Author: Zargarian Hambik

FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN 2005 TOTALED 500 M

Lragir.am
01 June 06

In 2005 foreign investments in Armenia totaled 500 million dollars,
stated Tigran Davtyan, Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic
Development, on June 1. He says that the total amount of investments
over the past 3-4 years was 1.5 billion dollars. On the whole,
investments have totaled 2 billion since 1991. This number does not
include various grants, including the Lincy Foundation grants, said
the deputy minister.

The share of Diasporans is 25-30 percent. At the same time, 60 percent
of investments are connected with the Diaspora, said Tigran Davtyan,
pointing out the Copper and Molybdenum Factory, Armenia International
Airports, Synopsis Armenia, etc.

22.39% OF OVERALL INVESTMENTS IN ARMENIA’S ECONOMY MADE BY GREEK INVESTORS IN JAN-MAR 2006

Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 1 2006

YEREVAN, May 31. /ARKA/. 22.39% of overall investments in Armenia’s
economy was made by Greek investors in January-March 2006. According
to the Armenian National Statistics Service, $21.1116mln was invested
in Armenia in the period under review. $13.968mln of them was direct
investments in the real economic sector (30.75% of the overall direct
investments in Armenia in the period under report).

According to the indicator of investments in Armenia’s real economic
sector, Greece ranks 2nd after Lebanon. Greek investors directed all
their funds to the communication sector.

As compared to January-March 2005, investments from Greece decreased
by 44.7% simultaneously with the 17.3%.decrease of direct investments.

The overall foreign investments in Armenia’s economy totalled $94.3mln
in January-March 2006. $45.423mln of them was direct investments in
the real economic sector.

FAMOUS SPANISH DIRECTOR PEDRO ALMODOVAR’S “RETURN” FILM INVOLVED IN COMPETITION PROGRAM OF “GOLDEN APRICOT” FESTIVAL AS WELL

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 1 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. 11 full-length films
created in 2004-2006, among them films of such famous directors as
Pedro Almodovar from Spain, Hou Hsiao-Hsien from Taiwan, Robert
Gudiguian from France, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad from Iran, Krzsystof
Zanussi from Poland, Aleksei German Junior from Russia and others
are, are involved in the competition of the feature films of the
“Golden Apricot” (Voske Tsiran) Yerevan International Third Film
Festival. As Mikayel Stamboltsian, the Director of the festival
programs informed at the May 31 press conference, most part of the
chosen films already got prizes at the best festivals of the world,
including Spanish famous director Pedro Almodovar’s “Return” film
which was recently awarded at the Cannes festival two prizes: the
best director’s work and the best woman performance.

M.Stamboltsian also mentioned that Pedro Almodovar is also invited
to the festival and in most probability, will arrive in Yerevan. The
Director of the festival programs informed that the competition program
of documentary films is still being formed, as there are so many and
various presented films that the selecting commission was not able
to watch them within the fixed term.

M.Stamboltsian mentioned that the number of applications of the “Golden
Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival has considerably added
this year what proves the festival’s getting wider recognition in the
world. Creators of 58 countries presented 280 films 92 of which were
selected for competition and extra-competition programs.

TENNIS PLAYER DAVID MINASIAN FROM YEREVAN AMONG TBILISI TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Noyan Tapan
May 31 2006

TBILISI, MAY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. About 20 sportsmen of Armenia
participated in the international youth tournament of tennis held in
Tbilisi, in “Austrian Ways” Tbilisi cup tournament. David Minasian
from Yerevan, accompanying Georgi Khamidashvili from Tbilisi, became
the tournament winner in pair games of 16 years old boys. David came
to the semi-final in solo games where he lost finally and shared the
3rd-4th places. Ani Amirajian, a tennis player from Yerevan performed
in the 14 years old girls’ group presented the same result.

PRESS RELEASE
From:Mira Yardemian
Public Relations Director
Haigazian University
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon

3rd Annual International Business Conference
“Current Issues in Business and Information Technology”

On May 10, 2006, for the 3rd consecutive year, the Business Conference, on
“Current Issues in Business and Information Technology,” took place with
great success.

