ARMENIAN GM TO COMPETE WITH CHINESE FEMALE CHAMPION
news.am
Aug 1, 2011
Armenia
YEREVAN. – Armenian GM Sergei Movsesian will face acting female world
chess champion GM Yifan Hou from China in the first round of World
Cup 2011 held in Khanty-Mansiysk.
Another Armenian GM Vladimir Akopian will compete with GM Parimarjan
Negi from India, while GM Arman Pashikian – with GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek
from Poland.
A total of 128 chess players will participate in the World Cup 2011,
fide.com reports.
NAREK HAKHNAZARYAN TAKES FIRST PRIZE IN TCHAIKOVSKY COMPETITION
Panorama
Aug 1, 2011
Armenia
“A real and a difficult victory. This is a perfect chance in our
culture to feel very proud of,” director of Armenian State Philharmonic
Orchestra Eduard Topchyan said in a news conference.
Violoncellist Narek Hakhnazaryan attended international competition
after Tchaikovsky and took the first place. Topchyan said the
competition is the best in the world and the most important in
violoncello.
Narek has already planned a busy agenda – he will take stages in China,
Great Britain, Russia with popular artists.
Eduard Topchyan said this is Armenia’s first victory in the
competition.
WE MUST BRING OUR MUSICIANS BACK, SAYS EDUARD TOPCHYAN (VIDEO)
Tert.am
01.08.11
The conductor of Armenia’s State Philharmonic Orchestra has said
Armenia must start bring back its musicians spread all over the world.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Eduard Topchyan said for
that to happen, Armenia should be able to offer those people good
salaries so that they will be motivated to return.
“No matter how much we distributed them [to the world] … now we must
again bring them back. That is to say we should think about the salary
we should offer them, so that those people will return,” explained he.
Further, he said that the older generation of musicians does not have
its successors.
“If this goes on, in six years’ time we will not have the Philharmonic
[orchestra] either. Now we have there excellent people whose health
is very poor and we have no guarantee that they will have successors,”
he explained.
According to Topchyan, two of the most importance music schools should
be taken under supervision so that personal ties will not matter there
and the teaching stuff, that will be highly paid, will be objective.
BAKO SAHAKYAN, TIGRAN SARGSYAN DISCUSS ARMENIA-NKR ECONOMIC COOPERATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
August 1, 2011 – 18:06 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – On August 1, President of the Artsakh Republic Bako
Sahakyan received governmental delegation of the Republic of Armenia
headed by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
Issues related to economic cooperation between the two Armenian states
were discussed during the meeting.
Special attention was paid to the sphere of agriculture, realization
of joint investment programs and efficient usage of the local
potential. Both sides noted the necessity of continuous strengthening
the inter-Armenian ties considering it among the pivotal bases of
harmonious economic development of the two Armenian states.
Artsakh Republic Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan and other officials
partook in the meeting, Central Information Department at Artsakh
President~Rs Office reported.
POLITICAL FORCES HAVE BEEN FINDING FAULTS WITH ANC – OPPOSITIONIST
Tert.am
02.08.11
In the past three years, different forces on the political arena
have been finding faults with the Armenian National Congress (ANC),
a senior representative of the opposition alliance has said.
Speaking at the ANC’s rally on August 2, Arman Grigoryan, an ANC
representative to the Council of Europe (CoE) and a coordinator of
the ANC’s representations in the United States, said the alliance
has been accused of seizing power or failing to do so and backing the
authorities efforts towards the normalization of Armenia-Turkey ties
or being inactive in the process.
He noted further that there is the opposite side of the coin which
is no less dangerous.
“Those who condemn us say the ANC’s tactics is a utopist hope because
the regime which gunned down people will not agree to snap elections
and even if it does, such elections will not be fair and transparent,”
he said.
Speaking of big geopolitical concessions that may result from the
current dialogue, Grigoryan said governments often oppose a deal for
a dialogue as was the case with Yemen, Romania, Bahrain and Egypt. He
noted that the authorities may accept or reject a proposal for holding
a dialogue depending on the people’s dissatisfaction and the degree
of rage.
“I don’t know a government that has ever been able to torpedo the
people. In case of resorting to violence again, they will face a lagrer
burden of responsibility than they did after the the March 1 events,”
he said.
ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER IMPRESSED WITH MILITARY EFFICIENCY OF ARTSAKH SOLDIERS
PanARMENIAN.Net
August 2, 2011 – 19:58 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – On the sidelines of Artsakh visit, Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan
and his NKR counterpart Movses Hakobyan visited the front line of
Artsakh defense army.
