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Gancho Ganchev, an artist working in Plovdiv, has made a replica of the miracle-working icon of the Holy Virgin in the Bachkovo Monastery. It will be presented to Pope John Paul II during his visit to Plovdiv. The replica took 100 days and 6.135 kg of pure silver to make. Pressphoto BTA. Photo Vladimir Yanev. SITUATION IN CRISIS REGIONS.
MIA
The intensity of the shootings has been increased in Tetovo region during Wednesday night and Thursday morning compared to previous days, MIA's correspondent reports.
Interior Department says fire has been opened from heavy machine guns in the eastern part of the city. A series of rifle and sporadic shootouts have been registered between midnight and 06:00 hours from apartment blocks from the area of the city square, the tannery "Velur," the factory for shoes production "Godel," the restaurant "Beli 9," "Cyril and Methodius" elementary school, the SEE University and from other areas.
Also, shootouts have been registered since last night until early this morning from the villages of Lisec, Gajre, Dobroste, Neraste, Palatica, Strimnica, Odri and Dolno Orasje. Early this morning around 05:00 hours rifle shootouts that lasted five minutes have been registered from Drenovec 2, Poroj and Dzepciste.
A total of 22 rifle and sporadic shots were registered over the night in Kumanovo-Lipkovo crisis region, reported MIA's correspondent.
According to some army sources, the shots were fired from the direction of the villages of Vaksince, Lojane, Matejce, Vistica, Ropaljce and Nikustak.
Wednesday night, at about 22:00h, two flare missiles were launched from the village of Ropaljce.
The patrolling of the multiethnic police teams proceeds as planned, without any obstacles, in all seven Lipkovo villages, as well as in the monastery complex of Matejce.
PRESIDENT TRAJKOVSKI PAYS AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO SLOVAKIA.
MIA
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski met Thursday with Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda.
According to MIA's special reporter from Bratislava, it was stated that the economic cooperation between the two countries considering the options and the potentials was on a very low level. It was assessed that the good political relations between Macedonia and Slovakia could influence on enriching the economic cooperation. In that respect, the cooperation could be stimulated by the bilateral agreements on trade-economic cooperation and on regular air traffic that were signed Wednesday by the economy ministers Besnik Fetai and Lubomir Harach, as well as by Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister Muhamed Halili and Slovakian Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Post Joseph Micejko.
According to Trajkovski and Dzurinda, the integration within the European Union and NATO is a priority strategic goal and important national interest for both countries.
Macedonia has confirmed once again the support for Slovakia's admission as a non-member country within the UN Security Council and Slovakia reiterated the support for Macedonia's membership in the World Trade Organization, Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) and the Organization for European Cooperation and Development (OECD).
President Trajkovski also met with the wife of Lubomir Orsak, the killed soldier in Macedonia, who was a member of the Slovakian Army within KFOR mission, and visited "Volkswagen" factory in Bratislava.
With the meeting with the representatives of the Evangelist - Methodist Church in Slovakia Trajkovski will end his official visit to Slovakia.
Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster organized a formal dinner Wednesday in honour of his Macedonian counterpart Boris Trajkovski, who is in a two-day official visit to Slovakia.
The two Presidents exchanged toasts, emphasizing the importance of this first visit of a Macedonian President to Slovakia.
"This visit is a sign of the joint pledges for a more productive cooperation at all spheres of mutual interest. We can see this from the signing of the Agreement on Trade-Economic Cooperation and the Agreement for Regular Air Traffic, as well as the constructive discussions", Trajkovski stated in his toast.
His host Schuster emphasized that he was honored to "exercise his hospitality to the highest representative of Macedonia, which is very close to Slovakia, as a Slavic state".
"The Republic of Macedonia is an example for development of multiethnic mutual life among citizens of different nationalities", Schuster emphasized.
He believed that all Macedonian citizens, regardless of their ethnicity, "are aware of the historic significance for strengthening of the state's unity".
