Author: Kanayan Tamar

Business Recorder
Sept 8 2012

Last battle for top slot in Chess Olympiad on Sunday

Saturday, 08 September 2012

ISTANBUL: The Open Section in the 40th World Chess Olympiad is heading
towards an exciting finish on Sunday as three teams are entering the
11th and final round with equal points – China, Armenia and Russia.

The top trio got eight wins from ten games with one draw and one loss.

China’s top striker Ding Liren nicely outplayed Alexander Onischuk in
the Rook endgame, and with the other three games being drawn, China
signed an important victory against USA.

Russia assumed a quick lead against Argentina as Diego Flores lost the
wandering Knight right from the opening.

But Argentineans held two draws with white pieces and Sandro Mareco
pressed hard against Dmitry Jakovenko. Mareco was a pawn up but he
couldn’t convert the advantage and the match finally ended in Russia’s
favour.

Armenia achieved a relatively easy win against Netherlands. Levon
Aronian won a nice game against Anish Giri, while Vladimir Akopian
sacrificed a piece for three pawns and proceeded to an endgame where
his phalanx was unstoppable. Armenia won 3-1.

Ukraine leaped ahead to the 4th place thanks to a narrow 2,5-1,5
victory against Azerbaijan. Czech Republic took an early lead with
David Navara’s win, but then the Polish team switched the gear and won
the remaining three games.

As the leaders have already played against each other, in round 11
they are paired with the teams in the lower point groups: Ukraine –
China, Hungary – Armenia and Russia – Germany.

In the Women Section the things are heating up again as the 22nd-seed
Kazakhstan bravely held the leading China to a 2-2 tie.

Women International Master (WIM) Guliskhan Nakhbayeva held the World
Champion Hou Yifan to a draw, while Madina Davletbayeva totally
outplayed Ding Yixin. Zhao Xue could only Russia convincingly defeated
Armenia by 3,5-0,5, as Lilit Galojan was the only player to make a
draw for her team.

Russia is now even with China in the term of match points, while China
still holds some edge in the tie-break.

Ukraine narrowly beat Poland 2,5-1,5, with Natalia Zhukova bringing
the key point, and is now in serious contention for one of the
medals.even up the score with a victory against Gulmira Dauletova.

>From the other matches, it should be noted that the 2011 World Junior
Champion Deysi Cori beat the top-rated player in the Section, Anna
Muzychuk (2606), as Peru defeated Slovenia by 2,5-1,5.

Top round 11 matches are Russia vs Kazakhstan, Bulgaria vs China,
Ukraine vs Germany and France vs India.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #656
Sept 8 2012

Axe-Murderer Pardon Hardens Azeri, Armenian Attitudes

Celebrations in Baku and outrage in Yerevan as convicted killer is
welcomed back to Azerbaijan.

By Shahin Rzayev, Naira Melkumyan – Caucasus

Hungary’s decision to repatriate an Azerbaijan officer convicted of
murdering an Armenian studying on the same course abroad has caused
outrage in Armenia, worried foreign diplomats and baffled analysts.

In 2004, Safarov killed Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe
at a NATO school in Hungary where they were both studying English.

Convicted by a Hungarian court, Safarov was sentenced to life in 2006.
On August 31, however, he was sent back to Azerbaijan on the
understanding, Hungarian officials said, that he would serve out his
sentence there.

Instead, Safarov received a pardon from Azerbaijan’s president Ilham
Aliyev when he arrived in Baku. On arrival, he was welcomed by Defence
Minister Safar Abiyev, promoted to the rank of major, awarded a new
flat and given 45,000 manats – about 57,000 US dollars – in army back
pay for the eight years he spent in prison.

In Armenia, an enraged President Serzh Sargsyan immediately suspended
diplomatic ties with Hungary, accusing the country of betraying
justice in exchange for a loan from Azerbaijan.

Russia, France and the United States, the three countries that act as
the OSCE’s Minsk Group intermediaries in the long-running
Armenian-Azerbaijan stand-off over Nagorny Karabakh, expressed
disquiet at the decision, saying it could endanger the already fragile
peace in the region.

