ELBRUS SPEED RACE RESULTS ARE IN: DENIS URUBKO WINNER AT 3 HOURS 55 MIN!
Mounteverest, NY
08:07 pm EST Sep 18, 2006
It’s no chance that Denis Urubko has climbed 10, 8000ers without O2
including new routes on BP and Manaslu. Four days back Urubko proved
his skill. Image courtesy of RussianClimb.com
Luck can create success but not excellence. Repeated success is not
a sign of repeated luck – but of mastery.
It’s no chance that Denis Urubko has climbed 10, 8000ers without O2
including new routes on BP and Manaslu. Four days back Urubko proved
his skill again – this time on Elbrus: Denis not only won the extreme
class (Azau 2400 m – Elbrus West Top 5642 m) 2006 race, but at 3 hours
55 and minutes he also beat the 2005 record (4 hours and 10 minutes).
Fastest Snow Leopard wins Classic race, Space engineer climbs 2000
meters under 5 hours
In the classic race (Garabashi, 3708 m – Elbrus West top 5642 m),
Andrey Puchinin won at 2:46:09. No wonder perhaps:
Hoping to become the first speed Snow Leopard in one season, Andrey
Puchinin started his quest on Peak Lenin July 16, topping out the
next day at 2 pm.
August 7, he did Korzhenevskaya peak BC to summit in 8 hrs and 50
minutes. One week later, on August 14, Puchinin did Peak Communism
BC to summit in about 18 hrs. Next came a peak Korjenevskoy (7105 m)
round trip in only 14 hours and then Andrey Puchinin set out from BC
and summited Khan Tengri shortly after lunch. After Pobeda Puchinin
ran straight for Elbrus – and up in less than 3 hours…
Among other favorites: Just back from his no O2/no sherpas Everest
attempt, Gagarin’s former space engineer and 7-time Snow Leopard
Boris Korshunov 71 finished the classic race at just under 5 hours
(4:58:10)! Perhaps he even made it back for the Soyuz rocket launch
carrying Anousheh Ansari – which took off from Kazakhstan today!
Lena from RussianClimb reports that the race was very interesting
and promises a story soon. Meanwhile, check out all the results at
RussianClimb.com
Denis Urubko (Almaty) is one of the strongest high mountaineers in
Kazakhstan. He has climbed 10, 8000ers without O2 including a new
route on BP in alpine style in 2005 (nominated for Golden Ice Axe)
and a new route on Manaslu in 2006. Denis has won several speed
climbing competitions including the Khan Tengri (7010 m) speed race
in 2000 (7 hours 40 minutes to summit and 12 hours 21 minutes for
the entire climb).
Mount Elbrus (5642 m), located in northern Caucasus (Russia) is the
highest peak in the European continent. These days, Elbrus biggest
fame comes from being one of the ‘Seven Summits’.
Elbrus belongs to the Caucasus (or “Kavkaz” meaning ‘more than
mountains’), mountain range. This mighty range links the Caspian
Sea to the Black Sea, and creates the natural boundary between the
mountains of Russia and the southern states of Azerbaydzhani, Georgia
and Armenia. Mt. Elbrus, the pinnacle of this 700-mile stretch,
has long been a distinguished climbing center for the European and
Russian climbing communities. Elbrus can easily be seen from most
of the high passes in the area and is a traditional climb for those
looking to ascend above 18,500ft.

ARTHUR ABRAHAM: “THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS ‘SMURFS’ BOXER”
EastsideBoxing.com
18 Sept 2006
18.09.06 – IBF middleweight world champion Arthur Abraham has been
dealing with countless issues just days before his mandatory defense
against Edison Miranda, the Columbian knockout artist at the Rittal
arena in Wetzlar, Germany (10:20 PM, live in Germany at “das Erste”
– ARD). First of all, Abraham received his German passport at the
district office in Berlin-Charlottenburg. However, the passport
contained his Armenian name “Avetik Abraham,” not his stage name
“Arthur Abraham,” a name that he uses for boxing..
