Grand Duke's BirthdayL u x e m b o u r g - J u n 2 3

The Grand Duke's Official Birthday (French: Célébrationpublique de l'anniversaire du souverain) is celebrated asthe annual national holiday of Luxembourg. It is celebratedon 23 June, although this has never been the actual birth-day of any ruler of Luxembourg. When the monarch of Lux-embourg is female, it is known as the Grand Duchess'sOfficial Birthday.

Development of the holidayThe monarch's birthday has not always been celebrated on23 June. Under William I (1815–40), the date was 24 April(although his actual birthday was 25 August), and underWilliam II (1840–1849), it was 6 December, his actual birth-day. This change created the strange situation of celebrat-ing two Grand Ducal birthdays in 1840. Under William III(1849–90), the date was set at 17 June until 1859, after which, his birthday was celebrated on 19 February: twodays after his actual birthday.With the separation of the orders of succession, the Dutch and Luxembourgois thrones split in 1890. The Nassau-Weilburg monarchs celebrated their Official Birthdays on their actual birthdays. In 1947, the day was declared the'national holiday'. As both the reigning Charlotte and the Heir Apparent (and regent) Jean were born in January, itwas feared that their actual birthdays, therefore the nation's holiday, would be marred by poor weather. Thus, on 23December 1961, the date was fixed on 23 June by Grand Ducal decree.

Ligo DayL a t v i a - J u n 2 3

Jāņi (pronounced is a Latvian festival held in the nightfrom 23 June to 24 June to celebrate the summer sol-stice (Midsummer), the shortest night and longest dayof the year. The day of Līgo (23 June) and the day ofJāņi (pronounced (24 June) are public holidays, andpeople usually spend them in the countryside. Thefestival's eveJāņu vakars) is held in the evening of 23June and goes on all through the night Jāņu nakts,where people Līgo (sway) into the following day.Jāņi is an ancient festival originally celebrated in ho-nour a Latvian pagan deity Jānis, referred to as a"Son of God" in some ancient Latvian folksongs. Jānisis also traditionally the most common of Latvian malegiven names, corresponding to English name John,and everybody of the name Jānis holds a specialhonor on this day (Jāņi is a plural form of Jānis) andwears an oak wreath. Besides John, the name ofJānis is also etymologically linked with other namesof various nations, such as Aeneas, Dionysus,Jonash, Jan, Jean, Johan, João, Ian, Ivan, Huan, andHan.The festival's current date has shifted a few days from 21 June/22June when the summer solstice actually takes place due to itssomewhat incongruous association with Saint John the Baptist'sfeast day, which falls on 24 June. Still, traditions of Jāņi containno reference to Christianity or any Christian symbolism.Jāņi is thought to be the time when the forces of nature are attheir most powerful, and the boundaries between the physical andspiritual worlds are thinnest. In the past, evil witches were be-lieved to be riding around, so people decorated their houses andlands with rowan branches and thorns in order to protect them-selves from evil. In modern days other traditional decorations aremore popular, including birch or sometimes oak branches andflowers as well as leaves, especially ferns. Women wear wreathsmade from flowers; in rural areas livestock is also decorated.Jāņi also is thought to be the perfect time to gather herbs, because it is believed that they then have magical powerson this day. Other practices of magic in Jāņi vary from fortune-telling to ensuring productivity of crops, as well aslivestock fertility. A well-known part of this celebration is searching for the mythical fern flower, though some suggestthat the fern flower is a symbol of secret knowledge; today it is almost always synonymous with having sexual rela-tionships. Young couples traditionally search for the flower and many believe there is an increase in births ninemonths later. (In the past, this timing was ideal for farmers.)Another important detail is fire: A festival fire must be kept from sunset till sunrise, and various kinds of flaming lightsources are used; usually these are bonfires, which traditionally people jump over to ensure prosperity and fertility.Traditional food during Jāņi is a special type of cheese with carawayseeds, made out of curd, and the traditionaldrink is beer. Many people make the cheese of Jāņi themselves; a few also make their own beer.Representatives of Latvian Emergency services often warn that Jāņi can be harmful to health because of the amountsof food and alcoholic beverages consumed, as well as maltreated fires. Additionally, accounts of drinking and drivingare higher on this day than of any other in the year.

Ligo Day Festival

Midsummer Party - Jun 23D e n m a r k , N o r w a y

Midsummer day simply refer to the period of time centeredupon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specificEuropean celebrations that accompany the actual solstice,or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24,and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary betweendifferent cultures. Midsummer is especially important in thecultures of Scandinavia and Latvia where it is the most cel-ebrated holiday apart from Christmas.

BackgroundEuropean midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and cel-ebrations are pre-Christian in origin. They are particularlyimportant in Northern Europe - Sweden, Norway, Denmark,Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania – but are also foundin Germany, Ireland, parts ofBritain (Cornwall especially),France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, other partsof Europe, and elsewhere - such as Canada, the UnitedStates, Puerto Rico, and also in the Southern Hemisphere (mostly in Brazil, Argentina and Australia), where this im-ported European celebration would be more appropriately called Midwinter.Midsummer is also sometimes referred to by Neopagans and others as Litha, stemming from Bede's De temporumratione which provides Anglo-Saxon names for the months roughly corresponding to June and July as "se ÆrraLiþa" and "se Æfterra Liþa" (the "early Litha month" and the "later Litha month") with an intercalary month of "Liþa"appearing after se Æfterra Liþa on leap years. The fire festival or Lith- Summer solstice is a tradition for many pa-gans.Solstice celebrations still center around the day of the astronomical summer solstice. Some choose to hold the riteon the 21st of June, even when this is not the longest day of the year, and some celebrate June 24, the day of thesolstice in Roman times.Although Midsummer is originally a pagan holiday, in Christianity it is associated with the nativity of John the Baptist,which is observed on the same day, June 24, in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant churches. It is sixmonths before Christmas because Luke1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that John the Baptist was born six months earlierthan Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened.In Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Quebec (Canada), the traditional Midsummer day, June 24, is a public holiday. Soit was formerly also in Sweden and Finland, but in thesecountries it was, in the 1950s, moved to the Saturday be-tween June 19 and June 26.

HistoryThe celebration of Midsummer's Eve (St. John's Eve amongChristians) was from ancient times a festival of the summersolstice. Some people believed that golden-flowered mid-summer plants, especially Calendula, and St. John's Wort,had miraculous healing powers and they therefore pickedthem on this night. Bonfires were lit to protect against evilspirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun wasturning southwards again. In later years, witches were alsothought to be on their way to meetings with other powerfulbeings.In Sweden, Mid-summer celebration originates from thetime before Christianity; it was celebrated as a sacrifice time in the sign of the fertility.The solstice itself has remained a special moment of the annual cycle of the year since Neolithic times. The concen-tration of the observance is not on the day as we reckon it, commencing at midnight or at dawn, as it is customaryfor cultures following lunar calendars to place the beginning of the day on the previous eve at dusk at the momentwhen the Sun has set. In Sweden, Finland and Estonia, Midsummer's Eve is the greatest festival of the year, com-parable only with Walpurgis Night, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve.In the 7th century, Saint Eligius (died 659/60) warned the recently converted inhabitants of Flanders against the age-old pagan solstice celebrations. According to the Vita by his companion Ouen, he'd say: "No Christian on the feastof Saint John or the solemnity of any other saint performs solestitia [summer solstice rites] or dancing or leaping ordiabolical chants."As Christianity entered pagan areas, midsummer celebrations came to be often borrowed and transferred into newChristian holidays, often resulting in celebrations that mixed Christian traditions with traditions derived from paganMidsummer festivities. The 13th-century monk of Winchcomb, Gloucestershire, who compiled a book of sermonsfor the feast days, recorded how St. John's Eve was celebrated in his time:Let us speak of the revels which are accustomed to be made on St. John's Eve, of which there are three kinds. OnSt. John's Eve in certain regions the boys collect bones and certain other rubbish, and burn them, and therefrom asmoke is produced on the air. They also make brands and go about the fields with the brands. Thirdly, the wheelwhich they roll.The fires, explained the monk of Winchcombe, were to drive away dragons, which were abroad on St. John's Eve,poisoning springs and wells. The wheel that was rolled downhill he gave its explicitly solstitial explanation:The wheel is rolled to signify that the sun then rises to the highest point of its circle and at once turns back; thenceit comes that the wheel is rolled.On St John's Day 1333 Petrarch watched women at Cologne rinsing their hands and arms in the Rhine "so that thethreatening calamities of the coming year might be washed away by bathing in the river."

DenmarkIn Denmark, the solstitial celebration is called Sankt Hans aften ("St. John's Eve"). It was an official holiday until1770, and in accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, ittakes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of thattime) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire toward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songsare traditional, although bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be close by (i.e. on theshores of lakes and other waterways, parks, etc.) In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth(probably made by the elder women of the family) on the bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witchburnings from 1540 to 1693. This burning sends the "witch" away to Bloksbjerg, the Brocken mountain in the Harzregion of Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held on this day. Some Danes regard the rel-atively new symbolic witch burning as inappropriate.In 1885 Holger Drachmann wrote a midsommervise (Midsummer hymn) called "Vi elsker vort land..."("We Love OurCountry") that is sung with a melody composed by P.E. Lange-Müller at every bonfire on this evening.

NorwayAs in Denmark, Sankthansaften is celebrated on June 23 in Norway. The day is also called Jonsok, which means"John's wake", important in Roman Catholic times with pilgrimages to churches and holy springs. For instance, upuntil 1840 there was a pilgrimage to the stave church in Røldal (southwest Norway) whose crucifix was said to havehealing powers. Today, however,Sankthansaften is largely regarded as a secular or even pre-Christian event.In most places the main event is the burning of a large bonfire. In parts of Norway a custom of arranging mock mar-riages, both between adults and between children, is still kept alive. The wedding was meant to symbolize the blos-soming of new life. Such weddings are known to have taken place in the 1800s, but the custom is believed to beolder.It is also said that if a girl puts flowers under her pillow that night, she will dream of her future husband.

Victory DayE s t o n i a - J u n 2 3

Võidupüha or Victory Day is a public holiday inEstonia, which has been celebrated on 23 Juneevery year since 1934. The date recalls the vic-tory in the 1919 Battle of Võnnu (near Cēsis,Latvia) of the Estonian military forces and theirallies over German forces (Baltische Lan-deswehr) who sought to re-assert Baltic-Ger-man control over the region. The battle was partof the 1918-1920 Estonian War of Independ-ence, where the main adversary of the newly in-dependent Estonia was Communist Russia.Today, Võidupüha also marks the contributionsof all Estonian nations in their fight to regain andretain their independence.Estonian celebration of June 23 is ceremoniallytied to the following Midsummer Day celebra-tions on June 24. According to Estonian laws,the state flags are not to be lowered during thenight between the days.

Battle of Carabobo DayVenezuela - J u n 2 4

The Battle of Carabobo, 24 June 1821, was foughtbetween independence fighters, led by Simón Bolí-var, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish FieldMarshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victoryat Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuela.

HistoryThe Royalists occupied the road leading from Valen-cia to Puerto Cabello. As Bolívar's force of 6,500 ap-proached the Royalist position, Bolívar divided hisforce and sent half on a flanking maneuver throughrough terrain and dense foliage. De la Torre likewisesplit his force and sent half to deal with this flank at-tack. Hitting the Patriots with musket fire, the Royal-ists held back the attack for a while. The Venezuelaninfantry failed and retreated, but the men of the"British Legions", among them many members of theformer King's German Legion, fought hard and tookthe hills. They sustained about 50% of Bolívar's casualties. The Patriots eventually broke through the Royalist lineson the flank and marched towards the rear of de La Torre's force. The Spanish infantry formed squares and foughtto the end under the attack of the Patriot cavalry. The rout was so bad that only some 400 of one infantry regimentmanaged to reach safety at Puerto Cabello. With the main Royalist force in Venezuela crushed, independence wasensured. Subsequent battles included a key naval victory for the independence forces on 24 July 1823 at the Battleof Lake Maracaibo and in November 1823 José Antonio Páez occupied Puerto Cabello, the last Royalist strongholdin Venezuela.

Commemoration24 June is celebrated as Battle of Carabobo Day .This day is also called "Army Day" in Venezuela.

Countryman's DayPeru - J u n 2 4

Celebrated every year on June 24, Countryman’s Day isone of the most fascinating festivals of South America.Better known as Inti Raymi or The Festival of the Sun, it’scelebrated all over Peru. The festival occurs during thewinter solstice in Cuzco wherein people gather togetherto pray to the sun god to provide them with good crops.

