Author: Nahapetian Boris

FLEMMING SERRITSLEV TO COACH ARMENIAN JUNIOR SOCCER TEAM

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.03.2009 18:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Flemming Serritslev (born 18 February 1947) is a
former Danish footballer, coach and manager. In March 2009 he has been
appointed as the manager of Armenia U-21, FFA news service reported.

Serritslev played most of his career for Vejle Boldklub in a very
successful period. Thus, Serritslev was part of a team that won the
Danish championship in 1972 and the Danish Cup in 1972, 1975 and 1977.

As manager Flemming Serritslev ensured Danish side B1990 a place in
the best Danish league in 1990. In 1992 he became assistant manager
of the Danish national team before he went on to become head coach
of the Danish U21 team. In 2006 Serritslev returned to his childhood
club Vejle as sports manager. However, Serritslev and the new board at
the club could not work together and Serritslev left Vejle Boldklub
only six month after his appointment. In August 2008 received an
appointment of Nigerian side Nasarawa United manager, followed by
Armenia U-21 manager appointment.

ALL EUROPE TO BENEFIT FROM SOUTH STREAM
Pyotr Iskenderov

en.fondsk.ru
14.03.2009

The signing of the agreement on Hungary’s joining the South Stream
project in Moscow this week constitutes an important step in the
implementation of the unprecedented energy initiative which is
sure to benefit the Balkans and entire Europe. Likewise deals with
Slovenia and a number of other countries are expected in the nearest
future. Moreover, there are indications that several countries whose
involvement was not planned originally – Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, and even Albany – will also choose to participate. Not
surprisingly, the pro-opposition Albanian Gazeta Shqiptare has reacted
to the expectations by featuring papers expressions of concern over
the possibility of the West’s "strategic pact" with Russia that would
allegedly perpetuate Russia’s energy monopoly…

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany told the media on March 10
that if the process unfolds as planned the South Stream construction
would be complete by 2015. The statement expresses more than just
Hungary’s own expectations, as the country is taking an increasingly
important role in the energy politics of Central and South-East
Europe. Currently Russia supplies natural gas to Serbia, Montenegro,
and Bosnia and Herzegovina across the territory of Hungary. Budapest’s
position is traditionally respected in Austria, Serbia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and=2 0 other countries of the region whose ties with
Hungary are deeply rooted in history.

The recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the gas transit
across the territory of the latter as well as the complications bred by
the global financial crisis highlighted the importance of elaborating
new approaches and schemes to ensure the European energy security. In
this respect, the interests of Russia and the Balkan countries merge
harmonically, and Russia is motivated not by the alleged "quest for
energy monopoly" but by normal economic considerations pertinent to
risk reduction, transit reliability, and profits.

Explainably, the South Stream is one of the most divisive issues in
today’s Europe. The Brussels bureaucracy and financial structures favor
an alternative – the Nabucco project, a transit route bypassing both
Russia and Ukraine. Russian Prime Minister V. Putin says there are
more questions than answerers concerning Nabucco. Meeting Hungarian
Prime Minister Gyurcsany he stressed that Nabucco is no solution for
a wide range of reasons. The Nabucco route does circumvent Ukraine,
but it passes across Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia – overall a
greater number of countries than the currently existing pipelines
do. Besides, Nabucco is going to lack the resource base adequate to
its transit capacities unless the project is joined, for example,
by Iran, but this is politically problematic. The last but not the
least pertinen t circumstance is that the South Stream is several
billion Euro cheaper than Nabucco.

In the above context the cooperation between the Balkan countries and
Russia in the energy sphere is strategically important and beneficial
to all European consumers. President of the economic Council of the
Democratic Party of Serbia Nenad Popovic opines that this is the
reason why Russian energy projects meet with such serious opposition
in Europe. In 2008 Serbia was among the first countries to join the
South Stream project. In our conversation Popovic said that influential
forces both in national administrations of the EU countries and in
Brussels are ready to sacrifice Europe’s energy security to their own
interests: "There are several lobbies of the kind. The most powerful
and dangerous one has close ties with two major energy companies from
the EU countries neighboring Serbia".

