EYP in Alarm for the first "Greek jihadist"


 
Greek Intelligence Service EYP and other government agencies including CIA, target for 27 year old with Greek citizenship, who is jihadist camp in Syria.

According to information available to the Greek authorities by the CIA and other intelligence agencies, the 27 year old Greek is from last July jihadist camp in Syria and allegedly fighting for the "Islamic Caliphate".

This is the first time that found a Greek citizenship, with syrian nationality birth in 2001 to fight for the Islamic State!

Great Mobilisation has caused the event and the Greek security services after seeing that, after Britain, Germany, France and others starts to "engage" on horrific acts and atrocities of Islamic extremists in the Middle East.

In the case of 27 years old Greek jihadists seriously considered the possibility that Syrian origin mother be the one invited him to join ISIS and to fight for the Islamic Caliphate. According to the data collected, the 27 year old lived in Athens and went to Syria three months ago, without the consent of the father. The mother appears on the pages of social networking as a "preacher of hate of the Islamic State", posting posts on the internet with "hymns" for action and brutality of ISIS.

With these data as the Greek and European authorities are looking for ways to prevent return of jihadists. Among others considered removing the citizenship of those who go to European nationals in the war zone with vague "goals".

Pope visits Albania: 10 things you may not know one of Europe’s least understood countries

As Pope Francis visits Albania, Nick Squires lists 10 interesting facts about the former Communist country

Pope Francis' reformist instincts have brought him into conflict with cardinals Photo: REX

By Nick Squires, Tirana

3:48PM BST 21 Sep 2014

Pope Francis arrived in Albania on Sunday for a one-day visit – his first to a Muslim-majority country and the fourth overseas trip of his papacy, after Brazil, the Holy Land and South Korea.

The visit is intended to highlight the harmonious co-existence between Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics – against a backdrop of turmoil and violence in much of the Islamic world.

It will also celebrate the resurgence of religious belief in Albania after the decades in which it was suppressed by the Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha.

Here are 10 facts you may not know about one of Europe’s smallest and least understood countries.

1. In the Albanian language, Albania is known as Shqiperia. Around 10 per cent of Albanians are Catholics, while 60 per cent are Muslim and the rest Christian Orthodox.

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2. Albanians trace their routes to ancient Illyrian tribes, who occupied the western Balkans during the second millennium BC. Their language is derived from Illyrian, a melange of Roman and Slavic influences.
3. The word for yes in Albanian is ‘po’. The word for no is ‘jo’.
4. Albania was closely allied with the USSR until the 1960s, when it switched allegiance to Communist China.
5. Under Enver Hoxha’s dictatorial, Stalinist rule, organised religion was banned and Albania was declared an atheist state in 1967 under a Mao-style cultural revolution. All churches and mosques were taken over by the state and by 1990 around 95 per cent of religious buildings had been destroyed or converted into other uses, such as cinemas and warehouses. Nearly 2,000 Catholic and Orthodox churches were destroyed. More than 100 Catholic priests and bishops were executed or died under torture or in labour camps. Hoxha built a museum of atheism, including an exhibit allegedly portraying Pope John XXIII, who led the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963, dancing the twist with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
6. Under the Communist regime, the only Western actor approved by Hoxha and his henchmen was the British comedian Norman Wisdom, who became a cult figure in the country. Hoxha deemed that Sir Norman's films, in which his hapless screen character Pitkin got the better of his bosses, were a Communist parable on class war. When Sir Norman died in 2010, Sali Berisha, the then prime minister, described him as “one of the brightest stars of world comedy” and “one of the dearest friends of our nation.”
7. One of the strangest features of Communist rule was the construction of tens of thousands of concrete, bomb-proof bunkers. Scattered around the countryside, they were built to repel an invasion that never happened. It is estimated that there are as many as 750,000 of them – one for every four Albanians.
8. Communist rule ended in the 1990s, to be replaced by a chaotic free-for-all marked by rampant corruption, emigration and smuggling. Around three-quarters of Albanians lost their life savings in 1996 when private pyramid investment schemes collapsed, leading to riots by rampaging mobs.
9. Perhaps the world’s most famous Albanian is Mother Theresa, the Catholic nun who worked for decades in the slums of India. She was actually born in Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia, but she was Albanian in ethnicity. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor and the sick and was beatified – the penultimate step to sainthood – in 2003. She died in 1997 at the age of 87. The Pope will celebrate Mass in a square named after Mother Theresa in Tirana.
10. Tirana’s forbiddingly grey, Communist-era housing and office blocks were brightened up by Edi Rama, a former mayor of the capital, who ordered them to be painted in bright, garish colours.

Photo of The Day

Some boys from Derviciani, with the Greek nationality, were detained by police and prosecutors in Gjirokastra, because they were wearing t-shirts with symbols of Northern Epirus Autonomy

Pope Francis arrives in Albania to boosted security presence after threats flagged to Interpol from returning militants trained in Iraq and Syria

• Pope Francis touches down to red carpet welcome in Albanian capital Tirana
• Albania's Interior Ministry provides added protection of 2,500 police officers
• Police sniper teams and sniffer dogs used while border patrols also boosted
• Vatican has played down reports of threats to Pope from Muslim militants
• Pope says the country's inter-religious harmony is an 'inspiring example'

By Corey Charlton for MailOnline

Published: 21 September 2014 

Pope Francis has hailed Albania's shining example of Christian-Muslim coexistence amid current global conflicts in which groups are 'perverting' religious spirit.

The Pope touched down in Albania this morning for a 11-hour visit with security tight amid threats from Islamic State militants.

