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Tired of listening to pledges for a better life, a clochard fell asleep on a bench in the grounds of the National Palace of Culture yesterday. Photo Victor Levi
Fishermen are trying their luck at the Balchik wharf. Pressphoto BTA photo: Grigor Marinov
Thousands of Belgraders watch large screens showing the final game Yugoslavia vs Argentina of the World Basketball Championships, Monday Sept. 9, 2002, in Belgrade. Yugoslavia defeated Argentina 84-77, at the world Championships being played in Indianapolis, USA, to take their fifth World Championship gold medal.(AP Photo / Emil Vas)
ANA Claims Responsibility For Recent Attack On Macedonian Army Patrol.
Makfax
The Albanian National Army (ANA) claims responsibility for the last Thursdays attack against armed solders of Slav-Macedonian colonizer army while patrolling at Bardi Maalo bridge, Dolno Blace area, says the communique no. 18 by the quarters 2 of the Albanian National Army, seated in Pristina. The communique is signed by Lt. Ilir Duraku and it is available on ANAs website on the Internet.
The communique said Macedonian soldiers demonstrated power to avert the Albanians from returning to their ethnic land and join their brethren, parents and relatives.
The communique says the objective of the attack was not to kill the armed patrol of FYROM because they are mothers sons.
ANAs guerilla unit found the Slav-Macedonian patrol not ready to respond and if ANA guerillas wanted to kill them it could have done so. However, the attack aimed to warn rather than to kill, it is said in ANAs communique.
ANA forces could not overlook and do nothing when Albanians are forced to get visas for artificial state should they want to return to their homes. ANA forces will no longer tolerate killings of innocent Albanians in the artificial zone of Albanian-Albanian border. These Albanians are thwarted from visiting their brethren and their homeland. They should be allowed to enter this country with no visas and no barriers.
In the presence and by consent of the international representatives, the Serb-Slav-Macedonian colonizers had signed a collusion that deprived Albanians from additional 2.500 hectares of land. Later on, they had enclosed with a fence the Albanian-Albanian borders and forced our brethren to apply for 4 visas in four different countries.
This is outrageous and absurd move, and ANA, on behalf of the Albanians, has not agreed and will not agree to mistreatment of Albanians. ANA calls on Slav-Macedonian soldiers to get rid of their uniforms of disgrace and not to bring themselves in jeopardy on behalf of Slav-Macedonian colonizers.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON PAN-EUROPEAN CORRIDOR 8 SIGNED IN ITALY.
MIA
The Italian city Bari hosted Monday a signing ceremony of the Memorandum for Understanding for construction of the Corridor 8.
Ljupco Balkovski, Macedonian Minister of Transport and Communications, signed the document along with his counterparts from Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Italy.
The Ministers agreed that the memorandum would create conditions for providing funds for construction of the 995 kilometer-long Corridor. Its section through Macedonia is at 315 kilometers.
"It is a historical chance for Macedonia, as starting from today, the doors for entrance of foreign capital in the country are officially opened," Balkovski said.
Today, Balkovski also had a meeting with city Mayor Simeon De Abresias focused on Macedonia's potentials for economic cooperation.
LIBYA-MEDICAL TEAM.
BTA
Medical Team Goes to Libya to Examine Bulgarian Defendants in AIDS Trial.
Sofia, September 9 (BTA) - A Bulgarian medical team left Monday for Libya to do checkups of the Bulgarian defendants in a Libyan AIDS trial, said the Foreign Ministry.
Five Bulgarian nurses and a doctor are tried by a Libyan court for intentionally infecting 393 Libyan children with the virus that causes AIDS.
The medical team includes an internist, Dr. Stelian Ivanov, and a psychotherapist, Dr. Rossanka Krusteva, who is also executive director of Nadia Centre for women victims of violence.
The mission was organized with support from the Bulgarian Medical Association, whose chairman Dr. Andrei Kehayov visited Tripoli and Benghazi last May as a member of a delegation travelling to Libya together with Foreign Minister Solomon Passy.
STABILITY PACT-PROJECTS.
BTA
Bulgaria's Bid to Become Regional Energy Centre to be Discussed in November.
Sofia, September 9 (BTA) - The Southeast Europe countries are expected to adopt November 15 a joint declaration of intent on Bulgaria's proposal to become a regional energy centre, Southeast Europe Stability Pact national coordinator for Bulgaria Vladimir Filipov told a joint news conference with Pact Spokesman Roland Bless.
Filipov said that Bulgarian Energy Minister Milko Kovachev has sent letters to his counterparts in the region familiarizing them with the proposal and stressing the country's geographical location, its reliable transmission network and highly qualified workers.
