Author: Kanayan Tamar

FBI EXPERTS TRAIN ARMENIAN OFFICERS TO FIGHT CYBER CRIME

ARMENPRESS
May 18 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS: During the week of May 14 through May
18 three U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agents have
conducted a Computer (Cyber) Crime Course at the Police Academy of
Armenia in Yerevan. The attendees included eight officials from the
National Security Service, five from the Armenian Police Service
and four from the National Bureau of Expertise, the U.S. Embassy in
Yerevan said in a press release.

The Computer (Cyber) Crime Training Course is designed by computer
experts to familiarize law enforcement officers with examples of
common computer crimes and investigative methods. The course has
given participants instructions on how criminals can use computers
to commit crimes, the risk of ‘hackers,’ to computer networks and
how to trace the computer evidence that criminals have behind.

The course was funded by the International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. U.S. Charge
d’Affaires Anthony Godfrey presented graduation certificates to the
participants upon completion of the course.

This project is only part of the U.S. Government’s comprehensive law
enforcement assistance program in Armenia. The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan,
through its International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section,
has funded the renovation of such facilities as the National Bureau
of Expertise, the Police Instruction Center in Kanaker, the Border
Guards Training Facility in Yerevan and the Customs House in Vanadzor.

The Embassy has donated computer equipment to all these facilities,
as well as the computer equipment to the Police Academy classroom
where the cyber crime training course was held.

The Embassy is also working with the Government of Armenia to establish
a nationwide, computerized border management information system and
a nationwide computer network for the Armenian Police Service. The
U.S. government provides about $3 million a year in law enforcement
assistance to all these facilities.

RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM TO SHOWCASE STUDENT WORK
By Arla Shephard

Daily – University of Washington, WA
May 18 2007

Students and faculty will have a chance to learn about Cuban music
since the fall of the Soviet Union, gender differences in engineering
education and robots that detect wear in power cables, as Mary Gates
Hall hosts the 10th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium today.

Every classroom and open area in the building will be taken over
to make way for the expansive showcase, where students have the
opportunity to share their research projects with the larger University
community. There are 631 presentations this year, including five
performances at Meany Hall.

"We’re really excited; this is the first time we’ve managed to get
a performing arts session," said Janice DeCosmo, director of the
Undergraduate Research Program and associate dean of Undergraduate
Academic Affairs.

DeCosmo said the symposium is usually well attended, but it is more
useful for those who aren’t normally involved in research.

"Our primary purpose is to educate," DeCosmo said. "It’s not scary
or high-pressure."

Students obtain valuable preparation for graduate school, honors
theses or public speaking at academic conferences, she said.

Students create a poster or an oral presentation and are matched with
faculty members while working on their project. The experience can be
akin to "going to class where you have your professor all to yourself,"
one research participant told DeCosmo.

Senior Shannon Schmoll developed a critical-thinking component for
Astronomy 101 courses with her faculty mentor and astronomy lecturer
Ana Larson to help students understand the concept of parallax,
or why stars appear to shift in the sky due to the Earth’s orbit.

"I’m going to graduate school in the fall, where I will have to
teach, so [the symposium] prepares me for a career in education,"
Schmoll said.

This is Schmoll’s third year presenting research at the symposium.

"It’s really nice to get my research out into the UW community," she
said. "One of the reasons I came to UW was because of their strong
research symposium. I like how the UW showcases its undergraduate
research."

All disciplines are welcome, DeCosmo said, although the event consists
primarily of undergraduates in the sciences.

Projects range from junior Katherine Hallaian’s "Motivating Armenian
Youth Protest in Southern California" to junior Myra Aquino’s "The
Philippine Diaspora and the Medical Brain Drain."

The symposium begins at noon with poster presentations. Oral
presentations start at 1:30 p.m.

