Top Cities with the Highest Quality of Life

What city is the best to live in? Where are enough parks, shops and other services for your life to be as comfortable as possible? The western standards are getting higher and higher, people are moving in and out more frequently for better job opportunities as well as for better quality of life and they are also getting harder to please. Mercer Human Resource Consulting Company has recently done a research focused on the quality of life and general living standards in cities and capitals around the world. People were asked to judge the quality of their life and to estimate how comfortable and content they are about their lives. The output of this research is the list of the world’s top ten inhabitant-friendly cities.

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	1. Zurich It is no surprise that Switzerland has three cities in the top 10, two of them in the top 3. The living standards in this Alpine country, rich in industry as well as nature and cultural sites, have long been one of the highest in Europe (Switzerland has been fighting for victory with Iceland and Norway). In the overall satisfied country, the inhabitants of its largest, yet not capital, city are the most content ones and feel their lives to be as good as they can be.
	2. Geneva The second largest city in Switzerland and also the second one in this ranking is Geneva. The Swiss are obviously a very happy nation! We should nevertheless admit that high living standards are connected with very high living costs. The most expensive cities are Oslo, Tokyo and Reykjavik; Zurich and Geneva nevertheless ranked eighth and nine respectively in this contest. They are still the only cities from the “most expensive” list, who are at the same time members of the “best for living” group.
	3. Vancouver The only representative of the Americas, Vancouver, the largest city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, holds the third position. It is remarkable that there is no U.S. city in the top ten. Maybe USA ceases to be the paradise it used to be. If you want to live an American dream, forget America, your countries are Switzerland and Canada.
	4. Vienna Another European city on the fourth position. And another German-speaking one! Actually, there are only German-speaking European cities on this list, which probably means that the Germans, except for being “pünktlich” and obsessed by cleaning are also very happy with the way and the place they live their lives (did you know that there are more expressions for cleaning of all kinds in German than in any other language?).
	5. Auckland The second one of the three Commonwealth cities in the top ten is Auckland, the largest city of New Zealand. It is especially the large amount of parks and generally the closeness to the nature that the inhabitants appreciate the most. Auckland resides 1,4 million inhabitants, which is about one fourth of the overall population of New Zealand. Unlike Vancouver, that stands for the North America alone, Auckland has an Australian backup – Sydney – on the rank 9.
	6. Düsseldorf Positions 6 to 8 are occupied by German cities. From these three, Düsseldorf, the centre of German advertising industry, situated in the largest German industrial area called the Ruhr area (with Cologne, Duisburg or Dortmund for neighbours) is the winner. It is quite a surprise that Berlin did not make it to the top ten, as it is widely considered a multicultural and a very pleasant place to live. Beat it, Berlin, viva Düsseldorf!
	7. Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main is the fifth largest city in Germany and obviously also the second most popular and pleasant city for life. One of the city’s characteristics is its skyline with many skyscrapers that count among the tallest ones in Europe and a huge airport.
	8. Munich The third and last German representative, Munich seems to be the least surprising one. The capital of Bavaria, the largest and one of the richest states in Germany, definitely is a nice place to live. One of the things that make Munich interesting and exceptional is the Oktoberfest – the biggest beer celebration in Europe. During this event, people drink beer from one-liter glasses.  It is thus no wonder that they are happy and smiling all the time.
	9. Bern The third Swiss city on this list is the capital of Switzerland. Thus there are three German and three Swiss cities in the top ten, which makes Germany and Switzerland the total winners of this little competition. On the other hand, the losers are also clear – Asia, with no representative in the top 10, and the Americas, with only one of them.
	9. Sydney Sydney shares the ninth position with Bern, which is quite a success, considering it was founded to be the put-off place for the British criminals! Its first inhabitants would scarcely believe that one day people will be so fond of living here. Of course, Sydney has changed a lot since then and belongs, with its modern architecture, many parks, beaches and multicultural atmosphere to the most beautiful cities in the world. Source: http://www.tourism-review.com

Norway sends its elderly to Turkey for healthcare

Groups of elderly Norwegians who are in need of nursing care and health services will be sent to the southern province of Antalya for four months to receive care as part of an agreement signed between Turkish and Norwegian officials.

The decision was announced in a press conference held jointly by the Scandinavian Life Center and Özaltın Holding, a Turkish company operating in the fields of health and tourism. Officials from various branches of Özaltın Holding were in attendance, including representatives of Gloria Hotels & Resorts. After the press conference, managers of the Scandinavian Life Center, headed by Tom Stemre, signed an agreement with Nuri Özaltın, the CEO of Özaltın Holding.

