tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335978802715935793.post7382438211439423..comments2023-10-11T07:21:59.441-07:00Comments on SIROP/CDU/Alliance/MRD/DP/SNM combined exile return program 1987: Moses, Moses finally Euro Star undertake maiden journey Paris Nord- King Cross, Islington 4/09/07 new route £5.9 billionshttp://ioiss.blogspot.com/http://www.blogger.com/profile/12827646743934274873noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335978802715935793.post-53425056138903194562007-09-07T05:06:00.000-07:002007-09-07T05:06:00.000-07:00Pope Benedict XVI waves before boarding his plane ...Pope Benedict XVI waves before boarding his plane at Rome's Ciampino airport. The Pontiff has arrived in Vienna for a three-day visit that will see him travel to the 850-year-old pilgrimage site of Mariazell and honour victims of the Holocaust.<BR/><BR/><BR/>VIENNA (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI arrived Friday in Vienna for a three-day visit that will see him travel to the 850-year-old pilgrimage site of Mariazell and honour victims of the Holocaust.<BR/><BR/>The pope landed at around 11.10 am (0910 GMT) at Vienna's international airport and was greeted by Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Austria's archbishop, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.<BR/><BR/>The welcoming ceremony, initially due to take place in the open, had to be moved to a hangar at the last minute as heavy rain fell on the Austrian capital.<BR/><BR/>The pope's visit has been greeted with some criticism in a country where the traditionally powerful Catholic Church is waning in influence.<BR/><BR/>"Austrian society needs God," the pope told journalists before leaving Rome, underlining the "difficult moments" experienced by the Church of Austria, which has been shaken by sex scandals in recent years.<BR/><BR/>Some 100,000 faithful are expected to turn out for the visit and about 2,200 police officers, 1,350 soldiers and 150 members of an Austrian elite commando have been called up to provide security.<BR/><BR/>"This isn't a political trip but above all a pilgrimage," Benedict said in Rome, adding he intended to "speak about Europe and its Christian roots" during the trip.<BR/><BR/>Statistics show the Austrian Church has lost about one million followers since the late Pope John Paul II first visited in 1983.<BR/><BR/>Today, only 67 percent of Austrians are still officially Catholic, compared to almost 92 percent in 1900.<BR/><BR/>Schoenborn told reporters Thursday that a key goal of the visit "is encouraging faith in a time when many are saying that faith has no meaning and is unreasonable."<BR/><BR/>In a recent letter, the progressive "Wir sind Kirche" (We are the Church) movement called on Benedict XVI to get rid of the vow of celibacy, allow married men to become priests and enable women to become deacons.<BR/><BR/>The Church of Austria has in recent years been rocked by sexual scandals involving two important figures: Vienna's former archbishop Hans Hermann Groer and the ultra-conservative bishop of Sankt Poelten, Kurt Krenn. Krenn has since been dismissed.<BR/><BR/>The Catholic Church has traditionally had a strong influence in Austria and crucifixes can still be found in classrooms and hospital rooms.<BR/><BR/>But even the Austrian Episcopacy's spokesman Erich Leitenberger commented "it is fanciful to think there will be a massive return to the Church," following the pontiff's visit.<BR/><BR/>Vienna's city centre had been all but shut down Friday morning ahead of the Pontiff's arrival, while schools in and around Vienna have also allowed students to take the day off, following a request from the Church.<BR/><BR/>A sudden cold spell and heavy rain here has raised fears of flooding in Austria, including in the region of Mariazell, some 110 kilometres (70 miles) southwest of Vienna, where the Pope is to travel on Saturday.<BR/><BR/>The Austrian archbishop, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, told journalists Thursday that Benedict XVI was suffering from mild hoarseness but added that his condition warranted no concern.<BR/><BR/>Benedict XVI was to pay a silent tribute at a monument to the victims of the Holocaust in World War II Friday afternoon before speaking to Vienna's diplomatic corps.<BR/><BR/>Saturday will see the Pope traveling to the pilgrimage site of Mariazell where he will celebrate mass and evensong.<BR/><BR/>Organisers of the pontiff's visit said 33,040 free tickets had already been given out for Mariazell and that the pilgrims would include 70 bishops from central and eastern European countries.<BR/><BR/>Sunday, the Pope will celebrate a morning mass at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral and visit the Cistercian monastery in Heiligenkreuz, before flying back to the Vatican.http://ioiss.blogspot.com/https://www.blogger.com/profile/12827646743934274873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335978802715935793.post-47283926215551351802007-09-06T03:01:00.000-07:002007-09-06T03:01:00.000-07:00Seychelles community in EUFrom Wikipedia, the free...Seychelles community in EU<BR/>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<BR/><BR/><BR/>The Seychelles community in EU are national of Republic of Seychelles who began returning and migrating to Europe, France and Britain 1900 for various reasons. They are decendent of French, British, Creole, Chinese, Indian and African.