JUNE 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – More and more ethnic Armenian refuges from Syria are fleeing to Armenia, Hranush Hakobyan, minister for diaspora, said. Thousands of Armenians had lived in Syria. Many fled after the start of a civil war. Ms Hakobyan said there were now 13,000 in Armenia.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – An unnamed Spanish company is reportedly on the brink of signing a deal to lease the so-called Alphabet Tower in Batumi for 1 lari a year. That’s about 40 cents.
The Alphabet Tower, much like its neighbouring Batumi Tower which houses a ferris wheel halfway up one of its flanks, has become an item of ridicule since it was built in 2011.
It was one of former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s projects to beautify Batumi and yet it has been virtually abandoned since it was completed. And this is important. The current government, headed by the Georgian Dream coalition, despises Mr Saakashvili. It views his projects around Batumi with particular contempt and has already sold the Batumi Tower. Selling off these towers, it appears to think, is a way of pouring more scorn and ridicule on Mr Saakashvili.
Designed and built by a Spanish architect the Georgian alphabet twists and winds its way up the side of the Alpabet Tower. There are 33 letters in the modern Georgian alphabet, but only 31 on the tower. Two letters had been missed.
The tower has never been used the media reported that a lift running to the top floor was out of service. If the Spanish company did take the lease on the tower, and it reportedly wants to put a restaurant on the top floor, it would have to spend thousands of dollars repairing it.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
JUNE 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) cut its growth rate estimate for GDP in 2015 in Uzbekistan to 7% from an earlier prediction of 7.8%. The falling value of the rouble and a drop in global oil prices have hit growth rates across the region.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has agreed to increase the amount of electricity it supplies to Afghanistan by four times over the next five years, media reported quoting senior officials. Turkmenistan has become an increasingly important regional power and energy supplier.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s economy by the end of April was just 0.9% larger than a year earlier, the Georgian national statistics agency said. Georgia and the rest of the region are coping with the twin impact of a drop in the value of the Russian rouble and a decline in oil prices.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s parliament said that it had started considering whether to scrap a law that bans people over the age of 70 from being president. This may sound arcane and fringe even, but it is also vitally important.
Repealing this law would allow current president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to remain in power for as long as he wanted.
There are already very few checks and balances on his powers. And, according to Eurasianet, the man chairing the commission looking into the idea of scrapping the law is Mr Berdymukhamedov himself. At 57-years-old, Mr Berymukhamedov may be thinking about his future.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
JUNE 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan’s energy ministry pledged to help Iraq explore for more oil.
The joint agreement was important because it underlined Azerbaijan’s determination to play a greater role in regional affairs. Iraq has been looking for partners to explore for more oil deposits and, although this agreement doesn’t actually put an exploration phase in motion, it does lay important groundwork for one.
Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s energy minister, said: “We’re talking about investing in Iraq. We plan to choose there one of the projects, that is, an oilfield, and will work on it. In turn, Iraqi companies have been invited to participate in projects in Azerbaijan. I’m sure this collaboration will be productive.”
Azerbaijan has assumed an increasingly important role in the region.
Azerbaijan has hosted Afghan government delegations and promised to play a role in developing government institutions there, Israel considers Azerbaijan to be a regional ally and Baku has also rebuilt relations with Tehran over the last couple of years.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia confirmed it will send a team to the inaugural European Games in Baku next month. Azerbaijan and Armenia are officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh, now controlled by Armenia-backed forces. Some athletes wanted to boycott the event.
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(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A tiger at Tbilisi Zoo attacked its keeper ripping her arms and legs, media reported. Reports said the woman keeper, who has worked at the zoo for 25 years, was standing in an area outside the main cage when she was attacked. Doctors said they had amputated her leg and her situation was serious.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) officially closed its office in Baku, 6 months after Azerbaijani police raided it. Relations between Azerbaijan and the West have worsened over the past year.
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(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
