Azeri premier blames minister for debt to Turkish company
ANS TV, Baku
24 Aug 04
Refugees from Armenia will not pay for education in state-run
universities, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada has said.
He also commented on Azerbaijan’s debt to Turkey’s Saka Korkmaz
company. Rasizada said that Azerbaijani Agriculture Minister Irsad
Aliyev had abused power endorsing the debt of about 9m dollars .
L’Equipe
19 août 2004
Asloum, frère de larmes;
Après avoir passé la journée d’hier au village olympique, le champion
de Sydney a assisté à la défaite de son frère.
LES YEUX ROUGIS, Brahim Asloum s’approche de son frère et les deux
hommes s’embrassent. Dans leur regard, il y a une immense tendresse.
Et un énorme respect. Respect de Redouane pour celui qui a été
champion olympique en 2000. Respect de Brahim pour son petit frère
qui s’est battu comme un homme. Qui s’est fait un prénom. Qui a
montré qu’il n’était pas « que » le frère du champion.
Quelques minutes plus tôt, Redouane a été battu aux points 20-27 par
l’Arménien Aleksan Nalbandyan, en seizième de finale des mi-mouche,
catégorie où son aîné a obtenu l’or à Sydney. Brahim a suivi le
combat dans la tribune des télévisions, au côté des commentateurs de
Canal +. Au dernier coup de gong, il est descendu dans la zone mixte,
là où les journalistes peuvent interviewer les boxeurs avant leur
retour au vestiaire. Redouane répondait déjà aux radio-reporters
quand Brahim le rejoignit.
« C’est dur d’être proche de quelqu’un, d’être un peu impuissant,
avoue le champion olympique 2000. J’avais envie de le protéger. Je
préfère être dans la peau du boxeur et prendre une raclée sur le ring
que de ne rien pouvoir faire pour mon petit frère. Ce soir, j’ai
compris beaucoup de choses. Je vais m’entraîner encore trois fois
plus dur pour que ma famille, quand elle me regarde boxer, n’ait pas
peur pour moi, comme moi j’ai eu peur pour Redouane. »
La journée d’hier restera certainement gravée dans la mémoire de
Brahim. Le matin, à 8 h 30, il était arrivé au village olympique.
Grce à une permission exceptionnelle, il allait passer la journée
avec son cadet et l’équipe de France de boxe amateurs.
« Plein de souvenirs me sont revenus, remarque Brahim. Ç’a été un
moment de nostalgie. Magique, même si j’ai trouvé le village un peu
bétonné, avec moins de verdure que celui de Sydney. »
Au hasard des allées, il a croisé la gymnaste Isabelle Severino,
l’athlète Leslie Djhone, le handballeur Olivier Girault, le pistard
Arnaud Tournant. « Ils m’ont demandé ce que je faisais là , m’ont dit
que ça leur faisait plaisir de me revoir. »
« J’étais pareil à Sydney »
En fin de journée, il a empoigné le sac de Redouane et emprunté la
navette pour le Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. « Quand je boxe, on
porte mon sac. Alors, quand c’est Redouane qui monte sur le ring, je
fais moi aussi tout pour éviter qu’il se fatigue. Quand on s’est
quittés, on s’est embrassés. J’ai rarement vu un mec aussi serein.
J’étais pareil à Sydney. Dans cet état d’esprit, rien ne peut
t’arriver. Tu as travaillé pour être le meilleur. »
Les deux frères rêvaient de voir le nom d’Asloum s’inscrire de
nouveau quatre ans plus tard au palmarès olympique, mais Redouane (23
ans) retrouvait Nalbandyan (33 ans) qui l’avait déjà battu deux fois.
Très expérimenté, l’Arménien a surtout une boxe fuyante qui perturbe
Redouane. Pourtant, le cadet des Asloum joua crnement sa chance.
Imposant un terrible pressing, il compta encore trois points d’avance
au troisième round (16-13). Mais il était obligé de s’exposer et il
fut ainsi compté deux fois debout dans le deuxième round. Dans le
quatrième, il accusa la fatigue. Sur la chaîne cryptée, Delcourt et
Bouttier se turent dans le quatrième round pour le laisser seul
parler.
« Je suis à la fois fier et triste, soupire Brahim (25 ans). Fier de
son combat et triste qu’il n’aille pas plus loin, car il avait un
combat moins dur, contre l’Irakien Najah, au tour suivant. Déjà qu’il
n’a pas une situation facile en faisant le même sport que moi, où on
lui rappelle toujours qu’il est mon frère… »
Brahim espérait ne plus se retrouver à commenter des combats de son
frère, mais il pourrait connaître la même situation dans quatre ans,
à Pékin. À moins que Redouane, qui n’a pas encore pris de décision,
passe lui aussi professionnel.
