Author: Virabian Jhanna

FIRST ARMENIAN INTERNATIONAL HIGH TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION TO BE HELD IN SAN FRANCISCO

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 3 2007

YEREVAN, July 3. /ARKA/. ArmTech, the first international high
technology conference and exhibition for professionals interested in
the rapidly developing tech sector in Armenia, is to be held at the
Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California from July 4 to 7, 2007,
Armenian Competitive Private Sector Project (CAPS) Program’s office
reported on Monday.

This conference will provide opportunities for Armenian IT companies
to showcase their products and services, meet potential investors
and business partners, and establish other contacts with important
members of the global IT and high-tech community.

Congress organizers also seek to promote opportunities to do business,
recruit, and invest in Armenian high tech companies. Over 500 companies
are expected to participate in the Congress, CAPS office says.

ArmTech’s organizational sponsors include the Armenian Development
Agency (ADA), AGBU, and USAID through the CAPS and HICD programs.

CAPS and HICD are providing investment planning support to
participating companies and assisting them to attend the conference.

Corporate sponsors include: Synopsis, VivaCell, Armenia TV, Viasphere
Technopark, Impreva Labs, R2E2 fund, Sonics, Virage Logic, Morgan
Stanley, and Ponte Solutions.

Among participants of the opening ceremony of the Exhibition are
Mr. Vardan Oskanyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and high-ranking
officials from international investment community.

MAIN AIM OF PACE PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO SOUTH CAUCASUS IS TO DISCUSS WAYS OF SETTLING FROZEN CONFLICTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.07.2007 16:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "This is an important region for the Council of
Europe, and my main aim in returning here is to see how we can do more
to solve the frozen conflicts in the countries concerned. Only this
will enable the peaceful development of the region in the interest
of all its peoples," President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden stated speaking on the eve
of his visit to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. As well as the role
of parliamentary diplomacy in solving conflicts, Rene van der Linden
intends to raise the rights of the opposition, freedom of expression,
the role of civil society, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue,
relations with neighboring countries, and the building of one Europe
without dividing lines, CoE Information Office reports.

He will be in Armenia on 4-5 July, Georgia on 5-7 July and Azerbaijan
on 8-10 July. In south Caucasian countries he is due to meet the
Presidents and leading members of the parliament and government in all
three countries, as well as, among others, the leaders of different
political forces, representatives of civil society and the media,
and religious leaders.

ARMENIAN SURGEON APPOINTED JUNIOR MINISTER OF HEALTH IN UK

AZG Armenian Daily
04/07/2007

After the appointment of the new cabinet and the larger Government
by Gordon Brown, there is now an Armenian minister in the British
Government. Sir Ara Darzi was appointed as a junior minister of Health.

Sir Darzi is a famous surgeon and he was born in Armenia. Armine
Grigorian, press and public Affairs Officer at British embassy to
Armenia, informed "Azg" about this.

Professor Sir Ara Darzi, who is charged with improving patient
care, has been promoted from his previous role as National Advisor
on surgery.

Sir Ara, chair of surgery at Imperial College London, supports
government plans to reconfigure NHS services.

When he took over as prime minister, Mr Brown said he planned a
broad-based government of "all the talents".

"My working life has, is and will continue to be centred on patient
care,"said Sir Ara Darzi.

But the Conservatives have criticised the appointment, accusing Sir
Ara of having a poor record of supporting access to services for
patients and rubber-stamping the demands of the Department of Health.

In a report published earlier this year Sir Ara said 80% of operations
should be carried out on patients in their local area, with the
remaining complex cases undertaken at specialist centres by highly
skilled surgeons.

Ministers have already embarked on a policy of reconfiguring services
along these lines – leading to controversial decisions about individual
NHS units which have been bitterly opposed by critics.

Sir Ara will combine his ministerial duties with his research and
clinical commitments, including the supervision of students.

Sir Ara, 47, said: "It is a great honour and privilege to be asked
by the Prime Minister to continue that work for patients across
the country.

"I will be working closely with Alan Johnson to map out the next
steps of the reform agenda that has achieved so much in the last 10
years. But we can do better."

He said he would draw on his experience from the frontline to fulfil
his new responsibilities.

"I am not a politician by profession. My working life has, is and
will continue to be centred on patient care."

Sir Ara is internationally respected for his innovative work in the
advancement of minimal invasive surgery and in the development and
use of allied technologies including surgical robots and image-guided
surgery.

