Author: Madatian Greg

SPECIAL SESSION OF RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO BE CONVENED ON AUGUST 19

Noyan Tapan

Au g 13, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The speaker of the RA National
Assembly Tigran Torosian signed a decision, by which a special
session of the parliament will be convened at 12 am on August 19 on
the initiative of the government – by the agenda envisaged by the
initiator, NT was informed by the RA National Assembly PR Department.

The agenda of the special session of the RA National Assembly is
as follows:

1) a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on
Trade and Services,

a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on the
Use of Cash Registers,

a RA bill on making an addition to the RA Law on Licensing,

a RA bill on making an addition and amendments to the RA Law on
State Duty,

a RA bill on making additions and an amendment to the RA Code on
Administrative Infractions,

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Taxes,

a RA bill on making additions to the RA Law on the Organization and
Conduct of Checks in the Republic of Armenia,

a RA bill on making amendments and an addition to the RA Law on
Environmental and Nature Protection Payments,

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Value
Added Rax,

a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on
Profit Tax,

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on
Income Tax,

a RA bill on recognizing the RA Law on Simplified Tax as invalid,

a RA bill on making an amendment and an addition to the RA Law on
Compulsory Social Security Payments,

a RA bill on the use of the privileges stipulated by the RA Law on
Establishment of Privileges for Private Entrepreneurs on Income Tax
and Compulsory Social Insurance Payments,

a RA bill on making an addition to the RA Law on Accounting;

2) a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Customs Code;

3) a RA bill on making amendments to the RA Law on Approval of the
Annual and Complex Programs of Measures on Restoration, Preservation,
Reproduction and Use of the Ecosystem of Lake Sevan;

4) a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on
Trade and Services (second reading),

a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on the
Use of Cash Registers (second reading),

a RA bill on making an addition to the RA Law on Licensing (second
reading),

a RA bill on making an addition and amendments to the RA Law on State
Duty (second reading),

a RA bill on making additions and an amendment to the RA Code on
Administrative Infractions (second reading),

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Taxes
(second reading),

a RA bill on making additions to the RA Law on the Organization and
Conduct of Checks in the Republic of Armenia (second reading),

a RA bill on making amendments and an addition to the RA Law on
Environmental and Nature Protection Payments (second reading),

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Value
Added Rax (second reading),

a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on Profit
Tax (second reading),

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Income
Tax (second reading),

a RA bill on recognizing the RA Law on Simplified Tax as invalid
(second reading),

a RA bill on making an amendment and an addition to the RA Law on
Compulsory Social Security Payments (second reading),

a RA bill on the use of the privileges stipulated by the RA Law on
Establishment of Privileges for Private Entrepreneurs on Income Tax
and Compulsory Social Insurance Payments (second reading),

a RA bill on making an addition to the RA Law on Accounting (second
reading);

5) a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Customs Code
(second reading);

6) a RA bill on making amendments to the RA Law on Aproval of the
Annual and Complex Programs of Measures on Restoration, Preservation,
Reproduction and Use of the Ecosystem of Lake Sevan (second reading);

7) a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on
Trade and Services (third reading),

a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on the
Use of Cash Registers (third reading),

a RA bill on making an addition to the RA Law on Licensing (third
reading),

a RA bill on making an addition and amendments to the RA Law on State
Duty (third reading),

a RA bill on making additions and an amendment to the RA Code on
Administrative Infractions (third reading),

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Taxes
(third reading),

a RA bill on making additions to the RA Law on the Organization and
Conduct of Checks in the Republic of Armenia (third reading),

a RA bill on making amendments and an addition to the RA Law on
Environmental and Nature Protection Payments (third reading),

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Value
Added Rax (third reading),

a RA bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on Profit
Tax (third reading),

a RA bill on making additions and amendments to the RA Law on Income
Tax (third reading),

a RA bill on recognizing the RA Law on Simplified Tax as invalid
(third reading),

a RA bill on making an amendment and an addition to the RA Law on
Compulsory Social Security Payments (third reading),

a RA bill on the use of the privileges stipulated by the RA Law on
Establishment of Privileges for Private Entrepreneurs on Income Tax
and Compulsory Social Insurance Payments (third reading),

a RA bill on making an addition to the RA Law on Accounting (third
reading).

UPDATE 1-INDIA NMDC SAYS TO SIGN IRON ORE PACT WITH RIO TINTO
By Biman Mukherji

Ninemsn
Aug 13, 2008
Australia

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Global miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX RIO.AX
, 111.600, -2.400, -2.110%) will sign an agreement this month with
Indian mining firm NMDC to prospect for iron ore, the chairman of
the state-run Indian company said on Wednesday.

"We will sign a memorandum of understanding. It is for prospecting
of mainly iron ore. They (Rio Tinto) will look to prospect in India,"
NMDC Chairman Rana Som told Reuters.

NMDC’s shares rose more than 3.3 percent after the news of the
agreement, which Som said would be signed on Aug 18.

The agreement is to prospect outside of India as well as on the
subcontinent and Som said NMDC would help Rio Tinto in prospecting
for iron ore in India.

