UEFA.com, Europe
June 20 2004
Henry strikes for gold
Arsenal FC striker Thierry Henry has become the first Frenchman to
win the ESM Golden Shoe award after scoring 30 goals in the 2003/04
English Premiership, a figure which gives him a total of 60 points in
the final standings.
Henry confirmed
Henry had been the favourite to pick up the award after leading the
table when most of the leagues around Europe finished at the end of
May – and his position at the top of the table was confirmed this
weekend when the Ukrainian league became the last championship of the
2003/04 European season to reach its conclusion.
Ailton in second
SV Werder Bremen striker Ailton finished second to Henry after
scoring 28 goals in the Bundesliga while Djibril Cissé grabbed third
place with 26 Ligue 1 goals for of AJ Auxerre. Both players are
changing clubs this summer, Ailton joining FC Schalke 04 and Cissé
going to Liverpool FC.
Makaay drop
Last season’s winner Roy Makaay finished seventh this time around
after moving from RC Deportivo La Coruña to FC Bayern München at the
start of the 2003/04 season while AC Milan’s Andriy Shevchenko came
highest of the Serie A contingent in fourth. Long-time leader Ara
Hakobyan, of Armenian club FC Banants who play a calendar-year
season, held on for joint ninth.
Final standings
Pos Name Club (Country) Gls Val Pts
1 Thierry Henry Arsenal FC (ENG) 30 2 60
2 Ailton SV Werder Bremen (GER) 28 2 56
3 Djibril Cissé AJ Auxerre (FRA) 26 2 52
4 Andriy Shevchenko AC Milan (ITA) 24 2 48
4 Ronaldo Real Madrid CF (ESP) 24 2 48
6 Mateja Kezman PSV Eindhoven (HOL) 31 1.5 46.5
7 Roy Makaay FC Bayern München (GER)23 2 46
7 Alberto Gilardino Parma AC (ITA) 23 2 46
9 Ara Hakobyan FC Banants (ARM) 45 1 45
9 Henrik Larsson Celtic FC (SCO) 30 1.5 45
11 Alan Shearer Newcastle Unt FC (ENG) 22 2 44
12 Luigi Pieroni Excelsior Mouscron(BEL)28 1.5 42
13 Roland Kollmann Grazer AK (AUT) 27 1.5 40.5
14 Julio Baptista Sevilla FC (ESP) 20 2 40
14 Ruud v. Nistelrooij Manchester Unt(ENG) 20 2 40
14 Martin Max FC Hansa Rostock (GER) 20 2 40
14 Francesco Totti AS Roma (ITA) 20 2 40
14 Louis Saha Fulham FC/Manchester Unt(ENG)20 2 40
19 Tor Henning Hamre FC Flora (EST) 39 1 39
20 Raúl Tamudo RCD Espanyol (ESP) 19 2 38
20 Fernando Torres Atlético de Madrid(ESP)19 2 38
20 Alexander Frei Stade Rennais FC (FRA) 19 2 38
20 Salva Málaga CF (ESP) 19 2 38
20 Javier Chevanton US Lecce (ITA) 18 2 38
20 Mista Valencia CF (ESP) 19 2 38
Last updated: 20 June 2004
Only the leading five countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, France and
England) on the UEFA Ranking have two as their multiplier. This is to
emphasise the difference in international performance level between
clubs from those countries and those from the other countries.
A player cannot first play in a summer league (eg Norway) and then in
a winter league (eg Spain) and combine the points total for each
season.

Harrison ‘now best Briton’
BBC News
June 20 2004
Scott Harrison could now face WBC champion Injin Chi
Frank Maloney says Scott Harrison is now the UK’s top boxer after
the Scot destroyed William Abelyan in defence of his WBO world
featherweight title.
The American-based Armenian was floored three times in the third round.
Manager Maloney said: “Scott made a statement to British boxing that
he is the number one fighter in Britain.”
Harrison is now looking for a unification fight and Maloney admits
the most likely match will be against WBC champion Injin Chi.
“People talk about Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton, but Scott has
jumped above them,” said Maloney after Harrison stopped the number
one contender.
