Author: Kanayan Tamar

ANI LORAK: I’LL TRY TO GIVE CONCERT IN YEREVAN SOON

MARCH 29, 19:26

By Marina Adulyan

The famous Ukrainian singer Ani Lorak always attracts hearts of the
audience with her charming appearance and fascinating voice. Men
adore her, women simply admire.

Ani Lorak appeared to be a person brimming with happiness. In an
interview with NEWS.am STYLE she revealed the secrets of her beautiful
figure, success and happiness.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

My mom told me the music in my life has been present since the day
I was born. I did not start uttering words but singing. Since four,
I knew I would be a singer. I was born in Kitsman, in the same house
where Vladimir Ivasyuk, famous Ukrainian composer, author of the song
“Chervona Ruta”, was born. Probably it was a sign that my dream will
come true.

My first audience was my neighbors. They did not understand why the
girl was singing on the street. They applauded, gave me candies. I
liked it when they were listening to me. I was ready to sing and
dance, just to win the attention of the audience. I liked to attract
attention since my childhood, and now I feel happy every time going on
stage and getting pleasure from the fact that my dream has come true.

Do you remember the time when you became popular?

Popularity did not come from heaven. It came gradually, it was
the result of my work. I remember the first token of glory after
the contest “Morning Star”, where I was named a new face of the
year. Then we released the album, shot a video and started tours. We
continued working. I received the Grand Prix of “Big Apple Music –
96” in New York then it was the second place at Eurovision 2008 where
I also received “Artistic Award Eurovision Song Contest.” Then, I was
named the People’s Artist of Ukraine by the president. Popularity is
not coming at once. It comes to those who work a lot and move toward
their goal.

What helped you to be successful?

In order to be successful, you have to be very persistent.

Fortunately, I realized this at an early age because I had to rely
only on myself. One day I came across the book “The Life of Beethoven:
A Struggle Against Fate” which said that a dash of talent is enough
but you need an ocean of persistence. This simple idea has become
my motto. There are many talented people, but only a few achieve
success – those who are not offended and do not give in before the
difficulties. If you have a dream, you can not retreat.

Who would you like to do a duet with?

It would be interesting to work with artists such as Ricky Martin
and Robbie Williams. I like the style of Beyonce, Adele and Jennifer
Lopez. I admire the talent of Whitney Houston. The last concert of
Madonna was fascinating. I also like the philosophy of Celine Dion.

She is a kind of person ready to help people. I would like to meet
her some day.

What is your favorite book and what book would you recommend reading?

I like reading and would recommend a series of books by Robin Sharma
“The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”, “Leadership Wisdom From The Monk
Who Sold His Ferrari (Paperback)”, “The Saint The Surfer And The
CEO” and others. His philosophy is close to me and the books are
very instructive.

What clothes do you like wearing off stage? Do you have jeans and
T-shirts?

I’m a person wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, heels and minimum of
makeup. I am wearing the clothes in which I feel comfortable. The
main thing is to wear clothes in which I am who I am. But on stage I
am Shady Lady, a diva – always bright and eye-catching, with perfect
makeup and high heels.

You have a daughter. How do you manage to combine a career and being
a mom?

I honestly do not know how. This is sort of a secret to me. It is easy
necessary to combine, because I can not imagine my life without stage
and without my family. These are two small balls that are trying to
balance. If you get stuck on one ball, you lose the other. Constant
work and no rest – you must always be in balance. My zodiac sign is
Libra. For me it is important to have balance in everything.

Therefore, on one scale I have a family and the stage on the other. I
do suffer when I am far from the stage for a long time. This year I
will mark the 20th anniversary of my career on stage. First time I
appeared on stage during a festival in the town of Chernovtsi in 1993.

Since I was four, I had a clear understanding of my mission – to sing
and give people positive emotions.

What do you think can make a woman beautiful?

Love. Because you can wear a beautiful dress, have a nice makeup,
but if your eyes are not shining with love and interest, love for
others, it is unlikely that a woman will attract attention and will
be interesting. I strongly believe that true beauty is love. The
most beautiful woman is the one who lives in love, is able to give
and receive love.

Ani, do you have any beauty secrets? Can you share them?

