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Forbes ranked Armenia 56th in its best countries for business in its 2014 list Thus, it is ahead of its neighbors in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Other CIS countries are classified as follows: Azerbaijan (60th), Kazakhstan (65th), Moldova (75th), Ukraine (88th), Russia (91st), Kyrgyzstan (101). Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are not on the list of 146 countries.
Among regional neighbors Armenia Georgia placed 47th, Turkey is 50th and Iran is 132nd.
The administration of Turkish town of Bitlis has finally approved a decision to rename one of the streets in honor of Armenian American writer William Saroyan.
According to Ermenihaber, the order was signed by governor Orhan Ozturk, who previously opposed the initiative, saying that Saroyan “has no connection to the town”.
Renowned writer William Saroyan was born on August 31, 1908 in Fresno, California, to Armenak and Takoohi Saroyan, Armenian immigrants from Bitlis. Saroyan wrote extensively about the Armenian immigrant life in California. Many of his stories and plays are set in his native Fresno. Some of his best-known works are The Time of Your Life, My Name Is Aram and My Heart’s in the Highlands. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film adaptation of his novel The Human Comedy.
January 22, 2013 | 14:52
The people of Nagorno-Karabakh declared their independence in accordance with all international norms, Armenian National Assembly (NA) MP 
and Prosperous Armenia Party NA Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan stated at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) winter session.
“By making use of the key international norm of the right of self-determination of nations, Kosovo declared its independence, and today 34 [Council of Europe] CoE member and 22 EU member states recognize Kosovo’s independence,” Zohrabyan noted, and added:
“This notwithstanding, Mr. Von Sidov’s report compels me to draw parallels between [Kosovo and] Nagorno Karabakh, another European yet still unrecognized state, which declared independence on the same grounds as Kosovo. Furthermore, not being a CoE member, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has assumed numerous CoE commitments on its own volition.
I am hopeful that the time is not too far away when the Council of Europe will recognize that an unresolved conflict cannot justify any violation of human rights, and that there are people in Nagorno-Karabakh who have the same rights as each and every one of us who sit here.
I want to believe that the authorities and people of Kosovo will attempt to build a truly democratic state. A state which still-unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic builds today.”
16:05, 18 January, 2013
YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. “Rasia FZE” company registered in the United Arab Emirates will finance the projection, construction, and implementation of the 
Armenian South Railway and Armenian South Swift Road. As reports “Armenpress”, on January 18, 2013 “Armenian South Railway” and “Armenian South Swift Road” programs launched in the Ministry of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Armenia by signing memoranda on trilateral understanding within the framework of the regional cooperation programs between the Ministry of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Armenia, “Rasia FZE” company and “South Caucasian Railway” CJSC. The programs cost USD 3 billion.
The Minister of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Beglaryan noted that the construction of these roads was included in the election pledges of the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Among other things Minister of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Beglaryan stated: “As a result of the program the shortest railway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea will be constructed due to the strategic position of Armenia.”
12:40, 18 January, 2013
YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Air Force is ready to ensure the safety of Stepanakert airport. Seyran Ohnayan, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia dwel
led on Azerbaijani continuous threats regarding Stepanakert Airport in the briefing with the journalist on January 18.
”The Armenian Air Force will provide the operation and the flight of the civil aircraft ” Minister Ohanyan came forth with, Armenpress reports.
Stepanakert airport was built in 1974 and mostly hosted flights from Yerevan and Baku. In 1992 the airport ceased its activities. In 2008 work began on the construction of a new passenger terminal resembling that of an stretched wings eagle. In the course of this period of time the runway was also expanded, besides they smoothed runway adjacent several hills aimed at adoption of modern type aircrafts.
20:37, 21 December, 2012
YEREVAN, DECEMBR 21, ARMENPRESS: Romanian Parliament has endorsed new Cabinet of Victor Ponta on December 21, due to which 
Armenian Varujan Vosganian was appointed as the Minister of Economy of Romania. As reports Armenpress, minister-delegates of Energy and Small and Medium Enterprises, the business environment and tourism are going to be subordinated to Varujan Vosganian. Newly appointed Ministers will swear in in Presidential Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest.
Armenian community in Romania is glad with the appointment of Varujan Vosganian.
“We think that he is one of the great individuals of Diaspora who has a lot of achievements and represents as real Armenian,” said the leader of one of communities. According to him Varujan continues the tradition as Armenians used to have ministers, parliamentarians and politicians in Romania.
