Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-02-04

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Ianis Xenakis - Death - Reaction

[02] NATO-EU-Conference-Tsohatzopoulos

[03] Greece-India-Premier Simitis-Visit-Arrival

[04] Xenakis-Death-Paris

[05] PASOK-Secretary-Address-Party members-Crete

[01] Ianis Xenakis - Death - Reaction

Noted composer and architect Ianis Xenakis died on Sunday at the age of 78 in Paris, his adopted hometown for several decades, following a long illness.

Born into a wealthy Greek family of Romania, Xenakis fought with the resistance during the Nazi occupation of Greece (1941-44), losing an eye during battle. He was expelled from Greece in 1947 for his political views at the height of the Greek Civil War and sought refuge in France, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1965.

In a brief statement on Sunday, Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos praised Xenakis' work, saying,"Ianis Xenakis represents with his work one of the most advanced chapters in the history of music".

"Xenakis identified himself with modernity and research, that is, with two basic components of cultural creation. His talent, his profound and multi-faceted culture and his cosmopolitan spirit fascinated and will fascinate people. His death is a great loss but in no way does it signal the end of a work which has been and will always be 'open'," the minister said in a statement.

Xenakis developed a new composing technique using computers, based on the mathematical probability of the recurrence of notes and rhymes.

[02] NATO-EU-Conference-Tsohatzopoulos

MUNICH (ANA D. Constantakopoulos) The dilema of supporting NATO or a European defence and security identity does not exist, both contribute to the security of Europe, Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said on Saturday, addressing the NATO Security Policy conference here.

During this conference of NATO on inter-Atlantic relations, he said that the European countries want to contribute to European security, stressing, however, that the funding for European defence means increased defence spending.

He said that American and European defence industries should cooperate more than they already do, in light of the aforementioned prospect.

[03] Greece-India-Premier Simitis-Visit-Arrival

NEW DELHI (ANA G. Papachristou) - Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Sunday arrived here for a five-day visit in India that was planned before the destructive earthquake that hit the subcontinent, killing many thousands of people.

Despite the quake and its results the two sides decided to follow the schedule of the visit, reaffirming the importance of the contacts for both Greece and India.

Simitis will meet with Indian President Kocheril Raman Narayanan and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, among other officials.

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

[04] Xenakis-Death-Paris

Composer Ioannis Xenakis died on Sunday at the age of 78 in Paris, France following a long battle with aliments, leaving behind a series of magnificent musical compositions.

The Greek national, who became a French citizen in 1947, had also had a long history of resistance during the Second World War, and thereafter.

[05] PASOK-Secretary-Address-Party members-Crete

Ruling PASOK party should be true to its pre election commitments and forge forward with its policies, party Central Committee Secretary Costas Skandalidis said on Sunday, addressing the prefecture party organisation in Iraklio, Crete.

He outlined the next hurdles PASOK has to deal with, which he said included the 6th Party Congress, the local elections of 2002, the Greek European Union presidency of the first half of 2003, the national elections and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

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