Author: Kajoyan Gevork

NO PROGRESS IN ARMENIA LAST YEAR – OPPOSITION MP

18:05 * 04.02.14

Armenian National Congress (ANC) parliamentary group member Stepan
Demirchyan spoke of last year in Parliament on Tuesday.

No progress was recorded last year, he said and demanded that the
government put an end to “this strategic and cultural policy.”

“Emigration, unemployment, poverty, a sharp decline in investments
and in SMBs, a higher foreign debt – this is the result of this
socio-economic policy,” Demirchyan said.

The government-forecast economic growth did not become a reality
last year.

As to the Armenian-Russian gas agreement, Demirchyan said:

“The government had for a long time concealed the gas price rise from
the public. Like his predecessor, the incumbent premier appears to
aim at getting rid of all the facilities of strategic importance. And
the Vorotan hydropower complex proved next in turn. It was sold at
a cheap price and Armenia was deprived of its own energy-generating
facilities. We condemn this shady deal.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

L’ARMENIE AU COEUR : QUATRE JOURS DE CULTURE ARMENIENNE

LyonCapitale, France
4 fev 2014

Par Julia Beyer

À partir de ce mardi 4 fevrier debute la semaine dediee a la culture
armenienne dans differents sites de Lyon, Villeurbanne et Decines.

Autour du cinema, de la musique, de la photographie et de la poesie
armenienne, differents partenaires culturels se mobilisent, a savoir
l’Ecole Normale Superieur de Lyon, l’Universite Lyon 1, la compagnie
Francoise Maimone et le Centre National de la Memoire Armenienne
de Decines.

Pour l’occasion, des rendez-vous d’exception sont programmes au cours
de differentes manifestations culturelles. Le photographe Armenien
Rajak Ohanian et le metteur en scène et cineaste Serge Avedikian en
font partie notamment.

L’Armenie au coeur. Du 4 au 7 fevrier Centre National de la Memoire
Armenienne, 32 rue du 24 avril 1915, 69150 Decines Theâtre Astree,
6 avenue Gaston Berger, 69100 Villeurbanne Ecole Normale Superieure de
Lyon, 15 parvis Rene Descartes, 69007 Lyon Ecole nationale superieure
des sciences de l’information et des bibliothèques, 17-21 bd du 11
novembre 1918, 69100 Villeurbanne Galerie Domus, Campus de la Doua,
31 rue Pierre de Coubertin; 69100 Villeurbanne Programmes et horaires
a telecharger sur le site du Centre National de la Memoire Armenienne

TENSION ON LINE OF CONTACT OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN TROOPS REACHED FIVE-YEAR HIGH IN JANUARY

APA, Azerbaijan
Feb 4 2014

[ 04 February 2014 15:50 ]

Two officers of Azerbaijani Armed Forces killed, a serviceman and a
civilian wounded

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. The tension on the line of contact of
Azerbaijani and Armenian troops reached five-year high in January.

According to APA’s monitoring based on the facts confirmed by
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, ceasefire was violated 1543 times on
the line of contact last month.

Two officers of the Azerbaijani were killed in the battles that
resulted in the violation of ceasefire. A serviceman and a civilian
(resident of Alibeyli village of Tovuz region) were wounded.

Ceasefire violation intensified after January 20.

Ceasefire was violated 1504 times from January 20 till 31.

Five attempts of Armenian Army’s subversive groups were prevented
from January 20 till 31. Armenians fired on the OSCE representative
conducting monitoring in the direction of Fuzuli region on January 23.

According to the results of the monitoring conducted by APA, Armenian
Armed Forces violated ceasefire 1796 times in 2013. 8 Azerbaijani
servicemen were killed, 11 wounded as the ceasefire was violated.

COGNAC PRODUCTION IN ARMENIA GROW 9.6% IN 2013

Interfax, Russia
Feb 3 2014

YEREVAN. Feb 3

There was 20.285 million liters of cognac produced in Armenia last
year, 9.6% more than the year before, the country’s National Statistics
Service reported.

Russia and other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States
are the main markets for Armenia cognac.

Armenian wine production rose 12.3% to 6.422 million liters, output
of champagne wines 12% to 536,400 liters, and of beer 45.2% to 19.848
million liters.

On the other hand, Armenia produced 1.6% less vodka and other hard
liquor – 9.938 million liters in all.

Cf of

ARMENIA BOOSTS INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT 6.8% IN 2013

Interfax, Russia
Feb 3 2014

YEREVAN. Feb 3

Industrial output in Armenia grew 6.8% year-on-year in 2013 to 1.24
trillion dram, the National Statistics Service reported.

Production in the mining industry and development of open cast mines
grew 8.1% to 196.6 billion dram. Output in the manufacturing industry
increased 7.7% to 775.6 billion dram.

Supplies of electricity, gas, steam and conditioned air increased 2.6%
to 250 billion dram. Revenue from water supply, waste management and
obtaining secondary raw materials was up 7.6% to 17.7 billion dram.

The official exchange rate on February 3 stood at 408.03 dram/$1.

Me of

ARMENIA’S EDGAR MINASYAN WINS GOLD IN DUBAI

February 4, 2014

Armenia’s Edgar Minasyan won the gold medal of an international karate
tournament held in Dubai from January 30 to February 2.

Edgar Minasyan is a member of the Armenian national karate team,
the national karate association said.

