Author: Kanayan Tamar

Armenia’s maternal mortality rate falls in past five years

news.am
August 25, 2012 | 17:03

YEREVAN. – A total of 15, 13, 4 and 3 cases of maternal mortality were
recorded in Armenia in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. And
four such cases have been registered in the first seven months of the
current year.

The primary causes of maternal mortality in Armenia likewise used to
be obstetrical bleeding, hyperintense interruption of pregnancy,
post-birth complications, and abortions, Pastinfo News Agency informs.

In the maternal mortalities recorded in the past five years, however,
the causes that are not directly related to pregnancy and childbirth
have become more frequent, and their regularity exceeds the major
causes of respective deaths in the previous years.

Five of the forty women – that is, 12.5 percent – who lost their lives
from 2008 to 2012 and as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, and
post-birth complications in Armenia, had died at home. And such cases
of death are primarily conditioned on extragenital diseases, or
unforeseen causes during short-term pregnancies, or the post-birth
period.

In the case of the women who died as a result of extragenital
diseases, the pregnancies were up to six-seven weeks, and the
pregnancy was discovered only during autopsy.

But the sole consolation under this truly dire situation is the fact
that the maternal mortality rate in Armenia is falling in the past
five years.

`My Kid Doesn’t Have Any Clothes or Shoes, My Dear,’ a Protester Says to
Taron Margaryan (Video)

Aug 24
August 24, 2012 00:10

Residents of
the area on Buzand and Aram Streets to be exploited who had gathered
outside the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) office, so to say, `caught
by
surprise’ Taron Margaryan, the mayor of Yerevan, after the RPA council
meeting. The mayor `got along’ with them. In any case, the residents were
satisfied and happy after the meeting.

Taron Margaryan asked a City Hall worker to write down everyone’s phone
number and assured that their
problem would be necessarily solved. A woman protester, a resident of the
community of Erebuni, approached him and told him with her eyes full of
tears that she had a schoolchild, `He doesn’t have any clothes or
shoes,
my dear.’ The mayor asked whether she had applied to the City Hall. The
woman went, `Unless you tell them, the City Hall won’t solve that issue.’
Taron Margaryan ordered his workers, `Write down her phone number and you
will go to Artur Karapetyan tomorrow. You can go to Chorbulakh without
worrying and come to the City Hall tomorrow.’

According to one of the protesters, `I am a 60-year-old woman, I have no
job, nothing, how shall I make the payment, how shall I live, many of us
owe money to banks, pay interests.’

One of them demanded, `Mr. Margaryan, we don’t ask much from you, give
us our land, give us our 4 walls to live. If this issue is not solved,
I have decided to lock my door and leave Armenia.’

When we inquired of the mayor when those people’s problem would be
eventually solved, he explained, `A commission has been established in the
Ministry of Finance headed by
the minister. Representatives of all interested parties are involved in
that commission. The fact is being discussed; the commission will make
public its final decision after the discussion.’

In response to an observation of whether it wasn’t late to
discuss it after 8 years, he said, `The commission has just been
established and be sure that the commission will do everything to solve the
problem.’

They made different promises, when they tried to turn people out of their
homes at the time. In response to this observation of ours, Taron Margaryan
said, `That is why a criminal case has been opened against those investors,
those owners who deceived our citizens and we will see the criminal case
through in accordance with the law.’

Syrian-Armenian families apply for refugee status in Armenia since 2012

armradio.am
25.08.2012 13:40

46 Syrian-Armenian families have applied for a refugee status in
Armenia ever since the beginning of this year until Friday. And all
respective applications were approved, the Asylum Affairs Department
of Armenia’s State Migration Service told Pastinfo News Agency.
According to the same source, SMS has approved all applications for
receiving housing, and dwellings were allocated for 51 members from 21
such families. Other Syrian Armenians have chosen to live at the homes
of their friends and relatives in Armenia.
Pursuant to Armenia’s law, the persons who are recognized as refugees
and have been granted asylum in the country are under Armenia’s
protection. They are given the right to legally reside in the country,
and without any time limitations.

