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Yerevan: Marguerite Barankitse wins inaugural Aurora Prize in Armenia

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210990Marguerite Barankitse from Burundi won the inaugural Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity on Sunday, April 24 evening.

Barankitse, from Maison Shalom and REMA Hospital in Burundi, saved thousands of lives and took care of orphans and refugees during the years of civil war in Burundi.

When war broke out, Barankitse, a Tutsi, tried to hide 72 of her closest Hutu neighbors to keep them safe from persecution.

They were discovered and executed, whilst Barankitse was forced to watch. Following this gruesome incident, she started her work, saving and caring for children and refugees. She has saved roughly 30,000 children and in 2008, she opened a hospital which has treated more than 80,000 patients to date.

World-famous actor, producer and director George Clooney had earlier arrived in Armenia to participate in the ceremony. He presented the award to Barankitse.

As she accepted the award, Barankitse said: “Our values are human values. When you have compassion, dignity and love then nothing can scare you, nothing can stop you – no one can stop love. Not armies, not hate, not persecution, not famine, nothing.”

On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will be granted annually to an individual whose actions have had an exceptional impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes.

The Aurora Prize Laureate will be honored with a $100,000 grant. In addition, that individual will have the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations to receive a $1,000,000 award.

Barankitse plans to donate the award to three organizations in order to provide aid and rehabilitation to child refugees and orphans, and fight against child poverty. The organizations are: the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de La Grande-Duchesse du Luxembourg, Fondation Jean-François Peterbroeck (JFP Foundation), and the Fondation Bridderlech Deelen Luxembourg.

Armenian soprano Hasmik Papian and The Washington Post colomnist David Ignatius are hosting the ongoing awards ceremony.

US election: Texas senator Ted Cruz wins Iowa Republican vote

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us_election.thumbTexas Senator Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Republican caucuses, the first vote of the US 2016 presidential election, 
“Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives,” he declared, to great applause, as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media.

He took 28% of the Republican vote, beating his rival, the once frontrunner Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio.

Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, and suggest a tight race between the two leading candidates.

With 85% of results in, frontrunner Hillary Clinton and self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders are less than 1% apart.

As country music blared across the loud speaker, Mr Cruz, relishing his victory, took his time coming to the stage hugging supporters, family and staff.

“Iowa has sent notice that the republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment,” he said. “Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation”.

Mr Trump congratulated the Texas senator and said he was “honoured” by the second-place finish.

Mr Rubio, who has struggled to gain traction in recent months, has performed far better than expected, and finished in third place – just one percentage point off of Mr Trump.

Armenian chess player Levon Aronian wins Sinquefield Cup

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By Lilly Fowler

Levon Aronian,

Levon Aronian,

Levon Aronian plays a match in the Sinquefield Cup Tournament at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. (Courtesy Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis)

The world’s top chess players gathered in St. Louis on Wednesday night to celebrate the closing of the Sinquefield Cup, an internationally renowned chess competition.

Levon Aronian, 32, a player from Yerevan, Armenia, was introduced as the winner of the Sinquefield Cup and its $75,000 prize.

Mayor Francis Slay was on hand to thank the competition’s 10 players, as well as Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, for whom the competition is named and who are responsible for the creation of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

Chess, Slay said, has become “a part of our fabric. This is huge for the city of St. Louis.”

Aronian began playing chess when he was 9 years old at an unstable time in Armenia, a nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union’s collapse, chess became a substitute for school and an endeavor on which his unemployed parents, both of whom were scientists, could focus.

Despite his family’s hardships, Aronian was able to study under Melik Khachiyan, a chess grandmaster, who in exchange for housing, trained Aronian in chess.

“It is definitely fun but also a big responsibility,” Aronian says now of chess.

“I want to play as long as I enjoy it,” said Aronian, a grandmaster himself. He predicted he would continue to play chess for at least 10 years.

The Sinquefield Cup is an annual tournament that is part of the Grand Chess Tour, which includes stops in Norway and London.

The Grand Chess Tour has a “track record of being the gold standard in chess,” said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

“Our goal is to create intellectual role models out of these superstars of chess,” Rich said, noting that the Chess Club and Scholastic Center works with about 100 schools in the region to use chess as an educational tool.

Rich also described Aronian as “probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.”

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center brought the U.S. Chess Championships to town, along with the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Speaking of the stiff, unnerving competition evident at this year’s Sinquefield Cup, Rich said “a nuclear bomb could go off outside, and they probably wouldn’t notice.”

“You can just feel their anguish and their pain,” Rich said.

Next year’s Sinquefield Cup is scheduled to take place from Aug. 19 to Sept. 2.

Source: stltoday.com

Tamar Kaprelian wins Eurovision’s Next Top Model 2015

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Tamar-KTamar Kaprelian — one-sixth of Armenia’s Genealogy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 — has won Wiwibloggs’ search for Eurovision’s Next Top Model 2015.

After collecting more than 140,000 votes in the semi finals and final, finally a winner was announced.

In a video Tamar thanks her fans for their support, and reminds that her new EP “Yours to Keep” is available on iTunes now.

Armenia Wins Gold at Folk Music Festival

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Hayk-MkhoyanSOFIA, Bulgaria—Armenian singer Hayk Mkhoyan has returned with golden medals from the 6th Bulgarian National Championship of Folklore, also known as “Euro Folk 2015,” held in Bulgaria from May 7 to 17. The festival featured participants from about 60 countries.

Mkhoyan was conferred an award in the “Individual Performance” category after he impressed the jury with an a cappella performance of “Horovel” by Komitas.

This was the first time Armenia participated in this international festival, which has been held for eight years.

“The songs I performed were translated so that the listeners and the jury can understand their meaning, and as a result reference was made to the Armenian Genocide,” Mkhoyan told a press conference.

According to him, it was important to raise the issue of the Armenian Genocide from an international podium, he said.

The singer believes this international competition will open new perspectives of cooperation.

SWEDEN WINS 2015 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

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_AP50670as millions watch Måns Zelmerlöw take the coveted trophy!

Vienna, AustriaIt was an exciting evening at the Wiener Stadthalle where in front of thousands of people in the arena and millions of people on TV, Måns Zelmerlöw from Sweden won the 2015 edition of Europe’s Favourite TV Show with the song Heroes!

What an evening it has been!! 27 wonderful acts sang their hearts out on stage, competing for the ultimate prize; the title of winner of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.

However, there could be just one winner and that was Måns Zelmerlöw from Sweden who stormed to victory with  points!

Raisa Avanessian winning the song contest “The Voice of Armenia-3”

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10801737_275510999239877_3607299107459021410_n-480x476-480x476Saturday, December 28th was known the contest winner named “The Voice of Armenia-3” aired on Armenia TV channel. The jury and the viewers had to choose between four finalists.

Raisa Avanessian wins the song contest “The Voice of Armenia-3”

For this reason, these 4 people were reached in the final Vahe Alexanyan (driven by Eva Rivas), Meline Galoyan (driven by Hayko), Raisa Avanessian (driven by Sona) and Erna Mirzoyan (Armen Martirosyan coatch). With 39% of the vote, is Raisa Avanessian who won the competition “The Voice of Armenia-3”.

Krikor Amirzayan

Tashkent: Armenia’s Arsen Julfalakyan wins world championship

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By Shushanik Hakobyan

46607TASHKENT. – Arsen Julfalakyan (Armenia) won world champion’s title at the 2014 Greco-Roman Wrestling World Championships held in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan.

In the finals, he defeated Neven Žugaj from Croatia by a score of 4-0 in the 75 kg competition. 

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Source: news.am