Worldwide events; zarb e jamhoor newspaper; 138 issue; 25 31 aug, 2013

Independence Day Uruguay - Aug 25

Uruguay (officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the south eastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European descent.

Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata to the southwest. To the southeast lies the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.

Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1811–28 following a three-way struggle between the claims of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, with a president who is both the head of state and the head of government.

Uruguay is one of the most economically developed countries in South America, with a high GDP per capita and the 52nd highest Human Development Index in the world as of 2010, and the first by human development in Latin America, when inequality is factored in. Uruguay is also noted for its low levels of corruption, being ranked by Transparency International as the second least corrupt country in Latin America (behind Chile). Its political and labour conditions are good. It was the highest rated country in Latin America on Legatum's 2010 Prosperity Index. Reader's Digest ranked Uruguay as ninth "Most livable and greenest" country in the world, and first in all the Americas. Uruguay is ranked highest in Latin America on the Global Peace Index.

Uruguay was the first South American country to legalize same-sex and different-sex civil unions at a national level, and to allow gay adoption. Uruguay and Bolivia were the only countries in the Americas which did not go into recession (2 consecutive quarters of retraction) as a result of the Late-2000s financial crisis. In 2009, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to provide every school child with a free laptop and internet. It was the first nation in the Americas to test hemp cultivation.

History

Early history and colonization:

The only documented inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrúa, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní of Paraguay.

The Spanish arrived in the territory of present-day Uruguay in 1516 but the people's fierce resistance to conquest, combined with the absence of gold and silver, limited their settlement in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries. Uruguay then became a zone of contention between the Spanish and the Portuguese empires.

In 1603 the Spanish began to introduce cattle, which became a source of wealth in the region. The first permanent settlement on the territory of present-day Uruguay was founded by the Spanish in 1624 at Soriano on the Río Negro. In 1669–71 the Portuguese built a fort at Colonia del Sacramento. Spanish colonization increased as Spain sought to limit Portugal's expansion of Brazil's The oath of the Thirty-Three Orienfrontiers. tals Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Its natural harbor soon developed into a commercial area competing with Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. Uruguay's early 19th century history was shaped by ongoing fights between the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and other colonial forces for dominance in the Platine region. In 1806 and 1807 the British army attempted to seize Buenos Aires as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result Montevideo was occupied by a British force from February to September 1807.

Independence struggle:

In 1811 José Gervasio Artigas, who became Uruguay's national hero, launched a successful revolution against the Spanish authorities, defeating them on 18 May at the Battle of Las Piedras.

In 1813 the new government in Buenos Aires convened a constituent assembly where Artigas emerged as a champion of federalism, demanding political and economic autonomy for each area, and for the Banda Oriental in particular. The assembly refused to seat the delegates from the Banda Oriental however, and Buenos Aires pursued a system based on unitary centralism.

Consequently Artigas broke with Buenos Aires and besieged Montevideo, taking the city in early 1815. Once the troops from Buenos Aires had withdrawn the Banda Oriental appointed its first autonomous government. Artigas organized the Federal League under his protection, consisting of six provinces, four of which are now part of Argentina.

In 1816 a force of 10,000 Portuguese troops invaded the Banda Oriental from Brazil and took Montevideo in January 1817. After nearly four more years of struggle Portuguese Brazil annexed the Banda Oriental as a province under the name of Cisplatina. The Brazilian Empire became independent from Portugal in 1822. In response to the annexation the Thirty-Three Orientals, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, declared independence on 25 August 1825 supported by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).

This led to the 500 day-long Argentina-Brazil War. Neither side gained the upper hand and in 1828 the Treaty of Montevideo, fostered by theUnited Kingdom, gave birth to Uruguay as an independent state. The nation's first constitution was adopted on 18 July 1830.

Blancos—Colorados conflicts:

At the time of independence Uruguay had an estimated population of just under 75,000. The political scene in Uruguay became split between two parties: the conservative Blancos (Whites) headed

by Manuel Oribe, representing the agricultural interests of the countryside; and the liberal Colorados (Reds) led by Fructuoso Rivera, representing the business interests of Montevideo. The Uruguayan parties became associated with warring political factions in neighbouring Argentina.

The Colorados favored the exiled Argentinian liberal Unitarios, many of whom had taken refuge in Montevideo while the Blanco president Manuel Oribe was a close friend of the Argentinian ruler Manuel de Rosas. On 15 June 1838 an army led by the Colorado leader Rivera overthrew the president, who fled to Argentina.

Rivera declared war on Rosas in 1839. The conflict would last thir- Battle of Caseros teen years and become known as the Guerra Grande (the Great War).

In 1843 an Argentinian army overran Uruguay on Oribe's behalf, but failed to take the capital. The siege of Montevideo, which began in February 1843, would last nine years. The besieged Uruguayans called on resident foreigners for help which led to a French and an Italian legion being formed, the latter led by the exiled Giuseppe Garibaldi.

(Hitherto unknown, it was Garibaldi's fame in this war which led to his later central role in the Unification of Italy).

In 1845 Britain and France intervened against Rosas to restore commerce to normal levels in the region. Their efforts proved ineffective and by 1849, tired of the war, both withdrew after signing a treaty favorable to Rosas. It appeared that Montevideo would finally fall when an uprising against Rosas, led by Justo José de Urquiza governor of Argentina's Entre Ríos Province began. The Brazilian intervention in May 1851 on behalf of the Colorados, combined with the uprising, changed the situation and Oribe was defeated. The siege of Montevideo was lifted and the Guerra Grande finally came to an end. Montevideo rewarded Brazil's support by signing treaties that confirmed Brazil's right to intervene in Uruguay's internal affairs.

In accordance with the 1851 treaties Brazil intervened militarily in Uruguay as often as it deemed necessary. In 1865 the Triple Alliance was formed by the emperor of Brazil, the president of Argentina, and the Colorado general Venancio Flores, the Uruguayan head of government whom they both had helped to gain power. The Triple Alliance declared war on Paraguayan leader Francisco Solano López and the resulting War of the Triple Alliance ended with the invasion of Paraguay and its defeat by the armies of the three countries. Montevideo, which was used as a supply station by the Brazilian navy, experienced a period of prosperity and relative calm during the war.

The constitutional government of General Lorenzo Batlle y Grau (1868–72) was forced to suppress an insurrection led by the National Party. After two years of struggle a peace agreement was signed in 1872 that gave the Blancos a share in the emoluments and functions of government, through control of four of the departments of Uruguay. This establishment of the policy of co-participation represented the search for a new formula of compromise, based on the coexistence of the party in power and the party in opposition.

Between 1875 and 1886 the military became the center of power. During this authoritarian period the government took steps toward the organization of the country as a modern state, encouraging its economic and social transformation. Pressure groups (consisting mainly of businessmen, hacendados, and industrialists) were organized and had a strong influence on government. A transition period (1886–90) followed, during which politicians began recovering lost ground and some civilian participation in government occurred.

Mass immigration and development:

After the Guerra Grande there was a sharp rise in the number of immigrants, primarily from Italy and Spain. By 1879 the total population of the country was over 438,000. The economy saw a steep upswing, above all in livestock raising and exports. Montevideo became a major economic centre of the region and an entrepôt for goods from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

The Colorado leader José Batlle y Ordóñez was elected president in 1903. The following year the Blancos led a rural revolt and eight bloody months of fighting ensued before their leader, Aparicio Saraiva, was killed in battle. Government forces emerged victorious, leading to the end of the co-participation politics that had begun in 1872. Batlle had two terms (1903–07 and 1911–15) during which, and taking advantage of the nation’s stability and growing economic prosperity, he instituted major reforms such as a welfare program, government participation Manuel Oribe in many facets of the economy, and a plural executive.

Gabriel Terra became president in March 1931. His inauguration coincided with the effects of the Great Depression. when the social climate became tense as a result of the lack of jobs. There were confrontations in which police and leftists died. In 1933 Terra organized a coup d'état, dissolving the General Assembly and governing by decree. A new constitution was promulgated in 1934, transferring powers to the president. In general, the Terra government weakened or neutralized economic nationalism and social reform.

In 1938 general elections were held and Terra's brother-in-law, General Alfredo Baldomir, was elected president.

Under pressure from organized labor and the National Party Baldomir advocated free elections, freedom of the press, and a new constitution. Although Baldomir declared Uruguay neutral in 1939 British warships and the German ship Admiral Graf Spee fought a battle not far off Uruguay's coast. Admiral Graf Spee took refuge in Montevideo, claiming sanctuary in a neutral port, but was later ordered out. In 1945 Uruguay abandoned its policy of neutrality and joined the Allied cause.

In the late 1950s, partly because of a world-wide decrease in demand for agricultural products, Uruguayans suffered from a steep drop in the standard of living which led to student militancy and labor unrest. An urban guerrilla movement known as the Tupamaros emerged, engaging in activities such as robbing banks and distributing the proceeds to the poor in addition to attempting political dialogue. As the government banned their political activities and the police became more oppressive, the Tupamaros took up an overtly armed struggle. President Jorge Pacheco declared a state of emergency in 1968, followed by a further suspension of civil liberties in 1972. In 1973, amid increasing economic and political turmoil, the armed forces closed the Congress and established a civilian-military regime.

Around 180 Uruguayans are known to have been killed during the 12-year military rule from 1973–1985. Most were killed in Argentina and other neighbouring countries, with only 36 of them having been killed in Uruguay.

Return to democracy:

A new constitution, drafted by the military, was rejected in a November 1980 referendum. Following the referendum the armed forces announced a plan for the return to civilian rule, and national elections were held in 1984. Colorado Party leader Julio María Sanguinetti won the presidency and served from 1985 to 1990. The first Sanguinetti administration implemented economic reforms and consolidated democracy following the country's years under military rule.

The National Party's Luis Alberto Lacalle won the 1989 presidential election and an amnesty for human rights abusers was endorsed by referendum. Sanguinetti was again elected in 1994.Both carried on with the economic structural reforms initiated after the reinstatement of democracy and other important reforms were aimed at improving the electoral system, social security, education, and public safety.

The 1999 national elections were held under a new electoral system established by a 1996 constitutional amendment.

Colorado Party candidate Jorge Batlle, aided by the support of the National Party, defeated Broad Front candidate Tabaré Vázquez. The formal coalition ended in November 2002 when the Blancos withdrew their ministers from the cabinet, although the Blancos continued to support the Colorados on most issues. Low commodity prices and economic difficulties in Uruguay's main export markets, first in Brazil with the devaluation of the real then in Argentina in 2002, caused a severe recession—the economy contracted by 11%, unemployment climbed to 21% and the percentage of Uruguayans in poverty rose to over 30%.

In 2004 Uruguayans elected Tabaré Vázquez as president, while giving the Broad Front a majority in both houses of Parliament. Vázquez stuck to economic orthodoxy. As commodity prices soared and the economy recoiled from recession, he tripled foreign investment, cut poverty and unemployment, cut public debt from 79% of GDP to 60% and kept inflation steady.

In 2009 José Mujica, a former left-wing militant who spent almost 15 years in prison during the country's military rule, emerged as the new President as the Broad Front won the election for a second time.

Military The Uruguayan armed forces are constitutionally subordinate to the president, through the minister of defense. The armed

forces personnel number about 14,000 for the Army, 6,000 for the Navy, and 3,000 for the Air force. Enlistment is voluntary in peacetime, but the government has the authority to conscript in emergencies.

Since May 2009 homosexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military after the Defence Minister signed a decree stating that military recruitment policy would no longer discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. In the fiscal year 2010 the United States provided Uruguay with $1.7 million in military assistance, including $1 million in Foreign Military Financing and $480,000 in International Military Education and Training.

Uruguay ranks first in the world on a per capita basis for its contributions to the United Nations peacekeeping forces with 2,513 soldiers and officers in 10 UN peacekeeping missions. As of February 2010 Uruguay had 1,136 military personnel deployed to Haiti in support of MINUSTAH and 1,360 deployed in support of MONUC in the Congo. In December 2010 a Uruguayan, Major General Gloodtdofsky, was appointed Chief Military Observer and head of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan.