Dr Jonathan Fielden, chair of the BMA’s consultants’ committee, said:
"Having a focus on improving patient care is a positive step forward.

"We will be looking forward to him listening to our concerns and
working closely with him to ensure that the concerns of the profession
and the public are utilised to improve patient care."

Mr Bernard Ribeiro, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, said:
"I am delighted that a practising surgeon, who deals with patients
on a regular basis, has decided to take such a high position.

"It is an opportunity for government to engage directly with the
profession."

The prime minister’s spokesman said Professor Darzi would work Monday
to Thursday as a minister – being paid for three days – and continue
to work as an NHS surgeon, unpaid, on Fridays.

Any income from his international private practice will be paid direct
to Imperial College to fund research, the spokesman said.

BAKU HOPES TALKS ON KARABAKH WILL CONTINUE IN PREVIOUS FORMAT

Interfax Russia
July 3 2007

BAKU. July 3 (Interfax-Azerbaijan) – Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister
Elmar Mamedyarov hopes talks with Armenia on the settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh problem will be continued in the framework of the
Prague process.

"We’ve been in talks within the framework of the Prague process for
three years now and would be disappointed if it came to a halt,"
Mamedyarov told the press.

He said talks with Armenia would hopefully continue in this format.

"But the choice of the format also largely depends on the co- chairmen
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk
Group," Mamedyarov said.

ARMENIAN CB DECREASES BANK INTEREST RATE BY 1%

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 2 2007

YEREVAN, July 2. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia decreased the
bank interest rate by one percent to 12% annual interest rate. The
CBA press-service reported this decision was made by the Central Bank
of Armenia Council on June 29, 2007.

The last change in the interest rate was made on March 2, 2007, when
the Central Bank decreased the bank interest rate by one percent to
13%.

Candidate of Republican party to become RA president unambiguously: RPA
member

arminfo
2007-06-29 16:16:00

Candidate of the Republican party will become RA president in 2008
unambiguously, RPA member Galust Sahakyan said at today’s
press-conference.

As G. Sahakyan said, the Republican party will work in a more active
and organized way during summer to prepare for the presidential
election. He assured that the party will work more correctly before
2008 presidential election than it did before the parliamentary
election 2007. He said that the party’s election programmes will be
carried out after the presidential election. He also emphasized that
the end, 2008 – the beginning, 2009 will be crucial for Armenia in
economic aspect.

As for possibility of consolidating the opposition around a single
presidential contender, G. Sahakyan said: "It is still questionable if
the opposition will manage to do all this, everything will be clear in
autumn".

WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE SYSTEMS UNDER REPAIR IN LORI AND SHIRAK
REGIONS WITH FINANCING OF GERMAN KfW BANK

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Some work, particularly on drafting the
maps of the main water-pipe and the distribution networks, has already
been done under the program on repairs of the water supply and sewerage
systems of Lori and Shirak regions. NT correspondent was informed from
the State Committee of Water Industry of the RA Ministry of Territorial
Governance that the tenders for a construction company and a water
meter supplying company have been announced.

The Armenian government jointly with German KfW bank has been
implementing the program on improvement of the water supply systems of
the above mentioned regions since 2005. It is envisaged to complete the
first stage of the program in three years. Its cost makes 25.99 million
euros, 23,37 mln euros of which was provided by the German bank (15.5
mln euros as a credit, the rest as a grant), while the Armenian
government’s cofinancing makes 2.62 mln euros.

The water supply and sewerage systems of the city of Vanadzor, the
villages of Lernapat, Darpas and Shahumian (Lori region), as well as of
the cities of Gyumri and Maralik, the villages of Akhurian and Azatan
(Shirak region) will be repaired at the first stage of the program. It
is also envisaged to install water meters in other communities during
the first stage.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Los Angeles Times Managing Editor retires for `killing’ a story on
Armenian Genocide
30.06.2007 14:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ After escalating criticism from the Armenian
American community for his role in obstructing an article on the
Armenian Genocide this April and his discriminatory behavior against
Armenian American reporters, Los Angeles Times Managing Editor Douglas
Frantz has resigned effective July 6th and will be returning to
Istanbul, reported the Armenian National Committee of America-Western
Region (ANCA-WR).

