Djuric: We will not allow creation of Greater Albania


KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Marko Djuric said in Kosovska Mitrovica on Saturday that Serbia will not allow the creation of "neither a small, nor a Greater Albania."

Addressing people who gathered in the centre of North Kosovska Mitrovica, Djuric pledged on behalf of the state of Serbia that it will be with them in Serbian Kosovo-Metohija and in Kosovska Mitrovica for as long as it exists.

Every town in Kosovo-Metohija is a town that has suffered and a town of martyrs, and entire Serbia is aware of the temptations that you who live here have been through in the past 15 years, said Djuric, who attended Saturday's celebrations of the local patron saint with his aides.
"We will not allow the creation of neither a small, nor a Greater Albania on our soil, nor will we let the Serbs, who have lived here for centuries, and the Serbian Orthodox Church be deprived of their rights," Djuric noted.

"We only seek and fight for what is ours, we do not want to take anything away from anyone, we just want to build for ourselves and help ourselves," Djuric said, calling for even greater unity among the citizens, who he said need it to remain strong and persevering.

Ban concerned over political deadlock in Pristina


NEW YORK - In the latest report on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the political deadlock in Pristina and urged Kosovo's leaders to intensify efforts to find a solution and resume the dialogue with Belgrade as soon as possible.

"I am particularly concerned by the protracted political deadlock in Pristina and its potential negative impact on the progress achieved thus far in strengthening democratic institutions and processes in Kosovo," Ban said in the report, which will be discussed by the UN Security Council on November 13.

"I strongly urge all of Kosovo's political entities, and especially their leaders, to intensify efforts to build on the success of the 8 June election and ensure that the current impasse is overcome," says the document on UNMIK activities in the period from July 16 to October 15, published on the UN website.

"This generation of leaders must continue the historic process of normalisation with Belgrade, reconcile with the past, make use of the opportunities presented by the stabilisation and association talks with the European Union and continue structural reforms," Ban noted.

"I congratulate both the Kosovo authorities and the Government of Serbia on the progress towards a common European future. In this light, I encourage the earliest resumption of the high-level meetings on normalisation of relations, facilitated by the European Union," Ban said.

In its 2014 progress report for Serbia, published in October, the European Commission noted that progress in the normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina ties is "essential for advancing the European future of both sides," Ban said.

He said that the technical talks have continued and that certain progress has been achieved in integrated management of crossing points, telecommunications, energy and freedom of movement.

"The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) registered 177 individual voluntary returnees to Kosovo during July, August and September 2014, 45 of whom were Kosovo Serbs, 115 Kosovo Roma, Kosovo Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians, 3 Kosovo Gorani, 1 Montenegrin and 13 Kosovo Albanians," Ban said .

"The total number of internally displaced persons residing within Kosovo was 17,227, the majority of whom are Kosovo Serbs", the report says.

86-Year-Old Serb Guards Over WWI Dead in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece — Nov 8, 2014, 5:48 AM ET

By COSTAS KANTOURIS Associated Press

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, cemetery keeper Djordje Mihailovic tends to graves at the Zeitenlik Allied War Cemetery in Thessaloniki, Greece. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father before him the 86-year old... View Full Caption The Associated Press

Stooped and unsteady, Djordje Mihailovic walks among rows of discolored marble crosses of Serb soldiers slain a century ago in the horrors of World War I.

For over half a century, the 86-year-old has been a caretaker at Thessaloniki's Allied War Cemetery in northern Greece. In the centenary year of the start of World War I, Mihailovic is ever more the embodiment of remembrance as another Nov. 11 Armistice Day approaches.

"This is my family," he said of the remains beneath the rocky soil. "I know many of the names of the soldiers here and many of their stories."

"Now I tell them to their grandchildren and the great grandchildren," he said of the Serb visitors who make the pilgrimage to the site.

Mihailovic also has real family buried here: his grandfather, a World War I veteran who became the cemetery's first caretaker, and his father, who succeeded him. Mihailovic intends to work here until he dies, and then be buried here, too.

Low-flung weeds run across the pathways of Mihailovic's grounds, unlike some Western Front battlefields and cemeteries where many heads of state this year have walked the manicured lawns. It does not detract from their significance, especially for Serbs.

Serbia, involved in the war from the very beginning, had an army of about 350,000 soldiers, of whom some 130,000 died, outnumbered as they fought off an Austro-Hungarian invasion for more than a year before Germany and neighbor Bulgaria joined the onslaught.

"A third of the army was lost," said Mihailovic. "It's a story the world should know."

The region around Thessaloniki was a rallying point for Serbia's ravaged army, which endured a harrowing retreat to join Allied troops led by Britain and France in 1916.

"Every family had a victim," Mihailovic said, sitting at the entrance of a room filled with Orthodox Christian religious icons and dedications left by visitors.

The Mihailovic dynasty of caretakers started with grandfather Sava, who took the job at the cemetery when it was built on the site of a field hospital for the wounded. Djordje's father, Djuro, took over as caretaker until his death in 1960.

Mihailovic still lives in the house built for his family on the cemetery grounds. With his bushy eyebrows and gray moustache, Mihailovic wears assorted pieces of old army uniforms, including the distinctive Serbian double-point cap. He chainsmokes Drina Cigarettes, a brand that was popular among his forebears in the trenches.

