Four Finalists for $1 Million Armenian Aurora Prize

April 15, 2016 By administrator

auroraprize YEREVAN (ArmenPress)—The four Aurora Prize finalists named the organizations they nominate to receive the $1,000,000 award should they be announced as Aurora Prize Laureate on April 24th at the inaugural Aurora Prize Ceremony, “Armenpress” was informed by the Public Relations Department of IDea foundation.

If named the Aurora Prize Laureate, he or she will be granted the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by allocating the $1,000,000 award to the nominated organization or organizations.

The award ceremony will be held in Yerevan, and the winner will be announced by George Clooney.

The four finalists for the inaugural Aurora Prize are:

Marguerite Barankitse of Maison Shalom and REMA Hospital in Burundi. Marguerite Barankitse saved thousands of lives and cared for orphans and refugees during the years of civil war in Burundi. To date, she has saved an estimated 30,000 children and in 2008, she opened a hospital which has treated more than 80,000 patients thus far.

Dr. Tom Catena of Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Dr. Tom Catena is an American physician and the sole doctor of the Mother of Mercy Hospital in rebel-held territory in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan. Despite several bombings by the Sudanese government, Dr. Catena resides on the hospital grounds so that he may be on call at all times.

Syeda Ghulam Fatima, the General Secretary of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front in Pakistan. Syeda Ghulam Fatima has worked tirelessly to eradicate bonded labor, one of the last remaining forms of modern slavery, liberating thousands of Pakistani workers.

Father Bernard Kinvi, a Catholic priest in Bossemptele in the Central African Republic. Father Bernard Kinvi has provided refuge and health services to those on both sides of the civil war in the Central African Republic through his mission in Bossemptele. He has saved hundreds of people from persecution and death.

The four finalists were each asked to shortlist up to three organizations that they would nominate for a share of the $1,000,000 award if they are named Aurora Prize Laureate later this month. This $1,000,000 award will be given in addition to a personal $100,000 grant for the Laureate.

Selection Committee Co-Chair George Clooney will announce the inaugural Aurora Prize Laureate during a ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia on April 24, 2016.

Organizations Nominated by Marguerite Barankitse:

George-Clooney-Aurora FONDATION DU GRAND-DUC ET DE LA GRANDE-DUCHESSE DU LUXEMBOURG

In her role as UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children, H.R.H. the Grand-Duchess of Luxembourg visited Burundi in June 2009, where she bore witness to the inhumane detention conditions of children incarcerated in adult prisons. With the assistance of Marguerite Barankitse and her committed staff from the Maison Shalom, the organization has helped to secure the release of 600 children imprisoned throughout Burundi and provided services to aid their rehabilitation and reintegration. A share of the Aurora Prize would enable the Foundation to further assist Maison Shalom in its challenging work, as well as positively respond to the many requests for support that the Foundation regularly receives from emerging countries.

FONDATION JEAN-FRANÇOIS PETERBROECK (JFP FOUNDATION)

The JFP Foundation combats child poverty, discrimination and injustice – in particular abandoned or displaced children, orphans and victims of child labor, conflicts or social poverty. Since its creation in 2006, the JFP Foundation has supported more than thirty projects around the world. The first of them was Marguerite Barankitse’s Maison Shalom in Burundi and the JFP Foundation also helped towards the construction and operation of Marguerite’s REMA Hospital. A share of the Aurora Prize could further support Maison Shalom and its work for the children of Burundian refugees, as well as a related project in Democratic Republic of Congo called “INUKA”.

FONDATION BRIDDERLECH DEELEN LUXEMBOURG

Fondation Bridderlech Deelen is the Catholic aid agency of Luxemburg. For 50 years, Bridderlech Deelen has fought poverty and injustice and stood up for those in need – regardless of their religion, ethnicity or gender. Together with local partners in Latin America, Africa and Asia, Bridderlech Deelen works towards sustainably improving the living conditions of disadvantaged members of society. With a share of the Aurora Prize, Bridderlech Deelen Foundation could extend its support to other projects helping those in need.