Stemre said Antalya is a very good vacation spot for Norwegians because it meets their desire for quality. “We found more than we were looking for at Gloria Hotels and at the Aspendos Hospital in Belek [a district of Antalya]. Workers at these institutions also matter to us. I hope this agreement will be beneficial to both countries,” he added.

The Turkish representative of the Scandinavian Life Center, Oya Demirel, on the other hand, emphasized that elderly Norwegians will have a chance to be well taken care of in Turkey, stating: “The Norwegian government signed similar agreements with the Spanish, Italian and Greek governments. Now they want to sign another agreement with Turkey. With this agreement, 25,000 Norwegian elders who are cared for by the Norwegian government will experience a high standard of living. The target of the project is to provide all kinds of care, treatment, rehabilitation and a high standard of living to elderly Norwegians with health problems in Mediterranean countries.”

Demirel further explained that a group of 200 Norwegians will come to Belek in January 2009 and stay for four months. A second group of 1,200 people will live in Turkey between Sept. 15, 2009, and May 31, 2010. The third group of 2,500 to 3,000 will arrive in a later date, and if Norwegians are pleased with the services provided in Turkey, the number of elderly Norwegians relocated to Turkey may reach 25,000 in total.

Demirel also described Norwegian villages which will be permanently established if the elderly are pleased with their treatment in Turkey. The villages will each host 2,500 Norwegians and will have their own banks, hospitals and even universities, Demirel said.

Özaltın said while Özaltın Holding has come up with many innovations, such an agreement will be a first for them.

The chairman of Gloria Hotels & Resorts, Özgür Çinkılıç, also noted that they will provide all kinds of health and entertainment services for their Norwegian guests. “They will be provided courses on golf, aerobics, dance and Turkish cuisine. They will also be given the chance to learn Turkish handicrafts,” he added.

Health care for the elderly Norwegian guests will be provided by the Aspendos Hospital. Highlighting the affordability of health care services in Turkey compared to other European countries, co-president of the hospital, Dr. Ferhat Kayan, said: “Health care in Turkey attracts Europeans because the services are economical and high in quality and the climate of Turkey is favorable. Elderly Norwegians want to improve their quality of life by coming to Antalya, especially during the winter.”

Pismo Danisa Tanovića građanima BiH

Molim Vas da 05. oktobra izađete i glasate na Lokalnim izborima. Znam da je možda neumjesno da Vas ja uopšte podsjećam da glasate, jer je to Vaše neotuđivo demokratsko pravo, ali također smatram da je glasanje i Vaša građanska obaveza. Ove godine ćete, ako sve bude po zakonu, na izbornim listićima, pored političkih stranaka koje ovom zemljom upravljaju skoro 20 godina, vidjeti i ime jedne potpuno nove stranke. Stranke koja se zoveNaša stranka.

Ja sam osnivač i potpredsjednik Naše stranke i bilo bi normalno da Vas sada pokušam nagovoriti da glasate za naše kandidate jer su neusporedivo moralniji, stručniji i normalniji od drugih. Ali neću! To mi sada nije namjera. Namjera mi je da Vas podsjetim, da Vas nagovorim i da Vas zamolim – da izađete na birališta i glasate. Glasajte za koga god želite, za koga god hoćete, ali molim Vas da u nedjelju nađete vremena, da napravite pauzu u nedjeljnom odmoru ili radu, i bez obzira na kišu, hladnoću i gužvu pred biralištem, izađete i glasate za jednu od političkih opcija koje Vam se nude.

Pratili ste kampanju. Čitali ste novine, slušali kandidate i pričali s prijateljima i kolegama o svemu. Sad je vrijeme da odlučite o putu kojim ce Vaša lokalna zajednica, a time i naša zemlja u cjelini krenuti u naredne četiri godine.

Odluku o tome za koga ćete ovaj put glasati donesite svojom glavom ili srcem ili čime god hoćete, ali Vas molim da izađete i tako kažete svoje mišljenje o tome gdje smo sada i kuda treba da idemo? Izađite i glasajte, molim Vas.