"I wear the uniform so people can recognize me, because visitors don't always know where to go," he said. Among his uniforms there "are clothes from World War I which I wear to honor the soldiers."

Some 7,500 Serbs are buried in Thessaloniki, where sections are also reserved for the French, Italians, British and Russians who died there. Mihailovic is caretaker only for the Serb area.

Serb visitors typically get a tour of the grounds and a shot of fiery plum brandy from Mihailovic, whose role over the decades has shifted from listener and collector of stories to guide and raconteur.

Many are eager to listen to Mihailovic's stories of how soldiers traversed freezing Greek mountain passes to bypass enemy artillery, or how a shattered army survived a typhoid outbreak when it reached Greece and was taken to the island of Corfu. Many Serbian visitors to the island still refuse to eat fish there, out of respect to the thousands of soldiers buried at sea.

Mihailovic, who has two daughters, knows that his family tradition will die with him, and is training a younger apprentice appointed by Belgrade.

"That's the toughest thing for me to accept," he said. "I was born here, raised here. We played in the fields that once surrounded this place. We had our families here. I could stop and draw my pension," he said.

"But it's not a job, it's my life."

Albanian PM Rama in landmark visit to Serbia

8 November 2014 | 10:18 | FOCUS News Agency

Belgrade. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will make a landmark visit to Belgrade on Monday, the first of its kind in 68 years and seen as a step towards calming tensions in the region, AFP reported.
Initially planned for October 22, the visit was postponed for three weeks following violence a week earlier that interrupted a football match between Serbia and Albania.
That incident spiralled into a political crisis and was followed by mutual accusations between Belgrade and Tirana, showing the fragility of their bilateral relations.
However faced with EU determination to push Serbia and Albania to normalise their relations, the two EU-aspirant nations tried to calm the situation.
Rama and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic agreed, in a telephone conversation, on the landmark visit despite "obvious disagreements."
Belgrade will welcome Rama in the hope that his visit will lead to "open talks" that will turn the page in relations between the two countries, a Serbian government source told AFP.
"We are seeing this as a new chapter to be opened in the relations between Serbia and Albania and towards cooperation with the joint goal to preserve stability in the Balkans," the source said.
Tirana hopes Rama's visit will put an end to the political-sport crisis that erupted after the football match, a qualifier for the 2016 European championships.
The match in Belgrade on October 14 was halted after home fans invaded the pitch and attacked Albania players after a pro-Albanian flag was carried over the stadium by a drone.
The match was goalless when it was abandoned as Albania players fled to the changing rooms as irrate fans invaded the pitch.
The provocative flag included a map of 'Greater Albania' incorporating parts of Serbia.
Albania insists it is now necessary to make efforts to improve the fragile relations in the Balkans.
"The time has come to turn the page and not to fall in a trap of the politics that has held us hostage for a long time," Rama said several days ahead of his visit.
"The interest of our countries is to move on, to work together for the prosperity of our region... Europe is our joint destination, we want to be part of the European family," he said.
Albania was granted a EU candidate status earlier this year, while Serbia in January launched accession talks with Brussels.
Rama's visit is an occasion that should be grabbed, both Albanian and Serbian analysts agree.

Gorbachev warns of new cold war threat as Berlin marks fall of wall

Former Soviet leader backs Putin’s stand towards Ukraine as Germany celebrates 25th anniversary of demise of the barrier that divided it

• Philip Oltermann in Berlin

• 
  
• The Observer, Saturday 8 November 2014 .

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev walks across Pariser Platz near the Brandenburg Gate on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Photograph: Target Presse Agentur Gmbh/Getty Images