Obviously he meant the Hungarian MOL and the Austrian OMV
group. Throughout 2008 they have been struggling against the energy
deal between Russia and Serbia drawing the latter into the South
Stream project and allowing Russia’s Gazprom Neft to buy Serbia’s
NIS. Popovic says the two companies are monopolies and their objective
is to get rid of Gazprom as the competitor. Their strategy is to buy
the Balkan oil refineries and other energy infrastructures – even
if they are overpriced – just to have them shut down subsequently to
eliminate comp etition. Currently they are doing all they can to bar
Gazprom and the Russian money in general from Serbia and other Balkan
countries where Russian players have legitimate interests. "But the
national interests do prevail", says Popovic.

His colleague from Vojvodina, Deputy President of the autonomy’s
parliament Igor Mirovic sees the situation in the same light. In
our recent conversation he said: "I regard Russian investments as an
opportunity for the entire Balkan region. For us, the deal between
Serbia and Russia will make it possible to construct new generating
capacities such as hydro-stations and gas-powered co-generation
plants. I have already discussed the possibility with representatives
of Russia’s Tekhnopromexport.

The agreement opens Serbia for other Russian companies including those
from the financial sector. By getting linked to the South Stream and
constructing the Banatski Dvor natural gas storage facility jointly
with Russia our country will switch from the role of a major gas
importer to that of the regional leader in gas distribution. Serbia
can and should go further in its cooperation with Russia. Similar
schemes might be realized in selling Serbia’s electric equipment and
railroad companies and in restoring the country’s military technology
potential, which was originally based on Russian standards and suffered
severe damage during the 1999 NATO air strikes. Having worked in the
economic administration and the financial sector for twenty years I
am convinced that Russian investments will be extremely beneficial to
Serbia’s economy. It took many European nations – for example, Bulgaria
and Germany – the recent gas crisis to appreciate the importance
of eliminating Ukraine’s transit monopoly. This objective can be
accomplished by realizing the Russian South Stream and the Nord Stream
pipeline construction projects". A perfectly adequate explanation…

Asbury Park Press
March 14 2009

Multimedia Holocaust memorial exhibit coming to Georgian Court

By Tara Strickland ¢ Reader Submitted ¢ March 13, 2009

LAKEWOOD ‘ Georgian Court University will present a multimedia
`Holocaust Memorial Exhibit’ April 6-24, 2009, in the university’s
M. Christina Geis Art Gallery.

The exhibit, timed to correspond with Holocaust Remembrance Day on
April 21, will include children’s books, historic and modern
photographs, maps, posters, and text panels.

`This important exhibit will take the viewer along a journey of one of
humanity’s darkest times,’ says Kathleen Settles, gallery director,
and one of the exhibit organizers. `The purpose of the exhibit is to
promote awareness, teach tolerance, inspire compassion, and hopefully
enlist the viewer to an allegiance of goodwill toward all of
humanity.’

According to Lisa A. Festa, Ph.D., an assistant professor of art
history who also helped to organize the display, the exhibit will
feature a history of anti-Semitism throughout the ages, a timeline of
the rise of Hitler and the **** party, and focus on the implementation
of laws against Jews as well as the ****s’ censorship of art and
culture.

The exhibition will continue with a spotlight on the ghettos of
Warsaw, Poland, and Terezn, Czechoslovakia, as well as the
concentration camps of Dachau, Germany, and Auschwitz/Birkenau,
Poland. It will also feature the liberation of the camps near the end
of the war. The exhibition will further pay tribute to several
rescuers and the `righteous among nations,’ and will end with a
display about genocides in other lands after World War II.

`It is hoped that viewers will leave the exhibition with a sense of
compassion and enlightenment, as well as a motivation and personal
drive to help change current events in order to ensure that genocide
never happens again,’ says Dr. Festa.