`We are expressing our deep concern to Azerbaijan regarding this
action and seeking an explanation. We are also seeking further details
from Hungary regarding the decision to transfer Mr. Safarov to
Azerbaijan,’ US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. `We
condemn any action that fuels regional tensions.’

His comments were echoed closely in Russia, which expressed `deep
concern’. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, `We
believe that these actions by Azerbaijan, as well as those of the
Hungarian authorities, run counter to efforts agreed to at
international level… to reduce tension in the region.’

President Aliyev offered only a brief explanation of the pardon,
saying merely that it was in line with national legislation.

Azerbaijani defence ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu went further in
a statement referring to Safarov’s release as a `victory for justice
and Azerbaijani diplomacy’. Sabirov accused the `enemy’ – Armenia – of
responding with `hysterics’.

Most Azerbajanis appeared delighted by their government’s decision.
When Safarov’s return was announced, crowds of young people gathered
to celebrate in parks and streets in the centre of Baku.

In the Akhundov garden, near the city mayor’s office, a dozen young
men waving flags and holding pictures of Safarov chanted anti-Armenian
slogans while police looked on.

`I think it’s absolutely right that Ramil was freed,’ said Iskander
Atazade, one of the students out celebrating. `I don’t consider him a
hero, but he repaid a small part of a very big debt.’

In Armenia, the reaction was one of fury.

A small group of protesters gathered outside the Hungarian embassy,
hurling tomatoes and shouting abuse.

Protesters suggested that Safarov had been prompted to carry out the
killing by the `massive anti-Armenian propaganda spread by the
authorities’ as the Karabakh dispute unfolded.

`By issuing a pardon this, the Azerbaijani state is officially
admitting that it does not regard the murder of Armenians as a crime,’
Gagik Baghdasaryan, a history teacher in Yerevan, said.

Widespread criticism of Armenia’s foreign ministry for failing to
block Safarov’s repatriation was cut short when President Sargsyan
announced that ties with Budapest were being cut.

`With this decision, they [Hungary and Azerbaijan] have sent a message
to murderers that murder committed for religious or ethnic reasons can
go unpunished,’ he said. `I cannot tolerate this. The Republic of
Armenia cannot tolerate it. The Armenian people will not forgive it.’

Richard Giragosian, head of the Centre of Regional Studies in Yerevan,
said the real danger coming out of the Safarov case was that it risked
reigniting conflict.

`The likelihood of a resumption of war has increased. You have to
understand that Azerbaijan has become unpredictable – you have to
expect anything from a country that can forgive murder,’ he said.

In Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajizade, a former ambassador to Russia who now
heads the Far Monitoring think-tank, said any change in the dynamics
had to be an improvement.

`The talks process is at a dead-end and all these meetings of
presidents, the Minsk Group and so on are no more than a pretence,’ he
said. `The Safarov case might at least give an electric shock to the
process and bring this half-dead body out of a coma. In any case,
nothing could be worse than what we have now.’

Azerbaijanis who follow the foreign media were concerned that granting
Safarov a pardon had badly damaged their country’s reputation.

`This is what happens when the public isn’t allowed to do anything.
They are angry,’ said Khadija Ismailova, a journalist with Radio
Liberty. `I think Safarov did something terrible. He created lots of
problems for Azerbaijan. But people who are victims of occupation
think he is a hero because he did something. He acted wrongly, but he
did act. `

Tom de Waal, a veteran observer of the South Caucasus now at the
Carnegie Endowment in Washington, was baffled as to what might have
prompted Aliyev to take what he called a `deeply provocative’ step.

`It is a worrying indication of the quality of advice that President
Ilham Aliyev is receiving from his inner circle,’ he wrote in a
comment piece for the BBC. `Over the past few years, the government in
Baku has spent tens of millions of dollars of its new oil revenues
promoting the image of Azerbaijan as a new, modernising, dynamic
country. The effect has been quite successful, with results ranging
from Azerbaijan joining the UN Security Council to Baku hosting
feel-good events such as the Eurovision Song Contest.

