Author: nina hovnanian

Yerevan Zoo gets ready for the Children’s Day

31.May.2013 – 15:47

The Yerevan Zoo will come up with a number of events and surprises for
its little visitors on June 1st, the Children’s Day. The events will
start at 10:00 am in the morning and last till 18:00 pm. A number of
theatrical and musical performances, contests and various concerts of
musical groups and ensembles will take place. Yerevan Zoo visitors
will be greeted by clowns and photographers, as well as gain

information about the Zoo magazine, the Animal Adoption program and
many other projects of Yerevan Zoo. All little visitors will have an
opportunity to participate in various contests and win a special
price.

The official opening of a new and comfortable enclosure for a spotted
hyena will take place the same day. The enclosure, which has been
sponsored by former HSBC director Astrid Clifford, is constructed in

correspondence with the standards of the European Association of Zoos
and Aquaria (EAZA). The Yerevan Zoo will also present its new
inhabitants; a couple of Hamadryas Baboons and Burchella’s zebra.

On June 1st, the entrance will be free of charge for all children under 16.

Armenian and Russian prime ministers agree on subsidizing rise of
price of natural gas for Armenia

YEREVAN, June 1. / ARKA /. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and
his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev met in Minsk, Belarus, and
discussed Russia’s possible involvement in subsidizing the sharp rise
of natural gas price, shipped to Armenia by Russian Gazprom, the
Armenian government said today.

Earlier Tigran Sargsyan said his government would subsidize 30% of the
price hike. He was followed by energy and natural resources minister
Armen Movsisyan who said the government was trying to get the Russian
side in the process of subsidizing the increased price of gas,
`because 80 percent in Armenia’s national gas operator, ArmRosGazprom
(ARG) is owned by Russian Gazprom.’

The Armenian government said Sargsyan and Medvedev agreed in Minsk
that Russia’s assistance will be in the form of a grant. It said the
talks to this end still continue.

On May 14, ArmRosGazprom asked the regulator to revise upward the
current tariff for Russian natural gas. It wants to raise the price
for consumers using up to 10 thousand cubic meters a month from
current 132,000 drams per one thousand cubic meters (including VAT) to
221,000 drams. Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC)
said late last month that consumers using up to 10,000 cubic meters of
natural gas per month will be paying 156 thousand drams, including
VAT, for one thousand cubic meters, up form current 132,000 drams.
Corporate and other enterprises consuming 10,000 and more cubic meters
will be paying about $276.98. The new prices will come into force
from June 7 to 10.

The government press office said also the two prime ministers spoke in
Minsk about organization of an international conference that should
approve large-scale economic assistance to Armenia. Medvedev said
Russia was willing to help Yerevan in organization of the donor
conference. The EU first expressed readiness to organize such a forum
in late 2011.

Back in 2012 Russian newspaper `Nezavisimaya Gazeta” said citing its
sources in the Armenian that Yerevan was trying to persuade Moscow
to postpone for a while the increase in gas prices and provide it
with a $1 billion loan. According to the newspaper, rumors about the
talks between Armenian and Russian governments on a fresh loan
appeared at the end of May after it emerged that the EU wanted to
postpone the conduction of donor conference for Armenia. -0-

Nagorno-Karabakh FM meets senior OSCE official

18:06 – 01.06.13

Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic Karen Mirzoyan
received on Saturday the personal representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

According to a press release by the NKR Foreign Ministry, the sides
have discussed the situation on the Contact Line between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the periodic monitorings conducted
by the OSCE official.

Armenian News – Tert.am

PRESS RELEASE
Ararat-Eskijian Museum
15105 Mission Hills Rd
Mission Hills CA, 91345
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 818-838-4862

SCREENING OF DOCUMENTARY “IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE ARGONAUTS” AND A TALK BY
NIKOS MICHAILIDIS AT ARARAT-ESKIJIAN MUSEUM.

Screening of documentary “In the footsteps of the Argonauts” a talk by Niko
Michailidis PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Princeton University
will be presented on Sunday June 9th, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. at the Ararat
Eskijian Museum,, Hasmik Mgrdichian Gallery, 15105 Mission Hills Road,
Mission Hills, CA.

The lecture, and the screening reflects on the collapse of the Ottoman
Empire, the Greek communities of Pontos which managed to survive from the
genocidal policies of the Young Turks regime in the beginning of the 20th
Century, and how they were relocated in mainland Greece and in other
countries. The memories and experiences of that generation passed on to the
younger through oral narratives, creation of archives, personal memoir
publications, music, dance, and lectures organized and supported by an
extensive network of cultural associations that had been founded in Greece
since 1923.

The current generation of Pontian-Greeks, that grew up without having any
significant immediate contact with the elder members of the community who
were born and raised in Pontos, faces further challenges of memory loss and
struggles to maintain a sense of Pontian-Greek identity by making use of all
these diverse mnemonic practices. “Learning the history of the ancestors” is
central in their attempt to form their subjectivities. The documentary “In
the Footsteps of the Argonauts” constitutes such an attempt to learn, to
remember, and to belong. This lecture will serve both as an introduction to
the documentary and as a presentation of the current quest of younger
Pontian-Greeks to form a modern sense of identity that maintains lively
links with the past and with a geographic region that has been lost.

