Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-02-04

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] DM IN MUNICH FOR POLITICAL SECURITY CONFERENCE

[02] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ATHENS

[03] YOUNG GREEKS FROM ARGENTINA VISIT THESSALONIKI

[04] GREEK PREMIER ARRIVES IN INDIA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT

[05] NANA MOUSKOURI RETIRES FROM SINGING

[06] COMPOSER IANNIS XENAKIS PASSED AWAY IN PARIS

[07] PHOTO EXHIBITION OF GREEK JEWS IN STRASBOURG

[08] DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER CONDUCTS VISIT TO INDIA

[09] GREEK PREMIER EMBARKS ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDIA

[10] GREEK LITERATURE READING FEATURED AT HARVARD

[01] DM IN MUNICH FOR POLITICAL SECURITY CONFERENCE

Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos is presently in Munich, where he is participating in NATO's 37th Conference on Political Security which focuses on inter-Atlantic relations, European security and defense identity.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos stressed the need for a real European defense and security system and noted Russia's importance in relation to the anti-ballistic missile system and the European defence.

The undertaking of greater responsibilities by Europe in the defense sector will establish the base for an equivocal cooperation between Europe and America, he stated, adding that the conference in Munich brought to the surface a lack of confidence regarding the aims of European policies.

Other issues discussed at the three-day conference include German foreign policy and security policy at the beginning of the new century, Russia's role in world politics, the shaping of joint European security with Russia and bilateral relations with Russia on the part of Asia.

In addition to Mr. Tsochatzopoulos, the conference is being attended by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, NATO secretary general George Robertson and the European Union's representative for foreign and security policy issues Javier Solana.

A.F.

[02] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ATHENS

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mikhailova will conduct an official visit to Athens on February 8-9, following the invitation of her Greek counterpart George Papandreou.

Ms. Mikhailova and Mr. Papandreou will review the means of expediting the materialization process of joint projects between the two countries, including the operation of three new border stations.

The Bulgarian FM is scheduled to meet with the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis, Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos and the leader of the main opposition party of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis.

Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries was very productive in 2000 at a time when Greece, according to initial assessments, is in either first or second place regarding investments in Bulgaria.

A.F.

[03] YOUNG GREEKS FROM ARGENTINA VISIT THESSALONIKI

A delegation of 23 young students who live in Argentina and are of Greek descent visited Thessaloniki recently, at the invitation of the General Secretariat of the Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE).

The young delegates, all students at the "Athenagoras Institute" of Buenos Aires, were greeted at SAE's premises in Thessaloniki by the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Grigoris Niotis and the General Secretary of Greeks Abroad Dimitris Dolis.

During a warm reception, Mr. Niotis referred to the ties of friendship that bind Greece and Argentina -home to more than 50,000 Greeks- and urged the young delegates to become the first volunteers at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

During their stay in Greece, the young students toured various archeological sites, including the Marathon, ancient Olympia and Vergina.

A.F.

[04] GREEK PREMIER ARRIVES IN INDIA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT

Prime Minister Costas Simitis arrived in India this evening, accompanied by Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis, Press and Media Minister Dimitris Reppas, Alternate Foreign Minister Elizabeth Papazoi and National Economy Deputy Minister Yiannis Zapheiropoulos.

Mr. Simitis will meet with Indian President Kocheril Raman Narayanan and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, among other officials. The Greek Premier and his Indian counterpart are to sign a series of agreements, including double taxation avoidance, investment protection measures and cooperation in the agricultural sector.

The New Delhi University Law School is planning to award Mr. Simitis an honorary doctorate.

The Premier is also accompanied by a delegation that includes Greek businessmen who want to develop investments in India.

Tomorrow, Mr. Simitis will visit and lay a wreath at the Gandhi Monument.

A.F.

[05] NANA MOUSKOURI RETIRES FROM SINGING

The famously bespectacled singer Nana Mouskouri announced today that she plans to retire from signing in order to devote her time to her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

In an interview with Melbourne's "Herald Sun", Ms. Mouscouri said that her last performance will be on March 14 at the Melbourne Concert Hall.

A.F.

[06] COMPOSER IANNIS XENAKIS PASSED AWAY IN PARIS

World-famous Greek composer Iannis Xenakis passed away in Paris today, at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife, Francoise, and their daughter.

Xenakis was born in 1922 into a Greek family residing at Braila, Romania. The sense of being an "ousider" remained integral to his identity, signaled by the title of a recently published book of interviews "il faut etre constamment un immigre."

Having lost his mother when he was five years old, he was sent off to boarding school on the Greek island of Spetses at the age of ten. He studied civil engineering at the Athens Polytechnic, but the German invasion followed by the British occupation drew him into the Resistance, activities from which he would end up near fatally wounded, losing one eye, then later condemned to death. Forced to escape Greece, Xenakis ended up in Paris in 1947, wanting to study music, but earning a living working as an engineering assistant for Le Corbusier.