“I don’t think you can take anything away from him. Scott showed how
he can fight, he’s a real fighting machine and I think he proved to
all the doubters and all the critics that he can go a long, long way
and be the best fighter we’ve ever produced in Britain.
I’d like Scott to fight again in Glasgow – Frank Maloney
“I was concerned before the fight because of the different styles
and I thought Abelyan would run. But, for some unknown reason, he
came to fight which suited Scott.
“If he had run, it would have been a different fight, but if you want
to fight Scott’s type of fight you have to be extra strong.
“I’d love to see him fight Injin Chi – that would be a great fight –
and I think he will be the easiest one to do a deal with because he’s
already been over to Britain.
Harrison retains title
“I don’t want to make silly statements and say that we’re certain
to make the match, but Chi is fighting in July and, if there’s a
possibility that we can do it, I would like to go and watch him and
make a challenge to him at ringside.
“I’d like Scott to fight again in Glasgow because the crowd were
magnificent and I think he deserves a super fight.”

Iranian Grand Masters Win World Chess Challenges
Tehran Times
June 21 2004
TEHRAN (IRNA) — Grand masters Ehsan Qaem-Maqami and Morteza Mahjub
from Iran celebrated their wins in the World Chess Federation (FIDE)
Championships in Tripoli, Libya, said the Iranian federation Sunday.
Qaem-Maqami stunned once world No. 3, Rafael Vaganian from Armenia,
who stood top in Russia’s Aeroflot event in 2004.
He displayed unexpected prowess against Vaganian in a queen’s Indian
defense after offering his opponent a draw, which was declined.
“The game was normal for first 18 moves. I offered my opponent draw
but he tried to win and did some bad moves,” said Maqami, who ranked
92 out of tournament’s 124 players.
Vaganian ranks 37 in the tournament.
Mahjub also starred in his first fight, beating Georgian grand master
Zurab Azmaiparashvili, the European holder in 2004, even though he
was playing his favorite line, the Pirc defense.
“Today I am so happy,” Mahjub told reporters after his match. “My
game was hard. I won in a hard position. He made some not so good
moves.”
The Iranian duo are one stalemate far from the next round.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Caspian Sea
Sun, 20 Jun 2004
gulf-news.com
News
Visa-change run to Kish gets cheaper for 16 nationalities
By Mahmood Saberi
Bureau Chief
Dubai: Sixteen nationalities will no longer need to pay a security deposit
when flying from the UAE to the Iranian island of Kish on a visa-change
trip, according to a Kish Airline source.
“It was a burden on the passenger, though it was only a deposit,” said a
source at the airline.
Those excluded from paying the deposit are expatriates from India, Pakistan,
the Philippines, China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The CIS includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and
Ukraine.
Kish Airline, which runs six daily flights to the Island from Dubai, earlier
took up to Dh1,500 from each passenger from these countries.
This was to pay for the passenger’s ticket home in case the sponsor did not
send a new visit visa for some reason.
Many passengers on visa-change run to the island have been stuck there for
days and sometimes months, due to glitches at the sponsor’s end.
The security deposit varied depending on the nationality of the person.
For an Indian or a Filipino, it was Dh1,500. For Pakistanis it was Dh1,000.
The number of passengers from the excluded countries who had to be brought
back to Dubai and sent to their home countries was very small, said the
source, explaining the reason for waiving the deposit.
For Chadians and Ugandans the deposit is around Dh3,000 because of the high
air fare back to some of the African nations, said the source.
However, expatriates from Sudan, Chad, Tunisia, Uganda, Senegal and Nigeria,
still have to pay the security deposit.
Passengers from the excluded countries now only have to pay a surcharge of
Dh25.
“The airline has not increased the fare since a long time,” said the source.
However, Qeshm Airline, which does the visa-change run from Dubai to a
smaller island off Iran, is still taking the security deposit from
passengers.
EXCLUDED
Surety amounted to Dh1,500
• Expatriates from countries India, Pakistan, the Philippines, China and the
CIS are excluded from paying a security deposit when flying to Kish island
on visa-change procedures.
• Earlier Kish Airline used to charge up to Dh1,500 from each passenger to
meet any contingency.