The Pact's national coordinator said that this country has already prepared a feasibility study under the Sofia-Nis highway project with which Bulgaria and Yugoslavia apply for funding under the Stability Pact. He voiced hope that Yugoslavia, too, will be ready with its feasibility study before the October meeting of the Stability Pact group on infrastructure in Brussels.
Filipov recalled that the Kalotina - Dragoman section of the highway will cost 25 million euros, and the Dragoman - Sofia section 122 million euros.
The project will make it possible to reach Vienna from Sofia in seven hours, which is two and half hours less than now, said Filipov.
Filipov and Bless said there is no delay in the implementation of the Danube Bridge II project. The former described the bridge as a very important infrastructure link for Bulgaria's membership in NATO.
Asked if the Pact will be disbanded after the countries in the region join the EU, Bless said that this will depend on all the participants in the Pact. In his words, some of the projects that are being implemented within the Pact will continue to be run by the governments of the countries in the region, while others will be transferred to EU initiatives.
Overall, the Pact has approved 46 infrastructure projects worth 3,600 million dollars.
CORRIDOR VIII-SIGNING.
BTA
Transport Ministers of Bulgaria, Italy, Albania, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Development of Corridor VIII.
Bari, Italy, September 9 (BTA) - The transport ministers of Bulgaria, Italy, Albania, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of Pan-European Corridor VIII.
The memorandum defines the route of the corridor, which will cross the territories of Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia, and expresses the political will of the countries involved to actively cooperate for its accelerated construction, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry's Information and PR Directorate said.
The corridor, which starts at Bari, will link Europe - through the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Bourgas - with the countries of the Caucasus and Asia.
The memorandum emphasizes the importance of Corridor VIII for the region's overall socio-economic development and the expansion of contacts among the countries involved in the project.
During the discussions preceding the signing of the memorandum, the representatives of the countries involved stressed its role for the economic development of Southeastern Europe, inter alia, in light of the process of European integration and the deepening of cooperation among individual countries and regions.
Bulgarian Transport and Communications Minister Plamen Petrov met with Italian Infrastructure and Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi. The two discussed aspects of cooperation between the two countries in transport and communications, including the issue of permits to Bulgarian hauliers.
The delegation led by Petrov consisted of Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Petkov, Bulgaria's Ambassador to Italy Nikola Kaloudov and the Embassy's Trade and Economic Representative Valentin Yordanov.
BULGARIA-RUSSIA-ENERGY.
BTA
Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Regional Development Goes on Working Visit to Russia.
Sofia, September 9 (BTA) - Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Georgi Georgiev leaves on a working visit to Russia Monday, said the press office of the Ministry of Regional Development.
On September 12 he will be meeting with Gazprom representatives to discuss a scheme where a part of the Russian gas supplies to Bulgaria will be paid for in goods and construction services. The two sides will also talk about the participation of Bulgarian construction companies in projects of Gazprom in Russia and third countries.
The gas barter will be on the agenda of Georgiev's talks at the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, as will be the possibility for holding an annual business forum with representatives of the two countries, and for setting up standing mixed committees for economic cooperation.
Georgiev is also having meetings at the Ministry of Atomic Energy, where the two sides will talk about the possible hiring of Bulgarians in the construction of nuclear power facilities in third countries and the setting up of joint ventures.
A draft of an intergovernmental agreement on construction will be discussed at a meeting at Russia's State Committee for Construction. Among the topics will be joint projects for rehabilitation of buildings, energy efficiency and the participation of Bulgarian companies on the Russian market for housing and infrastructure construction projects.
TURKEY-NEWSPAPER.
BTA
Kurdjali (Southern Bulgaria), September 9 (BTA) - The pilot issue of the first Bulgarian newspaper to be circulated in Turkey, "Sedmichen Reporter", came out in Corlu with the official permission of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The weekly is published by Dimiter Arnaudov, owner of Kurdjali-based "Reporter Dnes" paper. The 16-page publication will come out Fridays in Bulgarian and Turkish.
"Our wish is to keep the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian emigrants there informed about what is happening in Bulgaria," Arnaudov explained.
Simeon Sipped Elixir for Centenarians.
Standartnews
An elixir for centenarians sipped PM Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Herbalist Nikola Mangaldzhiev presented him with the beverage patented as 'The Golden Miracle' at the foot of Malyovitsa Mount yesterday. Simeon received also a herbal cream for his wife Margarita.
FINANCE MINISTER-BRADY BONDS.
