His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America will hold a memorial service on Friday, September 11, at 2:30 p.m. at Ground Zero on the site of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the only religious edifice destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. The location where the service will be held is near Gate 7, corner of Greenwich and Liberty Streets at Ground Zero.
Obama’s long, forceful, and scolding speech to Congress fulfilled or exceeded most observers' expectations. Without breaking radically new policy ground, Obama delivered concessions to Republicans and progressive Democrats, while assertively distancing himself from the "partisan spectacle" that engulfed reform debate this summer. The majority of commentators have reacted positively, because he seems to have given a little bit to everybody open to convincing. He hit it out of the park, right? Not quite. By riding the centrist track, Obama also disappointed left-leaning skeptics who wanted more proof that he'll stand by the public option, and Republican critics who disagree with the basic premise of reform. To some, he failed to nail all the missing details, and others say it was too focused on winning over Congress. But the ball seems to have returned to Obama's court, with momentum and goodwill gained on the left and center, and health care reform's direst opponents put temporarily in retreat. In the end, how much does the speech matter? On this, pundits were less sanguine, arguing that while perceptions are important, the truly backbreaking labor of bringing Congress on board still lies ahead.
Turkey will recognize the Cyprus as a united state, said Mehmet Ali Talat, the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, in the eve of the start of direct negotiations over the Cyprus issue. Talat said he believed that official Ankara - which now rejects to recognize the Republic of Cyprus and approve use of its airports and ports to the Cyprus’ ships and planes – would recognize a united Cyprus as the eventual settlement of issue would automatically imply lifting of all bans. The leader of the Cypriot Turks hopes that the negotiations would bring about a political resolving of the Cyprus issue by the end of 2009, which would be then followed by referendums in both Greek and Turkish communities in early 2010.
In a report in the Cyprus edition of Kathimerini, Andreas Paraschos writes of the existence of a mass grave containing the remains of between 800-1,000 Greek Cypriots located near the occupied village of Lapithos, in the Kyrenia district. The alleged site of the mass grave has been designated by the Turkish army as a military zone. It is fenced off with barbed wire and signs have been erected warning about mines, although the Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika, yesterday reported that 'everyone can walk around in that area as he wishes. No mines have been found until now.' Paraschos refers to the testimony of Savvas Mastrappas, enclaved in Lapithos until 28 October 1975 and who, after coming to the free areas, gave details to the Cypriot police of the mass grave; and to more recent witness accounts from Turkish Cypriots, who confirmed the existence of the mass grave, declaring its existence an 'open secret' among Turkish Cypriots in the region, some of whom, indeed, would periodically dig up the site and remove skeletons for medical studies.
President Boris Tadić has denied that his visit to Pale this week constituted interference in the internal affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina. "I would like to visit Sarajevo before the end of the year. They can invite me, I will come immediately. No invitation has arrived yet." Tadic said in a statement for Belgrade daily Politika published on Thursday. "My invitation to Bosniak representatives is always open," the president added. "One should not go looking for problems where there aren't any. As a signatory of the Dayton Accords, Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and will do nothing to jeopardize it," he said. Tadić underscored that his visit to Pale on Tuesday was in no way interference in Bosnian internal affairs, stressing that Serbia would always respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and everything agreed on by the three constitutive people—Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The president said that the building of the school in Pale had been agreed long ago as part of the special and parallel ties between Serbia and the Republic of Srpska. "I proposed building a school, for example, in Raška or Sandžak, which would be called 'Bosna’. I’d happily attend its opening," he explained.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has formally recognised the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. He told Dmitry Medvedev near Moscow that Venezuela would begin setting up diplomatic relations soon. The Russian president expressed his gratitude for the decision, which is a rare boost for the Kremlin’s campaign to have the two rebel areas accepted internationally. But it is an uphill struggle. Russia recognised their independence after stepping in to repel Georgian troops from South Ossetia in last summer’s war. Then Nicaragua recognised them and now Venezuela. But the rest of the world still sees the regions as part of Georgia. According to Russian media reports the Chavez trip also includes talks on giving Moscow the right to exploit some of his country’s rich oil reserves in exchange for the latest Russian military hardware including tanks, helicopters, anti-missile systems and armoured personnel carriers.
In a September 9 ceremony held at the United Nations on the eve of a meeting of the international Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, the United States signed the New York Declaration, in which it committed to promulgate internationally recognized best management practices for protection of ships against piracy attacks. The maritime industry, including that of the United States, was instrumental in creating and implementing these best practices, having adopted and documented self-protection measures against piracy as part of its compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. The United States’ formal signature indicates its commitment to implementing measures that it has already encouraged and followed. Cyprus, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom joined the United States in signing the Declaration. The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia will meet on September 10, 2009, at the United Nations. During the plenary, the United States will urge all other Contact Group participants to join in signing the New York Declaration.