Author: Hovhannisian John

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA SIGNED THE LAW "ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW NUCLEAR POWER BLOCK"

ARKA
NOVEMBER 17, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, November 17. /ARKA/. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
signed the law "On construction of new nuclear power block (blocks)".

The law adopted by National Assembly of Armenia on October 27 envisages
opportunity of construction of new nuclear power defines the main
requirements of the construction space and security, construction and
exploitation of the block (blocks), liabilities of the Government of
Armenia and outreach of population.

For the construction of nuclear power block in Armenia about $4-5
billion is needed. The cost of construction depends on the capacity of
power block and will be known after finalization of construction works.

Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Energy of Armenia said that in case of
right organization of preparation process and construction of new
power block with capacity of 1-1.2 thousand MVt, there will not be
any problem with funding.

All preliminary studies showed that the most optimal option is
construction of new power block (blocks) on the basis of functioning
Armenian Nuclear Power Station. Moreover, its capacity is 400 MVt
when the space of the station envisages exploitation of the block
with the capacity of 1.2 thousand MVt.

The operating Armenian Nuclear Power Station is located near the city
Metsamor (approximately 20-30 km to South from Yerevan). The station
is functioning since 1976.

ARMENIAN MEDIA: THE NEXT MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS WILL BE HELD IN MUNICH

APA
Nov 16 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. The next meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan may be held in
Munich, APA reports quoting Armenia’s news.am website.

news.am reports that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs visit the region this
week to organize the meeting.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov had said the presidents’
next meeting would be held in a European city, the date and place of
the visit would be known soon.

The minister said he had no information that the mediators would
visit the region again.

GOVERNMENT TO SUPERVISE QUALITY OF WATER IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-11-16 11:56:00

ArmInfo. Parliament of Armenia has amended the Law On National Water
Program in the first reading on Monday.

Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia Aram Haroutiunyan says quality
of water in Armenia needs improvement. This amendment aims to prevent
pollution of water resources and improvement of water quality in the
country. The Government of Armenia and not Standardization Department
will set the water quality norms.

GEORGE BENSON – ROMANTIC OF THE ROAD

ArmInfo
2009-11-12 17:58:00

ArmInfo. The sole concert of the legendary George Benson is expected
in Yerevan today on November 12.

Earlier today George Benson said in a press conference in Yerevan that
he has prepared rather rich concert program for his fans. Everyone has
his own ideas of George Benson’s music, he said and promised not to
disappoint anyone’s expectations. G. Benson admitted that every time
he tries to leave popular music for traditional jazz, he gets new
enemies. He is sure that traditional jazz like classical music will
never die. The musician said he likes improvising music which makes
jazz different and quite new and fresh every time it is performed.

According to Benson, he is a romantic and likes novelties and
creation. His family of 7 sons and 8 grandchildren is the best source
of inspiration for George Benson.

George Benson (born March 22, 1943) is a Grammy Award winning American
musician, whose recording career began at the age of twenty-one as
a jazz guitarist. At age ten he was heard by a talent scout and this
discovery led to his first recording, the R&B song "She Makes Me Mad,"
on the RCA label. He is also known as a pop, R&B, and scat singer.

This one time child prodigy topped the Billboard 200 in 1976 with the
triple-platinum album, Breezin’. He was also a major live attraction
in the UK during the 1980s. In lare 70s and 80s Benson was focusingon
pop, but early in 90s he returned back to classic jazz standards and
acoustics. This period of his creation, he cooperated with the famous
Count Basie – Orchestra and then he created his own Big Boss Band.

Georgie Benson’s concert in Yerevan will be held under auspices of
President Serzh Sargsyan and with support of the Armenian Culture
Ministry and Prospects of the 21st Century Festival.

THERE WILL BE NO TWO-DIGIT ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA IN COMING YEARS, IMF REPRESENTATIVE FORECASTS

NOYAN TAPAN
NOVEMBER 12, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The loans provided by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Armenia are usually used by the
Central Bank of Armenia (IMF) for replenishing its international
reserve fund, the IMF Representative to Armenia Nienke Oomes said
at the November 12 press conference. According to her, the Executive
Board of the IMF on October 30 approved a tranche of 60 million USD
to Armenia, which will also be provided for the replenishment of
the CBA’s reserve fund. N. Oomes announced that 480 million of the
promised 820 million-dollar loan has already been allocated to Armenia.

Commenting on the economic situation in Armenia, N. Oomes noted that
in the first nine months of 2009, GDP contracted by 18.3% which is a
"negative index". However, the decline stopped in September and a
1.7% growth was recorded. The GDP growth will be maintained in the
next three months, she forecast. In her words, the 18.3% decline in
GDP was caused by difficulties in construction sector in connection
with the global crisis. Another cause, according to her, is that
being cautious of the crisis, people stopped making investments in
the real estate market.

