ANNUAL 8TH EXPOSITION “GOLDSMITH – 2005” WILL BE HELD IN YEREVAN SEPT
29- OCT 3

YEREVAN, JULY 29. ARMINFO. The annual 8th exposition “Goldsmith –
2005” will be held in the session hall of the Armenian Governmental
House Sept 29- Oct 3.

Talking to ARMINFO, Executive Director of the Association of Jewelers
and Diamond Producers of Armenia Artur Gyulnazaryan said traditionally
jewelry from precious stones and metals will be exhibited. He said
according to the forecasts of the Association, like the exposition
Goldsmith-2004, this year’s exposition will attract at least local and
foreign 50 organizations. He said at present some 10 foreign companies
and 10 local organizations have already applied for participation in
the exposition. In particular, Italian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian
and Georgian companies, as well as Yerevan Jewelry Factory and
others. Gyulnazaryan pointed out that the cost of 1 sq.m will
fluctuate between $60- $90.

The exposition will take place with support of the Confederation of
the Unions of Jewelers of the Commonwealth and the Armenian
Government.

LEADING RUSSIAN POLITICIAN THINKS COVERAGE OF TOPIC OF ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE OF 1915 IN OTTOMAN TURKEY POOR

KRASNODAR, JULY 29. ARMINFO. The topic of Armenian Genocide in Russia
is not covered today, says Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party
“Yabloko” Sergey Mitrokhin in his interview to the newspaper of the
Armenians of Russia “Yerkramas.”

According to the source, Mitrokhin thinks “Yabloko” the only party to
adopt a special statement in connection with the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide. He says “Yabloko” was an active supporter of
adoption of a relevant statement on Genocide by the State Duma in
1995. Then a member of the State Duma Committee for CIS, he personally
was among those to pushed through this document. Once Russian
announced its position on the issue of Armenian Genocide in Turkey,
but it was the former authorities, now the power has changed, and we
have not heard anything on this issue from the current authorities so
far. I think it is very dangerous, not speaking of humanistic
ideas. Proceeding from political pragmatism, Armenia at present is the
most friendly country for Russia in the CIS, and among the states
surrounding it. And for such a country, of course, it is necessary to
make steps it is waiting for. And the president could have said
several words in this connection, at last, he has unlimited
opportunities now, Mitrokhin thinks.

He condemns lack of information of the Armenian Genocide and Holocaust
in the history textbooks in Russia, calling it degradation in
education in Russia.

Reform no reason to nominate Armenian leader for third term, adviser says

Arminfo
29 Jul 05

YEREVAN

Constitutional reforms cannot serve as a reason for nominating
[incumbent Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan for a third term in
office, the Armenian president’s adviser, Armen Arutyunyan, said
during the discussion on the subject of “constitutional reforms after
the Venice commission’s [of the Council of Europe] suggestions” today.

Asked by the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vigen
Khachatryan, whether these words reflected the president’s view,
Arutyunyan said it had to be kept in mind that he is a lawyer and
adviser to the president. He added that the question wasn’t quite
correct.

The chairman of the Democracy public organization, Vardan Pogosyan,
noted that the definition of a “new constitution” in the Venice
commission’s draft conclusion is a misprint because such definition of
constitutional amendments is legally ruled out.

Official says Azeri support for Turkish Cypriots “important
breakthrough”

Ekspress
29 Jul 05

A Turkish Cypriot official has said Azerbaijan’s recent efforts to end
the isolation of Northern Cyprus have signified an important
breakthrough. Baku’s economic support will be crucial in finding a
political solution to the Cyprus problem, the foreign minister of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Serdar Denktas, said in an
exclusive interview with Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress. Denktas urged
Europe to follow Azerbaijan’s example and help Northern Cyprus to come
out of isolation. For his part, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry, Tahir Tagizada, urged Greece not to politicize the
issue. Azerbaijan has always viewed Greece as its ally, Tagizada
said. The following is an excerpt from Alakbar Raufoglu’s report by
Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 29 July headlined “Greeks launch
counter-attack”; subheadings as published:

The actual steps taken by Azerbaijan to end the isolation of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), our delegations’ visits to
the island and the opening of Baku-Lefkosa [Nikosia] flights have
infuriated the Greek community of Cyprus. The Greek Cypriots have
appealed to Greece and the EU, demanding that they reconsider
relations with Azerbaijan and react to the developments
immediately. Athens also expressed its official protest against the
issue to our embassy in Greece. The Greeks stated that they would take
serious steps if the situation continued in this way, diplomatic
sources told Ekspress.