The exhibit coincides with `Yom HaShoah,’ or Holocaust Remembrance
Day, a day set aside to commemorate the lives and heroism of the six
million Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and
1945. The exhibit closes on the anniversary of the onset of the `Great
Catastrophe,’ the Armenian genocide of 1.5 million people that began
in 1915.

In addition to Ms. Settles and Dr. Festa, the exhibit was organized
and compiled with the assistance of Jos Gonzalez, lecturer in art.

The M. Christina Geis Art Gallery spotlights works of established and
up-and-coming artists in diverse media. The gallery is located on the
second floor of the Arts and Science Center on Georgian Court’s
Lakewood campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 am
to 8 pm and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The exhibit is free and
open to the public. For more information, call Kathleen Settles at
732.987.2388.

313/GETPUBLISHED/903130398/1004/NEWS01

WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 13, 2009 Friday

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WILL DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN AZERBAIJAN

MOSCOW AGREEMENT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT FAILED TO PUT AN END
TO CASUALTIES IN CONFLICT AREA; Foreign Minister Lavrov goes to Baku
to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and the future Caspian summit.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedjarov.

"Nagorno-Karabakh settlement will be discussed. Signing the
declaration in Moscow on November 2, 2008, by the presidents of
Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia opened new opportunities," Andrei
Nesterenko of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. According to the
diplomat, Russia welcomes a continuation of the intensive talks and
will facilitate settlement as a chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group.

"Our principal position remains unchanged. We believe that
responsibility for the choice of the formula of settlement rests with
the Azerbaijanis and Armenians themselves," Panorama.ru quoted
Nesterenko as saying.

Attention will also be paid to the "Caspian affairs within the
framework of preparations for the Third Caspian Summit." "We expect to
make some progress in reaching better mutual understanding with the
Azerbaijani partners in the matter of the legal status of the Caspian
Sea and establishment of an international mechanism of security and
Caspian Economic Cooperation Organization," Nesterenko said.

OSCE Minsk Group chairmen Matthew Bryza (United States), Yuri
Merzlyakov (Russia), and Bernard Fassier (France) visited Baku on
February 26. They met with Mamedjarov and Aliyev.

The chairmen set out for Yerevan the following day and departed it for
Stepanakert where they met with the president of Nagorno-Karabakh and
other officials.

OSCE Minsk Group chairmen urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to abandon
aggressive rhetorics and said the meeting of the presidents of Russia,
Armenia, and Azerbaijan in Moscow had provided grounds for optimism.

Casualties are still reported in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
area. At least 15 residents of Nagorno-Karabakh were killed in 2008
and as many were wounded. The Azerbaijanis lost at least 12 men with 3
wounded.

Source: Kavkazsky Uzel, March 11, 2009

Translated by Aleksei Ignatkin

Public Television of Armenia
March 13 2009

Armenian president, Iranian minister upbeat on future ties – TV

[Presenter-read report over video of meeting] Iran is a good neighbour
and a reliable partner for Armenia, [Armenian] President Serzh
Sargsyan said while receiving today Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr
Mottaki, who chairs the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission,
and the delegation that accompanied him. The [Armenian] republic’s
president said the existing Armenian-Iranian relations were at a high
level and expressed confidence that the visit of the Iranian foreign
minister to our country will give a new boost to the continuously
developing cooperation in all spheres.

Mottaki passed warm regards from [Iranian] President Mahmud
Ahmadinezhad on to the president [Sargsyan]. He also said he was
confident that the forthcoming official visit of the Armenian
president to Iran would open a new page in the relations between the
two countries and would be the beginning to large-scale
projects. Saying that he considered the century-long friendship to be
a large asset of the two countries, the Iranian foreign minister said
his country believed in the future of its relations with Armenia and
believed that they are logical and beneficial for both nations. Saying
that Armenian-Iranian relations include numerous spheres, the sides
agreed that these have acquired a strategic nature in recent years and
a new quality, becoming long-term constructive projects. Among
long-term projects, they attached special importance to the
construction of the Iran-Armenia railway, which will be of essential
importance not only for Armenia and Iran, but also for the whole
region. The need to expand the existing legal-contractual sphere was
also emphasized. This will provide a new opportunity to develop
economic cooperation. The sides also exchanged points of view on the
current situation in the Caucasus.

