Author: Jalatian Sonya

PIPE CLEANS UP THANKS TO BIG-RACE DEFECTIONS
Ron Cox in Exeter

The Guardian
Wednesday November 7, 2007

· Pablo lifts Gold Cup after champion chaser’s exit
· Trainer not keen on Paddy Power Chase for winner

When Voy Por Ustedes, the two-mile champion chaser, was a late defector
from the William Hill Gold Cup here yesterday, closely followed
by Twist Magic, who has been touted as the next top two-miler, the
collective sighs from the Exeter executive could be heard around the
west country.

One local not complaining, however, was trainer David Pipe, whose
Pablo Du Charmil made the short journey from his Nicholashayne base
in Somerset to plunder the Grade Two prize and a winner’s purse of
nearly £40,000.

"We wouldn’t have run if Voy Por Ustedes was here, as we would have
been 7lb wrong in the weights," said Pipe. "I told Joe [Moran, the
owner] we weren’t running but after the top weight came out he said
we had made the right decision. He had walked the track and said it
was nice, safe ground."

With a roll of honour that includes winners of the calibre of Best
Mate, Edredon Bleu and Azertyuiop, the William Hill Gold Cup has earned
its status as one of jump racing’s early-season highlights. Pablo
Du Charmil may not go down as one of chasing’s greats, but he gave
a packed grandstand plenty to shout about.

Under an attacking ride from Tom Scudamore, the six-year-old grabbed
an early lead which he never relinquished. Turning into the home
straight with a healthy advantage, he kept up the gallop to hold off
Royal Shakespeare for a three-lengths victory.

"Tom chucked him at the last and he came up for him like a brave
horse," said Pipe. Hill’s cut Pablo Du Charmil from 25-1 to 16-1
for the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday week, but Pipe said he was
"not keen" on going for that.

Fair Along, who stayed on to finish third after an untidy round of
jumping, will probably go "left-handed and over 2½ miles next time"
according to his trainer, Philip Hobbs, but the Paddy Power did not
figure in immediate plans either. "It suits him to be out in front,
which he didn’t get here," said Hobbs. "But he didn’t jump as well
as he can and we’ll need time to put that right."

Hobbs, who notched a double with Shanxi Girl and Templer, confirmed
that the Ascot Hurdle later this month will be Detroit City’s first
chance this season to bounce back from his dismal efforts at Cheltenham
and Aintree in the spring. "He seems in good form," said Hobbs. "But
we’ll have to see. He takes a lot of work and he’ll have three weeks’
hard graft ahead."

Kevin Bishop, who was out of luck with Gumley Gale in the penultimate
race here, said his stable star Ashley Brook, who began his chasing
career with an impressive win on this card three years ago, will be
given an entry for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Ashley Brook suffered a puncture wound to his hind fetlock when
he came down when leading four fences from home in the Old Roan
Chase. "Paddy [Brennan] said he still had plenty of running left in
him," said Bishop. "There’s a way to go with him yet, which probably
rules out the Tingle Creek at Sandown. But we will certainly consider
the King George."

Jim Old kicked off his season through Counting House in the
williamhillcasino.com Novice Hurdle. The 5-4 favourite seemed none
the worse for finishing second at Ascot on Saturday and sat on the
shoulder of Armenian Boy as the pair drew clear. Counting House, trying
an extra three furlongs here, stamped his authority on proceedings
in the home straight under Jason Maguire.

Ron Cox’s tip of the day

Points Of View 7.20 Kempton

Seb Sanders looks to have a fine chance of cutting Jamie Spencer’s lead
in the jockeys’ title race by at least one today on this two-year-old
who will be well suited by the step up to a mile. The selection left
his previous form behind when winning what looked an above-average
nursery over seven furlongs at Kempton last week and should be
supported to defy his 6lb penalty for that success.

–Boundary_(ID_vjpp25sNcLRKae4mbwwAqg)–

MRS. HALONEN HOPES PROGRESS WILL BE REGISTERED IN THE KARABAKH ISSUE DURING OSCE FINNISH PRESIDENCY

armradio.am
07.11.2007 10:58

"I’m optimistic that during Finnish presidency of the OSCE we shall be
able to move forward the process of the Karabakh conflict settlement,"
Finland’s President Tarja Halonen said during a joint press conference
with visiting President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan.

According to her, Finland is properly preparing to assume the OSCE
presidency next year, and having been involved in the settlement
process ever since 1990, it is well-familiar with the Karabakh issue.