Being devoted to Armenian origin, language and culture Varujan Vosganian is accepted as a Romanian politician, defender of Romanian values and interests. “I am a 100 % Armenian and 1000% Romanian,” he has once jokingly noted.
Born in Craiova to a family of Armenian ethnicity, Vosganian studied at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza High School in Focşani. He then studied Commerce at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (graduated 1982) and Mathematics at the University of Bucharest (graduated 1991), gaining a Ph.D. in economics in 1998. In 1990, he became president of the Armenians’ Union of Romania and he was twice (1990-1992 and 1992-1996) elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and twice a Senator (1996-2000 and 2004-2008), on the lists of the National Liberal Party.
Between 1996 and 2003, he was the leader of Uniunea Forţelor de Dreapta, a small right wing liberal party, which was eventually merged into the National Liberal Party.
Vosganian has written several books, especially on economics and politics, but also fiction and poetry. He is a member of the Romanian Writers’ Union, and since 2005, he has served as its vice president. Vosganian is also a leading member of the Romanian Humorists’ Association.
One of his achievements is his book titled “The book of whispers” about Armenian Genocide. Varujan Vosganian noted that it was a victory for him to speak Armenia. According to him culture is the most important tool of fight because the book is more powerful than thousands of political speeches, talks and diplomatic efforts. On the author’s words his book is about the Armenian identity. It is concluding the destiny of Armenian nation. Vosganian believes that for forgiving there must be a dialogue. We cannot forgive yet because the one in front of us is blind and deaf.
December 19, 2012 | 19:36
On December 19, Armenian Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan held a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Greece to Armenia Ioannis Thais. The meeting was held at the request of the Greek envoy.
As the press service of the Ministry informed Armenian News-NEWS.am, the Minister expressed the hope that Greek support in development of agriculture in Armenia will be consistent. In turn, the Ambassador said that Greece will continue to support and try to be helpful for Armenia. The parties discussed the establishment of two laboratories on control toxic chemicals in food waste and licensing drinks. The parties also discussed the state of agriculture in both countries and the steps of both governments for th
the jerusalem post
By: By ISI LEIBLER
Bernard Lewis, one of the world’s greatest experts on the Islamic world, told me a few years ago that the emerging younger Iranian 
generation and the alienated middle class would bring about regime change. However, he also predicted that Turkey would evolve into an aggressive Islamist dictatorship and could become the greatest threat to Israel.
Alas, his prediction about Turkey is being realized.
When, 12 years ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed the reins of leadership in Turkey, many expressed concern that beneath the veneer of moderation and commitment to a fusion of moderate Islam and democracy, the real Erdogan was a fanatical Muslim whose objective was to transform Turkey into an authoritarian Islamic state. They were vindicated.
The military, which controlled the nation since Kemal Ataturk created a secular Turkish Republic in 1923, undoubtedly displayed autocratic tendencies in the course of its relentless determination to suppress Muslim extremism. Yet in terms of freedom of speech and democratic process, the situation today is significantly worse than before Erdogan.
Erdogan imprisoned thousands of Turkish citizens on spurious grounds without adequate trials; one in four former Turkish generals is currently languishing in prison; journalists, nonconforming academics and politicians have been summarily arrested; dissenting newspapers were closed down.
To some extent, leaders can be judged by their associates.
Erdogan proudly accepted a “human rights award” from the late Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi and welcomed as his guest Omar Bashir, the genocidal leader of Sudan, a certified war criminal responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his own citizens.
Erdogan denies that Hamas is a terrorist organization, referring to its adherents as heroic liberation fighters and treating visiting Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh virtually like a head of state. Last month he invited the other Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, to be his personal guest of honor at a state Iftar dinner to mark the end of Ramadan.
Erdogan also expanded Turkish diplomatic ties to the most radical Muslim terrorist regimes and organizations, including until recently the Syrians and the Iranian ayatollahs who he continues to insist are entitled to become a nuclear power. Now having parted ways with Assad, he has closely allied himself with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Clearly his objective is to emerge as the popular leader of a neo-Ottoman Sunni Muslim arc.
To promote this objective, he has consciously exploited popular hatred of Israel as a vehicle by which to gain widespread support from the Arab masses.
To this end, he has transformed Turkey’s former close alliance with Israel into one of aggressive confrontation and demonization, emerging as one of the leading Arab states directing hostility against the Jewish state.
