Latest news with #NobelCommittee
Gulf Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Trump has a new battle on his hands to win Nobel Prize
Michael Day, The Independent Ending a war in 24 hours is tricky — as self-proclaimed peacemaker Donald Trump is discovering. Even four months isn't a long time when the conflict you've offered to help resolve involves a maniacal head of a nuclear-armed, mafia state determined to take over a plucky democratic neighbour. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to wave a white flag presents a serious obstacle not only to Trump's peace plans, but more importantly to his hopes of a Nobel Prize — an award that the narcissist in the Oval Office desperately wants and thinks he deserves. For Trump, the global gong would be the ultimate recognition. It would make him only the fifth US president to ever win one. His nemesis, Barack Obama, had been in power for less than eight months when he was awarded his, in 2009; his acceptance speech came days after he had sent an additional 30,000 US troops into Afghanistan and launched drone attacks on Pakistan, all part of his expansion of the War on Terror. In Trump's bid to be the one to bring peace to Ukraine and Russia, he has a rival. There is now another US citizen of the world in the running. Step forward, Pope Leo XIV. There are already signs that Leo wants to use his new-found global influence in conflict resolution. This week, it emerged that the Pope has told Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni of his desire for the Vatican to host the next round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. During his first speech, at his inauguration Mass, he called for peace in three war-torn regions: Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine, which "awaits negotiations for a fair and lasting peace" — not a short-lived, shabby ceasefire. The first North American pontiff has at least nationality in common with the US president. But their CVs reveal somewhat different life choices. Leo has spent decades as an Augustinian priest, helping people; Trump, less so. Pope Francis had been nominated for this year's peace prize before his death last month — but the award is never given posthumously. Might the Nobel Committee be persuaded to offer it to the position of Pope, or the institution of the Papacy as a whole, rather than the man himself? It is quite possible the well of credit built up by his predecessor may aid the Vatican's chances of being recognised by the committee. After helping revive relations between the US and Cuba, Francis worked hard to build dialogue between Iran and the West, and in 2015 oversaw the Holy See's historic first treaty with Palestine, which recognised it as a state. Leo's willingness to use his authority as the world's most powerful religious leader to push for a meaningful peace in Ukraine appears in stark contrast to Trump's cynicism. This week, the US president ignored Europe's push for new sanctions on Moscow in his eagerness to win new business deals with Putin and weaken China's hold on the Kremlin. Perhaps Trump thinks the election of a US Pope can work in his favour; maybe some of that Papal peace stuff might rub off on him? He wasted no time in parading Leo's Maga-supporting brother, Louis Prevost, in the Oval Office, just a day after the vice president met the new pontiff in Rome. But it will take more than staged Oval Office meetings or absurd declarations to bridge the gulf between the Trump administration and the Vatican on a range of issues, from appeasement of Putin and indifference to Israel's onslaught against Gazan civilians, to migrants' rights. The piquant details are not going to enamour the Nobel Peace Prize jury. If, in the unlikely event, the race for the Prize came down to a choice between the leader of a political cult and head of a religious movement, there would be only one winner. And if Leo got the award, his satisfaction would come not from the recognition, but the peace he'd helped bring about.
Asahi Shimbun
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Nagasaki seeks to warn of ‘nuclear taboo' in annual message
The drafting committee for this year's Nagasaki Peace Declaration meets in the city on May 10. (Yuta Kayaba) NAGASAKI—As the city prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing in three months, a committee planning the annual peace message wants to incorporate the term "nuclear taboo." 'It is essential to send a strong message to all nations, including those currently involved in conflicts,' said Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki, who chairs the drafting committee for this year's Nagasaki Peace Declaration. The committee held its first meeting on May 10. It has 15 members, including survivors of the 1945 U.S. nuclear attack on the city, as well as scholars and other experts. During the meeting, members discussed including references to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded last year to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), particularly highlighting the Nobel Committee's emphasis on the moral 'taboo' against nuclear weapons. In addition to condemning the use of nuclear weapons, several committee members advocated for a taboo against possessing any at all. There was also a proposal to include remarks made by the late Pope Francis during his visit to Nagasaki in 2019, honoring his message of peace and disarmament. The committee also expressed growing concern over the recent tensions between India and Pakistan—both nuclear powers—with one member warning of the potential for uncontrollable escalation. The panel will meet twice more in the coming months before finalizing the statement. Suzuki announced at a news conference on May 8 that Nagasaki plans to invite officials from Russia and Israel to the upcoming peace ceremony. Russia has not been invited since 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, while Israel was excluded from the 2024 guest list amid the conflict in Gaza.