"This visit is a significant impulse for building of good friendly relations and increase of the mutual cooperation. We are small countries, but we have great possibilities for cooperation in the area of politics, economy and culture", Slovakian President said at the end of his toast.
Macedonian and Slovakian Presidents Boris Trajkovski and Rudolf Schuster assessed Wednesday in Bratislava that the political relations between the two countries are on a high level, without any open issues.
According to MIA's special reporter, the two presidents stated at the joint press conference that Macedonia and Slovakia have not utilised all options for development of the economic cooperation, which according to them is on a very low level.
In the mean time Macedonian and Slovakian Ministers of Economy Besnik Fetai and Lubomir Harach have signed the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, while the Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister Muhamed Halili and the Slovakian Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Posts Joseph Macejko have signed the Agreement on Air Traffic between the two countries.
At a press conference, Schuster emphasized that his country supports the territorial integrity of Macedonia, adding that Slovakia has constantly granted support to Macedonia for handling the crisis.
"Slovakia considers Macedonia as a friendly country, as it crosses the same road regarding the integration within NATO and EU," Schuster said, emphasizing that the two countries would share the experience in that respect in order to meet each other within these institutions.
"We were assured that Macedonia supports Slovakia's admission as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council," Schuster said, thanking for the support.
Trajkovski confirmed the support, adding that he expects Slovakia to support Macedonia and its aspirations for gaining membership in the World Trade Organization, Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
He informed that the meeting also focused on the joint struggle against terrorism and organized crime.
"Although the struggle is on multilateral plan, the bilateral cooperation is also necessary," Trajkovski said, adding that there is an option for cooperation on the security plan.
Regarding the visa regime between Macedonia and Slovakia, Trajkovski said that it should be facilitated, as it is an obstacle for economic, cultural and scientific cooperation."
Considering this issue, Schuster said, "sometimes Europe initiates the introduction of visas," which according to him "are not always well-intentioned." In that context, it was agreed to open Honorary Macedonian Consulate in Slovakia.
Trajkovski met Wednesday afternoon with Chairman of Slovak National Council Jozef Migas. The meeting focused on the cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries, especially the assembly commissions on foreign policy.
Regarding the promotion of the economic cooperation, Trajkovski and Migas pointed out the necessity of signing the agreements on protection of investments and avoidance of double taxation.
Besides with Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster, Chairman of Slovak National Council Jozef Migas, Trajkovski also met Wednesday afternoon with Bratislava Mayor Jozef Moravcik.
Director of the Macedonian Intelligence Agency Dosta Dimovska met with her Slovakian counterpart and discussed the options for information exchange and cooperation between the two agencies.
PM GEORGIEVSKI MET IMF DELEGATION.
MIA
Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubcho Georgievski received Thursday a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lead by its newly appointed head of mission Franek Rozwadowski.
The former Head of IMF Mission to Macedonia, Bishvajit Banerjee expressed satisfaction from the cooperation and the results achieved with the implementation of the agreed issues so far. He expressed hope that the new analysis of the situation will create conditions for extending the negotiations on the new program that would be supported by stand-by arrangement.
Georgievski emphasized the determination of the Macedonian Government for economic reforms, which was confirmed in the past three years.
IMF representatives expressed their wish to continue the arrangement with Macedonia and it was pointed out that during the two-week stay in the country they would review the previously agreed programs so that Rozwadowski as a new Head of IMF mission could be assured that the Government would undertake the necessary measures to realize the new program.
According to the pres release from Premier's Cabinet, it was stated at the meeting that the most important fact for IMF was to implement the agreed program and not whether the arrangement would be concluded prior or after the elections.
IMF representatives expressed their assurance that the Macedonian Government would be able to realize the issue, which would be agreed with the new program.
TWO AGREEMENTS FOR PROCUREMENT OF EQUIPMENT SIGNED BETWEEN ESM, EMO AND SIEMENS.