HistoryAfter the Spanish invaded Peru, Viceroy Francisco deToledo abolished the Peruvian’s ancient ritual in the year1572, citing that the ritual sacrifice of a llama to a godwas against the tenants of the Catholic Church. As a re-sult, the celebrations moved into the underground.The practice managed to survive, reaching its modernform we see today. In fact, Initi Raymi is the secondlargest festival in South America. Thousands gather inthe ancient city of Cuzo from all over the world for thisvery colorful festival, making it a major tourist attraction.In the modern day festival a huge stage act of the Incan ritual is enacted. Hundred of stage actors from all over thecountry are brought in and are auditioned to represent various historical figures. The roles of the Sapa Inca and hiswife the Mama Occla are considered to be of great honor.The rituals start with a prayer to the Qorikancha square in front of the Santo Domingo church, which was built overthe ancient Temple of the Sun. The Sapa Inca invokes the blessings of the Sun and then he carried on golden throneto ancient fortress of Sacsayhuaman along with the several high priests.The Sapa Inca climbs on the sacred altar, followed by speeches from the priests and representatives of the Suyos.Once this is complete, a white llama is “sacrificed”, enacted in a very realistic fashion with its “heart” held out inhonor of Pachamama. The priests read the blood stains to see what the future holds for the Inca’s. As the sun beginsto set, the Sapa Inca and the priests are carried on to Cuzco where several straw fires are set up and people dancearound and celebrate in joy.

CelebrationsCountryman’s Day is also celebrated as Indians Day or Peasants Day.

Discovery Day(Newfoundland & Labrador)

Canada - J u n 2 4Discovery Day is the name of several holidays commemorating the dis-covery of land, gold, and other significant national discoveries.

HistoryIn Yukon, Canada Discovery Day is a public holiday on the third Mondayin August commemorating the anniversary of the discovery of gold in 1896,which started the Klondike Gold Rush.In Newfoundland and Labrador, it is observed on the Monday nearest June24 and commemorates John Cabot's discovery in 1497.

Féte Nationale (Quebec)Canada - J u n 2 4

In Quebec, June 24 or Quebec's National Holiday, St.John the Baptist Day is officially a paid statutory publicholiday covered under the Act Respecting Labour Stan-dards. In 1977, an Order in Council by Lieutenant Gov-ernor Hugues Lapointe, on the advice of René Lévesque,declared June 24 the national holiday in Quebec.The following year, the National Holiday Organizing Com-mittee was created. The committee initially entrusted theorganization of the events to the Société des festivalspopulaires du Québec. In 1984, on the occasion of the150th anniversary of the SSJB, the organization of thecelebrations was entrusted to the Mouvement nationaldes Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ).After it became a statutory holiday, June 24 was officiallya holiday for all Quebecers rather than only those ofFrench-Canadian or Catholic origins. Celebrations weregradually secularized, primarily due to actions taken bythe MNQ, and June 23 and 24 became as we now knowthem. While the religious significance of the civic celebration is gone, the day remains popularly called la St-Jean-Baptiste or simply la St-Jean and is still observed in churches.In 2010, Franco-Ontarian New Democratic MP Claude Gravelle introduced a private member's bill in the House ofCommons to recognize St John the Baptist Day as a federal holiday in Canada.

Midsummer Festival (St John's Day )Latvia, Estonia - J u n 2 4

LatviaIn Latvia, Midsummer is called Jāņi (Jānis being Latvianfor John) or Līgo svētki (svētki = festival). It is a nationalholiday celebrated on a large scale by almost everyonein Latvia and by people of Latvian origin abroad. Cele-brations consist of a lot of traditional and mostly Paganelements - eating Jāņu cheese, drinking beer, singinghundreds of Latvian folk songs dedicated to Jāņi, burningbonfire to keep light all through the night and jumpingover it, wearing wreaths of flowers (for the women) andleaves (for the men) together with modern commercialproducts and ideas. Oak wreaths are worn by mennamed Jānis in honor of their name day. Small oakbranches with leaves are attached to cars in Latvia duringthe festivity. Jāņi has been a strong aspect of Latvian cul-ture throughout history, originating in pre-Christian Latvia.In the western town of Kuldīga, revellers mark the holidayby running naked through the town at three in the morning. The event has taken place for the past seven years.Runners are rewarded with beer, and police are on hand in case any "puritans" attempt to interfere with the nakedrun.

Estonia"Jaanipäev" ("John's Day" in English) was celebratedlong before the arrival of Christianity in Estonia, althoughthe day was given its name by the crusaders. The arrivalof Christianity, however, did not end pagan beliefs andfertility rituals surrounding this holiday. In 1578, BalthasarRussow wrote in his Livonian Chronicle about Estonianswho placed more importance on the festival than goingto church. He complained about those who went tochurch, but did not enter, and instead spent their timelighting bonfires, drinking, dancing, singing and followingpagan rituals. Midsummer marks a change in the farmingyear, specifically the break between the completion ofspring sowing and the hard work of summer hay-making.Understandably, some of the rituals of Jaanipäev havevery strong folkloric roots. The best-known Jaanik, ormidsummer, ritual is the lighting of the bonfire and jumping over it. This is seen as a way of guaranteeing prosperityand avoiding bad luck. Likewise, to not light the fire is to invite the destruction of your house by fire. The fire alsofrightened away mischievous spirits who avoided it at all costs, thus ensuring a good harvest. So, the bigger the fire,the further the mischievous spirits stayed away.Estonians celebrate "Jaaniõhtu" on the eve of the Summer Solstice (June 23) with bonfires. On the islands of Saare-maa and Hiiumaa, old fishing boats may be burnt in the large pyres set ablaze. On Jaaniõhtu, Estonians all aroundthe country will gather with their families, or at larger events to celebrate this important day with singing and dancing,as Estonians have done for centuries. The celebrations that accompany Jaaniõhtu carry on usually through thenight, they are the largest and most important of the year, and the traditions are almost identical to Finland (readunder Finland) and similar to neighbours Latvia and Sweden (read under Sweden).Since 1934, June 23 is also national Victory Day of Estonia and both 23rd and 24th are holidays and flag days. TheEstonian flag is not lowered in the night between these two days.

Fatherland Liberation War Day N o r t h K o r e a - J u n 2 5

The Korean War (Hangul: 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) wasa war between the Republic of Korea (supported primarily bythe United States of America, with contributions from allied na-tions under the aegis of the United Nations) and the Demo-cratic People's Republic of Korea(supported by the People'sRepublic of China, with military and material aid from theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics). The Korean War was pri-marily the result of the political division of Korea by an agree-ment of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the PacificWar at the end of World War II. The Korean Peninsula wasruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of WorldWar II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan in Sep-tember 1945, American administrators divided the peninsulaalong the 38th parallel, with U.S. military forces occupying thesouthern half and Soviet military forces occupying the northernhalf.The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division between the twosides; the North established a communist government, while the South established a capitalist one. The 38th parallelincreasingly became a political border between the two Korean states. Although reunification negotiations continuedin the months preceding the war, tension intensified. Cross-border skirmishes and raids at the 38th Parallel persisted.The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. It wasthe first significant armed conflict of the Cold War. In1950 the Soviet Union boycotted the United Nations se-curity council, in protest at representation of China bytheKuomintang / Republic of China government, whichhad taken refuge in Taiwan following defeat in the Chi-nese Civil War. In the absence of a dissenting voicefrom the Soviet Union, who could have vetoed it, USAand other countries passed a security council resolutionauthorizing military intervention in Korea.The United States of America provided 88% of the341,000 international soldiers which aided South Ko-rean forces in repelling the invasion, with twenty othercountries of the United Nations offering assistance. Suf-fering severe casualties, within two months the defend-ers were pushed back to a small area in the south of theKorean Peninsula, known as the Pusan perimeter. Arapid U.N. counter-offensive then drove the North Ko-reans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the YaluRiver, when the People's Republic of China(PRC) en-tered the war on the side of North Korea. Chinese inter-vention forced the Southern-allied forces to retreatbehind the 38th Parallel. While not directly committingforces to the conflict, the Soviet Union provided materialaid to both the North Korean and Chinese armies. Theactive stage of the war ended on 27 July 1953, whenthe armistice agreement was signed. The agreement re-stored the border between the Koreas near the 38thParallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone(DMZ), a 2.5-mile (4.0 km)-wide fortified buffer zone be-tween the two Korean nations. Minor outbreaks of fight-ing continue to the present day.With both North Korea and South Korea sponsored byexternal powers, the Korean War was a proxy war. Froma military science perspective, it combined strategiesand tactics of World War I and World War II: it beganwith a mobile campaign of swift infantry attacks followedby air bombing raids, but became a static trench war byJuly 1951.

BackgroundTerminology:In the United States, the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a "police action" as it was con-ducted under the auspices of the United Nations. Colloquially, it has been referred to in the United States as TheForgotten War or The Unknown War because the issues concerned were much less clear than in previous and sub-sequent conflicts, such as World War II and the Vietnam War.In South Korea the war is usually referred to as "625" or the 6–2–5 Upheaval(yug-i-o dongnan), reflecting the dateof its commencement on 25 June. In North Korea the war is officially referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War(Choguk haebang chǒnjaeng). Alternatively, it is called the "ChosǒnWar" (Chosǒn chǒnjaeng). In the People's Re-public of China the war is officially called the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea(simplified Chinese: 抗美援朝战争; traditional Chinese: 抗美援朝戰爭; pinyin:Kàngměiyuáncháo zhànzhēng), although the term "Joseon War"(simplified Chinese: 朝鲜战争; traditional Chinese: 朝鮮戰爭; pinyin: Cháoxiǎn zhànzhēng) is also used in unofficialcapacity.

Japanese rule (1910–1945):Upon defeating the Qing Dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War(1894–96), the Empire of Japan occupied the Korean Empire – apeninsula strategic to its sphere of influence. A decade later, defeatingImperial Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), Japan madeKorea its protectorate with the Eulsa Treaty in 1905, then annexed itwith the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910.Korean nationalists and the intelligentsia fled the country, and somefounded the Provisional Korean Government in 1919, which washeaded by Syngman Rhee in Shanghai. This government-in-exile wasrecognized by few countries. From 1919 to 1925 and beyond, Koreancommunists led and were the primary agents of internal and externalwarfare against the Japanese.Korea under Japanese rule was considered to be part of the Empireof Japan as an industrialized colony along with Taiwan, and both were part of the Greater East Asia Co-ProsperitySphere. In 1937, the colonial Governor-General, General Jirō Minami, commanded the attempted cultural assimila-tionof Korea's 23.5 million people by banning the use and study of Korean language, literature, and culture, to bereplaced with that of mandatory use and study of their Japanese counterparts. Starting in 1939, the populace wasrequired to use Japanese names under the Sōshi-kaimei policy. In 1938, the Colonial Government established laborconscription.In China, the National Revolutionary Army and the Communist People's Liberation Army helped organize refugeeKorean patriots and independence fighters against the Japanese military, which had also occupied parts of China.The Nationalist-backed Koreans, led by Yi Pom-Sok, fought in theBurma Campaign (December 1941 – August 1945).The Communists, led by Kim Il-sung, fought the Japanese in Korea and Manchuria.During World War II, the Japanese used Korea's food, livestock, and metals for their war effort. Japanese forces inKorea increased from 46,000 soldiers in 1941 to 300,000 in 1945. Japanese Korea conscripted 2.6 million forcedlaborers controlled with a collaborationist Korean police force; some 723,000 people were sent to work in the over-seas empire and in metropolitan Japan. By 1942, Korean men were being conscripted into the Imperial JapaneseArmy. By January 1945, Koreans comprised 32% of Japan's labor force. In August 1945, when the United Statesdropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, around 25% of those killed were Koreans. At the end of thewar, other world powers did not recognize Japanese rule in Korea and Taiwan.Meanwhile, at the Cairo Conference (November 1943), Nationalist China, the United Kingdom, and the United Statesdecided "in due course Korea shall become free and independent". Later, the Yalta Conference (February 1945)granted to the Soviet Union European "buffer zones"—satellite statesaccountable to Moscow—as well as an ex-pected Soviet pre-eminence in China and Manchuria, in return for joining the Allied Pacific War effort against Japan.

Soviet invasion of Manchuria (1945):Toward the end of World War II, as per a US-Soviet agreement, theSoviet Union declared war against Japan on 9 August 1945. By 10August, the Red Army occupied the northern part of the Korean penin-sula as agreed, and on 26 August halted at the 38th parallel for threeweeks to await the arrival of US forces in the south.On 10 August 1945, with the 15 August Japanese surrender near, theAmericans doubted whether the Soviets would honor their part of theJoint Commission, the US-sponsored Korean occupation agreement.A month earlier, Colonel Dean Rusk and Colonel Charles H. Bones-teel III divided the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel after hurriedlydeciding that the US Korean Zone of Occupation had to have a min-imum of two ports.Explaining why the occupation zone demarcation was positioned atthe 38th parallel, Rusk observed, "even though it was further norththan could be realistically reached by US forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement ... we felt it important to includethe capital of Korea in the area of responsibility of American troops", especially when "faced with the scarcity of USforces immediately available, and time and space factors, which would make it difficult to reach very far north, beforeSoviet troops could enter the area."The Soviets agreed to the US occupation zone demarcation to improve their ne-gotiating position regarding the occupation zones in Eastern Europe, and because each would accept Japanesesurrender where they stood.