5/18/researchSymposiumToShowcaseStudentWork

MEDIA: NEW SCUFFLE TOOK PLACE IN MOSCOW BETWEEN PFUR STUDENTS, KARABAKH IS THE CAUSE

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2007 16:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ New emergency case in Moscow: Students from
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia again were fighting on the
Miklukho-Maklaya street.

The alleged organizer escaped on a car and now is in the police
list of those wanted. According to law enforcement bodies one of the
participants of the fight was taken to hospital with knife wounds.

According to preliminary information the fight was organized by
immigrants from Caucasus. And the immediate cause of the fight was
a political dispute: which country owns Nagorno Karabakh – Armenia
or Azerbaijan?

Some small brawls began during an event organized in the university
entitled "Planet South-East", where several thousands of students
and guests participated.

In the result they overgrew into a mass fight.

According to the police more than 100 students participated in
the scuffle. Law enforcement bodies managed to bring the situation
under their control only when an additional reinforcement arrived at
the scene.

Last month another mass fight took place in PFUR between foreign
students. Then the police managed to stop disorders without involving
reinforcement troops.

But during the following several days a strict control was organized
in the university and adjacent territories. Passions calmed down. But
obviously not for a long time, Russian media reports.

ICG CAUCASUS PROJECT DIRECTOR TO VISIT BAKU

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 17 2007

Magdalena Fricheva, Caucasus Project Director of International
Crisis Group (ICG) is scheduled to visit Baku on May 21-22, ICG
Baku representative Vugar Gojayev told the APA. The project director
will visit Azerbaijan along with ICG analyst for the Caucasus Kleir
Belessart.

Ms. Fricheva will have meetings with Azerbaijani officials,
representatives of the diplomatic corps in Baku, local NGOs and
independent experts.

The visitor will make investigations regarding the report on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Fricheva will stay in Baku for two days and Belessart will continue
his investigations for some time.

ARMENIAN PREMIER SCEPTICAL ABOUT SPEEDY SETTLEMENT IN NAGORNYY KARABAKH.

Arminfo
16 May 07

Yerevan, 16 May: Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan has said that
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest statements give no grounds
to hope for a speedy settlement of the conflict in Nagornyy Karabakh.

Sargsyan said this in a conversation with journalists today.

Talks are under way and there is always hope for a settlement of the
[Nagornyy] Karabakh conflict, Sargsyan said.

"I have never spoken about opening any windows in the process of
settling the Karabakh problem. But, this said, I can reiterate that
the talks on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem are
under way and that there is always hope for reaching agreement. But
the Azerbaijani president’s latest statements give no grounds for a
speedy settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict," Sargsyan said.

We recall that Aliyev recently said that "the Armenian side is
concealing the true contents of the talks, which is that Armenia should
return all of the seven districts [around Nagornyy Karabakh] to the
Azerbaijani side during the first stage of the settlement process".

YURI MERZLYAKOV: "CO-CHAIRS’ MEETINGS WITH AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS WERE VERY EFFECTIVE"

Today, Azerbaijan
May 15 2007

We did not have a chance to organize the meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian Foreign Ministers in Strasbourg, Russian co-chair of OSCE
Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov exclusively told.

The co-chair stressing the efficiency of the meetings between the
co-chairs and the Foreign Ministers said though there was necessity
for meeting of Foreign Ministers of the two parties to the conflict
it did not happen, APA reports.

Touching upon recent statements by the parties on the negotiating
process Yuri Merzlyakov appreciated it as normal.

"The details of the negotiations were publicized by the co-chairs
last year. Now Azerbaijan and Armenia publicize the elements of the
negotiations which embody interest for them. I do not think it is
the break of confidentiality."

Yuri Merzlaykov said the mediators will visit the region in late May
or early in June as it is planned.

"May be one of the co-chairs will come first and then visit the region
together with the rest."

