Author: Kalashian Nyrie

HAYPOST ISSUES STAMP DEDICATED TO 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 6, 2010 – 18:09 AMT 13:09 GMT

On May 6, Haypost company has put into circulation 40,000 stamps
dedicated to the 65th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic
War. The stamp with nominal value of AMD 350 is designed by Hrayr
Sevoyan, the press service of Haypost reported.

During the stamp unveiling ceremony, Acting CEO of Haypost company
Arman Khachaturyan noted that the company will start providing postal
and banking services in the near future. Besides, 50,000 post offices
will be renovated throughout Armenia.

The ceremony was attended by Armenian Minister of Transport and
Communication Manuk Vardanyan, Manager of Haypost Trans Management
company Juan Pablo Gechijian and Chairman of the Armenian Union of
Philatelists Hovik Musayelyan.

UP-TO-DATE ENERGY SECURITY SYSTEM TO BE INTRODUCED IN ARMENIA

news.am
May 6 2010
Armenia

The task group formed to draft an energy security concept held its
maiden meeting on May 6. The meeting was chaired by Secretary of the
RA National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan.

The press service of the RA National Security Council informed
NEWS.am that Artur Baghdasaryan pointed out that Armenia’s short-
and long-term energy self-sufficiency must be the priority of the
energy security concept.

Energy development tasks are successfully carried out in Armenia now,
and the country has all the necessary conditions for not only ensuring
its energy self-sufficiency, but also for exporting energy, which is
of paramount importance for the national economy, Baghdasaryan said.

European experience shows that the field is developing in two
directions there: strategic energy development programs and effective
saving regimes in the energy generation sector. "We must be able to
introduce an up-to-date energy security system in Armenia through
studying the international experience," Baghdasaryan said.

The Council decided to finish drafting the conceptual provisions of the
document within a month and submit it for approval before this October.

A MONSTER OF A MOUNTAIN FOR YEREVAN?

EurasiaNet
e/60998
May 6 2010
NY

Oh, the horror! A green, biomorphic mountain of a building may arise in
the good city of Yerevan if nobody stops Forrest Fulton Architecture.

The 915,000-square-foot creature is a competition proposal from the
Birmingham, Alabama-based firm. Called Lace Hill, the project’s design
is meant to pay tribute to Mount Ararat, the Armenian cultural symbol
which sits just across the closed border in Turkey.

"Native plants" cover its hill, which breathes through apertures
"recalling traditional Armenian lace needlework," and exudes water
from some of them. Its bowels contain bars, restaurants, hotels . . .

you name it.

Yerevan city planners have not officially expressed interest in the
project, but the idea of having on home soil an Ararat-look-alike
could prove alluring.

PRESIDENT OF THE ARTSAKH REPUBLIC BAKO SAHAKYAN RECEIVED "THE HALO TRUST" BRITISH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION’S HUMANITARIAN MINECLEARANCE PROGRAM MANAGER IN NAGORNO KARABAGH.

NOYAN TAPAN
MAY 5, 2010
STEPANAKERT

On 4 May President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
received Roly Clark, "The HALO Trust" British non-governmental
organization’s humanitarian mineclearance program manager in
Nagorno Karabagh. According to the report by the central information
department of the office of the Artsakh Republic President, during
the meeting Mr. Clark introduced to the Head of the State the process
of activities carried out by the organization in Nagorno Karabagh
and their results. Issues related to further activity of "The HALO
Trust" concerning the clearance of minefields and neutralization
of unexploded ordnance on the territory of the republic were also
discussed. Bako Sahakyan expressed satisfaction with the activities
carried out by the staff of the organization affirming at the same
time the readiness of the authorities to render assistance to the
program being carried out in Artsakh.

YEREVAN-LONDON FLIGHTS CONDUCTED AS SCHEDULED

news.am
May 5 2010
Armenia

To date Yerevan-London-Yerevan flights are conducted according to
timetable, as ash cloud covered only a part of Scotland and Northern
Ireland, representative of British Midland International Yerevan
office Erik Gyulazyan told NEWS.am.

He assured there is no ground for concern, as Heathrow airport
experiences no landing difficulties. Asked whether, British Midland
International incurred losses as a result of canceled flights due to
Icelandic volcano eruption, Gyulazyan replied that no precise data
is available, as the calculations are underway.