BTA
New Exchange of Brady Bonds for Dollar-Denominated Eurobonds Worth Up to $800Mln Mulled by Bulgarian Government.
Sofia, September 9 (BTA) - A second exchange of Bulgarian Brady bonds for dollar-denominated Eurobonds with a maximum worth of 800 million dollars is mulled by the Bulgarian government. The exchange will be done by increasing the volume of the dollar-denominated Eurobond issue of March 2002, Finance Minister Milen Velchev told a news conference on Monday.
The exchange will be handled by JP Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney, which were in charge of the transaction in March. A bill ratifying the agreement between Bulgaria and the banks, approved by the government at a closed-door meeting on Thursday, will be introduced for ratification into Parliament on Monday, Velchev said.
The banks' commission fees will be lower than in March, at about 0.375 basis points, because the issue already exists and the transaction is not new, Deputy Finance Minister Krasimir Katev said. In the first transaction the banks' commission fee was 0.55 per cent of the volume of the new issue of Eurobonds and 0 per cent of the Brady bonds.
In March, the government withdrew from circulation Brady bonds worth 1,300 million dollars and issued new Eurobonds denominated in dollars and in euros. Bulgaria issued Eurobonds with a face value of 835,460,000 euros and 513,030,000 dollars. Over 85 per cent of the orders for exchange of Brady bonds approved in March bid the minimum prices announced by the government. The price of the dollar-denominated Eurobonds was slightly below 94 cents to the dollar, and the price of the euro-denominated Eurobonds was 96-97 per cent of the face value. The other parameters were a coupon of 7.5 per cent for the 2013 euro-denominated Eurobonds, and a coupon of 8.25 per cent for the 2015 dollar-denominated Eurobonds.
The terms of the forthcoming transaction remain the same as in March.
Bulgaria will set the minimum price of the new bonds, while investors will set the amount and the price of the exchange of Brady bonds.
The current price of the dollar-denominated Eurobonds issued in March is about 104 cents to the dollar. The minimum price at which investors can place orders for non-competitive bids for dollar-denominated Eurobonds will be set depending on the market prices before announcing the deal. The government will not take into account a possible appreciation or depreciation of the bonds after the deal is announced today, Katev said.
The margin between the average price of the instrument which finances the transaction (the dollar-denominated Eurobonds) and the average price of the exchanged Brady bonds is record high. JP Morgan say this may be the highest percentage of debt reduction achieved in such an exchange in any country, Katev said. Thus fewer new instruments will help withdraw from circulation a larger debt in Brady bonds.
"We will try not only to achieve a lower price of the Brady bonds, but will go for considerable volume, too," Katev said.
As a result of the second exchange, the price of financing for Bulgaria will drop, 151 million dollars in security for Brady bonds will be released, and net savings from debt service payments in the next ten years will total 346 million dollars. The expected reduction of the face value of Bulgaria's debt is 87 million dollars, which, together with the released security, adds up to 238 million dollars of net debt reduction. The calculations are based on a transaction of about 750 million dollars, slightly less than the maximum approved volume of about 800 million dollars.
In March, the government suggested that investors exchange Brady bonds for new Eurobonds, denominated in dollars or euros, or buy Eurobonds for cash.
Eurobonds will not be sold for cash now, the finance minister said.
The ratification bill on the agreement between Bulgaria and the banks is expected to be introduced into a plenary sitting this week, Velchev said.
In 1993 Bulgaria renegotiated its debt to the London Club of private creditors after Andrei Loukanov's government declared a moratorium on the external debt. Three types of Brady bonds were issued at the time: Interest Arrears Bonds, Front-Loaded Interest Reduction Bonds, and Discount Bonds.
We are to Locate Gangs of Varsanov and Klyuna till Wednesday.
INTERVIEW Standartnews: Boiko Borissov
We do observe the letter of the law in each action of ours, Gen. Boiko Borissov says.
"The mob earn 10,000 levs per day each from car thefts and drugs. Next week we are to voice the results from the investigation of the shootouts in Sofia. We are to locate the gangs of Varsanov and Klyuna till Wednesday. You'd shudder at hearing what it is all about," said IM Chief Secretary Gen. Boiko Borissov during the national tennis tournament for IM employees which finished in Rousse yesterday.
- Gen. Borissov, you mentioned organized crime and the strict hierarchy in it.
- Yes, I did. We found papers in those detained, with plans of the gang, its staff and statute. We will in no way arrest them scandalously. I've reiterated that we have a very well structured crime, ignoring law, and at the same time, we are forced, being aspirants for EU, to observe the letter of the law in each action of ours. Otherwise we are to pay from the IM budget in case Strasbourg sues us. I would not mention once again the scanty means of the special services. To me, we have to applaud the police for doing what they are doing under such circumstances.