"We understand the special interest of the Armenian people in the
issue, and now I can state that we shall be trying to intensify
the process," Mrs. Halonen said. Expressing the satisfaction of the
Finnish side with the visit of President Robert Kocharyan and the
Armenian official delegation, she noted there are three reasons for
this. First, the relations between Armenia and Finland are very good,
and these must be reinforced in the future. The second reason is
associated with the Finnish presidency of the OSCE next year. The
third reason is Armenia’s being a country of the Black Sea region,
and the European Union seeks to establish close ties with these
states. The President of Finland attached importance to personal
ties as well: during her visit to Armenia two years ago Halonen had
a number of remarkable meetings. According to the Finnish President,
all the above-mentioned directions were discussed during the meeting
with Robert Kocharyan.

Thanking for warm reception, RA president Robert Kocharyan noted
that the whole framework of bilateral relations was discussed during
the negotiations. He reconfirmed the willingness of the Armenian
side to develop the bilateral relations with Finland and expressed
appreciation for the fact that an opportunity has been provided to
continue the political dialogue established years ago.

CBA RAISES ANNUAL REFINANCING RATE TO 5.25%

ARKA
Nov 5, 2007

YEREVAN, November 5. /ARKA/. The Board of the Central Bank of Armenia
(CBA) made a decision on November 2 to raise the refinancing rate by
0.25pct to 5.25% annual percentage rate. The new refinancing policy
(on November 2 and earlier on October 2) aims at balancing the
inflationary pressure, the CBA press service reports.

According to the CBA Board members, despite revaluation of the Armenian
Dram (AMD), the recent unprecedented increase of world prices of oil,
crops, vegetable oil and ghee caused high inflationary pressure on
the Armenian market.

However, members of CBA Board believe it is impossible to balance the
external inflationary pressure by monetary instruments. At the same
time, they are apt to think that repeated influence of such external
factors resulting in high rates of consumption and extensive influence
of expected budget expenditures will cause inflationary pressure in
the future.

3.1% inflation was recorded in Armenia in October 2007 (against
September).

As a result, the annual inflation (in October 2007 as compared to
October 2006) totaled 5.7%, exceeding by 0.2pct the upper notch of
the target (4±1.5%).

According to the RA sate budget, 4% (±1.5%) inflation is planned by
late 2007

–Boundary_(ID_3KQXS94qCS+IdIM5PFsqOQ)–

ARMENIA WISHES WELFARE FOR THE OSCE

Lragir.am
05-11-2007 15:27:18

The foreign minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan commented on the
notorious document signed by some pro-Russian CIS governments,
including Armenia, on an initiative of Russia, and presented to the
OSCE. The document was a proposal on sending fewer OSCE election
observers to the CIS countries.

During a news conference on November 5 the Armenian reporters
asked the CoE Secretary General Terry Davis to comment on this
initiative. However, the Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan
also wanted to answer this question. He said the document had been
perceived wrongly. According to the Armenian foreign minister, the
proposal refers to the OSCE long-term missions which are financed from
the OSCE budget. To relieve the financial burden of the budget, as
Vardan Oskanyan says, a proposal was made to cut long-term observation
missions to 50 observers.

According to Vardan Oskanyan, it will not affect Armenia in any
way because so far not more than 30 observers have been included
in the OSCE long-term observation mission for observing different
elections. Vardan Oskanyan also said Armenia has joined this proposal
only to increase the effectiveness of the OSCE observation missions.

As to Terry Davis, he said he hopes this initiative will not affect
observation of elections in Armenia but he also said it might be better
if the OSCE answers this question, while he preferred to speak about
the CoE observation mission. He said before the presidential election
the CoE is going to implement a ten-point program which will focus
on the freedom of the media. According to the CoE Secretary General,
it is not important what the media report two or three weeks before
the election. It is important what they report three or four months
before the election because it affects the decision of voters. Davis
also said this program is implemented together with the Armenian
government because they do not imposing but they help if they are
expected to help. The CoE Secretary General also said the election
is not only the voting day but also the period preceding it.

EUROPEAN OFFICIAL REFERS TO KARABAKH AS SEPARATISTS

Lragir.am
05-11-2007 14:41:38

The local election held in Karabakh a few weeks ago, unlike the
previous election, was not criticized by the Council of Europe, the
reporters reminded Terry Davis visiting Armenia, who is the secretary
general of the Council of Europe, on November 5. Why this time the
CoE did not criticize the NKR local election, the Armenian reporters
asked Davis with irony.

