During the meeting, issues concerning current international politics, especially the developments in Iraq and Palestine, were discussed.

Mr. Kaklamanis expressed his concern and trouble on the course of reaching peace in the Middle East, as well as the possibility of military operations on new fronts, after Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. Stefanopoulos and Mr. Madl discussed issues of bilateral cooperation, while the Greek President presented his Hungarian counterpart with the Great Cross of the Savior and his wife with a medal for her social action. On his side, Mr. Madl presented Mr . Stefanopoulos with a map of Greece of 1850.

Mr. Mantle then met with the President of the Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis and the President of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis.

buildings in these areas, which will be connected to public welfare networks (electricity, water supply, telephone lines).

Meanwhile, Minister of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works Vasso Papandreou, pointed out that the circular based on which municipalities will begin accepting the necessary paperwork for electricity and water connections, is expected to be

issued by the end of the week. It is estimated that it will take 2 months for these connections to be made.

It was also made known that fines for the construction of unauthorized buildings from now on will be a hundred times what they had been so far.

The Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) characterized the draft of the Ministry of the Environment as unconstitutional and it did not rule out appealing to the Council of the State. The TEE's criticism mostly focuses on the regulations for unauthorized con struction and the change in the issuing of building permits. The main objections concern the cases where buildings that were constructed without the supervision of a mechanical engineer will be approved.

Meanwhile, the draft on forest areas was the main topic of discussion at the meeting between Prime Minister Costas Simitis and the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Specifically, the details of the new amended text of the draft which will clearly define forest areas, private forests, areas to be reforested and areas where construction is allowed, were explored.

According to information, forest areas that have undergone irreversible damage will be declassified. At the same time, the draft will settle issues regarding violations and unauthorized constructs, while there will be regulations for construction corpora tions that bought land characterized as forest areas.

The above were stated by Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas, responding to a question by a reporter concerning the request expressed by the Russians. Gusinski was arrested at Athens' "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport on August 21 on an international warrant issued by Interpol.

The Russian tycoon is wanted by Moscow for alleged multi-million dollar fraud. Gusinsky, 50, is the former owner of the popular NTV television network, renowned for running stories highly critical of President Vladimir Putin's policies, especially his dr ive to suppress rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

Police said he was wanted by Moscow for allegedly swindling the Russian state out of 250 million dollars. He is also accused of fraudulent privatization and money laundering.

Of the stocks trading today, 123 recorded gains and 182 had losses, while the value of 78 stocks remained unchanged.

Mr. Kaklamanis backed the need for the creation of a dynamic Europe with its own foreign and defense policy, which will guarantee security for all European peoples.

On his part, Mr. Madl thanked the Greek Parliament President for Greece's support to his country's European course and promised to continue to work for a united Europe.

Mr. Simitis stressed that the Paralympic Games are as important as the Olympic Games underlining that beyond being a sports event they are also a new challenge. He stressed that they offer the opportunity for major interventions that will facilitate the participation of people with disabilities in society, improve their access to the city and safeguard the preconditions for an even stronger sports movement for people with disabilities.

After the meeting, Undersecretary of Press and head of the Prime Minister's Press Office Tilemachos Hitiris stated to reporters that a total of 4,000 athletes will take part in the Paralympics and 5,000 journalists will cover the event.

The Paralympics will be held on September 17-29, 2004 and their cost, estimated at 50 million euros, will be covered in its entirety by the Greek government, which happens for the first time in the history of the games.

Athletes from 143 countries will compete in 19 sports that will be held in 20 sports facilities. A total of 294, specially modified buses and 100 minibuses of equal specifications will be used to meet the needs of people with disabilities, while 15,000 v olunteers will offer their services.

A total of 132 Greek athletes will compete in the games, while the Olympic Village will host 7,000 people, said Mr. Hitiris.

The Metropolite stressed that the goal of his visit was to brief the Foreign Minister on the issue concerning the list of candidates for the Metropolis of Thessaloniki. The Metropolite underlined that the goal of the visit was to inform the State on the situation and not ask for its intervention.

to be used against them is the donkey itself, which has been tethered to a tree in a police station yard. Mr. Denktash's authorities were especially annoyed as the now questionable Turkish Cypriot leader had stated that the only Cypriot species on Cyprus , is the donkey. The Government Spokesperson in Athens made mention of ridiculousness, and expressed his hope that the donkey is not also taken to trial.

the US State Department Thomas Weston.

Speaking at an event of the Cypriot community organized by the Cypriot Federation, PSEKA and the Cypriot-American Chamber of Commerce in Astoria, Mr. Weston mentioned that the "elections" are definitely illegal and than nobody, with the exception of Turk ey, would recognize the regime of Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, and that the concerns of the Cypriot government are fully justified.

However, he noted that event though they may be illegal, the "elections" represent the best opportunity of expressing the political will of Turkish Cypriots, which did not exist in the past.

Mr. Weston characterized the period until May 2004 as very intense and gave his reassurance that the US will continue their efforts until then.

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