Politics

“Getting on the donkey is one thing and getting off – another thing”

Interview with the president of Yerkrapah Union, general Manvel Grigoryan

Business & Economy

Former minister of economy Armen Yeghiazaryan: We will not become a country developed through this model

According to the official information, during the first half of this year the economy has grown by 6,7%. According to the national statistics, the growth rates of construction, export and import, as well as the service sector have stayed the same. However, the sector of agriculture has slumped by 13,1%. During this month the rate of economic development fell down by 2%. The growth rate in may-June months was 8,8%. Does this mean that the economy is recovering and soon we will be able to return to the 12% development rate as we had before the crisis or we have to get ready for the third phase of the crisis as some experts say? We discussed these issues with the former minister of economy Armen Yeghiazaryan, who currently represents the Avag Solutions advisory company. - Speaking of the economy of Armenia before 2008 you said that at that time we had cheap money and gold rain dropping from the sky. At that time we had up to 12% economic growth. In consideration of the crisis it seems that the growth rate of this...

Society

Bread to become more expensive

The major companies importing grain and flour assure that very soon the price of bread will be increased. Since August 5 Russia has prohibited the export of grain and grain products from the country. The reason is the fact that according to the Russian government the hot weather and fire spoilt more than 11 million grain fields this year. This unexpected decision of the biggest exporter of grain was a negative thing for many countries, including Armenia as well. The grain produced in Armenia covers only the 30% of the domestic demand. This rate is going down year by year as last year the domestic grain production covered about the 40% of the domestic demand. The grain exporting companies such as Manana Grain, Mancho Group and Alex Grig have been in contractual relations with the Russian exporters mainly. Till June about 140 thousand tons of grain was imported, and in order to meet the domestic demand, there is a need to import more 270 thousand tons of grain. Besides the fact that the price of the Russian grain...

Marzes

Suggested to become MP

On January 13, 2008, there will be additional parliamentary elections in two precincts in Karabakh. One of those precincts is the 4th precinct of Stepanakert, in which Ara Harutyunyan was elected as deputy before being appointed as prime minister. The elections in this precinct may be interesting due to the fact that the main competitor of president Bako Shakyan, Masis Mayilyan may run for parliament. The latter was dismissed from the foreign affairs deputy minister’s position after Bako Sahakyan was elected president, which was not welcomed by some political groups in Armenia and Karabakh. According to our sources from Karabakh, this suggestion has been proposed by the authorities and they have suggested Masis Mayilyan to support him be elected. Certainly, after the presidential elections in Karabakh it was clear that Masis Mayilyan had strong positions in Karabakh without the help of the authorities too. ...

World

Against Turkey

Famous singer Jenifer Lopez has cancelled her planned concert tour to the self-declared independent state of North Cyprus. “Lopez will never support the country or administration which roughly violates the human rights. After certain analysis concerning Cyprus Lopez consulted with her assistants and decided to cancel the concert,” writes the announcement of the singer as it is reported by Turkish media. Lopez was going to visit Cyprus with her husband Mark Anthony, her twin children and a delegation consisting of 80 people. On July 24 she was going to take part in the opening ceremony of Cratos Premium hotel and would sing during the presentation. Besides that, she was going to celebrate her 41st anniversary in Cyprus....

Science

World-known Michel Mayor and his group – prize winners

Viktor Hambartsumyan International Prize 2010 in astronomy/astrophysics and related sciences goes to famous Swiss astrophysicist professor Michel Mayor and two of his team members Garik Israelian and Nuno Santos. Viktor Hambartsumyan International Prize has been established by the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in 2009 and at present is one of the important awards in astronomy/astrophysics and related sciences. It is being awarded to outstanding scientists from any country and nationality having significant contribution in science. The Prize totals USD 500,000 and will be awarded once every two years, starting with 2010. By the way, let us mention that the President of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences Radik Martirosyan allotted this money not from the state budget but from other sources, which he didn’t publicize. The deadline for nominations was March 18, and the International Steering Committee chaired by Radik Martirosyan received nominations from national academies of sciences, universities,...

Technology

Synopsis purchasing Virage Logic at 289 million USD

Synopsys, a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design, verification and manufacturing, and Virage Logic Corporation, a leading independent provider of semiconductor intellectual property (IP) for the design of complex integrated circuits, yesterday announced they have signed a definitive agreement for Synopsys to acquire Virage Logic. Virage Logic's offering will complement Synopsys' DesignWare® interface and analog IP portfolio by adding embedded memories with test and repair, non-volatile memories (NVMs), standard cell libraries, and programmable cores for control and multimedia sub-systems. With this acquisition, Synopsys will strengthen its ability to help design teams achieve their system-on-chip (SoC) development goals by providing them with a more comprehensive portfolio of production-proven, high-quality IP and excellent worldwide technical support. Under the terms of the agreement, Synopsys will pay $12.00 cash per Virage Logic share, resulting in a transaction value of approximately...