Liberation Day Hong Kong - Aug 25

The Cenotaph (Traditional Chinese: 和平紀念碑), constructed in 1923 and located between Statue Square and the City Hall in Central, Hong Kong, commemorates the dead in the First and Second World War that served in Hong Kong in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. It is an almost exact replica of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London (designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1920 ), except that this one in Hong Kong has eight Chinese characters on it.

Liberation Day celebration

During British rule, after 1945, Liberation Day celebration took place here on the last Monday in August to commemorate the Liberation of Hong Kong from Japanese occupation in 1945. No official ceremonies have taken place here since 1997. Unofficial delegations do mark events here, and the flag poles are occasionally dressed (for example in the month of April, 2011). But official ceremonies no longer take place as this date is no longer a general holiday in Hong Kong.

Remembrance Day commemoration

The Remembrance Sunday observance in Hong Kong is marked by a multi-faith memorial service at the Cenotaph in Central, Hong Kong. The service is organised by the Hong Kong Ex-Servicemens Association and is attended by various Government officials, as well as representatives of various religions including the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Buddhist community, the Taoist community, the Muslim community and the Sikh community. Although Hong Kong ceased to be part of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1997, the memorial service still resembles those in many other Commonwealth countries. The service includes the sounding of "Last Post," two minutes of silence, the sounding of "Reveille", the laying of wreaths, prayers, and ends with a recitation of the "Ode of Remembrance. The Hong Kong Police Force Pipe Band continues to perform their ceremonial duty at the service.

Dia do Soldado Brazil - Aug 25

The Soldier's Day is established in honor of Luis Alves de Lima e Silva , patron of the Brazilian Army , born August 25th of 1803 that goes down in history as "the peacemaker" and stifles many rebellions against the Empire.

BIOGRAPHY Army-Marshal Luís Alves de Lima e Silva - Duque de Caxias - Patron of the Brazilian Army (August 25, 1803 - May 7, 1880), "Born on the farm of Sao Paulo, Vila Porto de Estrela, in the Baixada Fluminense, Rio de January. On November 22, 1808, he enlisted as a cadet in the 1st Infantry Regiment, joining later, the Royal Military Academy. Lieutenant, he joined the newly created Battalion of the Emperor, as an assistant, with him receiving the baptism of fire 3 May 1823, in the struggles for independence in Bahia, when he could prove exceptional qualities of initiative, control, intelligence and bravery. With just over 20 years, it was captain and also participated with the Emperor's Battalion, of the Campaign of cisplatin. In December 2, 1839, as colonel, came to embody the aura of Peaceful and symbol of nationality, to be appointed President of the Province of Maranhão and General Commander of the Forces Operations, to address the "Balaiada," after which he received the title Barao de Caxias and promotion to brigadier. He entered the history as "The Peacemaker" and drowned many rebellions against the Empire. pacified Also Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, in 1842, why was promoted to Field-Marshal graduate. In end of 1842, was appointed President and Commander in Chief of the Army in operations in Rio Grande do Sul, to combat Farroupilha Revolution, which had lasted eight years, and at the end of which was effected as Field-Marshal, elected Senator for New South Wales and awarded the title of Count. In 1851 he was again appointed as President and Commander in Chief of the Army of the South done this, to fight against Oribe, Uruguay, and soon after, against Rosas, Argentina.

Victorious again, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and elevated to the dignity of Marquis. On June 16, 1855, was Minister of War and in 1856 President of the Council of Ministers, both for the first time. In October 10, 1866, was appointed Commander in Chief of the Forces of Empire troops in operations against the dictator Lopez of Paraguay, being carried out in the rank of Marshal of the Army, taking on 10 February 1867, the Command General operations forces, replacing General Mitre, Argentina. It follows a series of resounding victories in Itororó, Valentinas Avai and Lomas, the surrender of Angostura and putting into Asuncion, considered closed when the glorious campaign for him commanded. "For the services rendered in the War of Paraguay," the Emperor granted on March 23, 1869, the title of Duke - the highest title of nobility granted by the emperor. Caxias was Minister of War and President of the Council of Ministers two more times, the last from 1875 to 1878. Died at Fazenda Santa Monica, near the city of Brookfield - RJ, and his body taken to the river and buried in the Cemetery of Catumbi. Today, the remains of the Patron Army and his wife lie in the mausoleum in front of the Palacio Duque de Caxias, in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

A GREAT ARMY FOR A GREAT PATRON "Luis Alves de Lima e Silva - the Duke of Caxias is the distinguished patron of the Brazilian Army, who reveres the date of his birth - August 25 -" Soldier's Day "pacified Caxias do Maranhão, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, stricken provinces in the last century, by serious internal rebellion, so he received the epithet of "The Pacifier." commanded armies in three external campaigns: the most difficult one, when Lomas Valentines, in 1868, taken of justifiable pride, he cried to his soldiers: "The God of hosts is with us. Aha! March to the fight, that victory is certain, because the General tab and friend to you, even until today, was not won. "Caxias organized the Brazilian Army, it was political, provincial governments and even Brazil, it was President Council of Ministers three times. Not only this, "The Pacifier" was more exponential the figure of his time, calling it the apologists, "The Constable of the Empire." The late journalist and venerating the Barbosa Lima Sobrinho nickname of "The Patron of Amnesty" and the Brazilian people, in spontaneous consecration, popularized the term "hardcore", which are referred to those who comply, without limitation, their duties. Marshal of the Army, Director of State and War, Generalissimo Armies of the Triple Alliance, Baron, Count, Marquis, Duke, President of Provinces, Senator, minister of war three times, three times President of the Council of Ministers, "Artifice of National Unity," is Caxias, patron of the glorious and undefeated Brazilian Army! The unforgettable sociologist Gilberto Freyre, in recognition of the sublime virtues of the Duque de Caxias, put it this way: "Caxiismo set of virtues is not only military, but of civic virtues, common to military and civilian. The "hardcore" should be both civilians and military. The caxiismo should be taught in schools both in civilian and military. It's all over Brazil who needs it ".

Heroes Day Namibia - Aug 26

Heroes' Day is a national public holiday in Namibia. It is recognized by the United Nations as Namibia Day. Celebrated annually on 26 August, the day commemorates the Namibian War of Independence which began on 26 August 1966 at Omugulugwombashe.

National celebrations take place annually at different places, usually in the north of Namibia near important battle zones. Hundreds of people annually gather to watch leaders such as Hifikepunye Pohamba, Sam Nujoma and Nahas Angula officially commemorate veterans of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), SWAPO's military wing during the War. Likewise, honours, such as military medals, are handed out on the day. Heroes' Acre, a war memorial outside of Windhoek, was opened on Heroes' Day in 2002. It is also the same day that the United Nations Institute for Namibia, a tertiary educational body in Zambia under the auspices of the United Nations and forerunner to the University of Namibia, was inaugurated in 1976.

Herero Day

On the Sunday closest to August 23, the Herero people of Namibia commemorate the post-mortem reburial of their chief Samuel Maharero in 1923. Each year, thousands of Herero people converge on the town of Okahandja on a weekend close to August 23, the date when Maharero's remains were repatriated from Botswana. Celebrations typically do not take place exactly on August 26 to give high-ranking government officials of Herero descent the opportunity to attend both events.

Our Lady of Czestochowa Poland - Aug 26

The Black Madonna of Częstochowa (Polish: Czarna Madonna or Matka Boska Częstochowska, Latin: Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte, and Ченстоховская икона Божией Матери in Church Slavonic) is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.

The icon The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly con-

tested among scholars. The difficulty in dating the icon stems from the fact that the original image was painted over, after being badly damaged

by Hussite raiders in 1430. Medieval restorers unfamiliar with the encaustic method found that the paints they applied to the damaged areas "simply sloughed off the image" according to the medieval chronicler Risinius, and their solution was to erase the original image and to repaint it on the original panel, which was believed to be holy because of its legendary origin as a table top from the home of the Holy Family. The painting displays a traditional composition well known in the icons of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" ("One Who Shows the Way"). In it the Virgin directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation.

In turn, the child extends his right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in his left hand. The icon shows the Madonna in fleur de lys robes.

History

Lucan origin:

The icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa has been intimately associated with Poland for the past six hundred years. Its history prior to its arrival in Poland is shrouded in numerous legends which trace the icon's origin to St. Luke who painted it on a cypress table top from the house of the Holy Family.

Arrival in Częstochowa:

One of the oldest documents from Jasna Góra states that the picture travelled from Jerusalem, via Constantinople and Belz, to finally reach Częstochowa in August 1382 by Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole. However more recent Ukrainian sources state that it was taken by Władysław Opolski from the Castle of Belz, when the town was incorporated into the Polish kingdom and that earlier in its history it was brought to Belz with much ceremony and honors by Knyaz Lev I of Galicia. The golden fleur-de-lis painted on the Virgin's blue veil parallel the azure, semee de lis, or of the French royal coat of arms and the most likely explanation for their presence is that icon had been present in Hungary during the reign of either Charles I of Hungary and/or Louis the Great, the Hungarian kings of the Anjou dynasty, who probably had the fleur-de-lis of their family's coat of arms painted on the icon. This would suggest that the icon was probably originally brought to Jasna Gora by the Pauline monks from their founding monastery in Hungary.

Coronation as Queen and Protector of Poland:

The Black Madonna is credited with miraculously saving the monastery of Jasna Góra (English: Bright Mount) from a 17th century Swedish invasion, The Deluge, which actually changed the course of the war. This event led King John II Casimir Vasa to "crown" Our Lady of Częstochowa ("the Black Madonna") as Queen and Protector of Poland in the cathedral of Lwów on April 1, 1656.

Legends about the Madonna's appearance:

Another legend concerning the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is that the presence of the holy painting saved its church from being destroyed in a fire, but not before the flames darkened the flesh tone pigments. The legend concerning the two scars on the Black Madonna's right cheek is that the Hussites stormed the Pauline monastery in 1430, plundering the sanctuary. Among the items stolen was the icon. After putting it in their wagon, the Hussites tried to get away but their horses refused to move. They threw the portrait down to the ground and one of the plunderers drew his sword upon the image and inflicted two deep strikes.

When the robber tried to inflict a third strike, he fell to the ground and squirmed in agony until his death. Despite past attempts to repair these scars, they had difficulty in covering up those slashes (as they found out that the painting was painted with tempera infused with diluted wax). In commemoration of the attack, two slashes on her right cheek were made by a pen.

Another legend states that, as the robber struck the painting twice, the face of the Virgin Mary started to bleed; in a panic, the scared Hussites retreated and left the painting.

Independence Day Moldova - Aug 27

Moldova officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova) is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

The nation is a parliamentary republic and democracy with a president as head of state and aprime minister as head of government.

Moldova is a member state of the United Nations,Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union, and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

History

Prehistory:

During the Neolithic stone age era Moldova's territory was the middle of the large Cucuteni-Trypillian culture that stretched east beyond the Dniester River in Ukraine, and west up to and beyond the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. The inhabitants of this civilization, which lasted roughly from 5500 to 2750 BC, practiced agriculture, raised livestock, hunted, and made intricately designed pottery. Another remarkable feature of this society was the enormous settlements that were built, some of which numbered up to 15,000 inhabitants.

Antiquity and Middle Ages:

In Antiquity Moldova's territory was inhabited by Dacian tribes. Between the I and VII centuries AD, the south was intermittently under the Roman, then Byzantine Empires. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, the territory of modern Moldova was invaded many times in late antiquity and early Middle Ages, including by Goths, Huns, Avars,Bulgarians, Magyars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Mongolsand Tatars.

The Principality of Moldavia, established in 1359, was bounded by the Carpathian mountains in the west, Dniester river in the east, and Danube and Black Sea in the south. Its territory comprised the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern eight of the 41 counties of Romania, and the Chernivtsi oblast and Budjak region of Ukraine. Like the present-day republic and Romania's north-eastern region, it was known to the locals as Moldova. Moldavia was invaded repeatedly by Crimean Tatars Stephen the Great, Prince of Moland, since the 15th century, by the Turks. In 1538, the principality davia between 1457 and 1504, and became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire, but it retained internal the most prominent Moldavian hisand partial external autonomy.

In accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812 and despite numerous protests by Moldavian nobles on behalf of their autonomous status, the Ottoman Empire (of which Moldavia was a vassal) ceded to the Russian Empire the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia along with Khotyn and old Bessarabia (modern Budjak).

The new Russian province was called "Oblast of Moldavia and Bessarabia", and initially enjoyed a large degree of autonomy. After 1828 this autonomy was progressively restricted and in 1871 the Oblast was transformed into the Bessarabia Governorate, in a process of state-imposed assimilation, "Russification". As part of this process, the Tsarist administration in Bessarabia gradually removed the Romanian language from official and religious use. The western part of Moldavia (which is a part of present-day Romania) remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania.

The Treaty of Paris (1856) returned three counties of Bessarabia — Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail — to Moldavia, but in the Treaty of Berlin (1878), the Kingdom of Romania agreed to return them to the Russian Empire. Over the 19th century, the Russian authorities encouraged colonization of the south of the region by Ukrainians, Lipovans, Cossacks, Bulgarians, Germans, Gagauzes, and allowed the settlement of more Jews, to replace the large Nogai Tatar population expelled in the 1770s and 1780s, during Russo-Turkish Wars; the Moldovan proportion of the population decreased from around 86% in 1816 to around 52% in 1905.

Greater Romania:

World War I brought in a rise in political and cultural (ethnic) awareness among the inhabitants of the region, as 300,000 Bessarabians were drafted into the Russian Army formed in 1917; within bigger units several "Moldavian Soldiers' Committees" were formed. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, a Bessarabian parliament, Sfatul Ţării, was elected in October–November 1917 and opened on December 3 [O.S.November 21] 1917. The Sfatul Ţării proclaimed the Moldavian Democratic Republic (December 15 [O.S. December 2] 1917) within a federal Russian state, and formed a government (December 21 [O.S. December 8] 1917).

Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia on February 6 [O.S. January 24] 1918 and requested the assistance of the French army present in Romania (general Henri Berthelot) and of the Romanian army, which had occupied the region in early January. On April 9 [O.S.March 27] 1918, the Sfatul Ţării decided with MPs of the Moldavian Democratic 86 votes for, 3 against and 36 abstaining, to unite with the King- Republic in 1918 dom of Romania. The union was conditional upon fulfillment of the agrarian reform, autonomy, and respect for universal human rights. A part of the interim Parliament agreed to drop these conditions after Bukovina and Transylvania also joined the Kingdom of Romania, although historians note that they lacked the quorum to do so.

This union was recognized by the principal Allied Powers in the 1920 Treaty of Paris, which however was not ratified by all of its signatories. Some major powers, such as the United States and the newly communist Russia, did not recognize Romanian rule over Bessarabia, the latter considering it an occupation of Russian territory.

In May 1919, the Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed as a government in exile. After the failure of the Tatarbunary Uprising in 1924, the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian ASSR) was formed.

In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its secret additional protocol were signed, by which Nazi Germany recognized Bessarabia as being within the Soviet sphere of influence, which led the latter to actively revive its claim to the region. On June 28, 1940, the Soviet Union, with the acknowledgement of Nazi Germany, issued an ultimatum to Romania requesting the cession of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, with which Romania complied the following day. Soon after, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR) was established, comprising about 70% of Bessarabia, and 50% of the now-disbanded Moldavian ASSR. As part of the 1941 Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, Romania seized the territories of Bessarabia, northern Bukovina, and Transnistria. Romanian forces, working with the Germans, deported or exterminated about 300,000 Jews, including 147,000 from Bessarabia and Bukovina (of the latter, approximately 90,000 perished). The Soviet Army re-captured the region in February–August 1944, and re-established the Moldavian SSR. Between the end of the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive in August 1944 and the end of the war in May 1945, 256,800 inhabitants of the Moldavian SSR were drafted into the Soviet Army. 40,592 of them perished.

Soviet era:

During the Stalinist period (1940–1941, 1944–1953), deportations of locals to the northern Urals, to Siberia, and northern Kazakhstan occurred regularly, with the largest ones on 12–13 June 1941, and 5–6 July 1949, accounting from MSSR alone for 18,392 and 35,796 deportees respectively. Other forms of Soviet persecution of the population included 32,433 political arrests, followed by Gulag or (in 8,360 cases) execution.

In 1946, as a result of a severe drought and excessive delivery quota obligations and requisitions imposed by the Soviet government, the southwestern part of the USSR suffered from a major famine. In 1946–1947, at least 216,000 deaths and about 350,000 cases of dystrophy were accounted by historians in the Moldavian SSR alone. Similar events occurred in 1930s in the Moldavian ASSR. In 1944–53, there were several anti-Soviet resistance Ethnic Germans resettling after the groups in Moldova; however the NKVD and later MGB managed Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in to eventually arrest, execute or deport their members.

In the postwar period, the Soviet government arranged migration 1940 of workforce (mostly Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians), into the new Soviet republic, especially into urbanized areas, partly to compensate for the demographic loss caused by the war and the emigration of 1940 and 1944. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Moldavian SSR received substantial allocations from the budget of the USSR to develop industrial and scientific facilities and housing. In 1971, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a decision "About the measures for further development of the city of Kishinev" (modern Chişinău), that allotted more than one billion Soviet rubles from the USSR budget for building projects, subsequent decisions also directed substantial funding and brought qualified specialists from other parts of the USSR to develop Moldova's industry.

The Soviet government conducted a campaign to promote a Moldovan ethnic identity distinct from that of the Romanians, based on a theory developed during the existence of the Moldavian ASSR. Official Soviet policy asserted that the language spoken by Moldovans was distinct from the Romanian language . To distinguish the two, during the Soviet period, Moldovan was written in the Cyrillic alphabet, in contrast with Romanian, which since 1860 had been written in the Latin alphabet.

After the death of Stalin, political persecutions changed in character from mass to individual. All independent organizations were severely reprimanded, with the National Patriotic Front leaders being sentenced in 1972 to long prison terms. The Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Moldova is assessing the activity of the communist totalitarian regime.

In the 1980s, political conditions created by the glasnost and perestroika, a Democratic Movement of Moldova was formed, which in 1989 became known as the nationalist Popular Front of Moldova (FPM). Along with several other Soviet republics, from 1988 onwards, Moldova started to move towards independence. On August 27, 1989, the FPM organized a mass demonstration in Chişinău that became known as the Grand National Assembly. The assembly pressured the authorities of the Moldavian SSR to adopt a language law on August 31, 1989 that proclaimed the Moldovan language written in the Latin script to be the state language of the MSSR. Its identity with the Romanian language was also established.

Independence:

The first democratic elections for the local parliament were held in February and March 1990. Mircea Snegur was elected as Speaker of the Parliament, and Mircea Druc as Prime Minister. On June 23, 1990, the Parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the "Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova", which, among other things, stipulated the supremacy of Moldovan laws over those of the Soviet Union. After the failure of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, on August 27, 1991, Moldova declared its independence.

On December 21 of the same year Moldova, along with most of the other Soviet republics, signed the constitutive act that formed the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Moldova received official recognition on December 25. On December 26, 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Declaring itself a neutral state, it did not join the military branch of the CIS. Three months later, on March 2, 1992, the country gained formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations. In 1994, Moldova became a member ofNATO's Partnership for Peace program and also a member of the Council of Europe on June 29, 1995.

In the region east of the Dniester river, Transnistria, which includes a large proportion of predominantly russophoneEast Slavs of Ukrainian (28%) and Russian (26%) descent (altogether 54% as of 1989), while Moldovans (40%) have been the largest ethnic group, and where the headquarters and many units of the Soviet Deputy Gheorghe Ghimpu replaces 14th Guards Army were stationed, an independent Pridnestrovian the Soviet flag on the Parliament Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed on August with the national one on April 27, 16, 1990, with its capital in Tiraspol. The motives behind this move 1990 were fear of the rise of nationalism in Moldova and the country's expected reunification with Romania upon secession from the USSR. In the winter of 1991–1992 clashes occurred between Transnistrian forces, supported by elements of the 14th Army, and the Moldovan police. Between March 2 and July 26, 1992, the conflict escalated into a military engagement.

On January 2, 1992, Moldova introduced a market economy, liberalizing prices, which resulted in rapid inflation.

From 1992 to 2001, the young country suffered a serious economic crisis, leaving most of the population below the poverty line. In 1993, a national currency, the Moldovan leu, was introduced to replace the temporary cupon. The economy of Moldova began to change in 2001; and until 2008 the country saw a steady annual growth of between 5% and 10%. The early 2000s also saw a considerable growth of emigration of Moldovans looking for work (mostly illegally) in Russia (especially the Moscow region), Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and other countries; remittances from Moldovans abroad account for almost 38% of Moldova's GDP, the second-highest percentage in the world.

In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the Democratic Agrarian Party gained a majority of the seats, setting a turning point in Moldovan politics. With the nationalist Popular Front now in a parliamentary minority, new measures aiming to moderate the ethnic tensions in the country could be adopted. Plans for a union with Romania were abandoned, and the new Constitution gave autonomy to the breakaway Transnistria and Gagauzia. On December 23, 1994, the Parliament of Moldova adopted a "Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia", and in 1995 the latter was constituted.

After winning the 1996 presidential elections, on January 15, 1997, Petru Lucinschi, the former First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party in 1989–91, became the country's second president (1997–2001), succeeding Mircea Snegur (1991–1996). In 2000, the Constitutionwas amended, transforming Moldova into a parliamentary republic, with the president being chosen through indirect election rather than direct popular vote.

Winning 49.9% of the vote, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (reinstituted in 1993 after being outlawed in 1991), gained 71 of the 101 MPs, and on April 4, 2001, elected Vladimir Voronin as the country's third president (re-elected in 2005). The country became the first post-Soviet state where a non-reformed Communist Party returned to power. New governments were formed by Vasile Tarlev (April 19, 2001 – March 31, 2008), and Zinaida Greceanîi (March 31, 2008 – September 14, 2009). In 2001–2003 relations between Moldova and Russiaimproved, but then temporarily deteriorated in 2003–2006, in the wake of the failure of the Kozak memorandum, culminating in the 2006 wine exports crisis. The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova managed to stay in power for eight years, mainly due to the appeal to the ethnic minorities, the support from the West during the presidential elections from April 4, 2005, the reliance on the Soviet notion of the Moldovan identity, the attempts to build a state based only on the Moldovan identity, and most important due to the control over a significant portion of the Moldovan media. The fragmentation of the liberal (aka the democrats) and the frequent manipulations of the electoral laws helped consolidate its power. The decline of the party started in 2009 after Marian Lupu joined the Democratic Party and thus attracted many of the Moldovans supporting the Communists.

Military

The Moldovan armed forces consist of the Ground Forces and Air and Air Defense Forces. Moldova has accepted all relevant arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union. On October 30, 1992, Moldova ratified the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment and provides for the destruction of weapons in excess of those limits. The country acceded to the provisions of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in October 1994 in Washington, D.C. It does not have nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Moldova joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation'sPartnership for Peace on March 16, 1994.

Moldova is committed to a number of international and regional control of arms regulations such as the UN Firearms Protocol, Stability Pact Regional Implementation Plan, the UN Programme of Action (PoA) and the OSCE Documents on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition.

Mariamoba (Assumption) Georgia - Aug 28

Mariamoba on August 28 is one of the greatest holidays in Georgia. Mariamoba or The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated as a religious holiday in Georgia. This day is celebrated to commemorate the assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven. The day is celebrated all over Georgia with church ceremonies and feasts.

History

The Blessed Virgin Mary, often shortened to Blessed Mary or Virgin Mary, is a traditional title used by most Christians to refer to Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The Christian traditions give special honor and devotion to the Virgin Mary. According to traditional beliefs of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy and some Protestant churches, Heaven assumed her physically after the end of her earthly life. Although Mary’s assumption to heaven has recently been defined as a dogma taught by the Catholic Church, accounts of her assumption to heaven circulated since 4th century. The chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation is interpreted to refer to this event. The story also appears in several Syric manuscripts and several other 5th and 6th century works.