As Berliners watch 8,000 balloons being released into the night sky this evening, old divisions between east and west will symbolically vanish into thin air with them. Yet the runup to the festivities has already served up plenty of reminders that, 25 years after the fall of the wall that divided the city for three decades, the scars of history are hurting more than ever.
Speaking at a symposium near the Brandenburg Gate yesterday morning, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev warned that the world was “on the brink of a new cold war” and strongly criticised the west for having sown the seeds of the current crisis by mishandling the fallout from the collapse of the iron curtain.
“Instead of building new mechanisms and institutions of European security and pursuing a major demilitarisation of European politics … the west, and particularly the United States, declared victory in the cold war,” said the man behind the Soviet Union’s glasnost and perestroika reforms.
“Euphoria and triumphalism went to the heads of western leaders. Taking advantage of Russia’s weakening and the lack of a counterweight, they claimed monopoly leadership and domination in the world.”
The enlargement of Nato, Kosovo, missile defence plans and wars in the Middle East had led to a “collapse of trust”, said Gorbachev, now 83. “To put it metaphorically, a blister has now turned into a bloody, festering wound.”
Previously an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, Gorbachev backed the current Russian president’s stance over Ukraine, urging western leaders to “consider carefully” Putin’s recent remarks at the Valdai forum : “Despite the harshness of his criticism of the west, and of the United States in particular, I see in his speech a desire to find a way to lower tensions and ultimately to build a new basis for partnership.”
Such strong words of criticism, voiced by the man still affectionately known as “Gorbi” to many in Germany, came at the end of a week which has seen the value of the rouble tumbling dramatically as a result of western sanctions.
Friday afternoon had seen another reminder of the old east-west tensions still running through Germany when the usually rather staid proceedings of the Bundestag were shaken up by a musical guest performance. Veteran songwriter Wolf Biermann, who was kicked out of the GDR in 1976, performed a protest song called Ermutigung (Encouragement) and took a number of swipes at politicians from Die Linke (the Left party), successors to East Germany’s ruling party, the SED.
“Your punishment is to have to listen to me here – enjoy”, Biermann said, while gesturing towards the leftwing parliamentarians. He went on to describe Die Linke MPs as “dragon spawn” and “the miserable dregs of something that had luckily been overcome”.
Only last week German president Joachim Gauck, a former head of the Stasi archives, had questioned whether the Left party had “really distanced itself from the ideas the SED once had about repression of people”. Die Linke is on the verge of gaining its first state premier, in the Thuringia region, something Gauck said “people of my age who lived through the GDR find quite hard to accept”.
At the very least, such score-settling should stop this weekend’s festivities, taking place under the motto “courage for freedom”, from turning into a merely nostalgic affair. Events in Berlin will mark the culmination of a remarkable chain of events which resulted in the opening of border checkpoints in Berlin on the night of 9 November 1989. At least 138 people died trying to cross the inner-German border in the capital, more than 1,000 in the country as a whole, in the postwar years.
A host of historic key players and celebrities have already dodged a nationwide train strike in Germany to descend on the capital. Yesterday evening German chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, attended a memorial concert at the Berliner Ensemble, the theatre founded by the playwright Bertolt Brecht.
On Sunday, Merkel will open a new exhibition centre at Bernauer Strasse, near the Bornholmer Strasse checkpoint where the then 35-year-old chancellor crossed over to the west for the first time. “I think you never forget how you felt that day – at least I will never forget it,” the chancellor said in a recent podcast. “I had to wait 35 years for that feeling of liberty. It changed my life.”
At least two million people are expected to attend a grand street festival at the Brandenburg Gate. The former Polish president Lech Walesa, Hungarian ex-president Miklos Nemeth, as well as Gorbachev and German president Gauck, are all expected to take to the stage.
Music will be provided by the Berlin State Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, as well as East Berlin rock band Silly and British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, performing David Bowie’s Heroes.
The centrepiece of the festivities will be formed by an ambitious art installation. Since Friday morning, 8,000 white balloons have been pegged to the ground along the former border. After sunset, they light up to form a 15km-long “wall of light”. This evening the balloons will be released into the air one by one, to the music of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.
Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, as well as guests of honour including Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Nasa astronaut Ron Garan and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, will start the balloon release at 7pm local time.

Chomsky to RT: US and its NATO intervention force may spark nuclear war

Published time: November 07, 2014 13:20

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US linguist, philosopher and political activist, Noam Chomsky (AFP Photo DDP / Sascha Schuermann) GERMANY OUT

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​How dangerous is the current confrontation between Russia and the West? Noam Chomsky believes that NATO expansion and US quest for hegemony has put the world in a situation so unstable where any accidental interaction could result in a nuclear war.

‘New NATO aims to control the world’

The “new NATO” that emerged after the Soviet Union collapsed is basically a US-run intervention force, with a completely different mission as compared to the original, Chomsky tells RT’s Sophie&Co.
“In fact, one might ask why NATO even continued to exist,” he said. “The official justification for NATO was that its purpose was to defend Western Europe from Russian hordes who might attack Western Europe.”
With no more “Russian threat”, the natural conclusion in the 90s would be to disband the alliance, but instead the opposite happened – against all agreements NATO expanded all the way towards the Russian borders.
“Its mission changed. The official mission of NATO became to control the international, the global energy system, pipelines. That means, to control the world.”

‘World ominously close to nuclear war’

In the worst case scenario the current international instability, especially with tensions between US and Russia resembling a new cold war, could result in a nuclear war, in which all parties that initiate it would be eliminated.
“And it’s come ominously close several times in the past, dramatically close. And it could happen again, but not planned, but just by the accidental interactions that take place,” Chomsky said. “There have been many cases, not that serious, but pretty close, where human intervention with a few-minutes choice has prevented a nuclear war. You can’t guarantee that’s going to continue."

Reuters / Majed Jaber

READ MORE: US knocks down ballistic, cruise missile targets in complex Aegis system test
“It may not be a high probability each time, but when you play a game like that, with low probability risks of disaster over and over again, you’re going to lose. And now, especially in the crisis over Ukraine, and so-called missile-defense systems near the borders of Russia, it’s a threatening situation.”

‘West can’t isolate Russia, will drive it to the East’

With its efforts to isolate Russia through confrontation and sanctions, the West instead pushes Moscow closer to the East, towards closer relations with China.
“Current Western policies are driving Russia towards closer interaction with the Chinese-based system. In this interaction Russia is actually the weaker partner, so it’s making concessions, but the US is openly creating a system of power, which could significantly diminish US domination in the world.”
“There is a Trans-Pacific Partnership, so-called, a huge commercial treaty, designed to incorporate the Asian countries, not China, but the other Asian countries, crucially not China,” Chomsky said. “But that’s the plan and it’s the kind of economic counterpart to the military pivot to Asia, and the sanctions on Russia are helping to create a counter-course based on Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or an extension of it, which would include Russia, and may begin to move across Eurasia, the whole Eurasian region.”

