Author: nina hovnanian

SEMIFINAL 1 RESULTS: WHAT HAPPEND?

oikotimes.com

May 11 2011

Posted by FOTIS (GREECE) on May 10, 2011 in BREAKING, EDITORIAL,
ESC 2011, VIDEO

Amazingly surprise tonight at the Esprit Arena with the results almost
totally out of the blue. Below we give a brief review of what happened
at the announcement of the Semifinal 1 results: First of all the top
Eurovision fan sites oikotimes.com and esctoday.com and the booking
offices managed to predict only 6/10. The surprises came when we
first listened the name of Serbia and then Lithuania.

Then Greece brought relaxation to the Greek team as it was quite
successful performance. Azerbaijan seems for me the winner of the
first semifinal it was by far the best song. Georgia was predicted
to the final by oikotimes.com only while everyone completely disagreed.

Switzerland was another surprise as the country is getting no votes
in the recent years. Hungary finally made it, she gave a true and
good performance and despite the bad thoughts we had in the rehearsals.

The gimmick songs like Norway and Armenia finally proven to be wrong
choices and not appealing to the European viewers although Swiss
“na na na” and Finnish “da da dam” made it.

Finland was an anticipated qualifier from all of us during the
Eurovision weeks. The guy was simply the 2011 Tom Dice and somehow
this is a good choice for Eurovision (it might have the full support
of the juries). The Russians at the press center were ready to have
a massive heart attack but the name of Russia was finally announced.

Iceland made it, we all owe this to Sjonni after all and all sites
predicted Iceland as well.

Big surprise for Armenia and Turkey not going to the final. There
will be huge discussions. My personal view is that Armenian diaspora
definitely didn’t work as Belgium and Netherlands were not in this
semifinal and Turkey was definitely paying the copycat of maNga. It
is now clear that Armenian votes in the final will head for Georgia
and the Turkish voters will support Azerbaijan.

QUALIFIERS TO THE FINAL SERBIA LITHUANIA GREECE (also predicted by
Europrediction) AZERBAIJAN (also predicted by Europrediction) GEORGIA
(also predicted by Europrediction) SWITZERLAND HUNGARY FINLAND (also
predicted by Europrediction) RUSSIA (also predicted by Europrediction)
ICELAND (also predicted by Europrediction)

After the press conference we saw the results of the draw for the
first semifinalists. Serbia 24th is definitely a very good draw for
Nina. Lithuania got 4th position and Greece the 9th spot on the final.

Not good news for Lithuania and Greece I might say. Azerbaijan got
an excellent spot in the final at number 19. Georgian entrants have
also an excellent draw for the final at spot 25.

Switzerland got number 13 which is definitely jinx and hope it
work well for Anna in the final. Hungary with a warm applause
while a 5th position in the final is not good news. Extremely huge
applause for Axel from Finland. Very bad draw for Finland at spot
number… 1! Russia got the 10th spot for the final (after Greece
and before France!).

Iceland got another excellent draw at spot 21! This is amazing,
it will do so well on Saturday.

ARMENIAN PREMIER SEES NO GROUNDS FOR SNAP ELECTIONS

A1+
11 May 2011

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan views a dialogue with the
opposition positively.

The Armenian premier expressed the opinion in the National Assembly
on May 11.

Sargsyan stressed that the opposition has a right to freely express
its opinion and even demand the resignation of the prime minister.

Speaking about the possibility of conducting extraordinary elections
in Armenia Tigran Sargsyan said it is unrealistic “as there are not
reasons for it”

DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA NOT AIMED AT PLEASING EUROPE-RULING MP

news.am
May 11 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. Democratic reforms, creation of an atmosphere of tolerance,
justice and cooperation are top priority issues for us, Secretary of
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Eduard Sharmazanov told Armenian
News-NEWS.am, commenting on Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights Thomas Hammarberg’s report on Armenia.

Sharmazanov considered it important that the Commissioner welcomed
the recent instruction from President Sargsyan with regard to the
investigation into the death cases and make the process more open
and public. “Regardless of European officials’ reports, this is a
very important issue for our country,” he noted.

The MP also stressed that democratic reforms are not an end in itself
and are not aimed at pleasing Europe. “We have chosen this path and we
should draw lessons from the tragic events,” he noted, adding that the
investigation conducted by law enforcement agencies should be open and
public. “However, unbiased difficulties should also be remembered,”
Sharmazanov said.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg released a report on
May 9 on his visit to Armenia carried out in January 2011. The report
focuses on human rights issues related to the March 2008 events,
freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association, and
the human rights situation in the army.

