OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou will visit Armenia on May 9-11. NA press service informs that the OSCE PA President will have meetings with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, NA ...

The tenth annual spring concert benefiting Armenia children's summer camps will take place at New York City's Armenian Evangelical Church on May 15.

Armenia today officially reacted to the extermination of Osama bin Laden, the founder of the al-Qaeda terorist organisation.

European Individual Women’s Championship 2011 hosts 132 chess players from 26 countries; Armenia is represented by 9 chess players.

Adam Schiff also plans a legislation to address Turkey's ongoing blockade of Armenia, and the protection of minority rights in Turkey.

NEW YORK—The Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN in New York is preparing to resume its summer internship program, which will begin on July 5 and continue until July 22 at the Permanent Mission building in New York City. The Mission hopes to build off the success of last year, when it launched the internship [...]

Members of the opposition Heritage party are positive about the authorities' recent move to release the political prisoners, but say it is not enough.

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In what should be a major boost to Armenia’s economic recovery, cash remittances sent home by hundreds of thousands of Armenians working abroad have soared by more than 20 percent this year, according to official statistics. The latest data from the country’s Central Bank show that the total amount of incoming cash transfers processed by local commercial banks rose by almost 25 percent to $326.7 million in the first quarter of 2011

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The Armenian National Congress (HAK) is not serious about its pledges to try to force fresh national elections in the country, a leader of the rival opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party claimed on Friday. Stepan Safarian, who heads Zharangutyun’s parliamentary faction, said the issue will not be on the agenda of an unfolding dialogue between the HAK and the Armenian government

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France’s Justice Minister has said that he would publish a memorandum that would mandate punishment for Genocide denial. According to the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman, Michel Mercier announced at the Senate that the memo will be drafted later this week and he cited a similar commission of the Jewish community and the Justice Ministry as a precedent for such a body

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enian chess grand master Levon Aronian played a draw with Alexander Grischuk at the FIDE Candidates Match 2011 in Kazan, Tatarstan, on Friday.

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Where are those Armenians demanding “our lands, our lands”? Some 25 kilometers from Antakya, on the southern slopes of Musa Ler, stands Vakif, the last remaining Armenian village in all Turkey. Ironically, the name in Turkish means “collaboration. Our bus stopped at the approach to the village. The Mediterranean Sea ...

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From : Katia Peltekian Date : Thu, 5 May 2011 13:36:21 +0500 ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN, HELLENIC, ASSYRIAN GENOCIDES Assyrian International News Agency http://www.aina.org/news/20110502234839.htm May 3 2011 Yerevan -- The Armenian National Committee of Australia reports that the parliament of the Republic of Armenia ...

@tbalayanTigran Balayan Comments on ben Laden extermination http://t.co/w3wzeng about 1 hour ago via Tweet ButtonReplyRetweetFavorite Armenia officially reacted to news about the death of Osama bin Laden today. “Being involved in the international community’s fight against terrorism, on Bin Laden’s … Continue reading →

US Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch will leave Armenia in June as her tour of duty concludes, reported the US Embassy.

Selcuk Unal: Israel and Armenia, both invited by the UN to attend the summit, will not send political delegations to the gathering.

In a shocking report by Frederick Kaufman that has been featured on the Foreign Policy website, the role of Goldman Sachs and its Wall Street cohort in creating the food crisis has been revealed.

Frederick uncovers the 1991 scheme where Goldman bankers lead by Gary Cohn created a derivative that tracked 24 raw minerals; including coffee, cocoa, cattle, corn, hogs, soy and wheat and how that scheme was then manipulated to raise food commodity prices.

Each element was given a calculated investment value and is now known as the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI).  The GSCI has been a static commodity vehicle for the past decade while bankers focused their attention on collateralized debt (hello economic crisis) until 1999 when futures markets were deregulated. That’s when bankers started taking large positions in grains.

Following the money trail Frederick reports:

Food inflation has remained steady since July 2008 when there was $318 billion in the commodity markets - up from the $55 billion speculators dumped in the first 55 days of 2008. In 2003 commodities futures markets were only worth $13 billion. "You had people who had no clue what commodities were all about suddenly buying commodities," an analyst from the United States Department of Agriculture stated.

