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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 01-09-18
From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>
CONTENTS
[01] Weather forecast
[02] Taliban say to engage in holy war against the US
[03] Coordinated policy campaign gets under way
[04] The Greek community in the US yesterday buried the first victims of the
[05] Called to comment on possible participation of Greek armed forces in
[06] World economies
[07] OlympicAirways resume flights to North America
[08] Improvement of the environment in Attica
NEWS IN ENGLISH ERA 5. THE VOICE OF GREECE
18/9/2001 3:21:00 μμ
[01] Weather forecast
Cloudy in most areas of Greece today and possibility of local rains in
the northwest. South to southeasterly winds, light to moderate while
temperatures will range between 17C to 32C.
[02] Taliban say to engage in holy war against the US
According to a broadcast on the Talibans Voice of Shariat radio, the
Afganistan' s ruling purist Taliban movement has said it will launch a
holy war against the US. Russia' s news agency Itar-Tass reported today
that Afganistan' s Taliban rulers had set conditions for the
extradition of Osama bin Laden, identified by Washington as a prime
suspect in last weeks attacks on the US. Itar-Tass said the Taliban
had demanded Saudi-born Osama bin Landen be tried in a neutral country
and international sanctions against Afganistan be lifted. The Taliban
was also reported to be seeking foreign economic assistance.
[03] Coordinated policy campaign gets under way
American President George Bush warned the ruling Taliban in Afganistan
to surrender Osama bin Lnaden "Dead or Alive" or else face the wrath of
the US. A Pakistani team, in the Afgan capital Kabul on a mission to
try to convince the Taliban it must hand over bin Laden or face a
massive US strike, left their embassy this morning for talks at an
undisclosed location. In the meantime, the US is feverishly preparing
the military operation code-named "noble eagle". American President,
George Bush today begins deliberations with his European allies.
President Bush will today meet with French Prime-minister Zaque Shirac
and with British Prime-minister Tony Blair on Thursday while the
European Union has called on an extraordinary summit meeting on Friday
to discuss the issue of terrorism. Greek Prime-minister Kostas Simitis
is expected to attend the meeting. In another development, UN High
Commissioner on refugees, Rod Lumbers will fly to Washington to brief
the State Department that milions of Afgans are facing death from
hunger and possible american strikes will worsen the situation in this
country.
Tens of thousands of Afgans are crowding on the Afganistan-Pakistan
borders for fear of american retaliations. In the meantime, the US
asked for the postponment of UN 56th General Assembly scheduled to be
held on September 24th stating that it could not guarantee the security
of state leaders. In NY, hopes to find survivors in the rublles of the
twin towers are fading awayThe toll in the World Trade Center attack
stood at 5,422 missing with 201 confirmed dead.
[04] The Greek community in the US yesterday buried the first victims of the
terrorist attack in an atmosphere of deep grief
Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou today begins meetings with
political party leaders to discuss the situation after the terrorist
attack in the US. He met with the President of the Coalition of the
Left and Progress, Nikos Konstantopoulos and the General Secretary of
the Greek Communict party, Aleca Papariga. The President of the ND
party, Kostas Karamanlis yesterday asked for the convention of
political party leaders meeting under the President of the Republic.
The Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence-KYSEA -meets on
Thursday to discuss terrorism after the recent attack on the US ,
revision of the strategic defence as well as the course of
materialisation of the armament program.
[05] Called to comment on possible participation of Greek armed forces in
Nato operations
Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said that "When a
military-type attack is recorded you must answer accordingly, at the
same time raising the issue of democracy, international law and
internationally recognised democratic rights in seeking 'the right
formula'".
[06] World economies
Despite President Bush statement to develop an economic stimulus
package, the Dow Jones industrial index plummeted 684.81 points, or
more than 7% in its first session after the terrorist attack on the
US. The stok markets in London and Paris also opened with losses today
while Frankfurt opened with marginal profits and the Nikkei average
closed 1.8% up. The Athens stock market went down by 1.8% while ASE
said trading hours in the week would be altered from 12.00 to 18.00
local time.
[07] OlympicAirways resume flights to North America
Olympic Airways resumed flights to North America on Monday, as OA
flight 423 to Montreal left at 9:50 a.m., while OA flight 411 for New
York left at 12:20 p.m. The state-run airline's management has
cautioned passengers to arrive at Greek airports at least four hours
before departure as draconian security measures have been implemented.
[08] Improvement of the environment in Attica
Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and Environment, Town
Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis announced on Monday
that the two ministries are advancing a new draft law for "a viable
development of Attica". The ministers said 106 billion drachmas will
be alloted for the improvement of the environment and for enterprises
to assume initiatives for the protection of the environment. They
noted that the demand for an ecolocical readjustment of production was
imperative.
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