Hürriyet, Turkey
March 13 2009

Veteran politician seeks to end politics of polarization

ISTANBUL-It is time to end prejudices and stop polarizing the
community, according to one liberal mayoral candidate running on the
Justice and Development Party, or AKP, ticket.

A self-declared social democrat and humanist, architect Sinan Genim is
the AKP’s mayoral candidate for Istanbul’s Kadıköy
district, which has gone to main opposition Republican People’s Party,
or CHP, in three consecutive elections since 1994. "I am and have
always been against factionalization. This nation has suffered too
much from it and now we are creating artificial ‘others,’" Genim told
the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

Kadıköy is considered by many to be a left-wing
stronghold, though Genim dismisses such terminology as unnecessarily
aggressive, and the AKP faces a difficult campaign in the highly
polarized district. Many see the AKP as being against the Republic’s
secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

He expresses his distaste for those who use Atatürk as a
political tool. "It is wrong to turn Atatürk into a sole
property of one side. I did not declare my candidacy against
Atatürk," said Genim. "Atatürk is for everyone. He is
the reason we even have a democracy. The opposition is using political
cliches to cover up its lack of vision."

On whether his candidacy can overcome these prejudices, he admits it
is much harder to change people’s beliefs than to work with them on
common concrete projects. "It is easier changing the structure of
constructions than to make people overcome their fears," he said,
though he promises not to hide behind polarizing slogans.

"Genim’s candidacy does show the AKP’s attempt to appeal to a broader
base, that the party embraces differing viewpoints," said Gila
Benmayor, who is also a columnist for the Daily News. "But his victory
and his attempt to break down these prejudices in
Kadıköy are difficult to achieve because
Kadıköy’s beliefs are very solidified."

Having served terms in the BeÅ?iktaÅ? district assembly
and the Istanbul municipal assembly for the Motherland Party, or
ANAVATAN, since 1989, Genim was offered the Kadıköy
candidacy at the end of last year by Istanbul Mayor Kadir
TopbaÅ? of the AKP.

Genim’s involvement with the AKP has stemmed from two main
reasons. "First, it is just easier to accomplish things with the party
in the majority. The AKP has a wide base and a greater public
reach. Secondly, I am not out there to start a fight," he said. "I am
all for rapprochement."

"My whole life, I have followed a social democratic, humanist agenda
while I was in ANAVATAN. And when the AKP asked if I would work with
them, I accepted. Had I been a candidate of any other party I would
argue exactly the same points."

He sees the AKP as a reformist party that has made many progressive
strides for Turkey. "For example, just a short while ago, we were on
bad terms with all our neighbors, but now we have strengthened our
relationships with many countries like Armenia, Syria, Iran and
Georgia," he said.

"Parties cannot win by just representing one particular group," Genim
said. "They can only win the majority by representing all."

Science Letter
March 10, 2009

ASTROPHYSICS;
Findings from V.G. Gurzadyan et al in astrophysics reported

According to recent research from Yerevan, Armenia, "The degree of
randomness in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps has been
shown to be measurable and indicative of the hyperbolic effect of
voids on the propagation of the photon beams. In terms of an
introduced porosity parameter, we now obtain the criterion for a
hyperbolicity due to domination of voids in the line-of-sight
direction."

"The criterion seems to be supported by the parameters of 30 Mpc scale
voids revealed by the galactic redshift surveys. The importance of the
geometrical effect of the voids is also due to their possible role in
the temperature independent ellipticity of the excursion sets, as well
as in the nature of dark energy," wrote V.G. Gurzadyan and colleagues
(see also Astrophysics).