MIA
The Electric Power Supply (ESM) company of Macedonia and the EMO company from Ohrid signed on Thursday agreements for procurement of high-voltage equipment for the 400-kW plant "Skopje 5" and of 400 kW energy transformer of 300 MVA with the Siemens company.
The agreements were signed by the director of ESM, Lambe Arnaudov, the director of EMO, Drago Sajnovski, and the Siemens representative in Greece, director for automatics and energy Tanos Kukuravos.
These two agreements are worth about three million Euro. The equipment should be delivered by the end of this year and should become operational at the beginning of 2003. The overall investment in "Skopje 5" plant is about 9,5 million.
After the signing of the two agreements, Mr. Arnaudov said that the completion of the "Skopje 5" plant would significantly stabilize the supply with electricity in Skopje, where 70% of the total electricity in Macedonia is being spent. This will also provide saving of the loses of the energy that comes from REK Bitola plant.
Arnaudov said that from Ohrid he would depart to Athens where an agreement for construction of 18-kilometer wireline from Bitola to Lerin would be signed. The wireline will be installed by EMO, and the project is worth US 3,3 million. According to Arnaudov the expenditures of electricity are expected to increase during the Olympic games in Athens in 2004, when Macedonia expects to achieve profit of one million dollars.
He mentioned that the construction of the long-distance power line from Negotino to Bulgaria is close to the end, which means that with the north-south connection Macedonia will no longer face with electricity shortages.
ANNIVERSARY OF MUSEUM ACTIVITIES CELEBRATED IN OHRID.
MIA
The 50th anniversary of the National Museum from Ohrid and the 485th anniversary of the museum activities in the town were celebrated Thursday in the presence of the Macedonian Culture Minister Ganka Samoilovska - Cvetanova and Metropolitan of Kicevo and Debar Timotej.
The treasury of Ohrid Archbishopric existed in the period 1516-1916 in "St. Bogorodica Perivlepta" known as "St. Clement" Church nowadays. The seal of the Museum of the sacred and apostolic throne of Justinijana Prima was discovered there at the beginning of the last century, which is kept in Sofia now.
Addressing to the attendants, Minister Samoilovska-Cvetanova emphasized that "the search for the most important roots and monuments of the Macedonian history, tradition and culture, encompassed in the collective memory and the spirit of the Macedonian nation, leads to Ohrid."
"Starting with the prehistoric settlements, antique monuments, medieval pan-Slavic literacy, Ohrid Patriarchy and Samoilo's Reign until the spiritual reformation and the independence of Macedonia, Ohrid is the most important stone in our collective mosaic," she stressed.
She pointed out "that it is not a coincidence why 485 years ago the systematic preservation of artifacts for the next generations began in Ohrid," adding that "unfortunately due to robberies during the history many of the cultural treasures of Ohrid and Macedonia are in the museums in the neighboring countries." In that respect, she pointed out the crown of Ohrid Archbishopric, numerous frescos, old manuscripts and other artifacts.
Speaking of the National Museum from Ohrid, that celebrates the golden jubilee this year, Samoilovska-Cvetanova emphasized that the collections of the Macedonian museums are enriched, the ethnology exhibitions are completed and the oldest collections of icons are in the contemporary galleries.
Samoilovska-Cvetanova thanked to the employees in Ohrid Bureau and Museum for successful implementation of the strategy for revitalization and protection of the Macedonian cultural heritage such as the Antique Theater, St. Clement Churh on Plaosnik, Samoilo's Fortress, the Icons' Gallery, the Memorial Museum of Grigor Prlicev, Lapidary and the other facilities.
Director of Ohrid Bureau and Museum Pasko Kuzman spoke of the importance of this institution, and golden medallions were presented to the employees with more that 30-year of working experience.
MISSILES-DESTRUCTION-AGREEMENT.
BTA
Bulgaria, US to Sign Memorandum on Destruction of SS-23 Missiles June 1, Defence Minister Svinarov Says.
