Author: Emil Lazarian

RA MINISTER OF HEALTH TO TAKE PART IN WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S 59th SESSION TO BE HELD ON MAY 22-28 IN GENEVA
Noyan Tapan
May 10 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Minister of Health Norayr Davidian
will take part in the 59th session of the World Health Organization to
be beld on May 22-28 in Geneva. Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed
about it by Hayk Grigorian, Head of the Ministry’s International
Relations Department. He mentioned that delegations of more than 150
countries will take part in the session.
H.Grigorian also informed that immediately after the session the
Minister will leave for New York for the purpose of taking part in
the conference dedicated to problems of HIV-AIDS to be organized by
UN and to be held from May 29 to June 2.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKADY GHOUKASYAN WISHED THE “KILIKIA” SAILBOAT HAPPY VOYAGE
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 10 2006
May 9 the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) President Arkady Ghoukasyan
received a publicist Zory Balayan.
According to the information DE FACTO received at the NKR President’s
Press Service, Zory Balayan informed Arkady Ghoukasyan of the beginning
of a current phase of the voyage of the “Kilikia” sailboat and the
programs to be implemented in the course of the trip.
In his turn the NKR President wished the navigators happy voyage and
expressed hope that the crew of the “Kilikia” sailboat would fulfill
its mission on restoring traditions of the Armenian navigation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FEDORCHUK, SARGISSIAN, PETROSIAN WIN 8TH DUBAI OPEN
Chessbase News, Germany
May 10 2006
10.05.2006 This year’s Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Cup
boasted 22 grandmasters, 19 IMs and 40 FIDE titled players in a field
of 146. A Ukrainian and two Armenians took the lion’s share of the
$40,000 total cash prizes. A number of young players made IM or WGM
norms. Illustrated report.
The event was staged in the Dubai Chess and Culture Club in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates. It was a nine-round Swiss event held under
Fischer System of 90 minutes for entire match with 30 seconds
additional time for each move. At stake were the Sheikh Rashid Bin
Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Cup and $40,000 in cash prizes, including special
prizes for local, Arab and female players.
The tournament was won by Sergey Fedorchuk, Gabriel Sargissian
and Tigran L Petrosian, who tied for first with 7/9 points. 13
players shared second at half a point less. Two IM norms were made
by talented youngsters: Sethuraman Panayapan, a 12-year-old school
boy from Chennai, India, and So Wesley, the youngest member of the
Filipino squad for the Chess Olympiad.
for photos, go to 7

DAY OF EUROPE TO BE MARKED IN ARMENIA ON MAY 11-18
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 10 2006
Yerevan, May 10. /ARKA/. Arrangements on the occasion of Day of
Europe are to be held in Armenia on May 11-18. The European Movement
of Armenia reports that the ceremonial opening will be held at the
Museum of Folk Art, where children’s works “Europe as I see it”,
“Armenia in Europe” and “Unity and Peace” will be displayed.
The ceremony will be attended by representatives of RA Government
officials, parliamentarians, representatives of NGOs, diplomatic
missions, educational institutions.
A number of information arrangements and arrangements for young people
will be held, booklets will be distributed.
May 9 is marked in Europe as “birthday” united and peaceful Europe.
Day of Europe will be marked in Armenia on the initiative of the
European Movement.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NORWAY READY TO FACILITATE GARABAGH SETTLEMENT, ITS OFFICIAL SAYS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 10 2006
Baku, May 8, AssA-Irada
Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Kjetil Skogrand has said his country
stands by to facilitate settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.
“Just like other countries, we believe the talks on the conflict
resolution will be prolific and peace will be restored in the region.
Official Oslo is ready to provide the needed assistance to speed up
the negotiations,” said Skogrand visiting Baku as part of his visit
to the South Caucasus region.
He noted that Norway supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group
mediating the peace process.
Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Norwegian
official on Monday. In a news briefing after the meeting, Skogrand
reiterated that his government is ready to do its best to achieve a
solution to the long-standing conflict.
Skogrand is also expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev and a
number of other officials.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ART OF LIVING TOGETHER
By Neal Keeling
Manchester Evening News, UK
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
ASYLUM seekers are being shown in a different light in an art
exhibition.
Works on show at Salford Museum and Art Gallery focus on the
experiences of foreigners trying to make new homes in the city.
They include striking portraits of men from Kosovo photographed by
Johnny Mobasher.