Education

Open letter to the members of the Public Council from DILIJAN International School Project initiators

15th July 2010 Dear members of the Public Council, In light of the public debate surrounding the introduction of amendments to the “Language Law” and educational system, we – the initiators of the DILIJAN International School project, as well as the members of the Board of Trustees, have heard from community representatives with words of both support and rebuke regarding the project to create the DILIJAN International School. We place a high value on civil society, and respect its opinion, so we write to you as to the voice of public opinion.      The issue pertaining to changing the “Language Law” is very important and affects the interests of all the republic’s citizens, although, in our opinion, discussing this law can provide an impetus to a deeper discussion about Armenia’s future and its place in the world. Armenia and the Armenian nation in general have several questions to answer in order to determine the model of its future development....

People

“Will, desire and thought-out policy are necessary”

Interview of the ABBYY Company’s Chairman of the Board of Directors David Yang to Mediamax Agency Recently, in Armenia people have been talking actively about the necessity to develop science-intensive economy, involve the scientific potential, which successfully fulfills itself in different countries of the world, in the republic’s development. Mediamax correspondent asked David Yang, the Chairman of ABBYY Company’s Broad of Directors, to present his understanding of these processes. David Yang was born in 1968 in Yerevan. In 1992, he graduated from the faculty of General and Applied Physics of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). As a fourth-year student, David founded his first company - BIT Software, which was later on renamed into ABBYY. David Yung is one of the founders of Ayb Club and Educational Foundation, which plans to establish Ayb Learning Hub (ALH) in Yerevan. - A lot of Armenian specialists, who deal with promising scientific activities, work abroad today. It...

Books & Arts

“Balloon” movie project

The issues of the Armenian movie production, as a rule, start at the projecting phase. And it is almost impossible to understand with vigilant consciousness why certain movies receive the sponsorship by the state. It is accepted that during the selection of projects they take into account several factors, the most tangible of which is the scenario package, which shows the outline of the to-be made movie (indeed without visuals but with description, which would make the expenses expedient and justified). The literately prepared plot enables to give not only creative assessment about the style of the future film but also have certain understanding on how many days are going to be needed for the final shooting, the technical equipment, which is supposed to be used. The film selection committee needs all that for its final assessment and conclusion on whether the project should receive funding or not. The committee should be most careful about this selection because they are not going to fund from their own pockets...

Leisure

Margarita Sarukhanyan to win “Miss Armenia-2007”

“Miss Armenia-2007” competition was held in the national opera and ballet theatre after Al. Spendaryan on October 16. The winner of “Miss Armenia-2007” is Margarita Sarukhanyan. This year, for the first time in Armenia, a transferable crown was granted, which had 425 diamonds on it worth of $7000. The second place was granted to Arpine Atoyan, and the third place - Sveta Mirzoyan. Aprine Atoyan was granted a title of “Miss Media”, who were selected by Media representatives, Hripsime Karapetyan was given a title of “Miss Gracefulness”, Margarita Sarukhanyan was given a title of “Miss Charm”, who were selected by TV viewers through sms-voting. Ashkhen Karavardyan was given a title of “Miss Fascination”, Nazlu Baroyan was given a title of “Miss Peace”, who were selected by the girls. The competition had 18 participants, who appeared in national dresses, swimsuits and dresses of famous fashion designers. The winners of “Miss...

Sports

While waiting for the final

Only in one day the world will have a new champion – Spain and Holland. Who will be able to conquer the title, which the Dutch have been close two twice and Spain - never? The answers to all the questions will be there the upcoming Sunday. Prior to that it wouldn’t be too bad to speak about the history of the two teams. Spain No matter how surprising it would be but for this soccer super-state this is merely the first final. The previous best result of entering the semi-final was registered in 1950. Despite the fact that ever since the Spaniards have always been considered favorites they always failed to become world cup winners. This time everything is going to be different. They deserve the right to become winners. Holland This small country even with European standards is a real soccer giant. Unlike the opponent the Dutch have gained the world cup twice – in 1974 and 1978 and have twice lost to the host of the filed with a minimum score. The third try may be become victorious. The opponent...

Health Care

“Balloon exploded”

The Healthcare Committee of the Council of Europe released a report on the so-called swine flu or the H1N1 virus. The conclusion of the Europeans is scandalous. “Because of the World Health Organization, the governments of European states and EU structures the state funds were squandered and the people were inspired by groundless fear.” Millions of anti-virus materials were not used because the scales of the plague were not as wide-spread as those were presented. Let us remember that in the fall of the last year the World Health Organization has announced a wide-spread plague of the swine flu and governments of various states had to spend immense amount of funds to struggle against that....

Pressing

Russian capital in Armenia: political or economic presence?

The “Pressing” club adjacent to “168 Zham” newspaper held a discussion on the topic of the presence of the Russian capital in Armenia. Namely, the discussion was focused on the issue whether the presence of the Russian capital has political reasons or no. The conductor of the discussion, economic analyst Ara Galoyan said that there had been many facts proving both the political presence and the economic presence and asked the participants whether such big share of presence of the Russian capital in Armenia is not dangerous. “I have the latest publication concerning the foreign investments in Armenia. The share of direct investments on the part of Russia during the period of January-June, 2007, grew by 3,8 times, and the indirect investments - by 24,4 times. How is such great growth possible in the Armenian economy just from the economic point of view? Is the reason the fact that our economy is small?” he asked. The president and general director of “ArmRusGazard”...