ARMENIENS DE SYRIE
L’« Armée syrienne libre » dément les informations d’une attaque
visant la communauté arménienne de Syrie

« L’Armée syrienne libre » par la voix du Président de son Conseil
militaire Mustapha al Cheikh vient de démentir l’information diffusée
sur nombre de médias que la Communauté arménienne serait dans la mire
de l’opposition syrienne. Cette annonce fut effectuée sur la chaîne de
télévision « Al Arabia ». Le Président de « l’Armée syrienne libre » a
affirmé que les Arméniens de Syrie y vivent depuis des décennies et il
n’y eut jamais de problème avec les Arméniens. « Le peuple de Syrie
n’a aucun problème avec les Arméniens, les chrétiens et les autres
communautés » a-t-il dit. Mustapha al Cheikh a également assuré
qu’aujourd’hui ainsi que demain son groupe n’a aucune intention de
s’attaquer aux Arméniens et toutes les nouvelles diffusées à ce propos
sont fausse…et viendraient « de l’autre camp ».

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 25 août 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

FRANCE
Nouveaux manuels d’Histoire de 3e : exit Foch et Joffre, le génocide
arménien arrive

Exit les maréchaux Joffre ou Foch, et même souvent le rôle de Pétain
pendant la Première Guerre mondiale : les nouveaux manuels de troisième
d’histoire-géo évoquent en revanche longuement le génocide arménien,
l’indépendance de l’Algérie ou le peintre Otto Dix.
[image: (JPEG)]

Suite logique de la rénovation des programmes lancée par les ministres
de
l’Education, Xavier Darcos, et Luc Chatel, ce sont les classes de troisième
et terminale qui sont dotées de nouveaux manuels scolaires cette rentrée
2012.
[image: (JPEG)]

`Pour la géographie en troisième, le programme est entièrement nouveau, les
élèves étudient la France et le rôle mondial de la France, alors que ce
sujet était au programme des quatrièmes il y a deux ans`, explique Valérie
Perthué, responsable du département sciences humaines/livres scolaires
chez
Hatier.

En Histoire, la période étudiée va de 1910 au monde contemporain. Dans les
manuels Hachette, Hatier, Belin les maréchaux Joffre et Foch disparaissent.
Le rôle de Pétain pendant la Première Guerre mondiale n’est souligné que
chez Belin, note Hubert Tison, secrétaire général de l’association
des
professeurs d’histoire-géographie.
[image: (JPEG)]

`Dans plusieurs manuels, Philippe Pétain n’apparaît que dans le chapitre
sur la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Comment comprendre son arrivée au pouvoir
sans avoir évoqué le héros de la Première Guerre mondiale ?`, demande
M. Tison.

`Les mutineries de la Grande Guerre disparaissent aussi`, relève-t-il.
M. Tison qui juge le programme `très vaste, très, trop ambitieux pour des
élèves qui ont seulement 2H30 de cours par semaine`.
[image: (JPEG)]

`On ne choisit pas de virer Joffre ou Foch, on essaie de faire rentrer dans
une page, deux pages ou quatre pages un sujet en suivant un programme
imposé qui est vaste`, répond la PDG de Belin, Sylvie Marcé.

Documents d’époque

`Les ouvrages donnent une grande place aux photos, aux documents, c’est
voulu par les enseignants qui veulent faire travailler les élèves sur des
documents d’époque, la partie cours étant un petit résumé du discours du
professeur`, ajoute-t-elle.

Dans les nouveaux livres, le génocide arménien est plus largement traité.
Dans le manuel Hatier, le peintre expressionniste et pacifiste allemand
Otto Dix, bénéficie de deux pages, comme le sculpteur nazi Arno Breker.
Dans le chapitre traitant de la décolonisation et de la création des
nouveaux Etats, les exemples de l’Inde et de l’Algérie occupent deux
doubles pages, le double de la précédente édition.
[image: (JPEG)]

Pour les terminales L et ES, les deux manuels d’Histoire et géographie
(matières inscrites au baccalauréat) totalisent 730 pages chez Hatier.
Pour
les terminales S, qui ont passé en juin 2012 une épreuve anticipée
d’histoire-géo, un seul livre de 220 pages regroupe l’histoire et la
géographie, matière devenue optionnelle.