• However, Qeshm Airline which flies to a smaller island off Iran still
charges the deposit amount.

Azeri official comments on cease-fire breaches on border
ANS TV, Baku
19 Jun 04
Presenter Baku has commented on reports about intense cease-fire
violations on the border. Novruz Mammadov, head of the international
relations department of the Presidential Executive Staff, said the
firefights with the Armenian armed forces on the Azerbaijani border was
a result of Yerevan’s harmful policy. The official did not rule out
that the Armenian community of Karabakh will be brought to book for the
conduct of the unlawful municipal elections on Azerbaijani territory.
Correspondent over Karabakh villages The campaign to nominate
candidates for the municipal elections by the Armenian community of
Nagornyy Karabakh kicked off today. The nomination campaign will end
on 24 June and the process of registering the candidates will continue
until 19 July. The election campaign will start on the same day. Let
us remind you that the municipal elections will be held by the Armenian
community in Nagornyy Karabakh on 8 August. Baku is not planing to turn
a blind eye to this move of the Armenian separatists. Statements have
already been sent to a number of international organizations urging
them to prevent such illegal measures from taking place in the occupied
territory of Azerbaijan.
Novruz Mammadov, head of the international relations department of
the Presidential Executive Staff, said that the issue of the illegal
municipal elections in Nagornyy Karabakh will be put on the agenda
of the Council of Europe first of all.
Mammadov, shown speaking from his office This act is undoubtedly
illegal. The appropriate bodies of Azerbaijan have spoken against
it and will continue to do so. The Milli Maclis and the Azerbaijani
parliamentarians in the Council of Europe will air their views in
the upcoming sessions. All this is illegal and lacks international
support. I would like to reiterate that all this is nothing less than
an attempt by the separatists to hearten themselves.
Correspondent Mammadov believes that international organizations are
currently actively trying to resolve the conflict. And very often
their approaches are in harmony with Azerbaijan’s position. The world
supports Azerbaijan’s demand that the conflict be resolved reasonably.
Mammadov From this point of view, both the Karabakh separatists and
the Armenian leadership are finding themselves isolated from the world
community. To alleviate such treatment and to parry these blows, they
resort to such measures. The crux of the matter is that the Armenian
separatists want to create certain institutions in the occupied
territory of Azerbaijan. They resort to such methods from time to
time, i.e. violate all laws by holding the so-called presidential
and municipal elections in the self-styled NKR.
Correspondent Obviously Nagornyy Karabakh has not been recognized and
will not be recognized in the future as well, Mammadov said, adding
that the municipal elections have no legal basis. The conduct of
such measures once again proves that the separatist Armenian regime
does not want to resolve the conflict. The separatist regime’s
plans to conduct the unlawful election in Nagornyy Karabakh, which
is an integral part of Azerbaijan, is not their first or their last
illegal action. The Armenian side, which often violates the cease-fire
regime on the border with Azerbaijan and along the contact line,
once again proved that it is not ready for a constructive solution
to the conflict. The recent and intense breaches of the cease-fire
regime are not accidental, Mammadov said. The opposite side is taking
well-planned and well-considered steps.
Mammadov Armenian President Kocharyan is no longer trusted by his
people because of his failure to fulfill his election promises. The
resistance against him within the country is strengthening. By
violating the cease-fire regime, the Armenian leadership wants to
soften pressure and divert the attention from them to something else.
The second reason is also very important and is connected with the
first one: the Armenian leadership wants to decrease the external
pressure. Mammadov is sure that Armenia has never and will never
benefit from such an adventurist policy. Therefore, the Armenian
leadership should without fail put an end to this.
Mammadov Now the cease-fire regime has been breached in Qazax District,
some 200-300 kilometers from Nagornyy Karabakh. This was a result
of Armenia’s false and notorious policy. I would like to reiterate
that we have informed all interested states and organizations, such
as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, of this.
Correspondent Azerbaijan’s position on the problem is constructive. It
is ready for negotiations. Mammadov said that Yerevan should not have
breached the cease-fire regime.
Ayaz Mirzayev, Ibrahim Telmanoglu for ANS.