Mary, whom Christians also refer to as Virgin Mary or Blessed Mary, was the mother of Jesus Christ. According to Christian belief, she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of a Holy Spirit. She lived a sinless life. Because of that and because she was the mother of Jesus Christ, she became known as ‘God-Bearer’ or ‘Mother of God’.

Thus, at the end of her earthly life, she was believed to be bodily assumed to Heaven. According to some doctrines, her Assumption to heaven is believed to occur after her death. The Assumption is important to many Catholic and Orthodox Christians as Mary’s heavenly birthday. It is regarded as a symbol of the promise made by Jesus Christ to all Christians that they too will be received into paradise. The Assumption is celebrated as a major festival. Though it is commonly celebrated on August 15, in Georgia, it is celebrated on August 28.

Celebration Mariamoba is a public holiday in Georgia. On this day, thousands of Georgians flock to the church, to light candles.

It is the time of the year, when all Georgians visit their friends and family. Church ceremonies and feasts are arranged.

According to a Georgian ritual, a lamb is taken to the church. It is then taken around the church three times and then the animal is slaughtered outside the churchyard. Then its meat is boiled, shared, and eaten with friends and family.

The day is celebrated with banquets, song and dance performances. As some of Georgia’s greatest churches are perched on top of mountains, on this day, thousands of Georgians are seen climbing their way to the church, carrying arrangements for small family picnics. It is one day when Georgians, all over the country, come together to celebrate their ethnic religious identity.

Constitution Day Kazakhstan - Aug 30

Kazakhstan is one of the last Soviet republics to get freedom in December 1991. Its Constitution was adopted on August 30, 1995 — almost four years after their independence. On August 30, the entire political system became a democracy, replacing communism. The change in the political system marks a very important era as an independent Kazakhstan became a sovereign and economically liberal republic.

History The history of August 30, 1995, started before Kazakhstan’s in-

dependence. It became a sovereign republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic in October 1990. August of 1991 saw an aborted coup effort in Moscow, which resulted in Kazakhstan gaining its independence on December 16, 1991.

Though Kazakhastan got its independence in December 1991, the economy and political system was the old one from the Soviet Union days. It was on Constitution Day, August 30, 1995, the constitution was given a new facelift in an attempt to make Kazakhstan a democratic republic.

An exception to making Kazakhastan a democracy is the fact that President Nursultan Nazarbayev has been granted lifetime power. Nursultan Nazarbayev started out as the head of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in 1989. Democracy in Kazakhstan is fighting against the early communist perception. However, it is still an improvement over the previous system. The major thing that changed following the new constitution was the economy. Kazakhstan is a mineral rich country with abundant resources of uranium, chromium, zinc, oil, natural gas and diamonds.

Celebrations August 30the, gives the people of Kazakhstan a big reason to celebrate its history. The Constitution Day is celebrated

all over Kazakhstan. It is not only a mark of a free country but a free country with lots of economic growth, which is worth celebrating.

The educational institutions reinforce this day as an important lesson in their history and their rule of law. The media plays its part in educating the citizens about the constitution and the constitutional developments. The Supreme Court spreads awareness about the importance of judiciary system in the country. It also tries to bring forward the facts about how constitution encourages and protects the country’s sovereignty, human rights and the benefits of independence.

The Supreme Court conducts seminars in high schools. The atmosphere is full of festivity and lot of special performances and events are organized by the citizens to celebrate this day. After all, it is the constitution, which brings about changes and protects the interest of the common mass of a country.

Rose Festival St. Lucia, Peru - Aug 30

Rose of Lima, (April 20, 1586 – August 24, 1617), the first Catholic saint of the Americas, was born in Lima, Peru.

Biography

Saint Rose of Lima was born in the city of that name, the daughter of Gaspar Flores, a harquebusier from San German, Puerto Rico, and his wife, Maria de Oliva, who was a native of Lima. She was part of a large family. She received the baptismal name of Isabel (Elizabeth). Her latter nickname "Rose" was a testament to her evident holiness. When she was a baby, a servant claimed to have seen her face transform into a rose. In 1597 she was personally confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, the holy Turibius de Mongrovejo, who was also to be declared a saint. She formally took the name of Rose at that time.

As a young girl--in emulation of Saint Catherine of Siena--she began to fast three times a week and performed severe penances in secret. When she was admired for her beauty, Rose cut off her hair, against the objections of her friends and her family, and disfigured her face with pepper and lye. She was very upset that she was so beautiful, and hurt herself to deter the suitors beginning to take notice of her. Despite the censure of her parents, she spent many hours contemplating the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily.

She was determined to take avow of virginity, in opposition to her parents, who wished her to marry. Finally, out of frustration, her father gave her a room to herself in the family home.

Daily fasting turned to perpetual abstinence from meat. Her days were filled with acts of charity and industry. Rose helped the sick and hungry around her community. She would bring them to her room and take care of them. Rose sold her fine needlework, grew beautiful flowers, and would take them to market to help her family. Her exquisite lace and embroidery also helped to care for the poor, while her nights were devoted to prayer and penance in a little grotto which she had built. Otherwise, she became a recluse, leaving her room only for her visits to church.

The fame of her holiness became so widespread among the populace of the colonial city, that she attracted the attention of the friars of the Dominican Order. She wanted to become a nun, but her father refused to allow this. Out of obedience to him, instead she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, remaining in her parents' home. In her twentieth year she donned the habit of a tertiary and took the vow of perpetual virginity for which she had longed.

For eleven years this self-martyrdom continued without relaxation, with intervals of ecstasy, until she died on August 24, 1617, at the age of 31, having prophesied the date of her death exactly. Her funeral was held in the cathedral, attended by all the public authorities of Lima, and it was the archbishop himself gave her eulogy.

Veneration

Rose was beatified by Pope Clement IX on April 15, 1667, and canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement X, the first Catholic in the Americas to be declared a saint. Her shrine, alongside those of her friends, St. Martin de Porres and Saint John Macías, is located inside the convent of St. Dominic in Lima. The Roman Catholic Church mentions the many miracles that followed her death. Stories have been heard that she has cured a leper. Many places are named Santa Rosa in the New World and pay homage to this saint. Pope Benedict XVI is especially devoted to her.

Her liturgical feast was inserted into the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1729 for celebration initially on August 30, because August 24, the anniversary day of her death, is the feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle and August 30 was the closest date not already occupied by a well-known saint.

Pope Paul VI's 1969 reform of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, made August 23 available, the day on which her feast day is now celebrated throughout the world, including Spain, but excluding Peru and some other Latin American countries, where August 30 is a public holiday in her honor.

She is honored together with Martin de Porres and Toribio de Mogrovejo with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on August 23.

She is the patroness of native Indian people of the Americas and their beneficence, of gardeners, of florists, of Lima, of Peru, of the New World,of Santa Rosa, California, and of Sittard, the Netherlands, of India, of people misunderstood for their piety and of the resolution of family quarrels.

Early Lives of Santa Rosa were written by the Dominican Father Hansen, "Vita Sanctae Rosae" (2 vols., Rome, 1664–1668), and Vicente Orsini, afterward. Pope Benedict XIII wrote "Concentus Dominicano, Bononiensis ecclesia, in album Sanctorum Ludovici Bertrandi et Rosae de Sancta Maria, ordinero praedicatorum" (Venice, 1674).

There is a park named for her in downtown Sacramento, California. A plot of land at 7th and K streets was given to the Roman Catholic Church by Peter Burnett, first governor of the state of California. Father Peter Anderson built one of the first of two churches in the diocese to be consecrated in honor of St Rose.

In the Caribbean twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago, the Santa Rosa Carib Community, Located in Arima is the largest organization of indigenous peoples on the island. The second oldest Parish in the Diocese of Port-ofSpain, is also named after this Saint. The Santa Rosa R.C. Church, which is also located in the town of Arima, was established on April 20, 1786 as the Indian Mission of Santa Rosa de Arima by on the foundations of a Capuchin Mission previously established in 1749.

The public may see the cranium of Santa Rosa, in the Basilica in Lima, Peru. It was customary to keep the torso in the Basilica and pass the cranium around the country, inviting all to venerate and gaze. She has a crown of roses on her cranium. She is also displayed with San Martin de Porres, who also has the cranium separate from the torso.

Literature

Teodoro Hampe Martínez: Santa Rosa de Lima y la identidad criolla en el Perú colonial (Ensayo de interpretación) Revista de Historia de América, No. 121 (January – December, 1996), pp. 7–26

Present day:

Victory Day Turkey - Aug 30

Because of the Black Madonna, Częstochowa is regarded as the most popular shrine in Poland, with many Polish Catholics making a pilgrimage there every year. Often, people will line up on the side of the road to hand provisions to the pilgrims as those who walk the distance to Częstochowa walk the entire day and have little means to get things for themselves.

Devotion to the image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa in other traditions As evidenced from the icon on the right, it appears Orthodox Christians were not unaware of the Black Maddona.

They too venerate her. In Vodou, it is believed that a common depiction of Erzulie has its roots in copies of the icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, brought to Haiti by Polish soldiers fighting on both sides of the Haitian Revolution from 1802 onwards. In her Petro nation aspect as Erzulie Dantor she is often depicted as a scarred and buxom woman, holding a child protectively in one hand and a knife in the other. She is a warrior and particularly a fierce protector of women and children. In Santeria, this image is referred to as Santa Barbara Africana.

Ukrainians also have a special devotion for the Madonna of Częstochowa.

Women's Equality Day U.S. - Aug 26

Women's Equality Day is a day proclaimed each year by the United States President to commemorate the giving of the vote to women throughout the country on an equal basis to men.

Women in the United States were given the right to vote on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was certified. The amendment was first introduced many years earlier in 1878. Every president has published a proclamation for Women's Equality Day since 1971 when legislation was first introduced in Congress by Bella Abzug. This resolution was passed designating August 26 of each year as Women's Equality Day.

Full text of resolution Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971 Designating August 26th of each year as Women's Equality Day. WHEREAS,

the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26th, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as "Women's Equality Day," and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women's rights took place.

Nut Spas Russia - Aug 29

In August, the last month of the summer season, when the harvest is sown, is the time they usually celebrate the three holidays called "Spas".

The first "Spas" is called Honey Spas which is celebrated on August 14.

The second "Spas" is called Apple Spas which is celebrated on August 19.

The third one is called Nut Spas which is celebrated on August 29.

Spas brings cold dew to lands and meadows. After the first Spas honey is collected, the second Spas brings fresh fruit and the third one, nuts.

torical personality

Modern history: Russian Empire:

The 30th day of August is marked as the final step to Turkish war of independence.

This day is registered in history as the Victory Day of Turkey. The Battle of Dumlupinar ended on 30th August 1922, subsequently ending the Greek invasion of Turkey. This day is celebrated throughout Turkey in the honor of those whose who got them independence.

History

The history of the Greeks and Turks and their wars dates back to the Troy days. Earlier the Turks invaded Greece. However, with the end of First World War the Ottoman Empire saw its downfall. They saw most of their provinces going in the hands of the allies. There came a time when the Greeks were stationed at Izmir and General Mustafa Kemal was sent to Anatolia. General Mustafa Kemal is known as the prime person under whole leadership Turkish war of independence was won. He was the one who tried uniting the country against the people trying to take over. There were several battles fought with different outcomes. Eventually Turkey started taking over from the time the Greeks’ withdrew from one of these battles for independence. The last battle (as opposed to the previous one) not just made Greeks lose but also made them leave their land. Therefore, it was Victory Day on 30th August, which made Turkey the republic it is today.

Slovak National Uprising Day Slovakia - Aug 29

The Slovak National Uprising (Slovak: Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovakresistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 fromBanská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso. Although the rebel forces were defeated

by Nazi Germany, guerrilla warfarecontinued until the Soviet Army occupied Slovakia in 1945.

In the post-war period, many political entities attempted to "hijack" the uprising to their credit. The Stalinist regime in Czechoslovakia presented the Uprising as an event initiated and governed by communist forces. Slovak nationalists, on the other hand, claim that the uprising was a plot against the Slovak nation, as one of its main objectives was to oust the regime of the puppet Slovak state and reestablish Czechoslovakia, in which Slovaks were dominated by Czechs. In fact, many factions fought in the uprising, including large rebel units of the Slovak Army, nationalist and communist partisans, and international forces.

