I. Italian banks may take ham and wine as collateral
Italian bank vaults may soon resemble well stocked delicatessens if aplan goes ahead to accept expensive wines and dry-cured hams ascollateral on bank loans from crisis-hit producers. The idea, whichwas launched this week by an influential Italian bank chairman andwine producer, was backed by an Italian minister and follows thetradition of Italian banks storing massive wheels of parmesan cheeseas loan collateral. "We've done it with cheese, why not withprosciutto and good wines like Brunello di Montalcino and chianticlassico?" said Gianni Zonin, chairman of the Banca Popolare diVicenza and head of wine producer Zonin. "This is a great idea, it hasmy blessing," said Luca Zaia, the Italian agriculture minister. TheItalian bank Credito Emiliano has long stored hundreds of thousands ofparmesan wheels, worth about ¤300 each, in warehouses as collateralwhile they age. Since the bank can sell the cheese if creditorsdefault, it can afford to offer low interest rates to an industrywhich is suffering from recession and supermarket discounting. Legs ofcured ham, or prosciutto crudo, weighing about 10kg, can sell forhundreds of euros after months of curing in controlled conditions,while bottles of Brunello di Montalcino are regularly snapped up forthe same amount.
II. Hague Tribunal: Former KLA members arraigned, set to appear in Hague Oct. 28
The Hague Tribunal has set October 28 as the date for the arraignmentof ethnic Kosovo Albanians Ramush Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj and LahBrahimaj. The three are former members of the so-called KosovoLiberation Army (KLA). After the 1999 war in the province, Haradinajpursued a political career and was prime minister of the KosovoAlbanian government at one point. In addition to the three defendants,the court will that day hear the arguments of the Hague Office of theProsecutor (OTP) in the appeal proceedings, an announcement from thetribunal said this Wednesday. Last year, the OTP appealed theacquittal of Haradinaj and Balaj and it requested a partial retrial sothat the witnesses whose testimonies were not heard by the TrialChamber in the original trial could take the stand. The originalverdict for Haradinaj and Balaj, issued in April 2008, found the pairnot guilty on all 37 counts of the indictment for crimes – includingkidnapping, torture, rape and murder – against Serbs, Roma and ethnicAlbanians in the province in 1998. The third defendant, Brahimaj, wassentenced to six years in prison for cruel treatment and torture ofprisoners in the KLA compound in the village of Jablanica.
III. Russia warns of “confrontational” UN document on refugees
The Russian Foreign Ministry has branded as “provocative” a draftresolution submitted to the UN General Assembly by Georgia. Thedocument relates to the status of Georgian refugees from South Ossetiaand Abkhazia. A ministry statement said the proposed resolution has a“confrontational nature” and draws a humanitarian issue into area ofpolitics. It warned that such a resolution would undermine the chancesfor refugees to return to their homes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.“Adopting such a resolution would essentially amount to supporting theSaakashvili regime, which started the war, becoming an aggressor. Itwould further destabilize the region,” the statement says. Thedocument refers to Abkhazia and South Ossetia as parts of Georgia,which was bound to be rejected by them both as well as by Russia,which acknowledges the two as independent nations. Several months ago,this very reason stalled negotiations on the post-conflict settlementin Abkhazia. Moscow also pointed out that the draft resolution namesRussia as “party to the conflict”, while at the same time avoidingmentioning that it was Georgia’s actions which started thehumanitarian crisis in the first place. “Submitting this draftresolution provokes discord among the UN members and pushes aside moreurgent world humanitarian problems, like the status of Palestinianrefugees,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
IV. NATO calls for Greek and Turkish pragmatism
NATO’s Secretary-General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders FoghRasmussen is in Greece and Turkey today and tomorrow and says the twocountries’ disagreement over Cyprus is creating problems in EU-NATOrelations and NATO operations. “I know it is a bilateral issue betweenthe two countries, but we have reached a point where it is creatingproblems for our missions,” Fogh says on his newly introduced NATOvideo blog. “In Afghanistan NATO cannot conclude an agreement tosupport EU police. Off the Horn of Africa both NATO and the EU havenaval missions in the same area to combat piracy – but we have noagreement on who will do what or how to support each other,” FoghRasmussen says. “These are just two examples of how these problemshave spread far beyond Turkey and Greece,” Fogh Rasmussen says adding:“I hope it is possible to embark on a more pragmatic approach thatwill increase the security in our missions and make our efforts moreeffective.”
V. Greek response to NATO SG visit
A foreign ministry spokesman on Wednesday said the process ofpreparing the NATO's new strategic doctrine, the alliance's operationsand missions, primarily in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as effortsto confront piracy off Somalia will be on the agenda of talks betweenGreek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and new NATO secretary generalAnders Fogh Rasmussen, who arrives in Athens. Moreover, in referenceto a handful of issues of particular importance to Greece, thespokesman said Rasmussen's first visit to Athens in his capacity asNATO chief will also include discussions on the entire gamut ofGreek-Turkish relations, the nagging FYROM "name issue" and even theGreek OSCE presidency's initiatives to boost European security.Foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras also cited "problemsthat also exist, even between two members of the Alliance, with theirknown consequences on cooperation between NATO and the EuropeanUnion," in reference to the "paradox", as he said, of one NATO memberand EU hopeful, Turkey, not recognising a full EU member-state,namely, the Republic of Cyprus.
VI. Israeli dig finds ancient Greek king's gemstone
Israeli archaeologists say they have found a miniature precious stonecarved with the image of Alexander the Great. The stone, dating to theHellenistic period, was found at the Tel Dor excavation site south ofHaifa, the Israeli news Web site Arutz Sheva reported Wednesday.Ayelet Gilboa, one of the archaeologists directing the work, said thecarved image shows a young and energetic face, with a sharp chin,straight nose and long curly hair held in a crown. The gemstone wasfound in the remains of a large public building dating to the periodfrom the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. to the final conquest ofGreece by the Romans in 146 B.C., and was authenticated by JessicaNitschke of Georgetown University in Washington and Andrew Stewart ofthe University of California at Berkeley, the Web site said. Theconquering Greek king is believed to have passed through the areawhile making his way to Egypt.
VII. Unique 10th Century Byzantium Seal discovered in Bulgaria
Archaeologists in Bulgaria have discovered a unique medieval Byzantineseal at the site of the Princely Monastery near the Eastern city ofVarna, dating back to the 10th century and belonged to the Byzantinedignitary Antonius, who was an imperial protospatario inConstantinople. Antonius had correspondence with a representative ofthe Knyazhevski Monastery, who is believed to have been the BulgarianKnyaz (king) Boris I (r. 852-889 AD) himself. The team ofarchaeologist Popkonstantinov from the University of Veliko Tarnovohas also discovered fragments of Byzantine ceramics and a book locknear the seal. The archaeologists have discovered there over 40 booklocks, pieces of parchment, lead seals. They believe that some of thedisciples of St Cyril and St Methodius most likely worked there.