Author: Chmshkian Vicken

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| 19:30:30 | 13-04-2005 | Sports |

8TH PLACE WITH THE RESULT OF THE 2ND

The chess international tournament in Dubai was finished. In the last round
Ashot Anastasyan played a draw with Viorel Jordanesku and gaining 6.5 points
together with 10 other players took the 2nd place. But with the
supplementary indices he was given the 8th place.

Gabriel Sargsyan and Artashes Minasyan having 5.5 points each took the 38th
and 40th places respectively. And Elina Danielyan gaining 4.5 points was
only the 76th in about 150 players.

–Boundary_(ID_vnWjuVJxAeGY2Hk+uBacsg)
Content-typ e: message/rfc822

From: Darwin Jamgochian <[email protected]>
Subject: ‘CNN Traveller’ Introduces Armenia to a Vast Audience
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

Yerevan, April 12
‘CNN Traveller’ Introduces Armenia to a Vast Audience
(LONDON) CNN Traveller magazine, one of the world’s leading travel magazines
with a worldwide readership of more than 800,000, features Armenia’s ecology
in its current (April) issue.
This is the highest-circulation travel magazine to ever feature Armenia in
its pages, and it is the most widely-circulated magazine feature on Armenia
in the United Kingdom, where CNN Traveller is published. The story thus
introduces Armenia to a vast audience.
The feature describes the current state of the environment in Armenia, as
measured by the health and biological diversity of its bird population-a
marker that scientists believe is one reliable measure of a region’s
ecological health.
Armenia has a “disproportionately large number of bird species within its
modest geographic area,” write the story’s authors Robert Kurkjian and
Matthew Karanian, and this explains part of the attraction that the country
has to ornithologists and other scientists, they say.
Kurkjian and Karanian are experts on the Armenian environment. Kurkjian is
an environmental scientist with a Ph D from the University of California.
Karanian is an attorney who teaches environmental law at the American
University of Armenia. They are also professional photographers, and their
images illustrate the CNN story, as well as dozens of other magazine stories
they have co-authored about Armenia and Karabagh.
Their CNN story is an account of a birding expedition that had been
organized by the American University of Armenia’s “Birds of Armenia”
research project. The project, which is funded by the Armenian-American
philanthropist and conservationist Sarkis Acopian, has been working for the
past decade to raise environmental awareness in Armenia.
The magazine story’s authors, Karanian and Kurkjian, are also the authors
and photographers who created the recently-released country guide, “The
Stone Garden Guide to Armenia and Karabagh.” Their book includes a chapter
on Armenia’s conservation efforts.
The editors of CNN Traveller write that it is “the first stand-alone guide
to this often forgotten part of the world.” At 304-pages, “The Stone Garden
Guide to Armenia and Karabagh” is also the most comprehensive country guide
for the region, and it features 75 stunning color photographs and 25
detailed maps.

–Boundary_(ID_vnWjuVJxAeGY2Hk+uBacsg)–

ARMENIAN KHACHKARS TO BE DISPLAYED IN LOUVRE

Arminfo

YEREVAN, APRIL 8. ARMINFO. Armenian khachkars (cross-stones) will be
displayed in Louvre within the framework of the Year of Armenia in
France, which will be held in 2006-2007.

France’s Ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny informed ARMINFO,
French experts of the famous museum arrived in Yerevan recently,
who must select Khachkars from the funds of a number of museums of
Armenia for the Louvre. Numerous cultural arrangements, as well as
trade exhibitions of food and other products made in Armenia will be
organized within the framework of the Year of Armenia in France. The
ambassador mentioned that the apricot will become the main fruit symbol
of Armenia, as Armenian apricots are famous for its flavouring quality
already all over the world. Henry Cuny mentioned that the holding
of the Year will help to present wide sections of the population of
France with rich culture of Armenia, which, in its turn, will attract
the interest of the French to visit Armenia. “Armenia is one of the
most stable countries of the world”, the ambassador mentioned.

JAZZ HAS MANY COLORS

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| 14:15:46 | 08-04-2005 | Culture |

What is the color of jazz? «Jazz has so many colors that it is
factually colorless. And today it depends on the music that will
sound», says Vardan Ayvazyan, student of the Yerevan Art Institute
after Terlemezyan. He is one of the 15 participants of the competition
of artists «Colors of Jazz» which started today in the Artist’s
House.

Students of the Yerevan State Art Academy and Art Institute after
Terlemezyan take part in the competition. Serine Avagyan, student of
the Yerevan State Art Academy, thinks that «Jazz color is red as it
is the music of aggression, craziness». The exhibition was organized
by the American Embassy to Armenia and the Artists’ Union.

Cooperating with the Smithson National Museum, the USA has announced
April the Month of Jazz starting from 2002. Days of Jazz are being
organized in Armenia fro the 4th time already. Concerts will be
organized in different halls of Yerevan. Except the ball «Swing»
on April 9 the entrance of all the other concerts will be free.

