Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

Fuel Cell Works
Aug 16 2005
H2 ECOnomy’s New Products Address Fuel Cell Educational Needs
Publication Date:16-August-2005
06:30 AM US Eastern Timezone
Source:FuelCellWorks
Yerevan, Armenia — H2 ECCOnomy is introducing their new
FC-StarterSet~Y and FC- EduSet~Y fuel cell educational sets. Daily
references in the news about the rising price of oil, new fuel cell
powered autos speeding along California’s Hydrogen Highway and
concerns over future sources of energy is driving further
developments of fuel cells. As this power generating technology
becomes more and more prevalent, an increasing demand for people
knowledgeable in fuel cells will increase. Therefore teaching the
fundamentals of fuel cells in schools, colleges and universities is
essential. H2 ECOnomy creates products to address these needs.
Designed for middle schools and high schools, the FC-StarterSet~Y is a
simple to operate fuel cell powered lamp, requiring only oxygen and
hydrogen. Once these two gases are supplied, the lamp can be turned
on and off with the flick of a switch. The open system design is an
excellent tool for explaining the components of a fuel cell and
present its operational parameters. H2 ECOnomy also plans to
introduce soon the air/hydrogen version of the FC-StarterSet~Y. It
will be furnished with a small air pump for oxidant (air) supply and
be able to get hydrogen fuel from most school electrolyzers.
The FC-EduSet~Y is a teaching tool that provides educators with a
flexible yet powerful gas control system and load bank for 10 – 100 W
air or oxygen-hydrogen fuel cells. It was designed to fit into the
curriculum of advanced high school programs through college level
courses covering proton exchange membrane fuel cell theory and
practice. Experiments are included that lead students through the
basics of fuel cell operation; varying gas flow rates, pressures and
load on the fuel cell and plotting the corresponding polarization
curves. The FC-EduSet~Y will operate with H2 ECOnomy’s fuel cells,
the new EcoFC-AM~Y and ProFC?AM~Y, as well as the EcoFC~Y and ProFC~Y,
previously known as CozyFC~Y and CoolFC~Y, respectively. It will also
operate with most 10 – 100 W air or oxygen-hydrogen fuel cells.
H2 ECOnomy is a vibrant research company leading the way to energy
resources for the 21st century. Located in the beautiful Ararat
valley, H2 ECOnomy was established in 2000 with the goal of
developing energy resources and investigating fuel cell technologies.
H2 ECOnomy has grown to become a productive research and development
company. Our expertise encompasses conductive composite materials,
catalyst chemistry, polymer chemistry, electronic design, embedded
systems and system integration. Knowledge in these fields has led to
the creation of fuel cells for the educational and demonstration
markets, sold worldwide through distributors in the US, Europe and
Asia. Additionally, our capabilities have been acknowledged by the
receipt of a two-year US Department of Energy Initiatives for
Proliferation Prevention grant and a contract to install a
groundbreaking combination – photovoltaic powered electrolyzer and
fuel cell system at the American University of Armenia.
CONTACT:Vahe Odabashian
H2 ECOnomy, CJSC2/2 Shrjanayin Street
Yerevan 374068
Armenia
Tel: (+374 1) 774 607
Fax: (+374 1) 777 182
[email protected]

Turkey determined to clarify Armenian genocide claims – foreign minister
Anatolia news agency
4 Aug 05
Ankara, 4 August: “We have been carrying out multi-dimensional works to
reveal the truths about the Armenian issue,” Turkish Foreign Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Thursday [4 August].
In response to a question motion of Motherland Party (ANAP)
parliamentarian Muhsin Kocyigit, Gul said, “both the Turkish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Turkish embassies have been carrying out
multi-dimensional works to reveal the truths about the Armenian issue.
We have published a number of books refuting the allegations
of Armenians, and sent them to decision-making mechanisms,
parliamentarians, academicians, journalists, universities,
libraries and the other relevant institutions in the world through
our embassies.”
“Also, books and articles of both Turkish and foreign academicians
were distributed to the relevant circles. The MFA holds a series
of seminars and conferences with the participation of Turkish and
foreign scientists in countries where Armenian lobby is active,
with the aim of informing public opinion,” he said.