Organizations Nominated by Dr. Tom Catena:

AFRICAN MISSION HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION (AMHF)

The African Mission Healthcare Foundation supports mission hospitals, which provide approximately one-third of the medical care available on the African continent. Annually, AMHF makes possible 70,000 patient visits and several thousand corrective surgical procedures. Supported activities include HIV care and support, primary care, maternal-child health, and providing general and pediatric surgery. AMHF has been privileged to support Mother of Mercy Hospital since 2013. A share of the Aurora Prize would enable AMHF to assist other unsung heroes working on behalf of the sick and the poor and to deliver the capital improvements necessary to provide quality, sustainable medical care.

CATHOLIC MEDICAL MISSION BOARD (CMMB)

CMMB is an international, faith-based NGO providing community based, long-term, humanitarian and development aid to communities affected by poverty and especially inequities and unequal access to healthcare. A share from the Aurora Prize would enable CMMB to invest in the Mother of Mercy Hospital’s infrastructure and training for staff, as well as deliver more Interagency Emergency Healthcare Kits (IEHKs) to support Dr. Catena’s patients. The kits provide significant support as each one contains all of the essential medicines needed to serve a population of 10,000 people for three months. The Aurora Prize award would also be invested in rural, mission hospitals in some of the most remote, underserved areas of Africa.

DIOCESE OF EL OBEID*

The Diocese of El Obeid is one of the largest Catholic Diocese in the world, covering an area of more than 340,000 square miles. The Diocese opened the Mother of Mercy Hospital in March 2008, the hospital has treated more than 200,000 patients since its inception. Dr Tom Catena initially joined the hospital when it opened and has remained despite the outbreak of civil war in June 2011. The Diocese relies on donor funding to run its activities and missions, including the Mother of Mercy Hospital.

Organizations Nominated by Syeda Ghulam Fatima:

BONDED LABOUR LIBERATION FRONT (BLLF)

Syeda Ghulam Fatima leads the Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF), which has liberated 80,000 Pakistani slaves who were forced to work for brick kiln owners in order to repay debts. The interest rates are too high for workers to pay off, trapping the workers in forced labor and poor—often brutal—conditions. The Aurora Prize award would help BLLF to continue its work to free people, particularly the next generation, from slavery.

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN (HRCP)

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was established in 1987 and grown into an influential, country-wide human rights body. HRCP works in very challenging situations and faces regular threats from those opposed to its work. Among the wide range of human rights issues that the organization works on, HRCP chooses to focus on those that affect the most vulnerable – including the persecution of religious minorities, extra-judicial killings, bonded labor and the status of women. The Aurora Prize award would greatly help HRCP in institutionalizing its work and improving the rights of vulnerable sections of society.

TRÓCAIRE INTERNATIONAL

Trócaire, one of Ireland’s leading development organizations, has worked internationally for over 40 years providing support to people living in extreme poverty, enabling them to take control over their own lives and live free from injustice and oppression. As the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Trócaire works in over 20 countries across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Trócaire has supported Fatima to establish Freedom Centers where workers receive healthcare, education, awareness on rights, physical protection and legal services. The Aurora Prize would greatly assist Trócaire in continuing its work to end slavery in Pakistan.

Organization Nominated by Father Bernard Kinvi:

L’ORDRE DES SERVITEURS DES MALADES (ORDRE DES CAMILLIENS)

The Order of the Ministers of the Sick was founded by St. Camillus de Lellis in the year 1586, today the Ministers of the Sick are known throughout the world as the ‘Camillians’. The Camillians is made up of about 1,200 members who work in many countries around the world. Faithful to their mission, they place especial emphasis on care for sick people, even where there is a risk to their own lives. The Aurora Prize award would be used to fund new health facilities and training for local healthcare workers, including projects across Africa.

Denmark Poul Lauritzen Foundation : The Price of Freedom to Zarakolu

December 3, 2015 By administrator

publisher Zarakolu for his contribution to the struggle for human rights in Turkey.

