Author: Kalashian Nyrie

SCIENCE AND MATHS SKILLS WARNING

BBC NEWS
d/7774084.stm
2008/12/09 18:06:26 GMT

Urgent action is needed to address "unacceptable failings" in maths
and science in Scotland’s schools, the education secretary has warned.

It comes after a survey of more than 60 countries and regions found
Scottish pupils were below the global average.

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss)
compared primary and secondary school standards.

It found only 51% of P5 pupils and 68% of S2 pupils were taught
science by a teacher who felt "very well" prepared.

In maths, Scotland lagged behind countries such as Armenia and Slovenia
– and its overall highest position was 13th out of 49 countries.

‘Great challenge’

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop has demanded a detailed analysis of
the report is put together for a summit in the new year.

She said: "This survey highlights unacceptable failings in maths and
science in Scotland’s schools and confirms the urgent need to act.

"During the last administration the achievement of Scots pupils fell
back between 2003 and 2007 compared to other countries.

"There is no doubt this government has inherited a great challenge
and it is for us now to take action. This survey paints a picture of
Scotland standing still while other nations pushed by."

Compiled by researchers in the US, the Timss study is an important
benchmark for comparing standards in maths and science around the
world.

Nearly 4,000 P5 pupils and the same number of S2 pupils took part.

As in 2003, the best results have been achieved by Pacific rim
countries, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and South
Korea.

England’s pupils were placed in the top 10 for science and maths.

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said the findings
were "alarming".

She said: "This survey paints a very disappointing picture.

"I am particularly concerned about the lack of basic skills in
mathematics which, together with the issues about basic literacy
amongst too high a proportion of the pupil population, re-enforces
the need for far more focus to be put on the teaching of the 3Rs at
primary school."

armradio
09.12.2008 15:05

Armenian intellectuals call on the President of Turkey to recognize
the Armenian Genocide

Nearly 300 Armenian culture and art workers – academicians, doctors,
heads of public and media organizations – addressed an open letter to
the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, in which they call on him to
recognize the Armenian Genocide. The letter states, in part:

"Dear Mr. President,
The new situation in the South Caucasus established after the latest
events, Armenian President Serzh sargsyan’s daring step of inviting
you to Armenia and the meeting that took place once again confirm that
the establishment of good-neighborly relations between Armenia and
Turkey requires courageous and realistic solutions. First of all, we
face the long-standing issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Let’s honestly accept that this problem has been dividing the two
peoples ever since 1915. Mr. President, in this case we deal with a
dreadful crime against humanity. This is not only the demand of the
Armenian people, but also the fair expectation of the international
community.

The current diplomacy of Turkey and the propaganda cannot close the
dark pages of our common history. Your generation should accept the
undeniable truth and recognize the Armenian Genocide. We think this is
first of all necessary to the Turkish people. This way it will get rid
of the burden of history and will stand next to other states
open-faced. Only this way it is possible to close that page and
confidently step into future.

Your visit to Armenia and Turkey’s initiative targeted at establishing
stability in the Caucasus inspire certain hope that a realistic
political flow is gradually shaping in Turkey, but these efforts may
easily fail if the state does undertake decisive steps by ending its
current policy of Armenian Genocide denial," the letter states.

URL: ;id=14035

Reproduction on full or in part is prohibited without reference to
Public Radio of Armenia.
(c) 2003-2008 Public Radio of Armenia

INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY MARKED IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
09.12.2008 11:59

The International Anti-Corruption Day, celebrated worldwide on December
9, was marked in Armenia by the Anti-Corruption Forum, organized
by USAID Mobilizing Action Against Corruption (MAAC) Activity in
cooperation with the UNDP Anti-Corruption Project. Over 75 participants
from civil society organizations, state agencies, international
organizations, private sector and the media participated in the
Forum and discussed the findings of the Armenia National Household
Corruption Survey, UN Convention Against Corruption Gap Analysis,
draft of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Paper for 2008-2012,
and the introduction of Advocacy and Assistance Centers in Armenia.