Athens wants explanation from Azerbaijan

“Illegal visits are being paid to unrecognized territories and
relations are being established. The Greek government is closely
watching the course of events. We urge the Azerbaijani state to
respect the rights of the Cypriots and not to aggravate the
situation. We are concerned about what is happening,” the protest by
Athens said. Greece is indirectly asking Baku to give an explanation
of relations with the TRNC.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry gave instructions to Azerbaijani
ambassador to Greece Mirhamza Afandiyev last week over Athens’s
concern about the issue. Baku’s position is that the establishment of
relations with the Turkish Cypriots will not affect the official
policy of unification [of the northern and southern parts of Cyprus]
or Azerbaijan’s position on the issue.

[Passage omitted: the Greek community of Cyprus complained to the
International Civil Aviation Organization about the opening of
Baku-Lefkosa flights and other details provided to Turkish TV channel]

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry: No need to aggravate situation

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has already expressed its official
position on the issue. In an interview with Ekspress yesterday [28
July], Tahir Tagizada, the head of the [Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry’s] department for information policy and press, urged Greece
not to politicize the issue and aggravate the situation.

[Passage omitted: reported details]

[Correspondent] Will the developments affect relations between Baku
and Athens?

[Tagizada] Azerbaijan has always viewed Greece as its close ally and
we intend to develop our relations with this state. The case with the
TRNC has nothing to do with the Baku government’s position.

[Passage omitted: reported details]

[Correspondent] Three delegations visited the TRNC in the past 10
days. Were there officials among them?

[Tagizada] Two of the three delegations included businessmen and they
were not officials. As for MPs, our legislative body is not part of
the executive authorities. Therefore, the Greek side’s concerns are
unfounded.

[Passage omitted: Azerbaijan instructed its embassy in Athens to
investigate ties between Greek and Armenian telecommunication
companies in Karabakh]

Serdar Denktas: Europe should follow Azerbaijan’s example and show
good will

The behaviour of the Greek Cypriots infuriated the TRNC. The Turkish
Cypriot deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Serdar Denktas,
said the following in an exclusive interview with Ekspress by phone
yesterday: “I regret what is happening. The Turkish Cypriots have for
the first time in their history gained a chance to break the
isolation. The Azerbaijani state and people have always been together
with us. However, such major steps have not been taken so
far. Azerbaijan has genuinely demonstrated to the whole world what has
actually to be done. Our Azerbaijani brothers supported us when the
world left us in isolation. This is an important breakthrough for the
Turkish Cypriots.”

[Correspondent] The Greek community of the island complained to the EU
and some other organizations… [ellipsis as published]

[Denktas] If the international public proves its support for the laws
it has created, then it will give a proper answer to the opposite
side. The settlement of the Cyprus problem should be an important
victory for numerous states. We want Europe to follow Azerbaijan’s
example and show good will. Religious or ethnic issues should be
ignored. Those accepting the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots will of
course be dissatisfied. The whole nation’s tragic fate is but a show
for them. We are sure that Azerbaijan’s economic support will be
crucial in finding a political solution to the Cyprus problem.

MOVIE REVIEW
Must Love Dogs (2 stars out of 5)
Must love retro, not to mention sweet and cute
By Roger Moore
Sentinel Movie Critic

July 29, 2005

Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg discovers Internet dating in
Must Love Dogs, a deja viewed romantic comedy that is somewhat less
than the sum of its thefts.

Diane Lane, lately our favorite dumped fortysomething, is Sarah, a
woman “of a certain age” back in the dating scene. Her overlarge,
sit-commie family, including Elizabeth Perkins doing that sassy
sister/best friend thing she has done since About Last Night and
Christopher Plummer as her Irish, Keats-quoting dad, want her to date
again. They have an “intervention.”

That Goldberg, right on the comic cutting edge . . . of
1994. Remember, Family Ties premiered on TV in 1982. Goldberg has lost
a bit, OK, a lot, off his comic fastball. At least, he included dogs.

John Cusack, everywoman’s Sensitive Man, sleepwalks through the High
Fidelity/Serendipity sweet-guy-who-may-get-away, a role he has been
playing since Say Anything.