Chinese Civil War (1945–1949):After the end of Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War resumedbetween the Chinese Communists and the Chinese Nationalists. While theCommunists were struggling for supremacy in Manchuria, they were supportedby the North Korean government with materiel and manpower. According toChinese sources, the North Koreans donated 2,000 railway cars worth of ma-terial while thousands of Korean "volunteers" served in the Chinese People'sLiberation Army (PLA) during the war. North Korea also provided the ChineseCommunists in Manchuria with a safe refuge for non-combatants and commu-nications with the rest of China.The North Korean contributions to the Chinese Communist victory were not for-gotten after the creation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. As a tokenof gratitude, between 50,000 to 70,000 Korean veterans that served in the PLAwere sent back along with their weapons, and they would later play a significantrole in the initial invasion of South Korea. China promised to support the NorthKoreans in the event of a war against South Korea. The Chinese support cre-ated a deep division between the Korean Communists, and Kim Il-Sung's au-thority within the Communist party was challenged by the Chinese faction ledby Pak Il-yu, who was later purged by Kim.After the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese gov-ernment named the Western nations, led by the United States, as the biggestthreat to its national security. Basing this judgment on China's century of hu-miliation beginning in the early 19th century, American support for the Nation-alists during the Chinese Civil War, and the ideological struggles between revolutionaries and reactionaries, theChinese leadership believed that China would become a critical battleground in the United States' crusade againstCommunism. As a countermeasure and to elevate China's standing among the worldwide Communist movements,the Chinese leadership adopted a foreign policy that actively promoted Communist revolutions throughout territorieson China's periphery.

Korea divided (1945–1949):At the Potsdam Conference (July–August 1945), the Allies unilaterally decided to divide Korea—without consultingthe Koreans—in contradiction of the Cairo Conference.On 8 September 1945, Lt. Gen. John R. Hodge of the United States arrived in Incheon to accept the Japanese sur-render south of the 38th parallel. Appointed as military governor, General Hodge directly controlled South Korea viathe United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK 1945–48). He established control by restoring topower the key Japanese colonial administrators and their Korean police collaborators. The USAMGIK refused torecognise the provisional government of the short-lived People's Republic of Korea (PRK) because he suspected itwas communist. These policies, voiding popular Koreansovereignty, provoked civil insurrections and guerrillawarfare. On 3 September 1945, Lieutenant GeneralYoshio Kozuki, Commander, Japanese SeventeenthArea Army, contacted Hodge, telling him that the Sovietswere south of the 38th parallel at Kaesong. Hodgetrusted the accuracy of the Japanese Army reportIn December 1945, Korea was administered by a UnitedStates–Soviet Union Joint Commission, as agreed atthe Moscow Conference (1945). The Koreans were ex-cluded from the talks. The commission decided thecountry would become independent after a five-yeartrusteeship action facilitated by each régime sharing itssponsor's ideology. The Korean populace revolted; inthe south, some protested, and some rose in arms; tocontain them, the USAMGIK banned strikes on 8 De-cember 1945 and outlawed the PRK Revolutionary Gov-ernment and the PRK People's Committees on 12December 1945.On 23 September 1946 an 8,000-strong railroad worker strike began in Pusan. Civil disorder spread throughout thecountry in what became known as the Autumn uprising. On 1 October 1946, Korean police killed three students inthe Daegu Uprising; protesters counter-attacked, killing 38 policemen. On 3 October, some 10,000 people attackedthe Yeongcheon police station, killing three policemen and injuring some 40 more; elsewhere, some 20 landlordsand pro-Japanese South Korean officials were killed. The USAMGIK declared martial law.The right-wing Representative Democratic Council, led by nationalist Syngman Rhee, opposed the Soviet–Americantrusteeship of Korea, arguing that after 35 years (1910–45) of Japanese colonial rule most Koreans opposed anotherforeign occupation. The USAMGIK decided to forego the five year trusteeship agreed upon in Moscow, given the 31March 1948 United Nations election deadline to achieve an anti-communist civil government in the US Korean Zoneof Occupation.On 3 April what began as a demonstration commemorating Korean resistance to Japanese rule ended with the Jejumassacre of as many as 60,000 citizens by South Korean soldiers.On 10 May, South Korea convoked their first national general elections that the Soviets first opposed, then boycotted,insisting that the US honor the trusteeship agreed to at the Moscow Conference.North Korea held parliamentary elections three months later on 25 August 1948.The resultant anti-communist South Korean government promulgated a national political constitution on 17 July1948, elected a president, the American-educated strongman Syngman Rhee on 20 July 1948. The elections weremarred by terrorism and sabotage resulting in 600 deaths. The Republic of Korea (South Korea) was established on15 August 1948. In the Russian Korean Zone of Occupation, the Soviet Union established a Communist North Koreangovernment led by Kim Il-sung. President Rhee's régime expelled communists and leftists from southern nationalpolitics. Disenfranchised, they headed for the hills, to prepare for guerrilla war against the US-sponsored ROK Gov-ernment.As nationalists, both Syngman Rhee and Kim Il-Sung were in-tent upon reunifying Korea under their own political system.With Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong fighting over the controlof the Korean Peninsula, the North Koreans gained supportfrom both the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.They escalated the continual border skirmishes and raids andthen prepared to invade. South Korea, with limited matériel,could not match them. During this era, at the beginning of theCold War, the US government assumed that all communists,regardless of nationality, were controlled or directly influencedby Moscow; thus the US portrayed the civil war in Korea as aSoviet hegemonic maneuver.In October 1948, South Korean left-wing soldiers rebelledagainst the government's harsh clampdown in April on Jeju is-land in theYeosu-Suncheon Rebellion.The Soviet Union withdrew as agreed from Korea in 1948. U.S.troops withdrew from Korea in 1949, leaving the South Koreanarmy relatively ill-equipped. On 24 December 1949, South Ko-rean forces killed 86 to 88 people in the Mungyeong massacre and blamed the crime on communist maraudingbands.

AftermathMao Zedong's decision to involve China in the Korean War was a conscientious effort to confront the most powerfulcountry in the world, undertaken at a time when the regime was still consolidating its own power after winning theChinese Civil War. Mao primarily supported intervention not to save North Korea or to appease the Soviet Union,but because he believed that a military conflict with the United States was inevitable after UN forces crossed the38th parallel. Mao's secondary motive was to improve his own prestige inside the communist international communityby demonstrating that his Marxist concerns were international. In his later years Mao believed that Stalin only gaineda positive opinion of him after China's entrance into the Korean War. Inside China, the war improved the long-termprestige of Mao, Zhou, and Peng. China emerged from the Korean War united by a sense ofnational pride, despite the war's enormous costs. The Chi-nese people were educated to believe that the war wasinitiated by the United States and Korea, and not by a fra-ternal communist state in the north. In Chinese propa-ganda, the Chinese war effort was portrayed and acceptedas an example of China's engaging the strongest powerin the world with an under-equipped army, forcing it to re-treat, and fighting it to a military stalemate. These suc-cesses were contrasted with China's historical humiliationsby Japan and by Western powers over the previous hun-dred years in order to promote the image of the PLA andthe CCP. The most significant negative long-term conse-quence of the war (for China) was that it led the UnitedStates to guarantee the safety of Chiang Kai-shek'sregime in Taiwan, effectively ensuring that Taiwan wouldremain outside of PRC control until the present day. The Korean War affected other participant combatants.Turkey, for example, entered NATO in 1952 and the foun-dation for bilateral diplomatic and trade relations was laid. The beginning of racial integration efforts in the U.S. mili-tary began during the Korean War, where African Ameri-cans fought in integrated units for the first time. Among the1.8 million American soldiers who fought in the KoreanWar there were more than 100,000 African Americans. Post-war recovery was different in the two Koreas. SouthKorea stagnated in the first post-war decade, but later in-dustrialized and modernized. Contemporary North Korearemains underdeveloped. South Korea had one of theworld's fastest growing economies from the early 1960s tothe late 1990s. In 1957 South Korea had a lower per capitaGDP than Ghana, and by 2010 it was ranked thirteenth inthe world (Ghana was 86th). Korean anti-Americanism after the war was fueled by the presence and behavior of American military personnel(USFK) and U.S. support for authoritarian regime, a fact still evident during the country's democratic transition in the1980s. In a February 2002 Gallup-Korea poll, one-third of South Koreans viewed the United States favorably. In addition a large number of mixed race 'G.I. babies' (offspring of U.S. and other western soldiers and Koreanwomen) were filling up the country's orphanages. Korean traditional society places significant weight on paternalfamily ties, bloodlines, and purity of race. Children of mixed race or those without fathers are not easily accepted inKorean society. Thousands were adopted by American families in the years following the war, when their plight wascovered on television. The U.S. Immigration Act of 1952 removed race as a limiting factor in immigration, and madepossible the entry of military spouses and children from South Korea after the Korean War. With the passage of theImmigration Act of 1965, which substantially changed U.S. immigration policy toward non-Europeans, Koreansbe-came one of the fastest growing Asian groups in the United States.In 2011, some former members of Chinese People's Volunteer Army, who had battled there, revisited North Korea.Afterwards they said that they were "very sad", unsatisfied with the post-war development of North Korea. "(We) lib-erated them, but they're still struggling for freedom", said Qu Yingkui.

Hundreds of thousands of South Ko-reans fled south in mid-1950 after theNorth Korean army invaded.

The U.S. Air Force attacking railroadssouth of Wonsan on the eastern coastof North Korea.

General Douglas MacArthur,UN Command CiC (seated),observes the naval shelling ofIncheon from the USS Mt.McKinley, 15 September1950.

Combat in the streets of Seoul

New Zealand artillery crew in action

The KPAF shot down some 16 B-29 Super-fortress bombers in the war.

Independence Day Mozambique - Jun 25

Mozambique, officially the Republic ofMozambique (Portuguese: Moçambiqueor República de Moçambique), is a coun-try in southeastern Africa bordered by theIndian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to thenorth, Malawi and Zambia to the north-west, Zimbabwe to the west and Swazi-land and South Africa to the southwest.The capital city is Maputo, formerlyknown as Lourenço Marques.Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD,Bantu-speaking peoples migrated fromfarther north and west. Swahili, and lateralso Arab, commercial ports existedalong the coasts until the arrival of Euro-peans. The area was explored by Vascoda Gama in 1498 and colonized by Por-tugal in 1505. Mozambique became in-dependent in 1975, and became thePeople's Republic of Mozambiqueshortly thereafter. It was the scene of anintensecivil war lasting from 1977 to1992.Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agri-culture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production,is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner andsource of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important part-ners. Since 2001 Mozambique is oneof the world's top ten for annual aver-age GDP growth. However, Mozam-bique still has one of the lowest GDPper capita, one of the worst human de-velopment index and one of the high-est inequality in the world, as well ashaving the world's lowest life ex-pectancy.The only official language of Mozam-bique is Portuguese, with roughly halfof the population speaking it as a sec-ond language and few as a first lan-guage. Languages widely spokennatively include Swahili, Makhuwa,and Sena. The largest religion inMozambique is Christianity, with sig-nificant Muslim and African traditionalreligious minorities. Mozambique is amember of the African Union, Com-monwealth of Nations, theCommunityof Portuguese Language Countries,the Latin Union, Organisation of Is-lamic Cooperation and SouthernAfrican Development Community.

HistoryBantu migrations:Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking people migrated from the west and north throughthe Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. They established agricultural com-munities or societies based on herding cattle. They brought with them the technology for iron making, a metal whichthey used to make weapons for the conquest of their neighbors. Cities in Mozambique during the Middle Ages (5thto the 16th century) were not sturdily built, so there is little left of many medieval cities such as the trading port So-fala.

Swahili and Arabs:Swahili and Arab commercial settlements existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries.Several Swahili trade ports dotted the coast of the country before the arrival of Arabs which had been trading withMadagascar and the Far East.