The Halifax Daily News (Nova Scotia)
June 20, 2004 Sunday
New faces, new Halifax;
With the multicultural fest in full swing, The Daily News’s Shaune
MacKinlay looks at our city’s changing face
More than 40,000 people are expected to visit Dartmouth’s waterfront
before today is done to take in performances by Armenian folk dancers
and Middle Eastern belly dancers, eat Ugandan goat stew or Jamaican
patties or enjoy a beer with people from around the globe who now
call Halifax home.
On this 20th anniversary of the Nova Scotia Multicultural Festival,
Halifax is a city whose face is changing.
“What we are mostly now seeing is immigration from Asia, Africa, the
Caribbean, South America, all what we call visible minorities, so we
will be seeing more diversity by just looking at people, not even
hearing them,” said Multicultural Association of Nova Scotia
president Barbara Campbell.
Arabic speakers now outnumber French speakers, Campbell said.
Yet despite the growing number of cultures represented, Halifax is
not the international mosaic it could be.
A look back at Halifax immigration numbers over the past 30 years
reveals a fairly flat line, with a burst of activity in the 1990s.
Between 1991 and 2001, 7,505 immigrants came to the city, compared
with 4,470 between 1981 and 1990, according to Statistics Canada.
Unlike Toronto, where 43.7 per cent of the population identified
themselves as foreign-born in the last census, only 6.9 per cent of
Haligonians were immigrants.
Despite Nova Scotia’s reputation for warm welcomes, people in the
province don’t always greet visible-minority immigrants with open
arms, Campbell said.
“People are afraid to open up; they really don’t know much about
them,” she said.
Jerald Premanath, 40, came to Nova Scotia in 1984. After a short
return to his native Sri Lanka and a two-year stint in Toronto,
Premanath now proudly
“Now, a lot of people on the street you see are from different
countries,” he said Friday at the festival, sporting an I Am Canadian
hat and a Halifax T-shirt.
Premanath’s friends thought he was “crazy” to come to Nova Scotia, he
said.
“We have to do some publicity about this area, and bring some people
over here,” he said. “Once they get here I know they will never go
back.”
Tana Mutasigh, 28, from Uganda, moved with his family to Halifax more
than a decade ago.
“I don’t think there’s enough support for people coming here from
different places, so they always end up going to Toronto,” he said.
“I’ve known a lot of newcomers here who can’t find jobs, but they go
to Toronto and find jobs.”
It’s not easy to draw immigrants. Without a critical mass, Halifax
can’t support the kinds of ethnic communities that make Toronto such
a draw. Indeed, our only China Town is a restaurant.
It takes people to draw people, said Ron Heisler, a federal
immigration director for the Atlantic region. Heisler is on loan to
the province this year to help draft a plan to attract immigrants to
Nova Scotia and make them want to stay.
“There hasn’t been a real concerted and co-ordinated effort on how to
deal with immigration,” Heisler said.
“They recognized that, and they want to develop options for cabinet
on how to do this.”
It’s about more than enhancing the province’s cultural life: Nova
Scotia needs immigrants.
By as early as 2006, Heisler said, deaths will begin to exceed births
in the province.
“Without in-migration from other provinces, or immigration from
outside, our population is going to continue to decline, but it’s
also going to continue to get older,” he said.
With fewer young people and more elderly Nova Scotians, Heisler said,
all indications are that the province will face serious labour
shortages, which will be felt sooner in Halifax.
Anyone who thinks new immigrants are a drain on the province needs
only talk to Heisler.
“Our statistics show that the Nova Scotia immigrant population has a
lower unemployment rate, they earn more, they earn less of their
money in government transfers or payouts, they have higher degrees of
university education, much higher levels of entrepreneurship and have
management skill occupations,” he said.
It will take more than one level of government to make the province a
place where newcomers want to put down roots, he said. They need
meaningful employment, help learning English, and welcoming schools.
Campbell agreed.
“It’s a matter of us, the residents here, taking time to speak, to
reach out, to talk to them, to find out who they are, what they’re
all about,” Campbell said. “It’s up to us to make the first step, to
welcome them.”
