Armenian News

Armenian Weekly
Yerevan Named World Book Capital 2012 By UN Cultural Agency
Posted By Weekly Staff On July 6, 2010

NEW YORK—The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization has chosen the Armenian city of Yerevan as the 2012

World Book Capital as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to promote

books and reading.

Armenia’s capital and largest city was chosen for the quality and variety

of the programme it presented to the selection committee, which met at

UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris on 2 July.

The selection committee brings together representatives of UNESCO

and some of the main professional associations in the book industry

—the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers

Federation and the International Federation of Library Associations and

Institutions.

“I congratulate the city of Yerevan, which has presented a particularly

interesting programme with many different themes, including the freedom

of expression, as well as several activities for children, who will be the

readers and authors of tomorrow,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina

Bokova.

“Mobilizing the entire world of books and reading, from authors to printers

and publishers, will undoubtedly help to make the Yerevan programme a

major success, with a sustainable impact,” she added.

The city chosen as World Book Capital holds the distinction for one year,

beginning on World Book and Copyright Day, which is observed on 23

April.

Yerevan is the 12th city to be designated World Book Capital, after Madrid

(2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal

(2005), Turin (2006), Bogotá (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009),

Ljubljana (2010) and Buenos Aires (2011).


One week before Vardavar: commemoration day
The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the commemoration

day of 12 apostles of Jesus and the St. Paul, the 13th apostle.

Twelve Apostles elected by Our Lord Jesus Christ, were Christ's
disciples and first preachers of His doctrine, as well as the
Incarnate Christ's witnesses.

`Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to
drive out devil spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness.'
(The Gospel according to Matthew 10:1).

These were the names of the twelve Apostles Simeon (called Peter),
Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son
of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Patriot and Judas Iscariot, who
betrayed Jesus. Later instead of Judas Iscariot Apostle Matthias was
chosen, who was added to the group of eleven apostles.

Remaining faithful to Incarnate Christ's last message the apostles
went to all peoples everywhere and preached and taught the
Commandments of Jesus, baptized them in the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit, thus becoming the founders of the Christ's
Church. One of the greatest preachers of Christ's commandments is
Apostle Paul, who is recognized by the Christian Church as the
thirteenth Apostle.

The section of the Bible called `The Acts of the Apostles' is
dedicated to the apostles' activity. And there are references on
Apostle Paul's preaching, his person and his activity in his 14
letters addressed to the church communities, established by himself,
and individual Christians.

EurasiaNet.org, NY
July 2 2010
More on Armenia's Bitter Apricot Harvest
July 2, 2010 - 7:11am, by Yigal Schleifer


For those who haven't read it yet, Marianna Grigoryan's Eurasianet
story about the disastrous apricot harvest in Armenia this year, is
well worth checking out. The story is dramatic enough, but I asked
Marianna if she could explain a bit more about the apricot's place in
Armenian culture. Below is a short q&a with Marianna about her story:

Why did you decide to write this story?

The apricot is something special for Armenians and during the harvest
in June and July it brings to the motherland many Diaspora Armenians
who come to taste the sunny Armenian apricot.
As in late March it was announced that the apricot trees were damaged
very much, I was following what will be in June and July. When I went
to the market in early June, I was surprised very much: my daughter
Sophie, who is 6-years-old asked me to buy some apricots and when I
asked the seller how much it costs I was shocked! The most expensive
fruit in Yerevan was Apricot! The prices were incredible. I asked the
seller is this serious or a joke to have so fantastic a price on
Armenian Apricot?

One woman near me who was also shopping compared the price of the
apricots with bananas and complained to me that the bananas are coming
to Armenia from so far are still cheaper than the apricots grown in
Armenia. "You can keep your apricots in a museum," she told the
seller. Other people near me who came to buy some fruits joined the
conversation and told me that this year no one will buy the apricot.
Everyone was angry about the prices and the situation. What a bad year
they said. Every year something else happens.

After that I got a call from a friend in the United States and she
told me that she had planned to bring her children to Armenia to see
relatives and to taste apricot but she canceled her trip after she
heard that this year is not good for fruits. Then my mother told me
that a friend of hers who has an apricot garden is in an awful
situation as the trees don't even have a leaf on them. "She did not
know how the family will survive without apricot," my mother said.
This made me think about export and the situation of the people who
owned apricot orchards.

What was the image that stayed in your mind the most about the farmers?