While the Vatican insisted no special measures were being taken, Albania's Interior Ministry promised 'maximum' protection from 2,500 police and beefed-up patrols at border crossings. 

Pope Francis denounced how religion has been 'perverted' to justify violence.

Francis told Prime Minister Edi Rama at the start of his 11-hour visit Sunday that Albania's inter-religious harmony was an 'inspiring example' for the world, showing that Christian-Muslim coexistence was not only possible but beneficial for a country's development.

He said: 'This is especially the case in these times in which authentic religious spirit is being perverted by extremist groups, and where religious differences are being distorted and instrumentalized.

'Let no one consider themselves to be the 'armor' of God while planning and carrying out acts of violence and oppression.'

Pope Francis arrives at Tirana's Mother Teresa international airport this morning to begin his day-long visit

Snipers watch on from a building roof as crowds gather below for the Holy Mass which will take place today

Pope Francis greets the media during an airborne press conference on his flight to Albania this morning

It was reported Albanian law enforcement had flagged to Interpol concerns that Muslim militants who trained in Iraq and Syria had returned and might pose a threat to Pope Francis.

 

The Vatican has downplayed the reports, and Pope Francis has used the same open-topped vehicle he uses in St. Peter's Square.

That said, even at the Vatican security has been beefed-up in recent days: More barricades and police were out in force during Francis' weekly general audience this past week and Italian media reported security had been doubled.

Albanian police said they had the situation under control, though security was tight Sunday: People attending the pope's Mass were told to avoid wearing heavy clothing since they would be checked by police and not to bring bags, suitcases or glass bottles.

'There is no threat to the pope's security. We have undertaken all the measures and everything will go well,' police chief Artan Didi told reporters after a meeting with Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri on final security arrangements.

The Pope bends down to kiss a baby as he makes his way through the crowds upon his arrival in Albania 

Thousands turned out to the streets this morning for Mass with Pope Francis

Left, a police sniffer dog inspects the podium where Pope Francis will be seated for the Holy Mass, while right, the greets the crowds who have gathered to see him

It is Francis' first visit to a majority Muslim nation since the Islamic State crackdown on Christians in Iraq.

During his visit, he will address Albanian authorities and an inter-religious gathering, celebrate Mass in a square named for Albania's most famous Catholic - Mother Teresa - and greet children cared for by charitable groups.

The capital's main Boulevard Martyrs of the Nation was decorated with Albanian and Vatican flags, as well as pictures of 40 Catholic priests who were persecuted or executed under Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, who declared Albania the world's first atheist state in 1967.

During this time, hundreds of priests and imams were jailed, scores executed. 

Francis paid tribute to these martyrs and those from other faiths, saying they showed witness to their faith even under persecution.

'Recalling the decades of atrocious suffering and harsh persecutions against Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims, we can say that Albania was a land of martyrs,' he said in his homily. Deviating from his text, Francis thanked Albanians for their ancestors' sacrifice, recalling the national symbol of the eagle.

'Do not forget your wounds, but don't avenge them,' he said. 'Go forward, flying on the hopes of a great future.'

Muslims make up about 59 percent of the population, with Catholics amounting to 10 percent and Orthodox Christians just under that.

Believers arriving in the Albanian capital of Tirana for today's Holy Mass which will be held in a city square named after Mother Teresa

Crowds awaiting the Pope's appearance this morning where he will address an interreligious gathering

Pope Francis and Albanian President Bujar Nishani pictured side by side just after he first arrived in the country

The Pope's decision to visit tiny Albania before any major European capital is in keeping with his desire for the Catholic Church to go to the 'periphery'.

Albania is seeking European Union membership and his visit comes just a few weeks before he delivers a major speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

The visit also affords him a chance to visit a majority Muslim nation at a time when Christians are being persecuted, killed and forced from their homes by the Islamic State group in northern Iraq. The Vatican has voiced mounting concern about the exodus of Christians from lands where Christian communities have existed for 2,000 years.

Last month the Pope, who has often condemned the concept of war in God's name, said it would be legitimate for the international community to use force to stop 'unjust aggression' by Islamic State militants who have killed or displaced thousands of people in Iraq and Syria, many of them Christians.

Despite some concerns over his safety, Pope Francis eagerly engaged with the Albanian crowds

Here he is carried through the crowd on his specially designed car known as the Popemobile

Pope Francis signs the guest book as he arrives at the Albanian Presidential Palace this morning

Pope visits Albania to highlight Christian-Muslim coexistence

Pope Francis arrives at Mother Teresa international airport in Tirana, Albania. (Alessandra Tarantino / Associated Press)

By Associated Press

Pope Francis arrives in Albania on his first European trip

Security is tight as Pope Francis visits Albania, a majority Muslim nation

Pope Francis arrived Sunday in Albania on his first European trip, designed to highlight the Balkan nation's path from a brutal communist state where religion was banned to a model of Christian-Muslim coexistence for a world witnessing conflict in God's name.

Security was tight for Francis' 11-hour visit to the majority Muslim nation amid reported threats from Islamic militants. While the Vatican insisted no special measures were being taken, Albania's Interior Ministry promised “maximum” protection from 2,500 police forces and beefed-up patrols at border crossings.

Believers arrive for Mass in Tirana, Albania. The pope is expected to highlight how Albania survived communist repression to become a model of interfaith harmony. (Armando Babani / European Pressphoto Agency)

 

Two children presented Francis with flowers as he arrived at Tirana's airport for a red-carpet welcome by Prime Minister Edi Rama.