[email protected]
WHERE HALIGONIANS HAVE COME FROM CALLS HALIFAX HOME. This city is
home to 26,335 immigrants and non-permanent residents from more than
130 countries. Here’s where they come from:
United Kingdom – 5,875
United States – 3,655
Lebanon – 1,165
Germany – 1,010
China – 990
India – 920
Kuwait – 785
Netherlands – 590
Poland – 590
Greece – 585
Viet Nam – 475
Hong Kong – 445
Italy – 410
Philippines – 405
South Korea – 335
France – 305
Saudi Arabia – 290
Egypt – 260
Yugoslavia – 260
Ireland, Republic of – 240
Iran – 225
Russian Federation – 220
United Arab Emirates – 215
Pakistan – 200
Iraq – 190
Sri Lanka – 185
Portugal – 180
Palestine/West Bank/Gaza Strip – 170
Trinidad and Tobago – 155
Syria – 150
Taiwan – 150
Australia – 145
Guyana – 140
Japan – 140
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 130
Nigeria – 125
Czech Republic – 120
New Zealand – 120
Croatia – 115
Turkey – 115
Denmark – 110
Jordan – 110
South Africa – 110
Belgium – 105
Hungary – 105
Sierra Leone – 105
Jamaica – 100
Ethiopia – 95
Kenya – 95
Brazil – 90
Cuba – 90
Malaysia – 90
Mexico – 90
Romania – 90
Barbados – 85
Honduras – 85
Austria – 80
Bermuda – 75
Sudan – 75
Sweden – 70
Afghanistan – 65
Thailand – 60
Zimbabwe – 60
Ukraine – 55
Antigua and Barbuda – 50
Congo – 50
Colombia – 45
Ghana – 45
Norway – 45
Saint Lucia – 45
Spain – 45
Saint Pierre and Miquelon – 40
Slovakia – 40
Qatar – 40
Czechoslovakia (former) – 35
Singapore – 35
Switzerland – 35
Chile – 30
Dominican Republic – 30
Estonia – 30
Israel – 30
Oman – 30
Peru – 30
Uganda – 30
Bulgaria – 25
El Salvador – 25
Guatemala – 25
Haiti – 25
Latvia – 25
Liberia – 25
Zambia – 25
Argentina – 20
Bahamas – 20
Bahrain – 20
Myanmar – 20
Slovenia – 20
Somalia – 20
Tanzania – 20
Venezuela – 20
Yemen – 20
Algeria – 15
Cambodia – 15
Finland – 15
Indonesia – 15
Libya – 15
Nicaragua – 15
Albania – 10
Angola – 10
Anguilla – 10
Bangladesh – 10
Bolivia – 10
Botswana – 10
Burundi – 10
Chad – 10
Cyprus – 10
Dominica – 10
Eritrea – 10
Grenada – 10
Kazakhstan – 10
Lithuania – 10
Madagascar – 10
Mauritius – 10
Moldova – 10
Montserrat – 10
Morocco – 10
Namibia – 10
Netherlands Antilles – 10
North Korea – 10
Saint Vincent, Grenadines – 10
Togo – 10
Tunisia – 10
Uruguay – 10
U.S.S.R. (former) – 10
*source: 2001 census data
GRAPHIC: TASTING NEW CULTURES: English-language students (from left)
yo Yeon Park from Korea, Hae Ryen Lee, from Korea, Elsa Pacheco Luis
from Mexico, and Kwang Hee Lee, from Korea, enjoy Korean food at the
multicultural festival in Dartmouth. The group members study English
together at a language school just across from Alderney Landing in
Dartmouth.; STEWS UP! Tana Mutasigh serves up Uganda style goat stew
at the multicultural festival in Dartmouth.

Kabardino-Balkaria marks Aznavour’s 80th birthday
By Marina Chernysheva
ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 20, 2004 Sunday 1:27 PM Eastern Time
NALCHIK, June 20 — The Culture Fund of Kabardino-Balkaria had a
party marking the 80th birthday of singer Charles Aznavour on Sunday.
Representatives of 12 cultural and ethnic associations of the republic
were invited to attend the party by the republican organization of
the Russian Armenian Union.
