Author: Frangulian Shushan

ACTIVE PHASE OF RUBEZH-2008 EXERCISES OF CSTO WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN ARMENIA

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 25, 2008 Monday
Russia

The final fourth stage of joint command staff exercises Rubezh-2008
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was accomplished
at the training range named after Marshal Bagramyan in Armenia. About
2,500 servicemen of the armed forces of Armenia and Russia, armored
vehicles, artillery, air defense systems and aviation including
MiG-29 fighters, Su-25 attack airplanes and Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters
participated in the exercises with firing practice. The scenario of
the exercises included actions for defeating subversive groups of the
enemy, artillery and aviation support of troops, liquidation of armored
vehicles of the enemy, counterattack and pursuing of the retreating
enemy. The exercises were crowned with a tactical landing operation.

ABOUT 18 THOUSAND HECTARE ARABLE LAND WILL BE IRRIGATED SOON
Svetlana Khachatryan

Azat Artsakh Daily
20 Aug 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

During the visit to Martakert region, the NKR President visited
also some building sites.The head of the country first was in the
site of construction of Nor Maragha-Martakert open land irrigation
channel. Starting from Khachen reservoir, the irrigation channel
will irrigate about 1500 hectare arable land including Haykadzhur,
Nor Maragha, Nor Karmiravan villages.Construction of the irrigation
channel will finish till the end of the year. It, in case of working
with full power, will be possible to irrigate about 15 thousand
hectare arable land. Construction of a new school in Vaghuhas will
begin in 2009 Today 108 pupils learn in Vaghuhas., but the number
of classrooms is not sufficient and they are small. There are 84
children till 6 years old, so the question of kinder-garden is also
urgent.Taking into account the perspectives connected with the increase
of birth, by state budget of 2009 construction of a new school will
begin in Vaghuhas, which will be constructed between the two villages,
for the purpose of including also the pupils of Khnkavan. But the
old schoolbuilding will be restored for modern kinder-garden. The
community has a problem of communication In Nor Maragha, the
population hasn9 9t a chance to watch Armenian TVprograms. There is
also a telephone problem.

B.Sahakyan said, that this problem was being studied by a group of
specialists.A bit of patience and this question would be solved
in complex form. And what about telephone, it’s an easily solved
problem. And also water problem They know in Nor Maragha, that the
question of irrigating water will be solved soon, but drinking water
is still a problem.

The villagers suggest to set one-two artesian wells above the village.

"Regard, that there is decision, begin the works!",- said the NKR
President promising to assist them.

HACKERS CRASH ARMENIAN GOV’T WEBSITES

AzerNews Weekly
Aug 20 2008
Azerbaijan

A group of Azeri hackers has crashed the websites of the Armenian
Prosecutor-General`s Office, as well as all 18 cabinet ministries,
the Russian online publication, Gazeta.ru, reported.

The cyber-attack took place on August 12. A special coding installed
by the hackers redirects those entering the website to another web page
containing threatening statements against Armenia and Russia. Moreover,
the page has a story supporting Azeri judo wrestler Elnur Mammadli,
who has won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, and a pledge to
free Azeri territories from Armenian occupation.

Nonetheless, all the information and links from the Armenian
Prosecutor-General`s Office website were left intact.

The hackers warned they would continue waging the "cyber-war" until
Azerbaijan`s land is liberated.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN MERGES TWO AGENCIES INTO ONE STATE REVENUES COMMITTEE

ARMENPRESS
Aug 20, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sargsyan signed
today a decree to merge the State Taxation Service (STS) and the
State Customs Committee (SCC) into a single government affiliated
State Revenues Committee (SRC).

The president also instructed the government to adopt legal standards
stemming from the decree before January 1, 2009.

By another decree Serzh Sargsyan dismissed Vahram Barseghian from the
office of head of the State Taxation Service. The president signed
another decree to dismiss Gagik Khachatrian as head of the State
Customs Committee and appoint him as head of the State Revenues
Committee.

TURKISH FANS OF SPORT ASK TO OPEN THE ARMENIAN – TURKISH BORDER IN ONE DAY

armradio.am
20.08.2008 17:01

A group of Turkish young men asked the President of Turkey Abdullah
Gul to open the Igdir-Yerevan railway for a day. Mediamax agency
informs that the fans asked it to be able left for Yerevan to watch
the football match between Armenia and Turkey in September 6.

The fans, who want to support their national collective, announced
that the most profitable way to leave for Armenia is the railway.

At the same time the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador
of Turkey to Azeri Hulusy Kilik announced in Baku that Turkey will
not open its border with Armenia until the regional completeness of
Azeri is restored.

AZARBAYJANI BEATS ARMENIAN TO ADVANCE TO QUARTER-FINALS

Canwest News Service
August 18, 2008 Monday

BEIJING – Saeed Azarbayjani’s Canadian Olympic dream, 13 years in
the making, is off to an impressive start.

