Society:

Na/Ne 2010 journalist award ceremony held in Yerevan

Review of January 31 – February 6 social events.

February 6, 2011
The past week started with Na/Ne 2010 journalist award ceremony. Over 100 articles were submitted for the annual media competition. Journalist of Aravot paper Gohar Hakobyan was the first in Printed Article category. 12 works were submitted for Radio Program category, with Armine Gevorgyan (Radio Hye) celebrating victory in it. Meanwhile, none of 29 works submitted for TV Program category managed to gain the first place. Seda Stepanyan, a student of Yerevan State Linguistic University, won in Student’s Work category.
IT & Telecom:

IT field registers growth, government financing remains unchanged

Review of January 31 – February 6 telecommunication and information technology events.

February 6, 2011
Armenian IT field registered 15% growth in 2010. The turnover in the field totaled $150mln against $129.9mln last year. The field employs 5 thousand specialists, with 197 companies operating. At that, government financing of the IT field totaled AMD 80mln (as in 2010), what is 60% less than in 2009, when AMD 200mln was assigned.
Economy:

Vodka consumption grows when political problems emerge

Correct government policy is essential to create an attractive image of Armenian wine market.

February 5, 2011
Consumption of vodka grows when political problems emerge, according to chairman of the Union of Armenian Winemakers Avag Harutyunyan. It’s not a secret that political situation gets more tensed, with the false start to the 2012 parliamentary election given.To prove his viewpoint, he presented the statistical data on alcoholic drinks in Armenia.
Armenia and world:

“Brotherly” relations between Iran and Azerbaijan are now thing of the past

Why does Baku need aggravation of relations with Tehran, if Iran is home to around 20 million ethnic Azeris, who are desired to be made a “fifth column” for promotion of pan-Turkist ideas?

February 4, 2011
“Brotherly” relations between Iran and Azerbaijan are now thing of the past. Throughout last week official Baku accused Iran of all mortal sins, the most essential of them being, of course, cooperation with Armenia. But the most interesting point is that all this is presented to the Azerbaijani people as “an attempt of Iran to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan.”
Sport:

Robert Hovhannisyan wins Armenian Chess Championship

Review of January 27 – February 3 sports events.

February 3, 2011
Chess: Levon Aronian finished 3rd at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk Aan Zee. Hikaru Nakamura of the United States won the tournament with 9 points, followed by Viswanathan Anand of India. Gabriel Sargissian came 5th in tournament B, which was won by Luke McShane (England).
Culture:

“Here” movie screened at Sundance Fest, Kohar Carpet on display at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Review of January 17-23 cultural events.

January 23, 2011
Over the past week, cultural life in Armenia and abroad featured a number spectacular events.
Politics:

Armenian political parties distributing seats in NA 1.5 years prior to parliamentary election

Review of November 7-12 domestic events.

November 13, 2010
Political events in Armenia focused on the possible outcomes of the 2012 parliamentary election.
 
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