Similar ceremonies were scheduled in Belarus.Boris Chekalin, the head of the radiation service at Russia’s Kursk atomic power plant, took part in the Chernobyl cleanup. He told Russian state television about the first days of the operation.”When I arrived at Chernobyl, I saw a large black fire with clouds, an impression that will stay with me my whole life,” he said.Chekalin said he never takes off his hat, even on overcast days, because he has to avoid the most minor sun rays to prevent irritating burns on his face and arms – a constant reminder of his radiation exposure during three days at Chernobyl.Following the 1986 explosion, other reactors at the plant continued operating until it was halted for good in December under intense international pressure.At the plant itself, workers remain busy. They monitor the now–idle reactors and are building a heating plant and facilities for nuclear waste disposal and reprocessing.They are also involved in a US$758 million, internationally funded project to make the leaky concrete and steel sarcophagus over the ruined reactor environmentally safe.. Turkey’s parliament voted to bar religious school graduates from joining the police force, reports said today, a move aimed at restricting the role of political Islam in the staunchly secular state.

Turkey’s parliament voted to bar religious school graduates from joining the police force, reports said today, a move aimed at restricting the role of political Islam in the staunchly secular state.The law was passed despite severe opposition from pro–Islamic lawmakers. Deputies of the Islamic Virtue Party walked out of parliament’s hall during the vote.Turkey’s secular establishment, led by the powerful military, says that religious schools encourage fundamentalism.About seven percent of the 160,000–member national force are religious school graduates Those officers will be allowed to continue in the force. Religious school graduates are already barred from serving in the military as officers.The bill was drafted after a militant Islamic Kurdish group assassinated a police chief and five other officers in southeastern Turkey in January. The police chief had spearheaded a crackdown against the outlawed Hezbollah group, which is fighting for an Islamic state. The group is not linked to the Lebanese group of the same name.The military, which staged three coups since 1960, has been pushing for harsher laws curbing Islamic groups since it pressured Turkey’s first Islamic–led government out of power in 1997.

The government has since curbed Islamic education, restricted the establishment of pro–Islamic foundations, fired civil servants linked to Islamic groups and rigorously enforced a ban on Islamic style head scarves in schools and public offices.. Strikes have brought much of Greece to a standstill with the government in disarray after backing off proposals to overhaul the nation’s sagging pension system. Strikes brought much of Greece to a standstill today with the government in disarray after backing off proposals to overhaul the nation’s sagging pension system.The 24–hour general strike, which closed down public offices, schools and the media, went ahead despite a government retreat late yesterday. Officials now say all options to reform the pension system are open for discussion.Last week, the Socialist government outlined sweeping proposals it says are necessary to prevent many pension funds for going bankrupt. The measures include pension cuts and an increase in the minimum retirement age to 65.Greece’s powerful unions immediately rejected the steps and forced the government into an embarrassing reversal.

Some critics assailed Premier Costas Simitis for caving into labor interests at a time when Greece is facing a budget crisis over funding for social programmes and rising costs for the 2004 Olympics.The strike idled all public transportation, including island ferries, and disrupted air travel. The state carrier Olympic Airways trimmed its flights to just one per country and one for each domestic location.Schools and government offices were closed, but many small shops were open. Journalists joined the work stoppage, forcing television and radio stations to cancel all newscasts and current affairs programmes. No newspapers will be printed tomorrow.Even Greek Orthodox priest, who are technically civil servants, stayed away from their duties.. The president of Montenegrino, Milo Djukanovic, told Robin Cook yesterday that he remained determined to press ahead with a referendum on independence,but acknowledged the utmost caution was necessary ­ and that the date may have to be put back after his unexpectedly narrow success in Sunday’s elections. The president of Montenegrino, Milo Djukanovic, told the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, yesterday that he remained determined to press ahead with a referendum on independence,but acknowledged the utmost caution was necessary ­ and that the date may have to be put back after his unexpectedly narrow success in Sunday’s elections.Mr Djukanovic is more reliant than ever on the pro-independence Liberal party for a majority in Montenegro’s 77-seat parliament.