India exports about 90 million tonnes of iron ore, mainly to
China. Most of the sales are done on spot basis, unlike other big
suppliers who tie up long-term contracts.

Som said company officials were yet to fix a date to go to Japan to
negotiate price agreements with buyers for supply of iron ore.

In early 2007, the government imposed an export duty of 300 rupees
per tonne ($7) on higher grades and 50 rupees on lower grades, to
discourage exports and to conserve future supplies for domestic steel
makers, many of which are planning to expand.

India’s ministry for mines said in June it opposed the tax and it
wanted to encourage local firms to sell ore overseas.

The government, which is trying to calm soaring inflation, has
persuaded steel firms to hold their prices steady since May and is
keen to keep iron ore prices down to help steel makers.

Earlier, the Indian Express daily said NMDC was increasingly looking
at foreign opportunities to boost its mineral reserves.

NMDC, which contributes 15 percent to India’s total iron ore
production, was also in the race to acquire a mine in Canada for 30
billion rupees, the newspaper said.

With no fresh allocation of iron ore mines domestically, NMDC had
signed a joint venture agreement with India’s Spice Energy and was
close to clinching a deal to acquire mines in mineral-rich Eritrea,
Congo and Armenia, it said.

$1 = 42.6 rupees (Reporting by Biman Mukherji; Editing by Mark Williams
and Charlotte Cooper)

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TO INITIATE ESTABLISHMENT OF CAUCASIAN UNION

arminfo
2008-08-12 11:31:00

ArmInfo. Turkey is set to take its recent mediation efforts one
step forward with vowing to work for the formation of a Caucasian
union to help the resolution of the conflicts in the region. Turkey
would start working on the formation of a Caucasian union, which
would include Russia as well, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said,
APA reports quoting Turkish news agencies.

He mentioned diplomatic and military cooperation between Baltic
countries and noted that he would propose to establish such cooperation
in Caucasus.

Erdogan added that he would phone his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin and discuss the situation with him. Asked whether diversion
against BTC is linked with terror acts on Turkish soldiers in Erzincan
he answered: "I do not even want to think the likelihood", he said.

San Francisco Chronicle, USA

GUTIEREZ, Margaret Rose Avakian

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Margaret Rose Avakian Gutierez November 13, 1957-August 4, 2008
Margaret Rose Avakian Gutierez, born and raised in Fresno, CA, was 50
years old when she passed away on Monday, August 4, 2008 after a long
courageous five year fight with ovarian cancer. She attended Bullard
High School and then graduated from Fresno State University. She also
studied at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. Margaret was a
senior executive who worked for over 30 years in the financial
services industry. Most recently, she held the position of senior vice
president at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. She loved working at
Wells Fargo Bank, spending over 10 years in total there. Margaret was
well loved and respected by her managers, peers, co-workers and team
members. She had a long and fulfilling life in financial services with
many accomplishments, especially at Wells Fargo Bank. Margaret was a
very loving mother and wife. She liked to knit, was an excellent baker
and cook. She loved to travel both internationally to places such as
Paris and Toronto, and domestically with her family, visiting over 35
of these United States. Margaret married Michael Timothy Gutierez on
May 5, 1984 and they spent 24 years together. On April 8, 1988
Margaret and Michael were blessed with the birth of their one and only
son, Andrew Avakian Gutierez. They have lived in Moraga, CA, for 21
years. In 2007, ill with cancer but always wanting to be by the ocean,
they bought a summer home in Aptos, CA. She called this her beach
house and she has requested that her ashes be scattered at sea not far
from "Margaret’s Beach House". Preceding Margaret in death are; her
father Avak Jim Avakian; mother Aurora Dakhlian Avakian; and brother
Gerald Alan Avakian. Surviving Margaret are; her husband of 24 years
Michael Timothy Gutierez; son, Andrew Avakian Gutierez both from
Moraga; and her brother Dr. James Avakian from Phoenix, AZ. She also
leaves behind so many relatives, friends and colleagues that will
always remember her. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Vartans
Armenian Church, 650 Spruce St., Oakland, CA on Friday, August 15,
2008 at 11:00 am, with a Meza (a light luncheon) immediately following
the service where we can share our memories of our dear and beloved
Margaret. Remembrances may be made to the National Ovarian Cancer
Coalition (NOCC), 4900 Hopyard Road, Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA 94588
() or a charity of your choice in lieu of
flowers. Notification of remembrances may be mailed to Michael
Gutierez, 57 San Pablo Court, Moraga, CA 94556. Please visit
traditioncare.com for additional info. TraditionCare Funeral Services
(925) 827-2911

This article appeared on page Z – 99 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Interfax News Agency, Russia
Aug 8 2008

N. Karabakh should be involved in conflict settlement process –
Armenian defense minister

STEPANAKERT

Armenian Defense Minister Seiran Oganian has insisted that
Nagorno-Karabakh officials should take part in negotiations on
settling the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and
Armenia.

"Nagorno-Karabakh should definitely be actively involved in the
process of settling the Karabakh conflict," Oganian told journalists
in Stepanakert on Friday.

