Author: Mamian George

News.Az, Azerbaijan
Jan 5 2010

Azerbaijani, Armenian teams to play in world chess championship
Tue 05 January 2010 | 06:51 GMT Text size:

The matches of the first round of the world team championship in chess
will be held in Turkish Bursa today.

According to News.Az, the draw selected Armenia as a rival for the
current European champion in chess ` the team from Azerbaijan.
Further, our team led by Vugar Hashimov will have to play against the
teams of Turkey, India, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Brazil, Greece and the
United States. The contest consisting of nine rounds will end on 13
January.

Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Rajabov, Rauf Mammadov, Gadir Huseynov
and Nijat Mammadov will also play for the Azerbaijani team.

Vice-president of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation Faik Hasanov is the
deputy head arbiter of the world championship.

Elmir Aliyev
News.Az

Central bank: 2010 to be year of recovery for Armenia

YEREVAN, January 4. /ARKA/. On Tuesday, Vache Gabrielyan, deputy
chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, summarizing the results of
2009, said 2010 would be a year of recovery for the country.

He said that 2009 was a very hard year for Armenia because of impacts
of the global recession, but the country’s financial sector has
managed to resist these challenges.

`But it doesn’t mean that everything is O.K. in Armenia’s financial
and banking sectors, and they are free from troubles. The opposite –
we have plenty to do.’

However, he said, the course of the system’s development shows that
precipitous decline in the first half of 2009 was followed by a rally.

Gabrielyan said that new loans extended to the economy and the
increased financial mediation amid the crisis played an important part
in healing the situation.

At the same time, he said that many problems are still waiting for
their solutions.

Among these problems, he singled out the lack of diversification and
competition as well as shadow economy that directly affect the
financial sector.

Gabrielyan said that the coming year would be difficult from the
microeconomic point of view, since the impact of this year’s bailout
policy would become visible in 2010.

`We enter 2010 with higher inflation than in 2009. But recovery needs
certain expenses, and we made them. We are convinced that these
expenses were necessary and will produce results.’ M.V.-0—-

Hurriyet Daily News – Turkey
Jan 3 2010

Syriac monastery dated back to 4,000 years

Sunday, January 3, 2010
Hurriyet Daily- news wire / Jan 3rd 2010

A recent lab analysis revealed that the Dayrulzaferan monastery, three
kilometers of the east slope of southeastern Mardin city, has a long
history dating back nearly 4,000 years, reported Radikal daily.

In an analysis conducted by Anatolia University on samples of bones,
soil and stones taken from the Sun Temple showed that the monastery is
approximately 3,830 years old. The result has been updated in
International Science Literature.

The monastery is founded over the ancient Sun Temple that probably
dates back to the days when Mardin was first inhabited.

According to Assistant Professor Niyazi Meriç, an academic from the
Engineering Department at Anadolu University, the luminescence method
was used to discover the age of the monastery during the work at
Luminescence Resources Laboratory.

The Lab previously calculated the age of fault lines along Pamukkale
Hierapolis Ancient City near the southwestern city of Denizli.

In a response to the Turkish Historical Society, the Luminescence
Resources Laboratory also worked on a cemetery sample, believed to be
an Armenian mass cemetery, in Kuru village near the Nusaybin district
of Mardin city. The lab work revealed that these cemeteries were
cemeteries of families dating back to 257 and 597 B.C.

According to written historical sources, the Dayrulzafaran monastery
used to serve as centre for the Syriac Patriarch between the years
1293 to 1932. It has been serving the Syriac monastery since 5th
century A.D. The monastery is still standing near the ancient ruins of
Dara city over the main road connecting central Mardin to the Nusaybin
district.

NorthJersey.com
Dec 31 2009

Armenia, Georgia topic of Bergenfield Library program

Thursday, December 31, 2009
Twin-Boro News

A program on travel to the ancient lands of the Republic of Armenia
and the Republic of Georgia will be presented at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday,
Jan. 5 at the Bergenfield Public Library.

The program will be presented by Lorraine Matys, photographer and
former travel columnist for The Record.