–Boundary_(ID_QDEIrajCebn2C5SJSQb6PA)–

Ma, ensemble improvise in a lively musical tour

MUSIC REVIEW

The Boston Globe
April 7, 2005

By Richard Dyer, Globe Staff

Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble gave a large and enthusiastic
audience a 2½-hour multicultural hootenanny in Symphony Hall last night.
An ensemble of 14 virtuoso musicians from many lands joined the cellist
for a program that presented four kinds of music: authentic folk music
from countries along the Silk Road; modern arrangements of folk music
for mixtures of Eastern and Western instruments; contemporary composed
music with deep roots in national and folk cultures; and cheerful
crosscultural improvisations.

Although Ma founded the Silk Road Project, it has grown and developed in
surprising ways because he has never made it all about himself. For most
of the evening, he was an ensemble player, emerging for only one solo,
”Habil-Sayagy,” a substantial piece for cello and prepared piano by
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. This is an amazing piece to have been composed by a
woman in Baku in 1979. The innards of the piano were atmospherically
plucked and struck by Joel Fan, while Ma used his instrument in an
improvisational recitative-and-aria style based on the sound and
traditional repertory of the kamancheh, an instrument from Azberaijan.

Wu Man, virtuoso of the Chinese pipa, made herself completely at home in
Romanian gypsy music; in these exciting and smoochy tunes, violinists
Colin Jacobsen and Jonathan Gandelsman vied with each other in speed and
altitude. Gevorg Dabaghyan proved the expressive master of the Armenian
duduk, a small instrument with a large, plaintive sound resembling a
combination of clarinet, oboe, and saxophone. Sandeep Das, playing the
tabla from India, joined three Western drummers to create waves of
rhythm. The astonishing vocalist Alim Qasimov from Azberaijan boasts a
tenor so high that high C was a note to play in the midst of volatile
cascades of expressive coloratura.

Percussionist Shane Shanahan announced the last encore by saying this is
what the party would have sounded like if all the musicians had
simultaneously pulled into the same oasis on the Silk Road centuries
ago; it was great fun to join them there.

–Boundary_(ID_PZVE/FZVFNcZ65PO/j8oCA)–

REGULAR SITTING OF EU-ARMENIA COOPERATION COUNCIL TO BE HELD IN AUTUMN

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 5 sitting of the commission
on cooperation and partnership between the RA and European communities
and their memeber states, chaired by the commission chairman, RA Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian, the report on the work carried out by
the working groups with the aim of developing a National Program was
discussed. Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy David Avetisian
noted that the European Commission expressed satisfaction at the
progress made by Armenia with respect to developing the National
Program. This assessment was given in February at the Brussels
meeting of the RA government, the EU-funded Armenian-European Policy
and Legal Advice Center (AEPLAC) and high-ranking officials of the
European Commission. The European Commission pledged to provide
additional assistance for this work. According to the RA Government
Information and PR Department, a regular sitting of the EU-Armenia
cooperation council is scheduled in the autumn of 2005. The European
Commission intends to discuss at the session Armenia’s progress in
the development and implementation of the national program of the
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and to develop its actvities
aimed at assisting the program implementation.

Azerbaijan’s Aliev Seeks Polish Help for European Integration

Jamestown Foundation
05 April 2005    

Fariz Ismailzade
   
After visits to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, Azerbaijan’s President
Ilham Aliev reversed course and paid a visit to a European country —
Poland — on March 30. The trip refuted speculations that Azerbaijan
was gradually shifting its foreign policy course towards the East.
The visit was important from two perspectives: Poland’s involvement
in energy transport issues in Azerbaijan and the political-military
assistance that Poland can render to Azerbaijan in its efforts to
integrate with European institutions. “We should do our utmost to
widen our links in numerous fields,” Aliev said in Warsaw (Baku Sun,
April 1). Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski responded by saying
that Poland was ready to help Azerbaijan integrate into Euro-Atlantic
structures (Zerkalo, March 31).

As in his visits to other countries, economic issues dominated
President Aliev’s program. The inclusion of Minister of Economic
Development Farkhad Aliev (no relation to President Aliev) and the
head of the Customs Committee, Kamaleddin Heydarov, in the delegation
has become a regular feature of the President’s visits. This shows
the vital role that President Aliev gives to the issues of foreign
investment, bilateral trade, and increased economic cooperation.

During Aliev’s visit to Poland, the governments of the two countries
signed several economic agreements on topics such as mutual trade
and economic cooperation, double taxation, and mutual protection of
investments (Azeri Times, April 1). President Aliev also met with
Polish businessmen and encouraged them to invest in the Azerbaijani
economy by describing the recent legal and economic reforms in the
country. A group of Polish private sector representatives already
visited Baku several years ago (Azeri Times, April 1). Poland, which
has recently joined the European Union, can serve as a good model
for — as well as an advocate of — Azerbaijan, which also aspires
to become a member of the EU in the future.

