Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

A1+

NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE COT TO MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER
[06:54 pm] 16 January, 2009

Today VivaCell-MTS announced the official hand over ceremony of
neonatal intensive care cot to the Medical Research Center for
Maternal and Child Health Protection. The equipment for intensive
therapy from now on will be used for improving the condition of sickly
and weak infants increasing their chances of survival and will
eventually result in a major decrease in childhood mortality.

Armenia bears infant mortality rate of 25 out of every 1000 live
births, and no drop in child mortality has been registered over the
last 15 years. During the first month of life infant mortality is
usually caused by different health problems, low weight and poor
health among them. This can be avoided if special equipment is
available.

As a responsible corporate citizen VivaCell-MTS pays huge attention to
health care for children and mothers. The special modern baby
intensive care cot purchased will help achieve improved health
outcomes in the context of ill children.

`Children’s health needs must be addressed as we must care for our
future today. VivaCell-MTS is dedicating its CSR activities in 2009 to
children under the title `VivaCell-MTS to Children’. Our projects will
target children’s needs on all levels. Handing over this important
equipment is a worthwhile and promising program that fits comfortably
into our overall activity in the sphere of CSR for year 2009 to the
benefit of the children of Armenia. Children are the flowers of our
life and their health is truly important. Their happy and healthy life
is everyone’s issue, and therefore it deserves the public’s
full-fledged support’, – noted VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph
Yirikian.

U.S. TO TAKE A NEW APPROACH TO IRAN, OBAMA SAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.01.2009 15:37 GMT+04:00

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama stated he will take a new approach
to Iran.

"The country is going to be one of our biggest challenges if it
continues pursuing the means to make nuclear weapons and engages in
exporting terrorism through Hamas and Hezbollah," he told ABC.

"Washington will respect the people of Iran and will set certain
conditions to the Iranian authorities," Obama said.

TWO MORE RADIO STATIONS APPEAR IN SELF-DECLARED "NAGORNO KARABAKH"

Today.Az
politics/50010.html
Jan 9 2009
Azerbaijan

A regular session of the state commission for regulation of public
services and economic competition of "NKR" was devoted to issuance of
licenses for broadcasting of radio programs in the territory of the
"capital city" of the separatist Nagorno Karabakh – Khankendi and
the adjacent regions of the "republic".

The founders of the said radio stations presented the program of
actions for the coming years.

In particular, the Radio Aik is planning to install new transmitters in
"NKR" within the next 2 years in order to cover the whole territory
of the "republic".

Mix Media radio station intends to take measures for the more effectice
presentation of events, ongoing in the country and out of its bounds.

The due radio frequencies were presented to the radio stations at
the session.

The state commission, which has been functioning for already the
second year, is dealing with energy systems (electric power, heating
and gas supply), water supply, telecommunications (radio, television),
postal services and so on.

The activist of the commission is aimed at creation of equal conditions
for economic subjects, promotion of economic competition, ensuring
rights of suppliers and consumers, assistance to formation of markets,
effective use of reserves and so on.

MFA OF ARMENIA HOPES THE VIOLATIONS IN THE GAZA STRIP WILL END

armradio.am
29.12.2008 16:02

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic of Armenia issued a
statement on the events in Gaza.

"We are deeply concerned about the events in Gaza Strip, during which
hundreds of people have already been killed or wounded.

We express hope that the violations will stop and negotiations will
immediately start for the solution of all disputable issues in a
peaceful way.’

National Assembly passes in second reading draft law on local
self-government in city of Yerevan

YEREVA N, DECEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly on December
26 passed in second reading the draft law on local self-government in
the city of Yerevan and, based on it, the legislative package
envisaging amendments to 22 current laws and codes. The darft and the
package were adopted with 95 votes in favor and 6 against. The members
of "Heritage" faction voted against the package due to the government’s
rejection of the principled proposals made by the faction, including
the proposal on order of mayor’s election.

The parliament passed in first reading the government-submitted package
of amendments to the Law on Licensing and the Law on State Duty. The
package envisages including the technical control of construction
quality and the technical examination of buildings and structures in
the list of activities subject to licensing. It is proposed that the
annual state duty for licensing of the two above-mentioned activities
should be fixed at 50 thousand drams (about 160 dollars).