Between 2005 to 2008 worldwide prices of food rose 80 percent, and they’ve kept on rising. Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, concluded that in 2008 "a significant portion of the price spike was due to the emergence of a speculative bubble."

So as the dollars poured into the markets, bankers hedged bets on food derivates. Led by oil and gas prices which are the main commodities of the index funds, the new investment products boosted the markets of all other indexed commodities. The result: a food bubble.

Wheat topped $25 from $4-6 and so food prices started skyrocketing. "What we are experiencing is a demand shock coming from a new category of participant in the commodities futures markets," hedge fund Michael Masters testified before Congress in the midst of the 2008 food crisis.

Frederick writes: “The result of Wall Street's venture into grain and feed and livestock has been a shock to the global food production and delivery system. Not only does the world's food supply have to contend with constricted supply and increased demand for real grain, but investment bankers have engineered an artificial upward pull on the price of grain futures. The result: Imaginary wheat dominates the price of real wheat, as speculators (traditionally one-fifth of the market) now outnumber bona-fide hedgers four-to-one.” Read the full scoop on Foreign Policy.

According to him, the solution could be for the US government to outlaw long-only trading in food commodities for investment banks. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange brokers laughed at him - while the world’s poor are on the brink of starvation.

But while US congress denies a food crisis, the World Bank reported 44 million people are affected by the escalating price of food at a G20 meeting. In another report:

"According to Moskovsky Komsomolets, in March global inflation has accelerated in most regions of the world. Inflation in the Euro zone last year amounted to 2.7%. In the U.S., where the economists have long feared deflation, in March the annual price increase amounted to 2.7% as well (in February - 2.1%). Emerging economies also show price increase. In India, consumer prices over the past 12 months increased by nearly 9%, while in February this number was at 8.3%. Annual inflation accelerated in China as well and amounted to 5.4%. A comparable increase in prices was observed over two years ago when in July of 2008 prices rose by 4.9%. Food prices in the country experienced even more significant increase at 11.7% compared to March of 2010."

and

"The food price index calculated by the World Bank has increased in the period from October 2010 to January 2011 by 15%. The prices of everyday consumer goods increased dramatically, including wheat, corn, sugar, butter and rice. The experts consider the Middle East and North Africa to be the most volatile regions today. There are also concerns related to Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan, where the majority of the population falls into a low income category".

Has your household been adversely affected by rising prices of food? Share your stories with EconomyWatch below.

By. Liz Zuliani

Source: EconomyWatch.com

France will struggle against Armenian Genocide denial | Armenia News - NEWS.am

Under the High Patronage of the Armenian President, on the sidelines of the activities marking the 500th anniversary of the Armenian book-printing, this year for the first time Armenia participated ...

The Armenian Ministry of Economy, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Armenia, the Armenian Development Agency and the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen (Employers) of Armenia signed a Memorandum ...

The aim of cooperation projects is to provide support to reform processes in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

To protect local manufacturers, the Deputy Minister urged the authorities to harden tax and customs administration for importers.

US Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch will conclude her three year tour this June, US Embassy in Yerevan informed Panorama.am. According to the source, she will return to Washington D.C. to ...

Date : Thu, 5 May 2011 14:11:37 +0500 NA VICE SPEAKER SAMVEL BALASANYAN RECEIVES THE AMBASSADOR OF GEORGIA TO ARMENIA National Assembly www.parliament.am May 3 2011 Armenia On May 3 the Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Samvel Balasanyan received the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia Tengiz Sharmanashvili.

She will return to Washington to take up the post of U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Northern and Central Europe.

The weather in Armenia will be conditioned by low pressure field. In the most part of the territory showers and thunderstorm are expected during the day. In the Northern regions ...

YEREVAN, May 5. / R s /. "ARKA" is a reputable and professional news agency, said the head of OSCE Yerevan Office, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos in connection with 15th anniversary of "ARKA". "Over the years working in Armenia as the head of OSCE Yerevan Office and previously as an employee of Russian Embassy in Armenia I have been confident many times ...