Yet, potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector overshadowed all
other issues. Poland seemed very eager to cooperate with Azerbaijan
on the issue of oil and gas transit from the Caspian region. This
topic has been active since 1998, when Poland’s President Kwasniewski
visited Azerbaijan. On April 3 ANS television’s weekly analytical
program claimed that Poland’s interest in this issue comes from
its desire to lower its dependence on Russian energy supplies. One
way Poland could boost its role in the East-West energy transport
corridor is by extending the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline from Ukraine
to the Polish port of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. President Kwasniewski
has repeatedly mentioned this idea during bilateral talks.

The project is a worthwhile consideration, if for no other reason than
it would boost the trade between Poland and GUAM members (Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and lower their dependence on Russia
transit routes. However, in order to fully realize this idea, two
factors are required: increased amounts of oil coming from the Caspian
and reversing the flow of the Odessa-Brody pipeline (currently it
is running southward carrying Russian oil to the Black Sea.) Newly
elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has already expressed
his intention to reverse the course of that pipeline. As for the
first factor, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili recently visited
Kazakhstan where he actively urged President Nursultan Nazarbayev to
ship some Kazakh oil to Europe through Georgia and Ukraine. Nazarbayev
has reportedly promised to send a governmental delegation to Azerbaijan
to discuss the tariff issues (Echo, April 2). Should these issues be
resolved, Poland could become another important outlet for Caspian oil,
which would further strengthen the European integration of Azerbaijan.

Another issue emphasized in the bilateral talks was military
cooperation. Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar Abiev was added
to the delegation specifically for this topic. Unlike China, Poland
has even signed a special agreement with Azerbaijan in the sphere of
military-technical cooperation and assistance.

Poland, having recently become a member of NATO, can offer Azerbaijan
priceless lessons in terms of modernizing its army, raising it to
NATO standards, and conducting military exercises and training for
soldiers and officers. Poland could also become a strong advocate
of Azerbaijan inside the European political and military structures,
especially on the issue of the Karabakh conflict.

During the bilateral talks, President Kwasniewski reportedly
said that Poland supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and
believes that the Karabakh conflict should be resolved according to
international law. “Baku’s offer to give the broadest level of autonomy
to Nagorno-Karabakh is worth considering,” President Kwasniewski said
(ANS TV, April 3).

–Boundary_(ID_ICs8KorDS0y+43Yjf8347g)–

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

Beirut – Lebanon
Professor Shahe Kazarian at Haigazian University:
Humor Styles, Well-Being & Family Health

“Sense of humor a day keeps the shrink away”, was the opening
statement of lecture by Dr. Shahe Kazarian, Chair of the Department of
Social and Behavioral Sciences at the American University of Beirut,
Lebanon, and author of 2 books on diversity psychology and law enforcement.
During his lecture delivered at Haigazian University on March 31,
2005, Prof. Kazarian explained humor in 4 contexts: Sense of Humor, Humor
Styles, Link between Humor Styles and Personal Well-Being, and the link
with Family Health.
According to Kazarian, Humor is multifaceted; the cognitive ability is
marked in terms of remembering jokes, the aesthetic response is defined by
the degree of appreciating humor & jokes in general, the habitual pattern
is when humor becomes a character trait, and finally when humor is used as
a coping strategy.
In the same context, Dr. Kazarian introduced the notion of the
facilitative hypothesis, which considers the sense of humor as a
facilitative agent in daily life, thus enhancing physical, psychological
and social well-being.
On Humor Styles, Kazarian stressed on the way humor is used, meaning
it can be beneficial to a person’s well-being, as well as detrimental, the
other extreme.
In elaborating more on the Beneficial Humor Styles, Kazarian
highlighted the concept of self-enhancing humor, which means cheering
oneself, using humor to cope with stress, and adopting a humorous outlook
to life, and the concept of Affiliative Humor explained by joking around,
saying witty statements, laughing with an amusing others.
On the other hand, Detrimental Humor can be self-defeating and
hostile. This is achieved when humor is used to amuse others at one’s
expense, to make fun of others, and sometimes to hide other inner feelings.
In extreme cases, humor can be offensive and manipulative.
Dr. Kazarian concluded his lecture by relating humor to Family Health.
Research conducted in Canada, the AUB, Haigazian University and elsewhere
has shown that hostile humor is much strongly correlated with family health
than beneficial humor. Criticizing and picking on children could have
negative drawbacks on their developments, and in the long run affect their
personality.
This interactive and cheerful lecture organized by the Cultural Hour
at Haigazian University came after a short break to cheer the audience
after the past tragic events that hit Lebanon.