The 33-year-old from of St. Catharines, Ont., who left his native
Iran 13 years ago and fled to Canada as a refugee, dominated two-time
Olympian Martin Berberyan of Armenia 2-0 in round-of-16 action in
men’s 60-kg freestyle wrestling Tuesday at the China Agricultural
University Gymnasium.

Berberyan, 28, finished sixth at the 2000 Sydney Games and was also
a bronze medallist at the 2005 world championships.

"It was a great tactical match, but I thought he handled the pressure
very well," said Azarbayjani’s coach, Marty Calder. "(Monday) he
was pretty nervous, but (Tuesday) he settled down and wrestled a
fantastic match."

Interestingly, Azarbayjani’s quarter-final opponent later Tuesday
will be Iran’s Mohammadi Seyedmorad, the 2006 world champion in this
weight class.

"They just keep coming," Calder said. "It’s good competition at this
weight class, but so far, he looks great."

To qualify for the Olympics, Azarbayjani, the assistant wrestling
coach at Brock University, defeated three-time Canadian Olympian
and 1996 silver medallist Gia Sissaouri of Montreal at the Canadian
Olympic trials.

Las Vegas Review – Journal, NV

Aug. 17, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

LEFTOVERS: Wrestler’s protest clearly not ‘Greatest’

In his 1975 autobiography, "The Greatest: My Own Story," Muhammad Ali
claims he threw his boxing gold medal from the 1960 Rome Olympics —
back when he still was known as Cassius Clay — into the Ohio River in
a protest of racism in his native Louisville, Ky.

Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian won’t get the chance to chuck his
bronze into the Baltic Sea.

Abrahamian was disqualified and stripped of his medal Saturday for
dropping the prize in protest after a disputed loss at the Beijing
Games.

Abrahamian, 28, was punished by the International Olympic Committee
for violating the spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony,
becoming the fourth athlete kicked out of the Beijing Games and
bringing the number of medals removed to three.

Abrahamian became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his
semifinal match against Italian Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win
the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division Thursday.

During the medal ceremony, the Armenian-born Abrahamian — who also
lost a 2004 Olympic semifinal match on a disputed call — took the
bronze from around his neck and angrily dropped it on the mat as he
walked away. He did not take part in the rest of the medal ceremony.

The IOC executive board ruled Abrahamian’s actions amounted to a
political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow
athletes.

Abrahamian could always try changing his name and becoming heavyweight
champion of the world — it worked for "The Greatest." Ali received a
replacement medal during the 1996 Atlanta Games, where he lit the
Olympic torch.

¢ BIG D, LITTLE DRAMA —

It seemed a can’t-miss deal — HBO’s "Hard Knocks" series and the
Dallas Cowboys — but so far, it’s no big deal at all.

That’s the way it’s going down in Dallas, according to the Dallas
Morning News’ Barry Horn, who said HBO needs to start heating up the
action or the whole show is going to turn out to be one huge
snoozefest.

And this is from a heavyweight-branded franchise with such built-in
story lines as volatile receiver Terrell Owens, the heart-throbbing
Tony Romo-Jessica Simpson duo and wheeler-dealer owner Jerry Jones?

Sounds like a shame, so to help out, here are a couple of ideas:

Owens descends onto the playing field just before kickoff through the
hole in the stadium roof.

Simpson sings the national anthem, signs a free-agent contract,
becomes boyfriend Romo’s new batterymate.

Jones sells team to Ringling Brothers and becomes ringmaster.

JERSEY BOYS — About 60,000 Brett Favre No. 4 New York Jets jerseys
are about to hit the store shelves, according to ESPN’s Chris
Mortensen, who said NFL players, in their merchandising deal, get 6
percent from the sale of each jersey.

REVIEW-JOURNAL WIRE SERVICES

BOXING DAY 7 REVIEW: ANOTHER RUSSIAN CHAMPION CRASHES OUT

Beijing 2008
2008-08-16 00:07:31
China

(BEIJING, August 15) — For the most part, all the medal favorites
advanced to the next level as expected, with the notable exception
of bantamweight champion Sergey Vodopyanov, who lost to India’s
Akhil Kumar.

Bantamweight (54kg)

The bout between Russia’s Vodopyanov and Kumar turned out to be the
biggest surprise of the day. The score was tied 9-9 at the end of the
bout, but the judges ruled that the Indian had landed the most punches.

The 27-year-old Indian was trailing behind for most of the bout, but
from the third round, the Indian began to demonstrate his determination
and aggression, winning the last two rounds 3-2 and 2-1.

Vodopyanov burst into tears when the match referee raised Kumar’s
hand. After shocking the world champion, Kumar, the Indian medal hope
is only one fight away from an Olympic medal.

"No silver or bronze, but I will be fighting for the gold. It will
be my luck if I get a bronze or silver. But I will be fighting only
for the gold. I have been quite boastful, which I should not because
anything could happen. If you can win against a world champion, you
can also lose to a rookie. But my target is nothing but the gold,"
said a confident Kumar.