REPORT: 5.5% ECONOMIC GROWTH RECORDED IN KARABAKH IN 2010

/ARKA/
MAY 11, 2011
STEPANAKERT

STEPANAKERT, May 11. /ARKA/. On Wednesday, Spartak Tevosyan,
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s vice-premier and finance minister,
presenting performance of the 2010 government budget to Karabakhi
lawmakers, said that the republic recorded 5.5% economic growth
in 2010.

“Nagorgo Karbakh’s GDP grew from AMD 102.3 billion in 2009 to AMD
118.2 billion in 2010,” he said.

The minister said that actual spending and deficit amounted to about
AMD 64.47 billion and AMD 8.26 billion respectively, exceeding the
indicators projected in the government budget by AMD 4.59 billion.

The budget revenue amounted to AMD 23.8 billion.

Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament Speaker Ashot Gulyan, Vice-speaker Arthur
Tovmasyan, members of the parliamentary committees, heads of factions
and groups as well as ministers were present at the session presided
by Arpat Avanesyan, chairman of the Parliament’s financial, budgetary
and economic committee.

It was announced at the session that hearings on the budget performance
would be continued.

CREDIT BUREAU OF ARMENIA CAN RECEIVE THE DATA FROM COMMUNICATION OPERATORS ABOUT THE DEBTS OF THE SUBSCRIBERS

/ARKA/
MAY 11, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. On Wednesday, the Parliament of Armenia
made amendments in the draft law “On electronic communications”
and changes in the law “On the circulation of credit information
and activity of credit bureau” in the first reading. Its aim is to
liquidate legislative obstacles on the provision of information to
credit bureau by communication operators.

“The changes do not envisage obligations for communication companies
on the provision of data about the debts of the subscribers, do not
allow to present the data on the basis of the concluded agreements”,
said Deputy Chairman of CBA Armenia Nerses Yeritsyan.

The changes allow the individuals not having credit history but making
proper payments to have access to privileged crediting.

He said that the changes are targeted at the improvement of business
environment , facilitation of procedures of the provision of credits
without pawn, as well as increase of information provided to credit
bureau.

The law will cover only information received after entering the law
into force.

Three mobile communication operators are operating in the Armenian
market – “ArmenTel” (brand Beeline – 100% affiliate of Russian company
“VimpelCom”), VivaCell-MTS (affiliate of Russian operator “Mobile
Telesystems” (MTS) and Orange Armenia (affiliate of France Telecom).

SYSTEM OF A DOWN SHAKES OFF THE DUST AT REXALL PLACE

Edmonton Journal

May 11 2011
Canada

Heavy rockers play to 14,000 enthralled Edmontonians By Ben Gelinas,
edmontonjournal.com May 11, 2011 10:42 AM

EDMONTON – Frenetic heavy rock outfit System of a Down shook off the
dust Tuesday, playing their first show in nearly five years in front
of a packed bowl in Edmonton’s Rexall Place.

The incomparable Armenian-American four-piece, known for a
schizophrenic brand of metal that switches effortlessly between
squealing or thundering guitars and downright flowery melodies,
played to more than 14,000 faithful.

Their stage was sparse, adorned with rows of adjustable spotlights
and a cloth backdrop that projected the band’s logos and, during the
slower songs, some mountains.

At the band’s feet were their trademark Oriental rugs.

Guitarist and sometimes vocalist Daron Malakian sported a vintage
Edmonton Oilers jersey.

“We have come to pull the tapeworm out of you’re a**,” the band
announced early in the nearly two hour-long set.

SOAD unfortunately seemed in need of the same procedure.

The band last played together Aug. 13, 2006- and actually kicked off
their last summer tour that year with a show at Rexall in late June.

It’s no mistake that they chose Edmonton as the first stop on their
tour. The city loves the band and the room here was guaranteed to
bring positive energy.

This was as much a dress rehearsal as it was a kickoff for their
reunion tour, and at first, the cobwebs were obvious.

The band came out with a powerful sound, instantly comfortable with
their old catalogue of bangers and ballads.

But they had very little physical presence, seeming static and rigid –
at odds with their unflinchingly intense sound.

If you closed your eyes, you’d be impressed. Singer Serj Tankian’s
beautiful voice – yes, I know they’re metal – carried to every corner
of the arena, sailing over a back-bending wall of riffs.

But with your eyes open it was hard to believe such a voice in
particular was coming from the tall man in the collared white shirt
and jeans just standing there during the first few songs.

