Author: Kevo Kalantarian

Mehr News Agency (MNA), Iran
 Sunday


Official emphasizes Iran-Armenia coop. to invest in Aras, Mogri free zones



TEHRAN, Oct. 13 (MNA) – Presiding Board Member of Parliament Plan and
Budget Commission Hadi Ghavami placed special emphasis on the
necessity of cooperation between Iran and Armenia to invest in Aras
and Mogri free zones.

By launching equipped refineries in Aras and Mogri free zones, huge
revenues will be earned in the country, he said, adding, "under such
circumstances, the country can overcome sanction conditions
successfully."

In the current situation, economic diplomacy especially with
neighboring countries is of paramount importance, so that economic
situation of the country will be promoted through identifying economic
capacities and potentials of neighboring countries, he maintained.

Establishing amicable relationship with Armenia should be taken into
consideration, so that identifying potentials between the two
countries will help promote bilateral trade and economic relationship
considerably, Ghavami reiterated.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to the trade exchanges between
Iran and Armenia and reiterated, "presently, Iranian gas is bartered
with Armenia's electricity and with the expansion of cooperation in
the field of supplying fuel, many problems facing ahead in sanctions
period can be settled."

Ghavami emphasized on the necessity of cooperation between Iran and
Armenia in Aras and Mogri free zones and added, "once we could set up
a refinery with the production capacity of 200,000 barrels in Aras and
Mogri free zones, the country will earn huge revenues in this
respect."

In other industries such as plane manufacturing, capacities and
potentials of regional countries should be used optimally through
strengthening economic diplomacy, he said, adding, "such similar
projects can be put into operation in other neighboring countries."

Presiding Board Member of Parliament Plan and Budget Commission Hadi
Ghavami added that strengthening economic diplomacy with the
neighboring countries will help diversifying and creating added value
in the country significantly.

CE Noticias Financieras English
October 1, 2018 Monday


Charles Aznavour, the unmistakable voice of nostalgia


Singer Charles Aznavour , who passed away at dawn on Monday at the age
of 94 , rose to world fame despite an atypical voice and physique that
did not prevent him from devoting himself with his nostalgic melodies
as the last giant of the 20th century French song .

They told him that he was too ugly, too short and that he could not
sing. But this 165-centimeter giant nicknamed "Aznovoice" by his
critics - in a word game in English for "has no voice", has no voice -
sold more than 180 million records in eight decades of a marathon race
that never abandonment.


The French Frank Sinatra of Armenian origin boasted of having recorded
in the heavy discs of 78 revolutions up to the CDs, going through the
LP of vinyl, which immortalized more than 800 songs composed by
himself, including some 70 in Spanish.

"If something of me or my work should last, my albums will be broad
enough," Aznavour wrote in his autobiographical book "From one door to
the other," published in 2011.

From "La Bohême" to "Que c'est triste Venise" ("Venice without you",
in Spanish), his recitals throughout the world continued to summon
thousands of unconditional fans who applauded his great melodic
successes over love or the passage of weather.

Like that of Charles Trenet (1913-2001), the popularity of Aznavour
transcended ages and social classes , although without actually
entering the literary firmament of singer-songwriters like George
Brassens, Leo Ferré or Jacques Brel.

But Aznavour was first and foremost the ambassador of the French song
in the world , and in that role he agreed to sing in any language:
Spanish, Italian, German, English, Russian ... He sang for popes,
kings or presidents.

In 1998, CNN and Time magazine crowned him "artist of the century".

When age began to set limits, Aznavour did not take notice. He used a
high stool on the stage and backed up his memory with an electronic
pointer.

Shortly before his death, he had been on tour in Japan and planned to
perform this month in Brussels.

UNDER THE WING OF EDITH PIAF Born on May 22, 1924 in Paris to a family
of Armenian immigrants who fled Turkish persecution , Aznavour resided
for many years in Geneva, where he found a tax shelter and became an
ambassador of Armenia, a country he also represented at the European
headquarters. from the ONU.

At the birth of the midwife, the legend could not pronounce the name
his parents wanted him to give - Shahnourh - and immediately converted
him to a more French Charles.

"Paris is the city of my childhood, Yerevan the one of my roots" ,
assured Aznavour, who always proudly claimed his Armenian roots that
flavored with a touch of melancholy to the most joyful of his songs.

His childhood was immersed in the bohemian of musicians and actors in
Paris. At age 9, he practiced alone in front of a mirror and decided
to change the paternal surname Aznavourian to the patronymicartistic
Aznavour.

The fortune was late and he smiled for the first time in 1946 when he
caught the attention of the singer Edith Piaf, who together with the
pianist Pierre Roche embarked the following year on a tour of the
United States .

In the 1950s he wrote songs for Gilbert Bécaud , but along with the
success came the first criticisms. "What were my disadvantages? My
voice, my stature, my gestures, my lack of culture and instruction " ,
admitted the singer.

But Aznavour persisted in his determination, stronger than that "veil
of fog" that covered the timbre of his voice. And that finally ended
up being his unmistakable stamp and one of the keys to success.

ON THE BIG SCREENWorld glory came in the 1960s , with some of its
greatest hits: "Les comédiens" , "Hier encore" , "Il faut savoir" ...
At that time it stormed the Carnegie Hall in New York, before a world
tour that catapulted him to fame with songs like "La Mamma" , which
other greats on stage such as Ray Charles , Liza Minnelli or Fred
Astaire.

Aznavour also appeared on the big screen , in "Disparen al pianista"
by François Truffaut, and then in "And then there were none" (1974),
inspired by the Agatha Christie novel "Diez negritos".