The capital's main Boulevard Martyrs of the Nation was decorated with Albanian and Vatican flags, as well as pictures of 40 Catholic priests who were persecuted or executed under Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, who declared Albania the world's first atheist state in 1967. Hundreds of priests and imams were jailed, scores executed.

 

lRelated

During his brief visit, Francis is expected to highlight the experience of these martyrs and how Albania survived communist repression to become a model of interfaith harmony, where Christians and Muslims live and govern together.

Muslims make up about 59 percent of the population, with Catholics amounting to 10 percent and Orthodox Christians just under that.

Francis' decision to visit tiny Albania before any major European capital is in keeping with his desire for the Catholic Church to go to the “periphery.” Albania is seeking European Union membership and his visit comes just a few weeks before he delivers a major speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Note, SManalysis

(The religion estimates from the article of Association Press, is taken from Albanian Census 2011 contested by Orthodox Community of Albania. According to Census data, the Orthodox Community is 6.7% of total population of Albania, where according by orthodox church, the orthodox community is 24% of total population of 2.8 million people)

Exile in Brooklyn, With an Eye on Georgia

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s Ex-President, Plots Return From Williamsburg, Brooklyn

By JASON HOROWITZSEPT. 19, 2014

Photo

Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, has made a new home for himself in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “I used to look at this place from Manhattan, it was such a pity, it was mafia, a place where hit men dump bodies,” he said. Credit Todd Heisler/

 

The New York Times

AT the Smorgasburg food fair in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Mikheil Saakashvili motored in fluorescent green sneakers among bearded men with tattoos and women in revealing overalls. They lined up for Cheese Pops, Dun-Well Doughnuts and other local delicacies. He ordered a fresh coconut.

“My friend, one of the biggest sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates, gave Georgia 20,000 palm trees,” Mr. Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, said as he dropped a straw in the machete-opened fruit and emptied its water with a few deep pulls. “As a personal gift.”

Mr. Saakashvili is in self-imposed exile on North Seventh Street — plotting a triumphant return, even as his steep fall from grace serves as a cautionary tale to the many American government officials who had hoped he would be a model exporter of democracy to former Soviet republics.

Continue reading the main story

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Since leaving office last November, this George W. Bush favorite — whose confrontation with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia led to a disastrous war in 2008 — has commandeered his uncle’s apartment in a tower on the Williamsburg waterfront, where he luxuriates in the neighborhood’s time-honored tradition of mysteriously sourced wealth. When not lingering in cafes, riding his bike across the bridge or spending stag evenings with friends on the Wythe Hotel rooftop, Mr. Saakashvili seizes on the Ukrainian conflict and his experience with Mr. Putin’s wrath as a lifeline back to political relevance.

Photo

Mr. Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, attended the Smorgasburg food fair last month in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he has lived since leaving office last November. Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

“It’s the end of Putin,” Mr. Saakashvili, 46, said of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the topic of discussion on Thursday as its president, Petro O. Poroshenko, met in Washington with President Obama and congressional leaders. Mr. Saakashvili called Mr. Putin’s actions “very, very similar” to those in Georgia. “I think he walked into trap.”

BUT Mr. Saakashvili, considerably plumper than when he was in power, argues that the conflict should also mark a reappraisal of his own reputation as a reckless leader whose peaceful Rose Revolution and commitment to reform were eclipsed by years of riding roughshod over opponents, bending the rule of law and provoking Mr. Putin into a war that resulted in the death, displacement and impoverishment of thousands of Georgians. “It should be revisited,” he said.

Mr. Saakashvili said that while he had a “normal life” in Brooklyn, he considered himself a big deal in Eastern Europe, pointing out that on a recent trip to Albania “they shut down traffic for us and our 20-car escort.”

Mr. Saakashvili’s personal rehabilitation project is complicated by his eroded popularity back home and charges filed against him by Georgian prosecutors of human rights violations and embezzlement of government funds. He shrugs off the prosecutors as politically motivated puppets of his nemesis, the billionaire and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. Some of Mr. Saakashvili’s critics agree that the charges say as much about the current Georgian government’s hunger for revenge as they do about him.

Continue reading the main story

For now Mr. Saakashvili is writing a memoir, delivering “very well-paid” speeches, helping start up a Washington-based think tank and visiting old boosters like Senator John McCain and Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state. He said he was in the process of changing his tourist status here to a work visa and in the meantime is enjoying the bars and cafes of his adopted homeland. On his roof deck, with sweeping views of Manhattan, he has entertained David H. Petraeus, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and is expecting Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, at the end of the month. Usually, a cousin mans the grill, along with the chef from Fabbrica, the neighboring Italian restaurant opposite a CVS. Like those chain drugstores, glassy high-rises and Eurocentric nightclubs, Mr. Saakashvili is evidence of Williamsburg’s steady transition to a playground for moneyed out-of-towners.

“I used to look at this place from Manhattan, it was such a pity, it was mafia, a place where hit men dump bodies,” he said, recalling his time in the 1990s as a Columbia University Law School student. Now he sees “a jazzy atmosphere” rife with energy and new construction.

“Williamsburg is part of the democratic transformation,” he said.

Mr. Saakashvili tends to see a lot of things through the lens of democracy building. He calls the fashionable Cafe Mogador “my absolute favorite cafe, because it’s very democratic.” And while he complains about Williamsburg’s high cost of living (“I’m not poor poor, but it really bites”), the champion of free enterprise admires the social mobility of his new neighbors.

“They are hipsters,” he said. “But they are still making tons of money, and they live a pleasant lifestyle and make it in life. They are no longer a marginal part of society.”