After much wrangling, Abraham was allowed to use his stage name for
his passport. However, he was no longer allowed to use the moniker
“Smurf’s boxer,” a nickname that has made Abraham widely known in
Germany, a country where the cartoon “The Smurfs” is still wildly
popular. In addition, Abraham can no longer use the Smurf’s hat or use
the song as his walk in music before fights, as both are protected by
copy rights by the “Studio Peyo S.A., which holds the rights and use
for the Smurf’s figure,” Sauerland’s managing director Chris Meyer
has learned.
“For that reason, Arthur Abraham, will now be competing under the
stage name “The artist formally known as ‘Smurf’s boxer,’ following in
the example of the singer ‘Prince.’ All of Abraham’s photos with him
wearing the Smurf hat, had to be deleted at the Sauerland’s website
boxen.com. “It’s a great pity, Abraham said later. “Back then,
when my Manager, Mr. Sauerland, had the idea about the Smurf’s,
I was sceptical, too. But, in the meantime, the Smurf’s brought me
so much luck, and the fans liked that, too.”
Besides Abraham’s powerful punching style, his walking in before fights
wearing the Smurf’s hat, while Father Abraham sang the Smurf’s song,
has been Abraham’s trademark. Now things will be slightly different,
as “Arthur has thought up something really special,” Manager Wilfried
Sauerland reveals. “He’s a world champion; he’s undefeated, and has
the Middleweight’s hardest punch worldwide. Plus, he’s the king of
his weight class; He’s King Arthur!”
“King Arthur” is going to be making his first appearance with his new
King’s outfit when he fights challenger Edison Miranda on Saturday
night in Germany. Certainly, Miranda will understand this message
better than the funny Smurf’s cap.

TURKISH PARLIAMENT MEETING EARLY TO WORK ON EU REFORMS
Joshua Pantesco at 8:12 AM ET
JURIST
Monday, September 18, 2006
[JURIST] The Turkish parliament, the Grand National Assembly [official
website], is scheduled to meet Tuesday, two weeks earlier than usual,
to work on passing reform measures aimed at gaining membership to the
European Union [JURIST news archive]. The EU has cautioned [JURIST
report] Turkey that its EU bid [EU backgrounder] will not be accepted
unless the country improves its record on torture and other human
rights violations, including the restriction of freedom of expression.
EU lawmakers especially oppose Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code [Amnesty backgrounder], which makes it a crime to insult
Turkish identity. One Turkish lawmaker said that Article 301, which
has been used to prosecute writers Hrant Dink and Orhan Pamuk for
discussing the alleged Armenian genocide, will be revised to rebut EU
criticism. Earlier this month, the EU Parliament said Turkey has been
slow to deliver promised legal reforms [JURIST report], including
“persistent shortcomings in areas such as freedom of expression,
religious and minority rights, the role of the military, policing,
women’s rights, trade union rights and cultural rights.”

GUAM LAW-ENFORCEMENT AND SPECIAL SERVICE EXPERTS GATHER IN BAKU TO DISCUSS COMBAT AGAINST TERRORISM
AzerTag,
[September 18, 2006, 22:19:58]
In compliance with annual plan of the GUAM Working Group on combat
against terrorism, drug trafficking and other kinds of dangerous
threats of organized crimes, the first meeting of the law-enforcement
and special service experts passed in Baku to discuss combat against
terrorism, 15-16 September. The Ministry of National Security of
Azerbaijan and Euro-Atlantic Consultative Group have organized the
meeting.
In meeting, participating were high-rank representatives of the
law-enforcement and special service bodies form Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova, as well as Euro-Atlantic Consultative Group
and representative of the US Embassy in Baku.
Participants of the action stressed necessity of preventive measures to
reveal plans and intentions of the terror organizations, their finance
channels, exchange of data and experience in combat against terrorism.
The Azerbaijani side informed on the Armenian aggression, uncontrolled
areas and their sequences, the existent threats against safety of the
transport ands energy infrastructure in region and measures undertaken
to prevent them.
In meeting, also was speaking the project manager of Euro-Atlantic
Consultative Group, general Alexander Farkas.
Participants have signed a protocol on results of the meeting.

TELECOM FIRMS BATTLE OVER TERRITORY IN NEIGHBOR STATES
By Maria Levitov – Staff Writer
St Petersburg Times
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
MOSCOW – Telecoms firms are vying with each other for market share in
neighboring countries as the domestic mobile market reaches saturation
point.No. 2 mobile operator VimpelCom plans to cover the entire
Commonwealth of Independent States within two years, while market
leader MobileTeleSystems is considering a bid for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s
telecoms company, Telekom Srpske. MegaFon, the top-three firm with
the smallest geographical reach, is also considering expansion.