More than 5,000 Armenians live in Kabardino-Balkaria nowadays, head
of the Armenian community of Kabardino-Balkaria Zherar Ioannesyan said.

Strongest players, Iranian underdogs take wins in opening round of FIDE championships
by MAHMOUD KASSEM; Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Worldstream
June 19, 2004 Saturday
TRIPOLI, Libya — The two strongest players in the World Chess
Federation championships glided through the first games of round
one Saturday with solid wins, while two Iranian underdogs clinched
surprise victories against well-respected grandmasters.
Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov, seeded No. 1 in the tournament and fifth
in the world, beat Libyan outsider Tarik Abulhul, ranked 128 in the
tournament, in 41 moves.
England’s Michael Adams, world No. 8 and second seed in the tournament,
thrashed his Libyan opponent, Hussein Asabri, in an Anti-Berlin line
in 35 moves.
However, the biggest upset of the event came from the Iranian
contingent. Morteza Mahjoob, ranked 115 in the tournament, beat Zurab
Azmaiparashvili of Georgia even though the 44-year-old grandmaster
was playing his favorite line, the Pirc defense.
Azmaiparashvili was ranked 14 in the tournament.
“Today I am so happy,” Mahjoob told reporters after his match. “My
game was hard. I won in a hard position. … He made some not so
good moves.”
Mahjoob’s compatriot Ehsan Ghaem Maghami also displayed unexpected
prowess against Armenia’s Rafael Vaganian in a Queen’s Indian Defense
after offering his opponent a draw, which was declined.
Vanganian is ranked 37 in the tournament.
“The game was normal was for first 18 moves. I offered my opponent
draw but he tried to win and did some bad moves,” said Maghami,
ranked 92 out of the tournament’s 124 players.
The World Chess Federation, known by its French initials FIDE, kicked
off its Tripoli championship Saturday despite Libya’s refusal to
allow players from Israel and the absence of many top players.
Only two of FIDE’s top 10 were participating, apparently because many
players were angry that Garry Kasparov of Russia was to be allowed
to play the winner without having to go through qualifying rounds.
Libya, which is putting up the US$1.5 million in prize money for the
tournament, has been struggling to shake off its reputation as a rogue
state that sponsors terrorism and foments trouble around the world.
Welcoming the chess tournament and making a failed bid to host the
2010 soccer World Cup were seen as part of a campaign to clean up its
international image, but its refusal to bend on Israel show old ways
die hard.
Libya has been one of Israel’s harshest critics in the Arab world,
once hosting military bases for radical Palestinian groups. In the
mid-1990s, Libya expelled thousands of Palestinians in protest after
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat entered peace talks with Israel.

GEORGIAN-OSETIAN CRISIS
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 18, 2004
After the settlement of the Adzharian problem at the end of May Mikhail
Sahakashvili, pursuing his plan of restoring territorial integrity
of the country, undertook steps directed at the settlement of the
South-Osetian problem. Russian forces were deployed in the territory of
South Osia, according to the authorities, for the aim of prevention
of smuggling. And the minister of home affairs of Georgia Georgy
Bayramidzeh announced that the actions of the Russian peacemakers are
the evidence to the fact that not only the Tskhinvali separatists
but also the Russian “blue helmets” profit from smuggling. In his
turn the head public prosecutor of Georgia Irakli Okruashvili stated
that the times when Russian peacemakers dictated their will have
passed already. At the same time Mikhail Sahakashvili mentioned that
the government of Georgia has established good relationships with
Russia. Mentioning about his telephone talk with Putin president
Sahakashvili said, “We cooperate in a number of spheres, including
struggle against terrorism,” and emphasized that he considers the
present situation as willful actions of the local soldiers. At the
same time he added that after they had received guarantees that they
would not touch their block-posts he decided to withdraw the main units
and return to Tbilisi. The Osetian side gives a different evaluation
to the situation. According to the president of South Osia Edward
Kokoyti, the Georgian party undertakes wide-scale actions directed
at destabilization of the situation in South Osia. “Connected with
the reluctance of Georgia to negotiate and implement the agreements
achieved, the South-Osetian party announces about breaking all types
of relationships with Georgia except for work in the joint working
group and the joint group of experts,” stated Kokoyti. He mentioned
that the relationships would not be resumed until Georgia provided
