Author: Kafian Jirair

PLANE ON FIRE

A1+
14 February, 2008

On 14 February at about 04.19 a.m. the plane "CRG 100" belonging to
"BelAvia" caught fire when it was going to fly. Only the 3 members
of the staff and 18 passengers were on the plane.

11 passengers got various corporal injures and were taken to "Malatia"
medical center. 6 of them were discharged from the hospital receiving
first medical aid and 5 injured passengers were moved to "Armenia"
medical center. The employees of the hospital informed that they all
got concussions of the brain. The staff did not suffer.

ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE WORKING GROUP RECEIVED 41 ALERTS ON CAMPAIGN VIOLATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.02.2008 18:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia took
to consideration today the suit of the presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, who demands to recognize as "insuperable" the obstacles,
which arose on his way of continuing the pre-election campaign.

"The appeal of Ter-Petrosyan’s representatives to the Constitutional
Court is authorized," CC Chairman Gagik Harutyunyan said.

Meanwhile, Heritage party led by Raffi Hovannisian announced support
to presidential hopeful Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

HayPost concluded the delivery of election notifications in the
whole territory of Armenia, HayPost CJSC Director General Hans Boon
stated today.

Addressing the HayPost employees, Hans Boon informed that all the
electors throughout the country received notifications on the date
of the elections and on the local polling station, in which they are
going to vote.

Working group of the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office in all
received 41 calls on the possible violations of law in the process
of the pre-election campaign, Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan said.

According to him, as a result of study of the facts, 11 criminal cases
are initiated – mainly on facts of hooliganism and waste of property.

Aghvan Hovsepyan noted that 20 out of 41 calls were received as a
result of study of media publications.

The characteristic peculiarity of many of the calls, according to the
Prosecutor General, is the abundance of lie. "Lie and slander became
an inseparable part of the pre-election tricks used, often directed
to discredit the law-enforcement bodies", Aghvan Hovsepyan stated,
elections2008.am.

In the Name of Democracy youth alliance will hold an exit-poll during
the presidential elections in Armenia on February 19. As the Deputy
Chairman of the alliance Gevorg Melikyan told a news conference in
Yerevan today, the exit-poll will be realized in 100 polling stations
of the country by 150 members of the organization.

According to him, the alliance plans to poll 2300 people or 0.1%
of the whole number of electors. Gevorg Melikyan stated that the
small number of participants of the poll is conditioned by the
absence of financial resource, since the alliance is not funded by
any international organization or a political party.

The results of the exit-poll will be publicized in 1.5-2 hours after
the conclusion of the elections.

OMAN INTERESTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TIES WITH ARMENIA

armradio.am
12.02.2008 17:08

On February 12 the newly appointed Ambassador of Oman Sheikh Abdullah
Zaher Al-Hussni presented the copies of his credentials to RA Deputy
Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanyan.

Greeting the Ambassador, the Deputy Foreign Minister wished him
success in carrying out his high mission and expressed hope that
Armenian-Omani relations will gain new quality in various spheres
during his tenure in office.

Turning to the centuries-old friendship of Armenian and Arab peoples,
the parties underlined that the interstate relations continue
successfully developing on that basis. Mr. Gharibjanyan noted that the
development of relations with the Arab world is one of the priority
directions of Armenia’s foreign policy.

The Ambassador stressed the positive attitude of the Omani side to
the further development of bilateral political and economic relations,
particularly the implementation of investment programs.

RUPEL WELCOMES EU AND NATO ENLARGEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.02.2008 15:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose
country holds the rotating EU presidency, called on the European
Union on Saturday to sign more cooperation deals with Balkan states
over the next year.

"During our presidency and maybe during the next presidency we
should cover this area with European agreements, be it agreements on
association and stabilization, be it candidate status or accession
negotiation status," Rupel told a security conference in Munich.

"The EU and NATO should enlarge toward Southern and Eastern Europe,
Caucasus, Asia and Mediterranean basin. But the Yugoslavian crisis
should be resolved first of all," he said.

He said the EU should shoulder the responsibility for Kosovo while
Croatia and Turkey should work harder to join the Union.

"Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as
Albania should be embraced by NATO and EU enlargement. A dialogue
with Arab states is also essential," he said, ITAR-TASS reported.

