Author: Hovhannisian John

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).

IF TURKEY DOES NOT RATIFY ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS, ARMENIA HAS NO UNILATERAL OBLIGATION TO DO SO, EDWARD SHARMAZANOV SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 6, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. IF the Foreign Relations Committee
of the Turkish parliament does not release a positive recommendation
about the Armenia-Turkey protocols by December 7, the Turkish prime
minister will not be given a cordial welcome in Washington, moreover,
he will not be received at all. Sposkesman for the Republican Party of
Armenia (RPA) Edward Sharmazanov made this statement at the November
6 press conference. In his words, the fact that U.S. has always
welcomed RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s policy full of initiative
and has repeatedly said that Armenian-Turkish normalization should
proceed without any preconditions gives an occasion to think so.

"To establish relations with Turkey at any price is not our goal," E.

Sharmazanov said. According to him, in the 21st century, it is
necessary and appropriate for any European country to have open
borders. "Let Turkey decide whether it corresponds to the standards
of a European state or not," RPA’s spokesman noted. He said that
if Turkey does not ratify the protocols, Armenia has no unilateral
obligation to do so.

Speaking about the Karabakh conflict, E. Sharmazanov said he does
not see its resolution in the near future because the problem is
very complex. "The issue of status is the most important one. The
Azerbaijanis should put the idea of Karabakh’s being part of Azerbaijan
out of their heads," he declared. E. Sharmazanov also advised the
Turks to think about the fact that they have occupied 37% of the
territory of Cyprus, and only after that to demand some territories
for Azerbaijan from Armenia.

ARMENIA TO BENEFIT FROM UPPER LARS CHECKPOINT

news.am
nov 6 2009
Armenia

The opening of the Upper Lars checkpoint depends in Russia’s consent
to lift, or at least mitigates, the embargo on Georgian products,
Shirak Torosyan, the Head of the Javakhk Union and member of the RA
Parliament, told NEWS.am.

He stressed that Armenia is the first to get economic benefits from
the opening of the checkpoint, as it is the only road connecting
Armenia with Russia. "Moreover, almost simultaneous opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border and the Upper Lars checkpoint ill create
transit competition in the region, which, in turn, cause a fall
in cargo transportation prices both in Georgia and in Turkey,"
Torosyan said.

The Armenian, Russian and Georgian Foreign Offices confirmed a
trilateral meeting in Yerevan, which discussed the opening of the
Upper Lars checkpoint, with Armenia acting as mediator. A source at
the Georgian Foreign Office pointed out that Georgia will open the
checkpoint provided Russia removed the embargo on Georgian products.

In its turn, the Russian Foreign Office refutes Georgia’s
preconditions. The Armenian Foreign Office welcomed the possibility
of a compromise.

The land border between Russia and Georgia was closed in 2006 after
Russian officers were arrested in Tbilisi on a charge of espionage.

Russia imposed an embargo on Georgian products and closed the Upper
Lars checkpoint pleading the construction of a new terminal. Late last
year, Moscow informed the Georgian Foreign Office that the construction
had been completed and the terminal designed to serve 400 vehicles
daily opened. The Georgian side, however, demanded negotiations in
Geneva, through Swiss mediation, which proved unacceptable to Moscow.

NATO SUPPORTS ARMENIA-TURKEY NORMALIZATION

Interfax
Nov 5 2009
Russia

NATO supports Armenia-Turkey normalization, Special Representative of
the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus Robert Simmons said.

He also confirmed NATO support for the OSCE Minsk Group settling the
Karabakh conflict.

Simmons met with Armenian National Security Council Secretary Artur
Bagdasarian in Yerevan on Thursday.

The sides stressed the importance of opening a crisis management
center in Armenia, border security and more profound cooperation in
the suppression of terrorism and organized crime.