Author: nina hovnanian

CLIMATE OR OLIGARCHS TO BLAME FOR BREAD PRICE INCREASE?

20:31 | 2012-09-25 | Armenia | Economy |

It’s already 5 days that in the poorest region of Armenia Shirak the
price of bread increased by 10-20 AMD. Today speaking on wheat harvest,
the minister of agriculture said: “The estimate of the harvest of
wheat is a bit lower this year, but the general harvest is more than
previous year.”

The journalists inquired from the minister why the prices rise
in such case. ” You know that such climate didn’t happen to be in
Armenia during recent years, we had lack of water, moisture. The rise
of prices is an international tendency. The prices are set in the
market, we cannot dictate the villager, the trader that this year
the prices are higher. We have domestic market, but with local 440
thousand tons of wheat, we import 250-300 thousand tons as well. Thus,
we also depend on outer trends.”

The minister noted that the government covers 60% of food demand of RA.

ARMENIA-BASED DELOVOY EXPRESS NEWSPAPER AWARDED A CERTIFICATE OF HONOR OF RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT

arminfo
Tuesday, September 25, 21:19

The Armenia-based Russian language economic newspaper Delovoy Express
has been awarded a Certificate of Honor of the Russian Government.

ITAR-TASS reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev decreed
awarding a certificate of honor of the Russian Government to a number
of foreign news agencies, particularly, Delovoy Express (Armenia),
9th Channel (Israel), Lilith Magazine (Latvia), etc.

POWERFUL BLAST KILLS 7 KILLS IN TURKEY’S TUNCELI

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 25, 2012 – 20:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A powerful explosion has rocked the eastern Turkish
city of Tunceli, killing seven people, media report, according to
BBC News.

The blast targeted a military vehicle carrying security personnel.

The city is near the country’s Kurdish area and suspicion will
automatically fall upon Kurdish rebel group the PKK, according to
BBC News.

Fighting between Turkish troops and the PKK – the Kurdistan Workers’
Party – has escalated in recent months.

Turkish TV stations showed shaky footage of workers trying to put
out fires in two burnt-out vehicles.

Reports said the vehicles were blown up by remote detonation.

Several ambulances and fire engines were reported speeding to the
scene in the Ataturk neighbourhood of the city.

RED BOOK ANIMALS KILLED IN ARMENIA DURING HUNTING SEASON

arminfo
Tuesday, September 25, 18:05

Armenian environmentalists continue paying attention to the lack of
tough control during the hunting season, Head of WWF-Armenia Karen
Manvelyan told ArmInfo.

He said that the key targets of the poachers are large mammals ranging
from roes to bezoar goats and other rare species. “The problem of
the lack of control during the hunting season has always existed. The
thing is that our Nature Protection Inspectorate is very weak in terms
of human and technical resources. Cars are needed for patrolling
vast territories and the number of employees should be increased”,
Manvelyan said.

At the same time, the expert pointed out that the number of the
recent cases of hunting against the Red Book animals is not so big
as earlier. “Now there is a more or less normal network of protected
areas where the territories are patrolled. Due to the well-organized
work, many cases of poaching have been fixed in Syunik, where there
are the Arevik, Shikahogh reserves and the Zangezour partial reserve.

We’d like to have such results in other regions of Armenia as well”,
Manvelyan said.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY: PROSPEROUS ARMENIA IMITATES OPPOSITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 25, 2012 – 13:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Leader of Democratic Party of Armenia has expressed
skepticism over Prosperous Armenia’s representing opposition.

“As part of a single team, all at once the party resolved to pursue
own policy of imitating opposition,” Aram Sargsyan said.

He further commented on the poll conducted by sociologist Aharon
Adibekyan, according to which Gagik Tsarukyan represents a single
opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.

“Let Mr. Adibekyan himself judge if the poll is true to fact,” he
said with irony.

RUSSIA TO DEPLOY MIG-31 INTERCEPTORS AT ARCTIC BASE

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 25, 2012 – 14:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Russian Defense Ministry is to base MiG-31
long-range interceptors at the Rogachyovo Arctic base on the island
of Novaya Zemlya by the end of the year to defend against attack from
the north, RIA Novosti reported citing Izvestia daily.

“The MiG-31 squadron will be the main element of Russia’s developing
anti-missile defense system – the MiG-31 is capable of intercepting
not only strike aircraft, but also cruise missiles with nuclear
warheads from the Barents Sea to the shores of the Laptev Sea,”
a military source told Izvestia.