Sofia, May 16 (BTA) - On June 1 Bulgaria and the US will sign a memorandum on the destruction of the Bulgarian SS-23 missiles, Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov said Thursday before a regular government meeting.
Svinarov received a draft of the memorandum Wednesday from US Ambassador here James Pardew.
By a decision of December last year Parliament urged the Government to destroy altogether the Bulgarian SS-23 missiles by October 30, 2002.
The decision of the Government to deactivate the missiles is an expression of the clear and consolidated Bulgarian position for obtaining full membership of NATO as an undisputable foreign policy priority, says a declaration signed by all factions in Parliament. The Defence Minister said in the debates that the government decision and the parliamentary declaration are directly connected with Bulgaria's hope to get a membership invitation this autumn. He said that these missiles do not solve immediate defence tasks and that Bulgaria is the last Warsaw Pact country with such armament.
The government decision of last December says that the missiles will be destroyed with financial and technical support from the US Departments of State and Defence.
ROMANIA-BULGARIAN FISHERMEN.
BTA
Bucharest, May 16 (BTA) - The chief prosecutor of Constanta told representatives of the Bulgarian Embassy in Bucharest on Thursday that the crew members of the arrested Bulgarian fishing boats can be expected to be released by Friday, Bulgarian Consul Plamen Petkov told BTA.
The skippers will be under investigation for at least ten days.
Afterwards the case will be referred to the court.
Three of the skippers were remanded in custody for 30 days.
Two persons in the second boat holding skippers' licences were barred from leaving Romania for 30 days.
The prosecuting authorities want the 12 crew members, who are in the boats, to give further evidence to the investigators.
The persons held in custody have not been mistreated and are in normal condition. Their relatives visit them frequently. The crew members in the boats are well, although the living conditions are poor.
Four Bulgarian fishing boats and their crews were detained on May 3 and 4 in Romania's exclusive economic zone on charges of poaching. Romanian law bans shark fishing at this time of the year. The fishermen claim that they got lost and that there is no seasonal ban on shark fishing.
Parcel with Plutonium Found in Taxi.
Standartnews
Ivan Ivanov
Four people were exposed to radiation and are kept in isolation ward.
Radiation 200 times higher than admissible was measured in the town of Polski Trambesh yesterday. The source was a parcel containing plutonium which the police found in a taxi with Veliko Tarnovo license plates. One hundred rods of strongly radioactive substance were detected in the car. The driver and his passengers are from the town of Svishtov. A device that emitted high radiation was also found in the car. A team from the Civil Protection agency arrived without delay. The owners of the parcel are put in an isolation ward until the doctors measure out the dose of radiation they were exposed to. Law suit will be initiated against the four. The police is trying to establish the origin of the illicit commodity.
MPs Spent 1.5 Mln Levs on Trips.
Standartnews
Elena Yaneva
Deputies want to be compensated for their expenditures made during the Easter Holidays.
MPs spent 1,518,532 levs on official trips, it transpired from the report on the implementation of the National Assembly budget. MPs spent 674,904 levs on visits abroad and 731,442 levs for trips in the country. They have economized 86,789 levs on trips. As a whole, 4 million levs have been economized from the National Assembly budget. The deputies insisted on being compensated for their expenditures made during the Easter Holidays as they spent their time to meet with the voters. The NMS complained that they were to be fined if not attending the sittings of their PG. The King's party leadership resorted to this decision after just one third of the deputies showed up at the first session on Monday.
No Umbrellas at Pope's Mass.
Standartnews
Kostadin Arshinkov
John Paul II will meet with 1500 young Catholics at St. Ludwig Catholic Church.