Roya News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, 72, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contributions to human rights and democracy in Pakistan, according to Norway's Partiet Sentrum political party. We are pleased to announce on behalf of Partiet Sentrum that in alliance with somebody with the right to nominate, have nominated Mr. Imran Khan the former Prime Minister of Pakistan to the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with human rights and democracy in Pakistan. — Partiet Sentrum (@partiet_sentrum) March 28, 2025 The nomination was made in collaboration with the Pakistan World Alliance (PWA), an advocacy group formed in December. Announcing the decision on X, Partiet Sentrum stated, 'We are pleased to announce on behalf of Partiet Sentrum that in alliance with somebody with the right to nominate, have nominated Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, to the Nobel Peace Prize.' This marks Khan's second nomination for the prestigious award. In 2019, he was recognized for his peace efforts in South Asia. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which receives hundreds of nominations each year, will now conduct a rigorous eight-month selection process before announcing the 2025 laureate. Khan's legal battles and political struggles Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been behind bars since August 2023. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in January over corruption charges linked to alleged abuse of authority. This was his fourth major conviction, following previous cases related to state gifts, leaking classified information, and an unlawful marriage—though some rulings have since been overturned or suspended.
Express Tribune
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Imran nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize over his rule and efforts for human rights and democracy. The announcement was made the other day by members of the Pakistan World Alliance (PWA) – an advocacy group founded last December – who also belong to the Norwegian political party Partiet Sentrum. "We are pleased to announce on behalf of Partiet Sentrum that in alliance with somebody with the right to nominate, have nominated Mr Imran Khan the former Prime Minister of Pakistan to the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with human rights and democracy in Pakistan," said Partiet Sentrum on X. In 2019, Khan was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peace in South Asia. Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee receives hundreds of nominations, after which they select the winner through a lengthy eight-month process. Khan, also the founder of Pakistan's main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been incarcerated since August 2023. This January, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison in a case related to the misuse of authority and corruption. It was the fourth major case in which the former premier has been convicted. Three earlier convictions related to selling state gifts, leaking state secrets, and unlawful marriage were overturned or suspended by courts. Khan lost power after a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He denies all charges against him, calling them politically motivated.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
San Diego Congress member pushes Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Above: Nexstar Media Wire video on Trump's joint address to Congress. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego congressional representative is pressing the Norwegian committee who awards the prestigious Nobel Prizes to consider President Donald Trump to be the 2025 recipient of the peace prize. U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a longtime ally of Trump, announced Tuesday he wrote a letter to the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee encouraging 'close and careful consideration' of his nomination for the prize — a fixation of the president's since he first took office in 2017. Trump was confirmed as an individual nominee for the prize in November, put in consideration by Oleksandr Merezhko, an MP from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party. As The Kyiv Independent reported at the time, the MP said it was his belief that the president had made 'considerable contributions to world peace,' contrary to the sentiment held by other leaders in the country who had criticized his proximity to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Emboldened Trump praises his 'swift action' in address to Congress Trump was also nominated by a Norwegian lawmaker who threw the president's hat in the ring twice during his first term. In a statement Wednesday, Issa likened Trump's representation of the 'national resolve of peace through strength' on the world's stage as unlike anything seen since Ronald Reagan and demonstrated 'the fundamental case for a world without war.' 'Remarkably, it was the 2024 election of Donald Trump – more than 10 weeks before his swearing in – that tangibly kickstarted the cause of peace in numerous regions of the world, and we are already seeing the benefits,' he continued. Specifically, Issa points to the 2019 Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and three of its Arab neighbors, in his letter as a key accomplishment — something he asserts Trump has not been adequately recognized for. He also said in the letter that the president has presided over 'cooling tensions, establishing dialogue, and encouraging the flourishing of freedom … on behalf of the cause of peace,' since reassuming the White House. Notwithstanding these statements, opinions of Trump's foreign policy actions in his second term thus far are a little more mixed. Since his inauguration, Trump has overseen a seismic realignment of U.S. foreign policy, upending decades of hawkish stances on long-standing adversaries towards a more conciliatory relationship with them. According to foreign policy experts, nowhere is that more evident than Trump's efforts to wind down the ongoing war in Ukraine, in which the U.S. has appeared to shift its support behind Moscow and Putin in defiance of its alliance with Kyiv. Merezhko, who put Trump up for the Nobel Peace Prize, has expressed dismay over some of these recent moves made by the president that has caused a fraying in the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine. 'When you treat your ally worse than you treat Putin, this is amazing. I couldn't imagine anything like it in my worst nightmares,' the MP, who chairs the Ukrainian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an appearance on CNN after the cataclysmic Oval Office spat between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President J.D. Vance. What Trump's aid freeze means for Ukraine war Four American presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize in its history: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Barack Obama for their actions in office, and Jimmy Carter for his work after leaving the White House. Whether Trump joins them to receive the honor may just end up hinging on the specifics of a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, should he be able to wrangle such a truce. According to the Nobel Prize Committee, its panel is currently in the process of whittling down the pool of nominees, which had to have been submitted between October of last year and Jan. 31, across all of their prizes to a short list. The committee will then review the short list over the next few months, announcing the winners — called Nobel Prize laureates — in October 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
