Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the world's 250 million to 300 million Orthodox Christians, arrived in Washington on Sunday night bearing the standard as the world's foremost religious leader on environmental issues. But one of his first tasks in the areawill be a visit to a Greek Orthodox parish in Annapolis on Monday, where he will celebrate the 18th anniversary of his enthronement to his Istanbul-based See. The 69-year-old patriarch, who has been touring the United States since Oct. 20, spent the first five days of his 18-day visit leading a "Religion, Science and the Environment" symposium in New Orleans. It is the most recent of many efforts that have earned him the sobriquet of the "green patriarch." During a 1997 trip to the United States, he hosted an environmental summit in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he called the destruction of the environment "a sin" and offered "a vision of repentance" for those who have acted as "materialistic tyrants" toward God's creation. The six days he will spend in Washington, including a Tuesday lecture at Georgetown University and a Wednesday speech at the Brookings Institution, will also deal with the topic. His web site, www.patriarchate.org, has a link to a Facebook discussion on Orthodoxy's contribution to the environmental movement and links to several YouTube videos of the patriarch, including Bartholomew's recent speech at the New Orleans aquarium. On Oct. 25, the Wall Street Journal printed his guest editorial that called for believers and nonbelievers in God alike to work together to save the earth. "The natural environment unites us in ways that transcend doctrinal differences," he wrote. He will visit President Obama at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, after the Brookings speech, he will attend a lunch in his honor on Capitol Hill, meet privately with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attend a dinner in his honor hosted by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at the vice president's residence.
President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will meet again on Monday in the framework of the ongoing UN-led direct negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem, during which they will continue discussion on the chapter of property. The meeting will start at 1600 local time and will take place in the UN Protected Area of Nicosia. Speaking to the press after the last meeting of the leaders on October 27, Alexander Downer, UN Secretary-General Special Adviser on the Cyprus problem said that the two leaders will discuss again the chapter of property and will discuss the criteria concerning this issue, which he described as ''one of the most difficult issues'' of the Cyprus problem. Property was also discussed on October 22. In statements after the meeting on October 22, President Demetris Christofias had said that the Greek Cypriot side and the Turkish Cypriot side maintain their positions on matters of principle regarding the chapter of properties. He added that the only common position of both sides on the chapter of properties is that owners are recognised as such but the Greek Cypriot side gives priority to the owner, whereas the Turkish Cypriot side to the current user. Christofias and Talat began UN-led talks in September 2008 in a bid to achieve a mutually agreed solution to the problem of Cyprus, divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The two leaders have entered the second phase of the talks for the ''second reading'' of the six chapters of the Cyprus problem, namely, governance and power-sharing, property, EU matters, economic matters, territory and security and guarantees.
As the West seeks to pressure Iran for concessions on its nuclear program, Turkey, a Muslim nation with Western ties, is playing to both sides of the dispute amid new questions about its loyalties. Turkey has no formal role in the talks over Iran's nuclear activities and lacks the clout to be anything more than a facilitator. But it also plays a unique role as an ally of both NATO and of Iran. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan chided the US and other nuclear-armed powers for perceived double standards on Iran, during a recent trip to Pakistan and Iran. That reflected Turkey's goal of staking out its independence from the West while preserving the alliance. In Tehran on Wednesday, Erdogan said he did not intend to play the role of «go-between» on Iran, and that the permanent members of the UN Security Council should take the «first step,» so that efforts to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation can win global support. Erdogan has also said Iran is pursuing a «peaceful, humanitarian energy initiative» and that its conduct in recent negotiations is sincere. Turkey also refrained from criticizing Iran after the Islamic Republic's disputed election in June. Such remarks on Iran's nuclear program have raised concerns that Turkey's Islamic-oriented government, frustrated by a faltering bid to join the European Union, is turning away from the West.
