Yerevan will be hosting Fruitfull Armenia winemaking forum on September 16-17. World-known oenologist Michel Rolland, invited as a special guest, as well as other participants, will be sampling the whole range of Armenian wines presented. A winner will be selected among 21 companies as a result of sampling. The forum to be opened by RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan aims at promoting Armenian wine-making industry, implementation of new production technologies and search for marketing outlets.

The internal political events during the past week focused on the forthcoming visit of Russian President and informal summit of CIS leaders. The oncoming visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia suggests positive development of Armenian-Russian cooperation, stated Eduard Sharmazanov, secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia.

Olympiad: 14 Armenian sportsmen compete in 12 disciplines at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games which kicked off on August 14. Weightlifter Smbat Margaryan (56kg weight category) lifted 243 kg in snatch and clean & jerk to win bronze. Another weightlifter Gor Minasyan won silver, lifted 350 kg in the snatch and clean & jerk. Defeating a Venezuelan freestyle wrestler, Armenia’s Artak Hovhannisyan won a bronze medal. Archer Vasil Shahnazaryan finished 16th. Gymnast Vahan Vardanyan was the 8th in all-round events. Athlete Diana Khubeseryan came 5th. Swimmers Sergei Pevnev and Anahit Barseghyan were 32nd and 22nd respectively.

For the past two years Armenia has been like a rope, pulled over by Russia and the West in the person of the U.S. and EU. In fact, this is a dangerous exercise; the rope may split up in the end into tousles, which would be almost impossible to bind together again. But the most unpleasant fact is that Armenia has not chosen this policy herself; she has been made to choose this option, which is always fraught with unpleasant consequences.

For dozens of centuries Armenians had been celebrating the New Year, Navasard, on August 11. Once a favorite popular holiday, it now became a topic of historians’ remarks or Armenian folklore only. “August 11 is the first day of the new year according to the ancient Armenian calendar. It was celebrated by all – the rich and the poor,” said ethnographer Gohar Vardumyan, senior fellow at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.