International Olympic Committee to set up $2 million refugee fundSeptember 4, 2015 - 17:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday, September 4 decided to set up a two million-dollar refugee fund as the migrant crisis grips Europe, Reuters reports. Tens of thousands have fled the Syrian conflict in recent weeks, crossing via Turkey and Greece on their way to central and northern Europe. The plight of those fleeing conflict in their own countries such as Syria, as well as economic migrants escaping poverty, has polarized opinion in Europe, with the amount of new arrivals stretching the EU's asylum system, as well as straining relations within the bloc. "We have all been touched by the terrible news and the heartbreaking stories in the past few days," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement. "With this terrible crisis unfolding across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, sport and the Olympic Movement wanted to play its part in bringing humanitarian help to the refugees." "We made a quick decision that we needed to take action and to make this fund available immediately," he said. The amount would be distributed through projects proposed by National Olympic Committees and other interested parties and the whole process would be done "extremely quickly" given the nature of the crisis, the IOC said. The IOC is the latest sports body to take action in the migrant crisis. Bayern Munich on Thursday pledged to set up a training camp and raise one million euros in aid while several other sports organizations or football clubs have plans to help in this issue. Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Welcome to CaseKey 2024. Byblos Bank Armenia firmly stands by future innovators Strategic business cases, invaluable experience, innovative approaches and more than 25 events are in store for the participants of CaseKey 2024. Macron honors Charles Aznavour on 100th anniversary French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to the memory of French-Armenian crooner Charles Aznavour. Blinken says U.S. reviewing a number of aid requests from Armenia He said the U.S. is reviewing the requests to determine what more it can do to increase its assistance to Armenia. At least 2 CSTO members participated in preparing 44-day war against Armenia – PM Nikol Pashinyan has declared that at least two CSTO member countries participated in preparations for the 44-day war against Armenia. |