Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

17 BODIES FOUND FROM LOST JET

Panorama.am
10:56 08/06/2009

More bodies have been recovered from the Atlantic in the area where
a French jet disappeared last week, bringing the total number to 17,
BBC reports referring to Brazilian armed forces.

The captain of the crew searching for the dead of the jet said that
they were to find some other people also.

Dozens of pieces of debris from the Air France plane were also picked
up by Brazilian and French ships. They were found some 1,000km (600
miles) north-east of Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha islands where the
Airbus disappeared with 228 people.

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]

10 June 2009

PRIMATE MEETS WITH THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF AUCKLAND

The Armenian Community of Auckland in New Zealand welcomed His Eminence
Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese of Australia & New
Zealand over the Queen’s Birthday June long-weekend. Accompanying the
Archbishop was Reverend Father Bartev Karakashian from the Church of Holy
Resurrection in Sydney.

The arrival of the Archbishop and Reverend Father on Friday, 5th June was
met by committee members of the Armenian Society of New Zealand and the
Parish Priest of the Indian Orthodox Church of Auckland.

The annual visit of the Primate, which is normally reserved solely for the
Armenians of Auckland, included a different dimension on this occasion as he
met with the parish of the Indian Orthodox Church. As sister churches, ties
within our region of the world have particularly strengthened over the past
year with increased fraternal visits and opportunities for engagement. In
February, Archbishop Baliozian was invited to India as a guest speaker at
the Platinum Celebration of the Feast of St Geevarghese Mar Dionysius
Vattasseril, the faith father of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who
fought for the establishment of the Catholicate to be the symbol of
self-identity and independence of the Church.

In the evening of their arrival, a small community gathering was held to
welcome the Archbishop and Father Bartev in a warm casual atmosphere. The
following day commenced with a visit to the local cemetery to bless the
graves and offer prayers for the souls of the dearly departed Armenians of
Auckland.

On Saturday evening the official dinner was held in honour of the Primate’s
visit where community members gathered to show their hospitality and share
an evening of traditional Armenian fare, conversation, laughter and cheer.

Sunday 7th June, Archbishop Baliozian visited the parish of the Indian
Orthodox Church where he gave a message on the significance of maintaining
the traditions of faith and embracing our cultures, most importantly
perpetuating these values onto future generations.

The same afternoon the Armenian community gathered at St Peter’s Anglican
Church in Takapuna for the Divine Liturgy offered by Reverend Father Bartev
Karakashian accompanied by the local choir conducted by Deacon Margos
Iskenderian. The sermon was given by Archbishop Baliozian whose message
focussed on how faith makes us live and how the faith founded in the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin has preserved for all these centuries.

Following Holy Mass the congregation gathered in the church hall for a final
opportunity to engage with the Archbishop and enjoy a community gathering
which evoked high spirits in recreating a little Armenia.

Archbishop Baliozian and Father Bartev returned to Australia on Monday after
a fulfilling weekend of pastoral duties and deriving warm relationships.

For information on the Armenian Community of Auckland contact members of the
Armenian Society of New Zealand, Mr Hagop Yeldezian at [email protected]
or Hermik Sookiassian at [email protected]

HYE FESTIVAL BRINGS THE FUN TO DOWNTOWN FRESNO
Winston Whitehurst

KMPH Fox 26
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June 9 2009
Fresno, CA

Armenian culture got the spotlight in downtown Fresno this weekend.

Kids wowed the crowd with traditional dancing at Fulton Mall, for
the 1st annual Hye festival.

The word "hye" is Armenian for "Armenian", and the festival didn’t
disappoint in offering good music and dance.

No one walked away with an empty stomach, with tasty barbecue up
for grabs.

The event was sponsored by the City of Fresno, and organizers say
the Armenian culture is a big part of Fresno’s appeal.

"The reason we’re here is because there are 60,000 Armenians in Fresno,
and Fresno has a huge Armenian community that is part of this city,
and that’s why we’re putting on this event today," said Diko Chekian,
of the Hye Festival entertainment committee.

More than 4,500 people took part in the Hye festival this weekend.

ARMENIA’S PM TO ATTEND EURASEC SITTING IN MOSCOW

armradio.am
08.06.2009 12:56

On June 9 the delegation headed by the Prime Minister of Armenia,
Tigran Sargsyan, will leave for Moscow to participate in the 23rd
sitting of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) on the level of
Heads of Government, Information and Public Relations Department of
RA Government reported.

The delegation headed by the Prime Minister will comprise the Head of
Staff of the Government, David Sargsyan, Minister of Finance Tigran
Davtyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan,
Deputy Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan, Deputy Foreign Minister
Shavarsh Kocharyan, other officials.