Portuguese rule:From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military hegemony, be-coming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to the east.The voyage of Vasco da Gama around the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean in 1498 marked the Portugueseentry into trade, politics, and society in the Indian Ocean world. The Portuguese gained control of the Island ofMozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early 16th century, and by the 1530s, small groups of Portuguesetraders and prospectors seeking gold penetrated the interior regions, where they set up garrisons and trading postsat Sena and Tete on the Zambezi River and tried to gain exclusive control over the gold trade. The Portuguese at-tempted to legitimize and consolidate their trade and settlement positions through the creation ofprazos (land grants)tied to Portuguese settlement and administration. While prazos were originally developed to be held by Portuguese,through intermarriage they became African Portuguese or African Indian centres defended by large African slavearmies known as Chikunda. Historically within Mozambique there was slavery. Human beings were bought and soldby African tribal chiefs, Arab traders, and Portuguese and French traders as well. Many Mozambican slaves weresupplied by tribal chiefs who raided warring tribes and sold their captives to the prazeiros.Although Portuguese influence gradually expanded, its power was limited and exercised through individual settlersand officials who were granted extensive autonomy. The Portuguese were able to wrest much of the coastal tradefrom Arabs between 1500 and 1700, but, with the Arab seizure of Portugal's key foothold at Fort Jesus on MombasaIsland (now in Kenya) in 1698, the pendulum began to swing in the other direction. As a result, investment laggedwhile Lisbon devoted itself to the more lucrative trade with India and the Far East and to the colonisation of Brazil.During these wars, the Mazrui and Omani Arabsreclaimed much of the Indian Ocean trade, forcing the Portugueseto retreat south. Many prazos had declined by the mid-19th century, but several of them survived. During the 19thcentury other European powers, particularly the British (British South Africa Company) and theFrench (Madagascar),became increasingly involved in the trade and politics of the region around the Portuguese East African territories.By the early 20th century the Portuguese had shifted the administration of much of Mozambique to large privatecompanies, like the Mozambique Company, the Zambezia Company and theNiassa Company, controlled and fi-nanced mostly by the British, which established railroad lines to neighbouring countries. Although slavery had beenlegally abolished in Mozambique, at the end of the 19th century the Chartered companies enacted a forced laborpolicy and supplied cheap—often forced—African labor to the mines and plantations of the nearby British coloniesand South Africa. The Zambezia Company, the most profitable chartered company, took over a number of smallerprazeiro holdings, and established military outposts to protect its property. The chartered companies built roads andports to bring their goods to market including a railroad linking present day Zimbabwe with the Mozambican port ofBeira.Due to their unsatisfactory performance and the shift, under the corporatist Estado Novo regime of Oliveira Salazar,towards a stronger Portuguese control of Portuguese empire's economy, the companies' concessions were not re-newed when they ran out. This was what happened in 1942 with the Mozambique Company, which however contin-ued to operate in the agricultural and commercial sectors as a corporation, and had already happened in 1929 withthe termination of the Niassa Company's concession. In 1951, the Portuguese overseas colonies in Africa were re-branded as Overseas Provinces of Portugal.

Independence movement:As communist and anti-colonial ideologies spreadout across Africa, many clandestine political move-ments were established in support of Mozambicanindependence. These movements claimed thatsince policies and development plans were prima-rily designed by the ruling authorities for the benefitof Mozambique's Portuguese population, little at-tention was paid to Mozambique's tribal integrationand the development of its native communities. Ac-cording to the official guerrilla statements, this af-fected a majority of the indigenous population whosuffered both state-sponsored discrimination andenormous social pressure. Many felt they had re-ceived too little opportunity or resources to upgradetheir skills and improve their economic and socialsituation to a degree comparable to that of the Eu-ropeans. Statistically, Mozambique's Portuguesewhites were indeed wealthier and more skilled than the black indigenous majority. As a response to the guerrillamovement, the Portuguese government from the 1960s and principally the early 1970s, initiated gradual changeswith new socioeconomic developments and egalitarian policies for all. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique(FRELIMO) initiated a guerrilla campaign against Portuguese rule in September 1964. This conflict — along withthe two others already initiated in the other Portuguese colonies of Angola and Portuguese Guinea — became partof the so-called Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). From a military standpoint, the Portuguese regular armymaintained control of the population centres while the guerrilla forces sought to undermine their influence in ruraland tribal areas in the north and west. As part of their response to FRELIMO, the Portuguese government began topay more attention to creating favourable conditions for social development and economic growth.After 10 years of sporadic warfare and Portugal's return to democracy through a leftist military coup in Lisbon whichreplaced Portugal'sEstado Novo regime for a military junta (the Carnation Revolution of April 1974), FRELIMO tookcontrol of the territory. Within a year, most of the 250,000 Portuguese in Mozambique had left – some expelled bythe government of the nearly independent territory, some fleeing in fear – and Mozambique became independentfrom Portugal on June 25, 1975. In an act of vengeance, a law had been passed by the then relatively unknown Ar-mando Guebuza in the FRELIMO party ordering the Portuguese to leave the country in 24 hours with only 20 kilo-grams of luggage. Unable to salvage any of their assets, most of them returned to Portugal.

Conflict and civil war:The new government, under president Samora Machel, gave shelter and support to South African (African NationalCongress) and Zimbabwean (Zimbabwe African National Union) liberation movements while the governments offirst Rhodesia and later South Africa (at that time still operating the Apartheid laws) fostered and financed an armedrebel movement in central Mozambique called theMozambican National Resistance (RENAMO). Starting shortlyafter the independence, the country was plagued from 1977 to 1992 by a long and violent civil war between the op-position forces of anti-Communist RENAMO rebel militias and the Marxist FRELIMO regime - the Mozambican CivilWar. Hence, civil war, combined with sabotage from the neighbouring white-ruled state of Rhodesia and the Apartheidregime of South Africa, ineffective policies, failed central planning and the resulting economic collapse, characterizedthe first decades of Mozambican independence. Marking this period were the mass exodus of Portuguese nationalsand Mozambicans of Portuguese heritage, a collapsed infrastructure, lack of investment in productive assets, andgovernment nationalisation of privately owned industries. During most of the civil war, the FRELIMO-formed centralgovernment was unable to exercise effective control outside of urban areas, many of which were cut off from thecapital. In one time RENAMO proposed the peace agreement based on secession of their controlled northern andwestern territories to found an independent Republic of Rombesia, but FRELIMO refused considering to stand ownpower in whole country. An estimated one million Mozambicans perished during the civil war, 1.7 million took refugein neighbouring states, and several million more were internally displaced.On October 19, 1986, Samora Machel was on his way back from an international meeting in Zambia in the presi-dential Tupolev Tu-134aircraft when the plane crashed in the Lebombo Mountains, near Mbuzini. There were tensurvivors, but President Machel and thirty-three others died, including ministers and officials of the Mozambiquegovernment. The United Nations' Soviet Union delegation issued a minority report contending that their expertiseand experience had been undermined by the South Africans. Representatives of the Soviet Union advanced thetheory that the plane had been intentionally diverted by a false navigational beacon signal, using a technology pro-vided by military intelligence operatives of the South African government.Machel's successor, Joaquim Chissano, produced big changes in the country, starting the reforms, changing fromMarxism to Capitalism and began peace talks with RENAMO. The new constitution enacted in 1990 provided for amulti-party political system, market-based economy, and free elections. The civil war ended in October 1992 withthe Rome General Peace Accords, first brokered by the CCM, the Christian Council of Mozambique (Council ofProtestant Churches) and then taken over by Community of Sant'Egidio. Under supervision of the ONUMOZ peace-keeping force of the United Nations, peace returned to Mozambique.By 1993 more than 1.5 million Mozambican refugees who had sought asylum in neighbouring Malawi, Zimbabwe,Swaziland, Zambia,Tanzania, and South Africa as a result of war and drought had returned, as part of the largestrepatriation witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Island of Mozambique is a small coral island at themouth of Mossuril Bay on the Nacala coast of northernMozambique, first explored by Europeans, in the late1400s

Statehood Day Slovenia - Jun 25

Statehood Day (Slovene: Dan državnosti) is a holidaythat occurs on every 25 June in Slovenia to commem-orate the country's declaration of independence fromYugoslavia in 1991. Although the formal declaration ofindependence did not come until 26 June 1991, State-hood Day is considered to be June 25 since that wasthe date on which the initial acts regarding independ-ence were passed and Slovenia became independent.Slovenia's declaration jumpstarted the Ten-Day War,which it eventually won, with its former overseer Yu-goslavia.Statehood Day is not to be confused with Slovenia's In-dependence and Unity Day, which is celebrated eachyear on December 26 in honour of the 26 December1990 official proclamation of the results of the plebiscitein which 88.5% of all Slovenian voters were in favor ofSlovenia becoming a sovereign nation.Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia at thesame time, and also celebrates its Statehood Day onJune 25. However, Croatia celebrates Independence Day on a different day, October 8.

Statehood Day Croatia - Jun 25

Statehood Day is a holiday that occurs every year onJune 25 in Croatia to celebrate the country's 1991 dec-laration of independence from Yugoslavia. The State-hood Day is an official holiday, a day off work in Croatia.After the independence referendum held on May 19th,1991, the Croatian Parliament formally proclaimed in-dependence with Ustavna odluka o suverenosti isamostalnosti Republike Hrvatske, lit. the Constitutionaldecision on sovereignty and independence of the Re-public of Croatia.The Statehood Day used to be May 30, marking theday when in 1990 the first post-Communist multi-partyParliament was constituted. There was some contro-versy in the public regarding which date is more suit-able for the day of the statehood. Since 2002, June 25has prevailed as the Statehood Day, and May 30 ismarked a minor holiday, one that is not an off-day.This holiday is not to be confused with Croatia's Inde-pendence Day, which is marked each year on October8. The independence was proclaimed on June 25, but due to the negotiation of the Brioni Agreement, a three-monthmoratorium was placed on the implementation of the decision, and the Parliament cut all remaining ties with Yu-goslavia in October.Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia at the same time, and its Statehood Day coincides with the Croa-tian Statehood Day, on June 25.Typical state activities on the occasion involve speeches by the President of Croatia and other dignitaries, as wellas commemoration of the Croatian War of Independence.

Independence Day Madagascar - Jun 26

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar(older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repob-likan'i Madagasikara, French: République de Mada-gascar) is an island country located in the IndianOcean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nationcomprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largestisland in the world), as well as numerous smaller pe-ripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup ofthe supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split fromIndia around 88 million years ago, allowing plants andanimals on the island to evolve in complete isolation.Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot inwhich over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else onEarth. The island's diverse ecosystems and uniquewildlife are threatened by human settlement.Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from350 BCE and 550 CE byAustronesian peoples arrivingon outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joinedaround 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Mada-gascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is oftendivided into eighteen or moresub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting socio-politicalalliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, the majority of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Mada-gascar by a series of Merina nobles. The monarchy collapsed when the island was conquered and absorbed into theFrench colonial empire in 1896, from which the island gained independence in 1960. The autonomous state of Mada-gascar has since undergone four major constitutional periods, termed Republics. Since 1992 the nation has officiallybeen governed as a constitutional democracy from its capital at Antananarivo. However, in a popular uprising in 2009the last elected president Marc Ravalomanana was made to resign and presidential power was transferred in March2009 to Andry Rajoelina in a move widely viewed by the international community as a coup d'état.In 2011, the population of Madagascar was estimated at around 21.9 million, 90% of whom live on less than two dollarsper day. Malagasy and French are both official languages of the state. The majority of the population adheres to tra-ditional beliefs orChristianity. Ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health and pri-vate enterprise, are key elements of Madagascar's development strategy. Under Ravalomanana these investmentsproduced substantial economic growth but the benefits were not evenly spread throughout the population, producingtensions over the increasing cost of living and declining living standards among the poor and some segments of themiddle class. Current and future generations in Madagascar are faced with the challenge of striking a balance betweeneconomic growth, equitable development and natural conservation.

HistoryEarly period:Most archaeologists estimate that the earliest settlers arrived in outrigger canoes from southern Borneo in successivewaves throughout the period between 350 BCE and 550 CE, making Madagascar one of the last major landmasseson Earth to be settled by humans.Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal-rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Madagascar's abundance of megafauna, including giantlemurs, elephant birds, giant fossa and the Malagasy hippopotamus, which have since become extinct due to huntingand habitat destruction.By 600 CE groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the central highlands.Arabs first reached the island between the seventh and ninth centuries, and a wave of Bantu-speaking East Africanmigrants arrived around 1000 CE and introduced zebuwhich were kept in large herds.Irrigated rice paddies emerged in the central highland Betsileo Kingdom by 1600 and were extended with terracedpaddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina a century later. The rising intensity of land cultivation and theever-increasing demand for zebu pasturage in the central highlands had largely transformed the central highlandsfrom a forest ecosystem to grassland by the 17th century. The oral histories of the Merina people, who may havearrived in the central highlands between 400 and 1000 years ago, describe encountering an established populationthey called the Vazimba. Probably the descendants of an earlier and less technologically advanced Austronesian set-tlement wave, the Vazimba were expelled from the highlands by Merina kings Andriamanelo,Ralambo and Andrianjakain the 16th and early 17th centuries. Today the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as tompontany(ancestral mastersof the land) by many traditional Malagasy communities.Madagascar was an important transoceanic trading hub connecting ports of the Indian Ocean in the early centuriesfollowing human settlement. The written history of Madagascar began with the Arabs, who established trading postsalong the northwest coast by at least the 10th century and introduced Islam, the Arabic script (used to transcribe theMalagasy language in a form of writing known as sorabe), Arab astrology and other cultural elements. European con-tact began in 1500, when the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island.The French established tradingposts along the east coast in the late 17th century.From about 1774 to 1824, Madagascar gained prominence among pirates and European traders, particularly thoseinvolved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The small island of Nosy Boroha off the northeastern coast of Madagascarhas been proposed by some historians as the site of the legendary pirate utopia of Libertalia. Many European sailorswere shipwrecked on the coasts of the island, among them Robert Drury, whose journal is one of the few written de-pictions of life in southern Madagascar during the 18th century. The wealth generated by maritime trade spurred therise of organized kingdoms on the island, some of which had grown quite powerful by the 17th century. Among thesewere the Betsimisaraka alliance of the eastern coast and the Sakalava chiefdoms of Menabe and Boina on the westcoast. The Kingdom of Imerina, located in the central highlands with its capital at the royal palace of Antananarivo,emerged at around the same time under the leadership of King Andriamanelo.

