A SECTION OF THE RAILWAY WAS DAMAGED
A1+
[12:30 pm] 04 May, 2006
A section of the Arjut – Spitak railway was damaged alongside with the
adjacent sowing areas because of the overflow of the river Pambak. It
resulted in the violation of the Yerevan – Tbilisi passenger service
traffic. According to the head of the Gyumri station Vahan Gasparyan
the results of the accident have been already eliminated and the
railway works normally according to its schedule.
By the way, the corresponding specialists claim that the technical
state of the RA railways satisfactory.
Most of the railways were reconstructed within the years 2004 –
2005. And accidents are mainly determined by overflowing. As for the
technical state of carriages, according to the Gyumri station they
require great sums to buy new carriages, that is why it is preferable
for them to realize systematic constructions.
The cargo transportation has multiplied in comparison with the data
they had at the beginning of the year.
Most transportation is done from Ukraine, RF and other
countries. Mainly fuel, construction material and food are imported
to Armenia.
TV Company “Tsayg” of Gyumri

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP UNDER 20 HELD IN YEREVAN
A1+
[02:11 pm] 04 May, 2006
Chess World Championship of girls and boys under 20 will be held in
the chess house after Tigran Petrosyan on October 2 – 17, 2006. The
Championship will comprise of 13 rounds and will be held according
Swiss contest rules and criteria.
The prize winners of 20-year-old previous championship, continental
champions, first 6 winners of the FIDE fixture table and the world
champions under 18 and 16 will participate in this championship.
But if any country doesn’t meet the championship criteria, a girl
and a boy chess players may present the country in question. The
head of the championship committee will be RA Defense Minister and
the Armenian Chess Federation Chairman Serge Sargsyan.
Let us mention that it will be the greatest championship held in
Armenia in the recent years and carries great authority.
As a rule, the winners of Chess World Championships under 20 later
had great success in other tournaments.
Only Vladimir Hakobyan and the 2005 world cup-holder Levon Aronyan
have become champions among Armenian young chess players so far.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN ARMY OFFICIAL CRITICAL OF AZERI LEADER’S REMARKS ON IRAQ PEACEKEEPING
Azg website, Yerevan
4 May 06
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently said in Washington that
Azerbaijan is taking an active part in anti-terrorist operations in
Iraq while Armenia is sending only drivers there.
Armenian Deputy Defence Minister Artur Agabekyan thinks that only a
person who has no idea about military service and the importance of
transport in a conflict zone could make such a statement.
Noting that the command of the multinational division has expressed
its gratitude to Armenian servicemen for implementing their task in
Iraq, Artur Agabekyan advised Azerbaijani TV to show the valour of
their servicemen and refrain from statements against Armenia.

THE FUSELAGE OF THE AIRPLANE HAS BEEN FOUND
A1+
[02:41 pm] 04 May, 2006
The specialists of the RF Emergency Ministry found the place of the
main fragment of the “A – 320” airplane, fuselage, which is considered
to be the skeleton of the aircraft.
The French specialists of the company “Airbus” have already arrived at
the scene. At present they are near the site of the airplane’s crash,
on board the RF motor boat “Mangust.”
A Russian helicopter also joined the searchings. All the equipment
required for underwater searchings is on board the research ship
“Captain Beklemishev” and motor ship “Sportis.”
The already found bodies of the victims of the “A – 320” airplane will
probable be transported to Armenia tonight at 6 p.m. Many rescuers,
motor boats and helicopters continue their work in the scene. About
300 relatives of the innocent victims are receiving medical and
psychological assistance.

