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Arminfo
Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey: Yerevan is at position 174
2010-06-01 07:38:00
ArmInfo. According to the Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey, the
capital of Armenia, Yerevan, is at 174th position by quality of
living.
As BBC reported, such indicators as the level of crime, political
stability, quality of hospitals and medical aid, comfort of the
transport system, availability of cafes and restaurants, resting
places, climatic conditions, level of individual freedom and other
factors - total of 39 criteria.
It is interesting that Yerevan in the rating is followed by Alma-Ata
(175th position), Minsk (185th position) and Baku (196th position).
The remaining CIS capitals positioned beyond 200: Tashkent (200),
Ashkhabad (201), Bishkek (209), Dushanbe (210) and Tbilisi (217).
Among the former USSR countries, only the capitals of the Baltic
republics which joined EU - Vilnius (79), Tallin (89) and Riga (91),
entered the first hundred. They are followed by Kiev by a long shot
(161). Authors of the report considered just Moscow and Saint
Petersburg, among the Russian cities, worthy of international
investors' attention. These cities took the 166th and 170th positions,
respectively.
The capital of Austria, Vienna, retains the top spot as the city with
the world's best quality of living. Zurich and Geneva follow in second
and third position, respectively. Seven places in the first ten are
held by the European cities. Dusseldorf is in the 6th place in the
rating, the 7th and 8th places are held by Frankfurt and Munich, and
the 9th place - by Bern.
London has become the only British city which entered the first fifty.
It ranks at 39. Aberdeen (53), Birmingham (55) and Glasgow (57) fall a
little bit behind. Among the American cities, Honolulu (31) is the
city in the US with the highest quality of living (31), followed by
San Francisco (32).
In Asia, Singapore remains the highest-ranking Asian city at 28,
followed by Japanese city Tokyo (40). Baghdad has been recognized the
most disadvantaged city (221), which completes the list first of all
because of lack of security and stability.
To note, Mercer has been publishing the list of the most liveable
places since 2007. New York is considered the starting point and is
given the living level of 100 points. However, New York takes just the
49th place in the list.
According to the rating authors, it should help the management of big
international companies to evaluate the working conditions of their
employees, correctly choose a staff and their salary .
2010-06-01 07:38:00
ArmInfo. According to the Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey, the
capital of Armenia, Yerevan, is at 174th position by quality of
living.
As BBC reported, such indicators as the level of crime, political
stability, quality of hospitals and medical aid, comfort of the
transport system, availability of cafes and restaurants, resting
places, climatic conditions, level of individual freedom and other
factors - total of 39 criteria.
It is interesting that Yerevan in the rating is followed by Alma-Ata
(175th position), Minsk (185th position) and Baku (196th position).
The remaining CIS capitals positioned beyond 200: Tashkent (200),
Ashkhabad (201), Bishkek (209), Dushanbe (210) and Tbilisi (217).
Among the former USSR countries, only the capitals of the Baltic
republics which joined EU - Vilnius (79), Tallin (89) and Riga (91),
entered the first hundred. They are followed by Kiev by a long shot
(161). Authors of the report considered just Moscow and Saint
Petersburg, among the Russian cities, worthy of international
investors' attention. These cities took the 166th and 170th positions,
respectively.
The capital of Austria, Vienna, retains the top spot as the city with
the world's best quality of living. Zurich and Geneva follow in second
and third position, respectively. Seven places in the first ten are
held by the European cities. Dusseldorf is in the 6th place in the
rating, the 7th and 8th places are held by Frankfurt and Munich, and
the 9th place - by Bern.
London has become the only British city which entered the first fifty.
It ranks at 39. Aberdeen (53), Birmingham (55) and Glasgow (57) fall a
little bit behind. Among the American cities, Honolulu (31) is the
city in the US with the highest quality of living (31), followed by
San Francisco (32).
In Asia, Singapore remains the highest-ranking Asian city at 28,
followed by Japanese city Tokyo (40). Baghdad has been recognized the
most disadvantaged city (221), which completes the list first of all
because of lack of security and stability.
