POSITIVE MEETING: The meeting of the Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers that took place in Brussels December 5 "considerably differed from the two previous ones", Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanian stated while commenting on the outcome of his meeting with Abdullah Gul.

MEDIATORS ON THE MOVE: International mediators of the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group arrived to Azerbaijan December 5 urging the country's leaders to renew efforts to find a peaceful solution to its long-running conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, RFL/RL reported.

"We share the frustration over this conflict and that we have not made greater progress in resolving this over the last decade," said Rudolf Perina, the US diplomat. "Our countries are determined to help find a just, lasting peace," he added.

FLU ATTACK: Armenian health authorities are bracing for a possible nationwide flu epidemic, prompted by reports that flu has already killed people in the USA, Russia and Europe, Armenpress reported.

Addressing a roundtable at the health ministry December 5, the officials said that in the last week of November 3,000 cases of flu were reported. Meanwhile doctors predict that January is going to be the most severe month.

MINING WINNER: Armenia was selected by a jury of London's ExCel Exhibition Center as winner of the Year's Honorary Title for its achievements in the mining sector, Armenpress reported December 8.

A statement by the Exhibition Center said that after passing the law on concessions and a mining code Armenia has become the first of former Soviet republics to adopt and apply a legislation that fits into Western standards.

PHONE TARIFFS STILL DEBATED: The ArmenTel Company and Armenia's Transport and Communication Ministry continue their dispute over the issue of raising the phone tariff in Jan 2004, Arminfo reported December 9.

Armenia's Minister of Transport and Communication announced that the ministry is going to sue ArmenTel for having announced in the press that it is raising the phone tariffs starting from Jan 1 2004. "This was the company's response to our intention to cancel its monopoly," the minister said.

HOMES FOR REFUGEES: Four blocks of apartments were built this year for 138 families of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan on funds of the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) Armenian Agency, Armenpress reported December 9.

The head of UNHCR press office said the housing demands of the refugees are much more than the agency's capacities. The utmost the agency can do is to provide apartments to 150 families a year, while according to a study of the government there are still 3,500 families waiting for improved housing.

NEW INVESTMENT: The Armenian-Russian CJSC "United Systems of Communications Zvezda" intends to invest 60 million Euro in development of telecommunications network of Armenia, Arminfo reported December 9.

CAPITOL HILL ASSISTANCE: The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to allocate at least $75 million in further American assistance to Armenia which represents an almost 17 percent drop from this year's level.

They also earmarked $3.4 million for separate assistance to the Armenian military and $5 million for U.S.-funded humanitarian programs in Nagorno-Karabakh, RFE/RL reported December 9. Armenia, owing to its influential community in America, has been one of the world's leading per-capita recipients of U.S. aid which has totaled more than $1.5 billion since 1992.

BEING IN CHARGE: The authorities of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (NKR) hold responsibility for the situation in the republic and its adjacent territories, according to the statement, made by the NKR Foreign Ministry.

Arka agency reported December 10 that the statement rejects the allegations of Azerbaijani leadership, trying to represent the NKR as "uncontrollable" territory, hosting illegal drug circulation and camps of terrorists. Meanwhile, according to the annual report of the U.S. State Department on international strategic control over drug circulation, it is the territory of Azerbaijan that has become a transit for the international drug traffic, the NKR Foreign Ministry says.

HOSPITAL FOR CONVICTS: Sick prisoners are to get better medical treatment AYB-FE daily reported December 10.The therapeutic and psychiatric departments of the new hospital for the convicts were open in Yerevan this week. About 215 patients are currently being treated in the hospital.

MEETING IN GENEVA: Armenian and Azeri presidents Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliev met in Geneva December 11, where they both were taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society.

After the meeting that lasted an hour and a half Kocharyan expressed satisfaction with the meeting and noted the sincerity of the dialogue. "We tried to analyze the new situation created around the negotiation process and recall everything Armenia and Azerbaijan discussed during the last several years", Kocharyan told journalists.

POSTPONED VACATION: President Robert Kocharyan signed the decree on calling a special session of the National Assembly December 12, PanARMENIAN.Net reported.

The agenda of the special session includes the bill on alternative military service, the adoption of which is one of the engagements to the Council of Europe, Armenia is to fulfill before the end of the current year. Besides, the parliament has not adopted the state budget for fiscal year 2004. Armenian parliamentarians are also to ratify the memorandum on the basis of which the Armenian military contingent forming a part of the Greek peacemaking battalion will go to Kosovo.