In his next match, Kumar will fight Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova,
who defeated China’s Gu Yu 13-6 in his last bout.

Mongolia’s Badar-Uugan Enkhbat posted an easy 9-2 win over Ireland’s
John Joseph Nevin, who eliminated Algeria’s Abdelhalim. Nevin is
usually recognized for his defensive skills, but he couldn’t evade
Enkhbat’s punches.

Thailand’s Worapo Petchkoom, the silver medalist at Athens 2004, easily
moved ahead with a 12-1 victory over Italy’s Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello.

Featherweight (57kg)

Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko defeated the reigning world and European
champion, Russia’s Albert Selimov in the first round. He demonstrated
again that he is a strong medal contender by smashing Uzbekistan’s
Bahodirjon Sultonov 13-1 in his second bout.

Cuba’s Idel Torriente, the Pan American Champion, edged out Mongolia’s
Enkhzorig Zorigtbaatar, the reigning Asian champion 10-9.

Lightweight (60kg)

Medal favorite in this weight class, Alexey Tishchenko of
Russia, secured a comfortable 11-3 win over Australia’s Anthony
Little. Tishchenko crushed Tunisia’s Saifeddine Nejmaoui 10-2 in his
first bout.

Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas destroyed a supposedly tough opponent, Italy’s
Domenico Valentino, with a 10-2 victory.

France’s Daouda Sow shocked Kim Song-guk of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea in his first bout, winning 13-3. Sow won his second
bout against Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza Gonzalez 13-9.

The other medal favorites in this weight class also advanced to
the quarterfinals as expected. Armenia’s Hrachik Javakhyan crushed
Nigeria’s Rasheed Olawale Lawal 13-0 and Colombia’s Darleys Perez
beat Kyrgyzstan’s Asylbek Talasbaev 15-4.

TOMORROW IN THE "VICTORY" PARK- SHOW WITH POLICEMEN

Panorama.am
14:08 15/08/2008

16 and 23 August are declared open-door days of Armenian police. The
arrengements will take place in the park of "Victory" under "Police
and the people are united" slogan. According to the Yerevan office
of the OSCE, the celebration will be hold in frames of the programme
conducted by OSCE office local police division and Arabkir police
department. Meanwhile, OSCE international police experts will also
take part in the arrengements in the "Victory" park.

Tommorow local police department and traffic police subdivision
will communicate with people. Children can sit in police cars, get
souvenirs and take photos with policemen. And on August 23, patrol
and invastigation divisions will also take part in the show.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, August 14, 2008

AGBU Tarouhy-Hovagimian School in Lebanon Graduates Record Number

On July 6, 2008, the graduation ceremony of AGBU Tarouhy-Hovagimian took
place in the AGBU Demirdjian Center near Beirut, Lebanon with the
largest-ever number of graduates, 56, who passed the Baccalaureate II
exams in General Science, Socioeconomics and Life Sciences, as well as
the Arts.

Principal Jirair Tanielian called this year’s graduating seniors "Ara
Topjian Graduates," in memory of the school’s founding principal, who
served the institution for forty years. After reflecting on Topjian’s
contribution to Tarouhy-Hovagimian, Tanielian gave statistical data that
demonstrated the high level of achievement of the school’s students.

AGBU Lebanon Chairman Avedis Demirdjian and AGBU Lebanon Board Member
Garbis Markarian joined Principal Tanielian in handing out the diplomas.
Those pupils having achieved high results were given gifts, generally
consisting of valuable publications and monetary allocations, by Fr.
Antranig Granian and Lebanese State Minister Jean Oghasapian.

The address in Armenian was given by Talar Der Vartanian who stressed
the importance of firmly holding on to the Armenian language and the
culture it generates. The address in Arabic was given by Sezan
Kirishjian, who expressed gratitude, on behalf of her classmates, for
the education they received and the rich lives of Lebanese Armenians.

This year’s program included the recitation of an original poem by Tamar
Sarkis, which was selected by Lebanon’s Department of Education’s poetry
contest judges as one of the top 10 poems out of submissions from over
600 Lebanese schools. This was an exceptional achievement, given the
fact that Tarouhy-Hovagimian was the only Armenian school represented.
Tamar’s recitation earned hearty applause from the audience.

The farewell address to the graduates was delivered by Very Rev. Fr.
Antranig Granian. He spoke in a simple and heartfelt manner, exhorting
them not to forget their national origin and obligations as Armenians.
He counseled the students not to be afraid of being different from
others, to love mankind, to love God and love their fellow compatriots.

A large number of student awards were handed out in various categories,
including "model student," and for various subjects, including Armenian
language, Armenian history, science, English, and Arabic. Top students
in both the junior and senior high schools were also recognized for
their accomplishments.

The program concluded with words of thanks from the administration
delivered by Avedis Chakmakian.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually serving some
400,000 Armenians on six continents.