On one of his first nights in Williamsburg, Mr. Saakashvili waited in line with friends to get into the Wythe, but was turned away because he did not have identification. “It’s O.K.,” he said. “It’s not a posh place like in Manhattan.”

ON a more recent weekend, the man the Secret Service once dubbed “the Energizer Bunny” charged out of the food fair and into the Artists & Fleas market, where he pulled Prada sunglasses from his graying sideburns and went straight to a booth selling clocks made from retro hardcover books. “I bought 50 of them and sent them back to my presidential library,” he said. Five months before, he said, a woman spotted Leonardo DiCaprio here.

Moments later, a Georgian living in Manhattan, Lali Lobzhanidze, approached him and asked, “Are you Mikheil Saakashvili?”

Photo

Mr. Saakashvili in Williamsburg. Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

“My DiCaprio moment,” he said, delighted.

Mr. Saakashvili is frequently noticed by his countrymen, whose opinions of him vary. “He’s creating rifts in the diaspora,” said Vakhtang Gomelauri, a critic of Mr. Saakashvili who organized a 2012 protest of him at the United Nations after the revelation of rampant rapes of inmates in Georgian prisons. But a group of Georgian students was eager to pose with him on the Bedford Avenue subway platform. “It went viral,” Mr. Saakashvili said.

The former president usually takes the L train into Manhattan, where he frequents Oda House in the East Village (the owner likes him, the waiter does not) and Pepela, where he orders a 2004 vintage of the dry red Georgian wine Orovela Saperavi and he recently lunched with Bill Clinton.

Catalan parliament approves November independence vote

Published time: September 20, 2014 09:25

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People hold "estelada" flags, Catalan separatist flags, during a gathering to mark the Calatalonia day "Diada" in central Barcelona September 11, 2014. (Reuters/Albert Gea)

The Catalan parliament has passed a law giving its regional president the power to carry out a non-binding consultation vote on secession from Spain. Catalan nationalists believe this law enables them to hold the long-awaited independence referendum.
On Friday, the Catalan parliament voted in favor of the new law, with 106 MPs supporting it and 28 voting against.
The MPs hope it will bring Catalan President Artur Mas a step closer to the planned independence referendum on November 9.
However, while the nationalist block thinks the bill directly paves the way for a referendum on independence, the Catalan socialists who allied with them for the vote do not share this opinion.
The Spanish government called the Catalan consultation vote illegal and said it will be taking the matter up at the Constitutional Court. The court has the power to suspend the vote after it hears the case on Tuesday.
Madrid maintains that any kind of secession vote has to be decided by the whole country, citing Spain’s 1978 constitution.

Reuters/Albert Gea

Catalonia’s new law comes right after Scotland voted “No” to independence, but Mas said that the people should not see it as a discouraging sign.
READ MORE: Scotland votes 'No' to split from UK in independence referendum
Mas stressed that the fact Scotland had a referendum to decide on this issue was “key.”
“This is a powerful and strong message that the UK is sending to the entire world – that if there is such a conflict elsewhere in the world you have the right way to try to resolve these differences,” he said.
Scotland “has shown the way to others – the Catalan process continues,” Mas added.

Reuters/Stringer

The Catalan independence movement has grown from strength to strength over the last few years, gathering momentum against a backdrop of EU financial crisis. The autonomous region of Catalonia has a population of 7.5 million and accounts for almost one-quarter of Spain’s GDP.
On September 12, Europe saw one of the largest demonstrations in recent years: at least 1.8 million people formed an 11km red-yellow line to show their support for the upcoming independence referendum.

Vatican shrugs off warning of IS plot against Pope Francis in Albania

Vatican City: Warnings that the Islamic State organisation may be plotting to attack Pope Francis during his visit to mostly-Muslim Albania on Sunday have been shrugged off by the Vatican.

Pope Francis. AFP

Despite warnings from Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See that the 77-year-old could be in danger - and reports in the Italian media of new IS recruits returning from the Middle East to Albania - the Vatican said security measures would remain unchanged.
The Argentine pontiff, who habitually throws caution to the winds to mingle with the crowds, will use the same open-topped vehicle he uses in Saint Peter's Square at a mass in Tirana, the capital of one of Europe's poorest countries.
Some worry the pope has made himself a target by speaking out against the Islamic State organisation and having the Holy See voice support for US air strikes in Iraq - a rare exception to its policy of peaceful conflict resolution.
"In cases like this, where there is an unjust aggression, then it is licit to halt the aggressor," he said in an interview last month.
"But I stress 'halt'. I don't say bomb, or make war, but rather stop him," Francis said.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he knew nothing about any concrete threats to the pope and the Albania trip would go ahead as planned.
"There has been nothing that has lead us to make changes, either to the programme, or to the way in which he travels," he said.
From Tirana, the pope will go to Fushe-Kruja, 20 kilometres away, to visit a centre for orphans and disabled children - a trip he would not be making if there were any concerns over security, authorities in the Albanian capital said.
However, in an interview with Italy's La Nazione daily this week, Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See, Habib Al Sadr, said "what has been declared by the self-declared Islamic State is clear. They want to kill the pope. The threats against the pope are credible."
Italian newspapers also suggested Albanian jihadists who had gone to fight for the IS group in Syria or Iraq might be planning an attack on their return.
The Corriere della Sera daily cited a unidentified source in Tirana, saying: "The jihadists have always claimed that their final objective was Rome. But if Rome comes to Tirana, even for a few hours, that objective becomes even simpler."
AFP