Pošto Vi sada, nakon čitanja prvog dijela, opravdano sumnjate da u ovom pismu ipak mora postojati i onaj dio u kojem ću Vas pokušati ubijediti da glasate za Našu stranku, ja Vas upozoravam da taj dio dolazi nakon ove rečenice i molim Vas da ukoliko ne želite da ja na bilo koji način utičem na Vašu izbornu odluku prestanete čitati ovo pismo… sad!

Ako ste ipak nastavili čitati, znači da Vas zanima i reći ću Vam šta mislim.

Ja mislim da su se stranke, koje u raznim koalicijama i kombinacijama upravljaju našom zemljom već skoro 20 godina, na ovim izborima sakrile iza lica nekih novih ljudi, kandidata koji nam u zadnjih mjesec dana obećavaju da će po dolasku na vlast, na kojoj već jesu, raskinuti sa svim onim lošim i kriminalnim stvarima koje se, od kako su stranke čiji su oni članovi na vlasti, neprestano i sve vrijeme događaju u našoj zemlji. Obećavaju Vam da će se, da ih parafraziram 100%, pošteno, sarajevskim srcem, boriti za čovjeka, sa ključem.

Ja im ne vjerujem. Ja mislim da iza nasmiješenih lica kandidata koji nas gledaju sa bilborda stoje stranke i ljudi kojima nacionalizam, korupcija, bezakonje i loša moralna i bezbjedonosna situacija u našoj zemlji odgovara u svakom, a pogotovo u ličnom materijalnom pogledu. Zato mislim da je vrijeme za naše ljude, za našu vlast, za našu Bosnu i Hercegovinu. Vrijeme je da date šansu stranci koja se zove Naša stranka. Ja sam, naravno, pristrasan, ali reći ću Vam i zašto. Ja sam, kao što Vam već rekao, u Našoj stranci.

Nekoliko posljednjih mjeseci sam 99% svog vremena proveo putujući po čitavoj Bosni i Hercegovini kako bih, koliko je to fizički bilo moguće obišao svih 50 opštinskih odbora koje smo osnovali i od kojih čak 48 učestvuje na ovim izborima. Posjetio sam sve naše kandidate za načelnike i proveo dosta vremena u razgovoru s njima ali i sa ljudima iz njihovih opština. Pričali smo o tome kako, i kakvu Bosnu i Hercegovinu, možemo i želimo da izgradimo. Ja Vam ne mogu na ovako malom prostoru sažeti nasu optimističnu viziju Bosne i Hercegovine u kojoj vladaju etnička, građanska i socijalna pravda, ali Vam iskreno mogu reći da kad sve utiske sa tih putovanja i razgovara saberem i oduzmem, osjećam izuzetan ponos što sam dio ove Naše stranke. Naši kandidati na ovim izborima su pošteni, vrijedni i dokazano sposobni ljudi koji su se politike prihvatili jer misle da ovo kuda nas ovi na vlasti vode neće na dobro.

Zbog toga sam pristrasan i zbog toga Vas pozivam da 05. oktobra glasate za Našu Stranku i time pružite svim našim građanima i našoj lijepoj zemlji novu šansu za bolju, evropsku budućnost.

Danis Tanović,

potpredsjednik Naše stranke

The European online travel market is worth €50 billion

The online travel market in Europe is currently estimated at €50 billion, according to an EyeforTravel Research report; and has been growing at an astounding rate of 41% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in 2002-2007. At the same time offline travel expenditure has remained static.

WorkLight, the Web 2.0 specialist, is urging the European online travel industry to take advantage of the benefits of Web 2.0 technology, as online booking continues to grow. Worklight believes that with 1 in every 5 travellers making travel arrangements and booking flights and hotel rooms online, in this competitive market, companies need to take advantage of Web 2.0 services, such as personalized homepages, social networks, RSS, desktop gadgets and others.

Popular services such as iGoogle, Facebook, Yahoo Widgets, etc, have the unique ability to engage customers and partners in the places where they spend their time online. Companies can provide a better service, while customers can easily track and book flights and hotels, manage account activities, all without adding any overhead to their online experience.

In addition, other research by HotelBlogs found that Hotel rooms were the most popular component of online travel shoppers in 2007, as well as the fact that 50% of travellers used the same outlet for planning and booking their business and leisure travel.

WorkLight indicates that companies considering secure Web 2.0 solutions should ensure that customer data is secured and privacy concerns are respected, as the security risks associated with using Web 2.0 are still unknown to most firms, so it is important to make sure that any solution deployed provides enterprise-class security, in addition to consumer-class ease of use. (TravelDailyNews, September 2008)