<BR/><BR/>They consist of the decendent of French who did not like British colonial rule mostly. There are a number of Seychelles who migrated to Europe during and after the Second world war. Then student sent to study in Britain, forming the first Seychelles Student Association. Seychelles national known as Seychellois who had lived in East Africa as there was a modest community in Kenya, Tanganika, Uganda and Zanzibar who were compelled to leave after Independance.They migrated mostly to Britian. The next category are Seychelles natinal who came to Britain under special Colonial work quota agreement because of the economic situation in Seychelles, they worked in the catering, hotel and hospital. A large number went to Italy. About the same time a programm was set up to recruit young Seychellois national for the British Army.<BR/><BR/>The next most important migration of Seychelles people to Europe was because of event of 5th June 1977, many families had to flee Seychelles and go in exile across EU mostly in Britain, France, Holland and Germany. This continued until 1991 with multi party returning to Seychelles.<BR/><BR/>There is also a very important number of student who have come to study in Europe after their studies do not want to return to Seychelles. They found employment and started their home in EU.<BR/><BR/>Because of the Tourism industry many Seychelles national have married EU national and have come to live in EU.<BR/><BR/>Inspite of political and economic change many young Seychelles national choose to migrate to EU for economic reason.<BR/><BR/>It is estimated they number 15,000 - 17,000. The communities are in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Britain, Holland, Scandinavia, Spain, Belgian, also some of the new member state of the EU.<BR/><BR/>They also have a pan EU organization, the affairs are look after by leading families and unofficialy elected representatives. They have a portal where some information and history can be researched [1]<BR/><BR/>Under the Treaty of Rome they lobby with important support from President Francois Mitterrand, other important European head of state, that they be given the rights to be responsible for their French, european archaic, heritage and other rights due under the EU human rights Charter.<BR/><BR/>They have contributed very importantly that political and democratic change came to Seychelles under a joint exile return program started in 1986/7 started under the name SIROP, including most of the exile political faction.<BR/><BR/>They continue to play a very important role to support democracy in Seychelles and economic progress. They are very active in EU to promote their history, culture and community needs. They have made many efforts to acquire voting rights like Mauritius national - this have not happned. They also support a political party of their choosing and fly to Seychelles for important election.<BR/><BR/>Under the Schengen agreement Seychelles national do not require visa to visit, enter EU up to six months. It is yet to become official.http://ioiss.blogspot.com/https://www.blogger.com/profile/12827646743934274873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335978802715935793.post-14714396857797357052007-09-06T02:33:00.000-07:002007-09-06T02:33:00.000-07:00NEWS AMERICASB-52 in US 'nuclear error' flight T...NEWS AMERICAS<BR/>B-52 in US 'nuclear error' flight <BR/>The nuclear-armed missiles were loaded on to<BR/>a B-52 aircraft before a cross-US flight [AP]<BR/>An US military aeroplane mistakenly carried five nuclear warheads attached to cruise missiles across the country, a newspaper has reported.<BR/> <BR/>The B-52 bomber carried the missiles between air bases in North Dakota and Louisiana as part of a programme to take 400 missiles out of service, the Military Times quoted three officers as saying.<BR/> <BR/>The officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the nuclear warheads should have been removed before the missiles were mounted under the aircraft's wings for the August 30 flight.<BR/> <BR/>The error was not discovered until the bomber completed its three-and-a-half-hour flight, the officers said.<BR/> <BR/>A military official told AFP news agency that the incident was reported to General Peter Pace, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, "and higher".<BR/> <BR/>The official said the notification goes as high as George Bush, the US president.<BR/> <BR/>"There are procedures in place and they kicked in and worked," the official said.<BR/> <BR/>Weapons accounting<BR/> <BR/>Lieutenant-Colonel Ed Thomas, a US air force spokesman, told the Military Times that the weapons were under control at all times.<BR/> <BR/>Thomas said US air force policy does not permit officials to say whether nuclear warheads were involved, but said all nuclear weapons at Minot, the base where the cruise missiles were loaded, were accounted for.