AZERI STUDENTS IN UK PROTEST AT HUNGARIAN SENTENCE AGAINST OFFICER
Lider TV, Baku
2 May 06
[Presenter] Azerbaijani students are protesting outside the Hungarian
embassy in the UK against the sentence handed down by a Hungarian judge
and are demanding that the Hungarian government deliver a fair ruling
[on Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov sentenced to life imprisonment
on charges of killing his Armenian counterpart at a NATO course in
Budapest in 2004]. Our correspondent Xalil Elvaroglu has details of
the protest from London.
[Correspondent by phone] [Azerbaijani] students studying in London and
other British cities are holding a protest outside the UK embassy in
Hungary. The protest was organized by the club of young Azerbaijanis in
London. The organization’s chairman, Vusal Hamzayev, is now delivering
a speech. He said in his speech [changing tack], they said in their
statement that charges levelled against Ramil Safarov coincided with
those levelled by the Armenians. That’s to say the Budapest court
adopted a decision that could be expected from a Yerevan court. This
decision should be changed and a fair sentence should be handed down
on Ramil. London police officers are here and they are ensuring the
students’ security. The students keep coming now. The statement will be
submitted to the Hungarian embassy in London in a few minutes. There
are a lot of students there. Representatives of the Hungarian embassy
have not turned up yet. They are just watching our protest from the
embassy’s windows.

“THE RA GOVERNMENT KNOWS ITS BUSINESS”
A1+
[04:20 pm] 04 May, 2006
Ukrainian Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Armenia
Alexander Bochco sent his condoling message to Armenians on behalf of
his country in connection with the “A – 320” aircraft crash and noted
that Armenia is not that large and every person felt the terrible pain.
The President of Ukraine also sent a condoling message to RF President
Vladimir Putin. Alexander Bochco mentioned that there was one Ukrainian
citizen among the victims, 20-year-old Inga Chkar. “Ukrainians mourn
and condole with Armenians in all their tragedies and disasters.”
The Ukrainian Ambassador stated the fact that certain political figures
want to use this tragedy for their interests with great sorrow and
grief. He avoided giving any evaluation and conclusion on the matter
and advised to wait till the specialists make public the main cause
of the crash.
Then he referred to the Armenian – Ukrainian relations, which, in
his words, develop constantly.
This mainly refers to commercial relations, which became more active
and was estimated to 110 million USD according to the data of the
previous year. This is a good result for Armenia. “The trade in January
and February twice outnumbered in comparison with last year data. The
trade of the two countries’ products has activated both in Armenian
and in Ukrainian markets.”
The Ambassador also mentioned that their views coincide with Armenians
in many issues, especially in connection with the EU membership. As
for the gas price increase, he urged that it was expected in both
countries but a bit later. In his words the sudden increase was a
real surprise for the Ukrainian Government.
“The current solution of the matter is not the best one, but if we take
into consideration that it was in winter and people needed heating,
we shall understand the logic of the increase. As for the 5th bloc of
the Hrazdan heat generating plant, I think the Armenian Government
knows its business and realizes the further serious consequences of
its deal,” said Alexander Bochco.

DEPUTY EMERGENCY MINISTER SURE: A-320 FLIGHT RECORDERS WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF THE SEA
Panorama.am
15:49 04/05/06
Flight recorders of the A-320 airbus (Armavia airlines) that crashed
into the Black Sea will be taken out of the sea, Russian Deputy
Emergency Minister Yevgeny Serebryannikov is sure. According to him,
equipment has been delivered to the crash site that allows determining
location of the plane’s fragments. With the help of this equipment
the rescuers can examine wreckage of the plane 500 m beneath the
surface. It is unknown yet, for how long the search and rescue
operation will last, RSN reports.
As REGNUM earlier reported, A-320 airbus fell into the Black Sea
in the night of May 3 while landing. All the 113 people aboard were
killed.

FIRST FLIGHT WITH CORPSES OF VICTIMS TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN 10 P.M. LOCAL TIME
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.05.2006 21:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Corpses of victims of the crash of A-320
Armenian liner will be delivered to Yerevan at about 10 p.m. local
time. Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration Hovik Abrahamyan,
who leads the intergovernmental commission on delivery of corpses
and organization of funeral, stated it at a briefing today. In his
words, 20 or 30 identified corpses will be delivered to Armenia
to all appearance. “Today we will visit Zvartnots airport and will
discuss all organizational matters with its administration – how will
the corpses be delivered and conveyed to the relatives,” he said,
reports Novosti Armenia.