The Prime Minister also attended military trainings in one of Artsakh
military units. Afterwards, Mr. Sargsyan gave high assessment to
military and psychological efficiency of soldiers, expressing hope
for further increase in fighting capacity of the army.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister characterized the increase of
Armenian army’s combat readiness as the best response to Azeri
military rhetoric.
POLITICAL ANNALIST FINDS IT HARD TO INTERPRET BAKU’S INTENTION TO FORM AZERBAIJANI ALBANIAN CHURCH
PanARMENIAN.Net
August 2, 2011 – 18:10 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – An expert at the Institute of Political and Social
Studies of Black Sea and Caspian region, Andrei Areshev commented on
the statement of the director of Azerbaijani Institute of History,
parliamentarian Yaqub Mahmudov.
As Mahmudov noted earlier, “Azerbaijani Albanian Church will be formed
to restore Albanian Auto-Cephalic Church abolished by tsarist Russia
in 1836.”
“It’s hard to assume what Mahmudov meant by formation of an Albanian
church. What regions of Azerbaijan will be included in the church,
who else beside members of Albanian -Udinian community of Azerbaijan
will be included in the church? Will other nations, Lezgins, Avarians,
Rutulians will be included? If mere creation, rather than restoration
in northern regions is meant, does it spell Azerbaijan’s refusing
Albanian heritage of Karabakh?” the expert noted.
“What’s the language liturgies will be served in? How will the new
structure interact with already existing church structures?” the
expert remarked.
ARMENIAN EYECARE PROJECT’S 38TH MEDICAL MISSION AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
asbarez
Monday, August 1st, 2011
Dr. Thomas Lee examines a premie
‘One Year Later-36 Infants Saved from a Lifetime of Blindness’
Since its founding it 1992, the Project has undertaken medical
missions to Armenia twice a year. The 37th Medical Mission in June
2010, launched the Project’s Infant Blindness Initiative-“Prevention
of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Armenia.” The purpose of the
mission was to train Armenian physicians in the care of premature
babies-specifically, to identify and treat Retinopathy of Prematurity
(ROP). All babies born prematurely are susceptible to this disease.
“One Year Later” -36 infants saved from a lifetime of blindness. The
EyeCare Project’s July 2011 Conference, as part of the Medical Mission,
reported on the exciting progress, accomplishments and the future
programs of the Infant Blindness Initiative, “National Program of
Retinopathy of Prematurity.” The sponsors of the conference included
the EyeCare Project, its partner in the Initiative, the Vision Center
of Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, the Armenian Ministry of Health
and USAID.
More than100 Armenian ophthalmologists and neonatologists attended
the International Conference, held on July 15 -16 in Yerevan,
to learn about the results of year one and the programs planned
for 2011, and beyond. Led by Dr. Thomas Lee, Director of the
Retina Institute at the Vision Center of Los Angeles Children’s
Hospital and Dr. Elisabeth Raab, Deputy Medical Director at the
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, they summarized the results
of the first year of the ROP screening and treatment program and
outlined future plans. Dr. Ruzanna Harutyunyan-AECP Fellow trained
in the United States-a pediatric ophthalmologist and coordinator of
the ROP program in Armenia also participated along with some of her
Armenian colleagues.
The most exciting news of the conference was the announcement that
over 400 Armenian infants have been screened since the program was
launched last year and 36 infants received laser surgery, at no cost
to their families, saving them from a lifetime of blindness. The
project was able to accomplish this because of the equipment donated
by extraordinarily generous benefactors over the last year. Dr.
Ohanesian was also proud to announce to the conference that the ROP
national program in Armenia has been so successful that it has the
potential to become a model for other developing countries.
Following the lecture sessions of the conference the participants
moved to the hospitals where Dr. Thomas Lee examined infants with
his Armenian colleagues. He demonstrated advanced techniques in eye
screening and treatment and all cases were analyzed. An extensive
debriefing meeting concluded the second day of the Conference.
Prevention. During the conference a special emphasis was made
on the importance of cooperation between ophthalmologists and
neonatologists in oxygen supply regulation and control as a major
factor in the prevention of ROP. The AECP plans to support the
Armenian neonatologists in two major capacity building directions:
import and installation of necessary oxygen control equipment and
advanced training of Armenian specialists.
