Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-12-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] EXPLOSION AT THE CENTER OF ATHENS

[02] STRIKE WEEK

[03] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE SYNTAGMA SQUARE BLAST

[04] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE

[05] HUNDREDS OF CITY TWINNINGS SINCE 1949

[06] GREEK, BULGARIAN AND TURKISH MUNICIPALITIES SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL

[01] EXPLOSION AT THE CENTER OF ATHENS

Four people were slightly injured by an explosion at 06.20 this morning recorded at Syntagma Square in the center of Athens, while serious damages were caused by the fire that broke out afterwards.

The explosive device was on a motorcycle parked near the building of the Ministry of Finance.

Twenty minutes before the blast an anonymous call to the Athens newspaper Eleftherotypia warned that an explosive device will go off at a government ministry building at Syntagma Square and police cordoned off the wider area.

According to the Fire Department, it appears that the explosive device was not connected to the propane bottles that were left exposed in the area throughout the night, a regular occurrence lately that has to do with the region's stores.

[02] STRIKE WEEK

The strike mobilizations scheduled to take place during the week open today with work stoppages in mass transportation.

Mass transportation will stop at 11:00 am until 4:00 pm, while at noon the public utility companies' (DEKO) union leaders were scheduled to hold a protest at the Ministries of Finance and Labor.

[03] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE SYNTAGMA SQUARE BLAST

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos stated today that he will not go into rough estimates regarding the Syntagma Square explosion in Athens, adding that police has issued certain statements and investigation continues.

It is an important case, stated Mr. Rousopoulos responding to questions by reporters and added that police intervention was timely. He clarified that in the warning call made to a newspaper the anonymous caller referred to the Ministry of Finance building on Karageorgi Servias Street, while the explosive device had been planted outside the Ministry of Economy building on Nikis Street.

[04] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos was called to comment on the statement by Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis that the course of the Annan Plan was, in a way, agreed in advance by the PASOK government.

PASOK has fallen into a number of inconsistencies not only on the Cyprus issue, pointed out Mr. Rousopoulos, adding that everybody is being judged.

[05] HUNDREDS OF CITY TWINNINGS SINCE 1949

The friendship between peoples tormented by wars, mutual help in cases of natural disasters, the common religious feeling or even cooperation on cultural issues are many times behind city twinning stories.

The foundations of the city twinning institution in Greece were laid just before 1949 when humanitarian aid from Tucson, Arizona arrived in the city of Trikala from the United States. The initial letter T in the name of Trikala and its geographic position (located on a plain) were the criteria based on which Tucson chose Trikala to become the recipient of aid sent within the framework of the Marshall Plan. The two cities forged close ties and became sister cities while the American city covered the tuition fees for four children from Trikala, who returned to Greece after receiving a degree in the United States.

Based on figures provided by the Greek Central Union of Municipalities and Communities (KEDKE), over 625 city twinnings have taken place with the participation of 265 municipalities and 59 communities in Greece. The overwhelming majority of them concerns foreign cities and 21 were held between Greek cities.

Most of the city twinnings, over 30, have been held by the municipality of Thessaloniki, while ten city twinnings correspond to each of the municipalities of Athens, Nikea and Piraeus. Most of the city twinnings have taken place with cities from Italy (107), followed by Cyprus (104) and Bulgaria (50).

Amphilochia mayor Apostolos Kimisis, KEDKE International Relations Committee chairman, stated to ANA-MPA that city twinnings can bring closer people tormented by war (Israel, Palestine) and can be life-saving through assistance offered in cases of natural disasters, like in the devastating earthquake in Turkey in 1999, while they can be the basis for the establishment of a network of cities with common characteristics and objectives.

[06] GREEK, BULGARIAN AND TURKISH MUNICIPALITIES SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL

A protocol of cooperation for the promotion of tripartite cooperation between Greek, Bulgarian and Turkish municipalities in sectors of mutual interest and particularly, the promotion and exploitation of European programs, was signed in the city of Xanthi, northeast Greece, by the networks POLIS (Greece), RAM TRAKIA (Bulgaria) and TRAKYAKENT (Turkey).

The protocol was signed within the framework of the meeting of Greek, Bulgarian and Turkish municipalities on Cross-border cooperation, Local Government, programs, initiatives and practices in the European Union organized by the Greek Central Union of Municipalities and Communities (KEDKE) and POLIS network.

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