The researchers concluded: "The role of possible larger scale
inhomogeneities, from superclusters to semi-Hubble scale, in this
effect remains yet unclear."

Gurzadyan and colleagues published their study in Astronomy &
Astrophysics (Porosity criterion for hyperbolic voids and the cosmic
microwave background. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2009;493(3):L61-L63).

For additional information, contact V.G. Gurzadyan, Yerevan Physics
Institute, Yerevan 375036, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics
is: EDP Sciences S a, 17, Avenue du Hoggar, PA Courtaboeuf, BP 112,
F-91944 les Ulis Cedex a, France.

RIA Oreanda, Russia
March 11 2009

IMF Announces Management Support for USD 540 mln Loan to Armenia

Yerevan. OREANDA-NEWS . On 11 March 2009 was announced, that
Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement on Armenia:

"After many years of strong economic performance, Armenia has been
adversely affected by the global economic and financial crisis. In
response, the Armenian authorities have put together a strong and
credible economic program to address the deterioration in Armenia’s
external outlook, restore confidence in the currency and financial
system, and protect the poor.

"I will therefore recommend that the IMF Executive Board approve a
request for a USD 540 million, 28-month Stand-By Arrangement. The
Executive Board is expected to meet to discuss the program later this
week. Armenia would be able to draw about USD 239 million immediately
after Board approval.

"The comprehensive policy package developed by the Armenian
authorities in consultation with IMF staff includes the return to a
floating exchange rate regime, allowing the exchange rate to move in
line with market fundamentals so as to cushion the economy from the
external shocks and safeguard foreign exchange reserves.

"The authorities will also implement supporting monetary, fiscal, and
financial sector policies, and well-targeted structural reforms. They
are also taking measures to help offset the economic downturn and
mitigate the impact of the economic crisis on the poor.

"These strong measures justify the exceptional level of access to Fund
resources (equivalent to 400 percent of Armenia’s quota) and deserve
the support of the international community," Mr. Strauss-Kahn said.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Vahe Gabrielyan invites Margaret Thatcher to Armenia
11.03.2009 20:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Ambassador of Armenia to the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Vahe Gabrielyan, on behalf of
Armenia’s Prime Minister, Tigran Sargsyan, handed in a letter of
commendation to Baroness, Margaret Thatcher, for the support provided
during Spitak earthquake in 1988.

During the meeting Vahe Gabrielyan conveyed his gratitude on behalf of
RA Government and all Armenian people for the invaluable support
provided after the devastating earthquake, and attached great moral
importance to such assistance

In her turn, Margaret Thatcher noted that it was great honour for her
to receive words of gratitude from Armenia’s governing bodies and to
recall her visit to Yerevan in June 1990.Vahe Gabrielyan invited
Margaret Thatcher to visit Armenia again, reports the press-service of
RA Foreign Affairs Ministry.

European Commission released EUR 3 million in budget support to Armenia
from the Food Security Programme

armradio.am
10.03.2009 18:10

The European Commission Food Security Programme in Armenia is an
instrument of balance of payments and national budget support. The EC
Food Security Programme has been supporting the State Budget of the
Republic of Armenia since the 1997 fiscal year. Since then 10 annual
Programmes were successfully completed granting ?¬ 96.5 million for
direct budget support and ?¬ 5.5 million for technical assistance and
follow up.

With the successfully implemented EC Food Security Programme 2007-2008,
the total FSP contribution to Armenia’s development sum up to EUR 105
million.

The overall objectives of the EC Food Security Programme for 2007-2008
were in tune with the Armenian Poverty Reduction Strategy and aim i) to
contribute to the overall effort by the Government and the society to
reduce poverty though sustainable economic growth and development, and
ii) to maintain the momentum for reform in agriculture.

The specific objective of the EC Food Security Programme for 2007-2008
was to assist the Government of Armenia to improve the design,
management, delivery and effectiveness of state programmes and services
in agriculture that are aimed at reducing food insecurity, and
particularly to improve efficiency in the area of animal health and
phytosanitary policy.