Given this factionalization, the Uprising did not have unambiguous popular support. Yet, the participants and supporters of the Uprising represented every religion, class, gender, age, and anti-Nazi political faction of the Slovak nation.

Preliminaries Edvard Beneš, leader of the Czechoslovak government in exile in London, had initiated the preparations for a possible

revolt in 1943, when he made first contacts with the dissident elements of the Slovak Army. In December 1943, various groups that would be involved with the uprising—the government in exile, Czechoslovak democrats and communists and Slovak army—formed the underground Slovak National Council, and signed the so-called Christmas Treaty, a joint declaration to recognize Beneš's authority and to recreate Czechoslovakia after the war. The council was responsible for creating the preparatory phase of the Uprising.

In March 1944, Slovak army Lieutenant Colonel Ján Golian took charge of the preparations. Conspirators stockpiled money, ammunition and other supplies in military bases in central and eastern Slovakia. The rebelling forces called themselves Czechoslovak Forces of the Interior and the First Czechoslovak Army. Approximately 3,200 Slovak soldiers deserted and joined partisan groups or the Soviet Red Army. In April 1944 Slovak Jews, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escaped from Auschwitz and eventually spoke about the horrors in German death camps.

In summer 1944 partisans intensified their war against German occupation forces mainly in the mountains of northcentral Slovakia. In July, Red Army troops in the Soviet Union and Poland began to advance towards Slovakia. By August 1944 the Red Army was at Krosno, Poland and within 40 kilometers of the North-Eastern Slovak border.

Two heavily armed divisions of the Slovak Army together with the entire eastern Slovak Air Force were deliberately relocated to Prešov in north-eastern Slovakia in summer 1944 to execute one of two planned options to begin the uprising. The two options were: the two divisions would start the uprising by coordinating their capture of Dukla Pass (joining Poland • and Slovakia through the Carpathian Mountains) with the arrival of the Soviet Army (1st Ukrainian Front under Marshall Ivan Konev), or respond to insurrectional army leader Ján Golian's orders to start resistance by immediately confronting • any invading German forces and hold the pass until the Soviet Army could arrive.

Colonel Viliam Talský was Chief of Staff over the two divisions. He had agreed in advance with the insurrectional army leadership and the uprising planning committee of the Slovak National Council to execute either of these two plans, depending on the circumstances he faced. On August 27, 1944 in Martin, a group of communist partisans under Soviet command in Kiev killed 30 members of a German military mission en route from Romania, a country that had just changed sides to support the Allies. German troops began to occupy Slovakia the next day to put down the rebellion.

German arrangements for such occupation were done few weeks earlier.

At 19:00 hours on August 29, 1944 Slovak Defence Minister General Ferdinand Čatloš announced on state radio that Germany had occupied Slovakia. Golian sent the coded message to all units at 20:00 to begin the Uprising. Instead of adhering to the agreed plan, Colonel Talský gathered the entire eastern Slovak Air Force on August 30 and abandoned the two divisions flying to a prearranged landing zone in Poland to join the Soviet Army. The two divisions, left in chaos and without leadership, were quickly disarmed on the afternoon of August 30 without a single shot. Consequently, the uprising commenced prematurely and lost a crucial component of their plan as well as their two most heavily armed divisions capable of resisting any German advance.

Forces

Accounts of the exact numbers of combatants vary. At first, the rebel Slovak partisan forces consisted of an estimated 18,000 soldiers. The total increased to 47,000 after mobilization on September 9, 1944, and later to 60,000, plus 18,000 partisans from over 30 countries. The Slovak Insurgent Air Force had a small number of mostly obsolete planes.

In addition to Slovak forces, the combatants included various other groups from escaped French POWs to Soviet partisans and SOE and OSS operatives. The Slovak side had to use mostly biplanes and improvised armored trains to fight against the better equipped German weapons. In addition to Soviet aid, United States B-17 Flying Fortress bombers landed at Tri Duby airfield on October 7, 1944 and brought supplies and OSS agents. Before returning, they embarked 25 Allied pilots shot down over Slovakia in past few month and five French partisans.

Course of the uprising Uprising begins:

Rebels began the uprising on August 29 8:00 p.m. under the command of Ján Golian. They entered Banská Bystrica in the morning of August 30 and made it their headquarters. German troops disarmed the Eastern Slovak Army on August 31. Many of the soldiers were sent to camps in Germany while others escaped and joined the Soviet-controlled partisans or returned home. On September 5 Ján Golian became the commander of all the rebel forces in Slovakia and was given the rank of General. Slovak forces in central Slovakia mobilized 47,000 men. His first analysis of the situation predicted that insurgents could resist German attacks for about two weeks.

By September 10 the rebels gained control of large areas of central and eastern Slovakia, including two airfields, which were used by the Soviet Air Force to fly in equipment.

Momentum lost:

The pro-German government of Tiso remained in power in Bratislava. Germany moved 40,000 SS soldiers under Gottlob Berger to suppress the uprising, which detained and disarmed two Slovak divisions and 20,000 soldiers that had been supposed to secure the mountain passes to help the Red Army. Beneš had met with Stalin and Molotov in Moscow in December 1943 to secure Soviet support for the uprising, but Stalin and STAVKA failed to deliver the needed support on time to the insurgent army and even blocked Western offers of military aid, as they had done only a few weeks earlier, during the Warsaw uprising. Meanwhile, General Koniev and the Soviet partisan headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine continued to undermine the Slovak insurgent army by ordering partisan groups operating in forward positions in Slovakia to conduct operations and avoid coordination with the Slovak insurgent army. The Soviet-led partisans even demanded and took desperately needed weapons and munitions from the insurgent Slovak army that had been stored for the uprising. The vast majority of Soviet air drops of weapons over insurgent-held territory in Eastern and Northern Slovakia were quickly confiscated by Soviet partisans and little ended up in the hands of the much stronger and better trained Slovak insurrectional army.

On September 8, the Red Army began an offensive on the Dukla Pass on the Slovak-Polish border and tried to fight through the Carpathian Mountains to penetrate into Slovakia. This poorly-planned and late action resulted in tremendous casualties on both sides and became bogged down for nearly two months.

Beneš, the Soviet partisans, and various Slovak factions began to argue among themselves for operational control.

Although he tried on repeated occasions, General Golian could not bring the sides together to coordinate their efforts.

General Rudolf Viest flew in and took command on October 7, with Golian becoming his second-in-command. Viest could not control the situation when political rivalries resurfaced in the face of military failure.

The uprising also coincided with the stalling of the Soviet summer offensive, the failure of the Warsaw Uprising, and other troubles on the side of the Western allies. The Red Army and its Czechoslovakian allies failed to quickly penetrate the Dukla Pass despite fierce fighting between September 8 and October 28; they suffered 85,000 casualties (21,000 dead). The Czechoslovak government in exile failed to convince western allies to ignore Stalin's obstruction and send more supplies to the area.

On September 17 two B-17 Flying Fortresss flew in the OSS mission of Lieutenant James Holt-Green. SOE team of major John Sehmer followed the next day on its way to Hungary. Their reports confirmed the suspicions of Western Allies that the situation of the uprising was worsening.

Counteroffensive:

On September 19 German command replaced SS-Obergruppenführer Berger, who had been in charge of the troops fighting the Uprising, with General Höffle. By that time Germans had 48,000 soldiers; they consisted of eight German divisions, including four from the Waffen-SS and one pro-Nazi Slovak formation.

On October 1 the rebel army was renamed the 1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia, in order to symbolize the beginning of the Czech-Slovak reunification that would be recognized by the Allied forces.

A major German counteroffensive began on October 17–18 when 35,000 German troops entered the country from Hungary, which had been under German military occupation since 19 March 1944. Stalin demanded that his advancing Second Ukrainian Front led by General Malinovsky be immediately diverted from Eastern Slovakia to Budapest. The western advance of Soviet forces came to a screeching halt in late October 1944, as Stalin's interests focused on Hungary, Austria and Poland before he was interested in Slovakia or the Czech lands. By the end of October, Axis forces (six German divisions and one pro-Nazi Slovak unit) had taken back most of the territory from the insurgents and encircled the fighting groups. Battles cost at least 10,000 casualties on both sides.

Insurgents had to evacuate Banská Bystrica on October 27 just prior to the German takeover. SOE and OSS agents retreated to the mountains alongside the thousands of others fleeing German advance. The rebels prepared to change their strategy to that of guerrilla warfare. On October 28, Viest sent London a message that said the organized resistance had ended. On October 30, General Höffle and President Tiso celebrated in Banská Bystrica and awarded medals to German soldiers for their part in the suppression of the uprising (claimed by some to have been done by Tiso as to save the lives of Slovak soldiers captured by German forces in the uprising, who were deported to concentration camps, and to save three Slovak cities from German bombardment).

Aftermath:

However, partisans together with the remains of the regular forces continued their efforts in the mountains. In retaliation, Einsatzgruppen executed many Slovaks suspected of aiding the rebels and Jews who had avoided deportation until then, and destroyed 93 villages for suspicion of collaboration. A later estimate of the death toll was 5,304 and authorities discovered 211 mass graves that resulted from those atrocities. The largest executions occurred in Kremnička (747 killed, mostly Jews and Roma) and Nemecká (900 killed).

On November 3 Germans captured Golian and Viest inPohronský Bukovec; they later interrogated and executed them.

SOE and OSS teams eventually united and sent a message in which they requested immediate assistance. Germans surrounded both groups on December 25 and captured them. Some of the men were summarily executed. Germans took the rest to Mauthausen concentration camp where they were tortured and executed.

The German victory only postponed the eventual downfall of the pro-Nazi regime. Six months later, the Red Army had overrun Axis troops in Czechoslovakia. By December 1944 Romanian and Soviet troops had driven German troops out of southern Slovakia in the Battle of Budapest. On January 19, 1945, the Red Army tookBardejov, Svidník, Prešov and Košice in Eastern Slovakia. On March 3–5 they had taken over northwest Slovakia. On March 25 they entered Banská Bystrica and on April 4 marched into Bratislava.

Although the main military objectives were not achieved due to improper timing of the uprising and discoordinate actions of Soviet partisans that often undermined the plans and objectives of the insurrectional Slovak army--if occurred later when preparations were complete could theoretically have reverted the whole of Slovakia to the allied side and allowed the Red Army to quickly pass through Slovakia (though it is questionable whether the Soviet leadership would have preferred such an option because this would have significantly empowered the democratic forces in Slovakia)-the guerrilla struggle bound significant German forces that could otherwise have reinforced the Wehrmacht on the eastern front lines against the advancing Ukrainian Fronts to the north and south of Slovakia. Nevertheless, much of Slovakia was left devastated by the Uprising and the German counter-offensive and occupation.

Hero's Day Philippines - Aug 31

Different countries in the world celebrate heroes day. However, the main motive behind this celebration is same. Heroes Day is celebrated on the day when national heroes were born or on that day or the heroes made some special achievements that made them special. Thus Heroes Day is celebrated as a day to pay homage to those heroes of the country who sacrificed there life for their nation or they did something special for their nation. Philippines celebrate its Heroes Day on the 31 of August.

History

Philippines honor the “Cry for Pugad Lawin” by Filipino revolutionaries known as Katipunan.

They secretly prepared troops to revolt that had the single aim, to gain independence from Spain.

Katipunan is a Philippine revolutionary organization that was founded in 1892 by Filipino anti-Spanish revolutionaries in Manila. It was led by one the famous leaders named Andres Bonifacio, who was also one of the founders. About four years from the time of its creation, the leaders recruited about one to two hundred thousand members in the troop. Then after that, the new members were divided into different grades. As time spent, there became more numbers of leaders as the numbers of members in different grades were increasing. Thus apart from Bonaficio there were other leaders too. Among them, Emilio Aguinaldo was among the supreme commanders. In addition, Licerio Geronimo, Vincente Lukban and Melchora Aquino were in the list as famous Katipuneros.

