Author: Ekmekjian Janet

AGREEMENT SIGNED ON RUSSIA’S GRANTING $500 MILLION LOAN TO ARMENIA

APA
Feb 9 2009
Azerbaijan

Yerevan – APA. Initial agreement was signed on Russia’s granting
$500 million loan to Armenia, Armenia’s Ministry of Finance said,
APA reports.

The loan covers 15 years and will be concessional in the first 4
years. The agreement does not lay any others obligations on Armenia.

Armenia also plans to receive approximately $500 million loan from the
World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development.

The Toronto Sun
February 7, 2009 Saturday
FINAL EDITION

In This Corner;
Karo "The Heat" Parisyan, Mixed Martial Arts

Parisyan’s family moved to the U.S. from Armenia when he was six. As a
young boy, he would often get into fights with his sisters and his
father figured getting his boy into judo could have helped him work
out his aggression. He won six junior national belts. Less than a
month after his 21st birthday, he made his UFC debut, beating Dave
Strasser by a first-round submission. Parisyan was one of the first
judo players to bring the discipline into MMA. He had split-decision
win over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94.

WINS LOSSES DRAWS TKOs

BISHKEK DECIDES TO CLOSE MANAS U.S. AIR BASE

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.02.2009 15:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kyrgyzstan’s government has submitted a decree
to parliament for the closure of a key U.S. air base in the Central
Asian state, Kyrgyz officials say.

The move was prompted by popular disapproval of the base, government
spokesman Aibek Sultangaziyev said.

U.S. officials say they have received no notification of the closure,
and are talking to the Kyrgyz government.

The air base supports U.S. and Nato operations in Afghanistan and is
the only U.S. base in Central Asia. Its closure is reported to be a
major blow for those operations.

The announcement comes at a critical moment, just as the new
administration of U.S. President Barack Obama plans a sharp increase
in the number of American troops in Afghanistan.

"A draft decree on terminating the agreement on the U.S. airbase
has been sent to parliament," said Aibek Sultangaziyev. "It is up to
parliament now to decide when to hold discussions on this."

President Bakiyev made his announcement on Tuesday in Moscow, where
he was promised more than $2bn (£1.4bn) in Russian aid.

He said the Manas base – set up in 2001 to assist the U.S. military
operation against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan – was only
meant to be open for two years at the most, BBC reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the decision as
regrettable but said that it won’t affect the U.S. military effort
in nearby Afghanistan.
–Boundary_(ID_zUk0hC+lK/O39tVc+6x8WQ )–

LEVON ARONIAN TO TAKE PART IN LINARES INTERNATIONAL TRADITIONAL TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan

Feb 5, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The 26th International Traditional
Chess Tournament will be held between February 18 to March 8
in the city of Linares, Spain. It is considered an unofficial
championship. Eight strongest grand masters will compete in two
rounds. Levon Aronian (Armenia) is also among them. He takes part in
that tournament for the 4th time.

In the past two years tournament’s second round was held in the city
of Morelia, Mexico. This time it will be completely held in Spain.

RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN RECEIVED DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FRANCE TELECOM (ORANGE ARMENIA) BRUNO DUTOIS

Tuesd ay, 3 February 2009

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received Director General of France
Telecom (Orange Armenia) Bruno Dutois. The meeting was attended by
French Ambassador to Armenia Serge Smessov, director-stakeholder of
"Grand Thornton Amio" Arman Pinarbasi.

Welcoming France Telecom’s entry into Armenia, the Prime Minister
said that the coming of a third telecom operator was long awaited
in Armenia.

Bruno Dutois thanked the Prime Minister and the government of
Armenia for having held a tender conforming to all international
standards, as well as for creating business-friendly conditions
in Armenia. Presenting the activities of France Telecom, which is
a leading telecom operator worldwide, Mr. Dutois noted that Orange
Armenia is still under formation and will have completed preparations
by the this end-of-year. He advised that the Company is going to
invest additional 70 million US dollars during 2009 in an effort to
extend the scope of its activities beyond the capital city covering
as much of population as possible.

Tigran Sargsyan emphasized that France Telecom’s arrival is an asset
to Armenia in many respects. Firstly, this will add to the competition
on the local telecom market to the benefit of Armenian consumers,
besides this will help create investment oppo rtunities and several
hundreds of new jobs. In the words of the head of government, this is
an important factor against the background of the global financial and
economic downturn. Tigran Sargsyan said to be convinced that Orange
Armenia will bring in a fresh business culture to Armenia. According
to the Prime Minister, as a surplus, the Company’s activity will
boost the Armenian-French friendly relations.

At the end of the meeting, Tigran Sargsyan wished every success
to France Telecom (Orange Armenia) throughout its activities in
our country.

DELTA PARTNERS INVESTS 6 MILLION DOLLARS IN ADC’S CAPITAL

Noyan Tapan

Feb 3, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Delta Partners, an integrated
management consulting and investment company engaged in the
communication, media and technology sectors, has joined the activities
of Armenian Datacom Company (ADC) by investing 6 million USD. The
Director General of ADC Harald Grytten stated at the February 3 press
conference that it will contribute to the development and expansion
of the package of services offered by the company and the geographic
cover of service provision.