URL:

OSCE CHAIRMAN SUPPORTS ACTIVITY OF OSCE MINSK GROUP ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH: RUSSIAN CO-CHAIR

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 15 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend E.Huseyov / The OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, approves the
activities of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and intends to call on the sides, Azerbaijan
and Armenia, to promptly agree upon the key principles of the conflict
settlement, said the Russian Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuri
Merzlyakov, on 14 May from Moscow.

On 10 May, Moratinos discussed in Madrid with the co-chairs ways
of peacefully resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. "Before visiting Baku and Yerevan, Moratinos wanted to know
our assessments," Merzlayov said. Moratinos accepted our assessment
and highly assessed our activities. During his visit to the region,
the OSCE Head intends to call on the sides to promptly agree upon the
key principles of the conflict settlement. In addition, the Russian
diplomat said that on 10-11 May in Strasburg consultations were held
with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia separately. "We
discussed uncoordinated base principles of conflict settlement and
the sides gave their reactions to our proposals. We will continue
working and prepare our proposals in this regard," Merzltakov said,
not commenting on the reaction of the sides to the proposals made.

Merzlyakov informed of the visit of the co-chairs to the conflict
region at the end of May. "The date of the visit has not yet been
confirmed because responses have not been received from Yerevan and
Baku," he said.

According to the diplomat, there is no agreement yet to organize the
next round of talks between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia
on 10 June in Saint-Petersburg. "It will be clear after our visit to
the region," Merzlyakov said.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus started in
1988 due to the territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijani lands including
Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven districts of the country surrounding
it. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been
under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and
Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time active hostilities
ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and
USA) hold peaceful negotiations. Moratinos will visit Azerbaijan and
Armenia on 4-5 June.

THE PROGRESS OF ARMENIA REACHED DURING THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION CAN’T BE TURNED BACK: HEAD OF THE PACE OBSERVATION MISSION

ArmInfo News Agency
2007-05-15 09:08:00

The progress reached during the parliamentary election and the steps
taken by the Armenian authorities can’t be turned back, Leo Platvoet,
the head of the monitoring mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, told ArmInfo correspondent.

In this sense, he thinks that the returns of this election are
a guarantee that the next election on the basis of the improved
Electoral Code will be conducted better. "Of course, election is
something that has to do with political will and will of political
parties," he added. As there are still complaints about shortcoming of
political will, it is necessary to make some changes in this sphere,
he noted. "The active involvement of business into politics causes
big concern", he said and also touched upon "issues concerning the
transparency of financing the pre-electoral campaign of the political
parties".

L.Platvoet emphasized the importance of not only new measures but
also good implementation of the old ones to address these issues.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Yerevan can one-sidedly quit Karabakh talks
11.05.2007 15:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `The Azeri side breaches diplomatic ethics and it’s
almost senseless to speak of progress in the Nagorno Karabakh
negotiation process. Under such conditions continuation of talks is
practically impossible,’ Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute
of Oriental Studies at the RA National Academy of Sciences of Armenia,
told a news conference in Yerevan.

Armenia can one-sidedly quit the Karabakh talks, according to him. `We
can do it, since there are all essential prerequisites. The first is
Azerbaijan’s non-constructive attitude towards the peaceful process,’
he said.

Mr Safrastyan also noted that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs exert
pressure on the sides and hurry them for an agreement. Armenia cannot
assent to it.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 11 2007

OSCE Co-Chairs to visit the region before Chairman-in-Office

[ 11 May 2007 20:33 ]

OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs Matthew Bryza (US), Bernard Fassier
(France), Yuri Merzlyakov and Personal Representative of OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk today met with Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan, APA reports quoting PanARMENIAN.

They exchanged views on the principles of the settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The sides also discussed OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Miguel Angel Moratinos’s visit to the region on
June 4-5.
The Co-Chairs are expected to visit the region before the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office.
Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers will meet after that. The
planned meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents on June 8-10
in St. Petersburg will depend on the results of these visits.
The Co-Chairs yesterday met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov. /APA/