Cyprus, the eastern-most island in the Mediterranean Sea, situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, has been a meeting point for many of the world’s great civilizations. From its 11,000-year history, Cyprus has woven its own distinctive history and culture. “Cyprus: Crossroads of Civilizations” will be on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History from Sept. 29 through May 1, 2011. The exhibition is presented on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus. The exhibition will feature more than 200 artifacts—covering nearly 11,000 years of history—which range from items from the earliest villages to masterpieces of medieval religious art, give an overview of the island’s unique culture. Among the objects on display will be for the first time in this country: A pygmy hippopotamus skull (10,000 to 8,500 B.C.); Gold jewelry and sphinx sculptures from the Cypro-Archaic period (750 to 480 B.C.); Vases, bowls and sculptures, including an Aphrodite marble, from the Hellenistic (325 to 50 B.C.) and Roman (50 B.C. to A.D. 330) periods; Bronze and copper items, including lamps and jugs, from the Byzantine period (330 to 1191); Religious icons, paintings and vases from the medieval period (13th to 16th century). The exhibition also will feature nearly 100 coins from different eras in Cypriot history, starting from the Hellenistic period through the Venetian period. To read more about Cyprus, click here and to read more about the Smithsonian, click here.
II. THEAUSTRALIAN - Australian Premier has been cleared of Racism to FYROM by Human Rights Commission
South Australian Premier Mike Rann has been cleared of racially vilifying the people of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Human Rights Commission found Mr Rann had no case to answer for claiming the Macedonian state was stealing Greek history and culture, an accusation the Premier made in a speech at a Greek festival in Adelaide last year. In the speech, Mr Rann also accused Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov of "stirring up trouble in a most dangerous way" with Greece. The comments sparked a complaint to the HRC by South Australia's Macedonian community but judge Catherine Branson ruled it to be "lacking in substance". Mr Rann said he abhorred racism and his criticisms were directed at the policies of the Ivanov government, not Macedonians. "I stand on my record of racial and ethnic tolerance. I will not be intimidated by anyone from speaking forthrightly on behalf of historical truth," Mr Rann said.
Police say an explosion tore through a Serb protest in an ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, and doctors say one man has died from injuries sustained in the blast that also hurt about 11 others. Kosovo police say they believe a hand grenade was thrown amid the 1,000 or so Serbs protesting the opening of a civil registry office run by Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian authorities in the Serb dominated part of Mitrovica. Kosovo police spokesman Besim Hoti says shots also were heard, and about 11 people were injured in the blast. Serb doctors say one man died during surgery for chest and heart injuries, and said the others injured were being treated for shrapnel wounds to their limbs.
Moscow insists that it is time to broaden interactive opportunities for all the parties to the Geneva talks on the Caucasus, Russia's permanent representative to the OSCE Anvar Azimov has said. "It is time to expand the dialogue opportunities for all members of the Geneva discussions without exception," Azimov said, as quoted by Itar-Tass. "We believe that the OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), with its all-embracing approach to security, is a convenient platform on which the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sides could communicate their positions to the other parties,” he said, speaking in Vienna at the council of the co-chairs of the Geneva talks from the EU, UN and the OSCE. The official suggested that “It may be possible to hear regular reports by representatives from Sukhum and Tskhinval under the auspices of the current presidency in the format of informal briefings for the delegations concerned.” Such contacts, according to Azimov, “are needed for getting ‘first hand’ information to facilitate a better understanding of the existing concerns, interactive exchanges, and joint search for compromise solutions.” The previous – eleventh – round of Geneva talks on security and stability in the Caucasus region, following the August 2008 conflict when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, ended in a deadlock. The parties failed to come to a compromise over a treaty that would guarantee the non-use of force by Georgia against the two republics. Speaking on Thursday, Russia’s representative to the OSCE said that the lack of progress on the issue left the Abkhaz side disappointed. “That is the reason why Abkhazia – in a special note – stated that they believe it would not be reasonable to conduct the next round Geneva discussions scheduled for July 27,” Azimov said. He recalled that instead of yet another meeting “Sukhum suggested using the additional time to prepare a realistic draft agreement on the non-use of force, which could be considered at the next international meeting in Geneva next autumn.” Since the August War, Geneva has been the main venue for the conflicting sides to try to find a compromise and bring peace and stability to the region. Speaking in Vienna, Azimov confirmed Moscow’s intention to continue taking part in the multilateral dialogue. According to Russia’s representative, the main value of the Geneva meetings is their status. “Currently it is the only format where representatives of the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, and also Russia, the US, the UN, the EU and the OSCE are involved on an equal basis."