RUSSIA AND BELARUS ARE RISKING TO COMPLETELY SEVER TIES

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
08.06.2009 13:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Relations between Russia and Belarus got so
aggraded that the countries are risking to completely sever ties,
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stated. He also accused Russia
of trying to link the issue of $500 million stabilization credit to be
provided for Belarus, with Minsk’s recognition of Abkhazia’s and South
Ossetia’s independence. "Belarus is capable of shoving the issues of
self-proclaimed republics’ recognition and does not intend to sell any
issues or cede any positions," Lukashenko emphasized. The President
also stressed that Russia has closed its market for Byelorussian
goods. He cited the example of milk and meat products, sugar and
Byelorussian tractors. Lukashenko denied Russia’s accusations on
Belarus’ attempts to sell its production at dumping prices.

TIGRAN SARGSYAN TO PARTICIPATE IN 23D SESSION OF EURASEC

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 8, 2009
YEREVAN

The delegation headed by the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
will leave June 9 for the capital of Russia – Moscow – to participate
in the 23d inter-state session of the Eurasian Economic Community –
EurAsEc – on the level of the heads of governments.

Governmental press service told Armenpress that the delegation headed
by the Armenian prime minister consists of head of the government’s
staff David Sargsyan, Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan, Energy and
Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisian, Deputy Finance Minister
Vardan Aramyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan and other
officials.

WPS Agency, Russia
Defense & Security
June 5 2009

IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH ARMED FORCES OF AZERBAIJAN FOUND NEW ARMENIAN ARMAMENT

Lately, the armed forces of Armenia have been firing at populated
spots of Azerbaijan and positions of our army from weapons that are
not within the contemporary military system. APA reports that a big
quantity of heads with size smaller than 7.62-mm bullets and bigger
than 5.45-mm bullets have been found on the territories at which the
enemy forces have fired. The threat of the bullet heads differs
according to prints.

According to specialists, the new bullets can pierce a layer of soil
with a thickness of one meter, a thin concrete layer, bulletproof
jackets and light armored vehicles. So far, there is no detailed
information about the weapons that fire these bullets and about their
technical characteristics.

Source: Den news agency (Baku), June 03, 2009
Translated by InterContact

CREDIT PORTFOLIO OF ARARATBANK REACHES 11.5BLN DRAMS IN JANUARY-MAY 2009

ARKA
June 5, 2009

YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. As of June 2009 the credit portfolio of
Armenian Araratbank has reached 11.5bln AMD, the bank’s Chairman of
the Executive Board, CEO Ashot Osipyan told reporters on Friday.

According to him the bank continues issuing credits in all directions
but agriculture which is not in priorities of the bank.

Osipyan noted Araratbank is actively participating in crediting
program of the German Developmetn Bank (KfW) as well as in World
Bank’s program on financing small and medium businesses.

"We continue issuing credits in full terms, but as compared to the
previous period our credit policy is more reserved, more selective,
requirements for crediting is higher,’ said the banker.

In 2008 the credit portfolio of Araratbank amounted to 12,189bln AMD,
an increase of 4.76bln AMD or 32.9% against 2007.

Araratbank OJSC, legal successor of Armsvyaz Bank, was established
on September 2, 1991 and licensed (N4) on October 31, 1996.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) holds 25%
shares of Araratbank.

The 74.1% of the bank’s authorized capital belongs to principal
shareholder, businessman and owner of Flesh Company Barsegh Beglaryan.

By March 31, 2009, the banks assets had reached 28bln AMD, with capital
being 7.6bln AMD, liabilities 20.3bln AMD, credit investments 14.4bln
AMD and net loss 14mln AMD in January-March 2009.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: MEETING OF PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN IN ST PETERSBURG IS CONSTRUCTIVE

ArmInfo
2009-06-05 00:30:00

ArmInfo. Meeting of president of Armenia and Azerbaijan in St
Petersburg was held in a constructive way, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandyan told journalists when commenting on today’s meeting
of Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev within the economical forum in
St.Petersburg, as Armenian Second TV channel broadcast. ‘Though
today one cannot say about any breakthrough or significant progress,
nevertheless the parties are moving forward and it is possible that
new meeting of the two president will be prepared’, – Nalbandyan
said. For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
expressed his agreement with Nalbandyan’s viewpoint and added that
unlike previous meetings this meeting was held in another way. The
most important is that there is general consent about the necessity of
moving forward and this problem should be resolved, Mammadyarov said.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS’ MEETING BEGINS IN ST PETERSBURG

APA
June 4 2009
Azerbaijan

St Petersburg. R. Metleboghlu – APA. Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan meet in Baltiyskaya Zvezda
Hotel in St Petersburg, Russia on Thursday, APA correspondent reports
from St Petersburg.

The presidents are discussing the ways of settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Matthew Bryza, Bernard
Fassier and Yuriy Merzlyakov, Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian are also attending
the meeting.