Kingdom of Madagascar:Upon its emergence in the early 17th century, the highland kingdom of Imerina was initially a minor power relative tothe larger coastal kingdoms and grew even weaker in the early 18th century when King Andriamasinavalona dividedit among his four sons. Following a century of warring and famine, Imerina was reunited in 1793 by King Andrianam-poinimerina(1787–1810). From his initial capital Ambohimanga, and later from the Rova of Antananarivo, this Merinaking rapidly expanded his rule over neighboring principalities, with the intention of bringing the entire island under hiscontrol, an ambition largely achieved by his son and successor, King Radama I (1810–1828). Radama concluded atreaty in 1817 with the British governor of Mauritius to abolish the lucrative slave trade in return for British military andfinancial assistance. Artisan missionary envoys from the London Missionary Society began arriving in 1818 and in-cluded such key figures as James Cameron, David Jones and David Griffiths, who established schools, transcribedthe Malagasy languageusing the Roman alphabet, translated the Bible, and introduced a variety of new technologiesto the island.Radama's successor, Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861), responded to increasing political and cultural encroachmenton the part of Britain and France by issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar andpressuring most foreigners to leave the territory. Among those who continued to reside in Imerina were Jean Laborde,an entrepreneur who developed munitions and other industries on behalf of the monarchy, and Joseph-François Lam-bert, with whom then-Prince Radama II signed a controversial trade agreement termed the Lambert Charter. Suc-ceeding his mother, Radama II (1861–1863) attempted to relax the queen's stringent policies, but was overthrowntwo years later by Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony (1852–1865) and an alliance of noble courtiers, who sought toend the absolute power of the monarch. Following the coup, the courtiers offered Radama's queen Rasoherina (1863–1868) the opportunity to rule, if she would accept a power sharing arrangement with the Prime Minister—a new socialcontract that would be sealed by a political marriage between them. Queen Rasoherina accepted, first weddingRainivoninahitriniony, then later deposing him and wedding his brother, Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony (1864–1895),who would go on to marry Queen Ranavalona II (1868–1883) and Queen Ranavalona III (1883–1897) in succession.Over the course of Rainilaiarivony's 31-year tenure as Prime Minister, numerous policies were adopted to modernizeand consolidate the power of the central government. Schools were constructed throughout the island and attendancewas made mandatory. Army organization was improved, and British consultants were employed to train and profes-sionalize soldiers. Polygamy was outlawed and Christianity, declared the official religion of the court in 1869, wasadopted alongside traditional beliefs among a growing portion of the populace. Legal codes were reformed on thebasis of British Common Law and three European-style courts were established in the capital city. In his joint role asCommander-in-Chief, Rainilaiarivony also successfully ensured the defense of Madagascar against several Frenchcolonial incursions.

French colonization:Primarily on the basis that the Lambert Charter had not been respected, France invaded Madagascar in 1883 in whatbecame known as the first Franco-Hova War. At the war's end, Madagascar ceded the northern port town of Antsir-anana (Diego Suarez) to France and paid 560,000 francs to Lambert's heirs. In 1890, the British accepted the fullformal imposition of a French protectorate on the island, but French authority was not acknowledged by the governmentof Madagascar. To force capitulation, the French bombarded and occupied the harbor of Toamasina on the east coast,and Mahajanga on the west coast, in December 1894 and January 1895 respectively. A French military flying columnthen marched toward Antananarivo, losing many men to malaria and other diseases. Reinforcements came from Al-geria and Sub-Saharan Africa. Upon reaching the city in September 1895, the column bombarded the royal palacewith heavy artillery, causing heavy casualties and leading Queen Ranavalona III to surrender. France annexed Mada-gascar in 1896 and dissolved the 103-year-old Merina monarchy, sending the royal family into exile on Reunion Islandand in Algeria.Under colonial rule, plantations were established for the production of a variety of export crops. Slavery was abolishedin 1896, but many of the 500,000 liberated slaves remained in their former masters' homes as servants. Wide pavedboulevards and gathering places were constructed in the capital city of Antananarivo and the Rova palace compoundwas turned into a museum. Additional schools were built, particularly in rural and coastal areas where the schools ofthe Merina had not reached. Education became mandatory between the ages of 6 to 13 and focused primarily onFrench language and practical skills. The Merina royal tradition of taxes paid in the form of labor was continued underthe French and used to construct a railway and roads linking key coastal cities to Antananarivo. Malagasy troopsfought for France in World War I. In the 1930s the island was identified by Nazi leadership as a potential site for thedeportation of Europe's Jews, and during the Second World War was the site of a battle between the Vichygovernmentand the British. The occupation of France during the Second World War tarnished the prestige of the colonial admin-istration in Madagascar and galvanized the growing independence movement, leading to the Malagasy Uprising of1947. This movement led the French to establish reformed institutions in 1956 under the Loi Cadre (Overseas ReformAct), and Madagascar moved peacefully towards independence. In 1958, there were 68,430 European settlers livingin Madagascar. The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on 14 October 1958, as an autonomous state within theFrench Community. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full in-dependence on 26 June 1960.

Independent state:Since regaining independence, Madagascar has transitioned through four republics with corresponding revisions toits constitution. The First Republic (1960–1972), under the leadership of French-appointed President Philibert Tsir-anana, was characterized by a continuation of strong economic and political ties to France. Many high-level technicalpositions were filled by French expatriates, and French teachers, textbooks and curricula continued to be used inschools around the country. Popular resentment over Tsiranana's tolerance for this "neo-colonial" arrangement inspireda series of student protests that overturned his administration in 1972.Gabriel Ramanantsoa, a Major General in the army, was appointed interim President and Prime Minister that sameyear, but low public approval forced him to step down in 1975. Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava was appointed to suc-ceed him but was assassinated six days into his tenure. General Gilles Andriamahazo ruled after him for four monthsbefore being replaced by another military appointee: Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka, who ushered in the socialist-MarxistSecond Republic that ran under his tenure from 1975 to 1993. This period saw a political alignment with the EasternBloc countries and a shift toward economic insularity. These policies, coupled with economic pressures stemmingfrom the 1973 oil crisis, resulted in the rapid collapse of Madagascar's economy and a sharp decline in living stan-dards.Ratsiraka's dwindling popularity in the late 1980s reached a critical point when presidential guards opened fire on un-armed protesters during a rally in 1991. Within two months, a transitional government had been established under theleadership of Albert Zafy (1993–1996), who went on to win the 1992 presidential elections and inaugurate the ThirdRepublic (1992–2010). The new constitution established a multi-party democracy and a separation of powers thatplaced significant control in the hands of the National Assembly. The new constitution also emphasized human rights,social and political freedoms, and free trade for economic development. Zafy's term, however, was marred by economicdecline, allegations of corruption, and his introduction of legislation to give himself greater powers. He was conse-quently impeached in 1996, and an interim president, Norbert Ratsirahonana, was appointed for the three monthsprior to the next presidential election. Ratsiraka was then voted back into power on a platform of decentralization andeconomic reforms, but only gradual progress was made during his second tenure, which lasted from 1996 to 2001.The contested 2001 presidential elections in which then-mayor of Antananarivo, Marc Ravalomanana, eventuallyemerged victorious, caused a seven-month standoff in 2002 between supporters of Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka.The negative economic impact of the political crisis was gradually overcome by Ravalomanana's progressive economicand political policies, which encouraged investments in education and ecotourism, facilitated foreign direct investment,and cultivated trading partnerships both regionally and internationally. National GDP grew at an average rate of 7%per year under his administration. In the later half of his second term, Ravalomanana was criticised by domestic andinternational observers who accused him of increasing authoritarianism and corruption.Opposition leader and then-mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, led a movement in early 2009 in which Ravalo-manana was pushed from power in an unconstitutional process widely condemned as a coup d'état. In March 2009,Rajoelina was declared by the Supreme Court as the President of the High Transitional Authority, an interim governingbody responsible for moving the country toward presidential elections. In 2010, a new constitution was adopted byreferendum, establishing a Fourth Republic, which sustained the democratic, multi-party structure established in theprevious constitution. By early 2012, a fixed date for presidential elections had not been set by the Rajoelina admin-istration.

International Day Against DrugAbuse & Trafficking

Worldwide - Jun 26The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is a UnitedNations International Day against drug abuse and theillegal drug trade. It hasbeen held annually since 1988 on 26 June, a date chosen to commemorateLin Zexu's dismantling of the opium trade in Humen, Guangdong, just beforethe First Opium War in China. The observance was instituted by General As-sembly Resolution42/112 of 7 December 1987.The UN's 2007 World Drug Report puts the value of the illegal drug trade atUS$322 billion a year.

National Flag Day Romania - Jun 26

The national flag of Romania (Romanian: DrapelulRomâniei) is a tricolour with vertical stripes: beginningfrom the flagpole, blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3.The Constitution of Romania provides that “The flag ofRomania is tricolour; the colors are arranged verticallyin the following order from the flagpole: blue, yellow,red”. The proportions, shades of color as well as theflag protocol were established by law in 1994 and ex-tended in 2001.The flag is coincidentally very similar to the civil flag ofAndorra and the state flag of Chad. The similarity withChad’s flag, which differs only in having a darker shadeof blue (indigo rather than cobalt), has caused interna-tional discussion. In 2004, Chad asked the United Na-tions to examine the issue, but then-president ofRomania Ion Iliescu announced no change wouldoccur to the flag. The flag of Moldova is related to theRomanian tricolour, except it has a 1:2 ratio, a lightershade of blue, a slightly different tint of yellow, and theMoldavian coat of arms in the middle. The flag of Belgium uses black rather than blue.

Flag DayLaw no. 96 of 20 May 1998 proclaimed 26 June as the Day of the National Flag of Romania. It was on this day in1848 that Decree no. 1 of the Wallachian Provisional Government was issued, making the red-yellow-blue tricolourthe national flag.On Flag Day, public authorities and other state institutions are obliged by law to organize cultural/educational programsand events, with a patriotic or scientific character, devoted to Romanian history, as well as specific military ceremonies,organized within units of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of the Internal Affairs.

International Day in Support ofVictims of Torture

Worldwide - Jun 26The United Nations InternationalDay in Support of Victims of Torture– 26 June is held annually on 26June to speak out against the crimeof torture and to honour and sup-port victims and survivors through-out the world.

HistoryThe day was selected by the UnitedNations General Assembly for tworeasons. First, on 26 June 1945,the United Nations Charter wassigned – the first international in-strument obliging UN members torespect and promote human rights.Second, 26 June 1987 was whenthe United Nations ConventionAgainst Torture came into effect.The decision to annually observethe International Day in Support ofVictims of Torture was taken by theUN General Assembly at the pro-posal of Denmark, which is home tothe world-renowned International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT).The first 26 June events were launched in 1998. Since then, dozens of organisations in dozens of countries mark theday each year with events, celebrations and campaigns.On 16 July 2009, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was chosen as a public holiday in Bosnia andHerzegovina.

Global CampaignEvery year the IRCT monitors the campaign plans of organisations around the world and towards the end of the yearpublishes the 26 June Global Report where it describes the events held in commemoration of the day. According tothe latest 26 June Global Report (2010), at least 38 countries around the world commemorated the day with confer-ences, workshops, peaceful rallies, cultural and musical events, events for children, etc.

Independence Day Djibouti - Jun 27

Djibouti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a countryin the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in thenorth, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia inthe southeast. The remainder of the border is formedby the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Dji-bouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by94% of the population. The land was known as Obockand French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis)in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name toAfars and Issas after new treaties with France. The ter-ritory was declared an independent nation in 1977 andchanged its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after itsprincipal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on Sep-tember 20, 1977.While Djibouti is an independent sov-ereign state, it maintains deep French relations, andthrough various military and economic agreements withFrance, it receives continued security and economic assistance.

HistoryThrough close contacts with the adjacent Arabian Peninsula for more than 1,000 years, the Somali and Afar ethnicgroups in the region became among the first populations on the continent to embrace Islam.From 1862 until 1894, the land to the north of the Gulf of Tadjoura was called Obock and was ruled by Somali andAfar Sultans, local authorities with whom France signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 to first gain a footholdin the region. In 1894,Léonce Lagarde established a permanent French administration in the city of Djibouti and namedthe region French Somaliland. It lasted from 1896 until 1967, when it was renamed theTerritoire Français des Afars etdes Issas(TFAI) ("French Territory of the Afars and the Issas").In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalia's independence in 1960, a referendum was held in Djibouti to decidewhether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continuedassociation with France, partly due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and residentEuropeans.There was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the refer-endum reached the polls. The majority of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining aunited Somalia as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killedin a plane crash two years later.In 1967, a second plebiscite was held to determine the fate of the territory. Initial results supported a continued butlooser relationship with France. Voting was also divided along ethnic lines, with the resident Somalis generally votingfor independence, with the goal of eventual reunion with Somalia, and the Afars largely opting to remain associatedwith France. However, the referendum was again marred by reports of vote rigging on the part of the French authorities.Shortly after the referendum was held, the former Côte française des Somalis (French Somaliland) was renamedtoTerritoire français des Afars et des Issas.In 1977, a third referendum took place. A landslide 98.8% of the electorate supported disengagement from France,officially marking Djibouti's independence. Hassan Gouled Aptidon, a Somali politician who had campaigned for a yesvote in the referendum of 1958, eventually wound up as the nation's first president (1977–1999).Djibouti is a Somali, Afar and Muslim country, which regularly takes part in Islamic affairs. It is also a member of theArab League, as well as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Constitution Day Ukraine - Jun 28

President Victor Yushchenko took part in aceremony of presentation of national decora-tions on the occasion of Constitution Day.“After the things we have done in terms of for-mation of the constitutional field, we must pro-ceed to next important step. We must have aconstitution that would forever guarantee usdemocracy, freedom, and protect us from therisks of a totalitarian model”, – said VictorYushchenko speaking at the ceremony.