After some days, it was seen that most of the Katipunan leaders were arrested, because of this Bonifacio called a meeting so that they would start the revolt. Though about thousands of members attended the meeting yet nothing was decided on the issue. After that meeting, another meeting was organized were all of them promised to fight until death. As a sign of their commitment they tore there identity proofs. Thus, as per decision they attacked Manila. However, as the Spanish discovered this secret meeting their guards were able to defend themselves from this attack. Although the Katipunan soldiers were in advantage, the Spanish guards changed things so that the Katipunans had to retrieve back. The Katipunan soldiers moved back from the battle of Pasong Tamo but still did not loose their hope.

They then regrouped after three days and decided not to attack Manila directly but to go for Spanish power magazine first. As per plans, they attacked the hindered Spanish soldiers who were protecting the powder magazine. Several soldiers died ad about one fifty three Katipuneors died too. In addition, many of them were taken in prison and were severely tortured. Although Katipuneors retrieved back, as more Spanish soldiers were sent, the people all over Philippines revolted and rose up with arms. Thus, the Spanish government declared military rule.

Thus, day by day, the Spanish government retrieved themselves and thus the dream of Katipuneors and the people of Philippines came true. The Philippians gained freedom from Spain. Thus the heroes day is celebrated to pay honor to all those who participated in that revolt and who lost their precious life.

Independence Day Kyrgyzstan - Aug 31

August 31, 1991 is the day when Kyrgyzstan got independent from the Soviet Union. The age-old Soviet pressure took a long time to shrug off. Although the country was declared a republic and went through a name change several times after 1990, it was far from being independent from the Soviet clutches. The decision of Independence on 31st August 1991 was welcome by the common people as it was in their interest.

History

The Soviet influence started in Kyrgyzstan in early 1919. The major oppression was experience during the Stalin days though. Though they were under the Soviet bear hug they still managed to retain and develop lot of social, cultural and educational aspect.

The urge to preserve their culture maintained the tension among the all-Union authorities. The Soviet hold on Kyrgyzstan was not exactly like a typical colony these European countries had in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world however, they were far from being independent. The Soviet influence was quite visible in their political system. The independence of Kyrgyzstan would have taken longer if the mass resignation of the secretariat and bureau would not have happened. It was this move, which made the Supreme Soviet vote in favor of Kyrgyzstan’s independence. Another problem following independence was the fight to get to power. Lot of political instability was experienced after independence.

Celebrations

The struggle to reinforce a stable and able government never stops the people of Kyrgyzstan from celebrating their Independence Day. The typical celebration includes Independence Day parades with people attending it in their traditional wear. The evening sees many fireworks to celebrate the occasion. The fireworks light up the sky and make it look like a supernova explosion somewhere.

Independence Day Trinidad & Tobago - Aug 31

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.

The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.

The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on February 18, 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlandercolonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.

Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and is the birthplace of steelpan,calypso, soca, and limbo.

History Historian E.L. Joseph claimed that Trinidad’s Amerindian name was Iere, derived from theArawak name for humming-

bird, ierèttê or yerettê. However, Boomert claims that neithercairi nor caeri means hummingbird and tukusi or tucuchi does. Others have reported thatkairi and iere simply mean island. Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Isla de la Trinidad" ("The Island of the Trinity"), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration.

Tobago's cigar-like shape may have given it its Spanish name (cabaco, tavaco, tobacco) and possibly its Amerindian names of Aloubaéra (black conch) and Urupaina (big snail), although the English pronunciation is /təˈbeɪɡoʊ/, rhyming with plumbago andsago.

Trinidad:

Both Trinidad and Tobago were originally settled by Amerindians of South American origin. Trinidad was first settled by pre-agricultural Archaic people at least 7,000 years ago, making it the earliest-settled part of the Caribbean. Ceramic-using agriculturalists settled Trinidad around 250 BC, and then moved further up the Lesser Antillean chain. At the time of European contact Trinidad was occupied by various Arawakan-speaking groups including the Nepoya and Suppoya, and Cariban-speaking groups such as the Yao, while Tobago was occupied by the Island Caribs and Galibi.

Christopher Columbus encountered the island of Trinidad on 31 July 1498. Antonio de Sedeñofirst settled Trinidad in the 1530s as a means of controlling the Orinoco and subduing the Warao (Whitehead, 1997). Cacique Wannawanare (Guanaguanare) granted the St Joseph area to Domingo de Vera e Ibargüen in 1592, and then withdrew to another part of the island (Boomert, 2000). San José de Oruña (St Joseph) was established by Antonio de Berrío on this land.

Walter Raleigh arrived in Trinidad on 22 March 1595 and soon attacked San José and captured and interrogated de Berrío, obtaining much information from him and from the cacique Topiawari.

In the 1700s, Trinidad belonged as an island province to the Viceroyalty of New Spain together with Central America, present-day Mexico and Southwestern United States. However, Trinidad in this period was still mostly forest, populated by a few Spaniards with their handful of slaves and a few thousand Amerindians (Besson, 2000). Spanish colonisation in Trinidad remained tenuous. Because Trinidad was considered underpopulated, Roume de St. Laurent, a Frenchman living in Grenada, was able to obtain a Cédula de Población from the Spanish king Charles III on 4 November 1783.

This Cédula de Población was more generous than the first of 1776, and granted free lands to Roman Catholic foreign settlers and their slaves in Trinidad willing to swear allegiance to the Spanish king. The land grant was thirty two acres for each man, woman and child and half of that for each slave brought. As a result, Scots, Irish, German, Italian and English families arrived. Protestants benefited from Governor Don José María Chacon's generous interpretation of the law. The French Revolution (1789) also had an impact on Trinidad's culture as it resulted in the emigration of Martiniquan planters and their slaves to Trinidad who established an agriculture-based economy (sugar and cocoa) for the island.

The population of Port of Spain increased from under 3,000 to 10,422 in five years, and the inhabitants in 1797 consisted of people of mixed race, Spaniards, Africans, French republican soldiers, retired pirates and French nobility.

The total population of Trinidad in 1797 was 17,718, 2,151 of which were of European ancestry, 4,476 were "free blacks and people of colour", 10,009 were slaves and 1,082 Amerindians.

In 1797, General Sir Ralph Abercromby and his squadron sailed through the Bocas and anchored off the coast of Chaguaramas. The Spanish Governor Chacon decided to capitulate without fighting. Trinidad became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking population and Spanish laws. The conquest and formal ceding of Trinidad in 1802 led to an influx of settlers from England or the British colonies of the Eastern Caribbean. The sparse settlement and slow rate of population increase during Spanish rule and even after British rule made Trinidad one of the less-populated colonies of the West Indies with the least developed plantation infrastructure. Under British rule, new estates were created and slave importation increased to facilitate development of the land into highly profitable sugarcane estates, but mass importation of slaves was still limited and hindered, arguably, by abolitionist efforts in Britain.

The Abolitionist movement and/or the decreased economic viability of slavery as a means of procuring labour both resulted in the abolition of slavery in 1833 via the Slavery Abolition Act 1845 (citation 3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73), which was followed by its substitution by an "apprenticeship" period. This was also abolished in 1838, with full emancipation being granted on August 1. An overview of the populations statistics in 1838, however, clearly reveals the contrast between Trinidad and its neighbouring islands: upon emancipation of the slaves in 1838, Trinidad had only 17,439 slaves, with 80% of slave owners having less than 10 slaves each.:84–85 In contrast, at twice the size of Trinidad, Jamaica had roughly 360,000 slaves. Upon emancipation, therefore, the incipient plantation owners were in severe need of labour, and the British filled this need by instituting a system of indenture. Various nationalities were contracted under this system, including Chinese, Portuguese and Indians. Of these, the Indians were imported in the largest numbers, starting from May 1, 1845, when 225 Indians were brought in the first shipment to Trinidad on the Fatel Rozack, a Muslim-owned vesselIndentureship of the Indians lasted from 1845 to 1917, over which more than 147,000 Indians were brought to Trinidad to work on sugarcane plantations.

They added what was initially the second-largest population grouping to the young nation, and their labour developed previously underdeveloped plantation lands. The indenture contract was exploitative, such that historians Hugh Tinker were to call it "a new system of slavery". Persons were contracted for a period of five years with a daily wage (25 cents in the early 20th century), after which they were guaranteed return passage to India. Coercive means were often used to obtain labourers, however, and the indentureship contracts were soon extended to 10 years after the planters complained they were losing their labour too early.

In lieu of the return passage, the British authorities soon began offering portions of land to encourage settlement; however, the numbers of people who did receive land grants is unclear. Indians entering the colony were also subject to particular crown laws which segregated them from the rest of the Trinidad population, such as the requirement that they carry a "Pass" on their person once off the plantations, and that if freed, they carry their "Free Papers" or certificate indicating completion of the indentureship period. Despite this, however, the ex-Indentureds came to constitute a vital and significant section of the population, as did the ex-slaves.

The cacao (cocoa) crop also contributed greatly to the economic earnings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

After the collapse of the cacao crop (due to disease and the Great Depression), petroleum increasingly came to dominate the economy. The collapse of the sugarcane industry concomitant with the failure of the cocoa industry resulted in widespread depression among the rural and agricultural workers in Trinidad, and encouraged the rise of the Labour movement in the 1920 -1930 period. This was led by Tubal Uriah "Buzz" Butler, who, in combination with his Indian partners (notably Adrian Cola Rienzi), aimed to unite the working class and agricultural labouring class to achieve a better standard of living for all, as well as to hasten the departure of the British. This effort was severely undermined by the British Home Office and by the British-educated Trinidadian elite, many of whom were descended from the plantocracy themselves. They instigated a vicious race politicking in Trinidad which aimed at dividing the class-based movement on race-based lines, and they succeeded, especially since Butler's support collapsed from the top down.

The Depression and the rise of the oil economy led to changes in the social structure. By the 1950s, petroleum had become a staple in Trinidad's export market, and was responsible for a growing middle class among all sections of the Trinidad population.

Tobago:

Columbus reported seeing Tobago on the distant horizon in 1498, naming it Bellaforma, but did not land on the island.

The present name of Tobago is thought to probably be a corruption of its old name, "Tobaco".

The Dutch and the Courlanders (people from the small duchy of Courland and Semigallia in modern-day Latvia) established themselves in Tobago in the 16th and 17th centuries and produced tobacco and cotton. Over the centuries, Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Britain consolidated its hold on both islands during the Napoleonic Wars, and they were combined into the colony of Trinidad and Tobago in 1889.

As a result of these colonial struggles, Amerindian, Spanish, French and Englishplace names are all common in the country. African slaves and Chinese, Indian, and free African indentured labourers, as well as Portuguese from Madeira, arrived to supply labour in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Emigration from Barbados and the other Lesser Antilles, Venezuela, Syria, and Lebanon also impacted on the ethnic make-up of the country.

Independence:

Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. The presence of American military bases in Chaguaramas and Cumuto in Trinidad during World War II profoundly changed the character of society. In the post-war period, the wave of decolonisation that swept the British Empire led to the formation of the West Indies Federation in 1958 as a vehicle for independence. Chaguaramas was the proposed site for the federal capital. The Federation dissolved after the withdrawal of Jamaica and the government chose to seek independence on its own.

In 1976, the country severed its links with the British monarchy and became a republic within the Commonwealth, though it retained the British Privy Council as its final Court of Appeal. Between the years 1972 and 1983, the Republic profited greatly from the rising price of oil, as the oil-rich country increased its living standards greatly. In 1990, 114 members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, formerly known as Lennox Phillip, stormed the Red House (the seat of Parliament), and Trinidad and Tobago Television, the only television station in the country at the time, and held the country's government hostage for six days before surrendering.

Since 2003, the country has entered a second oil boom, a driving force which the government hopes to use to turn the country's main export back to sugar and agriculture. Great concern was raised in August 2007 when it was predicted that this boom would last only until 2018. Petroleum, petrochemicals and natural gas continue to be the backbone of the economy. Tourism and the public service are the mainstay of the economy of Tobago, though authorities have begun to diversify the island. The bulk of tourism visitor arrival on the islands are from Western Europe.

Military

The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It consists of the Regiment, the Coast Guard, the Air Guard and the Defence Force Reserves. Established in 1962 after Trinidad and Tobago's independence from Britain, the TTDF is one of the largest military forces in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Its mission statement is to "defend the sovereign good of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, contribute to the development of the national community and support the State in the fulfillment of its national and international objectives".