On Wednesday, the Poul Lauritzen Foundation in Denmark has awarded the Freedom Prize 2015 the prominent publisher Zarakolu for his contribution to the struggle for human rights in Turkey.

The price of freedom is given annually to an extraordinary international personality who has served the cause of non-violent human rights as defined by the United Nations World Declaration.

The awards ceremony will take place this year Thursday, December 10, hall of the Danish National Museum, in the center of Copenhagen.

The award will be presented by the President of the Court Supprème Danish Poul Soegaard.

This distinction was awarded for the first time in 1987 in Ali Taygun (1943-2009- Turkey), a drama teacher who was imprisoned because of the content “inappropriate of its parts.”

Previous winners of the PL-Foundation Freedom Prize: Navi Pilay (South Africa), Srdja Popovic (Serbia), Han Dongfang (Hong Kong), Moncef Marzouki (Tunisia), etc.

Congratulations to Zarakolu

On December 11, it will hold a conference in Berlin on the assessment of human rights in 2015.

Thursday, December 3, 2015,
Jean Eckian © armenews.com

Armenia authorities to fully subsidize electricity price hike for residents

August 31, 2015 By administrator

YEREVAN. – The Government of Armenia will completely subsidize the increased price for the electricity consumed by the country’s residents.

The respective decision was reached at Monday’s Cabinet session.

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Yervand Zakharyan, stated that in the case of the residents, the subsidy will be made in the amount of 6.93 drams per kilowatt/hour, for all consumed electricity.

The country’s enterprises and organizations, on the other hand, will get a partial subsidy. These electricity consumers will receive a monthly subsidy for up to 250 kilowatts per hour.

Zakharyan told reporters, however, that the subsidies allocated to public as of August 1 have not yet been calculated.

“[But] we will soon calculate and present [them],” added the minister.

Electricity prices in Armenia have increased as of August 1. The aforesaid subsidization of these price hikes will continue until Deloitte & Touche CIS consulting firm submits conclusions. The company will analyze the country’s energy system, and provide the government consulting on energy management.

Source: NEWS.am

Saudi Determined to Crash Oil Prices Until US Shale Breathes Its Last

August 13, 2015 By administrator

AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik

Never in its wildest dreams did the Obama administration expect it would face a financial disaster after it conspired with Riyadh to drop oil prices and flood the market with cheap petroleum, rerunning the highly successful US-Saudi deal of 1986 that resulted in the collapse of the USSR, F. William Engdahl notes.

Although it was not made public, on September 11, 2014 US Secretary of State John Kerry and King Abdullah concluded a secret deal to use the Saudi “oil muscle” in order to bring Russia and the Kremlin to its knees, rerunning the highly successful Washington-Riyadh deal of 1986, American-German economic researcher and historian F. William Engdahl pointed out.Remarkably, on the very next day, the US Treasury’s aptly-named Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, headed by Treasury Under-Secretary David S. Cohen imposed new sanctions on Russia’s energy companies Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftgas and Rosneft and prohibited US oil corporations from participating in Russia’s offshore oil projects in the Arctic.

“Then, just as the ruble was rapidly falling and Russian major corporations were scrambling for dollars for their year-end settlements, a collapse of world oil prices would end Putin’s reign. That was clearly the thinking of the hollowed-out souls who pass for statesmen in Washington today. Victoria Nuland was jubilant, praising the precision new financial warfare weapon at David Cohen’s Treasury financial terrorism unit,” Engdahl narrated with a touch of irony.

Meanwhile, nothing hinted at any trouble in July, 2014: West Texas Intermediate traded at $101 a barrel, and “the shale oil bonanza was booming, making the US into a major oil player for the first time since the 1970’s,” the historian noted.However, when WTI slid to $46 per barrel in January, 2015, the US strategists have suddenly realized that they had cut their own throat. Indeed, “the over-indebted US shale oil industry” was about to breathe its last because of the plummeting oil price.