The main speaker, RA minister of urban development Vardan Vardanian
said that the government’s proposal on these amendments is based on the
results of studies done by the State Urban Development Inspection in
recent years. In particular, construction work at 1,865 out of 6,084
facilities examined in 2004-2008 was done without technical control of
the quality of construction. It was mentioned that technical
examination of buildings and structures is a complex engineering
process that requires well-qualified personnel and modern equipment,
whereas now any organization implementing scientific research and
engineering research functions in seismic construction sector is
allowed to make such an examination. As a result, in many cases the
conclusions of two different organizations about the same building
contradict each other.

TENSE ATMOSPHERE IN TURKEY

AZG Armenian Daily
26/12/2008

Armenian Genocide; Turkey

"According to the Turkish sources, the atmosphere in Turkey is
getting more tense, and various threats hang over the intellectuals
and journalists", French independent journalist Jean Eskiyan reports.

"Fascism, treachery and lynch-law words are pronounced again", the
journalist says adding that the radical nationalists are ready to
struggle against the democrats with the help of the army.

This transitional period is hard especially for the people appearing
between the two camps.

The situation became complicated because of on-line campaign "I
apologize" that has already collected 20.132 signatures.

It’s worth to mention that the initiative have found acceptance
especially among the youth.

CHP DEPUTY INSISTS ON DNA TESTS FOR PRESIDENT

Hurriyet
Dec 24 2008
Turkey

ANKARA – The dispute between a main opposition deputy and President
Abdullah Gul over the latter’s ethnic origin took on another dimension
with the request of a DNA test from Gul to prove his ethnic background.

Canan Arıtman, the Ä°zmir deputy of the Republican People’s
Party, or CHP, said Gul had Armenian roots, which is why he has
not openly rejected the apology campaign carried out by a group of
intellectuals. In a counter-statement Gul said his family was 100
percent Muslim and Turk and filed a lawsuit against Arıtman.

"Today, ethnic origin does not gain legal and scientific validity
through family trees, but through DNA tests," Arıtman said in her
written statement late Monday. "Birth records during the Ottomans were
based on declarations and while recording non-Muslims, the state used
to write a Muslim name as the father’s name. Thus, nobody can prove
their ethic identity through a family tree."

Arıtman said it was Gul’s prerogative to file a suit against
her and that she was not after anyone’s DNA results, but in the
event of a judicial process, she would have to produce documents
and witnesses. She also said she expected the president to say the
Turkish nation had not committed any crime of genocide. Many nations
owe an apology to our nation, but we do not owe an apology to anybody.

Constitutional duty "I do not think I have requested a difficult
thing. This is the president’s constitutional duty. If he does not
perform this task, he commits a crime against the Constitution and he
should resign," she said. In protest over Gul’s approach to an apology
campaign concerning World War I-era killings of Armenians at the hands
of the Ottoman Empire, Arıtman said Gul was a secret Armenian. Thus,
Gul filed a suit against Arıtman on the grounds her statements harm
the notion that the president stands an equal distance from his or
her citizens.

Arıtman has been harshly criticized by many, even members of her own
party, for attacking the president with a racist motive. The CHP has
warned Arıtman, but has not yet taken disciplinary action.

–Boundary_(ID_ZrNn7FhkvHfy08Gpa/9INQ)–

ARMENIAN FOOTBALL TEAM RETURNS TO MOUNT ARARAT EMBLEM

Focus News Agency
Dec 24 2008
Bulgaria

Yerevan. The Armenian national football team, which had replaced
its emblem featuring a silhouette of Turkey’s Mount Ararat, known in
Turkey as Mount Agri, ahead of a match against Turkey in a World Cup
qualifying game in September, has recently started to use the old
emblem again, Turkish Zaman newspaper reports.

The previously new emblem of the Armenian national team, featuring
a tiger and a lion instead of the silhouette of Mount Ararat, was
introduced to the public at a September press conference in Yerevan,
with Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan saying
that the change of emblem was due to demands from football fan
associations. Hayrapetyan also said at the time that the previous
emblem was not popular among fans of the national team.

PARLIAMENT OF ARMENIA ADOPTS BILL ON ALL ARMENIAN BANK

ArmInfo
2008-12-24 13:50:00

Parliament of Armenia adopted a Bill on the All Armenian Bank in
the first reading with 103 votes ‘for’, 3 votes ‘against’ and no
‘abstention’ Wednesday.