Armavia Air Company press secretary Nana Avetisova informed NEWS.am
that company has not made such calculations yet.

Eyjafjallajokull volcano, 150 km from Reykjavik, started erupting on
March 20, 2010.

April 14 eruption closed major part of Europe’s airspace that also
affected Armenia.

PREPARING FOR V-DAY ANNIVERSARY: ARMENIANS IN MOSCOW PARADE REHEARSALS

rmenian_military_moscow_military_parade_rehearsal
News | 05.05.10 | 12:52

May 9 parade rehearsal in Moscow

A group of Armenian soldiers have marched through the Red Square in
Moscow along with military units representing other countries as part
of preparations for the upcoming Grand Military Parade in the Russian
capital marking the 65th anniversary of the end of the Second World War
in Europe. The event this coming Sunday will also feature processions
by select army units representing a dozen countries, including the
former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, as well as
the military from France, Poland, Great Britain and the United States.

The Armenian Defense Ministry () reports that members of
the Armenian unit that will take part in the May 9 parade have been
in Moscow since April 30 and "have been provided with all conditions
for drills and rest." It is also reported that the Armenian unit is
located in the Moscow Higher Military Command College together with
representatives of Belarus and Ukraine.

The Ministry’s information service says representatives of the
Armenian unit have visited the central museum of the Great Patriotic
War (1941-1945) and Victory Park in Moscow where they paid tribute
to the memory of the Soviet soldiers who died in World War II.

The huge military parade in Red Square expected to be attended
by several world leaders is largely designed as a reminder of the
hard-won victory over Nazi Germany shared by all the nations that
lived as one state in the former USSR.

More than 60 million lives were lost in the Second World War
(1939-1945). Some 27 million of the dead were citizens of the Soviet
Union.

Armenia also made its solid contribution to the victory of the Red
Army and Allied Forces over fascism in Europe. The former Soviet
republic arguably had the highest death toll per capita as some
350,000 Armenians lost their lives in the deadliest conflict in the
history of mankind.

A group of World War II veterans from Armenia is also expected
to participate in the Moscow parade and events marking the V-Day
anniversary. All expenses connected with the veterans’ trip and stay
in Moscow are covered by the state.

Catholicos of All Armenians to visit UK and France
May 4, 2010 – 15:42 AMT 10:42 GMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, launched a trip to UK and France on May 4
to meet with primates of the local Dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic
Church and benefactors of Holy Etchmiadzin.

ANKARA MUM ON CLAIM OF THWARTED AZERI-ARMENIA WAR

Hurriyet
May 4 2010
Turkey

Officials keep silent on claims by an opposition Azerbaijani newspaper
that the National Intelligence Organization dissuaded Baku from an
attack on Karabakh.

Ankara has neither confirmed nor denied claims that Turkey’s
intelligence agency prevented an Azerbaijani military operation in
the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region immediately before Turkey and
Armenia signed historic protocols last year.

The National Intelligence Organization, or MÄ°T, has also not released
any statement concerning the allegations, which were first published
in one of Azerbaijan’s most influential opposition newspapers,
Yeni Musavat.

The Azerbaijani report appeared on the front page of daily Hurriyet
on Tuesday with a headline that said MÄ°T had thwarted a Karabakh war.

The Turkish government did, however, voice support for dialogue
between the South Caucasus rivals. "We are in favor of the resolution
of problems through dialogue," Foreign Ministry sources told the
Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday.

Azerbaijani reports

"By averting the Azerbaijani operation, Turkey prevented the
normalization process with Armenia from being undermined and its
own dignity from being harmed. The essence and the secret of the
relationship taking shape between Turkey and Azerbaijan depends on
this matter," the Azerbaijani newspaper wrote.

"Had Azerbaijan begun a military operation during that period, the
Armenian initiative of the [ruling Justice and Development Party]
AKP would have entirely collapsed," Yeni Musavat added. According to
the paper, the alleged military operation took place about one year
before Turkey and Armenia signed deals in October 2009 in Zurich,
Switzerland, to establish diplomatic relations.