Worshippers will not be admitted to the solemn mass to be served by Pope John Paul II in Plovdiv on May 26 even in case of rain showers. The guards will not let into the square anyone carrying metal things, bottles or big packages and will provide several lanes for the ambulances on duty. 9.40 a.m. - Arrival in front of the building of the Plovdiv municipality, where the Pope will be welcomed by Plovdiv mayor Ivan Chomakov. Departure for the Central Square of the city. Everyone willing to attend the mass to be served by the Pope will be checked by scanners placed around the square. A VIP entrance will be constructed for the diplomats. The Pope will be welcomed with a state emblem of the Vatican, made by 100,000 flowers. 10.30 a.m. - The Pope will serve a mass together with the four cardinals, accompanying him, Bulgarian and foreign bishops and priests. Kamen Vichev, Iosafat Shishkov and Pavel Dzhidzhov - Bulgarian Catholic clergymen, who were executed after being convicted by a communist court of espionage, will be beatified. The clergymen were close to Evgeni Bosilkov, Bulgaria's Catholic leader at the time, who was sentenced to death in the same trial. The Pope beatified Bosilkov five years ago. Plovdiv Mayor will present the Pope with a copy of the wonder-working icon of The Virgin Mary from the Bachkovski Monastery.
1 p.m. - Prayer "Angel of the Lord" will be said.
1. 30 p.m. - Meeting and lunch with Catholic bishops, priests and nuns from Bulgaria, guests from the Holy Synod and members of the Pope's retinue.
5 p.m. - Meeting with 1500 young members of the Catholic community at St. Ludwig Catholic Church.
6.p.m. - Departure ceremony.
7 p.m. - The plane leaves for Rome. Meanwhile Vassil Naidenov, duet Charisma and many other singers will entertain the citizens of Plovdov all night long from the Pope's rostrum.
FORTHCOMING PAPAL VISIT.
BTA
Holy Synod Bishops Say Papal Visit to Bulgaria May Help Advance Dialogue between Religions.
Sofia, May 16 (BTA) - The upcoming visit to Bulgaria of Pope John Paul II will be beneficial for both the state and the public, as well as for the church, Metropolitan, Bishop of Vidin, Dometian says.
Dometian says that in the course of years the Pope has built an image of a true leader of a religion with thousands of millions of followers in the world.
"Wherever he has been to, the Pope has never urged people to become Catholics but to accept belief in God and be tolerant toward each other. We are waiting to welcome the Pope as worthy people, with respect and attention," Dometian says. He stressed that this will show that Bulgaria and the Bulgarians are tolerant.
Rousse Metropolitan Neofit says that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is a spiritual mother of the Bulgarian people protecting its links with Orthodox Christianity and at the same time trying to share the joys of the rich spiritual fruits. "This is our message to Pope John Paul II. We are sure that his visit will be a mark of respect to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian nation," Nefot says.
Asked to comment the development of dialogue between religions, Nevrokop Metropolitan Natanail says that such a dialogue is possible on human, and not just strictly religious terms. "The important thing is to help the needy, without forcing them to become one of us," he says. Natanail is of the opinion that the religious leaders should condemn violence and help abolish it.
Lovech Metropolitan Gavriil says that there has been and will be dialogue between the religions and that there are many places where people of various faiths live together in peace.
The Metropolitan says that there are many people who try to use religion to attain personal benefits, which sometimes looks like a conflict between religions.
Gavriil says that the Papal visit will hardly reconcile the differences between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity dating back to thousands of years ago, but could help advance the dialogue between the religions. "We very much want such a dialogue," Gavriil says.
MACEDONIA-BULGARIA-POPE.
BTA
Skopje, May 16 (BTA) - The Macedonian police will lend their Bulgarian colleagues portable metal fences for Pope John Paul II's visit. The fences, whose total length is several hundred metres, will soon be transported to Sofia.
The Bulgarian Interior Ministry needs extra fences to ensure security during the series of large-scale events that will be held during the Pope's visit.
According to diplomatic sources in Skopje, Bulgaria has made a similar request to its other neighbours, as well, and some, like Romania, have already granted it.