KARABAKHI ANALYST THINKS RECOGNITION OF NAGORNYY KARABAKH FULLY-FLEDGED PARTY TO THE CONFLICT IS THE WAY OUT FROM DEADLOCK

arminfo
2008-02-11 11:05:00

Arminfo. Karabakhi analyst David Karabekyan thinks that Nagornyy
Karabakh should be recognized a fully-fledged party to the conflict as
this will promote taking the Karabakh settlement process from deadlock,
as he told Arminfo correspondent in Stepanakert.

He also added that "actually the intermediaries and the world community
should understand that at present security of Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh as well as their economy should not exist and develop isolated
especially in the conditions when Azerbaijan increases its military
expenditure, and regional and sun-regional integration processes are
developing". "For this reason, when resolving the problem of status,
security and borders the intermediaries should stem from the necessity
of definition of secure borders of Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh to
Azerbaijan, but not only of secure borders of Nagornyy Karabakh", –
Karabekyan concluded.

Interfax, Russia
Russia & CIS General Newswire
February 7, 2008 Thursday 2:53 PM MSK

Armenian electoral bodies working transparently – interim report

YEREVAN Feb 7

The CIS observer mission monitoring preparations ahead of the
presidential election in Armenia has made its first interim report on
Wednesday.

"Presidential candidates were nominated and registered in accordance
with the Armenian Election Code, in the spirit of political pluralism
and in line with the principles of competition and alternativeness,"
said the report, a copy of which was made available to Interfax.

All presidential candidates were given an equal opportunity to
conduct an open and public election campaign as required by the
country’s election laws, the document said.

The mission members who attended some of the campaign meetings
between presidential candidates and their voters said that the
authorities have ensured that presidential candidates can freely meet
with their voters.

CIS observers praised the Central Election Commission’s targeted
efforts in preparations ahead of the elections. CEC officials
traveled to every region of the country to train local election
officials and to brief them on the legal side of the elections. A
total of 1,923 polling stations have been set up within a statutory
time period. Election bodies are working openly and transparently, no
attempts by election officials to obstruct the work of the observers
have been detected. The observers came to this conclusion after
visiting 17 territorial election commissions in various towns across
Armenia. Visits to territorial election commissions have shown they
are well organized and prepared and have all equipment and
documentation required for holding the elections.

BAGHDASARIAN BRIEFS POLICE ON ‘DEATH THREATS’
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Feb 7 2008

Opposition presidential candidate Artur Baghdasarian met an Armenian
police general on Thursday to discuss election-related murder threats
which he claims to have received late last week.

Baghdasarian has so far not publicized details of the alleged threats,
indicating only that they emanated from the authorities.

Although Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian dismissed the claims as a
"pre-election trick" earlier this week, law-enforcement authorities
expressed their readiness to investigate them. The Office of the
Prosecutor-General formally summoned the leader of the opposition
Orinats Yerkir Party for questioning on Tuesday after a similar
invitation extended by the Armenian police.

According to Baghdasarian’s campaign manager, Heghine Bisharian,
the candidate received Major-General Hayk Militonian, head of the
criminal investigations directorate of the Police Service, in the
Orinats Yerkir headquarters in Yerevan. "Artur Baghdasarian presented
some information about and details of death threats addressed to him,"
she told RFE/RL without elaborating.

Bisharian said the two men also discussed "the need for a state
protection of Artur Baghdasarian."

The former parliament speaker told RFE/RL on Wednesday that another
law-enforcement agency, the National Security Service (NSS), offered
to provide him with bodyguards and that he accepted the offer.

Baghdasarian claimed to have been threatened with death amid growing
speculation that he might drop out of the presidential race in
favor of another opposition candidate, former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian. Baghdasarian has not ruled out such possibility,
saying that he is "actively" negotiating with Ter-Petrosian.

"Negotiations continue," he told RFE/RL as he campaigned in the
central town of Aparan earlier on Thursday.

EU WILL CONTINUE EFFORTS FOR CLOSURE OF NUCLEAR PLANT

Lragir, Armenia
Feb 6 2008

The EU commissioner of external relations Benita Ferrero Valdner
stated that the EU will continue efforts for the closure of the
nuclear plant. She says it is of great importance to them to have
the Armenian nuclear plant closed because the plant is already old.