The first public display of this behavior was his bitter and contrived confrontation of President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009. Millions of television viewers saw him excoriating Peres over alleged Israeli war crimes and then dramatically storming out of the conference.
The deterioration in Turkish-Israel relations climaxed in 2010 when nine members of the IHH, a Turkish government-sanctioned jihadist terrorist group, were killed on board the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish boat in the Gaza “peace” flotilla, after having attacked the IDF boarding party with metal bars, clubs and knives.
An independent Israeli commission of inquiry vindicated the IDF actions as self-defense. A separate UN commission ruled that while there may have been excessive violence, the Israeli action was entirely consistent with international law.
However, Erdogan exploited this incident to intensify the confrontation with Israel. He demanded that the Israeli government apologize, pay restitution to families and unconditionally lift the blockade on Gaza.
Seeking to ease tensions, the Israelis expressed regret at the loss of lives and, without accepting blame, sought to reach an accommodation including a rumored offer to pay $6 million to families of the victims.
But it soon became clear that Erdogan was seeking confrontation rather than compromise.
The Turkish government downgraded its diplomatic representation and intensified its global campaign to demonize Israel, seeking to have it barred from participating at all international gatherings.
Last month, on the second anniversary of the flotilla, the Turkish High Court issued indictments against Israeli military officers for their alleged involvement in the incident, pronouncing life sentences on the former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and other military leaders.
Campaigns against Israel were accompanied by intensification of anti-Semitic propaganda in the government- controlled media which included ghoulish television dramas (Valley of the Wolves) portraying Israelis as dealers in body parts, murderers of innocent children and other foul criminal activity. Not surprisingly, Turkish opinion polls reflect a 76 percent negative attitude towards Jews.
Erdogan has been especially viral in his denunciation of Israel’s targeted assassinations of terrorists. Yet when a number of Syrian shells errantly crossed his border, he had no hesitation in launching a brutal military attack, in stark contrast to Israel’s reluctance to maximize its deterrent capabilities in response to missiles continuously being launched against Israeli civilians from Gaza.
Nor does Erdogan display any scruples in employing the fiercest means to suppress protests or efforts by the Kurdish minority to achieve greater autonomy or independence.
One of the most disconcerting aspects of this confrontation is that despite his concerted campaign to delegitimize Israel, Erdogan has successfully forged a close alliance with President Barack Obama, who describes him as “an outstanding partner and an outstanding friend on a wide range of issues.” Erdogan reciprocates, stating “from the moment Barack became president, we upgraded the status of our relations from a strategic partnership to a model partnership, on which he also placed a lot of importance.”
Indeed, following pressure from Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Obama agreed to bar Israel – a NATO partner country and member of NATO’s Mediterranean dialogue – from participating in a NATO summit which took place in Chicago.
Turkey also demanded that NATO intelligence information be denied to Israel.
Likewise, Turkey succeeded in excluding Israel from a special meeting of the World Economic Forum. More outrageously, Obama caved in to Turkey’s demand that Israel – the Western country which has suffered more terrorism than any other – be barred from a global forum on counterterrorism.
Israel can do little to lessen the tension. Those who suggest that by prostrating and groveling towards Turkey Israel would overcome this enmity are naïve and misguided. In the context of an aggressive Islamist government such behavior conveys weakness and surrender and would only further embolden Erdogan into making even greater demands. If we cannot generate friendship it is far better that we command respect.
However, the Turks would hesitate to demonize and delegitimize us if they believed that they would be penalized. We could surely expect our principal ally, the United States, to stand firm and not kowtow to Turkish efforts to isolate or demean us.
PanARMENIAN.Net – With a unanimous national vote, the third Republic of Armenia was born on September 21, 1991, to give the Armenian nation the right to build their future, be the masters of their land and regain statehood.
Like in 1918
, the new-born republic had to rebuild the state after the war. If the First Republic will be engraved on the national memory for the Sardarapat victory, so the origin of the Third Republic is certainly bound with the liberation of Artsakh.
Now, Armenia is struggling to build a democratic state, form a civil society, improve the lives of its people. We’re assured that this struggle, like a struggle for the freedom of Artsakh will end with our victory.
Happy Independence Day, Armenia!
