Month: December 2008

166 THOUSAND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES REGISTERED IN ARMENIA TODAY

armradio.am
03.12.2008 11:27

A number of arrangements will be held today in Armenia on the occasion
of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

According to the data of the Department of Persons with Disabilities
and Old People of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 166 101
people with disabilities are registered in Armenia today, 8 824 of
them are under 18.

According to the data of 2006, there were 141 380 handicapped persons
registered in Armenia, about 8 300 of them were children under 18.

The disabled persons comprise 4% of Armenia’s population, and
females comprise 40% of the entire number of the handicapped. 55%
of the disabled persons are of working age. However, only 8% of them
are employed.

OSCE CHAIRMAN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

armradio.am
03.12.2008 12:33

Azerbaijan and Armenia have made progress in resolving the
long-standing dispute over Nagorno Karabakh and the OSCE hopes for a
regional declaration on the issue at its annual meetings later this
week, its chairman said on Tuesday.

"Things are looking quite good on Nagorno-Karabakh," Finnish Foreign
Minister Alexander Stubb, who is leading the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe under the Finnish chairmanship, told Reuters
in an interview.

"I think that we are moving away from a frozen conflict towards a
permanent solution, but of course we are not there yet, and it is
very important that the Minsk Group works on this," Stubb said.

INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN ARTSAKH DISCUSSED IN MOSCOW

armradio.am
03.12.2008 12:58

On 1 December President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Bako Sahakyan
arrived in Moscow. On 2 December the Head of the State held a meeting
with entrepreneur and philanthropist Vitalii Grigoryants, Central
Information Department of the Office of the NKR President reported.

Issues related to the realization of different investment projects
in Artsakh were discussed at the meeting. Special attention was paid
to the issue of water supply and a new impetus will be given to the
activities in this sphere.

WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTRE OPENS IN ARMENIA’S SYUNIK PROVINCE

armradio.am
03.12.2008 13:21

The Meghri Women’s Resource Centre, supported by the OSCE Office
in Yerevan, opened today in Meghri, in the remote Syunik region
of Armenia.

The Centre will offer local women training, networking opportunities
and advice on starting small businesses, legal questions and tax
matters to help promote their active participation in the region’s
public and private sectors.

"The new resource centre will stimulate women’s participation and
raise their role in economic, public and political life, and thus
contribute to the development of the region as a whole," said Sven
Holdar, the Democratization Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan,
at the opening ceremony.

"We believe that the centre will endow the women’s community in Meghri
with a good opportunity to take up joint initiatives and thus achieve
greater success in social and economic life," said Ruzanna Sargsyan,
the President of Meghri Women Resource Centre.

The Centre will be run by the Meghri Women’s Steering Committee,
comprising nine board members. The establishment of the Centre was
proposed by the Meghri Women’s Initiative Group, which was established
last December with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

Three additional women’s resource centres are expected to open in
the Syunik region in 2009.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA WILL NEED $3 BILLION TO RAISE THE ASEISMIC STABILITY OF HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS
Hasmik Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
03.12.2008 14:58

Armenia was the first country to adopt aseismic construction norms
in post-Soviet period. Before that the norms accepted in the Soviet
Union led to the disastrous consequences of the 1988 Spitak earthquake.

Twenty years have passed. Rector of the Crisis Management Academy
Hamlet Matevosyan recalls those dreadful December days from the
distance of time.

"It was a very hard situation, we faced many difficulties. Everything
was destroyed, relatives of the victims did not want to leave their
houses."

"However, earthquake is not dangerous when the high-rise buildings
are aseismic," Director of the National Survey for Seismic Protection
Alvaro Antonyan told "Radiolur." He added that more than $3 billion is
needed to raise the aseismic stability of the buildings constructed
in Soviet times. This is, however, more than the annual budget of
the Republic of Armenia.

"Rather we lay the emphasis on substituting the old buildings with
new ones. Here the question refers to capital Yerevan, which is two
densely populated," Alvaro Antonyan said. Asked whether the newly
constructed buildings are aseismic, he gave a positive answer, not
ruling out, however, that in some cases the laws may be ignored.

Over the recent years it has become fashionable to add new=2 0stories
on the roofs of high-rise buildings. This is another source of
danger. Who gives the permission to the citizens? Alvaro Antonyan
assured the NSSP does not give any permission and noted that it is
given by construction companies. To fill the gap the NSSP has several
times come forth with a legislative initiative, but in vain.

$90 SAFETY ENHANCEMENT WORK CARRIED OUT AT ARMENIAN NPP SINCE RESTART

ARKA
Dec 2, 2008

YEREVAN, December 2. /ARKA/. Safety enhancement work to the amount of
about $90mln has been carried out at the Armenian nuclear-power plant
(NPP) since it was restarted.

"We would like to express our gratitude to all the governments that
have been rendering assistance to Armenia in enhancing the safety of
the operating power unit since it was restarted, rap RESIDENT Serge
Sargsyan stated at the opening the 10th meeting of the RA Presidential
Council for Nuclear Power Safety.