HistoryConstitution Day is a holiday to honor the con-stitution of the Ukraine. Constitution Day cel-ebrates the anniversary of the signing oradoption of the Constitution of the Ukraine in1996.The president and the parliament decide onthis day to enforce, reinforce, form, accept,and reject constitutional changes, along witha consented plebiscite. The people are giventhe sole authority to decide on the majoramendments that are carried out in the parliament, confirming Ukraine as an ideal democratic nation.Ukraine is a sovereign, secular nation with a comprehensive democratic system of constitution. The constitution ofUkraine was established on 28th June, 1996. So every year, this day – June 28th is celebrated as the ‘ConstitutionDay’ in Ukraine, to honor the country’s constitution, on the anniversary of signing and promulgation of the national lawsystem and various significant amendments.

CelebrationsCities and towns honour Constitution Day on June 28 with performances and special events. The Constitution Day isa national holiday across the country. As it is rather new, there is nothing particular or traditional being carried out inorder to celebrate it. The Hymn of Ukraine will be broadcasted on all the radios and TV channels or even sung inpublic gatherings by the people. Fireworks, various public concerts and musical events by popular Ukrainian artistsare held across the country to commemorate this day.

Vidovdan (Orthodox) Serbia - Jun 28

Vidovdan (Serbian Cyrillic: Видовдан) is aSerbian religious holiday, St. Vitus Day,whose feast is on June 28 (Gregorian Cal-endar, June 15 according to the Julian Cal-endar, in use by the Serbian OrthodoxChurch. Also, Serbian Orthodox Church isdesignated as a memorial day to SaintPrince Lazar and the Serbian holy martyrswho gave their lives to defend their faithduring the epic Battle of Kosovo against Ot-toman Empire on June 28, 1389. It is aSlava (Patron saint feast day) of St. Vitus,connected in Serbian culture to the Battleof Kosovo, among other events. The feastday is sacred to ethnic Serbs (Serbian Or-thodox Christians), who transformed thepagan Slavic god (deity) of war, fertility andabundance "Svetovid"(Vid) into the Sicilianmartyr (St. Vitus) -who exorcized the evilout of Diocletian's son, at the time of thefinal Christianization of the Serbs during therule of Basil I (867 - 886) by Byzantine mis-sionairies of Constantinople Cyril andMethodius. Through the centuries, Serbian historical events such as the Battle of Kosovo became sources for spiritualstrength and patriotism. It was not a coincidence that Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austro-Hungarian ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand at Vidovdan, triggering theFirst World War. Vidovdan has long been considered a date of special im-portance to ethnic Serbs and the Balkans, the following events each took place on Vidovdan, but are expressed herein the Gregorian CalendarVidovdan has long been considered a date of special importance to ethnic Serbs and in the Balkans, with the followingevents each taking place on Vidovdan, but are expressed here in the Gregorian Calendar:on June 28, 1389, the Ottoman Empire fought against Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo, and Serbian Prince Lazar wasslain in battle. Ottoman Sultan Murad I was killed by Serbian knight Miloš Obilić.on June 28, 1914 the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince, Franz Ferdinand, triggers the First WorldWar.on June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I.on June 28, 1921, the Serbian King Alexander I proclaimed the new Constitution of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats andSlovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution(Vidovdanski ustav).on June 28, 1948, the Cominform published, on the initiative of its Soviet delegates Zhdanov, Malenkov and Suslov,in a "Resolution on the State of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia" their condemnation of the Yugoslavian communistleaders - this happening is seen as the date that marks the final split between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.on June 28, 1989, on the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo, Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević delivered theGazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.on June 28, 2001, Slobodan Milošević was deported to ICTY to stand trial.on June 28, 2006, Montenegro was announced as the 192nd member state of the United Nations.on June 28, 2008 was the inaugural meeting of the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija.In Bulgaria it is called Vidovden (Видовден) or Vidov Den (Видов ден) and is particularly well known in (Shopluk), thewestern part of the country.Vidovdan was referred to in the song "Oro"; Serbia's entry in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by JelenaTomasevic.

World War 1 Day U.S. - Jun 28

World War I (WWI), which was predominantly calledthe World War or theGreat War from its occurrenceuntil 1939 (World War II), and the First World War orWorld War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Eu-rope that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 No-vember 1918. It involved all the world'sgreat powers,which were assembled in two opposing alliances: theAllies(based on the Triple Entente of the United King-dom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers(originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Ger-many,Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hun-gary had taken the offensive against the agreement,Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances bothreorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expandedas more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than70 million military personnel, including 60 million Euro-peans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history.More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely becauseof great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility. It was the sixth-deadliestconflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nationsinvolved.Long-term causes of the war included the imperialistic foreign policies of the great powers of Europe, including theGerman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, theFrenchRepublic, and Italy. The assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throneof Austria-Hungary, by aYugoslav nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the proximate trigger of thewar. It resulted in a Habsburg ultimatum against the Kingdom of Serbia. Several alliances formed over the previousdecades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; via their colonies, the conflict soon spreadaround the world.On 28 July, the conflict opened with the Austro-Hungarianinvasion of Serbia, followed by the German invasion of Bel-gium, Luxembourg and France; and a Russian attackagainst Germany. After the German march onParis wasbrought to a halt, the Western Front settled into a static bat-tle of attrition with a trench line that changed little until 1917.In the East, the Russian army successfully fought againstthe Austro-Hungarian forces but was forced back from EastPrussia and Poland by the German army. Additional frontsopened after the Ottoman Empire joined the war in 1914,Italy and Bulgaria in 1915 and Romania in 1916. The Russ-ian Empire collapsed in March 1917, and Russia left the warafter the October Revolution later that year. After a 1918German offensive along the western front, United States-forces entered the trenches and the Allies drove back theGerman armies in a series of successful offensives. Ger-many, which had its own trouble with revolutionaries at thispoint, agreed to a cease-fire on 11 November 1918, laterknown as Armistice Day. The war had ended in victory forthe Allies.Events on the home fronts were as tumultuous as on thebattle fronts, as the participants tried to mobilize their manpower and economic resources to fight a total war. By theend of the war, four major imperial powers — the German,Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires — ceasedto exist. The successor states of the former two lost a great amount of territory, while the latter two were dismantledentirely. The map of central Europe was redrawn into several smaller states. The League of Nations was formed inthe hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war and the breakup of em-pires, the repercussions of Germany's defeat and problems with the Treaty of Versailles are agreed to be factors con-tributing toWorld War II.

Arab slave traders and their captives along theRuvuma river

Independence Day Seychelles - Jun 29

Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles(French: République des Seychelles; Creole: RepiblikSesel), is an island country spanning an archipelagoof 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilo-metres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast ofthe island of Madagascar.Other nearby island countries and territories includeZanzibar to the west, Mauritius,Rodrigues, Agalegaand Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to thesouthwest. Seychelles, with an estimated populationof 86,525, has the smallest population of any Africanstate. It also has the highest Human DevelopmentIndex in Africa.

HistoryScholars assume that Austronesian seafarers, andlater Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visitthe uninhabited Seychelles. Remains of Maldivianmariner presence from the 12th century were found in Silhouette Island. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeanstook place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named themafter himself (islands of the Admiral).A transit point for trade between Africa and Asia, the islands were occasionally used bypirates until the French beganto take control starting in 1756 when a Stone of Possession was laid by Captain Nicholas Morphey. The islands werenamed after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV’s Minister of Finance.The British contested control over the islands between 1794 and 1810. Jean Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, French ad-ministrator of Seychelles during the years of war with the United Kingdom, declined to resist when armed enemy war-ships arrived. Instead, he successfully negotiated the status of capitulation to Britain which gave the settlers aprivileged position of neutrality.Britain eventually assumed full control upon the surrender of Mauritius in 1810, formalised in 1814 at the Treaty ofParis. Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritiusin 1903. Elections were held in 1966 and 1970. In-dependence was granted in 1976 as arepublic within the Commonwealth. In 1977, a coup d'état ousted the first pres-ident of the republic, James Mancham, who was replaced by France Albert René. The 1979constitution declared asocialist one-party state, which lasted until 1991. The first draft of a new constitution failed to receive the requisite60% of voters in 1992, but an amended version was approved in 1993.

St. Peter & St. Paul Day International - Jun 29

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of SaintsPeter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom inRome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is ob-served on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient origin, the dateselected being the anniversary either of their death or of the trans-lation of their relics.

In the Roman Catholic ChurchIn the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, it is celebrated as asolemnity. In the General Roman Calendar of 1962, it is a first-class feast. It is a holy day of obligation in the universal Church.In England and Wales the feast is observed as a holy day of obli-gation while in the United States and Canada, it is not. In Malta itis a public holiday and in Maltese known as L-Imnarja.This is the day of the liturgical year on which those newly createdmetropolitan archbishops receive the primary symbol of their of-fice, the pallium, from the pope.

In Orthodox and Eastern Catholic ChurchesFor Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic Christians this feast also marks the end of the Apostles' Fast (whichbegan on the Monday following All Saints' Sunday, i.e., the second Monday after Pentecost). It is considered a dayof recommended attendance, whereon one should attend the All-Night Vigil (or at least Vespers) on the eve, and theDivine Liturgy on the morning of the feast (there are, however, no "Days of Obligation" in the Eastern Church). Forthose who follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 29 June falls on the Gregorian Calendar date of 12 July.In the Russian Orthodox tradition, Macarius of Unzha's Miracle of the Moose is said to have occurred during theApostles' Fast and the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul that followed it.

Ecumenical importanceIn recent decades, this feast, along with that of Saint Andrew, has been of importance to the modern ecumenicalmovement as an occasion on which the pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople have officiated at services designedto bring their two churches closer to intercommunion. This was especially the case during the pontificate of PopeJohn Paul II, as reflected in his encyclical Ut Unum Sint.

Among DoukhoborsAlthough the Doukhobors do not venerate saints per se, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul has traditionally been aday of celebration for them. Since 1895, it has acquired a new significance as a commemoration of the Burning ofthe Arms, the Doukhobors' destruction of their weapons, as a symbol of their refusal to participate in government-sponsored killing. It is celebrated now by their descendants as simply "Peters Day", sometimes referred to as theDoukhobor Peace Day.

HUNGARYS t a t e S e c r e t a r y P é t e r S z i j j á r t ó

n e g o t i a t e s i n R u s s i a

(Online 21 Jun)State Secretary forExternal EconomicRelations and For-eign Affairs PéterSzijjártó negotiatedabout Hungarian-Russian economiccooperation and theparticipation ofHungarian compa-nies in Russa aswell as the rein-forcement of Hun-garian energysecurity.State SecretaryPéter Szijjártó de-clared that Hungar-ian companies will

be included in infra-structure andhealthcare develop-ment programmesin Leningrad Re-gion.The State Secretarydrew attention thefact that there is aHungarian com-pany that is buildinga hotel with Exim-bank financing aspreparation for theWinter Olympics inSochi.The State Secretaryalso held negotia-tions with the VicePresident of the

Russian Railways,the Vice Presidentof Sberbank as wellas the Chairman ofSOCAR.Furthermore heheld a lecture at aforum at which thePresident of the Eu-ropean Bank of Re-construction andDevelopment wasalso present, em-phasising that anew economicmodel has been es-tablished in Hun-gary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán holdstalks with ETUC General Secretary

(Online 21 Jun) "In-stead of introducingausterity measures, theGovernment chose torenew the economy",declared Prime MinisterViktor Orbán in Bu-dapest at a press con-ference following hisdiscussions withBernadette Ségol, Gen-eral Secretary of theEuropean Trade UnionConfederation (ETUC).The Prime Minister saidthat an important ele-ment of the cabinet'spolitics was the rejec-

tion of austerity meas-ures, because thesecannot help to put theeconomy in order, andthis is something thattrade unions also agreeon.Viktor Orbán empha-sised that at their meet-ing he had informed theGeneral Secretaryabout the fact that aninteresting economicreorganisation processis underway in Hungary"which is viewed as un-orthodox in may coun-tries around the world",

whereas they would becloser to the truth to callit innovative, as it in-cludes several inventiveelements.General SecretaryBernadette Ségol drewattention to the fact thatthe members of the Eu-ropean Council had lastyear adopted theroadmap relating to so-cial affairs, the results ofwhich are expected bythe ETUC by the end ofthis month.