`All that PR work now has to contend with a contrary image of the
government welcoming home an axe-murderer.’

As for Hungary, officials insisted they had received firm promises
from Azerbaijan that Safarov would see out his term. Armenians,
however, pointed to news reports a week before his release that
Budapest – hard hit by financial crisis in Europe – was looking to
borrow money from Azerbaijan.

Responding to rumours that it had investments in Hungary, the State
Oil Fund of Azerbaijan issued a statement denying that it held
securities or other financial instruments in that country.

Shahin Rzayev is IWPR’s Azerbaijan country director. Naira Melkumyan
is a freelance journalist in Armenia.

Times of Malta
Sept 8 2012

Sub Sarkisov hits winner to down low-key Malta

Saturday, September 8, 2012 by
Kevin Azzopardi, National Stadium

Malta 0
Armenia 1
Sarkisov 71

In a group replete with strong footballing nations like Italy, the
Euro 2012 runners-up, Denmark and the Czech Republic, Armenia are
arguably the weakest team other than Malta.

That is not to say that Armenia are easy opponents as their rise in
the FIFA rankings in the last few years has been nothing short of
remarkable but, in the eyes of many, last night’s opening World Cup
qualifier against the former Soviet republic heightened hopes of a
positive start by the national team to this campaign.

Such optimism had also been fuelled by back-to-back friendly wins over
Luxembourg and San Marino in Pietro Ghedin’s first two games in charge
in his second stint as Malta coach but Armenia were a different
proposition yesterday.

They dictated matters for long swathes and it was only the stoic
defending of the likes of Andrei Agius and Luke Dimech and the fine
showing of keeper Andrew Hogg that prevented the visitors from a more
emphatic victory.

Indeed, Malta’s defiance at the back was the only bright note on an
otherwise disappointing evening for the hosts.

The team did their best to heed Ghedin’s instructions to try and pass
their way through rather than resort to long balls but the red-shirted
players were devoid of cohesion, particularly in midfield where Daniel
Bogdanovic and Andrew Cohen, the wide men, and Andre Schembri were
peripheral figures.

This below-par showing will have left Ghedin in no doubt as to the
magnitude of the task facing his team in an intimidating Group B where
a daunting clash against Italy in Modena awaits Malta next Tuesday.

On the occasion of FIFA Fair Play Day, Michael Mifsud and Sargis
Hovsepyan, captains of Malta and Armenia respectively, made a
declaration, pledging to play fair and according to the rules.

Ghedin’s selection showed one change from the friendly win against San
Marino last month as experienced defender Dimech received the nod
ahead of Ryan Camilleri.

Dimech, who returned to the national fold for the warm-up game against
Liechtenstein last February after a lengthy absence, partnered Agius
in central defence as Jonathan Caruana was kept in reserve.

With Clayton Failla unavailable, Ghedin switched Alex Muscat to
left-back with Steve Borg patrolling the right flank.

The two central midfield slots were occupied by Roderick Briffa and
Gareth Sciberras as Bogdanovic and Cohen played on the wing with
Schembri detailed to probe for openings behind Mifsud, our lone
striker.

Armenia’s tactical module was similar to that of Malta with Yuran
Movsisyan leading the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Five minutes into the game, Marcos Pinheiro Pizzelli profited from a
miscued clearance by Dimech but his effort was blocked.

Malta’s first notable chance came courtesy of Briffa whose central
drive from outside the box posed no trouble to Grevorg Kasparov, the
Armenia goalkeeper.

Armenia were the brighter side in the early exchanges.

They threatened to break the deadlock on 18 minutes when Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, who had gone close with a rising effort, surged forward on
the left before driving in a low cross that reached Levon Airapetian
at the far post. He steadied himself before hitting a shot that
whistled past the upright.

On the eve of the match, Ghedin had emphasised the importance of
making good use of possession but his charges were finding it hard to
pass the ball around with a modicum of precision with the consequence
that their attacking threat was negligible.