The conference, organized by the department of Business Administration and
Economics, in cooperation with the department of Mathematical Sciences,
with 11 participants from different universities, dealt with important
business issues in finance, trade, exchange rates, optimization of
production, career development, franchise contracts, and information
technology.

The organizers of the conference had assembled an impressive program of
research papers which fostered a lively dialogue among academicians, public
sector officials, and business and information technology professionals.

At the opening session, the Dean of Business Administration and Economics
Dr. Fadi Asrawi welcomed the audience, and tackled the issue of
transformation and competition.
“Nowadays transformation is taking place in the relationship between
universities and business, as universities rise to the challenge of the
knowledge-driven economy. Lebanon is far from competing with its
surroundings in terms of capital, technology or low cost production. As a
result; we must seek a competitive advantage by exploiting capabilities
which cannot easily match. These distinctive capabilities must be
knowledge, skills, creativity and leadership,” Asrawi said.

In his turn, the president of the university Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian
explained his understanding of conferences.
“Academic conferences are, among other things, conversations during which
resourceful parties not only share knowledge and expertise with others but
also open themselves up to their partners. Conferences are also occasions
for beneficial change. And finally conferences are a challenge to the
people in academia to study further, research, and produce, ” Haidostian noted.

The first keynote speaker, the vice-governor of the Central Bank of
Lebanon, Mr. Alain Balian discussed the need of Lebanon for a new vision in
politics and economics, in order to foster economic growth and higher
living conditions.
Balian explained that investment in the country constitutes the main
generator of production and growth.
“Transparency in Public Service, in addition to Meritocracy in public
officials appointments, are the basis of improvement in public service
delivery and attracting investors,” Balian explained.
Balian concluded his speech by emphasizing on the opportunity that Lebanon
should grasp, given the unprecedented international economic supported
granted to it.

The 2nd keynote speaker, the director general of the Ministry of Finance,
Mr. Alain Biffany had for subject the Monetary Policy of Lebanon: Problems
and Recommendations.
Biffany considered that the main obstacle to economic advancement is the
absence of accountability towards politicians and public sector officials.
He elaborated that the role of governments, historically, were to
distribute rights equally
among citizens, except that in Lebanon, the role of government after the
war was in a way fostering the concentration of rights among the ruling
class, which resulted in political and economic tensions among citizens,
thus forcing them to emigrate.
“Reform should be organic and general covering all sectors of the public
service. It needs a strong political will and determination, coupled with
tremendous public support and accountability,” Biffany concluded.

ARAM KARAPETYAN DOESN’T INTERFERE IN THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF GEORGIA

A1+
[07:28 pm] 30 May, 2006

“New Times” party held a meeting in Shahoumyan Square with the claim
“Attention to Javakhq.” The meeting participants were surprisingly
fewer than it was expected. According to chairman of the party Aram
Karapetyan this was determined by the hindrance of the authorities.

He says that several buses broke down in a few regions, and people
couldn’t arrive at the meeting.

The most striking was that the meeting aroused great interest among
the Armenian representatives of the Russian Mass Media.

The meeting didn’t start at once in the square. Hovik Tamamyan, Chief
Police Officer of Kentron, quarreled with some people asking them
about the reason of their gathering before Aram Karapetyan’s arrival.

“They say that the Akhalqalaq residents are settling their affairs,
go and join them,” says an elderly women from Akhalqalaq. “I have
never mingled with their affairs, I simply came, stood silent and
kept public order, but as the question of my compatriots is being
discussed how can I keep silent?.”

The meeting was allowed by the Yerevan municipality.

“We don’t want to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia it
is not our task. Our task is to inform the RA Government about the
changes in Georgia. The last events testify to the fact that all
the changes lead to a failure, to a collapse. And what will Javakhq
benefit from it is still unknown,” states Aram Karapetyan.

“We want them to draw their attention to us as we need it. The youth
have no job, only elderly people stay in the countries. Schools have
turned into Georgian one, and this is one of the main reasons for
abandoning motherland,” claimed the participants of the meeting.

Aram Karapetyan, leader of the “New Times” party announced that the
aim of their meeting today is not to demand Robert Kocharyan’s or
Serge Sargsyan’s resignation. Their number one problem is the issue of
Javakhq. Then he added that their meeting will not hinder the solution
of the problem, on the contrary, it will strengthen it as people will
know that such questions are aroused in their homeland. “If Georgia
is our friend it will try to understand us,” urges Mr. Karapetyan.