20:18, 19 September, 2012
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: Apology, in my opinion, is secondary. First and foremost, the emphasis should be on this society’s c
ourage to face the sins of the past. We were deprived of it until today. This is a frightened society. I am not ashamed to say this: We were fed this fear, we were scared throughout all our lives. Our ruling system has been based on fear. We have to change that. The only way is to confront our past. As Armenpress reports citing Huffington Post, these are the words of İshak Alaton, a prominent octogenarian Turkish businessman of Jewish origin. After releasing his memoirs not so long ago, Alaton has become more and more vocal, calling endlessly for an end to the bloody Kurdish conflict as one of the “wise men” ready to be part of a dialogue on reconciliation, asking for the courage to face the crimes that were committed during the collapse of Ottoman rule and asking citizens to speak out. When a ship called the Struma was dragged to the port of Old İstanbul in 1941, Alaton was a 15-year-old witness to the agony onboard. The 60-year-old vessel was the last hope of 769 Romanian Jews fleeing the Nazis, but its engines had stopped at the Black Sea end of the Bosporus. The issue led to pressure on Ankara from Adolf Hitler’s regime, and after 72 days of despair, the Struma was sent by Turkish authorities back into the Black Sea, where it was torpedoed by the Soviet navy. Only one person survived. “Those responsible for this in Ankara are, to my mind, murderers. This society, of which I am a part, has a problem with hiding from its past. We pretend that if we lock them away the problems will be gone. But the corpses that rot in there poison the air that we breathe. Is any serenity possible without confrontation? Let us do it, so that we can make peace with the past.” The Struma disaster, a hidden episode in the republic’s history, is the subject of a new book written by Halit Kakınç, and its preface is written by, yes, Alaton himself. It is not for nothing the subject of “genies out of the bottle.” is to persist on the agenda of Turkey, opened up in a sort of “Turkish perestroika” by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the past decade. And, only days after the release of the Struma book, another hit the shelves — a potential intellectual bombshell. “1915: Armenian Genocide” is its title and, not only due to its cover but also its groundbreaking content, it overwhelms many others on the subject that have been published. What makes the book outstanding and unique is that it was written by Hasan Cemal, an internationally renowned editor and columnist who is the grandson of Cemal Pasha. This kinship is key to understanding the book’s historic significance: Cemal Pasha was a member of the triumvirate, whose other parts were Talat and Enver Pasha, responsible for the Great Armenian Tragedy, which started with a mass deportation of Ottoman Armenians from their homelands and ended with their annihilation between 1915 through 1916. In his account, Hasan Cemal concludes it was genocide. He does not intend, or pretend, to argue his case like a historian would. His is a painful intellectual journey that takes us through his own evolution, a rather ruthless self-scrutiny of his intellectual past that amounts to an invaluable piece of private archeology. He has done this before. In other books, he questioned his “militarist revolutionary” past, confronting boldly his own mistakes his deep disbelief in democracy, plotting coups, his experience as newspaper editor, etc. But this one is even more personal. “It was the pain of Hrant Dink which made me write this book,” he told the press. Dink was a dear Turkish-Armenian colleague to many of us, as he was to Cemal. He was assassinated in broad daylight on a street of Istanbul by a lone gunman in January 2007, sending shockwaves around the world. “Look at my age; it’s been years and years that I have defended the freedom of expression. But should I keep secret some of my opinions, only for myself? Should I still have some taboos of my own? Should I still remain unliberated? Is it not a shame on me, Hasan Cemal?” In the preface, he writes: “We cannot remain silent before the bitter truths of the past. We cannot let the past hold the present captive. Also, the pain of 1915 does not belong to the past, it is an issue of today. We can only make peace with history, but not an ‘invented’ or ‘distorted’ history like ours, and reach liberty.” The pain of Dink’s memory, which scarred many of us so eternally may have been a crucial point for it, but by turning a “personal taboo-breaking” into a public one, Cemal opened a huge hole in the wall of denial of the state. It broke another mental dam. This bold exercise in freedom of speech will, in time, pave the way for the correct path. It is up to the individuals of Turkey to do the same, and bow before their consciences. Perhaps this is why there has been such silence over this book in the days since its publication. It is also very difficult to find in bookstores. There are rumors that some chains are refusing to sell it. This may be true, but it cannot now be unpublished. The genie is out of the bottle but the ghosts of the past are also very much alive. The “silent treatment” is proof of that. If anything, it shows how frightened people are. Not only does the state owe an apology for the past, but an even bigger apology is necessary for enforcing, decade after decade, a mass internalization of denialism in this country