Nuclear Safety Officials in Armenia have long downplayed the potential threats posed by the aging Medzamor nuclear power plant, not far from the capital Yerevan.

A Yerevan court has delayed a ruling over a case against Armenian daily Zhamanak on Thursday, after an international media watchdog criticized Armenia over freedom of press. The Court of First Instance in Yerevan’s Kentron (Centre) and Norq-Marash administrative districts ruled that the case will be reviewed anew and that the next court hearing will be held on May 20. “Good, dear judge! That was what the people wanted,” someone cried at the courtroom.

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According to PanArmenian.net , the Armenia Marriott hotel in Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia, will on Friday, May 6 host a presentation of the debut CD single from WHOCARES - the renewed musical union between legendary DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan and none other than BLACK SABBATH 's Tony Iommi : the undisputed master of heavy ...

Paul Corson, from the Department of Commerce’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, dropped by the annual by-invitation-only U.S.SourceLink conference at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation last week to provide an update on America’s efforts in that space. Paul has some significant startup experience in his background, working early in his career as part of the International Executive Service Corps to stimulate entrepreneurship in Armenia and Georgia and as the sixth employee of an international telecom startup that went...

Ongoing adjustments in the pension system in Armenia appear to have once again created difficulties for some of nearly half a million pensioners who have been turned away from post office counters and sent for additional documents to prove their eligibility. Still last year the Audit Chamber conducted an inspection at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs revealing a number of violations, in particular the assignment and payment of pensions to people absent from the country or even dead. Current reforms including the connection of dozens of territorial pension assigning units and registry offices to one common network are meant to facilitate the exchange of information between agencies to stem further abuse

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Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has accused Azerbaijan of stymieing the current peace talks on Karabakh and seeking an occasion for fresh aggression against the de-facto independent republic. “Unfortunately, Azerbaijan continues to escalate the situation with its repetitive statements that are below any standards of civilized dialogue and seriously undermine the negotiating process,” Sargsyan said on Wednesday after talks with his visiting Lithuanian counterpart in Yerevan

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Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received Milennium Challenges Corporation's Chief Executive Officer Daniel Yohannes on Monday. According to a press release by the presidential office, Sargsyan expressed his gratitude to the corporation for assisting the country

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The United States is currently engaged in a processes to transform Armenia, a former member of the Karabakh Committee, has said. "That's when realities change, but unlike revolutions, this is a process that involves many people and by avoiding turmoil," Ashot Manucharyan told a news conference on Thursday

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Yerevan street traders who work along Tigran Metz Ave. across the street from Rossiya mall have been provided the area surrounding the St

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Antakya is the seat of Hatay Province; annexed by Turkey in 1939 The next stop on my journey through Turkey took me to the ancient city of Antioch (Turkish Antakya), founded near the end of the 4 century BC by a general of Alexander the Great. There’s a multi-national choir ...

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YEREVAN, May 5. / R s /. Leader of political party "Prosperous Armenia", large entrepreneur Gagik Tsarukyan, bought the brewery "Kotayk" from French company which was sold some years ago, newspaper "Zhoghovurd" informs.

YEREVAN, May 5. /ARKA/. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points will be introduced in fish breeding companies of Armenia, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan on Thursday to the journalists.

YEREVAN, May 5. / ARKA /. By the decision of the Government of Armenia, production of dry and condensed milk will be marked "milk beverage", said Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan on Thursday to the journalists.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that the assistance of MCC was efficient and contributed to the development of rural regions.

Candidates Matches 2011 were solemnly opened in Kazan
Thursday, 05 May 2011
http://kazan2011.fide.com

In his welcome speech Minister Shaimiev stated: «On behalf of Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, on behalf of Tatarstan’s people and myself, I welcome you, entrants of the 2011 Candidates Matches. Be our guests.

We, people of Tatarstan, are in good spirits these days. The first brick was laid today for the Chess Palace, FIDE Academy. I congratulate you on such a great event! We thank you for entrusting us with the right to stage the Candidates Matches in Tatarstan. We are proud of it! Here in Tatarstan we are little bit spoiled with a number of sports venues, most our teams are Russian champions. But chess occupies a special place among other sports. It’s a sport, art and science at the same time. It’s a game that strikes your imagination. Chess is still one of the most favourite hobbies of all mankind.