I almost never eat bread. I can just eat a piece of rye bread if
I really want to. I do not eat much sweets. And the most important
is doing exercises every day, which I advise my friends. You can do
exercise lying on the bed when you just woke up. It is important not
to be lazy. There can be no excuses! I do it every day. Skip? No way!

Then I will respect myself. The most interesting is that it really
works. You feel how your body wakes up.

How do you like to dress your daughter?

Oh, I have cards of all children’s stores! We can not buy a single pair
of shoes, we just buy the entire collection. My daughter simply does
not have time to put on more than a half of the purchased clothes. So
I understand that shopping is more fun for mom, than for Sofia. But
when I see a beautiful silk dress, I can not resist! It is good that
there is someone to inherit my outfits. Some designer pieces, the
gifts of godparents, are so beautiful that you can hang them on the
wall as a piece of art. I think it is not that important for a child
at an early age to have shoes from Dior or a jacket from Versace. It
is nice to get such presents but I, personally, would not buy designer
clothes for kids.

Do you consider yourself a happy person? What is necessary to make
Ani Lorak happy?

I am a happy person. I thank God for what I have. To be happy you
need determination. Sometimes, people do not have a sense of gratitude
for what they already have. We often do not appreciate what we have,
do not understand that it is a gift to see the sun every day. All
this is happiness! When we realize that we can be happy, we will
feel the taste of happiness. Melody of happiness is always within us,
you only need to learn how to hear it.

Do you know anything about Yerevan? Are you planning to give concerts
here?

I know Armenians are very hospitable people, and Yerevan is a beautiful
city with wide avenues, green squares and parks. We will try to come
to your city with a great concert program in the near future, and of
course to learn more about the culture of your city.

NEWS.am STYLE

L’ARMENIE NE FERMERA SA CENTRALE ACTUELLE QU’APRES LA CONSTRUCTION D’UNE NOUVELLE CENTRALE

L’Armenie va fermer sa centrale nucleaire dès que la nouvelle centrale
sera construite a declare Artur Baghdasaryan, President du Conseil
national de securite d’Armenie.

” Ce n’est que seulement après que la nouvelle et moderne centrale sera
construite que nous allons considerer le declassement de l’ancienne
et l’Union europeenne comprend notre position ” a-t-il commente.

” C’est leur (UE) souhait qu’ils declarent regulièrement. À moins
que nous ne soyons dote de ressources energetiques alternatives,
nous ne pouvons e faire ” a-t-il precise.

vendredi 29 mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

PAS DE DEFICIT DE POMMES DE TERRE EN ARMENIE EN 2013

Le Ministère de l’Agriculture d’Armenie ne prevoit pas de deficit de
pommes de terre cette annee a indique le vice-ministre de l’Agriculture
Garnik Petrosyan.

Le production de pommes de terre a vraiment ete endommagee dans les
villages de Masis et Etchmiadzine (region de l’Ararat et d’Armavir)
par la teigne de la pomme de pommes de terre l’annee dernière. Par
consequent, les agriculteurs sont reticents a planter des pommes de
terre cette annee dans ces regions.

” Nous avons organise un certain nombre de reunions avec les
agriculteurs et fait appel a eux pour ne pas arreter les plants
de pommes de terre semis, car c’est très important pour le secteur
agricole de notre republique. Nous pouvons maintenant enoncer que la
production de pommes de terre dans ces regions sera suffisante pour
satisfaire les besoins des residents de toutes les autres regions “,
a declare Garnik Petrossian.

Il a egalement ajoute que dans le cas où les agriculteurs reduisaient
les plants de pommes de terre, l’Armenie pourrait faire face a un
grave deficit du ” deuxième pain ” en ete.

Selon le Service national de la statistique de l’Armenie, la production
de pommes de terre en 2012 s’elève a 645 700 tonnes contre 557 800
tonnes en 2011.

vendredi 29 mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LES GROUPES MINORITAIRES REJETTENT LA RESOLUTION DU PARTI AU POUVOIR

Les quatre groupes minoritaires du Parlement armenien ont sabote une
session extraordinaire demandee par le parti au pouvoir qui avait
pour objet d’adopter une resolution appelant au calme et au dialogue
politique a la suite de l’election presidentielle contestee.

Le Parti republicain d’Armenie (HHK) dont le chef Serge Sarkissian a
ete officiellement reelu a la presidence le 18 fevrier a redige une
declaration exhortant tous les partis politiques et les groupes de
la societe civile en Armenie a travailler au dialogue pour desamorcer
les tensions actuelles.