N. Oomes said the state revenues considerably fell in Armenia in the
first nine months of 2009 due to the financial and economic crisis. In
addition, there was a growth in state expenditures, and as a result,
the budget deficit increased to 7.5%. She forecast that in 2010,
the budget deficit will make up 5.8% of GDP, while GDP growth will
make 1.2% in 2010 and 3% in 2011. She said no double-digit economic
growth is expected in Armenia in the coming years.

RAILWAY PREPARED FOR ARMENIA-TURKEY BORDER OPENING, SAYS TRANSPORT MINISTER

Tert
Nov 11 2009
Armenia

Armenia has three routes to Turkey, two of which are roadways
(Akhurik, Markara), while the other is a railway. In the event of
the Armenia-Turkey border opening, Armenia can implement railway
transportation in 1-2 days, since Armenia’s railway system has been
completely maintained and is operational, said Minister of Transport
and Communications Gurgen Sargsyan at a press conference today.

The minister noted that the widths of the Armenian and Turkish
railways are different and Armenia’s railway cars are unable to
pass through Turkey. There are two options to this predicament:
the minister noted that either the railway cars will be changed or
the freight will be moved from one set of railway cars to another
(as they pass from Armenia through Turkey).

THE LATEST BOOK OF ORHAN PAMUK WAS PUBLISHED IN THE US

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.11.2009 18:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Masumiyet Muzesi" (The Museum of Innocence) by
Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, who won the Nobel prize, was translated
into English and released in the United States.

Pamuk met his readers at a culture and arts center in New York, and
read extracts from his book. "Masumiyet Muzesi" tells the story of
Kemal and his distant relative Fusun, whom he loves. Starting in 1975,
it recounts their story until our day.

Pamuk is planning to open a museum named "Masumiyet Muzesi" in
Istanbul. The museum is expected to make a poetic and documentary
representation of the culture of Istanbul from 1950s until the present
day, through various objects used in daily life, photographs, paintings
and movies.

One of Turkey’s most prominent novelists, Orhan Pamuk’s works have
sold over seven million books in more than fifty languages. Pamuk
is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Nobel
Prize in Literature in 2006 – the first Nobel Prize to be awarded to
a Turkish citizen, Anatolian News agency reported.

ORANGE ARMENIA GIVES EXPLANATIONS CONCERNING ITS INTERNET TARIFFS

Arminfo
2009-11-09 18:38:00

ArmInfo. Orange Armenia has given explanations concerning the internet
tariffs published Nov 5.

The press service of the company reports that the Internet Now modem
for WF internet will be provided at symbolic 1 AMD price only against
1-year subscription. This contract implies no other expenses (35,000
AMD or anything else). If no 1-year contract is concluded, the modem
will be provided for 35,000 AMD but the subscriber will be able to
use it only inside the Orange network.

There are three tariffs for Internet Now: 9,000 AMD, 11,000 AMD and
20,000 AMD with respective traffic limits of 3, 6 and 15 Gb. When
the limit is exceeded, the subscriber can use internet at standard
128 Kbps speed. Orange Armenia also offers additional packages of 20,
50 and 100 free of charge SMS with the cost of more messages to be 15
AMD per SMS. If the limit is exceeded during the month, the subscriber
can use Once More service: as much internet as on the three initial
plans but for 6,000 AMD.

Orange Armenia started up on Nov 5. It is subsidiary of France Telecom
in Armenia.

CAFESJIAN ART CENTER OPENS IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Nov 10, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The opening
ceremony of the Cafesjian Art Center took place in Yerevan on November
7. The Center is located in the so-called Cascade area well familiar to
Yerevan residents. Within the framework of this ceremony, the triptych
of monumental frescos by the famous Armenian painter Grigor Khanjian,
the first exhibition of the Armenian American painter Arshil Gorky in
Yerevan, and the display of art glass works by Libensky and Brikhtova
were opened at the Center. The opening ceremony was attended by RA
President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II,
ministers, other high-ranking officials.

The idea of the Cascade Complex was conceived by the author of the
first Master Plan of Yerevan, architect Alexander Tamanian who wanted
to link the northern and southern parts of the city with each other.

The project, however, was forgotten and later carried out in the 1970s
by the Chief Architect of Yerevan Jim Torosian, but after the 1988
Spitak earthquake and the collapse of the Soviet Union the structure
remained incomplete for over a decade. The new phase in the Cascade’s
history began in 2002 when the Armenian American philanthropist Gerard
Cafesjian initiated the 7-year reconstruction of the Cascade.

GUAM PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OPENS ITS FOURTH SESSION IN TBILISI

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.11.2009 18:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ GUAM Parliamentary Assembly opens its fourth
session today in Sheraton Metakhi Palace hotel, Tbilisi. Assembly’s
extended session will kick off on November 9, bringing together
assembly delegates from Baltic states and experts. Adoption of final
document and joint press-conference is scheduled for November 10,
Novosti-Gruzia reports.

GUAM is a regional organization established in October 1997 by Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova (in 1999-2005, Uzbekistan was also
member of the organization).