Military analyst Anatoly Tsyganok says the MiG-31BM has a range of
900 miles (1,450 km) on internal fuel, which can be extended to 3,355
miles (5,400 km) with air-to-air refueling.

Although Russia does not have complete ground-based radar coverage
across its northern areas, he explained, the two-seat MiG-31 can
intercept targets up to 124 miles (200 km) away thanks to its advanced
radar and long-range missiles.

The MiG-31, which is said to be the fastest fighter-interceptor in
service anywhere in the world, has recently been the subject of a
comprehensive upgrade to MiG-31BM standard.

The modernized version boasts upgraded avionics and digital data-links,
a new multimode radar, color multifunction cockpit displays, and a
more powerful fire-control system. It can simultaneously track up to
10 targets.

PAPER: DISMISSAL OF BEGLARYAN’S BROTHER PLANNED?

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 25, 2012 – 10:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – According to Hraparak paper, former deputy head
of presidential staff Ara Gyurjyan has replaced Transport Minister
Gagik Beglaryan’s brother Hakob Beglaryan as the new Procurement
Assistance Center.

The appointment took place very quickly and prompted that the dismissal
was planned long ago, the paper says.

POLICE DETAIN FORMER REGIONAL GOVERNOR ON SUSPICION OF ATTEMPTED ELECTION TAMPERING

hetq
17:17, September 24, 2012

Today, Yeghegnadzor Police took former Vayots Dzor Regional
Administrator Sergey Bagratyan into custody after receiving a report
from a witness that he tried to tamper with ballots in the election
for mayor of the rural community of Artabouynq.

48 year-old Bagratyan, who now teaches at the State Economics
University in Yerevan, is said to have forced his way into the polling
station, grabbing a bunch of ballots, and attempting to leave with
them.

According to photo-journalist Gagik Shamshyan, Bagratyan, a member
of the Prosperous Armenia Party, attempted to intervene after seeing
that the party’s nominee was losing the vote.

When a police officer at the polling station tried to stop him.

Bagratyan reportedly pushed the officer and gave him a head butt.

Shamshyan also reports that Bagratyan’s 17 year-old son Shant was
also present and helped his father abscond with the stolen ballots.

Police have launched an investigation into the matter and are looking
for Shant who has gone into hiding.

SAFAROV’S PARDON IS AN ACT AIMED TO THE RISE OF NATIONAL PATRIOTISM IN AZERBAIJAN

16:30 | 2012-09-25 | Opinions | Regional Opinions |

Alexander Karavayev, head of the Political Forecasting
Information-Analytical Center of Moscow State University, today had
an interview with Russian REGNUM news agency and talked about the
issue of Safarov’s extradition.

According to him Safarov’s pardon is an act aimed to the rise of
national patriotism in Azerbaijan.

“I am familiar with the interpretation of these events, according to
which Safarov’s pardon and glorification aimed to provoke Yerevan in
order to stop the peace process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and
the recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, it seems to me that the action of the Azerbaijani authorities
was for strengthening the political arena. It is an act aimed at rising
national patriotism. Life is maneuvering between the two things –
those who are cynical and those who are cold-blooded. All of us know
that Azerbaijan has a conflict with Armenia, and on the background of
territorial disagreements many things are overlapped, which makes it
possible for Azerbaijan to do such steps” said the expert and added
“actions of the Azerbaijani authorities have caused confusion in the
entire world. Usually, in cases of extradition of criminals first
of all they go to the court, after that the final decision must be
announced, but in case of Safarov, he didn’t even reach Baku but he
was already honored.”

Talking about Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the expert said that surely
the negotiations would be stopped for some time but added that the
negotiations mustn’t be replaced by any other means of the solution
to the conflict.

KISSIN WILL NEVER GO TO TURKEY

15:15 – 25.09.2012

Within the frameworks of “Yerevan Perspectives” International
festival, pianist Yevgeny Kissin will perform on September 27 in Aram
Khachatryan’s Big Concert Hall. Works of Hayden, Schubert, Beethoven
and List.

president of the festival Stepan Rostomyan noted during the press
conference that it is hard to caracterize Kissin as he is one of the
best pianists in the world. “Having such talented people in Armenia
became regular”.

Kissin noted that he prefers the festivals which are well organized.

“There are countries where I will not go due to political views. I
will never accept an invitation from Turkey as they not only did
commit the Armenian Genocide but still continue their denying policy”.