Dr. Elisabeth Raab met with the neonatal staff at several NICUs in
Yerevan. She was quite impressed by the capacity of the Armenian
doctors who manage to provide quality care to infants with minimal
resources. She said that with more advanced equipment they will be
able to significantly improve neonatal care, which will be a major
factor in the prevention of ROP in Armenia.
What is Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)? Retinopathy of Prematurity
(ROP) is a devastating disease that affects infants born prematurely
and leads to blindness in a matter of weeks. The enormous economic
and social burden of lifelong blindness makes it absolutely critical
to treat this disease.
Up to 60 percent of infants born at less than seven to eight months
(30 weeks) develop some form of the disease and 10 percent will
progress to the advanced form. If left untreated, the advanced form of
ROP causes rapid and irreversible blindness due to retinal scarring
and detachment. However, timely and repeated examinations of at-risk
infants and the application of laser treatments will lead to a complete
regression in the disease in up to 90 percent of these tiny patients.
Developing nations like Armenia have only recently developed neonatal
intensive care units (NICUs) to provide the necessary inpatient
medical care to infants born prematurely. Over the past 10 years,
Armenia has established seven NICUs in Yerevan and a handful in remote
rural areas. These units now treat approximately 1,600 premature
infants per year and this number is expected to grow. Because ROP is
a disease affecting premature infants, Armenia now faces a sudden and
dramatic rise in the number of children going blind. Unfortunately,
over the past 10 years none of the babies at risk for ROP have been
screened for the disease, because Armenian ophthalmologists have had
no experience with ROP. Consequently, an estimated 100-200 infants in
Armenia are going blind each year – the result of a treatable cause
of blindness. As a cautionary tale, the United States experienced a
similar trend in the 1940s and ’50s just after the advent of NICUs
resulted in 7,000 American children with blindness.
If the EyeCare Project fails to intervene in Armenia, the resulting
epidemic of blindness will have profound social and economic
repercussions and have a devastating impact on families and children.
Sustainability of the ROP Initiative is based on three primary
factors. First, teaching Armenian physicians to diagnose and manage
babies with ROP independently. Second, to provide Armenia with the
equipment required to manage ROP including Ret-Cams and lasers.
Third, to ensure sustainability last June the AECP submitted a formal
proposal to the Armenian parliament and the Ministry of Health for
long-term funding of ROP care. The Ministry of Health responded with
a directive that regular eye screenings will be held at all Neonatal
Intensive Care Units (NICU) in Yerevan. Infants requiring surgery
will receive them locally, at the NICU premises by a laser surgeon
trained in that technique. They also have committed to paying for
the screening costs and the salaries of personnel involved in ROP
Care after the program becomes mature.
Participation in the Third International Medical Congress of Armenia
Announcement of AECP’s Eye Vulnerability Index Dr. Roger Ohanesian,
founder and president of the Armenian EyeCare Project, opened
the ophthalmological session of the third International Medical
Congress. The International Medical Congress fosters relationships
and collaboration among Armenian medical professionals throughout the
world to improve the quality of medical care in Armenia and Artsakh.
Nearly 600 specialists from Europe, Asia, USA, Canada, Germany,
Australia, Russia and other countries participated in the Medical
Congress. A total of 179 scientific reports were released during 40
sessions of the Congress, July 7 through July 9.
Dr. Ohanesian’s talk was titled “AECP initiatives: Eye Disease
Prevalence and the ROP Program in Armenia.” Dr. Ohanesian presented
an overview of the activities of the AECP, provided an update on
the first year accomplishments of the Project’s Infant Blindness
Initiative-36 infants saved from a lifetime of blindness-and announced
the development of an Eye Vulnerability Index, which provides data
on the prevalence of eye diseases in Armenia.
For the first time in the history of Independent Armenia, the
AECP gathered, processed and analyzed information from over 96,000
questionnaires, introduced the concept of an Eye Vulnerability Index,
and calculated the prevalence of eye disease for the country as a
whole and each of the regions.
According to AECP data, cataract is the most widespread eye disease
in Armenia (8.4%) followed by fundus diseases (7.9%). The AECP data
also revealed that 0.7% of population in the country is blind and
another 4.1% has low vision. Eye disease is more prevalent among
the 50+ population and eye diseases causing blindness among the 50+
population is 2.8 times higher than those under 50.
First Large Corporate Donation to the AECP from an Armenia-based
Private Company Shirak to Receive EyeCare
Announced during the Project’s annual mission at a joint press
conference held on July 13, Orange Armenia, one of Armenia’s largest
telecommunications companies, is the first large corporate donor to the
AECP from an Armenia-based private company. The company’s foundation
has provided a significant donation to underwrite free eye care for
all residents of the Shirak Marz during August and September.