Gogol Bordello, the first band on, only made SOAD’s low-key opening
more obvious. The nine-piece Gypsy punk band, known as one of the best
live acts around, delivered rousing 40-minute set that won over a crowd
of largely metal fans with their first accordion and fiddle-heavy song.

It took System of a Down about half an hour to regain momentum.

Something changed.

Malakian broke up the music to say what an honour it is to play
Rexall. “I’ve been a huge Edmonton Oilers fan ever since I was a little
kid,” he said before heading the crowd in a chant of “Let’s Go Oilers.”

Tankian started to come out of his shell.

By the time they broke into the machine-gun chorus of Psycho,
Tankian was dancing and throwing his hand into the air, open-palmed,
delivering the lines: “Psycho! Groupie! Cocaine! Crazy,” like a crazed
preacher. He came alive. At times he went to his knees.

>>From then on, the system was up and running again at 100 per cent
and there was no slowing it down. The sound never faltered. The crowd
was nuts. The whole floor was moving like they were in the front row.

There were two mosh pits – one at the front, the other near the back.

Slower ballads like Lost in Hollywood had the lighters out and the
whole crowd swaying, arms up.

Lacking a new album, the band played through a deep catalogue of
old favourites, breaking out plenty of eccentric anthems like Forest
and Science, both underappreciated cuts off their breakout sophomore
disc Toxicity.

By the time they played Sugar, their final song, the set had stretched
nearly two hours and it was clear that System of a Down is back,
with few consequences from the lengthy hiatus.

Fans with tickets to their Thursday show in Vancouver should be
excited.

IRAN, IRAQ, SYRIA TO SIGN $6 BILLION PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2011 – 19:01 AMT

Iran will soon sign a contract with political allies Syria and Iraq
to export its natural gas to the Mediterranean region.

Iranian and Syrian oil ministers said in January their countries
planned to build a gas pipeline with the cooperation of Iraq to widen
export options for regional energy players but that the pipeline was
still at the idea stage.

“A trilateral agreement between the three countries on the transit of
gas has been reached … The first official contract is ready to be
signed soon,” Javad Oji, head of the National Iranian Gas Co. (NIGC),
was quoted as saying.

“We plan to transit gas from the South Pars field through Iraq, Syrian
and then Lebanon to the Mediterranean area and Europe,” Oji added.

Oji said up to $6 billion was needed to build the 56-inch pipeline and
that it would have the capacity to transfer 110 million cubic metres of
gas per day, Reuters reported, citing semi-official Mehr news agency.

GERMANY WILL GO ON WITH THE STEPS TO DEVELOP THE RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

11.05.2011

(Noyan Tapan – 11.05.2011) On May 11, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian received Ambassador and Special Envoy for Eastern
Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Germany, Patricia Flor, who has arrived in Armenia to attend
consultations between the Foreign Ministries.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the Armenian-German
relations, Armenia-EU cooperation and Association Agreement
negotiations.

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian presented the latest developments
in the negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Edward Nalbandian and Patricia Flor touched upon a number of
international and regional issues, MFA press office reported.

ARMAVIA TO ASSIST LAUNCH OF FLIGHT TO STEPANAKERT, BUT WON’T FLY THERE

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2011 – 15:12 AMT

Owner of Armavia air company Mikhail Baghdasarov said the company
contributes in every possible way to the launch of Yerevan-Stepanakert
flight, but is not going to operate flights itself.

Both the company and NKR authorities consider that Artsakh should
have its own air company to operate Stepanakert-Yerevan flights,
Baghdasarov said, answering a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter’s question
whether Armavia will establish its flight to the NKR capital.

He noted that the opening of Stepanakert airport is postponed, as
it is necessary to expand the runway that will make the airport more
respectable, allowing it to receive also big aircrafts.

MIKHAIL BAGHDASAROV: ISG INSURANCE COMPANY HAS BEEN CLOSED, BUT NOT SOLD

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2011 – 15:13 AMT

Owner of Armavia air company Mikhail Baghdasarov said ISG insurance
company has shut down, but not sold.

Armenian RASCO and ISG insurance companies agreed on merger, while
the Central Bank of Armenia gave its preliminary consent to the deal.

Under the agreement between the two companies, ISG’s insurance
portfolio will be transferred to RASCO company, while ISG will be
liquidated as a result of the deal.

The rating of Armavia air company has raised, and now it insures
directly in England, Baghdasarov told journalists on May 11 in
Yerevan. Thus, there was no longer need in ISG and it has been closed.

ISG was founded by Mika Limited company, while insurance of aviation
risks made major part of the company’s portfolio.