EastsideBoxing.com

Australian Boxing News

31.03.05 – By Anton Williams: Anthony Mundine is currently sparing world
light heavyweight contender Paul Briggs on the Gold Coast and has raised a
few eyebrows by requesting the services of Manny Siaca ahead of his world
title fight with Mikkel Kessler in Sydney on May 11th. Reports suggest that
Mundine is training harder than ever and the last training session with
Briggs was as brutal a sparring session as any in recent times. Briggs is
reported to have said that Mundine is looking fitter and stronger than ever
and is now “prepared to get his hands dirty” in order to prepare for what he
(Mundine) says is the biggest fight of his life. Stay tuned for further
developments.

In other boxing news Kostya Tszyu is training upwards of six hours a day at
the Institute of Sport in Canberra (Australia’s number 1 elite sports
training academy) in preparation for his June 4 World Title Fight with Ricky
Hatton in Manchester, England. The fight which is scheduled for 2am to
satisfy American TV commitments was sold out in a British Sporting Record
time of 2 hours. With 22000 Englishmen booing an Aussie it promises to be a
great fight.

My early prediction is that with Hatton being a fighter that gets hit a lot
and Tszyu being the hardest hitting junior welterweight I have seen, Kostya
should stop Hatton in no more than 5 rounds. Still on Kostya. With only one
year left in the fight game he is already looking to promote fights and has
taken up managing an incredibly gifted and powerful fighter by the name of
Anton Solopov who interestingly enough beat Miguel Cotto(World Champ) as an
amateur. For the record Kostya has stated he has 3 fights left in him. The
Hatton fight, one in Russia, (his homeland) and one here in Sydney so
whatever you do try not to miss his last three fights because it will be a
while until we see another tough, gifted and incredibly humble champion like
him.

Also it has been Thirty Years since the Flyweight Division has been unified
(to hold two or more Titles in the One Division). Vic Darchinyan recently
won the IBF Flyweight World Title and has a remarkable record of 22 Fights
for 22 Wins (17 KO’s).

One of the most devastating punchers ever seen in the lower weight classes
in many years (he benchpresses close to 250lb), Vic Darchinyan impressed
Jeff Fenech at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games whilst representing Armenia,
building up an impressive amateur record of 152 wins from 170 bouts. The
former world champion saw something special in the big punching southpaw and
he has been proven correct.

Darchinyan left a trail of destruction when winning the IBF flyweight world
title from long standing and previously undefeated Irene Pacheco. The
“Raging Bull” is now looking towards world domination in the flyweight
division. I’ll keep you updated on his progress over the coming months.

Other World Class Boxers that will feature in future news include Nedal
‘Skinny’ Hussein, Lovemore NDOU as well as the captain of Australia’s 2004
Olympic Boxing Team to Athens, Jamie PITTMAN. If you want me to cover a
fighter here in Australia just let me know and I’ll hunt him down for you.

Until next week this Eastside Boxing’s roving reporter in Sydney, Australia.

Anton Williams

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

March 31, 2005
___________________

DIOCESE RAISES MORE THAN $60,000 FOR TSUNAMI

On Wednesday, May 30, 2005, the Eastern Diocese presented a check to the
National Council of Church’s Church World Service (CWS) to fund tsunami
relief efforts in Asia.

More than $66,000 was raised by parishes and individual donations, and
channeled to the CWS through the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), which
has a history of providing relief to victims of extraordinary natural
disasters.

“As the world stepped forward to help our fellow Armenians after the
devastating earthquake, so too have Armenians shown time and time again
our Christian spirit of helping our fellow man,” said Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern). “I thank all those who gave to help those in need so far
away. It could have been easy to see the suffering on television and
done nothing to help, but so many were moved to give generous gifts of
support.”

Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and ecumenical officer is a
leader in the National Council of Churches (NCC) and was involved in
organizing the Diocesan-wide fund-raising efforts. On behalf of the
Diocese, he delivered the check to Rev. John McCullough, executive
director of CWS, the NCC’s international relief organization.

The funds raised by the Armenian community will be used by CWS for
long-term, on-going relief work in the areas devastated by the December
tsunami. CWS has been working in the area for several decades and has
staff on the ground in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India.
Assistance efforts include providing medical and psychological help,
installing water systems, and delivering food.

“Church World Service is an ecumenical organization, sponsored by the
Armenian Church and other denominations — Orthodox, Protestant, and
Anglican. So it is truly doing the work of God,” Bishop Aykazian said.
“Our community came together to offer our support, and then we came
together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to provide relief to
the victims of that terrible tragedy.”

— 3/31/05

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and
ecumenical officer, presents a check for $66,000 to Rev. John
McCullough, executive director of Church World Service, the
international aid organization of the National Council of Churches. The
money, raised by parishes and through individual donations, will be used
for long-term relief of victims of December’s Asian tsunami.