Gul noted, “as a member of the Minsk Group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and as a regional actor
in southern Caucasia, Turkey has been making active contributions to
efforts to resolve the Upper Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and
Armenia from the very beginning of the dispute.”
“Turkey closely monitors developments about Azerbaijani refugees
who were forced to leave their homes due to the occupation of Upper
Karabakh by Armenia. In addition to our aid, we pursue an active
policy in order to draw attention of the international community to
the issue,” he said.
[Passage omitted]

DURING DAYS OF MOSCOW IN YEREVAN CAPSULE TO BE LAID IN FOUNDATION OF HOUSE OF MOSCOW
PanArmenian News Network
Aug 3 2005
03.08.2005 02:38
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During the Days of Moscow in Yerevan to be held
October 7-9 a capsule will be laid in the foundation of the House of
Moscow. The decree was signed by Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov. The
House of Moscow, which is called to become the center of cultural
cooperation between the capital cities of Armenia and Russia, will be
built in front of the Yerevan City Administration. A Yerevan-based
Moscow investment and construction company will accomplish the
building, IA Regnum reports.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/03/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ANC Office Opens Doors to the Middle East 2) Azerbaijan Close to Agreement on Hosting US Forces 3) Greek PM Puts off Turkey Visit Ahead of EU Talks 4) Karabagh Accuses Azeri Media of Stirring Public Opinion, Points to International Law for Conflict Resolution 1) ANC Office Opens Doors to the Middle East BEIRUT (Aztagdaily)--A ceremony marking the opening of an Armenian National Committee (ANC) Middle East office was held on August 2 in Beirut, Lebanon. As the ANC offices of the United States and Europe, the Middle East office will promote Armenian genocide recognition efforts throughout the region. Among those present for the celebration were ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markarian, members of ARF Lebanon's leadership, Lebanese Parliament member Hagop Pakrodouni, Armenia's Ambassador to Lebanon Areg Hovhannisian, and Bourj Hammoud Mayor Antranig Messerlian. In her remarks, the Executive Director of the Middle East office Vera Yacoubian noted the successes of the ANC in the US and Europe and explained the necessity for establishing the office. "This undertaking by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is based on the necessity to expand our reach and coordinate activities so as to counter Turkey's efforts to deny the Armenian genocide." She noted the difficulties of the imminent challenges, but stressed that every occasion must be exerted to overcome them by presenting the case of Armenians to Middle Eastern intellectuals and political forces. ARF Bureau representative Markarian said it is imperative to develop relations in the Middle East where Armenians found refuge after the genocide and have also lived for centuries. Pointing to political interests that promote anti-Islam sentiment, he said that we unintentionally end up on the opposition end. "Our cause is a political one, which should not be placed in the category of religion or faith. We must, therefore, not forcibly end up on the losing side while our opposition is victorious." 2) Azerbaijan Close to Agreement on Hosting US Forces MOSCOW (Combined Sources)--Azerbaijan and the US are close to reaching an agreement on establishing a US military presence in Azerbaijan, reported the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The move the paper said would follow the pull out of US forces from Uzbekistan. "This move that Washington is pushing for is almost completed," an unnamed source close to Azerbaijan's foreign ministry told the Russian paper. Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday, reportedly discussed the possible deployment. Washington announced last week that Uzbekistan had given the US 180 days to close an air base there, which is used to support operations in Afghanistan. Citing a source in the Azerbaijan's security forces, the paper said that a team of US military experts are already in Azerbaijan reviewing possible sites for hosting the US military. One site is reportedly near the capital of Baku, and the other close to the Iranian border. After his meeting with Rice, Mammadyarov referred to the Karabagh conflict, telling journalists that as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US will exert effort to make the regulation process more effective. He also said that the US position on the Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is unchanged. Mammadyarov also met with Minsk Group's US co-chair Steven