En L ou ES, un chapitre sur le patrimoine veut faire réfléchir sur les
traces de l’histoire dans les villes de Rome, Jérusalem et Paris.

`Le patrimoine de Rome ou Jérusalem fait appel à des connaissances que peu
d’élèves ont, les professeurs choisiront donc Paris`, estime M. Tison.

`En géographie, on introduit une comparaison USA-Brésil et Japon-Chine et
surtout on commence par l’étude des cartes pour comprendre le monde`,
souligne Valérie Perthué.

Le manuel unique des S présente de nombreuses cartes représentant le monde
depuis l’Antiquité, on évoque la Silicon valley, la lutte contre les
maladies infectieuses depuis Pasteur, la course à l’espace depuis 1945.
*samedi 25 août 2012,*
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Nagorno-Karabakh launches meetings of military teachers

news.am
August 23, 2012 | 21:08

STEPANAKERT. – The scientific-methodical training-meetings for the
military teachers teaching at the public educational institutions were
launched since Wednesday within the cooperation frameworks and the
joint plan of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense and Education ministries.
The meeting will continue for three days. The trainings include
courses on lectures, display, practical and commander-methodical
readiness for the pre-military service age of the schoolchildren, the
Karabakh MOD information service informs. MOD high-ranking officials
as well as officials of the Education Ministry delivered lectures for
the participants.

Trend, Azerbaijan
Aug 24 2012

Fitch confirms Armenia’s weakness in absorbing further external shocks

Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 23 / Trend /

The current account deficit (CAD) of Armenia narrowed to 11% of GDP in
2011, but was still the second largest in Emerging Europe and the
third widest among ‘BB’ rated sovereigns, Fitch Ratings said on
Thursday.

“It is well above its pre-crisis level. Slowing growth in export
earnings, linked to falling metals prices, will limit further progress
in 2012,” the agency’s experts believe.

According to Fitch Ratings, with only half of the CAD financed by
foreign direct investment, the remainder is financed by external
borrowing, pushing up net external indebtedness.

According to the report, public debt may stabilise at around 45% of
GDP. However, this ratio is unusually sensitive to exchange rate
movements, given that 84% of public debt is in foreign currency,
mainly from multilateral lenders.

Armenia will start to make net repayments to the IMF in 2013. CBA and
government repayments to the IMF are to peak in 2013 at USD279m (2.6%
of forecast GDP or one-sixth of CBA reserves). Reserves will therefore
stay flat or decline. Fitch expects the government to seek a successor
agreement to the Extended Fund Facility/Extended Credit Facility
expiring in June 2013. The government expects to refinance its direct
obligations to the Fund from multilateral sources.

“Armenia’s ability to absorb further external shocks is weaker than in
2008, as government and external debt have multiplied. Pressure on
reserves or the dram – following an external shock – would lead to
negative rating action. Any shortfall in capital inflows would
increase risks of currency devaluation,” the agency believes.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Armenia’s Long-term foreign and local
currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘BB-‘. The Outlook on the
Long-term IDRs is Stable. At the same time, Fitch has affirmed the
Short-term foreign currency IDR at ‘B’ and Country Ceiling at ‘BB’.

APA, Azerbaijan
Aug 24 2012

Deputy FM of Iran: Iran recognizes Armenia as aggressor

[ 25 Aug 2012 00:16 ]

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has paid particular
attention to the arrest of Azerbaijani poets in Iran and expressed
concern about the population and the Azerbaijani leadership on this
issue

Baku-APA. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received the
delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran for Asia and the
Pacific Said Abbas Arakchi, APA reports referring the press service of
the Foreign Ministry.

The meeting discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation, the
situation in the region, the upcoming summit in Tehran Non-Aligned
Movement.

E.Mammadyarov stressed the importance of further development of
relations between Azerbaijan and Iran. He also noted the negative
impact on the region’s continued occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

According to the minister is necessary for international organizations
to put pressure on Armenia to the fact that the country rejected the
policy of aggression.

He noted the importance of respect by all countries including Armenia
to the UN adopted decisions.