The Forum was opened by Cynthia Pruett, USAID/Armenia Acting Mission
Director and Dirk Boberg, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative. Heghine
Manasyan, Country Director of the Caucasus Research Resource Center,
presented the findings of the MAAC 2008 National Household Corruption
Survey, after which UNDP Anti-Corruption Project expert Mane Beglaryan
presented the gaps that subsist between the UN Convention Against
Corruption and Armenia’s legal and institutional framework. Armen
Khudaverdyan, Coordinator of the Anti-Corruption Strategy Monitoring
Commission’s Expert Group, then delivered a presentation on key
approaches of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan
currently being developed.

Presentations also cover ed the new mechanism that allows citizens to
voice corruption-related complaints (Advocacy and Assistance Centers),
delivered by Sona Ayvazyan, Executive Director of the Transparency
International Anti-Corruption Center NGO, Karen Zadoyan, President
of the Armenian Young Lawyers Association NGO, and Tigran Stepanyan,
President of the Syunik Center for Civil Society Development NGO.

USAID MAAC Chief of Party Francois Vézina closed the forum, noting
that "the acknowledgement of the International Anti-Corruption Day
is another opportunity to remind people that there are actions they
can immediately undertake and opportunities they can make use of to
effectively combat corruption".

December 9th was designated as the International Anti-Corruption Day
by the UN General Assembly resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003 in order
to raise people’s awareness of corruption and of the role of the United
Nations Convention Against Corruption in combating and preventing it.

The Forum today was the third in a series of anti-corruption forums
organized by the USAID MAAC Activity since July 2008.

–Boundary_(ID_pD7QbEbQAgnMdkIsgY2sQw)–

CSTO SEES NO PROBLEM IN ARMENIA-NATO COOPERATION

ARKA
Dec 8, 2008

YEREVAN, December 8. /ARKA/. Collective Security Treaty Organization
sees no problem in Armenia-NATO cooperation, Toktasin Buzubaev,
deputy secretary general of CSTO, said at a press conference on Monday.

"Any CSTO member country can cooperate with any international regional
organizations and nobody is prohibited from doing it. It also applies
to Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan", Buzubaev said.

"The commitments assumed in our organization must not contradict
those assumed in cooperation with other organizations – that is the
key principle".

K. CYRUS MELIKIAN, AN INVENTOR WITH A COFFEE FOCUS
By Sally A. Downey

Philadelphia Inquirer
Dec 5 2008
PA

K. Cyrus Melikian, 88, an innovative entrepreneur who made coffee
drinking a convenient pastime, died of heart failure Nov. 27 at home
in Haverford.

Mr. Melikian conceived the concept for a coffee vending machine while
serving in the Army Air Force at Wright Field in Ohio during World
War II. He and an officer, Lloyd K. Rudd, were annoyed that the PX
was not serving coffee.

After their discharge in 1946, the men went to work in
Mr. Melikian’s parents’ garage in Mayfair to devise an automatic
coffee dispenser. They tested the machine at an Eagles football game,
selling coffee for 10 cents a cup. "We couldn’t make it fast enough,"
Mr. Melikian told an Inquirer reporter.

In the late 1950s, to improve on the instant coffee that Rudd Melikian
Inc. used, Mr. Melikian developed a frozen liquid coffee concentrate.

In 1967, he and Rudd sold their company. Mr. Melikian and his sons then
established Automatic Brewers & Coffee Devices. At ABCD, Mr. Melikian
developed pods for single or double orders of espresso, coffee-pod
packaging machines and brewers, and coffee-bean grinders integrated
into brewers. His other inventions included a commercial microwave
oven and an ice dispenser for soda cups in vending machines. He was
responsible for numerous patents, his son Robert said.