In the following decade, he delved into more novel and sensitive
topics for the time, such as that of homosexuality in "Comme ils
disent" (1972).

In 1998 he led humanitarian efforts to help the hundreds of thousands
of victims of the earthquake that devastated Armenia , and for years
he campaigned for the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the
Turks.

Mothers Of Dozens Of Armenian Soldiers Killed In Karabakh Back Peace
Campaign By PM's Wife


Karine Simonian

The Armenian Prime Minister's wife Anna Hakobian (R) meets with
mothers of soldiers killed in Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan, 15Sept2018


Mothers of about four dozen servicemen who were killed in action
during the years of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in particular,
during the April 2016 clashes, declared on Saturday about their
joining the peace appeal of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's wife Anna
Hakobian addressed to all warring sides in the world.

During a reception by Hakobian at the prime minister's office in
Yerevan, the mothers of killed Armenian soldiers urged women in
Azerbaijan to join them in stopping the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

"Let all mothers of the world rise up. We especially address our
appeal to mothers in Azerbaijan. Recently on the internet they also
addressed an appeal to stop the war. We don't want war, we don't want
to lose our sons," said Hamest Nersisian, mother of Captain Armenak
Urfanian who was killed during the four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in
April 2016.

"[We want] peace to be finally established at the borders# so that
after sending their sons to the army mothers don't have to go through
excruciating wait for them to return safe and sound. We want no more
mothers like ourselves in the new Armenia," said another woman who
lost her son in the conflict.

Yet another such woman added: "I am fighting for the rights of all
these women, the rights of the families who have lost their sons,
fathers, brothers. I am fighting for them not to lose their children
anymore."

Hakobian said in her speech that she will carry on her "Women for
Peace" campaign with more confidence particularly enjoying the support
of the mothers who lost their sons during the 2016 clashes in
Nagorno-Karabakh. She stressed that in Armenia peace appeals addressed
to Azerbaijanis usually elicit mixed reactions and after launching
this campaign she also came under criticism.

"What makes your message addressed to Azerbaijani mothers also very
important is that it is not accepted unambiguously by our
society. After my speech I also heard accusations that I shouldn't
compare [Armenian and Azerbaijani mothers] and so on. But I want to
ask you whether being a mother has ethnicity, nationality or
religion," said Hakobian.

The Armenian prime minister's wife urged Azerbaijani women to join
this peace campaign. "I hope that your voice and our voice will also
reach Azerbaijani mothers, and they will, too, speak up against war
and for peace. And if this happens, if our ranks grow, one day we will
also get our message across to the men who issue orders to fire and
start a war," said Hakobian.

The Armenian prime minister's wife Anna Hakobian called on the wives
of former and current senior officials and wealthy businessmen to
contribute to the activities of a foundation set up by Hamest
Nersisian and bearing the name of her son, Captain Armenak
Urfanian. "I think there will be women who will give it a thought and
arrive at the conclusion that the valuables they purchased while their
husbands were in office were not always earned so fairly. And they
will think that by donating at least some of them to Hamest
Nersisian's foundation they can find peace of mind," said Hakobian.

To a journalist's remark that while they were campaigning for peace,
Azerbaijani armed forces reportedly fired at an Armenian border
village last night, Hakobian said that they were campaigning for peace
as women and mothers and not on behalf of the state. She stressed that
parallel to their peace appeal Armenia was also holding military
exercises.

"Life will show who will prove victorious. Either we will win and will
make them lay down their arms and sit down at a negotiating table to
try to understand each other and solve this problem, or we will lose
and they will continue to shoot at each other at the borders. I want
to exclude the option of our defeat and want to express confidence
that one day we will prevail," the Armenian prime minister's wife
concluded.



Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 24 2018


Armenian President: Germany is Armenia's important partner

Yerevan August 24

Alexander Avanesov. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian met with
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is in Armenia on an official
visit, the press service of the Armenian President's Office informs.

President Armen Sarkissian greeting the delegation headed by
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed confidence that this historical
visit will open new horizons for the development of Armenian-German
relations.

This is the first official visit of Chancellor Angela Merkel to
Armenia, but in the past she has been in Armenia.

"I want to note with satisfaction that the Armenian-German relations
are based on deep trust and mutual understanding. Germany is a very
important partner for Armenia, but our cooperation gives opportunity
for its expansion in various fields. And of course, I want to express
my satisfaction for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Your
country and for the political support in our cooperation with the EU,
since the Armenian-EU relations are very important for us", President
Sarkissian said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel in turn expressed deep gratitude for a warm
reception. "Dear Mr. Sarkissian, I am glad to be a guest in your
country and I am glad for our meeting. Last year our countries marked
the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and
today we can say that our relations are positive. I agree with you
that we have non-used potential in our relations, which should be used
both in political-economic, and in scientific-research fields. We wish
to support Armenia in implementation of the declared reforms and we
closely follow the changes and developments that are to take place in
spring. We are ready to cooperate in this difficult but important
path", she said.

During the meeting the sides referred to the Armenian-EU cooperation,
as well as to the opportunities of deepening bilateral relations in
different fields, including culture, education and science.

To note, Germany's trade relations with Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan in the first half of 2018 developed dynamically. The volume
of trade with the three Transcaucasian republics grew by 17.1% to 1.2
billion euros, the Eastern Committee of the German economy reported.
The trade turnover with Armenia increased most - by 4% 1 or up to 171
million euro. "Political changes that occurred in Yerevan in the
spring of 2018 seem to contribute to the dynamic development of the
economy," the Eastern Committee believes.