To note, Mercer has been publishing the list of the most liveable
places since 2007. New York is considered the starting point and is
given the living level of 100 points. However, New York takes just the
49th place in the list.
According to the rating authors, it should help the management of big
international companies to evaluate the working conditions of their
employees, correctly choose a staff and their salary .
hetq.am
Children Living on the Edge: Who is Ultimately Responsible?
[ 2010/05/31 | 15:08 ]
Grisha Balasanyan
26% of Armenians Under the Age of 18 Live in Poverty
On the surface, it would appear that children in Armenia are
adequately cared for given the notion of the traditional Armenian
family and the attention it devotes to the raising of kids. However,
take a closer look at reality and you will see that the rights of
children in Armenia are being violated on a constant basis. Take, for
example, the case of a child in need of medical treatment but the
parents cannot afford the cost.
Under RoA law, all individuals who have not yet turned 18 are
considered to be juveniles. However, the state limits
government-funded medical treatment to children under the age of
seven. After that, the parents must pick up the tab.
Then there is the law that states that all children must be provided
decent and adequate living conditions. But what if a family cannot
afford to do so? The law stipulates that they must. 26.5% of Armenia’s
population are children.
UNICEF statistics reveal serious shortcomings
26% of these children live under the poverty line and 3% live in what
is termed “extreme poverty”. According to UNICEF standards,
individuals with a monthly income of less that 17,232 AMD in Armenia
are regarded as “extremely poor” and those with less than 25,188 AMD
per month are regarded as just “poor”.
According to UNICEF studies, child poverty rates in Shirak Marz are
the highest at 7%. Vayots Dzor ranks the lowest with a 1% extreme
poverty rate for children. In Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, a whopping
21% of children are living in poverty and 3% in extreme poverty.
The larger the family, the greater the chances of a child growing up
in poverty. Such a risk increases if the parents have a high school
education or less and if the child grows up in a one-parent family,
especially if the head of the household is the mother. It doesn’t
help, if none of the elders of the family are out of work.
In order to combat extreme child poverty and to soften the
consequences, UNICVEF has urged the government to seek new ways to
more effectively channel state funds aimed at providing a social net
for children.
For example, it has been suggested to the government that children be
allocated a monthly allowance of 5,000 AMD. This would cut the child
poverty rate from 26% down to 10%. According to UNICEF estimates,
allocating such assistance to juveniles between the ages of 0-4 would
cost the government about $30 million; or about 1% of the 2010
national budget. The practice of granting child assistance has been
successfully employed in western Europe.
9 year-old Lilit: Can the government assist the truly needy?
In last week’s edition of Hetq, we covered the issues confronting Nina
Babakhanyan’s nine member family living in the Ararat Marz village of
Sipanik. Their house collapsed due to rising underground water and the
family now lives in a makeshift hut on wheels.
There are five juveniles in the family that just aren’t getting enough
to eat on certain days. When we visited the family, 9 year-old Lilit
walked up to us, tears in her eyes, and begged us to help get them a
house. The girl has come down with a chronic cough due to the damp
conditions.
The doctors have diagnosed her with chronic bronchitis but she has
never received proper medical attention. Some physicians suspect that
she might have contracted tuberculosis.
They have sent Lilit for further testing and luckily the TB suspicions
have been ruled out. However, all the necessary pre-requisites for
contracting the disease still remain – dampness, malnutrition, etc.
Lilit is now being treated at home with various medications. Ernest
Baloyan, who heads the out-patient clinic says that other than
offering certain prophylactic care, they can do no more for the girl.
So this is the extent of the government’s care of the child. Her
parent cannot afford adequate medical attention because she is out of
work. With the money the family receives in assistance from the
government , they can barely put food on the table for half the month.
Lilit dreams of living in Yerevan where she can at lest go down into
the yard and play with friends. In Sipanik, her village, there’s not
even any dry land left to walk on, let alone play. The underground
waters have totally engulfed the rural community.
Years ago, Lilit’s family resided in Yerevan but circumstances forced
them to sell their apartment. They would up in Sipanik. The girl
showed us the only three cuddly toys she owned and a bag in which she
kept her clothes.