Hungary supports Moldova’s Europeanintegration, says Gergely Prőhle

(Online 19 Jun)Deputy State Secre-tary of the Ministryof Foreign AffairsGergely Prőhle reit-erated Hungary’ssupport forMoldova’s Euro-pean integrationduring his talks inChisinau on 18June 2013.The Deputy StateSecretary declaredthat an associationagreement between

Moldova and the EUcould be signedafter the EU EasternPartnership summitin Vilnius in Novem-ber. He had meet-ings with MoldovanDeputy Foreign Min-ister Julian Grozaand Culture MinisterMonica Babuc aswell as parliamen-tary officials anddeputies.Gergely Prőhlestressed that most

of his negotiatingpartners held theview that launchinga monitoring proce-dure against Hun-gary by the Councilof Europe would be„out of proportion”.They also sug-gested that such amove would nega-tively impact thereputation of theCouncil of Europe,he added.

Photo: Csaba Pelsőczy

Employment of individuals with dis-abil i t ies increased by 10,000

(Online 20 Jun) In thepast two years, the em-ployment of those livingwith disabilities withinstate-subsidised frame-works has increased tofifty-five thousand, Mik-lós Soltész, State Sec-retary for Social andFamily Affairs of theMinistry for NationalResources announcedin Debrecen today.The

State Secretary, who at-tended an exhibition en-titled “Segítő vásár”(“Helping Fair”) featur-ing items made by peo-ple with disabilities, alsosaid that in addition tothe 10 thousand newjobs created with gov-ernmental support, fivethousand small enter-prises had redeemedso-called rehabilitation

cards for 18 thousandemployees. These businesses arenot accredited with pub-lic support schemes,but with the help of thecard they do not pay so-cial contribution tax onemployees with re-duced capacity to work,an incentive for them toemploy disabled peo-ple.

Photo: Gergely Botár

Nearly 10 KM’s of road was reconstructedbetween Röszke and Mórahalom

(Online 20 Jun) Anotherroad reconstructionproject was completedwith the support of theNew Széchenyi Plan. Anearly 10-kilometresection of the road con-necting Röszke andMórahalom inCsongrád County wasreconstructed from overHUF 1 billion EuropeanUnion funds. The inau-guration ceremony ofthe project was held inMórahalom on 20 June2013.Within the NewSzéchenyi Plan Re-gional Operational Pro-grammes about 600kilometres of minorroads will be recon-

structed nationally thisyear. The nearly HUF87 billion developmentresource is utilised byMagyar Közút NonprofitZrt., the project pro-moter, with supportgiven by the EuropeanUnion and the Hungar-ian Government in theco-financing of the Eu-ropean Regional Devel-opment Fund. A total ofHUF 14.16 billion will beutilised for reconstruc-tions in the South GreatPlain Region in 2013 bythe public road man-ager.Within the framework ofthe program the nearly10-kilometre section ofthe road connectingRöszke and Mórahalom

also became of Euro-pean quality. The con-structor replaced thestructure of the road-way in several places,milled the existingpavement 15 centime-tres deep, removed thelower layers and con-structed a new roadwaystructure in certainplaces. 12 centimetresthick asphalt pavementof two layers was laiddown in the outer area,one layer was milledand an asphalt surfacecourse of 6.5 centime-tres thickness was con-structed in the innerarea. The costs of theproject were signifi-cantly reduced by re-

constructing theroadside from the mate-rial gained from the re-placement of theroadway structure andasphalt milled from thepavement. The con-structor also placednew road signs and re-placed the outer areakilometre stones bykilometre signs on bothsides.Those living in the re-gion and those passingthrough may now travelmore safely and morecomfortably to the re-gional centres, kinder-gartens, schools, otherpublic institutions andtheir workplaces on thereconstructed nationalpublic road. The public

road manager and theRegional DevelopmentAgencies will monitorthe condition of the re-constructed sectionclosely in the yearsafter the project closureto maintain the excel-lent quality of the minorroad.Nándor Csepreghy,Deputy State Secretaryfor Development Proj-ects said the followingat the inauguration: Thewinning applicants hadthe opportunity to utiliseover HUF 114 billionfrom EU resources tostrengthen and recon-struct the minor roadnetwork between 2010and 2013. Nearly 100

percent of the fundswere tied down in everyregion in this program-ming period in the fieldof developing 4-5-digitroads. From among thisyear’s projects of Mag-yar Közút the workshave already been initi-ated in almost 416 kilo-metres by the middle ofJune. The technical de-liveries of the projectshave been continuoussince the first weeks ofJune. According to theplans the reconstructionof nearly 210 kilometresof minor roads in verydegraded condition willbegin in the second halfof the year.

Photo: Ágnes Bartolf

Photo: Ágnes Bartolf

Accident investigation and rescue exercise or-ganised by the GYSEV railway company

(Online 20 Jun) Railwayprofessionals and am-bulance, police and fireservice representativesalso participated in therescue exercise organ-ised by GYSEV Zrt. inSopron on 19 June2013. During the simu-lation a yard locomotivecollided with two motorvehicles. As Mr ZoltánSchváb, Deputy StateSecretary for Transportunder the Ministry ofNational Developmentemphasized at thevenue, similar exer-cises are extremely im-portant in order toensure effective, fastand synchronised res-cue operation and

restoration in real acci-dent situations.During the simulation ayard locomotive with apassenger carriage col-lided with two motor ve-hicles at 30 km/hourspeed and caught fire.In the mock accidentpractised as part of therescue operation a per-son travelling in one ofthe cars died, anotherperson and the driver ofthe engine sustained

severe injuries, whiletwo other persons suf-fered minor injuries. Following the arrival ofthe authorities and rail-way bodies at thescene the police se-cured the area while theambulance began sav-ing the injured and thefiremen extinguishingthe fire. For the techni-cal rescue and theclearing of the track anewly arrived railwayrescue carriage wasused. Railway trafficcould return to normalan hour after the simu-lated accident. ‘Efficient, professionaland synchronised res-cue operations may

save human lives. Thebest way to protect trav-ellers, however, is to doeverything in order toavoid accidents. Pre-vention is targeted bythe national transportsafety infrastructure de-velopment programmelaunched by the Gov-ernment whose firstphase is worth HUF 55billion (www.erjhazabiz-tonsagban.hu).GYSEV is also part of

one of the main domes-tic transport policy initia-tives: the railwaycompany may use HUF982 million to make rail-way transport, and inparticular railway cross-ings safer,’ said MrZoltán Schváb, DeputyState Secretary forTransport under theMinistry of National De-velopment at the rescueexercise venue.Mr Szilárd Kövesdi,chief executive ofGYSEV Zrt. empha-sized that the funda-mental task of therailway company was toensure the problem-free operation of railwaylines therefore the ade-

quate preparation ofprofessionals for acci-dent situations was ofgreat importance. Healso thanked for thesynchronised rescueoperations of the ambu-lance, police and fireservice workers andrailway professionalsperformed at railwayaccidents in recentyears.

Photo: Csaba Pelsőczy

Photo: Csaba Pelsőczy

Hungarian-American economic relationsexpand significantly: Péter Szijjártó

(Online 19 Jun)State Secretary forExternal EconomicRelations and For-eign Affairs PéterSzijjártó declaredthat Hungarian-American economicrelations will expandsignificantly in thenear future, aftermeeting in theUnited States withamong others thedirectors of Protec-tor and Gamble,IBM, Citigroup, GE,Honeywell, Cargill,the Republicanleader of the Com-mittee on ForeignAffairs of the U.S.House of Represen-tatives and the lead-ers of the HungarianCongressional Cau-cus.The State Secretarysaid that not onlythe Hungarian gov-ernment, but alsoAmerican compa-nies consider Hun-gar ian-Amer icaneconomic coopera-tion to be a successstory, emphasising

that American in-vestments in Hun-gary totalled ninebillion dollars by theend of last year. Sixhundred Americancompanies operatein Hungary, wherethey have created40 thousand newworkplaces.According to theState Secretary,American compa-nies regard theHungarian invest-ment environmentas positive and theHungarian Invest-ment Trade Agencyis currently negotiat-ing with eight Amer-ican companies withregard to their ex-pansion in Hungary,new productionunits, new factoriesand hundreds ofnew workplaces.State SecretaryPéter Szijjártó em-phasised that themain sectors thatplay an importantrole in the expan-sion include auto-motive industry

suppliers, the pro-ducers of everydayconsumer goods,the informationtechnology industry,the food industryand the electricpower industry.The State Secretarypointed out that theHungarian invest-ment environment isp a r t i c u l a r l yfavourable for Amer-ican companies be-cause of the lowlevel of personal in-come tax, the flexi-ble Labour Codeand the highlyskilled Hungarianworkforce.Besides the econ-omy, the most suc-cessful field ofHungarian-Ameri-can cooperation issecurity policy, be-cause Hungarianparticipation inAfghanistan and inthe West Balkanstabilisation processis much appreciatedby the UnitedStates, he said.

H u n g a r y r e j e c t s t h e s t a t e -m e n t m a d e b y t h e U N H C R

(Online 19 Jun) TheMinistry of ForeignAffairs of Hungaryexpresses its per-plexity and rejectsthe statement madeby the United Na-tions High Commis-sioner for HumanRights NavanethemPillay on 18 June2013. The UN HighC o m m i s s i o n e r ,while welcoming theopinion issued bythe Venice Commis-sion regarding thefourth amendmentto the FundamentalLaw of Hungary,made several un-tenable critical re-marks with respectto the state ofdemocracy in Hun-gary.The most strikingmisinformation inHigh CommissionerPillay’s statementwas that she attrib-uted certain claimsto the Venice Com-mission’s final re-port, which thedocument did not in-clude. The HighCommiss ione r ’sstatement quotesexactly those re-marks which wereomitted from theCommission’s finalreport.Minister of ForeignAffairs Mr JánosMartonyi declared,after attending asession of theVenice Commission

on 14 June, thatfrom Hungary’sv i e w p o i n t ,favourable changeshad been applied inthe Commission’sdraft report on thefourth amendmentto Hungary’s consti-tution. However, itdoes not follow thatHungary agreeswith the findings ofthe final version ofthe report, headded. It should be notedthat the claims theUN High Commis-sioner’s statementattributed to the finalreport of the VeniceCommission werenot included in thedocument in the al-leged form and con-text in which the UNHigh Commissionercited them. The finalreport did not claimthat the fourthamendment “per-petuates problemsof the independenceof the judiciary,” andthat it launched an“attack on constitu-tional justice” andthat it „negatively af-fects the separationof powers.” Theseunfactual refer-ences give reasonto doubt the legiti-macy of the conclu-sions that the HighCommissioner drewabout the Hungariandemocratic constitu-tional situation and

the condition ofhuman rights inHungary. Our posi-tion is that HighCommissioner Na-vanethem Pillay hasoverstepped her au-thority when sheurged Hungary torevoke the constitu-tional amendment.The Ministry of For-eign Affairs of Hun-gary maintains itsposition that democ-racy and the rule oflaw are unimpairedin Hungary. More-over, Hungary iscommitted to thefundamental valuesand norms ofdemocracy, and isdedicated to ensur-ing the utmost en-forcement andprotection of humanrights. The Govern-ment of Hungary re-mains committed tocontinue the coop-eration with the HighCommissioner forHuman Rights andher Office, the UNhuman rights mech-anisms and withother internationalorganizations. In thespirit of partnership,the Government ofHungary is open fordialogue and isready to respond toall well-founded crit-ical remarks and, ifnecessary, to takethe necessary stepsto remedy them.

Photo: Prime Minister's Office

P M O r b á n s p e a k s a t t h e c a b i n e tm e e t i n g i n F e r t ő d

(Online 19 Jun) ThePrime Minister held aspeech at the cabinetmeeting in Fertőd, de-claring that those coun-tries that do not insiston their cultural rootsand turn away fromtheir past also turnaway from their future.In contrast, those coun-tries that successfullylive in unity with thelegacy of their ances-tors may becomestrong and successful,the Prime Minister said,

adding that culture with-out supporters is likeprofessional sportswithout sponsors.Regarding the venue ofthe cabinet meeting,the Prime Ministerpointed out that thechoice of meeting placeis obvious because it isa salute of a plebeiangovernment to thegreat achievements ofthe Hungarian aristoc-racy.According to PrimeMinister Viktor Orbán,

thanks to continuousrestoration activities,Hungary’s largestbaroque castle willsoon welcome its visi-tors in its former mag-nificence worthy of thetitle of UNESCO worldheritage site, addingthat the Government isdoing everything possi-ble to ensure that theCastle of Fertőd returnsto its former glory as astronghold of Europeanculture.