Admission free (Donations appreciated) Reception following the program,

Nikolai Michailidis will be playing a few traditional songs with the Pontian
Lyra (Kemenche).

For more information contact the Ararat-Eskijian Museum at 818-838-4862 or
[email protected]

# # # # #

Armenia’s DM convenes urgent consultation over murder of Vazgen
Sargsyan Military Academy student

17:10 – 02.06.13

Armenia’s Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan has convened today an urgent
consultation relating to the murder of student of Vazgen Sargsyan
Military Academy.

Deputy defense ministers, chief of the General Staff and other
officials of the sphere were present, spokesperson for the minister
Artsrun Hovanissian reports.

In his Facebook post the spokesperson said that addressing the
present, Ohanyan said, `It is a great pain for us, a double pain and a
double tragedy as it has occurred in the educational institution of
our future officers. Such phenomena are inadmissible for us. They
should be eradiated from the Armed Forces. No such case must remain
unpunished.’

Hovanissian also wrote that the minister assigned to carry out a
service examination and punish all the guilty.

The student of the military academy A. Movsisyan was shot by another
student Melkumyan during the fight yesterday. Movsisyan died later in
hospital.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Prince Charles’ visit to Armenia promising – NGO chairman

11:45 – 02.06.13

Chairman of Armenia’s Consumers Association NGO Armen Poghosyan thinks
that Prince Charles’ visit to Armenia is promising.

`Prince Charles is not coming to Armenia everyday, it is an honor to
us,’ he said speaking to Tert.am.

As to the protests of a group of citizens over the visit of the
Prince, claiming he has arrived to open Amulsar gold mine, Poghosyan
said that the political level of Great Britain creates more effective
conditions for cooperation and Armenia’s economy will only benefit
from it.

`Till now enterprises of unknown origin and unknown capital are
operating in off-shore zones and the third figure of the British
Empire inspires me hope,’ he said, adding that the Prince is
environmentalist too.

Asked whether it is a right thing to sell everything to foreigners,
the NGO chairman said that it is bad. `We must reach a phase when the
lawmakers register that the enterprises be joint, not to allow them
exploit our mine alone,’ he stressed.

Armen Poghosyan noted that the nature has given mines that must be
exploited and those who think the opposite do not think sensibly as
our wealth in the world trade is our mental potential. `Not exploiting
mines will mean deadlock development,’ he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

FOREIGN INVESTMENTS DROP TO $131MLN IN ARMENIA IN JANUARY-MARCH

YEREVAN, June 1. /ARKA/. Total foreign investments in Armenia’s real
economy (excluding investments through banks and state administration)
amounted to $131 million in January-March this year, ArmStat reports.

It is said to be a reduction of 11.9% compared with the same period
of the year before.

Direct foreign investments in Armenia’s real economy totaled $57.7mln,
reduction of 35.4% in the period.

According to ArmStat, Canada is the leader in total foreign investments
in Armenia in January-March 2013. Its foreign investments in Armenia’s
real economy amounted to $34 million, which is a reduction of 22.2%
against the same period of the year before. Yet, Canada made no direct
foreign investments in Armenia’s real sector in the period.

The next biggest investors are Argentina and France.

Argentina’s total investments in Armenia’s real economy amounted to
$26.9mln (6.7-time increase), including about $5.6mln worth direct
investments (98.8% increase).

France invested a total of about $25.4mln, all in direct investments
(24.3% increase).

Russia’s investments in Armenia totaled $21.7mln (19.5% reduction),
including about $19mln in direct investments (28.7% decrease).

According to the statistics, 26% of total foreign investments in
Armenia were made in mining and 52.53% of direct investments in
telecommunications in January-March. ($1=417.22drams). -0-

ARMENIAN FM TO VISIT THE UNITED STATES

13:30 01.06.2013

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit the United
States June 3-4, Press and information Department of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs reports.

In Washington Edward Nalbandian will meet with US Secretary of State
John Kerry.

Also, the Armenian Foreign Minister will have meetings at the Congress
and will offer a speech at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies.

Within the framework of the visit Edward Nalbandian will meet with
representatives of American Armenian organizations.

L’ARMENIE SE PREPARE A DISPOSER DE SON SATELLITE DE TELECOMMUNICATIONS

En 2012 le gouvernement armenien dans sa volonte de disposer d’un
satellite de communications avait cree la societe ” Armcosmos
” chargee de la realisation de ce projet. Le vice-ministre des
Transports et de la Communication, K. Krikorian vient d’informer
que son ministère avait effectue une demande auprès de l’Union
internationale de telecommunications afin d’obtenir l’autorisation de
placer dans l’espace un satellite geostationnaire a près de 36 000
km de la terre. Après l’obtention de cette autorisation, l’Armenie
elaborera le dossier des sources du financement du projet et mènera
des negociations avec les societes charges de la construction et du
lancement dans l’espace du satellite armenien de telecommunications.

La Russie avec la societe ” Roscosmos ” etant probablement sollicitee
par l’Armenie pour cette mission.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 1er juin 2013, Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Trend, Azerbaijan
May 31 2013

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with EU Special
Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia
Philippe Lefort during his regional trip in Yerevan on May 31,
News.am. reported today.

According to the Armenian president’s press-service, the parties
discussed the dynamically developing relations between Armenia and
the EU, regional processes and issues relating to the settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are
currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.