Today the party “New Times” released letters to the RA Government,
RA Foreign Ministry and Georgian Embassy with the claim “Attention
to Javakhq.”

By the way, according to Aram Karapetyan they will continue their
meetings until the RA authorities react to their complaints. “We
closely cooperate with the Javakhq organizations and they think
Armenia pays less attention to Javakhq.”

Democratic, Azerbaijan
Ïðàî ûáîðà, Azerbaijan
May 30 2006

Days Of Azerbaijan Held In Hungary
30.05.2006

Recently the Days of Azerbaijan were held in Hungary. The main
purpose of arrangement organized by the State Committee for the Work
with Azerbaijanis living abroad together with the Embassy of
Azerbaijan to Hungary, was to familiarize Hungarian people with rich
and old culture of Azerbaijan and to make public awareness all truth
of our country. The objective reasons of Nagorno-Garabagh conflict
existing between Azerbaijan and Armenia for a long time were informed
during the arrangements.
According to agenda, first day of arrangement scientific symposium
devoted to History & Culture: Hungary – Azerbaijan in which the
distinguished scholars of both states who reported about historic
ties between our nations and countries, attended, was held at the
Academy of Sciences of Hungary. Then Hasan Hasanov, the Ambassador of
Azerbaijan to Hungary, told about rich culture of Azerbaijan and
social & economic reforms and measures being carried out for
integration of Azerbaijan to international community and true reasons
and results of Nagorno-Garabagh conflict.
Yagub Mahmudov, the Director of Institute of History of Azerbaijan
National Academy of Sciences, Member of Parliament, a Doctor of
Historic Sciences, Nizami Jafarov, the Director of Ataturk Center in
Azerbaijan, a Doctor of Philological Sciences, a MP, Naila
Velikhanli, a Member of ANAS, and other distinguished scholars of
Azerbaijan reported about history and culture of our people. Then the
distinguished scholars of Hungary who had told about
Azerbaijan-Hungarian bilateral relations followed. Approximately 70
Hungarian scholars attended the symposium. The discussions held
during the arrangement welcomed the initiatives concerning
establishment of the Society of Azerbaijan Studies.
It is known that recently one of the most popular TV channels of
Hungary Duna TV covered Azerbaijan. Its broadcasts expounded
information of history of culture of Azerbaijan.

01&p=0055&n=001533&g

PanARMENIAN.Net

Explosion Hit Airbus Plant in France

29.05.2006 15:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An explosion hit an Airbus factory in southern
France on Monday, injuring at least five people, emergency officials
said. The reason for the blast was unclear. Two people suffered
serious injuries, according to the regional fire and rescue
department. Rescue teams surrounded the aircraft plant, in the city of
Toulouse in the French Pyrenees.

According to preliminary data, the explosion happened in a building
containing a hydraulic press, what caused the building to
collapse. The cause of the blast, which occurred at 7:45 a.m. (0545
GMT), was not immediately clear, said Associated Press.

Toulouse is home to Airbus Industry, one of the world’s two largest
manufacturers of commercial airliners.

To remind, on the night of May 3 Airbus-320 belonging to Armavia
national carrier crashed in the Black Sea 6 km away from Adler airport
killing all of 113 people aboard, including 6 children and 8
crewmembers. Among them were 26 Russian citizens, one Ukrainian and
one Georgian citizen, while the rest were Armenian citizens.

El Vaquero, CA
May 27 2006

New College President Officially Announced
By ALISON GELLER
El Vaquero Staff Features Editor

May 26, 2006

When John Davitt retires from his position as
superintendent/president of GCC this summer, he will be succeeded by
Audre Levy, currently president of L.A. Southwest College.
`The board has unanimously decided to appoint Dr. Audre Levy to the
position of superintendent/president of Glendale Community College,’
announced Kathleen Burke-Kelly, president of GCC’s Board of Trustees,
at the beginning of the meeting. Her announcement was followed by a
standing ovation from the audience in Kreider Hall.