Bruno Duthoit, Orange Armenia CEO and Chairman of the Orange Armenia
Foundation board, said: “We join the EyeCare Project with great joy
because it really changes peoples’ lives. People with eye disease are
at the center of Orange Foundation’s attention not only in Armenia, but
also in other countries where the Foundation works. The first mission
of our company is to ease communication between people and sight is
a vital component of human communication. Today, a partnership is
beginning which will allow people of all ages to see the light again,
and a larger number of people will get medical support to prevent
such diseases in the future”
Dr. Roger Ohanesian, Founder and President of the Armenian EyeCare
Project said, “During the two last decades the Armenian Eye Care
Project has been supported primarily by the Armenian Diaspora. We
are now very pleased to have Orange Armenia as a corporate partner
in Armenia. With their major contribution the Orange Foundation
will support the EyeCare Project and the people of Shirak who will
receive eye care services. We are happy to see such a good example
of corporate philanthropy in Armenia.”
The first project of the AECP-Orange partnership includes free eye
screenings for all residents of Shirak marz during August-September,
as well as treatment, including surgeries for socially vulnerable
people. Beginning August 16, groups of ophthalmologists will visit
two cities and 44 villages in the Shirak Marz, in the regions of Ani,
Artik, Akhurian, Ashotsq and Amasia. The AECP Mobile Eye Hospital will
be stationed in three regional centers: Maralik, Artik and Akhurian,
where people who are identified during the screening process as
requiring further care will receive detailed examinations and necessary
treatment, including surgeries and laser procedures.
The EyeCare Project estimates that 3,000 adults and 1,200 children
will be screened in Shirak; 250 surgeries and laser procedures will
be performed; and 1,200 eye glasses will be provided. As part of the
project, public education sessions on eyecare will be conducted in
nine schools of the Shirak region. AECP has also planned to involve
local ophthalmologists in the screenings, who will assist in finding
people who need treatment or glasses.
ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES DO NOT WANT RESIDENTS OF GEGHARKUNIK AND LORI TO ATTEND RALLY OF ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
arminfo
Tuesday, August 2, 15:50
The Armenian authorities do not want the residents of Gegharkunik and
Lori to attend the rally of Armenian National Congress (ANC). ArmInfo
correspondents in Lori and Gegharkunik regions of Armenia report that
the work of the inter-city public transport from the towns of Tashir,
Vardenis and Martouni has completely been suspended.
In particular, the minibuses with passengers left Tashir on their way
to Yerevan, however, in Vanadzor the law-enforcers turned them back
and told the passengers to go home. As regards the local authorities
of Vardenis and Martouni, they promptly banned the entry of their
public transport to Yerevan.
To note, according to the current information, a very small number
of transport vehicles is entering Yerevan from the Ararat, Kotayk
and other regions of the republic.
The rally of the Armenian National Congress headed by the first
president of Armenia Levon Ter- Petrosyan will take place in Yerevan
on Tuesday. The rally will start at Liberty Square at 8 pm. During the
rally Levon Ter-Petrosyan is going to give clarifications about the
domestic political situation in the country and tell about the next
steps of the ANC. The emphases will be put on the domestic political
situation, the course of the dialogue and its further development.
To recall, the next meeting within the frames of the dialogue between
the Armenian authorities and the opposition will take place on August
4 at noon. The sides have already held two meetings: on July 16 and
July 26. ANC Leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan was the first to express
willingness to “a formal dialogue with the authorities at the level
of delegations”.
The opposition thinks that the dialogue can be held over the issue of
snap parliamentary and presidential elections. On June 17 President
Serzh Sargsyan said that if ANC was willing to continue the dialogue
over the spectrum of important issues of the foreign and domestic
policy, the representatives of the coalitional parties could take
part in it.
The regular parliamentary election in Armenia will be held in May 2012,
and the presidential one – in Feb 2013.
AZERBAIJAN, PAKISTAN TO PRODUCE JOINT MISSILES
Tert.am
02.08.11
Azerbaijan and Pakistan are planning to launch the production of
joint missiles.
The project will be implemented in collaboration with Global
Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS), a leading company in Pakistan,
the Azerbaijani news agency APA reported.
It is aimed at the production of RPB-1 air-launched missiles. The
aircraft is said to be used by the Pakistani air forces.