Heck, Dermot Mulroney is “the other man,” wishing this was My Best
Friend’s Wedding II.

Not that this doesn’t include a heaping helping of that film. And
Serendipity. And Under the Tuscan Sun and oh-so-many others. When the
sisters all start singing the theme to The Partridge Family, you
expect Rupert Everett, Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz to chime in.

Goldberg still has a way with a sensitive one-liner. Sarah’s latest
date was a dud.

“Let’s go watch Beaches,” her sister blurts.

Why don’t we all?

Distraught over the heartbreak of a failed marriage?

“I think your heart grows back bigger,” swoons Cusack’s Jake, a
wooden-boat builder who refuses to date luscious 24-year-olds because
they’re “too young,” who watches Doctor Zhivago over and over again to
show how sensitive he is.

No, there are no men like that. No straight ones, anyway.

Cusack supposedly rewrote his own lines, and the parameters of his
character are so Message in a Bottle-idealized that you wonder if he
didn’t come up with those too. He tries to snap off his zingers to
second-choice sidekick Glenn Howerton as if his normal sidekick,
Jeremy Piven, wasn’t busy with ahit TV show (Entourage).

Sarah and Jake meet cute, fail to click, meet cute and meet cute
again. They practically trip over each other trying to keep
Serendipity from kicking in.

There’s even an adorable “Every drugstore in town is out of condoms”
dash through suburban L.A. in Jake’s Prius.

Of course, he drives a Prius. Really, you can’t make this stuff up. Or
shouldn’t.

The whole Internet dating thing, which is where the title comes from,
that always fictional “profile” you post on “Per fectdate.com” or
“Americahooks up.org,” is so 20th century. The novel twist is having
older folks like Dad Plummer and Stockard Channing (as a trailer-town
tart) try it out. But themovie Goldberg cooked up could have been
plotted, scripted and cast by computer, one operating on Windows 1.0.

Small cities no longer have revival movie houses that show Doctor
Zhivago.

People don’t name their Newfoundland hounds “Mother Theresa.”

Nobody does Armenian for dinner on the first date.

And the cute-but-hurt preschool teacher is almost as worn out as the
cute-but-hurt-preschool teacher with the gay best friend.

It’s OK to be retro with your screen romance, but retro shouldn’t feel
this inept.

Copyright © 2005, _Orlando Sentinel_

,0,7733608.story?coll=3Dorl-calmusictop

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY ISTANBUL: Five for food and drink

The Independent – United Kingdom; Jul 30, 2005

Boncuk at Nevizade Sokak 19, Beyoglu (00 90 212 243 1219) is one of
the best meyhane, a raucous eatery where locals imbibe raki, an
aniseed-flavoured drink, and partake of meze with an Armenian
touch. Call to reserve a table outside.

Balikci Sabahattin at Cankurtaran Sait Hasan Kuyu Sokak 1, Sultanahmet
(00 90 212 458 1824). There are no menus at this popular up-market
fish restaurant in the Old City; waiters help you choose from options
which change daily. Try the house special, tahini ice cream.

Bambi at Siraselviler Caddesi, Taksim Square, is an ultra-cheap
24-hour stand-up joint where locals go for the best doner kebab:

sliced grilled meat served in fresh bread ” an essential after
late-night partying.

Hamdi at Tahmis Cad, Kalcin Sok 17, Eminonu (00 90 212 528 0390)
specialises in meat, particularly of the spicy south-eastern Turkish
variety, like meatballs with pistachio, pomegranate salad and eggplant
kebab. Served with endless rounds of freshly baked flatbread.

Saray at Istiklal Cad 102″104, Beyoglu (00 90 212 292 3434), also at
Tesvikiye Cad 105, Tesvikiye (00 90 212 296 1617), is a dessert shop
notable for baklava and milky sweets, as well as other exotic, syrupy
fare such as ‘sultan’s navel’ or ‘nightingale’s nests’.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
July 29 2005

GEORGIAN TIMES SAYS GRENADE SUSPECT MAY BE TAKEN TO USA

TBILISI, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS: The Georgian Times, an
English-language newspaper published in a former Soviet Republic of
Georgia claimed that Vladimir Harutunian, a man suspected in tossing
a hand-grenade during the U.S. President Bush’s public speech in
Tbilisi on May 10, may be secretly transported to the USA by FBI
agents.
The reason, according to the newspaper, is that FBI agents are
getting increasingly frustrated with Georgian counterparts who cannot
force Harutunian to reveal the motives behind his act and also his
accomplices.
Another story in the newspaper claims that the Armenian lobbying
organizations in the USA may be behind the incident, saying the
Armenian organizations are disappointed with president Bush’s policy
towards Iran. The Georgian Times says Armenia and Iran enjoy strong
economic ties and Bush’s anti-Iranian policy hits seriously the
interests of US-based billionaires of Armenian descent.