ITAR-TASS, Russia
Aug 20 2004
Putin urges South Ossetian conflict parties to abide by accords
SOCHI, August 20 (Itar-Tass) — President Vladimir Putin has called
on all parties to the South Ossetian conflict to abide by agreements.
`There is only one way out: to start negotiations, reach agreements
and have political will to implement them,’ he said after
negotiations with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.
`There is will be no results’ if the [Joint Control] Commission would
make decisions in the morning and representatives of a member country
of the Commission would disavow the decisions in the evening, Putin
said. `I hope that all parties will show political maturity and
responsibility in the interests of their peoples,’ Putin said.
ABOUT 400 GEORGIAN CHILDREN MOVED FROM GEORGIAN_OSSETIC CONFLICT ZONE
TO SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHK
AKHALKALAKI, August 20 (Noyan Tapan). Due to the tenseness of the
Georgian-Ossetic conflict and the resumtion of hostilities, Georgian
children were moved from the conflict zone and lodged in safer
locations. According to the A-Info Agency, about 400 children were
moved from the gorges of Great and Small Liakhvi to Samtskhe
-Javakhk. They were lodged in the rest houses of Borzhomi.
At the commission of Nikolos Nikolozashvili, Georgian President’s
Plenipotentiary in Samtskhve-Javakhk, with the purpose of taking care
of the children, the leaders of the regions, including the regions
populated by the Armenians, organized fund-raising. The leaders of the
regions pledged to obtain finance for the children from the
philanthropists or to allocate financing from the reserve funds of the
local budgets.
PRICES FOR APARTMENTS RISE BY ABOUT 70% IN STEPANAKERT
STEPANAKERT, August 20 (Noyan Tapan). At present 1-room and 2-room
apartments are of much demand on the Stepanakert immovable property
market. Their prices rose by about 70% compared with the previous
year. Average price for 1-room apartment in Stepanakert makes $5.5-6.5
thousand. Growth in prices for private houses also has been registered.
According to the data of the NKR State Committee of Immovable Property
Land Survey, the price for the territory of 1 sq.m. in Stepanakert
increased by 16% compared with the previous year and made about 130
dollars. And the average price for a private house with every
convenience and a land plot makes $15-20 thousand. According to the
“Aspar” agency of immovable property bargains, not only local
residents, but also buyers from Armenia and abroad apply to them for
buying an apartment in Stepanakert.
PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
ASSUMPTION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD; THE BLESSING OF THE GRAPES
Antelias, Lebanon – On August 15 all the Armenian Churches in the world
celebrate the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God (Verapokhoum). Although
in modern Armenian Verapokhoum means change again, in Classical Armenian it
means transport up. For fifteen years after the Crucifixion Mary remained in
Jerusalem under the watchful eyes of the apostles, especially John to whom
she had been entrusted. When she died all of the apostles were present at
her burial, except Bartholomew. When he returned to Jerusalem he went to her
grave to pay his respects. The apostles gathered in the cemetery, but when
the gravestone was lifted, they were surprised to find that her body was not
there, instead there was an exceeding sweet fragrance. It was believed that
Mary was physically taken into heaven. Based on this the church fathers
established the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Blessing of the Grapes, although not connected with the Assumption, is
generally commemorated on the same day. First the special hymn of the day is
sung, then passages from the Gospel are read, after which the prayer
pertaining to the blessing of grapes, which was composed by Catholicos
Nerses is read. In this prayer it is mentioned that on the third day of
Creation, God created the fruit-yielding trees and vegetation on earth. The
prayer seeks the blessing of God to be bestowed on those who give the first
yield of their vineyards as gifts to the church, and asks the Lord to
protect the crops and gardens from harm. After the prayers, the grapes are
blessed and distributed to the congregation.
On Saturday 14 August 2004, The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia celebrated
the feast of the Holy Virgin Mary’s Assumption. The Catholicosate also
celebrated the pilgrimage day of St. Mary’s Armenian Monastery in Bikfaya,
Lebanon, site of the summer residence of the Catholicos, and also site of
the Seminary. A celebration dating from 1952, when the Chapel was
consecrated in the name of St. Mary.