Le document mentionne egalement la possibilite de ” discussions
constructives ” sur les reformes constitutionnelles et les moyens
d’ameliorer le système electoral – deux des nombreuses demandes
de Raffi Hovannisian qui continue sa grève de la faim square de la
liberte. Il avait lance recemment une dernière offre au president dans
laquelle il demandait une reforme en profondeur de la loi electorale,
des legislatives anticipees avant la fin de l’annee et un certain
nombre de postes cles.

L’initiative du HHK visait a obtenir le soutien de tous les groupes
autour de cette declaration. Il ont refuse d’y souscrire au motif
qu’elle restait dans un cadre trop general et ne proposait pas de
solutions specifiques.

“Le texte propose par la majorite est inacceptable pour nous. Il
s’agit d’une declaration de principes plutôt que d’une feuille de
route sur la manière dont le Parlement devrait agir pour remedier a
cette situation et resoudre ce problème majeur que connaît le pays,
” a explique Naira Zohrabian, le secretaire d’Armenie prospère a RFE /
RL (Azatutyun.am).

Zohrabian estime que la proposition de resolution du HHK a egalement
omis de tenir compte de la demande concernant la transition vers un
système entièrement proportionnel de la representation parlementaire.

Les suggestions des deux groupes minoritaires, de la FRA et d’Heritage,
n’ont pas ete pris en compte non plus. Les deux partis avaient appele
a une reforme electorale majeure ainsi que l’attribution a l’opposition
d’un rôle au sein des organes de surveillance.

Hakobian a ridiculise la position du HHK, selon laquelle une session
extraordinaire du Parlement sur la situation post-electorale ne
pourrait etre appelee que si toutes les factions acceptaient de
soutenir le texte d’une declaration donnee.

“Cela n’a rien a voir avec le parlementarisme “, a-t-il dit. “Et
cette declaration qu’ils ont proposee est juste vide de contenu. ”

Le Congrès National Armenien s’est egalement positionne contre le
projet. Il exige que les seances parlementaires se tiennent sur la
question du ” retablissement de l’ordre constitutionnel ” en Armenie
par le biais de la tenue des elections presidentielles anticipees
et parlementaires.

Le groupe majoritaire du HHK a pour sa part fait valoir que les partis
minoritaires ont des divergences sur la declaration non seulement
avec le parti au pouvoir, mais aussi entre eux. Il a reconnu que
de telles differences remettaient en question la perspective d’une
approche commune sur la situation post-electorale et donc d’une
session parlementaire consacree a cette question.

vendredi 29 mars 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

WE HOLD THE KEY TO THE FUTURE

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Glendale Votes 2013

BY BERDJ KARAPETIAN

In February 2013, Mr. Armond Aghakhanian came 105 votes short of
getting into the run-off elections for Burbank City School District.

In March 2013, Mr. Sam Kbushyan came in 3rd place and did not advance
to the run-off elections to represent parts of ~SLittle Armenia~T
and surrounding areas of the 13th District of Los Angeles City.

Both candidates worked diligently to secure the votes of Armenian
and non-Armenian voters. The Armenian votes alone could have made
a difference in both elections. While the percentage of Armenian
voters casting a vote was well above that of others, less than 40%
of the Armenian registered voters cast a vote. It is very likely that
both gentlemen could have advanced to the run-off elections if more
than 50% of the Armenian voters had voted.

What will happen in Glendale? Will more than 50% of the registered
Armenian-American voters cast a vote?

If they do, the City of Glendale and its Armenian residents will win.

The data provided by the City~Rs Election Center shows that
approximately 50% of the vote by mail (VBM) ballots received by March
22 were cast by citizens with Armenian names.

This is encouraging, but not sufficient to conclude that 50% of the
votes will be cast by citizens of Armenian descent. In the past few
elections, we have seen the number of Armenians who vote on election
day to be very low. Less than 40% of the people who voted at the
polling location in the 2009 and 2011 city elections had Armenian
names. We can shape the future by voting on April 2 and getting our
relatives and friends to vote. This Easter Day will provide all of
us an excellent opportunity to remind our family and friends to vote
on April 2.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Glendale (ANCA-Glendale)
has partnered with Asbarez Daily, Shant/ARTN TV, Horizon Armenian
TV, High Vision TV, AABC TV, AMGA, USArmenia TV and other Armenian
newspapers and television content providers to increase awareness about
the elections and encourage voters to cast a vote on election day.
Starting noon on April 2, Armenian TV channels will provide live
up-dates and information on where to vote and how to get rides to
the voting locations.