Mr. Melikian’s parents escaped the 1919 Armenian massacre and
immigrated to Philadelphia shortly before he was born. After graduating
from Northeast High School, he attended the University of Pennsylvania
before serving in the military. Last year, he was interviewed for a
PBS special on World War II veterans.

An award-winning marksman, Mr. Melikian helped found the trapshooting
program at Aronimink Golf Club. He was a member of several gourmet
societies, and was the founder and chairman of the Philadelphia
chapter of the International Bacchus Society. In 1961, he and Rudd
coauthored The Wonder of Food. In the 1970s, Mr. Melikian wrote a
syndicated newspaper feature about the history of famous dishes,
and in the 1990s he established and taught at a chef’s training school.

He consulted for the Economic Community of West African States and
for the Bank of Liberia, and was a partner in a wine importing and
distributing company.

In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife of 63 years, Roxie
Bozoian Melikian; daughters Karen Harrison and Michele Lockwood;
and six grandchildren. A son, K. Cyrus Jr., died in 1979.

Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Chadwick & McKinney Funeral
Home, 30 E. Athens Ave., Ardmore, and after 10 a.m. tomorrow, followed
by a funeral at 11 at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic
Church, 8701 Ridge Ave. Burial will be in George Washington Memorial
Park, Plymouth Meeting.

Memorial donations may be made to the Armenian Students Association
to benefit the K. Cyrus Melikian Memorial Scholarship, 333 Atlantic
Ave., Warwick, R.I. 02888.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA SERZH SARGSYAN LEAVING FOR MOSCOW

armradio.am
08.12.2008 18:14

The President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, will leave
for Moscow today to participate in the funeral of the Patriarch Alexi
II of Moscow and All Russia, President’s Press Office reported.

MILLI MEDJLIS DEPUTY: "IT IS NECESSARY TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS ON THE PRESIDENTIAL TERM IN AZERBAIJAN"

Today.Az
s/politics/49463.html
Dec 6 2008
Azerbaijan

"A new era -the era of Ilham Aliyev has started in the country".

Through the past five years, the President of Azerbaijan managed to
inform the whole world about its occupied lands, said Milli Medjlis
deputy Fattah Heydarov in his interview to the official website of
the Yeni Azerbaijan party.

He said the president of Azerbaijan chose a political line, under
which he wants to restore the territorial integrity of the country
peacefully.

"Ilham Aliyev has raised the issue of the Karabakh problem before
all leaders. I study the historical events in details, therefore,
I know that historical moments appeared at the time, when the powers
were strong. If it changed rapidly, it led to disaster.

Democracy is a wonderful concept. Yet, it does not mean that it can be
used artificially, creating chaos and disorder in the country. Facts
prove that such cases damage the state construction.

It should be noted that the powers, who are trusted by people, promote
the state development. I think for preservation of independence and the
political and economic consolidation the government must be long-term
and people want it.

Currently, charity works are held in the country, new establishments
are created and area for development of democratic processes is
established, which, in turn, strengthens the state. In order to
continue the execution of the events, which are currently developed,
long-term government is needed. Only Ilham Aliyev can be a guarantor
of Azerbaijani stability and independence.

Today, there are restrictions in the presidential term. I think it is
necessary to introduce changes to the Constitution and remove these
restrictions once and forever", Heydarov said in his interview.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 3 2008

Final Resolution to Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Hardly be Found in
Helsinki – OSCE Chairman-in-Office
04.12.08 02:51

Finland, Helsinki, 4 December/ corr TrendNews E.Gusatinskaya / `Good
job was done and progress was achieved this year. I believe the
[Armenian `Azerbaijani] Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be settled
soon. However, it will hardly possible to find final solution to the
dispute tomorrow [4 December] in Helsinki,’ OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Alexander Stubb said at a news conference on 3 December.

The 16th meeting of the OSCE Council of foreign ministers begins in
Finland on 4 December incorporating 50 foreign ministers, 1,200
delegates and over 2500 journalists.

Stubb appreciated work of the Minsk Group calling it `most appropriate
format for settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh problem’.