All these were presents received from neighbors. It’s been several
years now that Lilit and her younger brother, Felix, haven’t gotten
any new clothes. The kids have made do with hand-me-downs from others.
Lilit couldn’t speak with us for long. She was always coughing and
crying. Felix has also suffered from the unhealthy living conditions,
contracting nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys.
Do the bureaucrats actually care?
Gagik Poghosyan, Head of the Children’s Rights Protection Department
at the Ararat Regional Administration, told Hetq that most of the
cases of rights violations were socio-economic in nature and that
their number wasn’t all that large.
“The region is mainly an agriculture-based economy. People own plots
of land, so even if they have no steady work they can always raise the
kids on income derived from the land. Compared to residents of the
mountainous regions, those living in the Ararat valley are fairly well
off,” Mr. Poghosyan said.
He pointed out that during the past two years some 250 local kids from
needy families and or when one or both parents are missing, have been
sent to Tzaghkadzor or Hankavan free of chrage by the government for
their summer vacation.
“If the child has a medical issue, we get involved to see that proper
treatment is provided in order that the child fully recuperates,” said
Mr.Poghosyan.
When we told him about the plight of Lilit and Felix in the village of
Sipanik, Mr. Poghosyan said he was aware of the situation since the
mother had contacted him directly s few months ago. He directed the
children’s parent to the Health Department at the Regional
Administration.
“The mother came here so I directed her to the Health Department. I
didn’t see her again afterwards,” said Mr. Poghosyan. When we told him
that the little girl’s condition had only worsened after the visit, he
said that the Regional Governor was taking steps to solve the family’s
housing situation.
We asked Mr. Poghosyan if he wasn’t at all interested in the fact that
the children had serious medical problems. “They came here to see me,
but not with medical problems. I remember the encounter well. They had
come about a housing matter, that there was a great deal of water,” he
replied.
The fact is that the official who heads the Children’s Rights
Protection Department has never gone out to the home where these needy
children live. Neither does he understand the full scope of their
problem; nor does he display a desire to. The official seemed to be
tyrying to extricate himself from any responsibility over this
unfortunate situation. But he stumbled on his on words.
At first, he literally boasted to us that the children’s mother had
come to see him and that he directed her to the right office, the
Health Department. Later on, however, he insisted that she had visited
him with a housing matter.
Of course, the two issues, health and housing, are interrelated. But
Mr. Poghosyan would rather see one and not the other, and then only
when it’s convenient to do so.
[ 2010/05/31 | 15:08 ]
Grisha Balasanyan
26% of Armenians Under the Age of 18 Live in Poverty
On the surface, it would appear that children in Armenia are
adequately cared for given the notion of the traditional Armenian
family and the attention it devotes to the raising of kids. However,
take a closer look at reality and you will see that the rights of
children in Armenia are being violated on a constant basis. Take, for
example, the case of a child in need of medical treatment but the
parents cannot afford the cost.
Under RoA law, all individuals who have not yet turned 18 are
considered to be juveniles. However, the state limits
government-funded medical treatment to children under the age of
seven. After that, the parents must pick up the tab.
Then there is the law that states that all children must be provided
decent and adequate living conditions. But what if a family cannot
afford to do so? The law stipulates that they must. 26.5% of Armenia’s
population are children.
UNICEF statistics reveal serious shortcomings
26% of these children live under the poverty line and 3% live in what
is termed “extreme poverty”. According to UNICEF standards,
individuals with a monthly income of less that 17,232 AMD in Armenia
are regarded as “extremely poor” and those with less than 25,188 AMD
per month are regarded as just “poor”.
According to UNICEF studies, child poverty rates in Shirak Marz are
the highest at 7%. Vayots Dzor ranks the lowest with a 1% extreme
poverty rate for children. In Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, a whopping
21% of children are living in poverty and 3% in extreme poverty.
The larger the family, the greater the chances of a child growing up
in poverty. Such a risk increases if the parents have a high school
education or less and if the child grows up in a one-parent family,
especially if the head of the household is the mother. It doesn’t
help, if none of the elders of the family are out of work.