Those two small countries in the heart of the Caucasus have been a
crossroads of cultures for thousands of years.

Archeological evidence suggests they are the sites of the oldest
presence of human ancestors out of Africa and the origin of
wine`making.

Central Asian nomads and Near Eastern traders all left their mark there.

There are influences from the ancient roman Empires and early Christians.

Highlights include centuries-old churches with richly decorated wall
paintings and icons, and glorious mountain landscapes.
Also to be seen are picturesque villages, age-old fortresses and
caravanseri that once accommodated merchants traveling the Silk Road
from Europe to the East.

Matys has a passion for photography, archeology and ancient cultures
Her travels have taken her to such far-flung parts of the world as
Yemen, Mali, Vietnam and Peru.

For more than 30 years, she has presented slide-illustrated talks and
photo exhibits.

The Record and Minolta and Natural History magazines and other
publications have featured her work. She has also given classes on
composition in photography.

Tuesday programs, sponsored by the Friends of the Bergenfield Library,
are free and open to the public. Light refreshments and coffee are
available at 10:15 a.m., courtesy of the Friends.

The Friends welcome new members to support their activities and
fund-raising efforts.

For more information on programs for adults or about the Friends,
visit the library at 50 W. Clinton Ave. or call there at 201-387-4040.

A program on travel to the ancient lands of the Republic of Armenia
and the Republic of Georgia will be presented at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday,
Jan. 5 at the Bergenfield Public Library.

The program will be presented by Lorraine Matys, photographer and
former travel columnist for The Record.

Those two small countries in the heart of the Caucasus have been a
crossroads of cultures for thousands of years.

Archeological evidence suggests they are the sites of the oldest
presence of human ancestors out of Africa and the origin of
wine`making.

Central Asian nomads and Near Eastern traders all left their mark there.

There are influences from the ancient roman Empires and early Christians.

Highlights include centuries-old churches with richly decorated wall
paintings and icons, and glorious mountain landscapes.

Also to be seen are picturesque villages, age-old fortresses and
caravanseri that once accommodated merchants traveling the Silk Road
from Europe to the East.

Matys has a passion for photography, archeology and ancient cultures
Her travels have taken her to such far-flung parts of the world as
Yemen, Mali, Vietnam and Peru.

For more than 30 years, she has presented slide-illustrated talks and
photo exhibits.

The Record and Minolta and Natural History magazines and other
publications have featured her work. She has also given classes on
composition in photography.

Tuesday programs, sponsored by the Friends of the Bergenfield Library,
are free and open to the public. Light refreshments and coffee are
available at 10:15 a.m., courtesy of the Friends.

The Friends welcome new members to support their activities and
fund-raising efforts.

For more information on programs for adults or about the Friends,
visit the library at 50 W. Clinton Ave. or call there at 201-387-4040.

USA TO RESPOND TO AZERBAIJAN’S NOTE SOON

news.az
Dec 29 2009
Azerbaijan

Donald Lu Official Washington will soon respond to Azerbaijan’s note
on assistance to Nagorno Karabakh.

Donald Lu, temporary plenipotentiary of the US embassy in Azerbaijan,
said the response to the note is delayed as the United States was
preparing for Christmas.

"We know that Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest due to the US
allocation of assistance to Nagorno Karabakh. We have marked Christmas
this week, therefore, the response was delayed. I hope the response
will soon be submitted to the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States.

CIVILITAS FOUNDATION PRESENTED ARMENIA 2009: PROMISES AND REALITY REPORT

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
28.12.2009 17:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Civilitas foundation organized Monday the
presentation of Armenia 2009: Promise and Reality report.

Like last year’s report titled "Armenia 2008: Crisis and Opportunity",
the document addresses the country’s economy, foreign and domestic
policy, offering forecasts and ways of resolving problems.

The report evaluates the situation in Armenia and South Caucasus, as
well as international developments concerning Armenia and the region.

It was compiled by Armenian and foreign experts. Attached to
the document, there is an appendix illustrating 2010 budgetary
expenditures.