Mammadyarov also expressed concern about the population and the
leadership of Azerbaijan in connection with the arrest of Iran’s
Azerbaijani writers. He looked forward to a positive resolution of
this issue.

In turn Arakchi Said Abbas said that Iran attaches great importance to
relations with Azerbaijan and respects the independence, sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the country.

On the same day with Saeed Abbas Arakchi met Deputy Foreign Minister
Khalaf Khalafov. At the meeting they discussed the prospects of
expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran
Khalafov noted that the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations is a fundamental
principle of mutual respect, not interference in internal affairs and
support for territorial integrity. He stressed that the Armenian
aggression against Azerbaijan is a major obstacle to the development
of the entire region.

Saeed Abbas Arakchi of Azerbaijani side expressed gratitude for the
humanitarian assistance provided to victims of the earthquake in Iran.

He also expressed Iran’s interest in developing cooperation with
Azerbaijan and noted that Iran supports the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan and recognizes Armenia as an aggressor.

French Tribune
Aug 24 2012

Armenian Community In need of Bone Marrow Donor

Submitted by Annabel Tautou on Fri, 08/24/2012 – 05:19

Recently, a case grabbed the eye balls of many, as it was found that
more than 200 Armenians are in need of bone marrow donor. The case was
of Debbi Margosian Chapman, who desperately needs to undergo a stem
cell transplant for his Acute Myeloid Leukemia condition.

Being related to the Armenian community, it would be best to find a
donor from the same. This case led experts to shed many inhibitions
related to stem cells donation. They explained that donor does not
have to pass through any kind of pain and the procedure is similar to
blood donation.

Stem cells are being taken from donor, and blood is given back to him
and after a couple of days, his stem cells also get replenished. A
person aged between 18 and 60 can easily become the donor. Parents of
Chapman are even ready to pay $25,000 to a person, who agrees to given
his stem cells to their child.

A camp is scheduled to be organized at the Armenian Youth Federation
Olympics Track and Field, which is in Newton North High School,
Massachusetts. The free screening camp will be organized from 9 am on
September 2, which falls on Sunday.

BoxingInsider.com
Aug 24 2012

King Arthur Looks To Regain His Kingdom

by Johnny Walker

In the weekend’s most interesting boxing matchup, `King’ Arthur
Abraham (34-3, 27 KOs), an Armenian fighting out of Germany, squares
off with current WBO Champion Robert Stieglitz (42-2, 23 KOs) at the
o2 World in Berlin in a showdown that will have a major impact on the
talent-laden super middleweight division.

Abraham, you many recall, was picked by many boxing experts to run
away with Showtime’s Super Six tournament when he knocked Jermain
Taylor cold in 2009. But since that time, the Armenian star’s crown
has become tarnished, with losses to Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, and
Andre Ward throwing Abraham’s boxing fortunes into a tailspin.

Since his loss to Ward, Abraham has gone back to the basics and ground
out two workmanlike wins over mid-level opposition.

But now comes the real test: can King Arthur force his way back into
the super middleweight picture by grabbing a major title? Or will he
be consigned to history as a fighter who couldn’t make the leap from
middleweight to super middle?

Abraham knows just what is on the line on Saturday: `From this point
onwards, every fight is going to be a last chance for me,’ he said at
the fight’s final press conference. `But I will grab it with both
hands. No matter if the fight goes the distance or not – I will prove
a point on Saturday.’

Stieglitz is not widely known in North America, and carries the rep of
being a slick boxer who has faced mostly B-level opposition. The
Russian-born fighter’s coach, Dirk Dzemski, says his man is going to
prove too wily for King Arthur: `We are going to keep the belt. We
detected a lot of weaknesses while watching Abraham and we will take
full advantage of them,’ says the trainer.

There is no doubt, however, that Abraham, who no matter what
shortcomings he has as a boxer-his peek-a-boo defensive style and
tendency to throw wide punches can be used against him- is a man who
possesses tremendous power, and is a big step up for the WBO champ.

Abraham’s trainer Ulli Wegner, for one, thinks his man will prove to
be far too much for Stieglitz: `We are going to wipe the floor with
them and that’s the end of the story,’ he predicts.

The end of one story, perhaps, but also the start of another chapter
in the legend of King Arthur.