Although Washington and Wall Street have made every effort to artificially stabilize the dire situation (that resulted in a slowly rising oil price since February to May, when it hit $62 per barrel), the US political and financial elite have underestimated the importance of the Saudi factor.

“It was al-Naimi [the Saudi Oil Minister] who reportedly saw the golden opportunity in the Kerry proposal to use the chance to, at the same time, kill off the growing market challenge from the rising output of the unconventional USA shale oil industry. Al-Naimi has said repeatedly that he is determined to eliminate the US shale oil “disturbance” to Saudi domination of world oil markets,” Engdahl said.

Alas, the Saudi are very unhappy with Washington’s shale oil advance and the Iranian nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration with Tehran. “In fact the Saudis are beside themselves with rage against Washington,” the historian stressed.

“This has all added up to an iron Saudi determination, aided by close Gulf Arab allies, to further crash oil prices until the expected wave of shale oil company bankruptcies,” Engdahl noted, adding that on July 29, 2015, WTI fell to $49.

“We anticipated that OPEC would not cut, but we didn’t foresee such a sharp increase,” Morgan Stanly, the Wall Street bank, reported in panic.

“This downturn would be more severe than that in 1986. As there was no sharp downturn in the 15 years before that, the current downturn could be the worst of the last 45+ years. If this were to be the case, there would be nothing in our experience that would be a guide to the next phases of this cycle…In fact, there may be nothing in analyzable history,” Morgan Stanley’s report admitted as quoted by the historian.

What makes matters even worse for Washington, Saudi Arabia, its longstanding and subservient ally, has begun to play its own geopolitical games. On June 18, 2015 Muhammad bin Salman, the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister and son of King Salman visited Russia and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The parties discussed up to $10 billion trade deals.”Saudi Arabia today is the world’s largest oil producer and Russia a close second. A Saudi-Russian alliance on whatever level was hardly in the strategy book of the Washington State Department planners,” the historian remarked.

F. William Engdahl underscored that October, 2015 is the next key point for American shale companies: banks will decide whether to keep funding US’ fading shale production or roll-over their loans. At the same time, if the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates in September, the highly-indebted US shale oil manufacturers will face “disaster of a new scale.” Unfortunately, such a “doomsday” scenario may be accompanied with further unintended consequences for American and global financial system.

Indeed, as a proverb says “curses, like chickens, come home to roost.”

Souce : http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150808/1025540019.html#ixzz3iiEG3fvQ

PSRC won’t revise electricity price hike despite mass protests #ElectricYerevan

June 25, 2015 By administrator

Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia will not revise its decision on electricity price hike coming into force August 1, 2015 despite mass protests in Yerevan.

“We do not make decisions that require adjustments,” spokesperson for PSRC Mariam Stepanyan said, according to Interfax.

She noted that PSRC is an independent entity that makes economically sound decisions as a result of lengthy discussions.

“The issue of the social burder is beyond the Commission’s responsibility. It is necessary to maintain the economic balance: reliable and high quality service requires commensurate payments,” Stepanyan said.

An Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC representative also stated that the company does not consider withdrawing its application for electricity tariff hike.

“Our company is not the only problem. Power-generating companies of Armenia have also applied to PSRC for tariff increases,” ENA spokesperson Natalya Sarjanyan said.

Government won’t tolerate unfounded price hike, PM says

December 18, 2014 By administrator

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and entrepreneurs Wednesday, Dec 17 to discuss current situation as the financial market, according to Panorama.am.

As the official noted at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the international partners fully support the Armenian government’s efforts aimed at stabilization of the financial market.

According to the PM, though stabilization tendency was observed on the financial market today (Dec 18) and yesterday, the government remains concerned about high margin at currency exchange points and price hikes on the consumer market. In particular, he said, prices for sugar, flour and some other foods rose yesterday.

In this context, Abrahamyan instructed head of the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition Artak Shaboyan to monitor the situation and brief him on the results every day.

“The government will not tolerate unfounded price hike,” he said.