The Defence Force has been engaged in domestic incidents, such as the 1990 Coup Attempt, and international missions, such as the United Nations Mission in Haiti between 1993 and 1996.

White Rose Day Australia - Aug 31

This Australian holiday is in honor of the late Princess Diana, who died in a tragic auto accident on this date in 1997. She was a good person who worked for international charities, and there was extensive mourning all over the world when she died. I remember being in Paris in 1999, at a memorial for Diana near the tunnel where she died, and even though it was almost two years later, there were tons of flowers and stuffed animals and other offerings at the site.

Diana was English, Princess of Wales (basically, Great Britain or United Kingdom), and she died in France.

Celebrations Why is her death comThis 30th day of August is celebrated with élan throughout the country. It is a public holiday in Turkey. People hoist the national flag on this day. This day is called Zafer Bayramı in the local language. The importance of this day can memorated with white be well explained and understood by people who have fought for it or the ones who have seen it all. The armed forces also celebrate this day with march-pasts. 30th August give people of Turkey to breath and live in fresh air, air roses in Australia? that smells of independence and victory.

Australia is part of the Commonwealth of Nations. That

National Language Day Moldova - Aug 31

National Language Day (Romanian: Limba noastră) is a public holiday in Moldova and is observed on August 31.

Overview

On August 27, 1989, the Popular Front of Moldova organized a mass demonstration in Chişinău, that became known as the Great National Assembly, which pressured the authorities of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic to adopt a language law on August 31, 1989 that proclaimed the Moldovan language written in the Latin script to be the state language of the MSSR. Its identity with the Romanian language was also established. The date has been a national holiday ever since.

In the main square of Chişinău a concert is organized featuring the performances of various national entertainers. Normally the stage is not dismantled since Independence Day which takes place on August 27th.

means that, although Australia is a wholly separate and independent nation from the U.K., the British royalty serves as its royalty, too. In other words, Queen Elizabeth II is not just the Queen of England, she is the Queen of Australia, too. Therefore, Princess Di (as she was often called) was a princess of Australia.

(Other Commonwealth realms include Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. There are 16 Commonwealth realms in all.)

Princess Diana was widely thought of as classy and fash-

ionable, caring and kind. She once said, “Being a princess isn't all it's cracked up to be.” Indeed, her days as a princess were not happy, and her fame likely brought her more problems than joys. On the other hand, of course she adored her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry!

HUNGARY National Day Malaysia - Aug 31

J a pa n, H unga r y a gr e e t o s t r e ngt he n e c onom ic t ie s

PM Orban speech and cabinet meeting in Székesfehérvár

Hari Merdeka (Independence Day) is a national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957, celebrated on August 31 each year. In a wider context, it is to celebrate the formation of Malaysia.

History

The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British in London for Merdeka, or independence along with the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress TunV.T. Sambanthan.

Once it became increasingly clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, for a number of logistical and administrative reasons, it was decided that the official proclamation of independence would only be made the next year, on August 31, 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur.

31, 1957 August On the night of August 30, 1957, crowds gathered at the Royal Se-

langor Club Padang in Kuala Lumpur to witness the handover of power from the British. Prime Minister-designate Tunku Abdul Rahman arrived at 11:58 pm and joined members of the Alliance Party's youth divisions in observing two minutes of darkness. On the stroke of midnight, the lights were switched back on, and the- A man is thrown into the air by a Union Flag in the square was lowered. The new Flag of Malaya crowd during Merdeka Day celebrawas raised as the national anthem Negaraku was played. This was tions in Merdeka Square, Kuala followed by seven chants of 'Merdeka' by the crowd. Tunku Abdul Rahman gave a speech hailing the ceremony as "greatest moment Lumpur, 2008 in the life of the Malayan people".

On the morning of Saturday, August 31, 1957, the festivities moved to the newly-completed Merdeka Stadium. More than 20,000 people witnessed the ceremony, which began at 9:30 am. Those in attendance included rulers of the Malay states, foreign dignitaries, members of the federal cabinet and citizens. The Queen's representative, the Duke of Gloucester presented Tunku Abdul Rahman with the instrument of independence. Tunku then proceeded to read the Proclamation of Independence, which culminated in the chanting of 'Merdeka' seven times with the crowd joining in. The ceremony continued with the raising of the National Flag of Malaya accompanied by the national anthem being played and a 21-gun salute, followed by an azan call and a thanksgiving prayer in honor of this great occasion.

Attendees

Members of royal families:

• • • •

The King and Queen of Thailand The Crown Prince and Princess of Japan The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (representing The Queen) Prince William of Gloucester

• • • • • • • •

The Prime Minister of South Africa, Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom The Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy The Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Van Dong The Prime Minister of Ceylon, Solomon Bandaranaike The Prime Minister of Burma, U Nu The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Sim Var The United States Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles (representing US President Dwight D. Eisen hower)

Heads of government:

Representatives from other British colonies:

• • •

The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Alexander Grantham The Chief Minister of Singapore, Lim Yew Hock The High Commissioners of Australia, Canada and New Zealand in Malaya

• • •

Sir Gerald Templer (former British High Commissioner in Malaya) and Lady Templer Lady Gurney (wife of former British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir Henry Gurney) Lady Gent (wife of former British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir Edward Gent)

Members of the former British colonial administration:

The formation of Malaysia

The Federation of Malaysia, comprising the States of Malaya, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore was to be officially declared on the date August 31, 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to September 16, 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines' opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Nevertheless, North Borneo and Singapore declared sovereignty on August 31, 1963.

Indonesian opposition later escalated to a military conflict. Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations, and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, were formed to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.

The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963 as Malaysia Day. The nationwide Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date of Malaya, while Malaysia Day is a public holiday only in East Malaysia. However, this has caused some minor discontent among East Malaysians in particular since it has been argued that celebrating the national day on August 31 is too Malayacentric. In 2009, it was decided that starting 2010, Malaysia Day would be a nationwide public holiday in addition to Hari Merdeka on August 31.

THiS ARTiCLE CONTRiBuTED By COL. MuHAMMAD AzHAR zAiNAL ABiDiN, MALAySiAN DEFENSE ATTACHE TO PAKiSTAN

Hungary commemorates day of the victims of totalitarian dictatorships

Photo: Mate Nagy (Online 23 Aug) conference with Japanese Foreign Martonyi after Fumio their meeting in Minister Kishida and his the Hungarian Hungarian coun- capital.

Janos After the talks, the terpart Martonyi agreed foreign ministers in Budapest on also signed a soto cial security acFriday strengthen eco- cord so Japanese nomic coopera- citizens residing in tion, particularly in Hungary and the field of energy, Hungarian citiin the hope of pro- zens residing in moting nuclear in- Japan do not f r a s t r u c t u r e have to pay health from insurance exports and Japan. pension premiThe agreement ums in both councomes as Hun- tries. gary plans to ex- The accord pand its Paks comes in repower sponse to the innuclear plant by building creasing number additional reac- of Japanese comtors, with Japan panies operating aiming to use the in Hungary, curpotential nuclear rently standing at exports to help over 130. boost its econ- At a separate omy. meeting on Fri"We intend to con- day, Kishida and tribute to enhanc- Hungarian Prime ing nuclear safety Minister Victor in Hungary by Orban confirmed providing Japan- the premier's inese technology tention to visit that is at the high- Japan in the fall, est level in the probably in NoKishida vember, accordworld," told a joint news ing to Japanese

officials.

Through the talks, Kishida is hoping to strengthen ties with Eastern Europe as Hungary currently chairs four-nation the Visegrad Group that also includes the Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

On Friday, Kisida Martonyi and agreed to hold a national security seminar between Japan and the Visegrad Group in Tokyo in February, with Japan hoping to increase its inamid fluence China's growing clout in Eastern Europe.

Saturday, On Kishida is scheduled to visit a car plant run by a Motor Suzuki Corp. subsidiary in the country before heading to Ukraine, where he will tour Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, on Sunday.

For e ign A f f a ir s C ounc il m e e ting s uc c e s s f ul: M inis t e r Ma r t ony i

Photo: Ernő Horváth (Online 23 Aug) speeches at the People gathered ceremony. the This is the first Reoutside "House of Terror" membrance Day museum in Bu- on which the vicdapest today to tims of commulight candles in nism and the commemoration Holocaust are reof the victims of membered at the totalitarian dicta- same time, the torships. Parlia- State Secretary mentary State e m p h a s i s e d , Secretary of the adding that desigMinistry of Public nating such a day A d m i n i s t r a t i o n in Europe has and Justice Bence been of paraRétvári and Vice- mount importance Chair of the Par- both for Hungary l i a m e n t a r y and Central EuCommittee for rope. Mr. Ágh Youth, Social, stated that dictaFamily and Hous- torships destroyed ing Affairs Péter the 20th century Ágh participated and this is why it is and held important to "bow

tional Economy, those losing their jobs have good chances to find new employment within one or two months. A total of 545 people including 101 Slovak nationals will be dismissed from the solar panel manufacturing

our heads" before all of the victims of those regimes.

In 2011, following a Polish-Hungarian-Lithuanian initiative, EU justice ministers established August 23, the day the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed in 1939, as the Remembrance Day to commemorate the victims of totalitarian regimes. The European Day of Remembrance was observed for the first time in 2011.

plant due to its Sanyo closure.

Hungary, a member of the Panagroup, sonic the announced clocompany’s sure in early July

by May 2014, citing a drop in demand for solar panels in Europe.

Minister Varga initiated negotiations with ISD Dunaferr

(Online 21 Aug) Minister of National Economy Mihály Varga has officially initiated negotiations related to the purchase of ISD Dunaferr.

The Minister announced that

today he sent an official letter to CEO Evgeny Tankhilevich informing him that the Hungarian Government has appointed Mr Varga as lead negotiator and requested the CEO

to inform the owners about the Government’s intent to purchase the company. The Ministry of National Economy hopes for negotiations to be launched soon.

Hungary should look to East for export boost: Peter Szijjarto

(Online 22 Aug) To boost its exports Hungary must reduce the country’s exposure to EU markets and turn to fast-growing countries in the East, the state secretary for foreign trade said on Thursday.

Peter Szijjarto, speaking at a roundtable discussion at the Transit public youth festival in Koszeg in western Hungary, noted that over 75 percent of Hungary’s exports reach EU markets. But 82 percent of Hungary’s exports come from foreignowned companies, and

Hungarian small and medium-sized firms have only limited access to markets in fastgrowing China, India and the Arab world. So the government aims to help more domestic businesses access these markets by redesigning the system of Hungarian diplomatic and trade missions abroad.

Still, economic relations with the EU and the United States remain highly important, Szijjarto said, noting the government’s strategic agreements with several foreignowned multina-

tional companies in Hungary.

Istvan Ujhelyi, the deputy speaker of parliament for the opposition Socialists, said his party agreed with the government’s policy of boosting economic relations with China, India and Russia.

Ujhelyi urged a long-term economic strategy spanning government cycles. The Socialist party, however, supports building targeted business relations with regions and cities rather than overarching bilateral agreements, he added.

H unga r y m a y m a k e m or t ga ge c onv e r s ions a ut om a t ic , of f ic ia l s a y s (Online 22 Aug) Hungary’s government is considering automatically converting as much as $8 billion worth of foreigncurrency mortgages into forint loans, an official said, in a pre-elec-

tion push to relieve pressure on borrowers.

The government and central bank may contribute to a plan that seeks to cut both principal and interest payments, Economy Ministry State

Secretary Gabor Orban said in an interview published today by Budapest-based magazine Heti Valasz. Borrowers may choose to opt out, he said.

State Secretary Szijjártó discussed the opening to the East at Tranzit Festival (Online 22 Aug) To boost its exports Hungary must reduce the country's exposure to EU markets and turn to fast-growing countries in the East, State Secretary for External Economic Relations and Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion at the Transit Festival in Kőszeg, the State Secretary noted that

over 75 percent of Hungary's exports reach EU markets.