His creative and intellectual intensity attracted the attention of both the reknowned architect, who delegated architectural projects to him in spite of his lack of professional training, and the composer and pedagogue Olivier Messiaen, who saw in the music he was struggling to produce in isolation an originality deserving of encouragement. Xenakis had his first major success with the premiere of Metastasis in 1955, and by 1960 he was able to devote himself entirely to composition.

Along with his acoustic works, he has produced a number of important electroacoustic pieces, and a series of multimedia creations involving sound, light, movement, and architecture (polytopes).

Xenakis was a pioneer in the area of algorithmic composition, and also developed an approach to digital synthesis based on random generation and variation of the waveform itself.

A.F.

[07] PHOTO EXHIBITION OF GREEK JEWS IN STRASBOURG

A photo exhibition entitled "Holocaust of the Greek Jews The Persecuted and Saviours" is to open in Strasbourg's Palace of Europe next week, an event organized by the press ministry in cooperation with the Jewish Museum of Greece.

The exhibition, to be held between February 12-26, will be presented by the press office of Greece's Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe, before traveling to other cities in Europe and North America.

Comprising 170 WWII-era photographs, the exhibition is divided into 18 themes, with accompanying texts and captions in French and English, projected slides and modern artwork. The goal is to better inform European public opinion on the Holocaust in Greece during the Nazi occupation, and within the context of the ancient and historical presence of Jews in the Hellenic world. Greece, which hosted the largest Sephardic Jewish community in the world prior to the war, mainly in Thessaloniki, was virtually unblemished by anti-Semitism, a fact that made Greek Jews' experience somewhat different from the rest of the Jewish communities in occupied Europe.

The 18 themes of the exhibition include: A brief presentation of Greek Jews' historical course from late antiquity to 1940. The German occupation (1941-44). The banishment of Thessaloniki's Jews. The banishment of Jews from Northeastern Greece. Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Damaskinos' official protest. The issuance of fake police ID cards Angelos Evert. Zakynthos, the island of the brave. Avenues of escape and salvation. Greek Jews in the national resistance. The banishment of Jews from the rest of Greece. Concentration camps. Liberation. The survivors Yesterday and today. The silent witnesses Artifacts from the Greek Jewish communities. Greeks among the Righteous of Nations. The Jewish Museum of Greece The Holocaust. Educational programmes and museum events on the Holocaust. Jewish communities in Greece today.

A.F.

[08] DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER CONDUCTS VISIT TO INDIA

Deputy Defence Minister Dimitris Apostolakis is presently on an official visit to India, at the invitation of his Indian Counterpart George Fernadez.

Mr. Apostolakis' visit coincides with the international exhibition Aero-India 2001, where the Greek deputy minister will have a series of meetings with his counterparts from several countries.

A.F.

[09] GREEK PREMIER EMBARKS ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDIA

Prime Minister Costas Simitis is embarking today on an official six-day visit to India, heading a delegation of government officials and public entrepreneurs.

The focus of bilateral talks will be economic cooperation, as the premier is expected to sign along with his Indian counterpart a series of agreements, including double taxation avoidance, investement protection measures and cooperation in the agricultural sector.

Mr. Simitis is slated to sign a series of economic agreements related to avoidance of double taxation, diplomatic passport usage, protection of investments and cooperation in the field of agriculture.

The delegation accompanying the Premier includes Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis, Press and Media Minister Dimitris Reppas, Alternate Foreign Minister Elizabeth Papazoi and National Economy Deputy Minister Yiannis Zapheiropoulos.

The Premier isn't scheduled to tour the quake-stricken Gujarat state, since infrastructure has been completely wiped out in the area, which borders Pakistan.

Instead, Mr. Simitis' itinerary includes Delhi and meetings with the central government, the western city of Jaipur, home to India's nascent marble industry, and the famed industrial port city of Bombay.

The Greek Premier's tour of India comes on the heels of several high-level visits between Greek and Indian officials, including visits conducted last month by the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou.

A.F.

[10] GREEK LITERATURE READING FEATURED AT HARVARD

Four Greek award-winning novelists, spanning four generations, are to read from their recent works during a week-long event held at Harvard University commencing on February 5.

The first reading, sponsored by the Greek Consulate's Press office and Harvard University's George Seferis Chair, will feature Thanassis Valtinos and will be held tomorrow.

The second reading, sponsored by the Foundation for Hellenic Culture, the Kokkalis Program, Harvard University and the Consulate's Press office, will feature Christos Chomenidis, Ioanna Karystiani and Ersi Sotiropoulou.

A.F.

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