Michael's Afternoon 7 - 06 May

I. EU and UN abandon inquiry into missing £60m in Kosovo

The European Union and United Nations have abandoned investigations into serious fraud and corruption allegations over £60 million worth of Brussels funding for Kosovo. EU funds for "economic reconstruction" to help rebuild a war-shattered Kosovo ten years ago were hit by at least 11 scandals involving 12 cases of alleged criminal activity and 27 examples of alleged breaches of rules on the awarding of contracts and nepotism. UN investigators recommended a "criminal investigation" but this was dropped. The scandals have thrown into question the £891 million that the EU channels every year to projects in Kosovo via the UN and World Bank. The European Parliament is threatening to block EU cash for the UN unless there is proper oversight and accounting for the money is spent.

II. Turkey: massacre reflects ancient traditions and volatile politics

An attack by masked gunmen on an engagement party in a small village in southeast Turkey, which resulted in the deaths of 44 people, is being seen as a reflection of both the troubled region's ancient traditions and volatile modern politics. The semi-official Anatolia news agency reported that the masked attackers had wanted the bride-to-be to marry one among their own group of friends or relatives, but that her family would not allow it.

III. Border Turks Want Door Shut

Talk of the possible reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border has left residents in nearby Turkish towns divided on whether such a development is what they need. Many say that even if it means certain economic benefits for them, they are not ready to make friends with their Armenian neighbours. But the fact that the opening of the frontier is one of the 35 requirements Turkey needs to meet to be admitted to the European Union has put pressure on Ankara to find a solution.

IV. U.S. warship to visit Russia for Victory Day celebrations

The U.S. missile cruiser Cowpens will start a four-day visit to Russia's Far East port of Vladivostok on May 7 to take part in Victory Day celebrations. Victory Day, marks the final surrender by Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front of WWII, referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

V. Russians on ICJ "political games"

The head of the Russian delegation to the Council of Europe says the International Court of
Justice should declare Kosovo's attempt to secede to be illegal.

VI. Adoration explores the nature of terrorism and martyrdom

In his 12th feature film, Adoration, Canadian director Atom Egoyan veers off into the harsh terrain of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Scheduled to open in Toronto on May 8, Adoration is Egoyan’s first overtly political movie since Ararat, which turned on the 1915 Armenian genocide. Adoration is based on a terrorist incident in April 1986 in which a Jordanian national of Palestinian origin, Nizar Hindawi, attempted to plant Semtex plastic explosives aboard an El Al plane en route from London to Tel Aviv.

VII. The Copts: Persecuted Christians of Egypt

The word “Copt” is derived from the Greek word, “Ai-gypt-os” meaning Egypt. The middle part of the word “gypt” was later pronounced as “Copt” and used to mean Egyptian. From the time Egypt embraced Christianity in 54 AD to the time Islam invaded Egypt in 642 AD, all people of Egypt were called Copts, After the Islamic invasion, some Copts embraced Islam and excluded themselves from the name. Those who remained faithful to their Christian faith clung to their Coptic identity, and still do. Christianity was introduced to Egypt in 54 AD by St. Mark, a North African Jew and one of the 70 apostles of the early church. St. Mark is the writer of the Gospel of Mark, one of the four gospels of the New Testament. He was the first Patriarch of an unbroken 117 patriarchy of the Coptic Orthodox church.