The CoE Secretary General admitted that this time the CoE did not
utter a critical word for the election. He added, however, that the
Nagorno-Karabakh regime is not recognized by the world, and if he
does not condemn the local election, it does not mean he recognizes
it. According to Terry Davis, if he reacts to every similar thing
taking place in the world, time may not be enough. The CoE Secretary
General went so far as to compare it with the barring of a gay parade,
saying that he does not necessarily need to make a statement condemning
the prohibition. Sometimes silence is the best way of expressing
disagreement, says the secretary general of the Council of Europe,
who perhaps does not know that in the Armenian culture it is quite
the opposite, and silence is a sign of approval.

The reporters also asked why Terry Davis refers to Karabakh as a
regime while he does not refer similarly to Kosovo. Davis explained
that there is a major difference between Karabakh and Kosovo. The
CoE Secretary General says there is no separatist regime in Kosovo,
the United Nations rules there.

Terry Davis says he understands that some in Kosovo want to
separate from Serbia but it is not the government. He compares the
Nagorno-Karabakh government with Abkhazia, Transdniestr and other
similar subjects, referring to them as separatist regimes.

Protest as memorial is unveiled

Story from BBC NEWS:
7075899.stm

Published: 2007/11/03 15:50:14 GMT

Members of the Turkish community protested at the unveiling of a plaque
to a genocide they say never happened.
The Armenian genocide of 1915 at the time of the Ottoman Empire has
been a source of deep division between Turkish and Armenian communities
worldwide.

Armenians say 1.5m were killed, through systematic massacres or
starvation, a claim denied by the Turkish community.

Saturday’s unveiling at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff events saw
feelings running high on both sides.

Welsh assembly Presiding Officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas was at the
unveiling of the plaque which has been paid for by donations from the
Wales Armenia Society.

‘Slandered’

Members of the Turkish community insist that erecting the memorial
amounted to racism.

Protestor Levent Hassan said: "It’s a question of our ancestors being
accused of genocide."

"If such a genocide took place, then let’s prove it and let all
concerned commemorate those horrible events," he added.

"But if there isn’t – why should we allow our ancestors to be slandered
in such a way."

The monument stands in the gardens of the Temple of Peace on what is
said to be the UK’s first piece of public land donated for an Armenian
memorial.

Ahead of the ceremony, Welsh assembly Presiding Officer Dafydd
Elis-Thomas said Wales’s relationship with Armenia "went back
centuries".

He receive a marble cross, or khatchkar, on behalf of Wales at the
unveiling ceremony.

Welsh interest

Lord Elis-Thomas joined members of the Armenian and Christian
communities on Saturday.

"The fact that the funds for this fine memorial have been raised
entirely by the Armenians who live in Wales and that it will occupy a
special place here in the Temple of Peace, reflects the vibrant Welsh
interest in the history of Armenia," he said.

The Welsh Centre for International Affairs, which is located at the
Temple of Peace, is a forum which seeks to promote human rights and
international understanding.

Steven Thomas, its director, sad: "We’ve held events at the Temple of
Peace over the past seven years to note the Armenian genocide,
including parts of ceremonies we’ve held for National Holocaust
Remembrance Day in January each year. "

However, he said there had been a "much bigger response" to the
monument because the commemoration to the Armenians would literally be
set in stone.

HEAD OF CIVIL SERVICE COUNCIL IS SURE THAT PROTECTIONISM FACTOR IS NOT A FREQUENT PHENOMENON WHEN SELECTING CADRES

arminfo
2007-11-02 15:59:00

ArmInfo. Protectionism factor is not a frequent phenomenon when
selecting cadres of civil service, the head of Civil Service Council
Manvel Badalyan told Arminfo correspondent when commenting on the
results of monitoring and selection of cadres of civil service.

, – Badalyan said.

Nevertheless we should say that according to the results of the
monitoring held by the Armenian Union of State Employees together
with Civil Service Council and financed of the OSCE Yerevan office
and EurAsia Foundation, the major part of respondents (30%) called
protectionism as one of the problems which is still relevant today
when giving job to somebody or holding review.

ARMENIAN DRAFT STATE BUDGET PROVIDES $376,5 MILLION FOR DEFENSE SECTOR

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.11.2007 14:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian draft state budget for fiscal year
2008 provides 122 billion AMD (over $376,5 million) for defense sector.

The figure exceeds the 2007 index with 20%, RA Defense Minister Mikael
Harutyunyan said adding that the funds will be spent on raising the
army efficiency and integration of new equipment.