Mann. While in Washington, Mammadyarov will hold meetings in the Pentagon and National Security Council, and will meet with representatives of the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and non-governmental organizations. He will also address representatives of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce in the Washington based Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center on Wednesday. On Thursday, Mammadyarov will deliver a speech at the US Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 3) Greek PM Puts off Turkey Visit Ahead of EU Talks ATHENS (Reuters)--Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis postponed this month's trip to Turkey on August 3 as pressure grew for Ankara to recognize Cyprus before starting EU accession talks in October, an official at the prime minister's office said. Greek officials said that the trip, which would have been the first by a Greek premier to Turkey in more than 46 years, will take place at a later date but did not say why it was postponed. "The prime minister will visit Ankara later in the autumn," the official told Reuters. "The date has not yet been determined." Diplomats said the trip, announced during a meeting of the two leaders on a Greece-Turkey border post last month, was too close to October 3, when Turkey is expected to start European Union accession talks. "Let's just say a visit after October 3 would be more comfortable. After that date, the visit will be less complicated," a diplomatic source told Reuters. "The two sides could not agree now on the date and the agenda of the meeting." The diplomat added that the decision to postpone the trip was taken in late July before Turkey signed a key EU protocol with new member states of the bloc, including Cyprus, but which Ankara refused to recognize. While ties between the former arch-rivals have greatly improved in the past six years, they remain divided over the island of Cyprus, split along ethnic lines for over 30 years. Turkey signed a protocol on July 29 extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus, clearing the last official obstacle to the start of EU entry talks. However, the country also issued a declaration making clear the signing did not mean official recognition of Cyprus, whose Greek Cypriot government is viewed in Brussels as the sole legitimate authority. The government has no diplomatic ties to Turkey, which invaded the northern third of the island in 1974. "This move certainly did not facilitate the visit," the diplomatic source said. Athens, which is a strong supporter of Turkey's bid for EU membership, has called on Ankara to "lift this paradox" of not recognizing a member of a club it wishes to join, while other EU members including Austria and France want full recognition of Cyprus before the start of accession talks. "It doesn't seem conceivable to me that a negotiation process of whatever kind can start with a country that does not recognize every member state of the EU, in other words all 25 of them," French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said yesterday. 4) Karabagh Accuses Azeri Media of Stirring Public Opinion, Points to International Law for Conflict Resolution STEPANAKERT (Armenpress)--Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) accused Azerbaijan's media yesterday of misrepresenting its positions and stirring public opinion as a result. "Without knowing the details and the pace of the peace talks on regulating the Karabagh conflict, inaccuracies about our position are published," the MKR Foreign Ministry said through a statement on Tuesday. The result, according to the statement, is that the Azeri public is not allowed to evaluate the continuing discussions, as well as alternative means to attaining peace. "It is beyond any doubt that a proper resolution to the conflict can only be found by establishing effective ties between Karabagh and Azerbaijan." The ministry stressed that the conflict must be regulated on the basis of international law, and Azerbaijan's leadership is responsible for any consequences resulting from unrestrained military actions. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Lokomotivi Tbilisi 0-2 Banants Yerevan
GeorgianSoccer.com, UK
Aug 3 2005
Lokomotivi Tbilisi lost their home game of the UEFA Cup first round
after beating Banants in Yerevan. The 3-2 win in Armenia was not
enough to proceed to the next round of UEFA Cup. Lokomotiv showed
disastrous performance and was happy not to get caught on counter
attacks while attacking in the end of the match. Once again there were
some interesting tendencies in the bookmaking agencies. The stacks
on Banants winning the game dropped a couple of days before the game.
No matter whether those rumours are true, fact is, that Banants
proceeded to the next round of uefa cup.

