Chess: The opening ceremony of the 4th FIDE Women’s Grand Prix took place in Jermuk, Armenia, on June 23. Welcoming the participants and guests, FIDE President Ilyumzhinov said, “Some two years ago chess lovers had no idea about Jermuk. Now, this wonderful resort is one of chess development centers.”

After the G8 summit in Toronto, Turkey has come to interfere more enthusiastically in the affairs of the region, even in those she has nothing to do with. As we have been repeatedly writing, Erdogan is in a hurry to revive the Ottoman Empire, and if possible, within the previous borders. And before the World War I it comprised Western Armenia, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and Judea, i.e. the countries that can never agree among themselves or individually with Israel.

The fixed-line telephony in Yerevan will be completely digitized during the first half of 2011. Besides, the digitalization process in the republic as a whole is also under way, and there are regions, where these works have been already finished, said Igor Klimko of ArmenTel CEO. 2009 report of the International Telecommunications Union reads that ArmenTel invested around $200mln to digitize the fixed-line telephony in the country within recent years. According to the organization, the digitalization rate in Yerevan totaled 90% as of April 2009.

Renowned Claudia Cardinale, who co-starred in Henri Verneuil’s Mayrig (Mother) film, will attend the opening ceremony of the festival. The actress will be awarded a silver copy of a thaler made by Sergei Parajanov during the years of his imprisonment.