The same sources claim that the Macedonian police was ready to offer Bulgaria all its fences but decided against doing so because of the expected social protests in Skopje after May 20.
The building of the Macedonian Parliament in Skopje is fenced off in connection with the expected protests.
Tuition for Masters.
Standartnews
Ralitza Krasteva
The fees for the elite faculties exceed 1000 levs.
From the next academic year the universities will introduce tuitions for Masters, reads the Higher Education Act, which was adopted at second reading in the parliament yesterday. The universities will fix their Masters' tuitions by themselves. The prices for some of the faculties like that of law and medicine, for example, will exceed 1000 levs, education experts commented. The candidates for Masters must have a mark higher than 4.50 in their Bachelors' diplomas. According to the adopted amendments to the Higher Education Act, the elite universities will have the right to teach Doctors on payment, too. At the moment the education of a Doctor admitted under a state order is twice as high as that of a regular student.
(PY)
Season of Hot-Water Heaters.
Standartnews
Vladislava Peeva
The quick heating appliances are the hit on the market.
For years already Sofia and most of the big cities expect with real horror the beginning of the summer season. We should have long ago got accustomed to the so called 'prophylaxis' of the hot-water and electricity facilities. But now Sofia is on its way to recur to the cave life conditions. In May Sofia residents remain without hot water and there'll be electricity restrictions, too. Because of pipelines repairs some of them won't have water supply at all. Hysterics overwhelmed some of the housekeepers and pensioners. Not only that there's no water for cooking and cleaning but they wouldn't be able to watch their favourite serials, too. And people start to resettle from one residential district to another. The guests, who come just to have a bath, will be something normal. People carry laundering with them while travelling in the buses. Other people heat water in pots and on the hot plates at home. From 100 to 300 levs are needed for the pleasure one to have hot water at any time of the day. The hot-water heaters are searched for goods during the 'prophylaxis' of the community facilities.
(PY)
E-Media Council Split into Two Camps.
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Margarita Pesheva
Kroum Blagov
We have different approaches as regards introduction of new professional standards, says Assoc. Prof. Margarita Pesheva, chairwoman of the Council.
The complaint of Dimiter Tsonev against the election of the director general of the National TV is not only justified but also well-grounded, said prosecutor Nadezhda Doitchinova before the Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday. If the court rules in favor of Tsonev, the e-media Council will find itself in a very touchy position. To date it was not once that the decisions of the Council were challenged in court and some of them were even canceled. "Every Sunday" talk show also stirs up controversies among the Council members.
- Mrs. Pesheva, do you feel uneasy about the outcome of the law suit against the election of Kiril Gotsev to the post of the director of BNT?
- I will respect the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court and the e-media Council.
- They say that the Council is split into two, or even three camps. Is it true that the problems with the talk show of Kevork Kevorkian "Every Sunday" is the reason for it or has it happened already when the Council members were elected according to the system of quotas of the parliament and President?
- The split is a fact as long as all members of the Council defend their own stands. We have long stopped to vote according to quotas in the Council but we have different approaches to the introduction of new professional standards. Two completely different approaches have taken shape and pattern - one group sticks strictly to the law without taking into consideration the diversity of rapidly developing media environment. Another approach, which I myself prefer, shows respect to the law but at the same time is based on an attempt to have in mind the new media practices.
- Does it mean that the Council takes decisions that you don't approve?
- Yes, but this is only natural. But even if I don't approve of some decision, I respect the volition of the Council.
- How many of the e-media Council decisions are contested in court?
- From December 2001 the Council has taken over 60 decisions, in 13 cases law suits were initiated to challenge them. By way of comparison, I would like to remind that in 2001 against the decisions of the National Council for Radio and Television 54 law suits were filed. In Czech Republic 45 legal proceedings were started to contest the decisions of their e-media regulatory body. Balkans News Website Brought to You By the US Department of Defense.
Antiwar
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