August 5, 1956
WAR IN SUEZ: Cairo, 4 – Sources reported this evening that the Egyptian president, Mr Gamal Abdel Nasser, is drawing up a counterproposal to settle the Suez Canal crisis. (…) Diplomatic sources here expressed the view that Nasser will reject an invitation from Great Britain for Egypt to participate in a conference in London. (…) The same sources also believe that Nasser will insist on Egyptian ownership of the Suez Canal, even if that means war. (…) Military measures being taken by Great Britain are continuing, although it is already clear that Egypt has secured the full support of the USSR. (…) In Paris, the newspaper Le Monde has written that select divisions of French paratroopers are ready to leave for Malta. IN PRAISE OF PIKIONIS: (From a review by Angelos Prokopiou): «Athens is being transformed. Its old houses are being demolished. An old city is dying and a new one is being born from its ashes. However, there is no planning in regards to the construction… Athens is being rebuilt without any town plan. The only exception is around the ancient monuments. Fortunately, the architect Dimitris Pikionis is setting an example with a pedestrian zone around the Philopappos monument, the Acropolis and the Pnyx.»