In his words, the investment and experience of Delta Partners will
allow ADC to strengthen its positions in the market of apartment
subscribers by offering a package of integrated services. H. Grytten
informed those present that the network will be expanded both in
Yerevan and cities located in the north of the country.

ADC will continue expanding and operating its ultramodern, IP/MPLS
techology-based fiber optic network and virtual capacities in
Armenia. It was mentioned that Delta Partners has offices in Dubai
and Johannesburg. The company provides business services in three
directions: private capital investment, advisory services, corporate
financing.

In the opinion of H. Grytten, the very fact that the investment
program was implemented in conditions of the global financial crisis
shows that the new investor views with trust the capacities of ADC,
its position in the market and its business quality. He added that
the company also managed to assess correctly Armenia’s capacities as
a country of investment.

ARMENIA IS PRINCIPALLY AGREE TO ENTER IN RUBLE ZONE IN EXCHANGE FOR $1 BN STABILIZATION LOAN

Azerbaijan Business Center
Feb 4 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Armenia that has been in confrontation with
Azerbaijan for more than 20 years is principally agree to decline
from one of attributes of its nationhood – national currency.

The Armenian media report that at the end of January Armenia applied
to Russia for a stabilization loan for easing consequences of global
crisis. In exchange of up to $1 billion loan Russia proposed to agree
to enter ruble zone in the future.

Armenian sources indicate that a possibility of entering in ruble
zone by Armenia as payment for stabilization loan is actually under
consideration.

"In case Russia insists on that the matter will be covered at the
National Assembly (parliament) of Armenia," claimed Vardan Ayvazyan,
the head of the Permanent Commission for Economic Affairs.

Simultaneously he considers that Russia and Armenia are strategic
partners and allocation of finances to Armenia promotes to increase
of Russia’s political influence in the republic.

"It is still difficult to call amount of the expected loan, but Russia
will most likely to agree to disburse it. In any case the decision
whether to enter in ruble zone or not will be made by the Armenian
people," Ayvazyan said.

In case of favorable outcome Armenia is going to become the second
country of the world from which Russia received consent to enter
in ruble area after Belarus with which Moscow is building (however,
without apparent success) a federated state.

At the same time the loan negotiations with Armenia can be frustrated
as earlier Russia failed to obtain successful result in talks with
Iceland.

According to finance minister Tigran Davtyan of Armenia, this country
is negotiating both in multilateral and bilateral format with its main
trade-economic and financial partners, including World Bank Group,
and other international institutions, about extension of loans for
support of Armenian economy in period of global financial crisis.

TURKISH PM SAYS DAVOS MEETINGS WERE FRUITFUL

Asia Pulse
February 2, 2009 Monday 12:01 PM EST

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had very fruitful
talks during the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos.

On his return to Istanbul from Davos, Erdogan said the meetings
discussed the global finance crisis and ways to revive the global
economy.

"I had chance to explain Turkey’s vision and priorities in these
meetings," Erdogan said.

"We also told our views on Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as
the Gaza issue and future of the Middle East."

Erdogan held talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Azerbaijan President Ilham
Aliyev, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Dutch Prime Minister
Jan Peter Balkenende, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez, former
British prime minister and Special Envoy of the Quartet for the
Middle East Tony Blair, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, Polish
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Armenian President Serzh Sargsian and
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian.

Erdogan said he met with John Lipsky, first deputy managing director
of the International Monetary Fund.

Erdogan said he called on international investors to invest in Turkey
at his talks with business circles.

"They see Turkey as a safe harbor, which is really good for us. I
heard from many of them that they were planning to invest in Turkey
this year," Erdogan stated.

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

Fenruary 2, 2009
Contact: Ani Garabedian

LA Kings and ANC-WR Team Up to Host First Ever Armenian Heritage Night

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings are offering a special Armenian
Heritage ticket package to their fans for the Kings – Atlanta
Thrashers game at STAPLES Center on February 16.

Fans who purchase the Armenian Heritage Package will receive a
discounted ticket to the game, along with a pass to a private
post-game party at Club Nokia at LA Live, a special Kings/Armenian
mini flag and one premium Armenian beer or soda. The post-game party
will feature a special appearance by Armenian DJ Vick One from Power
106 and a performance by popular Armenian hip-hop artist R-Mean.
Ticket packages start at $27 and special VIP ticket packages are also
available.

Armenian Night is one of several special heritage nights hosted by the
Kings this season. Atlanta defenseman Zach Bogosian, the third
overall selection in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, is the NHL’s first
Armenian player.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the
Armenian National Committee Western Region.

For more info call 213-742-7216 or visit

Le Monde, France
31 janvier 2009 samedi

Medz Yeghren Le Grand Mal de Paolo Cossi

RUBRIQUE: LE MONDE DES LIVRES; Pg. 2

Turquie, été 1915. Un jeune Arménien, Arum, échappe par miracle aux
balles de l’armée ottomane et se lie avec un soldat turc,
Murat. Ensemble, ils rejoignent les résistants du Moussa Dagh. Paolo
Cossi, auteur italien de 28 ans, plonge le lecteur au coeur du
génocide arménien dans un roman graphique parfois insoutenable, qui
réussit le tour de force d’être à la fois pédagogique et bouleversant.

J. G.

Dargaud, 144 p., 9,50 ¤.