Interfax, Russia
Dec 25 2009

Azeri leader not satisfied with pace of Karabakh settlement process

MOSCOW Dec 25

The year 2009 was not successful for the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
process, said Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, adding that
negotiations should not become permanent.

"I would describe this year as positive in terms of the settlement but
less positive than it could have been," Aliyev said in an interview
with the Vesti-24 television channel on Thursday.

"There were hopes that we would manage to resolve this issue in 2009,
at least agree on the basic principles. But they were not justified,
and it was not our fault," the Azeri president said.

"There is certain optimism for 2010, because Nagorno-Karabakh has
become one of the central issues on the international agenda, with
many those, who might not have fully understood this, now being clear
that without resolving the Armenian-Azeri conflict no other regional
problems can be resolved," he said.

"We hope to be able to agree upon the key provisions in 2010, but we
are categorically against this turning into a permanent negotiating
process," Aliyev said.

Talks have continued since 1992, when the OSCE set up the Minsk Group.
A cease-fire agreement was signed in 1994. "Fifteen years have passed,
there is some progress but no result, this is why we cannot allow this
process to turn into a frozen one, precisely in this final sense of
this word," the Azeri president said.

Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
Dec 25 2009

Georgia opens border with Russia to restrain "separatism" in Javakheti

Russia and Georgia came to a final agreement on opening terrestrial
border between the two countries with Switzerland’s mediation
yesterday [24 December]. It is a question of the only border
checkpoint on Russian-Georgian border – Verkhniy Lars, which has been
closed since July 2006. As for deadlines for reopening the checkpoint,
the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry issued yesterday says
that it will officially be opened on 1 March 2010. Meanwhile, the
Georgian side agrees to open the border – dropping previous
preconditions for Moscow to cancel the embargo on imports of Georgian
vines, mineral waters, and agricultural products, which was imposed in
2006. The Georgian side made the decision to open the border with
Russia on 16 November – during a session of the Security Council
convened by [Georgian] President Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili put
forward three arguments for opening the border, and one of them
directly refers to Armenia. According to Saakashvili, "Georgia should
not lose the status, role, and significance of a transit country for
countries in the region". It is supposed that by opening the border,
Georgia wants to preserve Armenia’s dependence on it in case of
possible opening of the Armenian-Turkish border in April 2010, and
this has not only financial, but also political importance for this
country.

In essence, this dependence will become a guarantee for Tbilisi, which
will make Javakheti Armenians renounce manifestations of separatism,
and the official Yerevan be interested in restraining manifestations
of separatism in Javakheti as it did previously – by cooperating with
the Georgian authorities. Armenia is showing great interest in opening
the Russian-Georgian border, because Armenia’s only terrestrial route
with Russia is ensured via Verkhniy Lars. Due to the closure of
Verkhniy Lars, cargo shipments from Armenia to Russia and in the
opposite direction were carried out via the Black Sea – by ferry
boats, which are incomparably more costly and time consuming. It is
expected that after opening the checkpoint, up to 40 per cent of cargo
shipments will be carried out via Verkhniy Lars.

[translated from Armenian]

PURCHASE AND SALE TRANSACTIONS OF 9 MILLION 615 THOUSAND DOLLARS CONDUCTED AT NASDAQ OMX ARMENIA OJSC ON DECEMBER 24

Noyan Tapan
Dec 24, 2009

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Purchase and sale transactions of
9 million 615 thousand dollars at the weighted average exchange rate
of 377.18 drams per dollar were conducted at Nasdaq OMX Armenia OJSC
on December 24. According to the press service of the Central Bank
of Armenia, the closing price made 377.25 drams.

MOSCOW-YEREVAN JET MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING IN SOCHI

Panorama.am
15:25 24/12/2009

Unable to land in "Zvartnots" Airport, S7 air-company jet, flying from
Moscow to Yerevan, had to redirect the flight and make an emergency
landing in Sochi, one of the passengers told HAYINFO-Diaspora.

The passengers were kept waiting on the plane for 3 hours, without
being provided any information. Then they were given food and were
asked to leave the board. Passengers were required to undergo customs
check.