NEWS ON ARMENIATV

2007-10-01 Gagik Parsamyan’s Exhibition in Etchmiadzin

According to Director of the Museum Harutyun Harutyunyan the artist has been creating for the past 24 years, 14 of which abroad. Parsamyan participated in 30 individual and group exhibitions. The exhibition will be on display until October 15.

2007-10-01 Armenia Royal Palace - the Ribbon-cutting Ceremony

Armenian Trade and economic development minister Nerses Yeritsian also attended the event. According to him, Armenia still needs tens of modern hotels, especially outside Yerevan, to make the regions of the country more attractive for tourists. Yeritsian said that the number of foreign tourists visiting Armenia is expected to increase to 1 million in five years. Executive director of Royal Palace Hotel Azat Safarian said the Hotel has 59 rooms. He said that compared to the prices of hotels in downtown Prices at Roayl Palace Armenia are affordable.

2007-10-01 Thomas de Waal’s "Black Garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War"

Thomas de Waal says that prior to arriving in Armenia, many diplomats read the book to better get acquainted with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to them the book presents the conflict objectively. The author of the book also says that many university students use the book, as bases for their theses. De Waal has personally visited the whole territory of Nagorno-Karabakh; to find answers to some unanswered questions. According to him, in order to write about Nagorno-Karabakh, one has to pass through mined territories and the ceasefire line. De Waal says that he has tried to neutrally present the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the outside. The book has not been officially presented in Azerbaijan yet. The journalist personally believes that the currently blockaded conflict can be resolved only through painful concessions. The Armenian translation of the book "Black Garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War" by British writer Thomas de Waal has been presented in Yerevan. The author wondered why the nations that used to be close once, found themselves on different sides of the barricade and the small disagreement developed into a large-scale confrontation. T.Waal said that he was disappointed in the search of universal literature on this topic and decided to collect the necessary data for the book himself. He noted that he first came to the South Caucasus in 1995-1996 for this purpose when the military actions had already been stopped, but the consequences were still obvious. He doubts that the conflicting parties\' decision to initially apply to external forces for the conflict settlement was right. The Armenian and Azeri nations peacefully co-existed in the Soviet Union, he noted. But when the disagreement arose, they turned to third parties instead of settling it themselves. T.Waal thinks that it is the lack of a real dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan that makes the parties feel insecurity, and the settlement of the conflict lasts this long.

2007-10-01 Debates over the Law on Income Tax

Armen Alaverdian, deputy chairman of the State Taxation Service (STS), said to lawmakers while presenting it to their first hearing that the bill proposes that off-shore-registered non-resident companies be taxed if they take out of Armenia the dividends they receive from their operation in this country. He said the proposed tax amount is 10 percent. Alaverdian also said the bill has been designed in order to ensure equal conditions for local and foreign companies.

2007-10-01 Renovated School in the Aghdzk Village

After 3 months of renovation works, the newly renovated school will welcome students in comfortable classrooms. Aghdzk villagers awarded the benefactors with the title of “honorable residents of Aghdzk village”.

2007-10-01 Measles and Rubella Immunization Campaign in Armenia

The MR campaign is initiated in close partnership with the Armenian Children’s Vaccine Fund’s (MACVF), UNICEF, the Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation,, WHO and the Ministry of Health of Armenia. Despite its routine measles-immunization efforts in recent decades, Armenia remains in the list of countries susceptible to measles outbreaks, which strike between 30 and 40 million children every year and result in some 9 million deaths internationally. These statistics indicate that near 100 percent immunization coverage must be maintained at all times to fight this highly contagious disease.