Reuters / Jorge Dan

The peak of American power in history was around 1945, Chomsky says, when the United States owned half of the world’s wealth and American leaders were designing and organizing a world system that would benefit the US corporate system.
“The origins of multi-national corporations began to develop at that time... And there were detailed plans for assigning to every part of the world, what was called, a function within the global system,” he says, although adding that plan began to collapse very quickly.
READ MORE: US-backed TPP to be ineffective without Russia, China – Putin
“In 1949 there was a serious blow to the US global hegemony – China’s independence,” he said. “There’s a name for that in US history and Western history. It is called ‘the loss of China’. Just think about this phrase for a minute. I can only lose what I own. And the assumption, the tacit assumption is – we own China, we own the world.”

‘US-led anti-ISIS coalition meaningless, apart from being illegal’

US actions in the Middle East region, including the invasion in Iraq, have created the circumstances, under which ISIS emerged, Chomsky believes. “What happened is the US basically hit Iraq with a kind of sledgehammer,” instituting a governmental structure, which was sectarian in nature.
“All of this came together to create sectarian conflicts, which had not existed before… That has since expanded, and now it’s tearing the whole region apart. Syria is one element of it.”

And to solve the mess, the US again decided to act against the international law, building an anti-ISIS coalition that is “meaningless, apart from being illegal.”
“A law-abiding state would go to the Security Council, ask for a declaration by the Security Council of a threat to peace, and request the Security Council to organize direct response to it. And that could be done. The US could then participate in it, but so could Iran,” which is a major military force and would probably wipe out ISIS in no time, if it was allowed to join the fight on the ground, Chomsky believes.

‘States are very resistant to interference with their powers’

The US is far and away the technologically most advanced country in the world, so the spying is “more extensive in the United States.” Although Edward Snowden made a major contribution by exposing NSA methods to the world, there’s a long way to go, Chomsky said.
“States are very resistant to interference with their powers… It hasn’t stopped, now in fact it’s expanding. It’s a real major attack on human rights,” he said. “But it’s duplicated in China, Britain, Russia, no doubt, other countries.”
“The major threat is if it becomes sort of passively accepted, because of the fact that it’s not stopped, this is just going to go on, go on to the point where there are literally tiny drones, fly-size drones, that can be on the ceiling of your living room, listening to what you’re saying and sending it back to the central government office. There are no limits to this.”
“There has to be a citizen reaction, which would put an end to this practice.”

Albania: 12,000 shapes TNT disappearance from military warehouses



  
Prosecution has started investigation into the disappearance of 12,000 shapes of TNT, 200 grams

  According to the Prosecution TNT was robbed from military warehouses in the vicinity of Kruja, 20 km from Tirana

According to the Ministry of Defence, dating theft was discovered very early and after a control order, by Minister Mimi Kodheli.

"Kruja Judicial District Prosecutor is conducting investigations into the disappearance of a very large amount of material from military warehouses, in which the allegedly missing 12 thousand molds TNT, 200 grams, as well as other war material, which should be in inventory.


In the prosecution notice is hereby given that so far a person is placed in custody. Inquiring about the disappearance of the quantity of TNT explosions began following acts with the explosives in Kruja. The prosecution suggests that the ban was ordered in charge of the warehouse of weapons.

NATO and the USA, have paid millions of dollars around the explosives demilitarization program in Albania, but arms trafficking and the use of explosives in Albania, has become a criminal system that ranks the country's security

Šešelj's release "attempt to destabilize country"

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbian Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said that it was Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić who enabled for Vojislav Šešelj to return to Serbia.

(Tanjug, file)

Vulin told TV Pink on Friday that while every citizen of Serbia has the right to medical treatment and care, there were also "attempts to use the arrival of Šešelj directly against Vučić and as something that should destabilize Serbia - and that will not be allowed."
Šešelj, the leader of the Serb Radical Party (SRS) accused of war crimes and incarcerated by the Hague Tribunal for the past 11 years, is ill with cancer and will be released for humanitarian reasons, the court announced on Thursday.

Vulin told the Belgrade-based broadcaster today that he "assumed" there was some agreement between the Hague Tribunal and Šešelj that competent state authorities will be informed about, and behave accordingly.

The minister added that "the government of the Republic of Serbia gave guarantees the same second they were asked of us."

Vulin stressed that Serbia must continue along the path it has taken - and that is "the path of independence, sovereignty and our sovereign choosing with whom and how, and to what extent."

"Don't try to intimidate Vučić in any way, it will not work," said Vulin, noting that he hoped to speak with the prime minister during the day.

According to Vulin, the release of Šešelj is "a political message of the Hague Tribunal and an attempt to destabilize Serbia."

"I am glad for every citizen to be set free and the government gave guarantees unconditionally, without question, without calculating whether this is the right moment, but I am concerned about the political message of the Hague Tribunal, which acts as a political court," said the minister.

According to him, the decision is "an attempt to destabilize the government of Serbia and an attempt to intimidate its president, Aleksandar Vučić."