Johnny said: “They showed up all dressed up. Having your picture
taken is a bigger deal in their country than here.
“I thought they would be in the day-to-day clothes that they go to
language or cooking classes in.
“People have an existing image of asylum seekers and refugees. But
these are intelligent, family men, who find themselves in a different
country. Not all refugees look like they have crawled under barbed
wire across a border.”
As well as having their pictures taken, the men contributed to the
exhibition by taking 50 photographs themselves with a disposable
camera to capture snapshots of their lives in Salford.
There are currently 1,214 asylum seekers and refugees living in
Salford. They include Congolese, Kosovan Albanians, Iraqis, others
from the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Iran and Afghanistan.
There have been several high profile attacks on them. Last year a
Kurdish man was left with a broken leg by a gang of racist thugs.
And a Latvian man was lucky to survive when a screwdriver was plunged
into his head after 20 youths surrounded him.
Yet the city has historically been a destination for immigrants,
starting with Flemish weavers in the 14th century, Armenian merchants,
as well as Greek, Christians, and Jewish people.
One exhibit features 52 birds made by Salford artist Isobel Pickup and
Iranian artist Maryam Patala, from luggage and bags. They represent
the 52 languages spoken in the city.
Emma Summers has created 21 ceramics, referring to the fact that
every 21 seconds there is a new refugee around the world.
Coronation Street and Shameless actor Chris Bisson was at opening
launch of the exhibition yesterday. He said: “What strikes me about the
exhibition is that people from Salford – of all ages and different
cultural backgrounds have been involved in creating sculptures,
paintings, films, and photos.
“It has brought the entire community together – sharing their
experiences including sad and happy stories and exploring issues such
as uncertainty, fear, hope and trauma.”
The exhibition, called What Would You Do If, is open to the public
until November 19.
[email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TABLEAU
Translated by Pavel Pushkin
Field reports from Den Security Service agents
Source: Zavtra, No. 18, May 3, 2006, p. 1
Agency WPS
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Iran can produce fuel for nuclear power stations independently; The
International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran, sent to the UN
Security Council by IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei, does not contain
proof that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at building a nuclear
bomb. But it does confirm that Iran’s current technological level
enables it to produce fuel for nuclear power stations independently.
The International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran, sent to the UN
Security Council by IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei, does not contain
proof that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at building a nuclear
bomb. But it does confirm that Iran’s current technological level
enables it to produce fuel for nuclear power stations independently,
according to our sources in New York.
The meeting of new German Chancellor Angela Merkel with President
Putin in Tomsk confirmed that despite the defeat of Gerhard Schroeder
interests of the large German business regarding conquering of the
Russian space did not change. Inside sources state that until the end
of 2007 large stakes (possibly blocking ones) of Gazprom and Russian
Railways will be in the hands of the leading corporations of Germany.
Beginning of construction of the oil pipeline to Daqing that
practically coincided with this visit also was a long-awaited curtsey
of the Kremlin to Beijing.
The visit of President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev to Moscow
and mass unrest of Kyrgyz opposition including the pro-American one
demonstrate the slow but decisive ousting of the US from the Central
Asian region by the authorities of Beijing. The key issue is the
functioning of the American air base in Gansi that ensures not only
the necessary connection in the systems of control over the airspace
of the region but also uninterrupted drug traffic from Afghanistan,
report sources in Tashkent.
Signing of an agreement of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia on establishment
of the Bolivarian Initiative of Americas in Havana was organized
under unofficial aegis of China and became an “asymmetric response”
to the “pressure on the verge of foul” on the part of the US to
which Hu Jintao was exposed during his visit, reported sources in
Philadelphia. It was also possible that this loud action that deals a
serious blow on the prestige of Bush was coordinated with Saudi Arabia
and other leading countries of the Islamic world and Peru would become
the next candidate for joining to the Bolivarian Initiative. Candidate
from the leftist forces Olianta Umala has serious chances for victory
in Peru.