Agence France Presse — English
July 29, 2005 Friday 1:27 PM GMT

Iranian climber dies on Mount Ararat, others face prosecution

ANKARA

A 67-year-old Iranian mountain climber has died on Mount Ararat in
eastern Turkey and his fellow climbers are facing prosecution for
entering a banned military zone, the Anatolia news agency reported
Friday.

“There will be legal action against the Iranian mountaineers for
climbing in a banned area of Agri (Ararat) Mountain,” Turhan Turunc,
the chief prosecutor in the nearby town of Dogubayazit told Anatolia.

Mount Ararat, or Agri in Turkish, is located in eastern Turkey where
the borders of Iran, Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of
Nakhchivan meet.

Most of it is a banned military zone and climbers need special
permission from Turkish authorities for expeditions on the mountain.

The body of the dead climber, named as Ashker Baravan, was brought
down to Dogubayazit late Thursday by a local search-and-rescue team,
which launched an operation on the mountain after his 24 fellow
climbers alerted the authorities about the incident.

The man died at a height of some 5,000 meters, close to the mountain
summit, due to a yet unknown reason, Turunc said.

ARKA News Agency
July 29 2005

24% INCREASE IN BUDGET TAX REVENUES IN ARMENIA IN 1ST HALF OF 2005
POSITIVE RESULT: ROBERT KOCHARYAN

YEREVAN, July 29. /ARKA/. A 24% increase in Armenia’s budget tax
revenues was recorded in the 1st half of 2005, which is a positive
result, RA President Robert Kocharyan stated at a working meeting
with the top executives of the RA Taxation Service. The President
made a positive appraisal of the Service’s activities, pointing out
that 10% economic growth rate was recorded in Armenia in the 1st half
of 2005, and, compared with the 24% increase in tax revenues, a 14%
difference is formed, which means that this amount is not any longer
part of the shadow economic sector. According to the President, the
RA Taxation Service has made progress in replenishing the budget
revenues. “The resolution of current problems is a law, and no
bargain can be made here,” the President said. However, inspections
conducted by the Presidential Supervisory Changer showed that this
system has much more reserve. Kocharyan pointed out that the
inspections of the transport sphere and mine operation showed that
the shadow is very large. The President pointed out that a 40%
increase was recorded in the construction sphere, whereas tax
revenues do not exceed 12-13 per cent. According to Kocharyan, no
sector in Armenia’s economy is free of shadow now. “Here I can see a
field where protectionism and clan system are our major enemies,” the
President said. He proposed intensification of struggle against the
shadow sector for the creation of equal taxation conditions. “I do
not consider your activities in this direction satisfactory from the
point of view of determination. The results are not bad, but they can
hardly be considered satisfactory,” Kocharyan said. He emphasized the
importance of improving tax administration, studying foreign
experience, introducing modern methods and implementing civilized
administration. In this context Kocharyan pointed out the importance
of an agreement signed with the USAID for five years. P.T. -0–

The Messenger, Georgia
July 29 2005

Natelashvili: grenade a plot by Saakashvili

Head of the opposition Labor Party Shalva Natelashvili held a press
conference on Thursday to state that the investigation of the
terrorist act against the presidents of Georgia and the U.S. that has
been underway since May 10 has been “an advertising act of Georgian
authorities.”
“After looking through the available information, the members of the
party have come to the conclusion that the attempt on the presidents
had been staged by Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Vano
Merabishvili who was acting on the instructions of President
Saakashvili,” he said.
Natelashvili claimed the chief suspect Vladimir Arutunian
collaborated with the authorities, while the explosives found in his
home have been supplied by Georgian special services.
“Saakashvili wanted his name and the name of the U.S. president to be
focused on by the international media,” he added.
“The information we’ve gathered surrounding May 10 suggests that the
act was planned by the Georgian authorities has already been sent to
the U.S. Congress, the UN Security Council, and U.S. law
enforcement,” he said.