. Banks are reluctant to lend to franchise owners for the
upgrade.

Martinez says the uncertainty in European credit markets is also
hurting local business because major British, German, French and
Dutch firms have Los Angeles operations in entertainment, banking,
finance, and manufacturing.

Some business owners hope to ride out the storm. Brothers Peter
and Charlie Woo, immigrants from Hong Kong, founded Megatoys 20
years ago. The company manufactures toys in Asia, imports them to
the United States and exports them to Latin America. Chief executive
Charlie Woo says the company foresaw a downturn and took preventive
action by securing its line of credit.

"And also, we’ve got a very widespread customer base. We sell to large
retailers such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart, and we also sell to the small
mom-and-pops [family-owned stores] as well as export to Central and
South America. In general, everybody’s quite pessimistic, but we’ve
got a pretty big customer base."

He adds that a weak U.S. dollar hurts the import businesses.

Farhad Besharati Iranian immigrant Farhad Besharati offers tours
to Europe through his business called Atlantic Tour and Travel. He
says the credit crisis means empty seats on airlines. "When people
cannot apply for a loan or credit, definitely it affects all
businesses. Because before, they used to get home equity [loan] or
credit card or something and then they could travel and they paid
slowly, but now it’s impossible."

Economist Eduardo Martinez says most businesses need to borrow to
stay in business. And with banks reluctant to lend, even businesses
with low overhead expenses are faced with customers reluctant to part
with their money.

LIBRARIANS ARE IGNORED: DAY OF LIBRARIANS

Panorama.am
19:02 07/10/2008

"Librarians are ignored, but people should understand that the library
should be powerful. Library has a mission to educate teachers and if
20 teachers are awarded, then 200 librarians should be awarded too,"
said David Sargsyan, the director of National Library to Panorama.am.

According to him the work of librarians is ignored, which
becomes obvious when looking at the salaries of teachers and
librarians. Talking about the librarians working in the National
Library, Mr. Sargsyan said that the average salary is 35-40 thousands.

"I guess, this is enough to say anything. I just can not force me to
speak about the librarians of the regional communities," he said.

Note that the National Library has organized a party devoted to the
Day of Librarians and the director of the Library D. Sargsyan awarded
the employees certificates and the best 10 librarians received 15
thousands drams.