The need to outbid foreign mobile giants is a big hurdle for
acquisitions abroad, but the country’s top mobile firms must find
new markets to grow, analysts said.
“I think that within two years, all the CIS countries will be
involved,” VimpelCom CEO Alexander Izosimov said Friday at an investor
conference organized by UBS.
VimpelCom and MTS have already expanded into less-developed mobile
markets, as mobile-service penetration reached 100 percent in Russia
last month, according to AC&M consultancy’s latest estimates.
Through subsidiaries, VimpelCom is present in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Georgia, while MTS has is in Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan.
“Future competition will require us to be bigger,” MTS CEO Leonid
Melamed told the conference.
The rate of profit growth in Russia is slowing for each of the
three largest mobile operators, according to research firm J’Son
and Partners.
MegaFon, which operates in Russia and Tajikistan, has “no set targets
for acquisition,” but is eyeing Armenia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and
other countries for expansion, the company’s acting CFO, Raymond Ho,
said on the sidelines of Friday’s conference.
MTS, VimpelCom and MegaFon all have spare cash for acquisitions,
but finding attractive CIS assets is increasingly difficult, said
Yelena Bazhenova, telecoms analyst at MDM Bank.

US ISSUES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT ON CYPRUS
Financial Mirror, Cyprus
18/09/2006
US State Department issued on Friday its annual international religious
report, noting that Cyprus’ constitution provides for freedom of
religion, which is “generally respected” by the Cypriot government.
According to the report, the Government at all levels sought to
protect the freedom of religion “in full and did not tolerate its
abuse, either by governmental or private actors.”
The State Department’s report, presented to the US Congress, also
refers to northern part of Cyprus, occupied since the 1974 Turkish
invasion, as “area administered by the Turkish Cypriots,” reiterating
however that the US “does not recognize” the occupying regime, nor
does any other country except Turkey.
The report says that the occupying regime “provides for freedom of
religion and Turkish Cypriot authorities generally respected this
right in practice,” adding that “the politically divisive environment
of Cyprus, however, engendered some restrictions on religious freedom,
particularly for Greek Cypriots and Maronites.”
On the government-controlled areas, the report says that 96 percent
of the population belongs to Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, while
estimated 0.7 percent of the remaining population was Maronite,
slightly less than 0.4 percent was Armenian Orthodox, 0.1 percent
was Latin (Roman Catholic), and 3.2 percent belonged to other groups.
“The generally amicable relationship among religious groups in society
contributed to religious freedom,” the report says, adding that in
July 2005 the first Buddhist temple in Cyprus opened in Nicosia. In
September, Cyprus’s first new synagogue in at least twenty years
opened in Larnaca.
As far as the restrictions on religious freedom is concerned, the
report recalls since 2003, when restrictions of movement were relaxed,
“Greek Cypriots have reported relatively easy access to Apostolos
Andreas Monastery and other religious sites in the area administered
by Turkish Cypriots.”
“Likewise, Turkish Cypriots enjoyed relatively easy access to religious
sites, including Hala Sultan Tekke in the Government-controlled area,”
the report says.
The report also refers to the request submitted by the government for
an additional Church of Cyprus priest be assigned to minister to the
Greek Cypriots living in the Karpas region “of the area administered
by Turkish Cypriots.”
“Turkish Cypriot authorities agreed in principle to this request,
but the first proposed individual could not go for personal reasons,”
the report says, adding that “Turkish Cypriot authorities objected to
the second individual who was proposed, claiming he disliked Turkish
Cypriots and had made inappropriate statements about their community.”
“Turkish Cypriot authorities asked that the Government nominate a
different priest. At the end of the reporting period, the position
remained open and the Government had not nominated a new priest,”
the report adds.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CONGRATULATES ARMENIA ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 12:32 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has sent
a congratulatory message on the 15th anniversary of declaration of
Armenia’s independence. The letter specifically says, “I am sending
my warm regards to those, who mark the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence. It is always important that people enjoy their legacy
together and I have the honor of sharing the celebration of the 15th
anniversary of Armenia’s independence with the Armenian community
of America.