49 Turkish hostages held by ISIS freed, prime minister says

Published September 20, 2014

Associated Press

Aug. 29, 2014: Turkey's new Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announces his cabinet ministers in Ankara, Turkey. (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey –  Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday that 49 hostages who were seized by Islamic militants in Iraq have been freed and safely returned to Turkey, ending Turkey's most serious hostage crisis.
The hostages were seized from the Turkish Consulate in Mosul, Iraq on June 11, when the Islamic State group overran the city in its surge to seize large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
Their release contrasts with the recent beheadings of two U.S. journalists and a British aid worker by the Islamic State group, but it wasn't immediately clear what Turkey had done to secure the safe release of the hostages.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the hostages are 49 Turkish consulate employees — 46 Turks and three local Iraqis — including Consul General Ozturk Yilmaz, other diplomats, children and special forces police.
The hostages were released early on Saturday and had arrived in Turkey, Davutoglu told Turkish reporters during a visit to Baku, Azerbaijan. He said he was cutting his visit short to meet them in the province of Sanliurfa, near Turkey's border with Syria.
He didn't say where the release took place, but the arrival of the hostages in Sanliurfa indicates they may have been moved from Iraq to Syria, demonstrating the Islamic State group's cross border reach.
Turkey had been reluctant to join a coalition to defeat the Islamic State group, citing the safety of its 49 kidnapped citizens. The United States had been careful not to push Turkey too hard as it tried to free the hostages.
The extremist group beheaded two U.S. journalists and a British aid worker who were working in Syria as payback for airstrikes that Washington has launched against them in Iraq.
Leaders gave only limited details of the release and it wasn't clear if Turkey had paid ransoms to have the hostages released, or what other method had been used to avoid their hostages meeting a similar fate.
Davutoglu said the release was the result of the intelligence agency's "own methods," and not a "point operation" involving special forces, but didn't elaborate.
"After intense efforts that lasted days and weeks, in the early hours, our citizens were handed over to us and we brought them back to our country," Davutoglu said.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turks were freed through "a successful operation."
"I thank the prime minister and his colleagues for this operation which was pre-planned, whose every detail was calculated, which lasted through the night in total secrecy and ended successfully this morning," Erdogan said in a statement.
Thirty-two Turkish truck drivers who were also seized in Mosul on June 6 were released a month later. Turkey did not provide information surrounding their release.

Pope’s Albania visit to showcase peace between religions

September 18, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will head to Albania on Sunday on his first trip to a European country, to pay tribute to those who suffered under Communism and praise a political system under which religions unite.

A recent warning from Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See that the 77-year-old could be targeted by IS jihadists during his visit to the mostly-Muslim country has been shrugged off by the Vatican, which said security measures would remain unchanged.

 

The Argentine pontiff, who habitually throws caution to the winds to mingle with the crowds, will use the same open-topped vehicle he uses in Saint Peter's Square at a mass in Tirana, the capital of one of Europe's poorest countries.

 

Some Vatican watchers fear the pope has made himself a target by speaking out against the Islamic State organisation and having the Holy See voice support for US air strikes in Iraq – a rare exception to its policy of peaceful conflict resolution.

 

Francis will likely be hoping to counter this with a message of hope for the Middle East, with Albania held up as an example of a land where religions often in strife elsewhere cohabit successfully.

 

In August, he said he had chosen Albania because it had managed to create a "government of national unity among Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics, with an interreligious council that has helped a lot and is balanced."

 

"The pope's presence will be a way of saying to everyone, 'See, we can all work together!'," he said.

 

The trip will be an 11-hour marathon during which the pontiff will meet Albanian president Bujar Nishani, celebrate mass in Tirana's Mother Teresa square, lunch with bishops, chat with religious leaders and visit orphans.

 

Martyrs of the faith 

 

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics also wants to honour those who suffered under former dictator Enver Hoxha, who declared Albania the world's first atheist state in 1967, and during whose reign priests and imams were persecuted and holy places razed.

 

"1,820 churches, Orthodox and Catholic, were destroyed in that period. Destroyed! And other churches were transformed into cinemas, theatres, dance halls. I felt like I should go," Francis said.

 

Between 1945 and 1985, 111 priests, 10 seminarians and seven bishops died in detention or were executed.

 

It will be the second papal visit to Albania. Pope John Paul II travelled there the year after Communism collapsed in the country in 1992.

 

The current Pope "is not beginning his trips to Europe in Berlin, Paris or London. His focus is on those who are not the most rich or powerful," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told journalists.

 

Albania is not a country which usually ranks very high on the papal travel list: before John Paul II, the last pope to set their sights on Albania, Pius II, reportedly died on the way there in 1464.

 

But it is very in keeping with the Argentine pope's trademark rejection of the rich in favour of the poor, marginalised or vulnerable.

 

Francis joked that "there are those who say the pope tends to start everything from the periphery", but insisted on Albania's importance, describing it as a nation of "noble people."

 

About two-thirds of the population are Muslim, followed by Catholics -- accounting for 15 percent of the population, and the Orthodox church at 11 percent.

 

In a country with one of the youngest populations in Europe, the Vatican will be hoping to exploit the potential to recruit new faithful and boost the number of Catholic believers in a continent gripped by secularism.

 

Francis will almost certainly echo John Paul II's message to the freshly post-Communist country given in an emotional mass during which he cried out "dear Albanians, your drama must interest the whole European continent. Europe must not forget." — Agence France-Presse

"Republic of Ilirida" declared in Macedonia

Source: Tanjug

SKOPJE -- Former leader of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Action in Macedonia Nevzat Halili on Thursday in Skopje declared "the Republic of Ilirida."