Azerbaijan News Service
July 28 2005
OFFICIAL BAKU CALLS FOREIGN OPERATORS TO SUSPEND COOPERATION WITH
ILLEGAL `QARABAQ TELECOM’ COMPANY
2005-07-28 20:30
One of four foreign companies cooperating with «Qarabaq Telecom»
company operating in occupied Daqliq Qarabaq illegally in
communication field has officially suspended cooperation, informed
Iltimas Mammadov, official of Ministry of Communications and
Information Technologies. Several operators including one Uzbek
operator ceased cooperation with the company after our addresses. We
will appeal to International Telecommunication Organization, GSM
Association that the other three foreign companies should stop
cooperation with «Qarabaq Telecom» company. As the territory where
«Qarabaq Telekom» company operates belongs to Azerbaijan and official
Baku didn’t give a license to operate in communication field the
company was deprived of membership of GSM Association since June 1
2004. But after this, `Qarabaq Telecom’ was given a license as a
mobile operator in the territory of Armenia. Appealing to GSM
Association as well as other international operators this company now
tries to cooperate with them as an Armenian company. Ministry of
Communications and Information Technologies is to appeal to GSM
Association regarding this issue.

RIA Novosti, Russia
July 28 2005
URGENT: Georgian border guards stop Russian convoy
15:52 | 28/ 07/ 2005
TBILISI, July 28 (RIA Novosti, Marina Kvaratskhelia) – Georgian
border guards have stopped a convoy of Russian military hardware on
the Armenian border. The convoy had regular passes but the border
guards found unlisted weaponry during an inspection, the state
borders department of the Georgian Interior Ministry said Thursday.
The convoy comprises four trucks and four armored vehicles.
“A PKT machine-gun and a signaling pistol were found in one vehicle,”
a department spokesman said. “The convoy was stopped to clarify the
situation.”

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
July 27, 2005
ACNIS Faces Armenia’s National Security Challenges
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today convened a policy roundtable on ways to meet the contemporary
challenges to Armenia’s national security under the light of new
geopolitical realities. The meeting brought together those formerly and
currently in charge of the sector, experts, social and political observers,
and media representatives.
ACNIS’s director of administration Karapet Kalenchian greeted the audience
with opening remarks. “Since they are considered as one inseparable entity,
and are dependent on one another, we therefore have joined the factors for
domestic and external security. If domestic security factors become
unstable, then external security weakens twice as much, and incomparably
greater efforts would be required in order to balance those threats out,”
Kalenchian noted.
A policy intervention by Ashot Manucharian, political secretary of the Union
of Socialist Forces and Intellectuals, encompassed the probable consequences
of domestic and external challenges which pose a threat to Armenia’s
national security. According to him, this topic is very urgent, because “our
country is again in the wake of serious changes,” and the key pressing issue
is to withstand the threats that today exist in the domains of economy,
security, external policy, and state-building. The value system which in the
last 15-16 years has been presented to society in a disfigured manner has
added particular acuteness to those challenges. “If in 1988 the
characteristic values of our people were prudence, patriotism, creative
pathos, and a sense of unity, today the main parameters are wealth,
mastering the mechanism of power, ostentation and bullying, all of which
portend catastrophic results,” Manucharian underlined.
In his address, ACNIS analyst Alen Ghevondian touched upon the role and
significance of the political derivative of Armenia’s national security.
“The importance of the political component of security lies in the fact that
when democratic processes are implemented in Armenia, and the country faces
the task of cultivating effective mechanisms for internal political
management, then from the vantage point of ensuring state security the
nature of those processes’ political structural element takes on landmark
significance,” Ghevondian pointed out. He also put the jeopardies to
political security into three distinct categories: dangers which threaten
the political order and which could stem from a variety of public activity
realms; dangers which flow from the political system toward the economy as
well as social and spiritual-ethical processes; and finally, threats to the
political order which originate from the very same political order.
According to the specialist, in practical politics these categories
frequently become combined.