According to Stubb, one of main themes of the summit to open in
Helsinki will be lingering conflicts in former Soviet Union, first –
situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as Nagorno-Karabakh
and Transdniestria. `Resolution of lingering conflicts in South
Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniestria should not be outsourced,
although OSCE was not able to prevent war in Georgia this summer,’
OSCE chairman-in-office said. `Now chances to reach consensus is
better than they were lately,’ he said.

On 3 December Helsinki hosted first meetings, including meeting
between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia – Elman
Mamedyarov and Edward Nalbandyan, as well as Mamedyarov’s meeting with
co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group – Yuri Merzliakov, Russia, Matthew
Bryza, the United States, Bernard Fassier, France, and personal
representative of OSCE chairman-in-office , Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 3 2008

Alexander Stubb: `I hope for a regional declaration on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in Helsinki summit’`

[ 03 Dec 2008 20:09 ]

Baku. Tamara Grigorieva ` APA. `In early period of my presidency in
the OSCE I thought that it will be an ordinary presidency like an
ordinary diplomatic job.

But now I think that our presidency was very important’, said Finnish
Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman-In-Office Alexander Stubb at the
press conference dedicated to the results of Finland’s presidency in
the OSCE, APA correspondent reports from Helsinki. Stubb said foreign
ministers of 50 countries would join the OSCE Foreign Ministers
Council meeting in Helsinki on Thursday. `For the first time such
number of foreign ministers join the OSCE summit. 67 delegation were
accredited at the event and 1200 delegates expected to attend the
summit. There are two main issues on the summit’s agenda. First we
will hold discussion over the situation in the South Caucasus,
particularly in Georgia. We saw in early period of our presidency that
Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts are not frozen and
Transdniestrian and Nagorno Karabakh conflicts are also developing. I
think it is good idea to discuss this issue within the OSCE. I believe
that the OSCE will focus on its priorities ` economy, security and
democracy for a long time’.

Alexander Stubb said the OSCE foreign ministers would adopt the
political declaration. `For the first over the past 60 years The OSCE
Foreign Ministers Council will adopt the political declaration. On the
other hand we will adopt two regional declarations on the
Transdniestrian and Nagorno karabakh conflicts. 10-15 documents more
expected to be adopted at the summit’.

The OSCE Chairman told APA correspondent that Azerbaijan and Armenia
have made progress in resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. `The
OSCE hopes for a regional declaration on the issue at the Helsinki
summit. Things are looking quite good on Nagorno-Karabakh. I think
that we are moving away from a frozen conflict towards a permanent
solution, but of course we are not there yet, and it is very important
that the Minsk Group works on this’, said Stubb.

Responding the question about situation in Georgia Alexander Stubb
said results of discussions over this issue would be described in the
political declaration. `We had four targets during the conflict, first
to achieve ceasefire and we reached this goal. The second was sending
of military observers to Georgia, third withdrawal of troops from
Georgia and last target was start of long-term negotiations. This
dialogue is continued within the framework of Geneva Group and I hope
that the talks will be finished successfully’.

ANCA

Azat Artsakh Daily
03 Dec 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

President-elect Barack Obama’s choice of Senator Hillary Clinton
(D-NY) to serve as his Secretary of State was welcomed by the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA), Elizabeth Chouljian, ANCA
Communications Director, told PanARMENIAN.Net. "We extend our thanks
to President-elect Obama for this choice and our congratulations to
Senator Clinton on her appointment to our nation’s top diplomatic
post," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "We are
certainly pleased to see that, for the first time in recent memory,
an individual with a strong record in support of Armenian Genocide
recognition will serve as America’s Secretary of State." During
her tenure in the U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton has both called upon
President Bush to honor his campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian
Genocide, and also cosponsored every Armenian Genocide Resolution
since coming into office in 2001. "I believe the horrible events
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians constitute a
clear case of genocide," Mrs. Clinton said on January 24, 2008.