Speaking in Skenderbeg Square in Skopje, he said this "republic" was based "on the Constitution of the United States and its preamble that states that each human being has the right to govern itself."
Halili said that the new republic is also based "on the position of American President Woodrow Wilson who said that the people have a right to self-determination," the Macedonian media reported.

Halili asked Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to initiate proceedings for the federalization of Macedonia.

As "president of Ilirida," he asked that Macedonia in the future functions as a state of two equal republics - llirida and Macedonia - modeled on the former Union of Serbia and Montenegro and the Belgian federation.

"We are not in favor of changing Macedonia's external borders, but administrative boundaries between Illirida and Macedonia should be defined. This should be done according to the model Serbia and Montenegro had a few years ago, and what Belgium has now," said Halili.

If the Macedonian institutions ignore these demands, he said, there would be a referendum.

"We Albanians have 400,000 votes in Macedonia," he explained.

Halili said the federalization of the country was necessary because the Ohrid agreement, although it stopped the conflict in 2001, failed to provide equality for Albanians.

The proclamation of the Republic of Ilirida was welcomed by Idriz Sinani, president of the International Forum for Human Rights, who said it marked an end to the discrimination against Albanians in Macedonia.

"It seems as if Albanian political parties that are today active in the Macedonian government and parliament have abandoned Albanian requests for equality with Slavic citizens."

"Macedonian Albanians have been manipulated for years, because it has been so many years and we are still second-class citizens, if not third-class. The war that began in the name of national unification of Albanians into a single state has lost its mission and ended up as an uprising for respect of human rights. It's called treason because no Albanian would pick up a rifle for the sake of human rights. Albanians struggle for freedom and national unification with the motherland, Albania," said Sinani.

Sinani urged "Illirida institutions" to respect that "every man" is free to enjoy these rights regardless of ethnicity, race, color and religion, because it is the only democratic way, which is based on modern human rights and freedoms.

Police starts measures for Pope’s visit
18/09/2014

The Police started its measures for guaranteeing security during the visit of Pope Francis, which will be held this Sunday in our country.

The police will reinforce the entire territory, and there will be stronger measures in the border. Police patrols will be increased in all roads.

The Interior Ministry says that 2500 police forces will be engaged with specific duties. The Ministry asked citizens to minimize their movements.

"RS to go to referendum unless Dayton is respected"

Source: Beta

BANJA LUKA -- RS President Milorad Dodik has said after returning from an official visit to Moscow that Russia continually expresses its commitment to the Dayton Agreement.

(Beta/AP, file)

The leader of the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina pointed out that Russia does so through its activities in the Peace Implementation Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the UN Security Council.
"We had the opportunity to thank President Vladimir Putin for the continued support that Russia provides also through the UN Security Council and the Peace Implementation Council, which is of great importance for the Serb Republic (RS)," said Dodik.

He added that the demand to hold an independence referendum in the RS was legitimate, and that this would happen unless the original Dayton Accords is respected - and if the transfer of entity powers to the state level continued.

Speaking about comparisons between the referendum in Scotland and a possible referendum on independence in the RS, Dodik said that the entity "respects the written Dayton."

"We want to go back to the original Dayton Accords and what it says, and that means a return of the powers taken from us," said Dodik.

The RS does not dispute the original jurisdiction of Bosnia as defined by the Dayton Agreement, but challenges, he said, "the violence of high representatives, their arrogance, the grabbing of RS powers and their transfer to Sarajevo."

Dodik warned that the RS will defend its status and build it further, noting that he never "located time-wise" the possible referendum.

"We want dialogue, and if there is no dialogue, the RS will legitimize its right to a referendum in order to decide on its status," said Dodik.

He added that Russia's support is important primarily because high international representatives in Bosnia in their reports to the Security Council "always presented lies about the Serb Republic."

"We have received confirmation that it will in future meetings as well the Russian Federation will respect the information that comes from the RS," noted Dodik.

He further stated that the Russian president gave his absolute support to all projects and cooperation between the entity and the Russian Federation.

"The government of the Russian Federation envisaged in the revised budget a loan to be granted to the RS, and we will close that loan through a bank, and will in that way avoid any unpleasantness because of the parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina," Dodik said.

According to him, it is a favorable arrangement for the RS that would secure its long-term budget stability.

Dodik clarified that the loan will be worth between EUR 500 and 700 million, adding that it will stabilize the budget and public funds and prevent any problems in the payment of salaries and pensions.

Stating that he sought a low interest rate (two to three percent), a grace period of one to two years, and repayment of the loan within 10 to 15 years, the RS president said that the Russian side has "neither rejected nor confirmed these conditions."

"It remains for these terms to be concluded with the bank, which will be given the right to negotiate with us on this issue," said Dodik.

"The RS loan agreement with Russia does not seek to jeopardize the arrangements we have with the IMF, instead we want to avoid any conditioning," he added.

RS officials also reiterated that they agreed on "a small" loan worth EUR 75 million with the VTB Bank.

RS Prime Minister Željka Cvijanović, who accompanied Dodik in Moscow this week, said that one of the topics was the commitment to realize the construction of the South Stream through the RS, "regardless of the circumstances."

"We cannot influence international circumstances, but it has been confirmed that the Serb Republic will not give up on South Stream. The second project is the gasification before South Stream is built," said Cvijanović.

She added that an agreement was signed with Gazprom which will enable the RS to receive gas supplies without intermediaries.

Cvijanović denied that the trip to Moscow was meant to raise the rating of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) before the October election, stating that they traveled to Russia as "state officials of the RS" and spoke with the Russian president "exclusively about state issues."