- Despite the ongoing police actions, the gangs are still arrogant. Why?
- Because we have been disintegrating this country for 12 years. The gang are doing whatever they wish as they are irremovable. In the meanwhile, the IM heads were replaced 5 or 6 times. Impunity in these 12 years gave the mob the opportunity to do what they will.
(Abr) Yugoslavia Goes Wild over Fifth Championship.
Reuters
By Zoran Milosavljevic
BELGRADE (Reuters) - A wave of national pride and joy swept Yugoslavia early on Monday as the country's basketball team won the world championship for the fifth time, beating Argentina in an 84-77 thriller in Indianapolis.
In downtown Belgrade more than 150,000 fans filled the streets well beyond midnight with deafening parades of honking cars, firecrackers, flags, whistles and boisterous singing, accompanied by occasional bursts of gunfire.
It was the biggest street party in Belgrade since the regime of former president Slobodan Milosevic was ousted in October, 2000.
This will be the fifth and last time Yugoslavia wins the world championship, though. The country, a federation made up of Serbia and Montenegro, will cease to exist by the end of this year as the two republics form a looser union under a new name.
There were euphoric scenes up and down the land as people jumped up from their television sets to join the celebrations, cheering and applauding from doorways and balconies in the middle of the night.
For a country with little to boast about in recent years, the road to triumph at Indianapolis was sweetened last week by overcoming the basketball squad of the United States, which led the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and considers the game its special preserve.
'WONDERFUL THINGS'
"Yugoslavia World Basketball Champions. U.S. Sanctions to Follow," predicted one Belgrade wit.
"This is the best day of my life and certainly a historic one for Yugoslavia. It shows that the power of will can produce wonderful things," said Marko, a 28-year old baker.
"It is just what the country needed and we should all follow the example set by our heroes," he added.
Barely an hour after the match, liquor was nowhere to be found in any of the shops or kiosks near the city center.
"We've sold everything we have, there are only a few beverages left," said a shopkeeper at the central Republic Square with a broad smile on his face.
Abundant supplies of alcohol, however, seemed to take their toll later in the night as police reported several minor incidents in which a total of 32 people were slightly injured.
UNRULY CONDUCT.
It said it had arrested 77 offenders for unruly conduct and pressed charges against 66 of them.
"I just hope this doesn't get out of hand as some people here don't know what they are doing," an unnamed police officer said as a motorcyclist performed a back-wheel stunt to the delight of a dozen teenage girls looking on.
National dailies splashed the news over their front pages.
In Cacak, central Serbia, brass bands played until dawn. In Banja Luka, capital of Bosnia's Serb Republic, 10,000 filled the central square. They flooded the streets in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, and lit up the sky with fireworks.
In a message of congratulation, President Vojislav Kostunica called the national squad "unbelievably courageous and a little bit crazy," and praised their sportsmanship throughout the tournament.
"The only thing is, you destroy the nerves," he told them.
The team was due to return home from the United States on Tuesday evening, and Belgrade was braced for another night of ecstatic celebration.
RUSSIA'S DELEGATION DISLIKES PACE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON SITUATION IN GEORGIA.
From RIA Novosti's correspondent Maria Balynina
The Russian delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe does not like the draft resolution on the situation in Georgia. It was adopted on Monday by participants in the PACE political commission in Paris, RIA Novosti has been told by telephone from Paris by Mikhail Margelov, a leader of the Russian parliamentary delegation in PACE and chief of the international committee of Russia's Federation Council.
He said that the PACE draft resolution has been passed on Monday and will be discussed at the nearest session in Strasbourg, due on September 23.
The draft is "very biased", said Margelov.
It does not say anything of Georgia's neglecting the United Nations resolution, actually not waging struggle against terrorists found in its territory, stressed the Russian senator.
"This resolution only admits the fact of terrorists being found in the territory of Georgia, states the problem of Georgian refugees from Abkhazia, recalls 'anonymous' bombings in the Pankisi gorge", reported Margelov.
But it says nothing of other aspects of the situation in Georgia, particularly the Pankisi gorge, especially Georgia's reluctance to wage struggle against militants from Chechnya found there, said Margelov.
He stressed that at the PACE session in Strasbourg the Russian delegation will be "very active" for the resolution to reflect the aspects on which Russia insists and which are not yet to be found in the resolution.
"PACE has failed with an attempt at unbiased analysis of the situation in the region", summarized Mikhail Margelov.
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