a number of conditions: adoption of the law on restitution, that is
restoring the rights of Georgian refugees. Second, the parliament of
Georgia must give a political evaluation to the events of 1989-1991
and recognize the genocide of the South-Osetian population. Third,
the Georgian party must pay indemnity which totals 34 billion roubles
by the prices of 1991, said Kokoyti. Russia also gave its official
opinion on these events. The department of information and press of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia mentions that the Georgian
party did not implement all the arrangements made during the meeting
of the co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission in Tskhinvali on
June 2. So far the Georgian military units have not been withdrawn
from the Georgian-Osetian conflict area which are there without the
consent of the Joint Control Commission. The Russian party as well,
in the face of the first vice minister of Russia Valeria Loshinina
expressed serious anxiety to the ambassador of the USA in Russia in
reference to the fact that during the diversionary actions in South
Osia the military units trained within the framework of the American
programs of military cooperation with Georgia were used. It should be
mentioned that as formerly for Mikhail Sahakashvili the relationships
with Russia are very important. He announced that Georgia does not
intend taking hasty actions for the region of Tskhinvali (South Osia)
in this context and does not plan any concrete steps for the upcoming
month. In the conflict area against the background of deployment
of Georgian forces, which aggravated the situation, the visits of
ministers and officials of other ranks to South Osia have become
rather frequent. The governor personally took building materials to
that country, the vice minister of building wearing a white shirt
and a tie builds a road, the minister of education himself brings
computers, and the minister of sport brings football players to
play with the “village team”, writes the Russian news agency Regnum.
Accusations are made by the Georgian party as well. The head of the
committee on defence and national security of the Georgian parliament
Givi Targamadzeh announced that Russia brought 150 cars with forces,
weapon and ammunition to the territory of South Osia. According to him,
among them 120 are citizens of South Osia. In his turn the leader
of South Osia denied these news. At the same time Edward Kokoyti
arrived in Moscow with the request to join the Republic of South
Osia to the Russian Federation. The leader of Osia intends extending
the document to the Federal Duma of Russia and president Putin. The
message contains an appeal of creating unified Osia within the Russian
Federation. By the way, after the aggravation of the situation in
South Osia the leaders of this republic openly declare that there are
forces, especially in the other non-recognized republics, which will
aid Osia in case of threat of military aggression. It was mentioned
that there are certain agreements among these republics. In this
announcement the names of Abkhazia and Transdnestrie are mentioned
but not of Karabakh. The minister of foreign affairs of South Osia
Murad Jioev mentioned in his interview to the agency Regnum, “We are
in close cooperation with Karabakh, mainly in the political sphere,
which is first of all manifested in the relationships between the
foreign ministries of our republics. Being separate from the point
of view of territory hinders economic cooperation although we have
common economic interests with Karabakh. Unfortunately no top level
meetings have been organized between our republics but there is always
assistance through letters, telephone and other means, exchange of
delegations takes place.”
NAIRA HAYRUMIAN

Fortune
Jun. 28, 2004 Issue
PERSONAL FORTUNE: TRAVEL
Insider’s City Guide: Sony Pictures’s Amy Pascal on L.A.
The chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group has
lived in L.A. all her life.
“The best roast chicken is at Zankou Chicken [5065 West Sunset
Boulevard, 323-665-7842]. It’s a little Armenian place in a strip
mall in a really funky part of town – in deep, dark Hollywood, the
part where most people don’t roam. But it has the greatest chicken
ever. And I’ve had roast chicken everywhere, including restaurants all
over Paris. It’s so spicy. Make sure you order it with extra garlic
sauce – whipped sauce in those little paper cups. The chicken comes
in a plastic basket with pita bread and the best hummus.
“The best coffee place around is Urth Café [8565 Melrose Avenue,
310-659-0628] in West Hollywood. They have the thickest, thickest,
thickest milky foam on their cappuccino. It’s the kind of place where
you’ll run into Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal and their dogs. It’s
really crowded, but you can sit outside for hours and read.”
From: Baghdasarian