In order to combat extreme child poverty and to soften the
consequences, UNICVEF has urged the government to seek new ways to
more effectively channel state funds aimed at providing a social net
for children.
For example, it has been suggested to the government that children be
allocated a monthly allowance of 5,000 AMD. This would cut the child
poverty rate from 26% down to 10%. According to UNICEF estimates,
allocating such assistance to juveniles between the ages of 0-4 would
cost the government about $30 million; or about 1% of the 2010
national budget. The practice of granting child assistance has been
successfully employed in western Europe.
9 year-old Lilit: Can the government assist the truly needy?
In last week’s edition of Hetq, we covered the issues confronting Nina
Babakhanyan’s nine member family living in the Ararat Marz village of
Sipanik. Their house collapsed due to rising underground water and the
family now lives in a makeshift hut on wheels.
There are five juveniles in the family that just aren’t getting enough
to eat on certain days. When we visited the family, 9 year-old Lilit
walked up to us, tears in her eyes, and begged us to help get them a
house. The girl has come down with a chronic cough due to the damp
conditions.
The doctors have diagnosed her with chronic bronchitis but she has
never received proper medical attention. Some physicians suspect that
she might have contracted tuberculosis.
They have sent Lilit for further testing and luckily the TB suspicions
have been ruled out. However, all the necessary pre-requisites for
contracting the disease still remain – dampness, malnutrition, etc.
Lilit is now being treated at home with various medications. Ernest
Baloyan, who heads the out-patient clinic says that other than
offering certain prophylactic care, they can do no more for the girl.
So this is the extent of the government’s care of the child. Her
parent cannot afford adequate medical attention because she is out of
work. With the money the family receives in assistance from the
government , they can barely put food on the table for half the month.
Lilit dreams of living in Yerevan where she can at lest go down into
the yard and play with friends. In Sipanik, her village, there’s not
even any dry land left to walk on, let alone play. The underground
waters have totally engulfed the rural community.
Years ago, Lilit’s family resided in Yerevan but circumstances forced
them to sell their apartment. They would up in Sipanik. The girl
showed us the only three cuddly toys she owned and a bag in which she
kept her clothes.
All these were presents received from neighbors. It’s been several
years now that Lilit and her younger brother, Felix, haven’t gotten
any new clothes. The kids have made do with hand-me-downs from others.
Lilit couldn’t speak with us for long. She was always coughing and
crying. Felix has also suffered from the unhealthy living conditions,
contracting nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys.
Do the bureaucrats actually care?
Gagik Poghosyan, Head of the Children’s Rights Protection Department
at the Ararat Regional Administration, told Hetq that most of the
cases of rights violations were socio-economic in nature and that
their number wasn’t all that large.
“The region is mainly an agriculture-based economy. People own plots
of land, so even if they have no steady work they can always raise the
kids on income derived from the land. Compared to residents of the
mountainous regions, those living in the Ararat valley are fairly well
off,” Mr. Poghosyan said.
He pointed out that during the past two years some 250 local kids from
needy families and or when one or both parents are missing, have been
sent to Tzaghkadzor or Hankavan free of chrage by the government for
their summer vacation.
“If the child has a medical issue, we get involved to see that proper
treatment is provided in order that the child fully recuperates,” said
Mr.Poghosyan.
When we told him about the plight of Lilit and Felix in the village of
Sipanik, Mr. Poghosyan said he was aware of the situation since the
mother had contacted him directly s few months ago. He directed the
children’s parent to the Health Department at the Regional
Administration.
“The mother came here so I directed her to the Health Department. I
didn’t see her again afterwards,” said Mr. Poghosyan. When we told him
that the little girl’s condition had only worsened after the visit, he
said that the Regional Governor was taking steps to solve the family’s
housing situation.
We asked Mr. Poghosyan if he wasn’t at all interested in the fact that
the children had serious medical problems. “They came here to see me,
but not with medical problems. I remember the encounter well. They had
come about a housing matter, that there was a great deal of water,” he
replied.
The fact is that the official who heads the Children’s Rights
Protection Department has never gone out to the home where these needy
children live. Neither does he understand the full scope of their
problem; nor does he display a desire to. The official seemed to be
tyrying to extricate himself from any responsibility over this
unfortunate situation. But he stumbled on his on words.