Within the framework of the modern challenges of regional security directed
at Armenia, Yerevan State University lecturer Aram Harutiunian underscored
the external threats, because in his view the adverse internal stimulants of
security–emigration, corruption, perilous alienation of strategic
institutions, political killings, and social explosion–are much more
evident and renowned. Harutiunian expressed confidence that a change in the
current security system is extremely dangerous for the country. “As long as
the unlikely declarations being made from Baku in regard to its unconcealed
revanchism have not yet ceased, a major change in the developmental
directions of armaments, army-building, appropriated military technology,
and all related systems would result at this time in indices of
vulnerability which would bear destructive consequences for us,” Harutiunian
said, also attaching importance to consolidating Armenia’s place and role
within the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Edward Antinian
of the National Progressive Party; Ruzan Khachatrian of the People’s Party;
Karlen Alexanian of the Democratic Fatherland Party; ACNIS analysts Alvard
Barkhudarian and Hovsep Khurshudian; former minister of state Vahan
Shirkhanian; Slavonic University professor Rozalina Gabrielian; National
Assembly staff member Mara Sahakian; National Press Club chairperson Narine
Mkrtchian; and several others.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2005, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax
(37410) 52-48-46; e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]; or visit

ArmenPress, Armenia
July 27 2005
ARMENIA POSTS 10.2 PERCENT GDP GROWTH IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS
YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s GDP growth in the first
six months of 2005 amounted to 10.2 percent with deflator index
making 6 percent and consumer price index 2.3 percent. Armenian trade
and economic development minister Karen Chshmaritian told a news
conference today that the correlation between imports and GDP was
51.7 percent, down 6.4 points from the same time span in 2004.
Chshmaritian also said industrial production in the reported time
amounted, in terms of money, to 306.7 billion drams and the growth
rate was 5. 3 percent. The agricultural GDP was 103.6 billion drams
and growth rate 10.2 percent. The major construction volume was 116.5
billion drams with a growth rate of 43 percent, retail sale was 353
billion drams with a 5 percent growth rate. In the first six months
of this year 137 billion drams worth services were rendered to
population with a 15 percent growth rate. Mining industry reported 19
percent growth and jewelry sector almost a 100 percent growth.
Foreign trade was $1.217 billion, growth rate was 27 percent.
Exports stood at $430 million (28 percent growth) and imports -$788
million (26 percent growth). Foreign trade balance remained negative
with a $359 million gap. The minister also said $60.2 million were
invested in Armenia in the first three months of 2005, including $36
million of direct investments. The growth rate was 44 percent.

PanArmenian News Network
July 23 2005
VENICE COMMISSION APPROVED OF DRAFT OF ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL
REFORMS
23.07.2005 03:49
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian politicians have received the draft
remarks of the Venice Commission (VC) over constitutional reforms in
Armenia. Yesterday European Integration Commission Chairman,
Parliamentary Vice-Speaker Tigran Torosyan presented his conclusions
over the draft. `The revised constitutional reforms draft as compared
to the ones the VC has commented over is a incontestable reform. In
the Commission’s opinion, the constitutional referendum will be a
good basis for ensuring the Armenian Constitution compliance with
European standards.’ Welcoming the response of the Armenian
authorities to any change proposed by the VC, the Commission
nevertheless hints further improvement is necessary. This
specifically refers to the issue of media. The new order of
appointment of members of the TV and Radio National Commission in
Armenia are as follows: the National Assembly has to appoint half of
the Commission members (however, they should not belong to any
political party), the latter half is appointed by the President.
Welcoming the amendment the VC nevertheless considered problematic
the issue of appointment of all members of the TV and Radio Council
by the President. If these powers of the President are preserved,
then the process needs to be open and transparent. Besides, the VC
proposes to fix the Government structure by the law. T. Torosyan
noted that the remark will receive an additional response. According
to the preliminary remark of the Commission, the President’s immunity
is canceled in the new draft (if he has committed a crime) upon the
completion of his tenure. Attention is paid to the draft provision,
saying the President can chair the Government sessions or invite
Government sessions only over foreign policy, defense and national
security issues. The changes referring to the judicial system were
also approved. In case these are put in practice, the legal framework
should be changed here. The VC proposes making these changes with the
participation of the European Council and by means of tests. The
Commission also welcomed changes in self-government, paying special
attention to election of the Yerevan Mayor. The Constitution draft
notes that the Yerevan community, i.e. the Mayor himself, too, have
to be elected. At that it is noted that the European Local
Self-Government Charter does not rule out direct election of a
community leader. The conclusion of the Venice Commission will be
considered and approved at the Commission next plenary session to
take place in October, reported the Azg.