`Thank you, all of the board, for your vote of confidence and trust
in me and, for the audience, for your vote of confidence and trust in
me as well,’ said Levy after the applause had died down. `I hope to
live up to what you have in store for me as your incoming president.’

Levy hit a soft spot with the audience when she complimented Davitt,
who has been the leader of the college for 21 years. `I would also
like to express my thanks to Dr. Davitt for his years of service to
this college,’ said Levy. `Let me say this is an awesome task, to
follow behind such a giant who has spent so many years in the
community college ranks. You will discover that my feet are quite not
the size of his but a little higher because I wear heels [and] that
means that I will be stepping high; but I want you to know that I am
here because of all of you and I will remember why I am here. I am
here because of the students and because of you, the faculty and
staff.

`Always know that my door is open I will be welcome to hearing the
good things as well as the not so good things, because it’s from the
not so good things that we all grow; and so I am looking forward to
being part of the history of this institution.’

During a brief reception for Levy before the regular board meeting
resumed, Burke-Kelly said that it was `a combination of things’ that
led to choosing Levy. She said it was her experience in all levels of
education, having taught at the K-12 level as well as at community
colleges and universities. It was also her ability to connect with
people.

`Dr. Davitt is very much like that and I think the campus would miss
that.’

Davitt expressed his support of Levy during the comments portion of
the board meeting, as did every other member of the board. `We’re
looking forward to having you here and you and I will hopefully get
some good time in the next month or so to tell you what our problems
are and to welcome you to the community. I think you’re going to like
it here. I think you’re going to find that it’s a real
family…Everyone is committed to making your administration a very
successful one for Glendale College.’

Anita Quinonez Gabrielian, a board member who was president of the
board during most of the hiring process, added her welcome to Levy
and also said, `You can definitely count on our cooperation,
partnership and all of our support.’

Board member Victor King added that `Although you are replacing a
legend, you are a legend in your own right. We’ve heard so many
wonderful things about you that you really stood out of the crowd of
applicants.’

`You were a star from the first moment that we met you and we are
glad that you’ll be shining in our skies – and we’ll be there to
polish you,’ said Armine Hacopian, vice president of the board. After
the meeting ended Levy said `I am more looking at excitement and the
task of learning all the names and faces and issues and challenges
here at the college.’

Burke-Kelly said that Levy will be assuming the position of
superintendent/president on July 1.

Other items that were covered at the meeting: Three professors were
given tenure: David Martin, instructor of architecture; Paul Vera, of
the ESL department; and Monette Tiernan, of the English department.

Sharon Combs and Ron Nakasone presented a proposal to borrow the
number of Full Time Enrolled Students (FTES) from the first summer
session to claim on the 2005 and 2006 year, so funding will not be
cut by failure to reach the state-mandated quota for enrolled
students. Nakasone said that a lot of colleges are doing it and have
done it. The foreseen funding shortfalls come from an overall pattern
of declining enrollment. Nakasone said that many colleges employ a
strategy of `borrowing’ students from one semester to meet quotas and
then take the loss in the next semester to ensure even funding over a
period of several years.

Jane DiLucchio presented a proposal for GCC to offer its own high
school diploma for continuing education adults. For many years, the
Garfield campus has offered a diploma in conjunction with the
Glendale Unified School District. This proposal would allow GCC to
tailor the program to serve adult students better and the diploma
students would be able to meet some of the graduation requirements by
taking credit classes on the main campus.

According to Davitt, GCC received a proclamation from Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger of resolution that the week of April 23 to 29 be known
as `The Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.’ After having
been the interim associate dean of the library for this past year,
Linda Winters is now officially the associate dean of the library.

There will be a retirement party on June 2 for staff and faculty who
are retiring this year.

In a future board meeting, Burke-Kelly said she would like to revisit
the board’s compensation, since it has been such a good year for the
budget and their compensation has not been restored since it was cut
because of a low budget.

FM of NKR will attend Armenian Independence celebrations in Cyprus

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25-05-2006

The Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgy Petrossian, will attend the
Armenian Independence celebrations at AYMA Football Ground. The original date
announced for this event was Sunday May 28, 2006 but it has been moved for
Saturday 03, June 2006 at 8:00 pm.