ACCORDING TO PRESS SERVICE OF GREAT VALLEY COMPANY, MASS MEDIA DISTORTS REAL FACTS OF INCIDENT WITH TIGRAN ARZAKANTSIAN IN MOSCOW
Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. In connection with the incident that
happened in Moscow wih Tigran Arzakantsian, RA National Assembly
deputy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Great Valley company, the
company’s press service issued a statement “Deputy Tigran Arzakantsian
refutes fabrications”, which is presented below: “The Armenian mass
media covered in April the incident that happened in Moscow with
RA National Assembly deputy, Chairman of Board of Directors of the
Great Valley company Tigran Arzakantsian. The published information
completely distorts the reality, discrediting Mr T. Arzakantsian. In
this connection the press service of Great Valley company considers
it necessary to provide the following explanations. T. Arzakantsian
was in Moscow in March 2006. Late March 28, at the request of a
friend’s family members, he had to go to the Kutuzov Hall Casino in
order to keep a close acquaintance, who was capable of losing his
self-control in gambling excitement, from wasting a large amount
of money. Mr Arzakantsian himself did not participate in the game
but his actions aroused discontent of the casino management. They
invited Mr Arzakantsian to the office of one of the casino owners
under the nickname of Arik Grek to have a talk with him. In the office,
more than 20 armed bullyboys suddenly attacked T. Arzakantsian in the
presence of Grek, as a result of which Arzakantsian received serious
injuries, including brain injuries, and lost his consciousness. The
attackers also stole T. Arzakantsian’s valuable items. Their criminal
actions were stopped by the deputy’s friend who took him to hospital
where he received the necessary medical aid. When a few days later
T. ARzakantsian regained consciousness, Moscow law enforcers had
already opened a criminal case on the charges of inflicting severe
bodily injuries and robbery. The Russian colleagues of the deputy
– members of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary cooperation
commission sent a letter to the RF Minister of Internal Affairs
R. Nurgaliev, Director of the Federal Service of Security N. Patrushev
and the Private Security Service of the RF Ministry of Internal
Affairs. “In connection with high status of the sufferer, we request
to give an assignment to check the process of investigation into the
criminal case,” the letter of a group of deputies reads. Mr Tigran
Arzakantsian is currently undergoing treatment in Moscow medical
institutions. He flatly refutes any discrediting information about
his debts and nonpayments, saying that he has no debt to any casinos
or their customers. Now he is only concerned with the problem of his
health, and the recovery will be a lasting one due to the serious
injuries he suffered. But Mr Tigran Arzakantsian intends to demand
printed refutation of the incorrect information spread by mass media,
while in case of refusal he is going to achieve restoration of his
honor and dignity by legal means. Deputy T. Arzakantsian is prepared
to provide explanations in person to the press after he returns
to Yerevan.”

CORPSES OF 53 VICTIMS OF A-320 CRASH FOUND
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.05.2006 20:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Corpses of 53 out of the total of 113 victims
of the crash of A-320 airplane in the Black Sea. 20 of these are
identified. The grouping of forces and marine equipment of the Russian
Ministry of Extraordinary Situations (MES), Federal Frontier Service
and Ministry of Transport was increased during the previous day,
reported the Information Department of the Russian Ministry of
Extraordinary Situations.
“Operative headquarters are formed at Sochi port and Adler airport,
Russian MES operative groups work at the emergency site,” the MES
reported. 590 persons and 104 units of technical equipment (including
29 ships) participate in the search. These also include 177 persons and
43 machinery units (11 ships among them) of the Russian MES. Some 300
relatives of crash victims are hosted at Sochi hotels and boarding
houses, the Press Service of Sochi Administration said, Russian
media report.