HomeboyMediaNews

Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias said yesterday that he would push to reopen a landmark street in the divided capital of Nicosia after Turkish troops prevented United Nations officials from getting started on clearing up the area.

Turkish troops stopped a UN initiative to clear explosives and other materials from Ledra Street, which runs through the buffer zone that divides northern and southern Nicosia, citing “technical problems.” Meanwhile, sources said that Turkey’s armed forces chief Yasar Buyukanit is due in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus today. It was unclear whether the trip had been planned.

  Cyprus President Christofias and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat last week agreed to open up Ledra Street as a symbolic move ahead of renewed peace talks. The Cyprus President yesterday said he believed “barriers would be overcome.” Nicosia, the capital city of the Republic of Cyprus, is the last divided city in Europe.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said he “warmly welcomed” the agreement by Christofias and Talat to “start full-fledged negotiations under UN auspices.”

FYROM Premier accuses Greece of ‘blackmail’ before UN talks

Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) were last night involved in yet another effort to solve their name dispute but only after the neighboring country’s Prime Minister had accused Athens of trying to “blackmail” Skopje over the issue.

The comment by Nikola Gruevski came only hours before representatives from both sides were due to meet with the United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz in New York for further discussions aimed at finding some compromise. Nimetz was not due to make any public comments about the meetings until about midnight, Greek time, last night.

However, the statement by Gruevski earlier in the day appeared to heighten tension between the two sides ahead of yesterday’s talks.

The FYROM Prime Minister accused Greece of trying to get the result it wants from the negotiations by threatening to block Skopje’s bid to join NATO at a summit that begins in Bucharest on April 2. “The situation now is that Greece intends to use its veto if we do not accept its blackmail,” said Gruevski. “We cannot accept blackmail.”

He added that FYROM could break off talks with Greece if Athens decides to use its veto. “From what I can see now, I cannot be much of an optimist. In case of a veto from Greece, the negotiations will enter such deep crisis that perhaps they will be stopped.”

The response from Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis was immediate. “Mr Gruevski’s comments, just a few hours before today’s crucial meeting within the UN framework, do not help the whole effort as they predict a negative outcome. We believe in this process and will not follow this line of thinking.”

Bakoyannis indicated that time was running out for finding a solution to the dispute before the NATO summit but that a “consensual, practical and enforceable” compromise could be reached.

The Hellenic Community of Montreal (HCM), in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Community of Laval, is organizing their annual March 25th Parade commemorating Greece’s Revolution in 1821 against the Ottoman Empire.

The two hour parade will start at 1 p.m. March 30, 2008. It will run along Jean Talon St., beginning at Hutchinson St. and ending at l’Acadie Blvd. This year’s grand Marshall is Tom Kostopoulos from the Montreal Canadians.

Thousands of Montrealers of Greek heritage as well as Philhellenes are going to be gathered along Jean Talon Street to salute war veterans, community leaders, but most of all Hellenic youth. The Hellenic Community invites the population of Montreal to come and join in the celebration. For any information about the parade or other festivities plan please call (514) 738-2421.

Hellenic Community of Montreal (HCM), 5777 Avenue Wilderton, Montreal, QC H3S 2V7, Tel (514) 738-2421, Fax 514 738 5466, www.hcm-chm.org

  The 187th anniversary of the Greek Independence Day was honored yesterday at the White House. During a special ceremony in Washington, to honor the Greek Community on the occasion of Greece’s National anniversary, U.S. President George W. Bush handed to Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America His Eminence Dimitrios the “Declaration on the Greek Independence Day”.

  Evzones marched in Athens > Elite soldiers of the Presidential Guard, or Evzones, marched through Athens yesterday to mark the anniversary of Greece’s War of Independence.

Celebrations included the customary show of strength by Greece’s armed forces, including an air show. President Karolos Papoulias hailed the “dedication to freedom and self-determination” of Greece’s resistance fighters, whose spirit, he said, was as relevant as ever in today’s “unstable geopolitical environment”.

As promised in our yesterday’s post, we present herewith some additional photos from the military parade, which took place yesterday in Athens, commemorating Greece’s National Day, the Independence Day of 25th March 1821.

Cyprus’ KEO Group has sold prime land at the Tombs of the Kings in Paphos for 66 million euros to a joint venture of Athienitis and Aristo Developers, according to reports from Cypriot media.

According to the reports, development of the land will be uniform though two-pronged. Commercial development will be handled by Athienitis, while Aristo Developers will be responsible for housing construction. The media noted that a large French company had already shown interest in making use of the planned shopping centre to be built on the land.

KEO, a listed company on the Cyprus Stock Exchange, had invited public bids for the 46,200 square metres of prime real estate last month, setting a minimum bid of 60 million euros. The 66 million euros reported purchase was not announced on the CSE website yesterday, while the Group’s Directors were unavailable for comment. A representative of Athienitis refused to confirm or deny the deal, saying it was the responsibility of the seller to announce any agreement, not the buyer.

It was also reported that proceeds from the sale of the plot would go towards transferring KEO’s existing plant in Limassol to another place, while helping to fund other strategic targets, including the opening of a new brewery, the construction of new central storage spaces and technological upgrades to its plant.

According to stockwatch.com.cy, KEO enjoyed profits of 738,000 euro in the first half of 2007 against losses of 5.5 million in the corresponding period of 2006, while turnover recorded an increase of 7.7 per cent to 28.6 million. KEO has a 40 per cent market share in the beer sector.

Related Links > http://www.keogroup.com/site.en.html

State-controlled Chinese media made no mention of it after a protester evaded security and ran up behind Beijing Olympic organizing committee President Liu Qi as he was giving his speech during Monday’s Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony in Ancient Olympia, Greece.

  The image and the report of the protester unfurling a black banner, the Olympic rings replaced by handcuffs, appeared around the world in newspapers, on Web sites and on television broadcasts. But not in China.

  After the torch left the Ancient Olympia Stadium, a Tibetan woman covered in red paint or dye lay in the road approaching the town of Olympia while other protesters chanted “Free Tibet” and “Shame on China.”

Greek Police said the woman and the three members of Reporters Without Borders were detained. One of the men arrested was Robert Menard, the group’s general secretary. The three Frenchmen were charged with the misdemeanor count of offending national symbols. They were released pending trial in late May, and said they hoped to return to France on Tuesday.

  When the incident took place China state-run TV cut away just before the protests on Monday and showed a prerecorded scene, preventing Chinese viewers from seeing the incident. Chinese TV commentators never mentioned the incident. The TV coverage was broadcast with a slight delay, allowing censors to intervene.

Three men advocating press freedom evaded security and ran onto the field and were seized by police. Watch the videos.

Video > http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=78703

Video > http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/video/?&videoSourceID=1310413&flashURL=/feeds/skynews/latest/flash/olympicsjoshi_p4199.flv

Video > http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid959009704?bclid=1350269312&bctid=1472339944