According to her, the EU has contributed 30 million euros to
enhancement of safety but it is not enough.

According to the commissioner, the EU has not discussed the issue
of supporting the Armenian-Russian joint program of closure of the
Armenian nuclear plant.

PROCESSING FACILITY WILL BE SET UP IN STEPANAKERT

KarabakhOpen
06-02-2008 12:56:42

On February 5 the NKR prime minister met with Garik Sarukhanyan,
president of Artsakhfruit CJSC set up recently. The president of the
company told the prime minister about the preparations. He said the
processing facility will be operated in May. It is foreseen to invest
1.5 billion drams. The products will be bought at the average market
prices. The prime minister said the government is ready to assist the
company which will promote agriculture and export, the department of
information and public relations of the NKR government reports.

ROMNEY VOWS TO STAY IN REPUBLICAN RACE
Andrew Clark in Boston

Guardian Unlimited
Wednesday February 6, 2008

Mitt Romney shrugged off a gloomy mood among his supporters with a
defiant promise to fight on despite a disappointing night in which
he struggled to win more than a handful of states.

The former Massachusetts governor was squeezed by an unexpectedly
strong performance by Mike Huckabee, who snatched crucial votes from
hard-line conservatives who dislike the frontrunner, John McCain.

At Boston’s convention centre, there was a sense of despondency among
many of Romney supporters despite upbeat blasts of rock tunes such as
"Don’t Stop Believing".

Flanked by his wife Ann and several of his five sons, Romney declared:
"The one thing that’s clear is that this campaign is going on."

"There some people who thought it was all going to be done tonight,"
said Romney. "But it’s not all going to be done. We’re going to keep
battling, we’re going to go all the way to the convention and we’re
going to win the White House."

Cheers at the Romney rally were few and far between. The crowd perked
up on news of victories in Massachusetts and Utah. But early hopes
of victories in Georgia and Delaware faded. Romney did his best
to improve the tempo – pledges to crack down on broken borders and
illegal immigration won huge applause.

Watching results appear on television, one Romney supporter complained:
"He’s being absolutely killed."

There is anger among many of Romney’s allies at Mike Huckabee’s
continuing presence in the race. Several Romney campaigners compared
the Arkansas preacher to Ross Perot or Ralph Nader – no-hopers who
only succeeded in wrecking others’ chances.

Jeffrey Davis Perry, a Republican representative in the Massachusetts
assembly, said: "By the end of tonight, conservatives will really
see their choices – a vote for Mike Huckabee is really a vote for
John McCain."

But Romney’s strategists are holding out hope for a surprise victory in
California and strong performances in other western states, providing
sufficient momentum to keep their man in the presidential race.

Romney earlier completed a 5,000-mile, coast-to-coast campaign dash
in 37 hours, taking in California, Oklahoma, Georgia and Tennessee,
as he hammered home his claim to be the conservative standard-bearer
of the Republican party.

He got back to his home in Belmont, an upmarket suburb of Boston,
in time to vote at the ornate, 19th-century town hall this afternoon.

Emerging from the polling station, Romney brandished a souvenir
ballot paper and declared that it was a privilege to vote not only
for himself but for his wife Ann and his oldest son, Tagg, who were
standing for the local Republican committee.

About 50 largely supportive local people gathered to catch a glimpse
of the candidate.

"He’s a very intelligent man, he’s a highly moral man, he’s run a
major organisation and the US is a huge organisation," said Eric
Cosman, a physics professor waiting to cheer on Romney.

Citing his Swedish and Armenian heritage, Cosman said he vehemently
opposes McCain’s softly-softly approach to illegal immigrants: "Most
Americans, like myself, have grandparents who really had to struggle
to get into the United States – and they did it the legal way."

A successful businessman, Romney has spent $35m of his personal fortune
on his two-year fight for the presidency. But he has been hampered by
suspicion over his Mormon faith in the Republican party’s Christian
base – a difficulty which came back into focus over the weekend, when
he broke off the campaign trail to attend the funeral of 97-year-old
Mormon patriarch Gordon Hinckley in Salt Lake City.

"There’s still a certain degree of fluidity in the race," said a
Romney spokesman. "It’s still a two-person race between us and McCain
because we can make an electability argument that Huckabee cannot."