Photo: Gergely Botár

Hungary prepares new strategy forinternational development aid

(Onl ine 18 Jun)Hungary hasdraf ted a newframework s t ra t -egy for in terna-t i o n a ldevelopment co-operat ion in l inewi th i ts po l icy ofeastern or ienta-t ion, the Min is t ryof Fore ign Affa i rsannounced on 17June 2013.The st ra tegy, de-ve loped throughbroad soc ia l con-

su l ta t ions, waspresented to Par-l iament ’s Fore ignAffairs Commit teeby Deputy StateSecretary Sz-abolcs Takács.Reasons for re-p lac ing the prev i -ous s t ra tegyadopted in 2001included efforts tost rengthen theeastern or ienta-t ion of fore ignpol icy, stepped upat tent ion to non-

European regionsand Hungary ’scommitment tomanaging g lobalchal lenges. Th isis why the Min-is t ry o f Fore ignAffa i rs has rede-f ined the funda-mental pr inciples,ob ject ives andframework of co-operat ion wi th de-v e l o p i n gcountr ies.

Hungary’s sense of responsibility for eth-nic Hungarians abroad will increase

(Online 18 Jun) Theparliamentary repre-sentation of ethnicHungarians livingoutside Hungary –which will be accom-plished following the2014 elections – willhopefully bolsterHungary's sense ofresponsibility forthem, ParliamentaryState Secretary ZsoltNémeth declared inParis on Monday.Zsolt Németh at-tended a ministerialconference in Paristhat focused on waysof maintaining tieswith the national di-aspora living abroad.The conference wasinitiated by HeleneC o n w a y - M o u r e t ,Minister Delegate forFrench NationalsAbroad, and at-tended by officialsfrom 32 countries.The Hungarian StateSecretary said that“mother countries”had been demon-strating an increas-ing sense ofresponsibility fortheir ethnic minori-ties living abroad.This sense of re-sponsibility is all themore important forHungary because, inaddition to the tradi-tional ethnic Hungar-

ian communities liv-ing in the neighbour-ing countries andalso residing in moreremote countries dueto the wave of emi-gration following the’56 Revolution, overhalf a million Hun-garians are livingand working in otherEU member states,Zsolt Némethstressed. Hungari-ans living in otherEU member statesrepresent a new typeof diaspora, the pri-mary focus of theconference in Paris.It is important forHungary tostrengthen the na-tional community ofHungarians, ZsoltNémeth declared. Inthe Carpathian basinthis entails demand-ing cultural auton-omy for Hungarianminorities, whereasin the diaspora inWestern Europe andoverseas this meanssupporting all kindsof association, suchas scout groups orchurch communities.The Hungarian StateSecretary high-lighted the Por-tuguese andMoroccan examplesas successful prac-tices, since these

countries had beensending hundreds oflanguage teachers totheir diasporathroughout theworld. Referring to the re-marks made by therepresentative of theInternational Organi-sation for Migration(IOM) at the confer-ence, the HungarianState Secretary saidthat the institution ofdual citizenship hadbecome more andmore accepted allover the world.Hungary's law allow-ing the acquisition ofHungarian citizen-ship within theframework of a sim-plified proceduretook effect on 1 Jan-uary 2011. Under thelaw, people are eligi-ble for Hungarian cit-izenship if they ortheir ascendantswere Hungarian citi-zens before 1920 orbetween 1938 and1945. Unlike previ-ously, permanentresidency in Hungaryis not a requirement.Later on, votingrights in Hungarywere extended toHungarian citizensliving beyond theborders.

I m p o r t a n t a g r i c u l t u r a l i s s u e sh a v e b e e n s o l v e d : P M

(Online 17 Jun)Prime Minister Vik-tor Orbán signed anagreement in Bu-dapest with Chair-man of theHungarian Cham-ber of Agriculture,Balázs Győrffy.Following the sign-ing ceremony,Prime Minister Vik-tor Orbán declaredthat with the adop-tion of the Land ActHungary has man-aged to protectHungarian soil with-out violating EUlaws. Listing theG o v e r n m e n t ' sachievements, thePrime Minister

mentioned that ille-gal land ownershipcontracts werebeing successfullyweeded out and theagricultural author-ity is now able to ef-ficiently defendconsumers frombad quality, un-healthy food prod-ucts that areimported atdumped prices.According to PrimeMinister ViktorOrbán, Hungary isan agriculturalcountry, becausethe Hungarians aretalented at farmingand cultivation, anda bright future

awaits Hungarianagricultural commu-nities.Concerning theconcentration ofownership andproperty, the PrimeMinister said thatthere would be bar-riers to prevent thisand trends indi-cated the strength-ening of small andm e d i u m - s i z e dfarms, adding that amaximum of 20 per-cent of the proper-ties may be large,state-owned es-tates, because theagricultural systemcannot exist withoutthem.

Photo: Gergely Botár

G o v e r n m e n t m e a s u r e s t o s a f e -g u a r d a c h i e v e m e n t s

(Online 17 Jun)Hungarian peoplehave made tremen-dous efforts to endthe ExcessiveDeficit procedureagainst the country,but the result “shallbe upheld and pro-tected”, and that isthe reason the Gov-ernment has sub-mitted newmeasures in Parlia-ment, GovernmentSpokesperson An-drás Giró-Szászsaid, and Ministerfor National Econ-omy Mihály Vargaannounced the con-crete measures.At the press confer-ence, the Govern-m e n tSpokesperson saidthat with exiting theExcessive DeficitProcedure, the cur-rent Government isending an almostdecade-long fightbrought about bymissteps of previ-ous Socialist Gov-ernments. AndrásGiró-Szász addedthat certain eco-nomic processes -such as low inflation- are beneficial forcitizens, but this atthe same time canreduce formerly en-visaged state rev-enues, and that ishappening to Hun-gary right now. Inorder to avoid re-curring fiscal deficitincreases whichhave plagued, forexample, Malta, theGovernment is in-troducing furthercorrective meas-ures, he said.The Minister for Na-tional Economy in-formed theaudience that theGovernment is pro-posing to increasethe financial trans-action duty from thecurrent 0.3 percentto 0.6 percent forcash withdrawalsand abolish the 6000 forint cap forsuch transactions.The duty for moneytransfers will be upfrom the current 0.2percent to 0.3 per-cent, while theupper limit of HUF6000 will be left un-changed. He alsoadded that thesesteps were dis-

cussed and en-dorsed togetherwith the HungarianBanking Associa-tion over the week-end.Among additionalmeasures, the Min-ister mentioned thatthe telecom taxpaid by enterpriseswill increase fromthe current 2 forintsto 3 forints perminute or perSMS/MMS, whilethe upper limit forthis levy will also beraised from HUF2500 to HUF 5000.Mihály Varga em-phasized thathigher telecomtaxes will only bepayable by busi-nesses and not byprivate persons.Mining fees arealso about to in-crease from 12 per-cent to 16percent.The Gov-ernment also rec-ommends thelevying of health-care contributionsof 6 percent on in-terest incomes,similarly to the levyon capital gains.Among the propos-als is a state guar-antee to be grantedfor credit taken outby hauliers with re-lation to the con-struction of the newelectronic toll col-lection system.Amendments re-garding the freezingof funds andchanges on the fi-nancing of large in-vestment projectswill also be incorpo-rated into theamendment of theBudget Act. Thesewill enable the set-ting up of an invest-ment fund tomanage certain ex-penditures, such asstadium construc-tions or the rebuild-ing of KossuthSquare.As the Ministersaid, the objectiveof the measures isto help Hungary exitthe EDP once andfor all, without a fu-ture reopening ofthe case, as it hap-pened againstMalta. The otherreason is inflationoutlook. The Gov-ernment calculated

with an inflation rateof 5.2 percent at thetime when the 2013Budget Act wasadopted, and thatwas revised downto 3.1 percent in theConvergence Pro-gramme. The latestprocesses, how-ever, signal that thepace of the deterio-ration of forint’s pur-chasing power willbe even slower thisyear. The rate of in-flation has not beenthis low for fortyyears, he added.This is a factorwhich householdscan profit from, butit cuts budget rev-enues. He re-minded theaudience that whenthe transaction dutywas announced,the Governmentsignalled that incase the revenuesfrom the levy will bebelow the amountexpected of it, theGovernment mayincrease its rate.Mihály Varga saidthat the Govern-ment has envis-aged revenues ofHUF 301bn for thisyear, but the budgetreceived only HUF52bn until the endof May: that meansthat instead of thepro rata temporis42 percent, only 18percent of total waspaid and that war-rants the change oftax rate. Respond-ing to a question,the Minister saidthat breakneckcompetition willlikely prevent banksfrom passing highercosts on to con-sumers. Speakingabout the advertise-ment tax, MihályVarga said that nodecision was madeas yet, but the rev-enues expectedfrom this levy will beincluded in thebudget act amend-ment.The Minister alsoinformed that - pro-vided they areadopted by the Na-tional Assembly -the Government’snew tax measureswill be effective asof 1 August.

F o r u m o n i n v e s t m e n t o p p o r t u n i -t i e s i n d o m e s t i c m i n i n g

(Online 15 Jun) TheMinistry of NationalDevelopment to-gether with theHungarian Officefor Mining and Ge-ology and the Geo-logical andGeophysical Insti-tute of Hungaryheld an investmentforum on the 14th ofJune 2013, in theKarolyi CsekonicsResidency in Bu-dapest. Potential in-vestors, trade unionrepresentatives andother interestedparties had been in-formed about theHungarian legalframework of theproposed miningconcessions as wellas about the EUmember states’working solutionsand characterizedbasic conditions.Forum attendeeshad been wel-comed by PrimeMinister's chief ad-viser, Ms Réka Sze-merkényi and MrPál Kovács Ministerof State for Climateand Energy Affairs.Réka Szemerkényiunderlined Hun-gary’s national eco-nomic interest inutilizing mineralwealth responsibly.Hungary will cer-tainly find partnerswho will be able to

create added valuewith their coopera-tion. Minister of State PálKovács claimedthat the domesticenergy security isthe Hungarian gov-ernment’s basic in-terest, regardingthe dysfunctions ofthe European mar-ket (i.e. loop flow,low quota pricesand negative elec-tricity prices). In thisaspect the Hungar-ian mineral wealthrepresents a valuethat can play an im-portant role in se-curing the energysupply of our coun-try – he added.Participants got in-sight into the Hun-garian hydrocarbonand geothermalsector’s position,and also learnedabout the legal,economic, tax ande n v i r o n m e n t a lframework of thec o n c e s s i o nprocess. Invited ex-perts held presenta-tions on industrialpractice, service ex-perience and legalissues. Two areas hadbeen identified bythe representativesof the industry sec-tor where the Hun-garian legislativeframework should

be slightly modified.Making the calcula-tion method of roy-alty fee morepredictable, clarify-ing the conditions ofthe official authori-zation mechanismof the hydraulicfracturing (fracking)technology wouldstrengthen the sta-bility of the invest-ment environment. The event will beclosed by a speechof Ms Anita Orban,Ambassador forEnergy Security ofthe Ministry of For-eign Affairs in theevening.Seven public callsfor the exploration,development andproduction of tradi-tional and non-tradi-tional hydrocarbonsand increased useof geothermal en-ergy will belaunched under aconcession contractby the instruction ofthe Minister for Na-tional Development. Hungarian and in-ternational repre-sentatives hadbeen properly in-formed by the Min-istry during theforum in order topromote effectiveconsession proce-dures.

Flood defence success demonstratesHungary's strength and confidence

(Online 17 Jun) Inhis pre-agendaspeech in Parlia-ment, Prime Min-ister Viktor Orbándeclared that thebiggest floodHungary had everexperienced hasleft the countrywithout causingany casualties ormajor damage,adding thatthrough recentprotection effortsalong the floodingriver Danube, thecountry hasproved that itstands united andstrong when peo-ple are needed onthe dykes.According to thePrime Minister,Hungary’s suc-cessful flood de-fence activitiesdemonstrated theachievements ofa confident andable country. Alldifferences andconflicts disap-peared on thedykes and every-one could seethat we, Hungari-ans stand firm to

protect our home-land in case oftrouble, ViktorOrbán said.He added therecord flood onthe Danube haddirectly jeopar-dised 206,000people, of whomonly 1,570 had toeventually bee v a c u a t e d ,thanks in largepart to well-or-ganised protec-tion efforts.A total of 36,780volunteers regis-tered with the na-tional disastermanagement au-thority to join de-fence operations,but their actualnumber is esti-mated to havebeen a lot more.N e a r l y10,200,000 sand-bags were usedduring the opera-tions.Since the state ofemergency hadbeen declared,the Prime Minis-ter turned up atseveral locationsto direct defence

work personally.In his interviewfor public KossuthRadio on Friday,he called cooper-ation in flood pro-t e c t i o nunpreceden ted ,whereas on Sat-urday, at a pressbriefing in Mo-hács, South Hun-gary, heexpressed hisgratitude toeveryone whoparticipated in thework.The emergencysituation causedby the flood alsogained wide at-tention at interna-tional level.During the week-end, at a summitof Visegrad coun-tries and Japan inWarsaw, Japan-ese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abeexpressed praisefor the “fantasticjoining of forces”which enabledHungary to avertthe threat of theflood.