"In any case, questions that will arise at the last stage of the
settlement process will have to be discussed with the people of
Nagorno- Karabakh, and therefore, this will require the beginning of
new negotiations," he said.

Asked whether the current outbreak of violence in South Ossetia could
affect the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Oganian said, "This should
consolidate our people, because we can oppose any challenges only if
we are united."

In the meantime, Baku believes it has every opportunity to regain its
territorial integrity within the international law, Azeri Foreign
Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim said.

"Azerbaijan does not follow anybody in its policies, but, on the other
hand, I must point out once again that Azerbaijan has every
opportunity to restore its territorial integrity within the framework
of international law. And we will use these opportunities," Ibrahim
told journalists on Friday, when asked whether Azerbaijan could resort
to military force to resolve the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh,
something Georgia is apparently trying to do now with regard to South
Ossetia.

Ibrahim claimed that Armenia does not wish to resolve the Nagorno-
Karabakh conflict in a peaceful way.

MILITARY OPERATION IN SOUTH OSSETIA WASN’T ABRUPT

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.08.2008 15:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Gaining the maps of Georgian military, Russian
peacekeepers got evidence that military operation in South Ossetia
was not abrupt. The attack was planned scrupulously.

This afternoon, units of the 58th army freed Tskhinvali. Battles are
going on along the responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeeping
contingent, land forces commander Vladimir Boldyrev said.

Wounded are being evacuated. Special forces are sent to
Tskhinvali. Landing and assault battalions of the 76 Pskov division
entered the South Ossetian capital, Vesti reports.

SABINE FREIZER OFFERS TO REPLACE OSCE MG FRENCH CO-CHAIR BY EU REPRESENTATIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.08.2008 16:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ International Crisis Group Europe Program Director
Sabine Freizer believes it would be expedient to replace France by
an EU representative in the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"I believe that the EU can play a greater role in assisting reduce
tensions in and around Nagorno Karabakh. When the chairmanship of
the current French representative ends, I would recommend that the
French Minsk Group position be handed over to an EU representative,"
Freizer said.

Ideally the three representatives in the Minsk Group should be high
level political officials if we expect that they are going to have
any political influence over the process, according to her.

"But on the other hand, it makes no sense to expect that a solution to
the NK conflict is going to be come from the outside. Azerbaijan and
Armenia, their political leadership and their people, will eventually
need to agree to a compromise. This will only happen when they come to
the conclusion that compromise is better than more fighting," she said.

"I still believe that the current formula on the table is the best one
possible: return of seven occupied districts to NK, full withdrawal
by forces from Armenia, refugee/IDP return to all areas including
NK, normalization of the situation, determination of NK’s ultimately
status postponed until all people can participate fully in a democratic
process. Once withdrawal begins and refugee return starts the deadlock
in the negotiations process will be broken and tensions diminish,"
said Freizer, Trend Azeri news agency reports.

POLICE MAJOR CAUGHT IN BRIBERY

Panorama.am
21:09 04/08/2008

Seyran Petrosyan, police major of Gyumri Police Department has been
caught in bribery, reported the public relations department of the
Police Station.

The Police Station took the initiative to start an operation and it
has been revealed out that the major and three other police officers
from the same department Sargis Parsamyan, Hovhannes Grigoryan and
Grigor Hayrapetyan periodically were taking bribes from those running
their businesses in the local market.

412.000 cash AMD has been found from the pocket of the police major. A
criminal procedure started based on the current revealed material.

ARMENIA JOINS EURASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

ARKA
Aug 4, 2008

YEREVAN, August 04. /ARKA/. Armenian government has set up a task
group to coordinate the activity for the country’s membership in the
Eurasian Development Bank.

Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan
said the group will arrange the process of Armenia’s joining the
Russia-Kazakhstan agreement on founding the bank, cooperation issues
and development of mid-term programs. Armenian government also decided
to earmark $100,000 from the reserve fund to purchase bank stocks.

The task group is composed of seven members, including the deputy
minister of energy and natural resources and the deputy minister
of finances.

TURKEY SUPPORTS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT PEACE SETTLEMENT WITH MINSK GROUP’S MEDIATION: TURKEY’S FOREIGN MINISTER

Trend News Agency
Aug 4 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 August /Trend News corr. S.Ilhamgizi/ Turkey’s
Foreign Minister Ali Babajan stated his country supports the mediation
of Minsk Group on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We support peace settlement with the co-chairmanship of the United
States, Russia and France," Babajan said at a press conference in
Ankara on 4 August.

Babajan did not answer whether ongoing occupation of Azerbaijani
territory by Armenia would affect Turkey’s admission to the European
Union. He mentioned there is another format of settlement of the
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, i.e. Minsk Group’s work.

Minister said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Serzh
Sargsyan negotiated in June. Babajan hoped for progress to result
from the negotiations.

"Demographic structure of the region and the events which has taken
place in recent five-ten years must be taken into account during
settling of the conflict. We support peace settlement of the Karabakh
conflict with the mediation of the Minsk Group and hope the countries
will achieve an agreement," said Babajan.