"The Hague has been used this time and all this is much bigger than just releasing Šešelj, this is the answer to Vučić - you want Putin in Belgrade, you want to have a (military) parade, and you did not agree that we keep him (Šešelj) in prison for another ten years, you must abandon the policy of relations with both Russia and the EU," Vulin asserted.

He noted that the West also in the past blackmailed the prime minister, threatening to "destabilize the country" unless the policy of "both Russia and the EU" was abandoned, but added that attempts to intimidate Vučić should not be made, "because he will not change his policy."

"The country cannot be destabilized when you have a firm government and a functioning state," said Vulin.

According to him, it is "no coincidence" that the leader of the Radicals will be released three days after a deputy from his party supported the reshuffling of the provincial government of Vojvodina. That government is led by the Democrats (DS), and Vučić's SNS party is in opposition in the province. "One thing does not go with the other," according to Vulin.

The minister then said that the drone with a "Greater Albania" map flown above the football pitch in Belgrade during a Serbia-Albania game was "sent by foreign services with the goal of destabilizing the country."

"You think the drone was there by accident, that fans did that - it was done by foreign services and they wanted to cause destabilization, now there will be a visit of Albanian prime minister that nobody will be glad about," said Vulin.

Finally, Vulin stressed that he was expressing his "personal opinions" and that none of the things he spoke about on Friday had been discussed with Vučić - but that he "felt that Serbia needs to hear that there are powerful states and people who do not want a stable Serbia".

PHOTO OF THE DAY

THE "WAR SITUATION" IN EAST UKRAINE
 

NATO "could stage big maneuvers on Russian border"

Source: Tanjug

BERLIN -- NATO could conduct maneuvers with tens of thousands of soldiers in the border regions of Russia and Ukraine, the German magazine Spiegel reports.

(Beta/AP, file)

"We have so far carried out big maneuvers with 25,000 to 40,000 people only in western countries. I can well imagine that in the future we will do the same in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States," German NATO General Hans Lothar Domrose told the daily Welt, as reported by Spiegel.
The magazine says that NATO is considering "provocative actions against Moscow" and possibly wants to, for the first time, carry out major maneuvers in Eastern Europe and in the border regions towards Russia.

The general did not provide any other details.

In the context of the Ukrainian crisis both the Western alliance and Russia have been "flexing their muscles," noted the magazine.

"We will form a rapid reaction force of about 5,000 to 7,000 people, which could be deployed to areas of operations in two to five days," said Domrose.

Until now, said the article, the talk was about 3,000 to 5,000 people.

"If all goes according to plan, then these troops will be ready for action by the end of 2015," said the German general.

Nikolic: France is of great help to Serbia's EU integration

He pointed out the so called Great Albania project to the French prime minister, adding that the increasing frequency of Albanian provocations in the region could turn into a problem of larger scale, which even the EU would not be able to solve

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic met with France's Prime MInister Manuel Valls on Friday and said that France was of great help to Serbia's EU integration and that it had proven itself a true friend during this year's floods.

He welcomed Valls on behalf of the Serbian people, adding that he was certain that the inscription on the monument of gratitude to France, saying: "Let us love France the way it loved us," was inscribed also on the Serbian people's hearts.

Unfortunately, it is increasingly customary to measure friendship by economic parameters and many countries have overtaken France in that field, he stated, stressing that Serbia was an optimal destination for investors because of its good geographical position, successful reforms, skilled workforce and numerous free trade agreements.

"France is of great help to our European course, and it has proven itself a true friend during the floods that hit us," he noted, pointing out that the donor conference in Brussels had been held thanks to support from French President Francois Hollande, resulting in significant funds for the flooded areas.

Serbia is dedicated to peace and stability in the region, which is why it is active in the talks with Pristina, Nikolic remarked.

"We are dedicated to ensuring a normal life for the people in the province, but we cannot make any moves towards recognising the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo," he underscored.

He pointed out the so called Great Albania project to the French prime minister, adding that the increasing frequency of Albanian provocations in the region could turn into a problem of larger scale, which even the EU would not be able to solve.

Valls stated he was touched by the Serbian people's sincere friendship visible at every step.

He commended the Serbian authorities on successful implementation of structural reforms and the pace of Serbia's EU integration, emphasising that there were many things connecting the two nations, and that the economic relations would have to improve after top-level meetings.

Valls informed Nikolic that he had talked to other Serbian officials about ways of improving cooperation related to agriculture, industry, subway and airports, and that France would offer its expert knowledge and be the top foreign partner to Serbia should Serbia be prepared for it.

He was also interested in Nikolic's view concerning the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, and Nikolic responded that Serbia would not do anything to destabilise Bosnia-Herzegovina, but that the EU should invest more effort into making that country a functional one.

Greek PM Samaras Visits Cyprus in the Light of Turkish Provocations
 

by Aggelos Skordas - Nov 6, 2014

In the light of the Turkish provocations in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras arrived in Nicosia today for a working visit focusing on the common policy that Greece and Cyprus need to follow in order to anticipate Turkish actions. Samaras, accompanied by government Vice President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi and a number of other government officials, was received at the Larnaca airport by Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, the Ambassador of Greece to Cyprus Vassilios Papaioannou and the Ambassador of Cyprus in Greece Kyriakos Kenevezos.

