The U.S. Navy says pirates holding a hijacked ship off the coast ofSomalia fired at one of its helicopters making a routine surveillanceflight over the ship. The Navy says pirates Wednesday morning fired alarge caliber weapon at the helicopter which is based on the USSChancellorsville. At the time the helicopter was flying over aTaiwanese-flagged vessel called the Win Far, south of the Somali porttown of Hobyo. The Navy said in a statement Thursday that no rounds ofammunition struck the helicopter and no injuries resulted from theincident. Pirates captured Win Far and its 30-member crew in April.
II. Russia Charges 8 Arctic Sea Hijackers With Piracy, Kidnapping
Russia charged the eight suspected hijackers of the Maltese-flaggedfreighter Arctic Sea with piracy and kidnapping, investigators said.Several of the Finnish-owned freighter’s 15 Russian crew memberssuffered bodily harm in the July 24 hijacking, the InvestigativeCommittee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said on its Website today. The Arctic Sea was carrying lumber from Finland to Algeriawhen it broke off contact, leading to a 25-day odyssey that sparked awave of international speculation about the ship’s fate. A lawyer forone of the suspects has challenged Russia’s jurisdiction in the case,Interfax reported this week. Russia claims it has the right tointerrogate the suspects and crew and to inspect the Arctic Sea, whichwas seized on July 24 in international waters off Sweden andintercepted by a Russian warship on Aug. 17 off the Cape Verdeislands, investigators said.
III. EU has not recognized Kosovo independence
Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanović said that the protocol to be signedbetween EULEX and Serbia will confirm that the EU has not recognizedKosovo independence. Bogdanović told daily Večernje Novosti that thetext of the agreement for cooperation between the EU Kosovo missionand the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) has been confirmed andBelgrade officials are waiting for an official date for the signing ofthe protocol. "The most important point is that the agreement is to besigned with EULEX, not the Kosovo institutions, which enables theSerbian government to clearly confirm that it does not recognizethem,” Bogdanović said. The minister said cooperation between theSerbian MUP and EULEX police is “inevitable” when it comes to stoppingthe large amount of criminal activity in the province and improvingthe rule of law. Bogdanović said that “with this document, the EU isconfirming Serbia’s integrity even on the areas that our country doesnot have full control over. The act of signing this agreement meansthat instead of our institutions, EULEX will be taking over some theauthorities of the police, which is in everyone’s best interest.Because, if the spreading of crime in Kosovo is not stopped, it willspill over to other European countries.” He said that he is notsurprised with the strong reactions coming from Albanian officials inPriština, “especially because they are trying to impose an illegalindependence of the province at all costs.” Referring to visaliberalization between Serbia and the EU, he added that Serbs in theprovince “will not be left out, nor will the Albanians that declarethemselves as Serbian citizens, because our country will do everythingto stop the discrimination of its citizens.”
IV. Greek fire-fighting plane crashes, pilot killed
A Greek fire-fighting plane crashed while battling a blaze on theIonian Sea island of Kefalonia Thursday, killing the pilot,authorities said. The accident came three days after fire fightersmanaged to bring under control a major wildfire that destroyed 150homes and thousands of hectares of forest and farmland near Athens."I'd like to express my devastation, our grief and my condolences forthe loss of the pilot, who died while doing his duty selflessly andwith self-sacrifice," Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis told reporters.The plane crashed nine minutes after leaving the Kefalonia airport tofight a forest fire, officials said. Nobody else was on board. Whilethe conservative government was criticised for its response to the Aug21-24 fires, the worst in Greece since a 2007 blaze killed 65 people,fire-fighters have won praise by all political parties for theirtireless efforts. Greek, Italian and French water-drop planes,hundreds of fire-fighters and soldiers battled the three-day inferno,which forced thousands to flee their homes and prompted a state ofemergency in the east Attica region.
V. NATO Secretary General visits Greece, calls for better Greek-Turkish relations
The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Athens andmet with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Minister of Foreign AffairsDora Bakoyannis and Minister of Defence Evangelos Meimarakis. Duringthe visit, the Secretary General thanked Greece for the contributionsto the Alliance's anti-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean, to KFOR andto ISAF. The Secretary General said that he hopes Greece can considermaking a larger contribution towards reaching the next phase in theISAF operation, by providing more personnel to help train the AfghanNational Security Forces. "I also hope that during my term, we willsee an improvement in relations between two very important Allies:Turkey and Greece. While these are bilateral issues, the effects ofthese tensions are felt far beyond, NATO-EU relations being the mostobvious", he said. The Secretary General also discussed with hisinterlocutors the importance of ensuring that difficulties in NATO-EUrelations do not negatively affect the safety or effectiveness ofpersonnel on the ground. He noted that Greece can play a leadershiprole within the Alliance and in the EU, in achieving trueEuro-Atlantic integration for the entire Balkan region. During thevisit, the Secretary General laid a wreath at the Tomb of the UnknownSoldier.
VI. The 10 silliest things ever said by politicians
Comedians would probably not exist without politicians, whose speecheshave always been full of wisdom. Here is our rating of the 10 moststupid things ever said by politicians all over the world. 1. “QueenElizabeth Taylor.” – Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa,referring to the Queen of England. 2. “In Iran, we don’t havehomosexuals, like in your country." – Iranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad, referring to the USA while addressing ColumbiaUniversity. 3. "I would never approach a small-breasted woman." –President Clinton, denying that he had sexually harassed KathleenWilley. 4. “Life has become better, life has become more fun!” [«Житьстало лучше, жить стало веселее!»] Josef Stalin. The irony of thisphrase is that he said it at the peak of mass repressions organized byhim at the end of 1930s. 5. “I am not a communist and neither is therevolutionary movement.” – Fidel Castro. But he also said: “I am aMarxist-Leninist and I will be one until the last day of my life.” 6."Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They neverstop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, andneither do we." – Washington, D.C., August 5, 2004 – George W. Bush.7. "This is a great day for France!" – President Richard Nixon atFrench President Charles de Gaulle's funeral. 8. "I've now been in 57states – I think one left to go." – Barrack Obama at a campaign eventin Beaverton, Oregon. 9. “We are not without accomplishment. We havemanaged to distribute poverty equally.” – Nguen Co Thatch, VietnameseForeign Minister. 10. Senator John McCain in his presidential run: “Iwas in Germany over the weekend and President Putin of Germany gave one of the old Cold War speeches as he addressed the conferencethere.”
VII. Saint Phanourios
Today, August 27, is the feast day of Saint Phanourios who is one ofthe most beloved Orthodox Saints, especially among the Greeks andCypriots. Though dearly loved, we know very little about him save forthe information provided from an icon that was discovered in a ruinedchurch in Rhodes. A thorough compilition of material on SaintPhanourios is provided by his Orthodox Wiki article. St. Phanourios has become famousfor assisting the faithful in revealing lost or hidden spiritualmatters of the heart, objects, directing or revealing actions thatshould be taken, restoring health and similar situations. He is thenhonoured by the faithful through a symbolic cake, called the"Phanouropita" which can be brought to the church, at any time, for a blessing.