Russian ambassador to Sarajevo Aleksandr Harchenko said that "he would not classify Bosnia-Herzegovina as a powder keg". He also said that Russia supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of that country. “Russia does not believe that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a powder keg and believes that, despite the radicalization of the situation, there is a chance for the domestic politicians to reach an agreement,” Harchenko said. “Any change to the Dayton agreement, and to the Constitution, can only be a domestic product, the role of the international community should be advisory,” Harchenko added. He said that Russia supports the continuation of dialogue, but that the "priority is the transition of the Office of the High Representative (OHR)", Deutsche Welle reports. “After the transition of the OHR into the role of a special EU envoy, if there is desire for doing so, the issue of constitutional changes also can be discussed through domestic talks and the help of the international community,” stated Harchenko. The top Russian diplomatic envoy to Bosnia told the Federal TV in Sarajevo that he supports Republic of Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, "when his stance is in accordance with Dayton principles”. Harchenko stressed that the upcoming Lavrov visit to Sarajevo will be a chance for strengthening of relations between the two countries. He added that Russia "wants to develop economic relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, not only the RS".
The foreign ministers of Russia and Britain said on Monday they hope their talks will help improve ties between the two countries marred by a series of disputes. Opening talks with Foreign Secretary David Miliband in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov said: "We hope our political contacts today and yesterday will ...create conditions for settling current disputes." Miliband is Britain's first top diplomat to visit Russia in five years. Miliband said he hopes their talks will help add "depth and drive" to Russian-British ties. British-Russian relations have been consistently frosty since the diplomatic fallout following the death of Russian security defector Alexander Litvinenko in London three years ago. Russia refused to extradite a key suspect in the murder, leading to tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats. Other disputes have included Russian authorities' pressure on the British Council, Britain's refusal to extradite fugitive Russian businessmen, and Britain's criticism over Russia's conflict with Georgia in August 2008.
The Tower of London has suspended two beefeaters as part of an investigation into alleged harassment of its first female Yeoman Warder. A third is under investigation over charges of bullying Moira Cameron, 44, who two years ago became the first female beefeater in the tower's 1,000-year history. Tower authorities launched an internal investigation over the weekend of 24-25 October in response to allegations of several instances of harassment. It is understood that one person has received a police caution for defacing Cameron's entry on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Cameron qualified to be a Yeoman Warder – beating five men to the job – in July 2007 after completing the required minimum 22 years in the armed forces. The Tower of London said in a statement: "We can confirm that three Yeoman Warders are under investigation in response to allegations of harassment. Two have been suspended. We take such allegations very seriously and our formal harassment policy makes it clear that this is totally unacceptable." It said an investigation was already under way and should conclude within two to three weeks. "Meanwhile, the Tower of London is a close-knit community and, understandably, this is a difficult time for us all." The Tower's Yeoman Warders date back to 1485, and their nickname, beefeaters, is thought to derive from the daily ration of meat they received.
Archeologists say the world's oldest submerged town, located off the southern Laconia coast of Greece, dates back to 5,000 years ago. Final Neolithic ceramics found during the five-year study project showed that the city of Pavlopetri was at least 1,200 years earlier than previously thought. A collaborative team of experts at Nottingham University and the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture found 150 square meters of new buildings as well as ceramics that show the city was occupied throughout the Bronze Age - from at least 2800 to 1100 BCE. The newly found buildings could be the first example of a pillar crypt ever discovered on the Greek mainland, ScienceDaily reported. “This site is unique in that we have almost the complete town plan, the main streets and domestic buildings, courtyards, rock-cut tombs and what appear to be religious buildings, clearly visible on the seabed," said underwater archaeologist at Nottingham University's Archaeology Department, Dr. Jon Henderson. "Equally as a harbor settlement, the study of the archaeological material we have recovered will be extremely important in terms of revealing how maritime trade was conducted and managed in the Bronze Age." “It is a rare find and it is significant because as a submerged site it was never re-occupied and therefore represents a frozen moment of the past," said Elias Spondylis, Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture in Greece. Researchers also produced a detailed plan of the town, which consisted of at least 15 separate buildings, courtyards, streets, two chamber tombs and at least 37 cist graves.