You enrich our country and especially our state by diligent labor,
commitment to duty and preserving cultural traditions. I thank you
all for your activities on behalf of the State of California.
Honoring our ancestors, we start to understand ourselves better. Allow
me to congratulate you on this important holiday and wish success of
behalf of all people of California,” Schwarzenegger’s message says,
reports the Administration of California Governor.

KARABAKH TALKS CALLED “NONSENSE” IN BAKU
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 12:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “There are no real negotiations over settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict but there is only an appearance,”
Azeri political scientist Zardusht Alizadeh stated. “None of the
parties wants to retract their positions. There is no real ground
for a compromise. Official Yerevan claims independence of Nagorno
Karabakh and its unification with Armenia.
Azerbaijan says it will never agree to give even part of its land
to Armenia. Outside these principles, there is no serious search
for a trade-off and appeal to public and international laws in the
negotiating process. Taking surface political interests, both the
parties to the conflict and the co-chairs are trying to find a solution
option in interests of the parties will become closer. However,
the interests do not become closer.
The parties make public that they will not make any trade-off. U.S
co-chair Matthew Bryza sated this. He said the parties do not seem
to withdraw from the core principles they insist on. But, one of the
parties need to withdraw from core principles in order to reach an
agreement,” the political scientist underlined.
Alizadeh also said “there are some strong forces, who are making
efforts for freezing and delaying the conflict.” The political expert
said the resolution of the conflict has reached a deadlock and the
negotiations are held only for appearance. Political scientist Vafa
Guluzadeh called the processes for the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict “nonsense”, reports APA.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LAST ECHELON WITH RUSSIAN MATERIEL LEFT GEORGIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 13:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The last echelon with materiel, being withdrawn
from Russian military bases in Georgia, left Tsalka station Tuesday,
reported Commander of the Group of Russian Troops in Transcaucasia
(GRTT), major general Andrey Popov.
Thus, Russia completed executing measures on withdrawal of equipment
and material means, planned for 2006 in accordance with the Agreement
between Russia and Georgia on the terms, order of temporary functioning
and withdrawal of Russian military bases and other military objects
of the GRTT.
“Plan of Withdrawal of Russian military bases from territory of
Georgia, formed for 2006, is fulfilled 100%. No failures are made in
time indicators or order of departure of equipment. All equipment and
reserves of material means, withdrawn from the territory of Georgia are
already in the military units in the territory of Russia and Armenia,”
Popov stated earlier in an interview with RIA Novosti.
In Popov’s words, after September 19 only mobile equipment will stay
in the 62nd military base in Akhalkalaki, which will ensure activities
of the military base up to the end of 2007 – the full closing of the
base, reports RIA Novosti.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TIME HAS COME TO GIVE INTERNATIONAL ALARM FOR DEFENDING NKR FROM AGGRESSIVE NEIGHBOR
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 13:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia-Diaspora Third All-Armenian Forum is held
under the conditions of increasing tension around Nagorno Karabakh,
President of the Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) and the World
Armenian Congress (WAC) Ara Abrahamyan stated during the forum. In
his words, “competition” between officials and opposition for the
first place of invasion into NKR has increased in Azerbaijan lately.
The demand of absorption of Karabakh by force is declared as the
basis for unification of the nation.
Talks are held with the General Staff of the Turkish army to coordinate
joint actions, Abrahamyan noted.
President Aliyev states that Armenia has the last chance to accept the
ultimatum voluntarily. Azeri religious leader Allahshukur Pashazadeh
announced his readiness to declare jihad to Armenia.
Clanking with arms, Azeri figures and their foreign sponsors are
captivated by primitive notions on ways to solve inter-state problems,
the UAR leader said.
They deny the opportunity of peaceful settlement based on law and
justice. “Time has come to give international alarm for defending NKR
from its aggressive neighbor. Under the conditions of demonstrative
bellicosity of Azeri figures and denial of conventional legal grounds
of conflict settlement by them, leaders of Armenia have to take
effective measures to secure our Karabakh brothers by recognizing
that the NKR being a subject of international law is a basis for a
compromise solution of that issue,” Abrahamyan underscored.