V. JPOST - Israel to apologize?
Israel is prepared to apologize to Turkey for the flotilla incident and to compensate the families of the injured parties, Turkish newspaper Huriyyet reported on Friday. Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's office has denied the reports. According to a different Turkish paper, Zaman, during the secret meeting between Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels, Davutoglu threatened that Israel-Turkey relations may worsen, with Turkey closing its airspace to commerical flights, as well as military ones, should Israel fail to apologize. Huriyyet reported that Ben-Eliezer signaled that Israel is willing to apologize, and even pay the families of those inured in the IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara. However, Ben-Eliezer has denied that Israel will compensate those injured on the flotilla. "No one intends to do that, and the minister did not promise anything," Ben-Eliezer's spokesman said. “There will be a second meeting if the Israeli side takes a step toward [meeting] our demands,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Huriyyet on Thursday. “We do not categorically dismiss meeting with Israeli officials at this level.” Huriyyet also reported that Israel initiated the clandestine meeting, despite the fact that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office stated that it Turkey made the first contact.
VI. TODAYONLINE - Italy, allies fight crucifix ban
A European ruling banning crucifixes in Italian schools should be overturned, nine European governments said in an appeal on Wednesday. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that crucifixes in Italian public schools violate religious and education freedoms last November. The case, part of a larger debate over the role of religious symbols in public places, has sharpened divisions between secular and religious advocacy groups. Italian courts have previously ruled that the display of crucifixes is part of Italian national identity and not an attempt at conversion, an argument expanded by New York University legal scholar Joseph Weiler on behalf of the governments of Italy, Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, San Marino, Romania and Russia, who are appealing against the ruling. The decisions of the court - an arm of the Council of Europe, the continent's premier human rights watchdog - are binding on the council's 47 member states and, therefore, have an impact far beyond Italy. A ruling is expected in September or October.
VII. FORDHAMUNIVERSITY - Jesuit Calls on Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches to Restore Communion
The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches should own up to their past misdeeds and work to restore communion, according to a Jesuit liturgical expert. Robert F. Taft, S.J., a former professor of Eastern liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, said that the rift between the churches was sustained primarily by offensive actions—not theological differences. "The main problem that we Catholics and Orthodox face in our ecumenical dialogue is not doctrine but behavior," Father Taft said. "The issue is not that Catholics and Orthodox do not know how to pray and believe and live Christianity in the right and true apostolic way. The problem is that we do not know how to act." He pointed to Catholic "uniatism"—aggression against another church—as a major problem blocking fruitful dialogue between the religions. He added that although the Orthodox faith has been victimized, it also refuses to admit its own misdeeds. "Western Christianity’s historic defects of imperialism, power and domination led to the crimes for which Pope John Paul II asked pardon in Rome on the first Sunday of Lent in 2000," Father Taft said. "Metropolitan Kallinikos of Piraeus—an official spokesman of the Orthodox Church of Greece—responded … by declaring there was nothing for which Orthodoxy had to ask pardon." Father Taft advocated a system of "ecumenical scholarship and theology"—a new way to study Christian tradition that seeks to reconcile and unite, rather than to confute and dominate. To accomplish this, the Catholic and Orthodox churches must recognize one another as historic apostolic sister churches, he said. "For Catholics, such an 'ecumenical theology' must mean an end to declarations on the nature of the priesthood that exalt the celibate clerical state of the Latin tradition in a way that is demeaning to the thousands of legitimately married eastern clergy," he said. "It might also mean Catholic theologians realizing that Latin scholastic theology of the Eucharist is 'a' theology and not 'the' theology." The point of this new ecumenical theology is not that Catholics and Orthodox never disagree. "What it does mean, is that at the official level, disagreements can be discussed truthfully and courteously, without invective, rudeness and slander," Father Taft said. Father Taft delivered "Perceptions and Realities in Orthodox-Catholic Relations Today," on June 28 at the Rose Hill campus. His was the first keynote at "Orthodox Constructions of the West," a three-day conference that examined how Orthodox authors created artificial categories of "East" and "West" and then used that distinction as a basis for self-definition.