But 82 percent of Hungary's exports come from foreignowned companies, and Hungarian small and medium-sized firms have only limited access to markets in fast-growing China, India and the Arab world. Therefore the Government aims to help more domestic businesses access

was attended by members of Government, opposition party MPs and representatives of Hungary's historic Churches.

Székesfehérvár is known as the coronation city of Hungarian kings.

37 kings were in crowned Székesfehérvár’s Basilica 15 of whom were also buried there after deaths. their

Photo: Gergely Botár Székesfehérvár CserAndrás laid Palkovics wreaths at the king’s tomb. Despite the bank holthe iday, Government also held a cabinet meeting in the city on Monday.

In his speech, the Minister Prime stated that „we are

ter pointed out that Saint Stephen was not only a great leader but a good husband and father, referring to the remonstrance he wrote to his Prince son, Emeric, in which he gave him advice on how to become a good leader. The event

Tuesday, on the country’s National Day, the founding of the Hungarian State is celebrated along with Saint Stephen as its first king. Numerous official and family programs will take place, with fireworks concluding the festivities.

National Day celebrations across the country

Government offers assistance to dismissed Sanyo employees

(Online 21 Aug) The government has earmarked 85 forints million (EUR 284,000) to help the workers by dismissed Sanyo’s plant in Dorog to find new jobs.

Under the scheme administered by the Ministry of Na-

Photo: Gergely Botár (Online 20 Aug) gathered here Prime Minister Vik- today in memory tor Orbán gave a of our founding in king”. He referred speech Székesfehérvár to Saint Stephen on Monday, hon- as the first true ouring the 2013 statesman of HunSaint Stephen Me- gary and emphamorial Year, which sised that he had c o m m e m o r a t e s strengthened ties the first Hungarian between the peoking’s legacy on ple, keeping the the 975th anniver- nation from falling sary of his death. apart.

Without to the him, we would not Prior speech, the Prime be standing here and today, he added.

Minister of The Prime MinisMayor

these markets by redesigning the system of Hungarian diplomatic and trade missions abroad.

Still, economic relations with the EU and the United States remain highly important, Mr Szijjártó stated, noting the Government's strategic agreements with several foreign-owned multinational companies in Hungary.

(Online 22 Aug) At their extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, while keeping in mind the needs of the Egyptian people the EU Foreign Affairs Council has decided to continue providing financial assistance within the socio-economic sector to Egyptian civil society. However, the EU will monitor the situation and re-adjust its cooperation accordingly, and the Council has asked the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton to review the issue of EU assistance to Egypt within the framework of neighbour policy and the association agreement between Egypt and the EU. The member states also agreed to suspend export licences to Egypt for any equipment which might be used for internal repression, and to review their security cooperation with Cairo. The

adopted document states that the recent operations of the Egyptian security forces have been disproportionate and have resulted in an unacceptably large number of deaths and injuries.

Foreign Minister János Martonyi represented Hungary at the extraordinary meeting of the Council in Brussels. The Hungarian Foreign Minister declared that the meeting was successful because the member states were able to adopt a unified position on Egypt.

He underlined that the European Union had a special role and responsibility in Egypt, because the EU is the country's most important partner in trade, investment and tourism.

János Martonyi pointed out: the fact that the EU constrongly demned the destruction of many churches and the targeting of the Coptic community

was of great significance and was „a matter of principle” for Hungary and several other member states. „The Coptic community has 10-12 million members, and it seems that whenever things turn bad, they are assigned the role of the scapegoat” – said the Hungarian Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister János Martonyi claimed that although the adopted document did not state it explicitly, the EU sent a clear signal to the Egyptian government: the military should exercise self-restraint and should not use force in a disproportionate manner. „It is unacceptable to handle any political dispute or demonstration in such a manner” – Minister Martonyi He stressed. noted that the EU should not take sides in this conflict but should facilitate the finding of a political solution between the opposing parties.

Photo: Gergely Botár (Online 21 Aug) ernments have The founding of sent their greetHungarian ings to Hungary on the State and the the occasion of the legacy of Saint country’s National Stephen is com- Day, including US memorated today Secretary of State across the whole John Kerry, who country, under the extended warm slogan “The coun- wishes on behalf try – together as of President Various Barack one”.

Obama events and con- and the people of certs are taking the United States. place not only in In his letter, he Budapest but also stated that the in several munici- „tradition of rearound gional leadership palities Balaton. lives on as HunLake However, due to gary holds the adverse weather presidency of the conditions at the Visegrad Group Lake, fireworks will this year and Hunonly take place in garian troops have Budapest. The or- served in joint ganisers expect NATO missions hundreds of thou- from Kosovo to

the international field. This year of those one awarded was Mr. Alexandre Lámfalussy, internafinancial tional expert, who left Hungary in 1949 following the Communist takeover.

He is also known as the founding president of the European Monetary Institute, the forerunner of the European Central Bank, where he was charged with constructing the operational framework for a single European monetary policy. For his work, he is widely considered “the fa-

H unga r y s t r ongly hope f ul of r e s olv ing f unding is s ue wit h EU Photo: Gergely Botár

(Online 22 Aug) Hungary's 2013 will not go unaffected by the EU's temporary suspension of funding for 13 operative programs, Deputy State Secretary Péter Banai admitted in the Economy Ministry's online press conference.

Banai, who is in charge of budgetary issues, said he was hopeful of successful talks between Hungary's delegation leader János Lázár and EU officials in Brussels, eventually leading to the payment of overdue transfers by the European Commission. The Deputy State Secretary also discussed Hungary's US dollar bond issue plans in the press conference.

Suspended EU funds "For certain operative programs, there was a budget revenue shortfall in July," Banai said in reply to Portfolio.hu during the press conference. The question concerned the impact of the temporary suspension of EU funds on Hungary's 2013 budget. The unexpected suspension is not resulting in an increase in budget spending, as payments due to recipients were already included the expenditure side, Banai added, explaining that only the financing structure is affected by the EU decision.

In the latest Economy Ministry report on government finances, the ministry noted that transfer received

from the EU covered 71.7% of the subsidies paid to recipients in the seven months to July 2013. Hungary's failure to receive full EU funding is causing temporary disruptions in the transfers between national accounts and the European Union, the report said.

In reply to other press queries into budget financing structure, Banai said the government is planning to bridge the financing gap with additional bond issues. The suspension of funding for 13 out of 15 programs "is only temporary, with ongoing talks between the European Commission and Hungary's government in order to resolve the issue," Banai emphasized.

"I strongly hope that once the negotiations are concluded, the payments suspended by the European Union will be transferred before the end of the year." If so, the suspension will pose only shortterm liquidity mana g e m e n t challenges rather than one spanning two fiscal years, Banai explained.

According to the Deputy State Secretary, once talks with the Commission are concluded, the financing side of the budget could return to normal.

In earler news, head of the National Development Bureau János Lázár is meeting EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn on 9th September. It

was during a 2012 audit that the EU found shortcomings in Hungary's financial controls system, which led to the suspension of funding for several programs. It is expected that the EU will fine Hungary, the size of the penalty is uncertain (it is estimated at HUF 50 billion to HUF 100 billion).

On USD bonds Based on the comments made

by State Secretary Gábor Orbán in an interview published on Thursday by weekly Heti Válasz, Hungary is gearing up for another US dollar bond issue.

Orbán claimed this is necessary for Hungary to be able to replenish depleted foreign currency reserves.

The subject also came up in the ministry's online press conference on Thursday afternoon, where Deputy State Secretary Péter Banai claimed "Hungary needs no US dollar bond issue in order to renew debt expiring in 2013." "The year 2014 will see approximately EUR 1 billion worth of foreign currency bonds expire, something Hungary is planning to refinance tapping new foreign currency resources.

Thus, if there is a US dollar bond issue, its purpose will be to refinance bonds expiring next year.

This clearly shows that any future issues are unrelated to the early repayment of IMF loans," he added.

Azerbaijan, Hungary seek to boost agricultural coop (Online 22 Aug) The AzerbaijaniHungarian relations are at a high level and are based on respect, friendship and mutual interests.

The high-level relations between the two countries pave the way for the development of cooperation in

economics and other fields.

Moreover, Azerbaijan and Hungary have great opportunities for the expansion of economic cooperation, establishment of relations between the players of the securities market as well as exchange

of experience and knowledge in this sector.

A trading house was established in Azerbaijan in 2012 to develop the country’s cooperation with medium-sized businesses from Hungary.

sands of people from both within and outside the country.

Celebrations began this morning with the official military parade at Heroes' Square, honouring Hungary’s national flag, followed by the annual inauguration of military officers, where both President of Hungary János Áder and Minister of Defence Csaba

Afghanistan and beyond.

The United States looks forward to continuing our work in pursuit of common goals.”

Later today, President Áder also presented the awards of the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen in the presence of Prime Minister Orbán and other public dignitaries, recognising the most outstanding

ther of the Euro.”

As will be the case at all similar events in future, the security of the August 20th celebrations is provided by the recently established Operative Unit, which coordinates security operations involving the police, the meteorological service, ambulance and disaster management services, who will be on

Photo: Gergely Botár Hende held speeches.

Officials from several foreign gov-

achievements, ex- duty until the end emplary life's work of the last proand significant gram. merits acquired in

H u n g a r y ’s e c o n o m y m a k e s p o s i t i v e U - Tu r n (Online 23 Aug) As a result of the Government measures introduced over the past three years Hungary has begun a period of sustainable economic growth. With the early repayment of the IMF loan, Hungary has proven to be an economically independent country which can finance itself from the markets.

This achievement is even more remarkable given the fact that during this process Hungary has succeeded in emerging from recession in a t e c h n i c a l sense.Minister of State for Taxation and Monetary Affairs Gábor Orbán announced that economic policy has been heading in the right direction, structural reforms are not needed – some comprehensive changes are about to be completed – and no structural modifications can be expected. Currently, the Government is focusing on maintaining a sustainable economic growth model. In Hungary, the number of people in employment has been increasing steadily and the purchasing power of wages has been preserved. Thanks to the Government policy aimed at easing the financial burden on households, it has been forty years since the inflation rate has been this low for this long.

Hungary also emerged from recession in a technical sense: in the second quarter of 2013, in line with analysts’ expectations, Hungary’s economy grew by 0.5 percent in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. Another key

factor is expected to be the change in household consumption: the cutting of public utility tariffs and low inflation are anticipated to boost consumption.

The fact that compared to the same period of the previous year retail sales were up by 3.5 percent and 2.2 percent in April and May 2013, respectively, forecasts an increase for the entire year. The fact that the Job Protection Action Plan has assisted the employment of 730 thousand people with grim labour market prospects due to their age or other conditions in the first half of this year shows the success of this scheme.

Among the employees subsidised by contribution allowances are 356 thousand people above the age of 55 years, 30 percent of the total (220 thousand people) work in unskilled jobs, 16 percent (115 thousand people) are under the age of 25 years, 4 percent (30 thousand people) are mothers with small children and 2 percent (11 thousand people) were long-term unemployed.

As a result of the Government objectives facilitating economic growth, Hungary has a growing number of positive economic indicators. In contrast to European trends, the number of those in employment has been steadily rising; in the second quarter of 2013 3 million 931 thousand people were in employment, up by 55 thousand compared to the level one year ago. According to

statistics by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), in Q2 2013 the employment rate among those aged 15-74 years was up by 0.9 percentage points compared to the same period of 2012, while in the 15-64 age bracket an improvement of 1.1 percentage points was registered.

The Government has also prioritised the issue of women’s employment, as a consequence of which the employment rate for women is at a 20year peak after Hungary recorded the fourth largest increase in the EU within this field. In the 15-64 age group, 1 million 786 thousand women were in employment as the respective employment rate edged up by 0.2 percentage points to 52.4 percent. In Hungary, there were 190 thousand mothers with children under the age of 6 years last year, 15 thousand more than in the previous year and the highest figure since 2005.

Consistently improving industrial output is also anticipated to contribute to Hungary’s economic upturn. In light of data adjusted for workday effects, industrial production in June 2013 was up by 1.7 percentage points compared to the level of June 2012, while the respective figure increased by 1.2 percentage points in comparison to May. Thus, Hungary has succeeded in concurrently establishing financial stability and putting the economy onto a path of positive growth.