I have a request to the event’s managers. Chess players are people with a God-given talent. Be very attentive to them, indulge all their whims. It’s a priceless game!»

Chairman of the Russian Chess Federation Board Ilya Levitov delivered a speech as well: «The State Counselor already mentioned during the groundbreaking ceremony that Kazan was the third capital of Russia. I want to make a small correction here. At present Kazan can be named the first sports capital of Russia. Since it’s Kazan that became host of the major chess event in 2011 – the Candidates Matches. I extend my gratitude to the first President of Tatarstan and the current President for the attention they devote to our sport. I’m confident that the Candidates Matches will feature dramatic and tough competitions and I hope that they will become the best chess event ever.»

On behalf of the International Chess Federation President Council that unites 172 nations of the world, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov started his welcome speech with compliments to the entrants and guests on the occasion of the opening of the Candidates Matches. «We chose Kazan because people here love and develop chess. Your compatriot Rashid Nezhmetdinov is a many-time winner of chess competitions of different scales. Olympic champion and vice world champion Alisa Galliamova is listed among best chess players in modern times. Your another fellow countryman Gata Kamsky competed for the world championship title against Anatoly Karpov and yielded. I think that now, at the Candidates Matches, that are held at his old home, Gata will try to deliver a more successful performance. I wish good luck to all the entrants!» Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said.

The drawing procedure that took place at the Opening Ceremony decided the following couples: Levon Aronyan (Armenia) vs Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Teimur Radjabov (Azerbaijan) vs Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) vs Boris Gelfand (Israel), Gata Kamsky (USA) vs Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria).

Social Innovation Camp brings together ideas, people, and digital tools to build web-based solutions to social problems — from hacking together software to working out how you'd sustain an idea — all in just 48 hours.

Do you have an idea you want to work on? Or maybe a particular technical solution that could be used for good? Social Innovation Camp Internews in Sarajevo is looking for inspiring ideas and committed people. The call for submissions will be closed Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

This year’s event will be held in Sarejevo on July 9-10, 2011 and organized by Internews and Transitions (TOL). The focus of Social Innovation Camp Internews is to jumpstart a “digital activist” movement across Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia that uses information and communication technologies for positive social change.

Anyone from across the world — including people who work for NGOs or the media; who are public employees, web developers, business or marketing types who are enthusiastic about a social cause — is invited to attend the event as experts, volunteers, and developers. Travel grants are available for the priority countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

To apply for participation fill out this form.

Read more about the Social Innovation Camp Internews in Sarajevo: http://www.sicamp-internews.org

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is building a community center in Mets Shen, a village in Artsakh’s Shushi Region. The project is co-financed by the Lebanese-Armenian community and donors in Armenia and Artsakh.

The OSCE PA Chairman will have meetings with RA President Serzh Sargsyan, Chairman of the RA National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, parliamentary factions, the NA delegation to the OSCE PA and RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandyan.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited Armenia’s Ararat province to attend the opening of pump station reconstructed within the framework of MCA– Armenia program.

According to PanArmenian.net, the Armenia Marriott hotel in Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia, will on Friday, May 6 host a presentation of the debut CD single from WHOCARES — the renewed musical union between legendary DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan and none other than BLACK SABBATH's Tony Iommi: the undisputed master of heavy guitar riffs.

Armenian cities of Yerevan and Gyumri will host three exclusive shows by Luc Bessons The Extraordinary Adventures of Adle Blanc-Sec film. French Embassy to Armenia told Panorama.am that Jacky ...

On May 9-11 Armenia will host the President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Petros Efthymiou, National Assembly press service informs. The OSCE PA ...

Date : Wed, 4 May 2011 11:35:12 +0500 FORMER ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S FAMILY FREQUENT PLAINTIFFS - REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS news.am May 2 2011 Armenia Reporters Without Borders issued a report expressing concern about all the libel actions being brought against Armenian newspapers "which threaten their survival and create a climate that encourages ...