Since the first year of his Pontificate (1995), His Holiness Aram I has
emphasized the importance of the feast as a special day of spiritual
renewal, and especially the pilgrimage day as the day of the youth. This
year, along with thousands of faithful, youths from many of the Armenian
youth organizations walked from Antelias to Bikfaya as pilgrims of St.
Mary’s Monastery, where they joined His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of
Cilicia, who presided over the ceremony.
Thousands of people attended the Divine Liturgy which was celebrated in the
courtyard of the monastery. His Holiness delivered his pontifical message to
the faithful. This year His Holiness focused his message on the importance
of family. “Family is the basis of society. I cannot imagine, spiritually
and morally healthy society, without the family. I cannot imagine an
organized and credible society without the family. Indeed the family remains
an important point of reference, in any society. That is why we as
Catholicos declared this year as the Year of Family. We consider the family,
in a sense, the extension of the church, of the school, of our homeland. It
is in and through the family that the foundation of Christian formation and
Armenian education is laid down. Therefore a crucial role is given to the
Armenian family. It is called to preserve and promote our Armenian Christian
values and tradition in the context of a world which constantly question the
credibility and relevance of spiritual and moral values. We must, therefore,
preserve the integrity; the credibility of the Armenian Family” said His
Holiness.
Following the Divine Liturgy, the ceremony of blessing of grapes and Madagh
took place headed by His Holiness Aram I.
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.
RUSSIAN COMPANY MODERNIZING ALUMINIUM PLANT IN ARMENIA
Mediamax news agency
16 Aug 04
YEREVAN
“Armenal will become the best plant in Europe for the rolling and
production of aluminium foil.”
This is what the deputy general director of the Russian company Rusal,
Aleksandr Livshits, said today in Yerevan at a briefing on his meeting
with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Mediamax reports. Rusal owns
the Armenal enterprise, set up on the basis of Yerevan’s Kanaker
aluminium plant.
Aleksandr Livshits said that 70m dollars would be invested in
modernizing Armenal. Of this, 50m is provided by credits from a group
of German banks and 20m is invested directly by Rusal.
In 2002, Armenal produced 5,500 t of aluminium foil and in 2003 9,000
t. Livshits said that after modernization the annual volume of foil
production would reach 25,000 t.
Rusal’s deputy general director said that Armenal’s modernization
would be finished by 2005.
Capital News 9, NY
Aug 15 2004
Church holds Armenian Festival
It was a festival of tradition and culture in Watervliet Sunday.
St. Peter’s Armenian Church held its annual Armenian Festival. The
church has been a staple of the community for more than 100 years and
enjoys sharing their food, music and heritage with the Capital
Region.
Bob Meeson, Parish Council Chairman, said, “We all come together to
enjoy Armenian food, dance and music, and for a good cause — it
helps us keep our church growing and alive.”
A Penny Social Auction was also held to raise funds. Local merchants
and members of the parish donated items that were auctioned off to
those in attendance. The proceeds are going toward building a new
addition to the church.
Pasadena Star-News, CA
Aug 16 2004
Church blesses grapes
Father Nareg Pehlivanian performs a blessing of the grapes at Saint
Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in Pasadena on Sunday. The ceremony
took place in celebration of an Aug. 15 feast day honoring the
assumption of St. Mary into heaven. Roza Balyon and Knarik
Chaparioin, bottom left, grab a bag of blessed grapes at the Pasadena
church. The blessing of the grapes, a fruit used to make wine, is
symbolic in the church as the blood of Jesus. Nevait Der Ohanessiam
of Pasadena buys nuts from Kevork Babasan, bottom right, at the
church’s street fair to celebrate the Blessing of the Grapes festival
Sunday.
TOP NKR OFFICER WARNS AZERBAIJAN AGAINST RESUMING HOSTILITIES
Arminfo, Yerevan
7 Aug 04
STEPANAKERT
“There is no need to pay attention to Baku’s threats regarding a
military solution to the Karabakh problem. If the hostilities resume,
Azerbaijan will sustain serious losses,” Movses Akopyan, chief of the
general staff of the defence army of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic
(NKR), said in an interview with the republican newspaper Azat
Artsakh.
He said that the NKR defence army is getting stronger year by year.
Large-scale exercises which involve the entire personnel and are meant
to increase the combat readiness of the troops and learn the resources
of the army reserve are under way at the moment. Work is under way to
improve engineering installations. At the same time, the Karabakh army
chief of staff pointed out that the situation on the contact line
between the armed forces of Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijan remains
tense – the war of snipers and sabotage-reconnaissance groups is
continuing.