On his arrival, the Greek Prime Minister underlined that “the Turkish actions in Cyprus’ EEZ are indeed provocative,” declaring though that there is no comparison between today’s situation and the Turkish invasion in Cyprus in 1974. “Greece and Cyprus have both ranked high in their European agenda the exploitation of the hydrocarbon resources that have been discovered in their waters,” he added.

“This visit comes at a difficult time, both for Cyprus and the region. Turkey has chosen to act outside the boundaries of international law. We fully support your decision to suspend the talks until the conditions change,” Samaras said during a dinner held in his honor at the Presidential Palace.

Addressing the Cypriot President as “My friend Nicos,” the Greek Premier said he and his delegation would engage in “detailed discussions” with their Cypriot counterparts regarding the shaping situation.

In his own address, welcoming Samaras to the island, Anastasiades reiterated that he would not return to the negotiating table while Turkish provocations were ongoing. “I shall not accept any pressure to return to dialogue…amid conditions imposed by military might,” he added, evidently alluding to the trespassing of Turkish warships in the EEZ.

The Cypriot President pledged that the two communities would share the country’s natural wealth, including proceeds from hydrocarbons, once a comprehensive settlement is reached, and not before. “Military interventions and threats, supposedly on behalf of the Turkish-Cypriots, do not assist peace efforts,” he noted.
Anastasiades said the timing of Turkey’s escalation of tensions was no coincidence, coming just as Cyprus is turning into “a force for stability in the region.”

Tomorrow the Greek Prime Minister he will have a series of meetings. Starting with a meeting with the Cypriot President, Samaras will later attend meetings with delegations from Greece and Cyprus and finally, along with Anastasiades, will meet with political party leaders represented in the Cypriot Parliament. At noon, Samaras will visit the House of Representatives and address a plenary session. Finally, before his departure, he will meet with Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos II.

The visit comes only a few hours after the announcement of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that he will meet his Greek counterpart Venizelos in Ankara in three weeks, in order to improve the lately tensed bilateral relations.
- See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/11/06/greek-pm-samaras-visits-cyprus-in-the-light-of-turkish-provocations/#sthash.vt5syLvC.dpuf

Russian airborne forces to conduct joint drills with Serbian military

Russia

November 05, 15:36 UTC+3
The drills will take place in Serbia in the first half of November

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

© ITAR-TASS/Alexander Ryumin

Number of Russian Airborne Forces to be doubled — General Staff

MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Russia’s airborne force units will conduct a joint tactical antiterrorism exercise with Serbian ground force units in Serbia in the first half of November, the Russian Defense Ministry told TASS on Wednesday. Troops of the Tula airborne force will be involved in the SREM-2014 maneuvers from the Russian side. The maneuvers will include firing exercise, airdropping of troops and combat vehicles stages with the use of multi-dome parachute systems.
The drills are to be conducted under the international military cooperation plan for 2014. Joint flight tactical exercises of the Air Forces of Russia and Serbia are planned for 2015.
In November 2013, Russia and Serbia signed an agreement on military and technical cooperation. The agreement includes peacekeeping experience exchange and interaction in peacekeeping operations, development of relations in the sphere of cartography, medicine and military education.

World Travel Market 2014 interview – Eglantina Gjermeni, Albania

 

05/11

At the World Travel Market 2014 in London, the leading event for the global travel industry, euronews spoke to Eglantina Gjermeni, Albanian Minister of Urban Development and Tourism ,about Albania as an upcoming travel destination in the Adriatic region.

“In the whole region there are countries that have more experience, like Croatia or Greece. I do think that Albania has some own specifics or its own uniqueness. I think we are building our approach and our strategy on what is authentic about Albania. To keep our identity, to really share with the other countries the values and what we know to do best or better than the others.

Of course the coast is so beautiful, and the landscape as well. But in a small country, we could develop different kind of tourisms. So even we have the sun and sand tourism, the coast, not just the Adriatic but the Ionian Sea as well, has really great potentials. They are unspoiled beauties, beautiful ones, and they are really open for tourists and investors to come and we are really trying to get the best investment to develop a sustainable tourism in my country.”

http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/05/world-travel-market-2014-interview-eglantina-gjermeni-albania/

Greco-Turkish War of Words at NATO Assembly


by Aggelos Skordas - Nov 5, 2014


Leaders watch a ceremony honoring NATO military personnel for their service the NATO Summit meeting in Chicago

A verbal confrontation between Greek and Turkish representatives broke out at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, regarding the latest Turkish activity in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). “We are troubled by the recent provocations of Turkey in Cyprus’ EEZ,” Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos said, underlining that this activity is a “flagrant violation of international law,” blaming Ankara for creating a crisis in an already unstable and troubled region.

Venizelos’ statement lead Turkish ruling AKP party MP Osman Askin Bek to reply that “the shelve is accessible by all, and two people must decide how to use resources. Activity in the region cannot be unilateral; there must be an agreement to share the natural gas resources. There should be a convergence through the UN that starts from 2008 when negotiations started,” triggering an immediate response from the head of the Greek delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Evripidis Stylianidis.

Stylianidis underlined that “at this critical juncture we should avoid challenges from both sides, as well as the creation of problems that may cause an issue in the region and the Alliance,” explaining that “the issue of the deposits should not be confused with the resolution of the Cyprus problem, which we insist on being settled”, and addied that “it would be desirable for Turkey to ratify the EEZ Agreement. Cyprus operates as a sovereign state in the region.”