The ANCA-Glendale has urged Armenian employers to provide time-off
to employees to cast a vote on election day.

The ANCA-Glendale has recruited local transportation providers and
dozens of volunteers to provide rides to individuals who will need
assistance with going to the voting locations.

The ANCA-Glendale has encouraged Armenian businesses and establishments
to display the ANCA-Glendale poster publicizing its recommended list
of candidates.

Glendale~Rs City Clerk will have workers at each voting location who
speak Armenian to assist people who are not fluent in English.

More than 100 volunteers will canvass neighborhoods throughout
Glendale on election day to remind and encourage people to vote.
You can volunteer and help others vote. Send us an e-mail at
[email protected] or call us at 818/234-3444 to volunteer.

Will Mr. Ardashes ~SArdy~T Kassakhian get re-elected as City
Clerk? Will Mr. Rafi Manoukian become the City~Rs Treasurer? Will Ara
Najarian, Zareh Sinanyan, and Chahe Keuroghelian be elected to the
City Council? Will Jennifer Freemon, Greg Krikorian, and Dr. Armina
Gharpetian be elected to the GUSD School Board? Will measures A, B,
and C be defeated?

Your actions will determine the answer to these questions.

Berdj Karapetian is the chairman of the Armenian National Committee
of America-Glendale.

SAAKASHVILI: OPENING RAILWAY VIA ABKHAZIA WILL BE A BLOW TO INTERESTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA

Azer News, Azerbaijan
March 27, 2013 Wednesday

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is against opening of the
Abkhazian section of the Georgian railway. As he stated during the
Open Air program on Imedi TV, “the opening of the railway would be
such a blow to the interests of Georgia and Azerbaijan, that it is
not even possible to speak about it”.

“The opening of the railway through Abkhazia is against Georgian
interests,” he said.

Saakashvili recalled that the tanks located now in the west of Georgia,
entered the country through this railway section.

In addition, according to the president, opening of the railway would
involve Azerbaijan in the matter, which is something Georgia can not
allow. At the same time, he said Georgia wants to have good relations
with Armenia as well.

“In order to diversify transport routes to Armenia, we opened the
highway through Lars, and worked on construction of the new city
and the port of Lazika, which would triple transportation traffic,
including for Armenia,” Saakashvili said.

He also said he intends to attend the inauguration of the President
of Armenia.

MURDER OF AN ARMENIAN TURKISH SOLDIER ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 28 2013

On March 26 the Diyarbakır Military Court delivered its judgment on
the killing of Armenian Turkish soldier Sevag Balıkcı and gave the
suspect, Kıvanc Agaoglu, a sentence of four years, five months for
committing murder by “conscious negligence.” This means that the court
came to the conclusion that the murder was not committed on purpose.

There are so many elements in this “consciously neglected” murder that
would make any reasonable observer quite suspicious as to whether or
not there was really no “intention” on the part of the suspect.

I am just writing down some simple facts about the case:

1-The murder took place on April 24, 2011, namely on the day that marks
the beginning of a long chain of Armenian massacres in 1915 in Turkey.

2-The victim is a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent. Everyone
in his battalion had known that he was an Armenian since this was
unmistakably obvious with his Armenian name, Sevag.

3-The murderer is a Turkish ultranationalist who was doing his
mandatory military service like conscripted private Balıkcı himself.

According to court file documents his Facebook profile showed that he
was a Grand Unity Party (BBP) sympathizer. As you probably may know,
Hrant Dink’s murderer was also connected to this party’s youth group.

4-The murder was committed with a G3 rifle. There is no dispute that
Agaoglu pointed his rifle at Sevag. He says this was a joke and what
happened after was on accident. You have to switch off this rifle’s
safety lock and pull the trigger in order to fire it. Even if he
pointed his gun as a joke, how did the rest transpire?