The farmers are hopeless and broken, as many of them borrowed a loan
to invest into the apricot harvest and they lost everything. The image
that stayed most in my mind was the spoiled apricot ` little and with
brown little things on it ` and the voice of the farmer who was ready
to cry.

Why is the apricot so special and not another fruit, like grape or fig or apple?

The apricot is called Prunus Aemenicus and everyone in Armenia thinks
that the motherland of the apricot is Armenia. Apricot is shown
everywhere, even in Armenia's advertisements abroad as a tourism
destination. It is believed that the apricots growing in Armenia have
a quite different, wonderful, sweet and "sunnier" taste than those in
other countries as Armenia's sun is just right for Apricots. As a
symbol of national pride the image of apricots is included in Armenian
souvenirs. Armenians also take pride of our grapes ` their quality has
made Armenian Cognac famous ` but Apricots are quite different!

GSP+ GIVES 600 ARMENIAN PRODUCTS DUTY FREE ACCESS

TO EU MARKET
ARKA
July 6, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 6, /ARKA/. Under the European Union's special incentive
arrangement for sustainable development and good governance- the
so-called GSP+, Armenia will have a duty-free access to the EU market
for around 600 tariff lines, Marisa Kusturadis, a representative
of the EU Trade Directorate, told a last week seminar for Armenian
businessmen in Yerevan.

The duty-free access means a considerable tariff reduction over the
rates applied under the regular GSP scheme. Tariff cuts include tobacco
(cut by up to 52%), various fruit juices (up to 30%), fruits (up to
20%), vegetables (up to 14%), fish (up to 20%) and honey (up to 17%).

She said GSP+ is offered to vulnerable developing countries that have
ratified and effectively implemented 27 core UN and International
Labour Organization conventions on human and labour rights, and other
international conventions related to the environment and governance
principles.

According to her, thanks to GSP+ and a new Export Helpdesk website,
a new source for businessmen to get the latest updates at European
market, Armenian businessmen can find new partners and new sale
markets for their goods.

Armenia and 15 other developing nations- Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras,
Mongolia, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Sri Lanka and Venezuela. -joined
GSP+ in 2009 January.


NO NEW ARMENIAN PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE TO BE

ELECTED
Alisa Gevorgyan
"Radiolur"
06.07.2010 17:00

There has been an interesting turn in the most urgent issue facing
the Turkish Armenian community. The illness of the Armenian Patriarch
of Constantinople, Mesrop Mutafyan, raised an intra-communal debate on
whether to elect a co-patriarch or a new patriarch. Amid this confusion
the Istanbul Governor's Office has acted against Armenian Apostolic
Church canon by appointing Aram Ateshyan as acting archbishop

without notifying the congregation.

Because Mesrop II, the current patriarch, is suffering from dementia
and cannot fulfill his duties, confusion has surrounded the post.

According to the Armenian Apostolic Church's canon, a new patriarch
cannot be assigned until the previous one passes away.

According to Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan, the appointment of Aram
Ateshyan provided the local authorities with another level of control
over the Armenian community. As a result the crisis further deepens
among the Armenian community of Turkey.

While Ruben Melkonyan is confident that the decision of the Istanbul
Governor's Office is irreversible and nothing can be changed,
the editor-in chief of the Istanbul based Marmara newspaper Rober
Hatechian says the situation can still be corrected.

REGENT'S SCHOOL IN UK INVITES ARMENIANS TO TEACH

ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Tert.am
15:22 06.07.10

Global Bridge Educational Centre is urgently looking for experienced
and motivated professionals who will be teaching Armenian language and
literature at the Regent's School UK and Thailand (http://www.regents-
school.com) to Armenians and foreign students.

The required qualifications are as follows:

- Degree in Philology or Armenian studies (Masters Degree is highly
preferred);

- Excellent knowledge of English;

- At least 1 year of teaching experience;

- Commitment to work in an international environment;

- Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and take on new
projects as assigned;

- Ability to work with children

Application procedures: Interested candidates are requested to submit
their CVs in English to: sona@gb.am by 7th of July at 12:00. Please
clearly mention "Armenian Teacher" in the subject line. Only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview. The salary
and employment terms (accommodation and maintenance) will be informed
during the interview.

Do enjoy this Armenian folk song modified in a highly artistic lyric fashion and performed by "ZULAL" group.
You can find other songs performed by the group on the same website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWr2ME1BVwc&feature=related