Armenia and world: Armenian-Turkish process will not be suspendedThe Protocols will be ratified no matter we like it or not, and the parties interested in this “international project” will begin a new phase: implementation of the items of the Protocols. April 9, 2010 Turkish Prime Minister’s special envoy Feridun Sinirlioglu’s visit to Armenia caused an inexplicable commotion in the political and expert levels, although such kind of visits before anticipated or scheduled meetings of Heads of State are an ordinary diplomatic practice. However, the passion of Armenian commentators to see some secret (or evil) intent in every move best shows how little information the society has on the Armenian-Turkish relations, being satisfied with “comments” contradicting both the essence and the content. Culture: Baku disagrees to hold a concert featuring Armenian composers’ worksOverview of cultural events in Armenia: March 29-April 4. April 8, 2010 Yerevan’s National Academic Theater theaters resumed “Musa Ler” performance. It was attended by over 900 school students in one day and over 3000 in a month, proving students’ increased interest to the theater. Sport: Arthur Abraham still leading Super Six World Boxing Classic tournamentReview of March 25-April 1 sports events. April 6, 2010 Boxing: The duel between Arthur Abraham (Germany) and Andre Dirrell (USA) ended in the second round of Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament. In the seventh round Dirrell managed to make several blows, one of them resulted in Abraham’ opened cut over his right eye. Realizing that he is losing on points, Abraham sent Dirrell down in the tenth round, but the judge considered knockdown an accidental fall. Dirrell slipped when he was hit by a glancing blow to the chin in the corner. Abraham hit him across the chin with a right hand and Dirrell couldn't continue. Referee Andy Cole disqualified Abraham for causing forbidden blow and a victory in battle went to Dirrell. ![]() Society: Marine Hakobyan: we can brighten up human lives with our attitudeThe RA law on social protection of disabled people ensures equal rights for all Armenian citizens. March 29, 2010 The RA law on social protection of disabled people ensures equal rights for all Armenian citizens. According to the law, any person, no matter whether he/she has physical or mental problems, is entitled to receive special education of all levels (from secondary to higher). Actually, inclusive education is available in a small number of schools and doesn’t often meet required standards. Economy: Armenian economy dollarization goes onBusiness entities - beware! March 27, 2010 Because of overdollarized Armenian economy, control over inflation is one of the main challenges Armenian government faces, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Armenia, Astrid Clifford stated. Inflation in Armenia remains high: price increase is observed in consumer market, caused by the impending price rise for energy carrier tariffs (gas price increase is expected on April 1); summer will see water price increase. Local forecasts are also unfavorable. Politics: Topic of the week – Armenian President’s visit to SyriaHome policy review for March 22-27, 2010 March 27, 2010 The week began with the Armenian President’s official visit to Syria. On March 22, on the invitation of his Syrian counterpart, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Syria with his wife Rita Sargsyan in the frames of a three-day official visit. IT & Telecom: Increased number of Internet subscribers registered in Armenia; providers diversify connection channelsMain IT events of March 15-21. March 25, 2010 Number of internet users increased 47.75 times over the period of 1998-2008, according to bbcrussian.com. Thus, 4000 internet users were registered in Armenia in 1998, their number increasing to 30 000 the next year. As of 2008, 191 thousand internet users were registered in Armenia. Obviously, BBC Russia information service used statistical data provided by international electronic connection union to make the statistic report. Meanwhile Armenian experts repeatedly noted that the statistic data cited is not complete, as mobile internet users were not taken into account while composing the assessment. | ![]() ![]() |