Central Bank Chairman Artur Javadyan declared that the bank will
have a status of an open joint stock company. Central Bank and any
other subject of the law will come out as the shareholder on behalf
of the Republic of Armenia. It will become a universal development
bank. The key goal of the bank will be to contribute to formation
of the Diaspora potential based on knowledge and competition in
the international market. The Bank will receive relevant license to
function as a commercial bank. Armenian Central Bank will control
over the activity of the All Armenian Bank. The authorized capital
of the Bank is to be at least 5 billion drams, the standard for
commercial banks in Armenia. The side of the authorized capital,
which is envisaged at the level of 100 million dollars or 30 billion
drams, will be defined in the Bank’s business program. The share
of the government in the authorized capital of the bank will be at
least 20%, the remaining shares will be offered to representatives
of business cycles, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens including
non-residents. The Bank will have executive body and directorate. The
head and the members of the Bank Council will undergo attestation
by the Armenian CB. A. Javadyan said Central Bank of Armenia plans
to approve 6 billion drams to the Bank on behalf of the Republic of
Armenia. The bank will make investments only in profitable projects
and compete with local commercial banks. The Bank will announce
its programs at least on 1 November of each year. The program are to
undergo relevant examination and data on the programs will be available
at the Bank’s website. The Bank will also get an opportunity to take
big deposits.

Management structures will be created at the bank on the basis of
corporate management principles. The Bank’s activity will meet the
activity of local commercial banks. Thus, annual activity of the Bank
is to undergo compulsory international audit. The Bank will also get
opportunity to place funds in the securities market.

Governmental Council for Competitiveness will supervise the
activity of the All Armenian Bank. The programs prior to the
Council for Competitiveness and the Government will become prior
also to the Bank. These are programs in the sectors of education,
tourism, health care, science, finance and infrastructures. The
Bank will receive also certain taxation privileges. In particular,
it will be exempted from profit tax that will be used to implement
business-project of Diaspora. In addition, the bank will pay state
tax for registration and license. In this connection, alterations and
amendments are proposed in the first reading to the Laws On Income
Tax, On State Tax and On Banks and Banking Activity. A. Javadyan
said the Bank will operate outside Armenia and finance projects
by representatives of Armenian Diaspora. Projects in Armenia will
be implemented with direct involvement of local commercial banks
through syndicated loans. Thus, when implemented a 30 billion drams
project, the Bank will provide 80% of funds, and commercial banks
will allocate the remaining 20%. In the territory of Armenia the
All Armenian Bank will not directly participate in financing of
projects. The Bank will have branches in various states. The Bank
will have 11 members that will receive award fees (if it is a foreign
citizen) for travel and residence costs etc.. The members of the Bank
will be Armenian prime minister, finance minister, economy minister,
chairman of Central Bank, agricultural minister, minister of transport
and communication and the most prominent representatives of Armenian
Diaspora representing foreign business-cycles and banks. The bank’s
activity will be transparent. The bank will be found and registered
in an accelerated regime within 3 months instead of usual 6-12 months
required for registration of commercial banks.

The governmental initiative caused controversy of some parliamentarians
mainly oppositionist. In particular, they demanded compulsory
participation of a parliamentarian in the Bank Council to toughen
control over the activity of the Bank. Since the government will hold
at least 20% stake in the Bank, the parliamentarians proposed that
the Bank makes compulsory reports to the parliament.

ARMENIA STUDENTS PAY MONEY NOT TO LEARN

Trend News Agency
Dec 23 2008
Azerbaijan

"We’re not teaching our children to learn. The main function of
kindergarten must be to teach how to learn. Parents must start
preparing their children for school at home," said today Minister
of Education and Science Spartak Seyranyan during a year-in-review
press conference.

In regard to the credit system in the universities, Seyranyan
noted that many students don’t know what that means and the worst,
according to him, is that many students don’t even want to know what
it is. "Today, students pay money not to learn. In general, college
students are the most passive. They are indifferent to the solution
to their issues," says the minister.

Seyranyan also said that by the end of the year, the ministry will have
checked all universities for completion of licensing. "After that, I
won’t be surprised to see some universities returning their licenses,"
underlined Seyranyan. Becoming a full member of the European Quality
Register, the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia is going
to pay special attention to the quality of professional teaching at
the universities. Any university that fails to meet the standards set
by the register will be disqualified and that refers to both state
and private universities.

In 2009, one of the main goals of the ministry will be the
military-patriotic education of children.

In the fight against money collecting in schools, the ministry had a
hotline this year and many cases were registered. But at the end of
the year, the number of complains has reduced.

"I want to point out that the ministry’s police is not aimed at
punishing or firing workers. We want to correct the errors and help
schools," said Spartak Seyranyan adding that in 2009, the ministry
will continue to implement the programs that are already underway,
reported A1+.