<BR/> <BR/>"Air force standards are very exacting when it comes to munitions handling," Thomas said.<BR/> <BR/>"The weapons were always in our custody and there was never a danger to the American public."<BR/> <BR/>Thomas said an inquiry was launched after the incident and the crews involved in loading the missiles have been decertified from handling munitions pending the investigation's outcome.<BR/> <BR/>Advanced cruise missiles can be mounted with nuclear warheads that yield between five and 150 kilotons of TNT.<BR/> <BR/>The atomic bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima in August 1945 had a yield of approximately 15 kilotons.http://ioiss.blogspot.com/https://www.blogger.com/profile/12827646743934274873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335978802715935793.post-64209702860646961772007-09-06T02:29:00.000-07:002007-09-06T02:29:00.000-07:00Opera great Luciano Pavarotti has diedLuciano Pava...Opera great Luciano Pavarotti has died<BR/>Luciano Pavarotti, the most celebrated opera singer of modern times, died this morning in his home near Modena.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Mr Pavarotti, 71, had been suffering from pancreatic cancer since July 2006. Although his family had said he was in remission, his manager said today that it was this illness that claimed his life.<BR/><BR/>Terri Robson, his manager, announced that the tenor died at 5:00am at his home in Modena, the city of his birth. At his side were his wife, Nicoletta, his daughters, Lorenza, Cristina, Giuliana and Alice; his sister, Gabriela; his nephews and close relatives and friends.<BR/><BR/>"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," she added.<BR/><BR/>Mr Pavarotti had recently assured his fans that he was in good health, and had even joked about his sickness.<BR/><BR/>Last month, he phoned a concert on the island of Ischia to assure the public that he was about to release a new album of choral work, and that he looked forward to teaching his pupils again.<BR/><BR/>"Up until a few weeks before his death, he committed several hours each day to teaching his pupils at his summer villa in Pesaro on Italy's Adriatic Coast," said Ms Robson.<BR/><BR/>"He remained optimistic and confident that he would overcome the disease and had been determined to return to the stage to complete his Worldwide Farewell Tour, which he was halfway through before being struck down by illness," she added.<BR/># Video: Opera legend dies<BR/># Tributes pour in for Pavarotti<BR/><BR/>Mr Pavarotti's health deteriorated severely halfway through August, when he was rushed to the Policlinico hospital in Modena to be treated for a fever and a chest infection.<BR/><BR/>Although he was given the all-clear a few days later, he chose to remain in hospital for further testing, and when he returned home at the end of the month, he was accompanied by a full team of oncologists and doctors.<BR/><BR/>Yesterday it was reported that he had lapsed into unconsciousness and that he was suffering from kidney failure.<BR/><BR/>In his final days, a raft of tributes arrived.<BR/><BR/>On Tuesday, Mr Pavarotti was awarded a special prize by the Italian government to recognise his achievements.<BR/><BR/>On the same day, another tribute came from La Scala, the Milan opera house, which announced a new Luciano Pavarotti award.<BR/><BR/>The winner of the award will be given the opportunity to sing on stage during La Scala's 2008 season.<BR/><BR/>In his last public words, Mr Pavarotti expressed his happiness at the recognition.<BR/><BR/>"It fills me with joy and pride that my long career has been recognised, in which I have had the honour of being the standard bearer for Italian culture," he said.<BR/><BR/>"I applaud the scheme set up by La Scala, which will allow young students the chance to take their talent onto that unparalleled and exciting Milanese stage. I always wanted to share with the youth this passion and experience.<BR/><BR/>"I am overcome with gratitude and emotion at this prize which will celebrate the magic of a life spent in art, and will open doors for the young," he said.<BR/><BR/>La Scala said Mr Pavarotti was "an emblem of Italy" and "an artist who has written many pages, including some of the most emotional ones, of the history of this opera house."<BR/><BR/>The tenor's last concert, a performance of Tosca, came in March 2004 at the New York Metropolitan Opera, for which he received a twelve-minute standing ovation.<BR/><BR/>He did appear on the B-side of a U2 single in 2005, but his only notable recent public appearance was to sing Nessun Dorma at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.<BR/><BR/>Mr Pavarotti's most famous performances were as part of the Three Tenors with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo.<BR/><BR/>Their album "In Concert" remains the best-selling classical album of all time.<BR/><BR/>In 2003, he wed his former personal assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani. The guests at the ceremony included Donatella Versace, Sting, Andrea Bocelli and Bono.http://ioiss.blogspot.com/https://www.blogger.com/profile/12827646743934274873noreply@blogger.com