The RA President expressed his appreciation of the IAEA’s activities
to coordinate the work carried out as part of international technical
aid, particularly the implementation of technical measures to enhance
the NPP safety.

President Sargsyan also reminded those present of the third working
meeting held jointly with the IAEA and the RA Ministry of Energy and
Natural Resources this September.

"The meeting analyzed the work done and clarified the priority
measures," S. Sargsyan said.

The Armenian NPP was reconnected to the country’s power grid after
a major repair on November 17.

In September 2003, the INTER RAO EES CJSC owned by the Rosatom
state-owned company became trust manager of the Armenian NPP. The
contract will be in effect until 2013.

ARMENIA TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR POWER PRODUCTION

ARKA
Dec 2, 2008

YEREVAN, December 2. /ARKA/. Armenia intends to use nuclear power for
peaceful purposes, modernize its thermal capacities and construct new
hydro-power plants, RA President Serge Sargsyan stated at his meeting
with Adolph Birchover, Chairman of the RA Presidential Council for
Nuclear Power Safety.

The RA presidential press service reports that President Sargsyan
briefed Mr. Birchover on the situation in Armenia’s energy sector.

"The problems of energy safety and, particularly, nuclear power safety
problems, are of special importance. They are in the highlight of
the Armenian President and Government, S. Sargsyan said.

The RA President appreciated Mr. Birchover’s efforts to enhance
the safety of the Armenian NPP. He stressed Mr. Birchover’s 12-year
experience in carrying out this most important work.

Mr. Birchover pointed out a high safety level at the Armenian NPP. He
stressed the RA Government’s efforts, as well as a high professional
level of specialists, which ensured a high safety level at the
Armenian NPP.

He said that the Armenian NPP is has been maintained better in contrast
to its counterparts in other countries.

The sides also discussed issues of further operation of the Armenian
NPP and construction of a new nuclear power unit.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT AUTHORIZES ADOPTION OF LEGAL ACTS ON AVIATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ARKA
Dec 2, 2008

YEREVAN, December 2. /ARKA/. Armenian Parliament passed the amendments
to the country’s law about legal acts that allows adopting legal acts
on aviation in foreign languages.

The amendments suggest two new items, the Head of the country’s Civil
Aviation Department Artem Movsisyan said in presenting the draft law.

The first, Armenian Government and the respective authorized state
agency on civil aviation, upon approval by the government, are
empowered to adopt legal acts in foreign languages.

According to the second amendment, if approved by the government,
legal acts on civil aviation and atomic energy can be adopted in
foreign languages and will only apply to people who are employed in
the mentioned fields and are obliged to know foreign languages.

Currently legal acts on civil aviation are available only in Armenian,
which makes it difficult for Armenian staff to communicate with
foreign pilots, he said.

According to Movsisyan, translation of terms and legal acts into
Armenian is impossible without misinterpretation that poses a threat
to the safety.

BRYZA: NO MILITARY SOLUTION TO KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.12.2008 13:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In Helsinki, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs hope
to develop confidence-building measures that will help stabilize
cooperation and reduce the risk of armed conflict, the OSCE Minsk
Group’s U.S. Co-chair said.

"The focus of Helsinki discussions will be the efforts of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chairs, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to finalize the Basic
Principles, which define a framework for a comprehensive settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Matthew Bryza said.

The meeting will take place prior to the OSCE Ministerial Council
that will take place in Helsinki on December4-5.

"The President of Armenia insists on the concept of
self-determination. The President of Azerbaijan insists on the concept
of territorial integrity. Our job as mediators is to help both sides
negotiate an agreement that takes all of these principles into account
in a mutually agreed way," he said.

"It is a difficult task, but I am confident we can keep up this
balance, provided the leaders and citizens of both societies are
willing to reach a deal. We believe there is no military solution
to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Bryza said, Trend Azeri news
agency reports.

CBA BOARD ISSUES LICENSES TO ARMENIAN STOCK EXCHANGE AND CENTRAL DEPOSITORY OF ARMENIA

ARKA
Dec 2, 2008

YEREVAN, December 3. /ARKA/. Board of the Central Bank of Armenia
re-registered and issued a license to the Armenian Stock Exchange
(Armex) open joint stock company and the Central Depository of Armenia
open joint stock company.

The respective decision was made at yesterday’s sitting of the CBA
Board presided over by the CBA Chairman Artur Javadyan, the CBA Press
Service reported.

Armenian Stock Exchange (Armex) is a self-regulating organization
registered in Armenia on February 13 2001 embracing 21 dealer
organizations. On November 9 Armex was reorganized to an open joint
stock company. OMX has been the 100% owner of Armex and the Central
Depository since January 7 2008.

The Central Depository of Armenia (CDA) is an organization that keeps
register of securities, carries out clearing and mutual settlement
functions. The CDA was reorganized from a self-regulating organization
to an open joint stock company on November 9 2007.