At first, he literally boasted to us that the children’s mother had
come to see him and that he directed her to the right office, the
Health Department. Later on, however, he insisted that she had visited
him with a housing matter.
Of course, the two issues, health and housing, are interrelated. But
Mr. Poghosyan would rather see one and not the other, and then only
when it’s convenient to do so.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CRITICAL OF ARMENIA
Tert.am
27.05.10
In its 2010 report on human rights violations human rights watchdog
Amnesty International says that those guilty for encroachments upon
human rights in Armenia have not been held accountable, freedom of
rights has been limited, journalists have been attacked, the ban
imposed in 2008 on the right to hold assemblies in the centre of the
city has not been lifted and the measures to protect women's and girls'
rights against violation do not meet international standards.
According to Radio Liberty the report also says that on June 19 the
National Assembly of Armenia granted an amnesty to those arrested
during the 2008 March1/2 events. The amnesty affected those who were
not accused of violations, but only those who had been sentenced
for 5 years. Those not affected by that amnesty, saw their sentences
reduce twice.
In Impunity section the organization mentiones that 4 poilcemen were
charged with using force against citizens on March 1, 2008. By the
end of last year no independent investigations have been carried
out to prove that the police has used force in 2008 events. In June
2008 a an ad hoc committee was created to investigate those events,
but according to Amnesty International, it did not start its work,
as the opposition refused participating in its activities.
Further the report draws attention to the closure of Michael
Danielyan's case, a human rights defender (the former leader of
Progressive Party of Armenia had opened fire on him), expressing its
concerns that the the Prosecutrs Office ingnored some key witnesses'
testimonies. Michael Danielyan appealed his case in 2008, but by the
end of 2009 no decision had been made about his appeal.
In Freedom of Speech section the organization touches upon the case
of Argishti Kiviryan - a journalist and lawyer beaten in Yerevan,
saying that the cases of violations on journalist remain uninvestigated
which contributes to the atmosphere of impunity.
Tert.am
27.05.10
In its 2010 report on human rights violations human rights watchdog
Amnesty International says that those guilty for encroachments upon
human rights in Armenia have not been held accountable, freedom of
rights has been limited, journalists have been attacked, the ban
imposed in 2008 on the right to hold assemblies in the centre of the
city has not been lifted and the measures to protect women's and girls'
rights against violation do not meet international standards.
According to Radio Liberty the report also says that on June 19 the
National Assembly of Armenia granted an amnesty to those arrested
during the 2008 March1/2 events. The amnesty affected those who were
not accused of violations, but only those who had been sentenced
for 5 years. Those not affected by that amnesty, saw their sentences
reduce twice.
In Impunity section the organization mentiones that 4 poilcemen were
charged with using force against citizens on March 1, 2008. By the
end of last year no independent investigations have been carried
out to prove that the police has used force in 2008 events. In June
2008 a an ad hoc committee was created to investigate those events,
but according to Amnesty International, it did not start its work,
as the opposition refused participating in its activities.
Further the report draws attention to the closure of Michael
Danielyan's case, a human rights defender (the former leader of
Progressive Party of Armenia had opened fire on him), expressing its
concerns that the the Prosecutrs Office ingnored some key witnesses'
testimonies. Michael Danielyan appealed his case in 2008, but by the
end of 2009 no decision had been made about his appeal.
In Freedom of Speech section the organization touches upon the case
of Argishti Kiviryan - a journalist and lawyer beaten in Yerevan,
saying that the cases of violations on journalist remain uninvestigated
which contributes to the atmosphere of impunity.
AN EARTHQUAKE IN THE LAKE SEVAN
Aysor
May 27 2010
Armenia
Today at 01:16 in the Armenian Republic territory, in the lake Sevan,
10km to the North - West from Vardenis took place an earthquake with
2.5 magnitudes.
As the national seismic defense service told Aysor.am the power of
the earthquake has made 3 balls in the epicenter.
At 06:01 in local time the earthquake was followed by 2.1 magnitudes.
Very lovely Armenian song
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