Pope Francis the 'pontiff of the poor', says Greece's Alexis Tsipras

Leftist opposition leader says he and Francis saw eye-to-eye on banks, profits and 'pan-human values' during Vatican talks

• Helena Smith in Athens
• The Guardian, Thursday 18 September 2014 19.38 BST
• Jump to comments (16)

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras’s meeting with Pope Francis followed months of clandestine negotiations. Photograph: Martin Godwin

Greece's opposition leader Alexis Tsipras – a radical leftist and self-described atheist – has hailed Pope Francis as the "pontiff of the poor" after meeting him for talks at the Vatican.
The Greek firebrand, among the loudest critics of the politics of austerity, emerged from discussions with the pope saying the two men had seen eye-to-eye on such issues as banks, profits and the need for Europe's left to deepen dialogue with the church. "We come from different ideological starting points," said Tsipras, Europe's first leftwing leader to be invited to the Vatican. "But we meet on [the matter] of pan-human values."
The dialogue had ranged from Europe's economic crisis, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the gulf between rich and poor and the tragedy of uncontrolled migration, he said.
The Argentinian-born pontiff agreed to meet the politician after months of clandestine negotiations between European leftists and the Holy See.
Tsipras, 39, who stood as the bloc's candidate for EU commissioner in the European elections, and whose Syriza party is leading polls in Greece, presented the pope with an olive branch, the symbol of peace. In return, Pope Francis, 77, gave Tsipras a copy of his apostolic exhortation, the Joy of the Gospel, outlining what some have described as his radical views on the church's role in the modern world.
"It was a meeting of the like-minded," said Panos Skourletis, Syriza's spokesman. "The pope has a disposition for dialogue with people of other backgrounds, outside the church. He believes in dialogue between the church and the left."
Tsipras did not waste the opportunity to explicate the inequities of austerity, particularly in Greece, long at the forefront of the EU's financial crisis. "I had the chance to convey the picture that exists at this time in Greece. To tell him that after four years of impasse and unfair austerity policies, the majority of Greek people are paying [a great price] while at the same time banks are being saved," he said.
The pope, who experienced Argentina's economic collapse first hand when he was bishop of Buenos Aires, was reportedly sympathetic, agreeing that reining in budget deficits through whip-lashing austerity was the wrong course to take. "You young politicians speak a different language that resembles a melody of hope," he was quoted as saying during the talks.
Tsipras's seeming conversion to being a fervent admirer of the church has not passed without comment. This summer, he made a two-day visit to the all-male monastic republic of Mount Athos in what many described as a desperate bid to improve ties with the Greek Orthodox church and boost his mainstream credentials. But the politician, who has steadfastly refused to marry the mother of his two young children in a religious service, insisted on Thursday that the time had come for the European left to build bridges with the institution.
"We agreed on the need to continue the dialogue between the European left and the Christian church," he said. "There is a need to create an ecumenical alliance against poverty, inequalities, against the logic that markets and profits are above people."

Scots vote against independence

Source: B92

Scotland will remain a part of the United Kingdom, voters have decided in a referendum on Thursday.

(Beta/AP)

Over 55 percent voted against the motion for Scotland to gain its independence after 307 years.
The referendum results showed that support for remaining in Britain was higher than expected based on surveys before the vote and during it.

The turnout was over 84 percent, the highest since universal suffrage was introduced after the Second World War.

Of the 32 districts most independence supporters were in Glasgow and in Dundee, a city that is considered their stronghold.

Those in favor of Scotland continuing as part of Britain had high support in the capital city of Edinburgh, the center of the oil industry Aberdeen, in the districts along the English border and the Shetland Islands.

The verdict was made in the most populous part of Scotland, a narrow lowland strip that connects the major cities Edinburgh and Glasgow, where unionists recorded a series of victories.

Rama: Supporting USA in the fight against ISIS
18/09/2014

The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, presented a panorama of the Wales NATO summit and the position held by Albania.

The government leader guaranteed that Albania would support the international partners, the USA and the EU, for every action in defending security and freedom.

“Forced by the attacks that will escalate from the international coalition, the terrorist mercenaries will try to find shelter in their countries of origin, by threatening to export the barbarity shown in Syria and Iraq. The stance of Albania was summarized in the need to involve NATO as soon as possible in Balkan countries”, Rama declared.

The government leader made clear the support of our country for the NATO open-door policy, especially for the countries of our region; for the structured relation of Kosovo with the Alliance; the rigorous implementation of the Ochrid Agreement, as the request that Albania focused most on during its participation in Wales.

“By asking to include even the yet unresolved issue, according to us, of the Ochrid Agreement, Albania doesn’t aim to hamper the integration path of our neighbor. Absolutely not. We believe that the establishing of democratic standards in the relations with the Albanians of Macedonia, by implementing the Ochrid agreement, will create conditions for a more stable future of Macedonia, and will take another step for the consolidation of the region against the threat of Islamic extremism”, Rama underlined.