Not so can be said of Armenia who were quick to break forward every
time they had the ball.

Hogg did well to beat away a dangerous corner by Pizzelli.

In a rare Malta counter-attack, Sciberras sent Bogdanovic running
through on the right with a superb pass and the latter’s attempt to
cross the ball to Mifsud was deflected over the bar by Hrayr Mkoyan.

Close to the half-hour, Armenia were unlucky not to take the lead.

Movsisyan released Pizzelli and the latter mustered a fierce shot that
ricocheted off the near post and onto the leaping Hogg. The ball
soared tantalisingly towards goal but Muscat ran back and hooked the
ball away.

With Malta unable to stem the tide, Armenia stayed in control.

They threatened again when the ball reached Mkhitaryan in the six-yard
box but Borg made a providential tackle to dispossess the Armenia
winger.

Boos echoed around the stadium when Austrian referee Rene Aisner
ignored Malta’s claims for a penalty after the sprinting Mifsud
appeared to have been pushed to the ground as he tried to latch on to
Cohen’s inviting pass after the Hibs livewire had tricked his way past
two defenders.

Five minutes into the second half, Dimech caught the eye with a timely
intervention to block Mkhitaryan’s angled drive after the Armenia
winger had made headway inside the Malta box.

Moments later, Hogg thwarted Armenia as he smothered away Aras
Ozbiliz’s long-range strike.

At the restart, Malta were again forced to play second fiddle to the
Armenians who were quicker on the ball and brisk in their movement,
especially in midfield.

It took Malta 16 minutes of the second half to create a chance. Mifsud
twisted and turned in the opponents’ box before delivering a low ball
for Schembri but he was closed down by two Armenia players.

Malta’s resistance was breached with 19 minutes left when Movsisyan
drove towards the byline down the left before picking out substitute
Artur Sarkisov who beat Hogg from close range.

Ghedin made his first substitution 15 minutes from time, throwing on
Ryan Fenech for Cohen.

Fenech’s first contribution was to deliver a looping left-wing cross
which was diverted away for a corner.

As the minutes ticked away, Malta’s hopes of an equaliser receded
amidst Ghedin men’s troubles to find some sort of fluidity in their
play.

Armenia came close to increasing their lead through Mkhitaryan whose
initial effort, following a set-piece pass from Ozbiliz, took a
deflection and drifted just wide of the near post.

The Armenian winger was then foiled by Hogg who parried away his
powerful effort from inside the box.

At the other end, Borg’s effort from a wide position was stopped by
the visitors’ goalkeeper.

In stoppage time, Hogg was prominent again when palming away a
menacing ball by Sarkisov from the right.

Malta: A. Hogg, A. Muscat, G. Sciberras, A. Agius, L. Dimech, D.
Bogdanovic, R. Briffa (86 S. Bajada), M. Mifsud, A. Cohen (75 R.
Fenech), A. Schembri, S. Borg.

Armenia: G. Kasparov, S. Hovsepyan, R. Arzumanyan (80 V. Aleksanyan),
H. Mkoyan, A. Yedigaryan (53 D. Manoyan), H. Mkhitaryan, K. Lazarian,
L. Airapetian, A. Ozbiliz, M. Pizzelli (65 A. Sarkisov), Y. Movsisyan.

Referee Rene Aisner (Austria).

Yellow cards Sciberras; Mkoyan; Dimech; Hovsepyan.

Attendance 3,800.

Malta Players’ Ratings

Hogg-7.5, Muscat-6.5, Sciberras-6, Agius-7, Dimech-6.5, Bogdanovic-5,
Briffa-5.5, Mifsud-5, Cohen-6, Schembri-5, Borg-6.

Aftermatch comments…

National coach Pietro Ghedin lamented the way his team conceded Artur
Sarkisov’s goal yesterday, adding Malta had played almost at a par
with their more-quoted opponents yesterday.

`Armenia have great potential but it’s a pity we lost this way because
the lads were rarely second best tonight.