NEWS.am Sport

ARONIAN DEFEATS WORLD CHAMPION CARLSEN

18:14, 4 February, 2014

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 4, ARMENPRESS: The leader of the Armenian national
chess men’s team Levon Aronian took a victory over the world champion
Magnus Carlsen in the rapid chess tournament of Zurich.

Armenpress reports that on the last day of the strongest tournament
of Zurich the participants measured forces in the rapid chess. In
the first round Aronian won Vishy Anand. Magnus Carlsen defeated
Boris Gelfand. Hikaru Nakamura-Fabiano Caruana couple was the last
to finish the round. Caruana had success in the round.

In the second round Aronian defeated Magnus Carlsen with obvious
advantage. Nakamura defeated Anand, while Gelfand- Caruana couple
shared the point.

Zurich Chess Challenge was launched on January 29 and will end today
on February 4.

Levon Grigori Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster. On the May
2012 FIDE list, he was ranked number two in the world and had an Elo
rating of 2825, making him the third highest rated player in history.

Aronian won the Chess World Cup 2005. He led the Armenian national
team to the Gold medals in the 2006 (Turin), 2008 (Dresden) and 2012
(Istanbul) Chess Olympics and at the World Team Chess Championship
in Ningbo 2011. He won the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2010, qualifying
him for the Candidates tournament for the World Chess Championship
2012, where he was knocked out in the first round. He was also World
Chess960 Champion in 2006 and 2007, World Rapid Chess Champion in 2009,
and World Blitz Chess Champion in 2010.

Aronian was declared the best sportsman of Armenia in 2005 and was
awarded the title of “Honored Master of Sport of the Republic of
Armenia” in 2009.

Aronian was born on 6 October 1982 in Yerevan, Armenia, to Seda
Sarkisovna, an Armenian mining engineer, and Grigory Leontievich,
a Jewish physicist. He was taught to play chess by his sister Lilit
at the age of nine. His first coach was the Grandmaster Melikset
Khachiyan.

An early sign of his ability came when he won the 1994 World Youth
Chess Championship (under-12) in Szeged with 8/9, ahead of future
luminaries Etienne Bacrot, Ruslan Ponomariov, Francisco Vallejo Pons,
and Alexander Grischuk.

Aronian holds a diploma from the Armenian State Institute of Physical
Culture.

ARAM MP3’S SURPRISE FOR DENMARK

13:39 04.02.2014

Aram MP3, Armenia, Eurovision

The Armenian representative for Copenhagen, Aram MP3, gave a club
concert in Yerevan. He is famous for his vibrant mix of styles,
never forgetting his Armenian roots. In this long-lasting tradition
he surprised the audience, which included almost all previous
Armenian Eurovision representatives, with a unique cover version of
Only Teardrops, the song with which Emmelie de Forest won the 2013
Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision’s official website reports.

In the lead-up to the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, Armenian
representative Aram MP3, who is known as a singer, comedian and showman
on home ground, is busy preparing his performance on the biggest
music stage in Europe. On Friday, he held a club concert in Yerevan.

He didn’t only fill the cozy club with his positive energy, humor and
rhythms, but Aram Mp3 had also prepared a surprise for his Armenian
audience, as well as for his Danish colleague Emmelie de Forest: He
performed a cover version of Only Teardrops in “authentic Armenian
style”.

ARMENIA’S AIRPORT ZVARTNOTS HANDLES 129,000 PASSENGERS IN JANUARY

YEREVAN, February 3. / ARKA /. Armenia’s international airport
Zvartnots handled some 129,000 passengers in the first month of 2014,
according to a press release forwarded to ARKA. This number represents
a 15 percent rise from the year before, according to it.

Some 67,496 people chose the airport to leave the country in January
2014, by 12 percent more from the year earlier, when 60,174 people left
Armenia via the airport. Also some 61,423 people arrived in Armenia
via the airport, by 17.6 percent more when compared to January 2013.

The total number of arrivals and departures handled by the airport
in January this year rose to 1,492 from 1,344 flights in the same
period last year, an increase of 11%.

The majority of flights were made to CIS and Middle East countries.

The facility attributed this rise to the increased number of airlines
operating flights to and from Armenia. More specifically, their number
has grown from 27 to 32, the airport said. Besides, some airlines
have increased the frequency of flights to all destinations that has
pushed air ticket prices down.

The airport also said that Air Armenia airline transported in January
2014 some 16,066 passengers by its two aircraft. The former national
airline Armavia had transported 18,224 passengers in the first month
of 2013, according to the press release.

Air Armenia operates charter flights to CIS, Europe, Middle East,
Asia and Africa since 2003. Currently it runs 8 Soviet-made aircraft.

Zvartnots airport is run by Armenia-International Airports, a company
owned by an Argentine citizen of Armenian descent Eduardo Eurnekian.

In 2001 the company signed a concesional agreement with the government
to run Zvartnots for 30 years. -0-

– See more at:

BBC VIDEO TELLS ABOUT ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF SOCHI – VIDEO

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

February 04, 2014 | 17:00 

The reporter of BBC Russian service Rafael Saakov spent his childhood
in Sochi, the city that will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Ahead of the Games, Saakov traveled to his native city to see the
changes. He told about changes that the city went though during
preparations to host the Olympics.

A part of his video tells about the local Armenian community and Nor
Luys (new world) village.