5-All the witnesses to the incident were conscripted privates like
Balıkcı and his murderer. There is evidence showing that all
witnesses were summoned by some high-ranking military personnel and
that they were said to have given their testimonies carefully since
their statements could put their friend in a difficult position, giving
the “wrong” impression that Balıkcı was killed on purpose. Again
we understood from the court file that all witnesses were contacted
by the family members of the murderer for the same purpose, namely
to encourage them to give “factual” testimony.

The court’s conclusion may be true for technical legal reasons. If
you do not have proof that shows the intent of the murderer beyond
a reasonable doubt, you cannot say that it was an intentional murder.

The witnesses’ testimonies, which were given under circumstances
that I tried to describe briefly above, do not prove that the murder
was intentional.

However, in our hearts, given all these elements I mentioned above,
this is just another murder that was committed out of hatred. The
history of this country, all this amnesia and denial, all this
institutional racism and all this hatred out there create a kind of
unfortunate presumption of “intent” whenever an Armenian is killed
under any suspicious circumstances. I wish I were able to believe that
this murder was committed through negligence. But all I believe is
this: Unless Turkey fully confronts its past, we may witness so many
other “negligently” killed Armenians in Turkey. After all, isn’t it the
official narrative that hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915
because of “unfavorable” conditions that they were “unintentionally”
exposed to? The killings happened accidently by negligence, and we
do not remember anything about how these things happened!

LIVERPOOL TO MAKE EURO 12 MILLION SWOOP FOR SHAKHTAR DONETSK STAR?

MIUSoccer, UK
March 28 2013

There has been some rumours emerge on the TalkSport website which
have claimed Liverpool will make a move to try and prise Shakhtar
Donetsk Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the summer transfer window.

Brendan Rodgers enjoyed a decent winter window with the acquisitions
of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge and he is eager to build
on that this time around.

He has earmarked Mkhitaryan and the indication is that Shakhtar are
willing to sell.

The Armenia international has played for his current club since
2010 but is keen on a new challenge. Indeed, only recently did the
24-year-old go public on his future. (TalkSport)

The attacker is ready for the step up to one of Europes biggest clubs
and Liverpool would be getting a great player for a good price.

.

ARMENIA AND POLAND TO FORM JOINT DEFENSE ENTERPRISE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 28 2013

Secretary of the Armenian National Security Council Artur Bagdasaryan
has discussed economic and defense cooperation with co-chair of the
bilateral intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation Tomash
Miskevic in Poland, News Armenia reports.

An agreement on formation of a joint venture of Lyubava and
Charentsavansky Machine Tool Plant was signed during the talks.

Bagdasaryan emphasized the need for further military cooperation with
head of the Bureau for National Security of Poland Stanislav Kozei.

The sides discussed regional and international security and support of
Armenia in European integration and cooperation within the framework
of the Eastern Partnership.

ARMENIAN SHORT-TERM CREDIT RISK EASES SOMEWHAT IN IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT’S LATEST SOVEREIGN REVIEW

Global Insight
March 27, 2013

by: Venla Sipila

IHS Global Insight has upgraded Armenia’s short-term sovereign rating
by one notch to 20 (A on the generic scale) in its first-quarter 2013
review. The improvement mainly reflects eased pressure on external
balances from interest payments, while the overall external position
has somewhat strengthened. Before this, the rating had been lowered
by 15 points a year previously, reflecting Armenia’s narrowing
current-account deficit and strong inflows of foreign direct
investment, which helps finance the country’s remaining external
shortfall. Meanwhile, the medium-term rating still signals a very
high payments risk; it was maintained at 60 (equivalent to B- on the
generic rating scale), with a Stable outlook.

Significance:Armenia’s short-term sovereign credit now is categorised
as “good quality”. However, the interest payment metric only just
crossed to the non-scoring category, and while we expect some
further strengthening in this measure in our baseline scenario,
financial pressures from this source may arise again, especially
if overall exchange-rate earnings prove weaker than expected. The
Armenian economy and its external balances remain very dependent on
private capital inflows such as workers’ remittances, and these remain
under risk given the uncertainty in the overall economic environment,
especially taking into account the persistent European credit crisis.

Meanwhile, debt servicing requirements still act as a component on
the medium-term sovereign credit profile, although the risks from
these should remain manageable, assuming that the current account
continues to stabilise, and Armenia’s relationship with international
financial institutions remains good.