`In the end, we got punished for one of the few mistakes we committed.
In my opinion that was a soft goal they scored and we should have
never let that to happen.

`It’s hard to lose this way but that’s football.’

Malta’s next match will be in Modena on Tuesday against group favourites Italy.

`We have a couple of days to reflect. But Italy will be an-other
story. There’s room for improvement but we shall not let this upset
affect the team’s preparations for the next group match.’

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
September 7, 2012 Friday

NATO seeks closer ties with Azerbaijan

| BRUSSELS, Sept 7 (KUNA) — NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen commended Azerbaijan for its progress in defence reforms and
called for closer security cooperation during his first visit to the
country on Friday, said a NATO statement.

Rasmussen thanked Azerbaijan for its participation in the NATO-led
mission in Afghanistan and relayed the Alliance’s appreciation for the
country’s additional support given to NATO operations, through over
flight and transit lines. Azerbaijan is also helping to fund the
training of Afghan security forces. Rasmussen also expressed his
appreciation to Azerbaijan’s intention to continue to support
Afghanistan after the ISAF mission ends in 2014.

“Our relations are developing steadily and positively,” the Secretary
General said after talks with President Ilham Alyiev. Azerbaijan is a
“valuable partner for NATO,” and stressed that the Alliance was
determined to build closer ties.

The NATO chief also raised the issue of regional stability in a speech
to the Azeri Diplomatic Academy. He urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to
reconcile. “The only way forward is through dialogue, compromise, and
cooperation,” he said. (end) nk.ajs KUNA 071834 Sep 12NNNN

ITAR-TASS, Russia
September 7, 2012 Friday 03:46 PM GMT+4

Armavia intention to refuse from SSJ-100 not to affect SSJ project

VLADIVOSTOK September 7

Head of the United Aircraft Corporation Company ProfileMikhail
Pogosyan believes that the intentions of the Armenian air company
Armavia to refuse from operating the medium-haul airplanes Sukhoi
Superjet-100 (SSJ-100) will not affect the SSJ-100 project in general.

“There are no reasons for serious concerns on this issue. We are
dealing with Armavia, as long as we deal with it, we will tell you
everything,” he said on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

The head of the United Aircraft Corporation Company Profileadded that
the situation of the Armenian air company deserves attention, because
it turned out to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, he noted
that the airplane has been operated only for a year, and this is not
enough to make definite conclusions. As far as the SuperJet air crash
in Indonesia is concerned, “two people have made a mistake,” Pogosyan
underlined.

Moskovsky Komsomolets, Russia
Sept 5 2012

HUNGARY: I AM NOT GUILTY!

The “broad” gesture may become the beginning of a new war

by Elena Gamayun, Elena Borisova

BY ITS IRRESPONSIBILITY HUNGARY ACTUALLY PUT THE TRANSCAUCASIAN REGION
ON A VERGE OF A NEW WAR; The broad gesture of Hungary that extradited
Ramil Safarov, killer of an Armenian officer, to Azerbaijan (he was
immediately pardoned there and also treated very kindly) became the
stone that might cause an avalanche in international policy. It
threatened not only the Armenian-Hungarian relations but also the
beginning dialog of Armenia with turkey, the fate of the negotiation
process on Nagorno-Karabakh and even interaction of countries inside
of the CIS.

The broad gesture of Hungary that extradited Ramil Safarov, killer of
an Armenian officer, to Azerbaijan (he was immediately pardoned there
and also treated very kindly) became the stone that might cause an
avalanche in international policy. It threatened not only the
Armenian-Hungarian relations but also the beginning dialog of Armenia
with turkey, the fate of the negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh
and even interaction of countries inside of the CIS.

The bureau for coordination of struggle against organized crime and
other dangerous kinds of crime on the territories of the CIS countries
found itself in a difficult situation. Meeting of the council of
interior ministers of the CIS countries will take place in Baku
between September 6 and 8 to discuss changing of the chair of the
council for the next year. The problem is that Armenia is the chain in
the council now and according to regulations of the council rotation
is done according to the Latin alphabet. This meant that at this
council Armenia had to transfer its powers of the chair to Azerbaijan.
However, the Armenian delegation already reported that because of the
actions of Baku it would not take part in the meeting of the council
and would not transfer the powers of the chair to Azerbaijan too. Head
of the police of Armenia reported that he would hand these powers over
to the Interior Minister of Russia. Thus, it will be up to Russia to
find a way out.