New technological difficulties in functioning of the oil pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (due to increased density the oil mixture is
pumped badly in mountainous conditions), report sources in Yerevan,
may become a pretext for large-scale provocations against Armenia on
which Baku and Ankara are prepared to lay responsibility for possible
explosions at the pipeline and a new aggravation of the situation
in Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to our sources in Kiev, rumors about the upcoming
establishment of an “orange-blue” governmental coalition in Ukraine
are evidently exaggerated. A kind of turmoil is currently underway
in the “triangle of parties” that have won the elections and it will
most likely last until the beginning of June. Information weapons
are the main weapons in this “duel of nerves.” Now these weapons
are eagerly used both against the Kremlin system of Gazprom-Rosneft
(British scandals) and against the “team of Yushchenko” (disclosure
of Ukrainian beneficiaries of RosUkrEnergo). Thus, is Washington
pointing unambiguously once again at the need to form a “greater
orange coalition,” even with Yulia Timoshenko as prime minister,
because it considers the “queen of Independence Square” to be quite
manageable due to the compromising materials received from imprisoned
former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko.
Celebration of the “centennial anniversary of Russian parliamentarism”
in St. Petersburg looked a more than doubtful action both from the
historic and from the political points of view, especially given that
the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens disapprove of the Duma’s
performance. According to various polling agencies, about one-third
of respondents consider the Duma necessary and just over a quarter
of respondents trust it. Along with this, our experts note that
“the zero countdown point” was indicated clearly: 1906, which sets
constitutional monarchy as a political model desirable for the Kremlin.
The first “foreign visit” of Alexander Lukashenko after inauguration
to St. Petersburg was dedicated primarily by resolving of the
“gas problem” because a threefold increase of prices of Russian gas
actually “meant a soft economic blockade of Belarus on the side of
Russia.” The negotiations resulted in a promise of Putin “to consider
the forms of compensation” in exchange for a number of economic and
political preferences on the part of Minsk, reported sources in the
near-governmental circles.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOVERNOR RULES OUT SOCHI AIRPORT’S GUILT IN AIRBUS-320 CRASH
by Natalia Slavina
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 10, 2006 Wednesday 11:46 AM EST
Russia’s southern Krasnodar Territory Governor Alexander Tkachev
ruled out the guilt of airport personnel in the crash of the Armenian
Airbus-320 passenger plane off Sochi on May 3.
“The runways are long enough for a safe landing,” he said on Wednesday.
At the same time, he said an additional runway is under construction
and the others will be lengthened shortly.
Of 113 people who were abroad the plane, 51 bodies have been found
so far.
The Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia plunged into the
Black Sea as it was making a landing manoeuvre in the early hours of
May 3. The accident claimed the lives of 113 people.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WARNING AGAINST MINES
Panorama.am
12:56 10/05/06
Mines “remind” about themselves from time to time, especially at the
borderline areas. An incident has been reported near village Khachik
of Vayots Zor.
According to the source, a village resident’s leg was cut by 1/3 on
May 7 from a mine explosion. Reports say that the resident’s leg is
amputated at Yegheghnadzor hospital.
Another mine explosion was reported in Aragatsotn region on May 9
killing one shepherd.
Rescuers have discovered that Mkrtich Grigoryan found out an unexploded
mine near Sasnashen village. The explosion happened because he tried
to unlock the mine on his own.
These incidents make us ones again to remind people against touching
unknown or explosive items but to inform respective bodies about
them.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FRENCH SPECIALISTS STARTED SEARCHES OF “FLIGHT RECORDERS” OF ARMENIAN AIRPLANE A-320
Yerevan, April 10. ArmInfo. The French specialists started searches
of “flight recorders” of the Armenian airplane A-320, which fell into
the Black Sea on the night of May 3, the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Russia Armen Smbatyan told to ArmInfo
correspondent. He had categorically denied the information spread
that the works will be interrupted till Thursday.
Smbatyan also said that the relatives of the dead had already returned
to Armenia. As it was informed earlier, the French equipment will
be mounted on the “Navigator” boat from Novosibirsk. The flight
recorders, installed on A-320 board, may keep during 30 days at a
depth of up to 6000 meters and their radio beacons continue to work
within this period. One of the self-recorders is intended for the
flight parameters recording during the whole flight , the other one
records the talks in the plot cabin. The total weight of the “black
box” is 10 kg, 7 kg of which is the weight of the armored cladding.
The self-recorder can withstand temperature of 1100 0C within an hour
and force compression of 2,2 tons.
The “Armavia” airplane, which was carrying out Yerevan-Sochi flight,
fell into the Black Sea on May 3 flying up to Adler, in 5-6 km from
the beach.
There were 113 people on board, including 8 crew members. All of them
had died. The rescuers succeeded to find 51 bodies of the dead until
now, 46 of them are identified. Thirty four of them are citizens of
Armenia and 12 people are citizens of Russia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress