Representatives of Poland, Denmark and Cyprus have agreed that during their countries' presidencies over the European Union (EU), it will be possible to pull the EU out of the economic crisis and reach a compromise on EU's 2014-2020 budget. Poland, as the first of the trio, will take over the presidency in the second half of 2011. It will be followed by Denmark and Cyprus.
Gazprom and its Serbian counterpart, Srbijagas, agreed on the terms of a joint venture for export design, construction and operational components of the South Stream leg through Serbian territory, with Gazprom holding the 51 percent majority. The 280-mile leg of South Stream through Serbia will enter the country near the eastern city of Zajecar to Belgrade before branching off into northern and southern arteries. The Serbian portion of the project would cost at least $952 million. The proposed South Stream pipeline would bring an estimated 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from Central Asia and Russia to Italy through the Balkans. Planners anticipate a launch date by 2013.
Russia plans to raise the issue of western support for the policies of the Georgian president during the Russia-EU summit on May 21-22. The EU had proposed discussing the situation in the Caucasus and Russian-Georgian relations at the two-day summit, adding that Russia welcomed the suggestion and had a number of questions to put to EU delegates. "We have some questions to ask them...What will their protracted, promiscuous support of comrade Saakashvili materialize into? What do they think about that question? Especially since Georgian opposition movements have clearly demonstrated their level of dissatisfaction for [Saakashvili's] foreign and domestic policies." Other issues on the agenda will be international issues and European disputes, including a settlement in Cyprus and Kosovo, as well as the frozen conflict between Moldova and Transdnestr.
Almost 74 kg of Russian-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) has been removed from Kazakhstan, the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced. The HEU - used research reactor fuel - was removed from Kazakhstan's Institute of Nuclear Physics and returned to Russia by rail for storage at a secure nuclear facility in a series of four shipments between December 2008 and May 2009. The project was carried out under the 2004 Russian-US government agreement on cooperation in removing Russian-made nuclear fuel from research reactors to Russia. The primary goal of the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return (RRRFR) program is to eliminate HEU stockpiles and persuade eligible countries to convert their research reactors from HEU to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel upon availability, qualification, and licensing of suitable LEU fuel. Under the RRRFR program, Russia has agreed to take back used and fresh nuclear fuel from research reactors so long as the reactor operators agree to convert the reactors to operate on LEU or shut down. So far, 32 countries have cooperated in the shutdown of a total of 62 HEU-fuelled research reactors and most recently, reactors in Argentine, Ukraine and South Africa have been converted to run on LEU.
Bobby Flay, grillmaster of the Food Network, knows good grilled cheese. He grills halloumi with a sprinkle of oregano and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Halloumi (also known as haloumi or hallum), the most famous sheep's milk cheese of Cyprus, is a semihard, firm white cheese with a somewhat elastic texture, similar to mozzarella. It is firmer than feta and doesn't crumble when sliced, making it excellent for grilling and frying. Halloumi is formed into 6-by-4-by-1-inch blocks, then cooked in hot whey. The blocks are then salted, folded and submerged in brine. In the U.S., halloumi is usually sold in vacuum-sealed pouches, either plain or sprinkled with mint. If it's too salty for your taste, simply soak it in cold water overnight or rinse it under lukewarm water for a few minutes. Unlike most cheeses, halloumi can be frozen without losing its texture or flavor.
The Serbian Orthodox Church’s (SPC) has overruled the decision of Bishop Artemije of Raška and Prizren not to bless Joseph Biden’s visit to Visoki Dečani. Following Bishop Artemije’s decision not to give his blessing to the U.S. vice-president’s visit to the Visoki (High) Dečani monastery in Kosovo, the SPC responded, stating that it had overruled Artemije’s decision and expressed its apologies, read a statement. Following Bishop Artemije’s decision not to give his blessing to the U.S. vice-president’s visit to the Visoki (High) Dečani monastery in Kosovo, the SPC responded, stating that it had overruled Artemije’s decision and expressed its apologies, read a statement. “The American vice-president is coming to visit Kosovo as an independent country, to confirm the violent secession of a part of the territory of the state of Serbia and its transfer into the hands of terrorists, who, unpunished, committed countless crimes against Serbian people, property and religious and cultural heritage,” adding, whether Biden’s visit was designed to confirm that Dečani was an American base in Kosovo, like the Bondsteel camp.
“The Other Holy Land” will be rebroadcast on the Hallmark Channel, Sunday, June 7, 2009. The hour long beautifully filmed program features four places in Asia Minor: Constantinople, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Smyrna – where it becomes strikingly clear that the history of Christianity in "The Other Holy Land" is also the history of the Greek Orthodox Church. The documentary was filmed in Turkey and the United States and includes interviews with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios of America and Bishop Kallistos Ware, Rev. Dr. Robert G. Stephanopoulos; Rev. Dr. Demetrios Constantelos; Rev. Dr. Forrest Church; Dr. Helen Evans; Dr. Robert Ousterhout; and narrator Robert Aubry Davis.