The Turkish AKP MP finally declared that his country does not have any claims over Cyprus and that the bilateral problems arise only at a political level. “There is no question on the borders between Greece and Turkey,” he stressed and commented on Greece’s policy to not remove the Turkish citizens’  travel visa requirement, while his country has already abolished the visa for Greek citizens.
- See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/11/05/greco-turkish-war-of-words-at-nato-assembly/#sthash.naJtszoy.dpuf

Albanian PM: Turkey is a large important power for our region



November 5, 2014, Anadolu Ajansi

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, "we consider this as a great and special power for our region, Turkey," he said.

TIRANA - Omar Çetres / Granite Osmani

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, "we consider this as a great and special power for our region, Turkey," he said.

Rama, told the AA's Albanian service,  from Anatolia Agency (AA) begin broadcasting in Albanian, The Albania-Turkey relations with other countries in the region up to the description found in many subjects.

The relations between Albania and Turkey noted that it was never a good level until the present Rama, as the government said that the foreign policy of Turkey as a strategic partner.

With Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of the good cooperation during the period, stating that it took the then Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu took office, "we consider this as a great and special power for our region of Turkey. They are both Albania and Turkey member of NATO, the makes mutual cooperation and focused on our common goal, "Edi Rama said.

Referring to Turkish investments in Albania as Rama said, they wished to be more effective in this context of Turkish investments in the country and "do their best" they stressed.

Rama, pointing to a common history between Turks and Albanians, said:

"This has directed such a date that many Albanians to Turkey. Many of these people went to Turkey to have stayed there, they have established there their lives. The Turkish political due to hear the words of praise about Albanians am very happy. On the other hand, the Albanians of our country's presence in Turkey know that one of the most powerful bridge that connects well makes me very happy. "

Four Killed in Shootout Near US Embassy in Albania

World | Associated Press | Updated: November 05, 2014 

File photo of Albanian policeman. (Associated Press photo)Tirana:  A shootout at a nightclub in Albania has left four people dead, and a lawmaker whose son was detained as a suspect in the case has resigned.

The violence at the Ante Grand club in Tirana occurred early on Tuesday, killing a 60-year-old Italian man and three Albanian men, police said. Two other men were hospitalized with injuries.

The shootout followed a quarrel at the club, which is located on the ground floor of an apartment block less than 100 meters (yards) from the US Embassy, police said.

Three suspects were detained, including Konstandin Xhuvani, 25.

Soon afterward, his mother, Luiza Xhuvani, 50, an Albanian film star and governing Socialist party lawmaker, announced her resignation from Parliament at a news conference held with Prime Minister Edi Rama.

F-35C Completes First Arrested Landing Aboard Aircraft Carrier

By
U.S. Navy

– November 3, 2014Posted in: Aviation, Inside the Navy, Sailing Directions, Warfighting First

The Navy made aviation history Nov. 3 as an F-35C Lightning II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter conducted its first arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego. The arrested landing is part of initial at-sea Developmental Testing I (DT-I) for the F-35C, which commenced Nov. 3 and is expected to last two weeks.

 

PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 3, 2014) An F-35C Lightening II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter conducts it’s first arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).  Nimitz is currently underway conducting routine training exercises. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly M. Agee/Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 3, 2014) An F-35C Lightening II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter conducts it’s first arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is currently underway conducting routine training exercises. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class William Cousins/Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 3, 2014) An F-35C Lightening II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter conducts it’s first arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is currently underway conducting routine training exercises. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly M. Agee/Released)

THE HIMARA REVOLT DAY OF NOVEMBER 5, 1912

 

New edition of Wikipedia, "The Himara revolt of 1912"

Before of the proclamationj of The Autonomy of Albania on November 28, 1912, Himara People, under Comandant Spyros SpyrosMilos  (Vlore - Sarande) has opposed the decision of Great Powers to include Himara Region, inside the new Albanian State

 

Wikipedia    ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himara_revolt_of_1912

Himara revolt of 1912

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Himara revolt
Part of the First Balkan War
Spyromilios in the entrance of the Himarë castle
Date November 18 [O.S. November 5] 1912 Location Himarë Result Greek victory
Belligerents
Greece	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Spyros Spyromilios

[show] v d e First Balkan War

The Himara revolt (Greek: Εξέγερση της Χειμάρρας), was a Greek uprising during the First Balkan War that took place in the region of Himara (Himarë, today southern Albania), on November 18 [O.S. November 5] 1912. It successfully overthrew the Ottoman forces of the region, thus securing the coastal area between Sarandë and Vlorë for the Hellenic Army.