The Azerbaijani newspaper also claimed that options for military
operations were reviewed. "The reception of the Nakhchivan Autonomous
Republic’s Parliament Speaker Vasif Talibov at the highest level in
Turkey could be a part of Ankara’s plan to stop Azerbaijan," it said.

Turkish diplomatic sources said the high-level welcome of the
Nakhchivan official was only natural because Turkey is a guarantor
country in Nakhchivan under the Kars Agreement.

Turkish experts express doubt

Dr. Burcu Gultekin Punsmann, a senior foreign-policy analyst at the
Turkish think tank TEPAV, also declined to comment on the veracity
of the facts.

"I would, however, doubt that [Azerbaijani] President [Ä°lham]
Aliyev could have seriously considered undertaking such a hazardous
action," she said. "I can’t try to assess a military outcome of a
new Azerbaijani-Armenian war over Nagorno-Karabakh; the worst thing
in such a situation is always to underestimate the enemy."

"What I know is that this war would be disastrous for the whole
region," she added, referring to the five-day August 2008 war between
Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia that highlighted the disruptive
potential of renewed conflict anywhere in the South Caucasus.

"Beyond a doubt, Azerbaijan is the country that has benefited the
most from the return of stability to the South Caucasus region in
the second half of the 1990s," Punsmann said. "With the resumption
of war, energy investment projects will stop overnight. There will
be no winner of this war."

ORANGE LAUNCHES SALES OF ANDROID-BASED HTC SMARTPHONE

Panorama.am
04/05/2010

Today Orange launched the sales of Android-based HTC Smartphone in
12 of its shops. Orange is the first mobile operator offering in the
Armenian market a handset operating with the very innovative Android
system, Orange Armenia press office reported.

The first model Orange brings to Armenia is the stylish HTC Tattoo~Y
for only 149,000 AMD. It is a small and compact Android-based
communicator that brings broad personalization to a large spectrum
of consumers. Very soon the flagship model HTC Desire~Y will also be
available in Orange shops.

"After iPhone this is the second Smartphone we present in Armenia.

This is a great moment for us, because our customers have now much
larger choice. And finally, it’s the first time Android is in Armenia",
said Bruno Duthoit, Orange Armenia CEO.

Google Android has many advantages, such as voice control, an
impressive use of Google Earth, possibility to access Gmail and other
web-based mail accounts directly, automatically pulling in contacts
from multiple sources including Facebook, easy use of social networks
and much more.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN: ARMENIA SIGNIFIES REINFORCEMENT OF BILATERAL TIES WITH CHINA

Panorama.am
04/05/2010

Within the framework of the visit to China, President Serzh Sargsyan
visited Shanxi province May 3 and participated in the opening ceremony
of the "Shanxi -Nairit" joint enterprise.

The delegation headed by the President left for the Shanxi capital
of Taiyuan, where President Sargsyan met the Governor of Shanxi, Van
Xishan. During the meeting the Governor welcomed the guests, presented
the social-economic situation, as well as the current tendencies in
the province, referred to its historical-cultural heritage.

Governor Van Xishan thanked the Armenian delegation for visiting
Shanxi pavilion during Shanghai Expo 2010 opening ceremony.

Speaking on economic issues, Shanxi Governor referred to the steps
they had taken during the world economic crisis and their results and
voiced hope that economic cooperation with Armenia will contribute
to the development of the province.

In turn, President Sargsyan thanked the Governor for warm reception.

"Still in Yerevan, I knew about your province being a developing
industrial province with rich cultural heritage, though, people are
your greatest riches – tolerant, hardworking and creative," Serzh
Sargsyan said.

Referring to cooperation with China, President Sargsyan highlighted
that Armenia signifies reinforcement of bilateral ties with China.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, Shanxi -Nairit is a natural bridge to
develop bilateral relations.

Panorama.am recalls that upon the invitation of the President of
People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao, President Serzh Sargsyan left for
China April 29 on a working visit. During his visit President Sargsyan
attended the opening ceremony of Shanghai Expo 2010, had meetings with
PRC President Hu Jintao, Suzhou Mayor Yan Li. The Armenian President
had meetings with representatives of leading Chinese companies.

On the final day of his visit, President Sargsyan was present at the
ceremony of inauguration of Shanxi-Nairit plant.