NATO is another structure that has “suffered” in this conflict. NATO
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is going to arrive to Yerevan.
It is already clear that behavior of Hungary, a NATO member, will
become the main topic of communication with President Sargsian. We
should not forget that the fact of the cruel murder took place at the
training courses of the alliance in the framework of Partnership for
Peace program in Budapest. Hungary was very upset then that the evil
deed of Safarov cast a shadow not only on the country but also on the
NATO structures that failed to provide security for participants of
the partnership program. Now the shadow grew to an indecent size
because a NATO country actually contributed to liberation of the
killer. The Armenian party also reported that Turkey, another NATO
country, took an active part in negotiations between Azerbaijan and
Hungary about extradition of Safarov. This circumstance shows that
some sub-alliances are formed inside of the alliance with their narrow
geopolitical interests, which is not very good for the NATO image.

Possible participation of Turkey in the extradition will not be
beneficial for the already complicated Armenian-Turkish relations. For
instance, the Foreign Minister of Armenia already announced that
participation of Turkey in the negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh
was impossible and negotiations on this issue were impossible now at
all.

The action of Hungary also hinders relations of Armenia with the EU.
Armenian politicians already expressed discontent with the fact that
European structures did not react to the accident duly. Almost five
days passed since the moment of the “heroic” return of Safarov to the
native country but only the US, Russia and France characterized this
event negatively. Along with this, Hungary declared protest to the
Ambassador of Azerbaijan too saying that Baku simply deceived it.
During the negotiations about extradition it was said that Safarov
sentenced to lifelong imprisonment would be put to prison after
arrival to Azerbaijan. The Foreign Ministry of Hungary stated that it
was a shock for them that Safarov was not only released but was also
given a new apartment, a title of a major and a new post in the armed
forces of Azerbaijan. However, this “regret” is only an indicator of
professionalism of the Foreign Ministry of Hungary. In case of due
studying of the issue it was possible to guess that Azerbaijani
authorities would hardly imprison the person whom they proposed to
make “hero of Azerbaijan.”

[Translated from Russian]

2012 CHESS OLYMPIAD ISTANBUL: ROUND TEN

Chessbase News
Sept 7 2012
Germany

08.09.2012- After nine rounds four teams were in the joint lead in
match points. One of them, the USA, suffered a fairly devastating loss
against another from the group: China. The other two, Russia and
Armenia, both won their matches, so that now they are three in the
lead. In the women’s section Russia crushed Armenia to join China in
the lead. Express report with GM commentary.

The 40th Chess Olympiad is taking place in the Turkish metropole of
Istanbul, from August 27 to September 10th, 2012. A record of 158
national chess federations have brought teams to Istanbul to
participate in this prestigious event, which is being staged in the
WOW Hotel and Convention Center, just minutes away from the airport.

Pictures to follow…

Round ten summary by GM Alejandro Ramirez

The match situation was of course, very tense. With four teams tied
for first place it seemed like anything could happen. Of course, the
match-up of the day was China-USA, which ended in a victory for the
Chinese after Ding Liren managed to convert a seemingly drawn endgame
against usually super solid Alexander Onischuk. The rest of the games
were relatively uneventful draws, though you could say that USA was
slightly lucky to get the full 1.5/3 on those boards.

On the second table was a very unexpected match. Argentina is by no
means a ‘weak’ team. They field four GMs near 2600, but by Olympiad
standards they are nothing special. Yet somehow, after losing a match
to Poland and drawing India, they find themselves only one point
behind the leaders. Since Russia had already played the other teams
with 15 points, they had to ‘bring up’ someone. The match should’ve
been somewhat easy for the top ranked team, at least in theory.