"Military’s salary will be raised with some 10%.

Officers will be paid some 182,000 AMD. Junior officer staff will
receive some 110,000 AMD. Contract militants’ salary will make some
90,000 while civil servants are supposed to be paid some 60,000,"
he said.

"Next year we also planning to provide some 600 apartments for the
officer staff," he added.

3 mln AMD will spent on improving living conditions of the families of
disabled and killed servicemen. "The efficiency of our Armed Forces
will be maintained. Our army will defend our territory, our state
and Nagorno Karabakh," the Minister said, IA Regnum reports.

AZERBAIJAN: NEWSPAPER EDITOR SENTENCED OVER ARTICLE ABOUT POSSIBLE US ATTACK ON IRAN

Center for Research on Globalization, Canada
Global Research, November 1, 2007
Pravda
Source: Associated Press
Nov 2 2007

Eynulla Fatullayev, an Azerbaijani newspaper editor was sentenced to
8½ years in prison. He sent to the press an article asserting that
the ex-Soviet nation could support a U.S. attack on neighboring Iran.

The Court for Grave Crimes convicted Eynulla Fatullayev, the founder
and editor of the Russian-language weekly Real Azerbaijan and the
Azeri-language daily Everyday Azerbaijan, on charges of making a
terrorist threat and inciting interethnic conflict.

Fatullayev denounced the court’s verdict as politically driven.

"That’s evidence of political pressure on me as a journalist," he said.

Fatullayev’s case is the latest in a series of prosecutions of
independent media figures in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation that
have raised concerns in the West.

The charges against Fatullayev were filed in response to the article
in Real Azerbaijan which claimed that Azerbaijan’s President Ilham
Aliev could support a U.S. military action against Iran.

The article, written under an alias, listed sites in Azerbaijan that
could be attacked by Iran if Baku were to support Washington in the
event of military action against Iran.

Aliev’s government has cultivated close ties with Washington and
contributed troops to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, and charges
against Fatullayev reflected official concerns about angering Iran.

Tehran has feared a U.S. attack and threatened to strike back at
any country that cooperates with it. The Azerbaijan government has
pledged its territory won’t be used for military action against
Iran, but people living along the border were nervous, pointing to
a U.S.-built radar facility and the upgrading of an airport near the
border with Iran. Both projects are U.S.-financed.

Both Fatullayev’s newspapers were forced to suspend publication in
the spring after authorities had evicted them from their offices.

Fatullayev has been in prison since April when he was sentenced to
2½ years in prison on charges of disseminating false information
related to the country’s six-year war with Armenia over the territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Previously, Fatullayev had received a two-year suspended sentence
for libeling a top law enforcement official.

Aliev, who took over from his father in a 2003 election denounced
by opponents as a sham, has faced persistent criticism over the
heavy-handed treatment of independent media and opposition parties.

ontext=va&aid=7238

–Boundary_(ID_Q1E0FQAy34Y JiNsCbv2oYg)–

ARMENIAN IMMIGRANT’S 100TH BIRTHDAY IS TIME FOR REFLECTION
By Arya Hebbar, Correspondent

San Mateo County Times, CA
Nov 2 2007

The Janjigian household in Saratoga is abuzz with preparations and
the arrival of family for a 100th birthday celebration.

Laughter and lively conversation, in voices young and old, flow through
the open door leading to the neat garden where Nevart Karagozian sits
quietly, even though she is the focus of the excitement. Karagozian,
an Armenian who came to America when she was 12, is celebrating her
100th birthday the next day.

"Oh my. Big party," she says when her daughter Florence Janjigian
reminds her about the impending celebration. Asked how it feels to be
100 years old, she says in accented English, "Same as yesterday. No
different," and chuckles.

But Karagozian’s early days were quite different from the comfort
and security she has enjoyed in recent decades. And the birthday
celebration is clouded by memories of a ravaged homeland and the
lingering desire for justice. Karagozian is one of the hundreds of
thousands of Armenians who fled their homeland in the wake of the
mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago. And she is among
those who hope their new country – America – will formally recognize
the mass slaughter of their ancestors as genocide.

Janjigian is sad that the vote on the resolution has been postponed.

There are few survivors of that era remaining and she fears soon
there will be no eyewitnesses left.

When her granddaughter asks Karagozian about Turkey denying the
genocide, Karagozian leans forward on her wheelchair

ountytimes/localnews/ci_7349885