Contents  [hide]  1 Background 2 Conflict 3 Aftermath 4 References 5 Bibliography

[edit] Background

During the First Balkan War, the Epirus front was of secondary importance for Greece after the Macedonian front. A small unit that consisted of local Epirote volunteers was stationed in the nearby island of Corfu under the command of Major Spyros Spyromilios,^[1] who was a native of Himarë.^[2] This unit was later reinforced by 200 Cretan volunteers sent by General Konstantinos Sapountzakis, commander of the Greek army in Epirus front.^[1]

[edit] Conflict

On November 18, 1912, the local population rose in revolt, while Spyromilios and his group landed in the region and quickly secured the coastal area between Sarandë and Vlorë without facing significant resistance.^[3] After the successful uprising Spyromilios suggested to the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos that the coastal city of Vlorë should come under Greek control but he responded negatively in fear that this might trigger Italian military intervention.^[3] After the Albanian Declaration of Independence in Vlorë, on November 28, Himarë was constantly attacked by Albanian units without success and the area remained under Greek control until the end of the Balkan Wars.^[1]

[edit] Aftermath

Under the terms of the Protocol of Florence, signed on December 17, 1913, the region of Northern Epirus, in which Himarë was part was awarded to Albania. This decision triggered a series of events that lead to the proclamation of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in Gjirokastër by the local Greek population.^[4]

NATO asks US for more troops in Baltic states, Poland to counter ‘Russia threat’

Published time: November 04, 2014 

Reuters/Kacper Pempel

96217727

Tags
Air Force, Army, Baltic states, EU, Intelligence, Military, NATO, Politics, USA

The North Atlantic bloc has asked the Pentagon to send more troops to Eastern Europe to counter the perceived threat of Russia. There are currently 750 US soldiers in Poland and the Baltic states, but the organization believes that this is not enough.
The alliance cites the current situation in Ukraine, as well as Russian military aircraft “incursions” into the airspace of the organization’s allies.
READ MORE: US tanks arrive in Latvia to ward off ‘perceived’ Russian threat (VIDEO)
“Because of the increased pressure that we feel in Eastern Europe now, and because of the assurance measures that we are taking in the Baltics, in Poland and in Romania, we require additional rotational presence,” Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, said at a Pentagon briefing Monday morning, which was reported by the US military website, Stripes.

AFP Photo/Kay Nietfeeld

“What we are doing is working with the Army and other services to use their regionally aligned forces to get them forward, to get their experience forward, to bring that capability to interact with our partners and allies,” Breedlove said.
US tanks have arrived in Latvia in mid-October as NATO flexed its muscles in an apparent show of strength towards Moscow. The 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood in Texas are also being deployed in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland in a mission lasting three months, to provide training support and are equipped with M-1 Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry armored vehicles.
The commander of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, John Di Giambattista said at the time: "This is more than just a training mission. This is more than just a trip across the Atlantic; this is more than a multinational training exercise. This is how we demonstrate our nations' commitment to reassure our NATO allies."

AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards

NATO has been concerned by what it called a significant rise in the number of incursions into European airspace by Russian fighter jets and bombers.
"What is significant is that across history, most of these incursions have been very small groups of airplanes, sometimes singletons or at most two aircraft," Breedlove said. "What you saw this past week was a larger, more complex formation of aircraft carrying out a little deeper, and I would say a little bit more provocative, flight path."
He believes the moves by Russia are to present itself as a “great power.” The general added, “My opinion is they're messaging us. They're messaging us that they are a great power. Moscow wanted to show it can exert influence on the alliance's calculations,” he said.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was not very concerned about Russian incursions into European airspace. During a news conference with Slovenia’s prime minister last week, she admitted there had been an increase in Russian military activity, but said: “I am not acutely worried that a bigger violation of airspace is taking place.”

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EU split: Hungarian law gives green light to South Stream in defiance of EU

RT
Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:08 CET

 

© RIA Novosti/Ramil Sitdikov

Shareholders and partners of Gazprom's project sign on the first pipe abut during the launching ceremony of South Stream gas pipeline construction.

The Hungarian parliament has approved a law on Monday which allows building the South Stream gas pipeline without approval of the European Union. The European Commission has already demanded an explanation from Hungarian authorities.

The European Commission's spokesperson said at a press briefing in Brussels on Tuesday that the EC was in contact with Hungarian authorities to get an explanation for their decision.

The law was passed with 132 votes in favor and 35 votes against, allowing a company to construct a gas pipeline even if it doesn't have the licenses needed to operate it. According to the new law the only requirement for a company which wants to take part in construction is approval from the Hungarian Energy Office.

"This is meant to give a boost to South Stream and is to show Russia that Hungary is taking the project seriously," Attila Holoda, an expert on energy regulation, said as cited by Bloomberg.

South Stream is "extraordinarily important" for Hungary because it enhances the security of gas supplies to the country, Janos Lazar, the Minister in Charge of the Prime Minister's Office, told reporters on October, 22.

Comment: The EU Commission has lost touch with reality in trying to please the US. Hungary however knows that without energy, no energy, no jobs, no money. Not wanting to be another failed state with unrest, they have wisely opted to defy the technocrats in power in Brussels.

The South Stream gas pipeline was projected to deliver gas to south and central Europe via the Black Sea and the Balkans, bypassing Ukraine. The project, with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters of gas a year, is seen as critical for European energy security. Ukraine has been an unreliable transit country, and building a new pipeline is could result in avoiding numerous risks.

The South Stream would run across Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, and Slovenia before entering Italy and Greece. The crisis in Ukraine has made the South Stream project a political issue rather than a legal debate. The EU Commission has been pressuring member states to stop the building of the pipeline. Last year it started an investigation claiming the project contradicted the European Union's Third Energy Package regulations.

Bulgaria and Austria have temporarily suspended the project but are leaving it on the table.