This past April Frantz `killed’ a story on the Armenian Genocide that
was written by Armenian American Los Angeles Times reporter Mark
Arax. Frantz had erroneously accused Arax (who recently left the
paper) of having a `conflict of interest’ regarding reporting on the
Armenian Genocide and had also circumvented the standard editorial
process for reviewing articles. A subsequent internal investigation by
the Times deemed Frantz’s accusations to be completely baseless.

This past April, the ANCA led a grassroots campaign to raise awareness
regarding Frantz’s actions. Over 5,000 activists responded to an ANCA
action alert and sent emails and letters calling for Frantz’s
resignation. In addition, the ANCA-WR, California Courier Publisher
Harut Sassounian and other community representatives met with the
publisher and senior Los Angeles Times management on multiple
occasions during the last several months to convey the community’s
outrage regarding Frantz’s discriminatory actions.

`Doug Frantz’s resignation from the Los Angeles Times is an
appropriate answer to his unprofessional behavior and anti-Armenian
posture in the newsroom,’ remarked ANCA-WR Board member Zanku
Armenian. `The Los Angeles Times is a fine newspaper. The fact that
Frantz is returning to Istanbul tells the full story of where he
stands.’ he added.

TURKEY DOESN’T SEEK NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.06.2007 14:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey doesn’t seek normalization of relations with
Armenia. It remains Azerbaijan’s ally in the Karabakh issue, Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a news conference in Yerevan.

"During a meeting with Turkish FM Abdullah Gul, Armenia confirmed
readiness to normalize relations without preconditions. However, Ankara
receives information from Baku, and this preconceived information
impedes our dialogue. I am hopeful that after the meeting Mr Gul
formed a more correct opinion of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and
Armenia’s stance in the region," the RA FM siad.

Mr Oskanian has also held an out of record meeting with leaders of
world media in Istanbul. "They are badly informed of the Karabakh
issue and the Armenia-Turkey relations in general. I had a speech
in the air of CNN-Turk and I took the opportunity to familiarize the
Turkish public with the issues," Mr Oskanian said.

Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, June 28, 2007

Contact: Haig Hovsepian

Tel: (818) 500-1918

Genocide Controversy Leads L.A. Times Managing Editor To Resign

Los Angeles, CA – After escalating criticism from the Armenian American
community for his role in obstructing an article on the Armenian Genocide
this April and his discriminatory behavior against Armenian American
reporters, Los Angeles Times Managing Editor Douglas Frantz has resigned
effective July 6th and will be returning to Istanbul, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America-Western Region (ANCA-WR).

This past April Frantz "killed" a story on the Armenian Genocide that was
written by Armenian American Los Angeles Times reporter Mark Arax. Frantz
had erroneously accused Arax (who recently left the paper) of having a
"conflict of interest" regarding reporting on the Armenian Genocide and had
also circumvented the standard editorial process for reviewing articles. A
subsequent internal investigation by the Times deemed Frantz’s accusations
to be completely baseless.

This past April, the ANCA led a grassroots campaign to raise awareness
regarding Frantz’s actions. Over 5,000 activists responded to an ANCA
action alert and sent emails and letters calling for Frantz’s resignation.
In addition, the ANCA-WR, California Courier Publisher Harut Sassounian and
other community representatives met with the publisher and senior Los
Angeles Times management on multiple occasions during the last several
months to convey the community’s outrage regarding Frantz’s discriminatory
actions.

"Doug Frantz’s resignation from the Los Angeles Times is an appropriate
answer to his unprofessional behavior and anti-Armenian posture in the
newsroom," remarked ANCA-WR Board member Zanku Armenian. "The Los Angeles
Times is a fine newspaper and deserves better than to have a genocide denier
as a member of its senior staff. The fact that Frantz is returning to
Istanbul tells the full story of where he stands." he added.

Frantz’s activities and pro-Turkish positions have been monitored over the
course of his many assignments at different newspapers and most recently in
May when he moderated a panel in Istanbul that featured a well-known
genocide denier. The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
(ANCA-WR) worked with a coalition of individuals to bring to light the
situation that had developed at the Los Angeles Times after Frantz more
overtly revealed his anti-Armenian position with his actions against Mark
Arax. Sassounian had highlighted the Frantz controversy in several columns
that appeared in the California Courier and a host of other news websites.
Sassounian was also instrumental in bringing to light Frantz’s involvement
in the May conference held in Istanbul.

The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout
the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad
range of issues.