Greece asks IMF chief for more information on death threat claims

Judicial inquiry follows Christine Lagarde's claim that she faced death threats after accusing wealthy Greeks of tax evasion

• Helena Smith in Athens
• theguardian.com, Thursday 18 September 2014 13.52 BST

IMF chief Christine Lagarde, who said she was forced to increase her personal security after accusing wealthy Greeks of tax evasion. Photograph: AFP/Getty

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, Christine Lagarde, could soon be called to participate in a second judicial investigation after claiming that she received death threats when she spoke out on tax evasion in Greece.
The inquiry, announced by a supreme court prosecutor in Athens, came days after the IMF managing director stunned Greeks by saying she had been forced to bolster her personal security after raising the subject.
Speaking of the failure of some rich Greeks to pay their dues, Lagarde told the Financial Times last week that it was a topic best left alone because it had got her into trouble. "I better not say too much because, you know, when I have talked about Greece and its taxes before, I got death threats and we had to increase security," she was quoted as saying.
The former French finance minister, who was put under formal investigation for potential criminal negligence by a court in Paris last month, then asked: "But is the shipping industry really paying its taxes? Are others? I don't think so."
Greek authorities launched the inquiry on Wednesday after Athens' justice minister, Haralambos Athanasiou, announced that he had written to Lagarde asking that she provide further details about the alleged threats.
Athanasiou took the step after the IMF chief sparked widespread embarrassment with the claim. Fears abound that Lagarde's seemingly off-the-cuff remarks could impact negatively on a country that has been kept afloat with emergency bailout funds from the EU and IMF for the past four years.
"How are we going to attract badly needed foreign investment when Greece is perceived not as a nation in which the rule of law prevails but as one as in which cartels and the mafia have the upper hand?" asked Dimitris Tsiodras, a leading commentator. "Lagarde is not alone. Others have received threats too," he told the Guardian.
Few figures have been as associated with the perennial problem of tax evasion in Greece as Lagarde, the first woman to lead the Washington-based fund. In 2010, as French finance minister, she handed her then Greek counterpart, George Papaconstantinou, a list of 2,062 suspected Greek tax dodgers with undeclared deposits at the Geneva branch of HSBC for the express purpose of clamping down on tax avoidance.
At more than €20bn a year, lost income from the "national sport" remains by far the biggest single drain on the country's economy. Other EU countries acted on similar data, originally stolen by a renegade employee before being seized by the French police, but Athens did almost nothing to prosecute the holders of the accounts.
Instead, after six years of withering recession on the back of near economic and social collapse, the "Lagarde list" has come to represent the inequities of a crisis in which the vast majority have been hit by punishing austerity – the price of international aid - but the wealthy elite have got off scot free.
The IMF chief has won support from unlikely allies. After the publication of her remarks, the radical-left anti-austerity opposition leader, Alexis Tsipras, also caused ructions saying that he too had been the victim of similar threats when he raised the issue of tax evasion at the height of the crisis two years ago.
"Mrs Lagarde's announcement was shocking," Tsipras said. "I can't imagine, especially in an interview with the Financial Times, that she was just throwing words around."
Athens' central bank governor, Yannis Stournaras, said he received two bullets in the post when, as finance minister, he attempted to arrest high-profile tax avoiders.
On Wednesday, Greece's inspector general of public administration, Leandros Rakintzis, sent further tremors through the political scene by announcing that "obstacles" had prevented him from pursuing well-known tax evaders.
Lagarde has resisted commenting on the furore her remarks have caused. The IMF chief, a lawyer by profession, has conceded that she was infuriated by the decision of a French court last month to place her under investigation. She has denied wrongdoing in allowing an arbitration process to end a dispute between the businessman Bernard Tapie, a friend and supporter of the then French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and the former state-owed bank Crédit Lyonnais.

US Embasy in Tirana announces to the US citizens to avoid a potential crisis, during the ceremony on Sunday.

U.S. Embassy Tirana, Albania

Security Message:  Papal Visit to Tirana

September 18, 2014

On Sunday, September 21, Pope Francis will visit Tirana.  According to information from the Vatican, the visit will begin with a welcoming ceremony at Mother Teresa International Airport and include events at the Presidential Palace, the Catholic University, the Cathedral of Saint Paul, the Centro Betania charitable institution, and a public mass in Mother Teresa Square. 

The Embassy expects very large crowds at all of the events, and some estimates suggest more than 500,000 people will attend the public mass in Mother Teresa Square.  Media reports also have noted recent threats against the Pope.  Although Albanian authorities will take precautionary measures as best they can, given the projected size of the crowd, it will be difficult for authorities to respond to an emergency situation.  Local government capacity to provide medical services and emergency first response is limited.  The Embassy will not be in a position to locate or provide immediate assistance to U.S. citizens in the crowd.  If you choose to attend the mass, you should be aware of your surroundings, maintain a high level of vigilance, and have a plan for how to leave the area quickly, but in an orderly manner, should the need arise.  If you are traveling with a group, have a pre-determined meeting point in case you become separated.  Do not plan to rely on cellular phone service as demands on the system will exceed capacity.

There will be extensive road closures throughout the center of the city beginning early Sunday morning.  Traffic throughout Tirana will be affected, including on major arteries leading into and out of the city.   Travel routes between the eastern and western parts of the city will be limited.  Routes to and from the airport will also be affected and if you are planning to travel by air you should contact your airline for information on possible flight delays.  Monitor local media for additional information on road closures and travel delays.

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Albania enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).  STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency.  If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy.
Regularly monitor the State Department's website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution.  Read the Country Specific Information for Albania.  For additional information, refer to “Traveler's Checklist.”
Contact the U.S. Embassy for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries.  These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to have travel information at your fingertips.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana is located at Rruga Elbasanit, Nr. 103 in Tirana, Albania, and is open to the public by appointment on Monday through Thursday from 13:00 to 15:45.  You can schedule a non-emergency appointment by visiting our American Citizens Services website.  If you are a U.S. citizen in need of urgent assistance, the emergency number for the U.S. Embassy in Tirana is +355-(0)-4224-7285.