However Russia really suffered, their black pieces being held to draws
with no problems and Sandro Mareco putting on the pressure (as black!)
against Jakovenko. Unfortunately for the latin community Mareco could
only draw and Flores lost disastrously to Karjakin in a miniature.

Russia prevails with their typical 2.5-1.5 and joins the Chinese in
the lead.

The last team with 15 points was Armenia, who got a strong opponent in
the Netherlands. The Dutch team started the Olympiad horribly, losing
to Venezuela (!) and Georgia in rounds 2 and 3, but they recovered and
bested Israel in the last round. However, Armenia showed them why they
have been playing nothing but the top boards the entire event.

Akopian also won with black after Sokolov pushed his pawns too far in
an Exchange Slav and a timely piece sacrifice left White’s pawns too
weak to defend. The ensuing endgame proved that four passed connected
pawns have more potential value than a knight. Specifically four
queens more valuable. Armenia took the match and set up a
heartstopping last round. Since the top three teams already played
each other, they will be pulling up from the trailers, Ukraine at 16,
USA, Hungary, Poland and Germany at 15. Will the top teams maintain
their momentum? Who will lose the gold medal in the very last game?

Sunday will be a big day.

For results, tables and games, go to

SAFAROV RELEASE “IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL NORMS”, AZERBAIJAN TELLS HUNGARY IN NOTE

Politics.hu

Sept 7 2012
Hungary

By MTI

Azerbaijan has sent Hungary a diplomatic note stating that the release
of Ramil Sahib Safarov was in line with the country’s legislation
and international norms, the spokesman of the Azerbaijani foreign
ministry said at a press briefing in Baku on Thursday.

Elman Abdullayev said that the country’s constitution gives the
president of Azerbaijan exclusive right to grant a pardon, Azeri news
website trend.az reported.

Ramil Safarov, an Azeri officer who received a life sentence in
Hungary for killing an Armenian soldier, was repatriated last week,
and was pardoned and released by the Azeri authorities on arrival in
his home country, unleashing a diplomatic storm. Armenia has suspended
diplomatic ties with Hungary.

According to trend.az, the spokesman said that the Safarov issue
should be considered in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
as Safarov had witnessed ethnic cleansing by Armenia against the
Azerbaijani population.

Zsolt Nemeth, the parliamentary state Secretary of the Hungarian
Foreign Ministry, summoned Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Hungary Vilayat
Guliyev on Sunday to hand over a diplomatic note and inform the
ambassador that Hungary considers Azerbaijan’s pardon unacceptable.

US dollar growth slows in Armenia

news.am
September 06, 2012 | 17:21

YEREVAN. – The US dollar average exchange rate, against the Armenian
dram (AMD), comprised AMD 412.79/$1, at NASDAQ OMX Armenia stock
exchange on Thursday, which is a 0.07 percent – or an AMD 0.29 –
rise from Wednesday.

Thursday sales totaled $3.5 million at the stock exchange, and the
U.S. currency was offered at a quite high price making AMD 413.5 /$1,
while later is went down a bit.

No significant changes were observed in cash foreign currency market.

Most exchange offices buy the US currency at AMD 411/$1 and the dollar
is sold at AMD 414/$1.

NKR LEADER SWEARS TO SUPPORT ARTSAKH’S INDEPENDENCE, TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 7, 2012 – 21:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Several hours ago, Stepanakert’s Palace of Youth
and Culture hosted a special sitting of Nagorno Karabakh parliament,
dedicated to inauguration of the Republic’s president Bako Sahakyan.

Taking oath on 17th century Bible and NKR constitution, the President
swore to “fulfill the Constitution, respect human rights, support
sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and safety of Nagorno
Karabakh Republic.”

The swearing in ceremony was attended by former NKR President Arkady
Ghukasyan, Armenian delegation led by President Serzh Sargsyan, as
well as delegations from Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transdniestria,
and guests from Russia, U.S, France, Poland and Middle East.

The inauguration ceremony was followed by Artsakh armed forces parade
at NKR capital’s central square.