[01] ALL PRIME MINISTER'S PROBLEMS MAY BE OVERCOME SAY SCIENTISTS

[02] AKIS TSOHADJOPOULOS TO LEAD THE GREEK DELIGATION IN MADRID

[03] 1995 BUDGET IN THE PARLIAMENT

[04] MOBILITY IN THE GOVERNMENTAL PARTY

[05] FOUNDING CONFERENCE OF THE COUNCIL OF OVERSEAS HELLENISM OPENED

[06] FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE, BOSNIA AND IRAN IN SARAJEVO

[07] EARTHQUAKE OF 5,4 ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN SOUTH- EASTERN AEGEAN

[08] NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[01] ALL PRIME MINISTER'S PROBLEMS MAY BE OVERCOME SAY SCIENTISTS

All problems greek Prime Minister mr Andreas Papandreou, who has been in hospital for 11 days, faces may be overcome according to Egyptian heart surgeon dr Magdi Yacub who in 1988 made an open heart operation on the Greek Prime Minister.

In a communique issued in the first evening hours today and which is signed by mr Yacub and anaesthisiologist dr Gabin Right who also took part in the 1988 open heart operation, the two doctors stress that they are impressed by their greek collegues and the way they faced the medical problems mr Papandreou has. Mr Yacub said that they are optimistic about the eventuality that mr Papandreou gets better.

Earlier the 13-member council consisting of the greek doctors who treat mr Papandreou since he was admitted to hospital after a session in which dr Yacub and Right had taken part had issued a communique in which they described the medical situation of the Prime Minister's as stable.They also said that the mechanical respirator used on the Prime Minister will continue to be used and the patient responds without any implications.

Briefing the journalists, a spokesman of the council stressed that dr Yacub agreed that the council's desicion not to use a diuretic medicine he has sent for the Prime Minister was correct.

"If only the solution of the problem was in a diuretic medicine", said the spokesman of the council professor Grigoris Scalkeas who declined to commit himself to a certain time for the withdrawal of the respirator used on mr Papandreou.

Mr Scalkeas contradicted that the Prime Minister has any problem concerning the function of his heart and repeated that it was not the council who considered dr Yacub's presense as neccessary.

Dr Scalkeas added that mr Yacub is mr Papandreou's personal doctor and attributed his presense to a wish by his family.

Greek press and media minister mr Tilemahos Hitiris said today that mr Papandreou who today has his name day, received numerous messages from a great number of his political leaders from all over the world, among which were presidents mr Bill Clinton of the USA and mr Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Prime Minister mr John Major of Britain.

Mr Hitiris noted that the President of the Republic mr Constantinos Stephanopoulos and his predecessor mr Constantinios Karamanlis as well as the political leaders and ex-Prime Minister mr Constantinos Mitsotakis.

Mr Papandreou, 77 next February, in a serious situation in the Onassion cardiology Centre of Athens, one of the best equipped in Europe since November 20th, when he was admitted in hospital suffering from a form of pneumonia.

His situation gets more serious since seven years earlier he was submitted to an open heart operation and since then he suffered crises.

He governed the country for almost ten years with absolute majorities after the two successive mandates he received in 1981 and 1985 and the third which he received in October 1993. He has been elected in the national assembly ten times, the first being in 1963.

He married ms Demetra Liani-Papandreou in 1989 and has four children from his previous marriage to mr Margaret Chud. The first of them mr Giorgos Papandreou is the education minister.

[02] AKIS TSOHADJOPOULOS TO LEAD THE GREEK DELIGATION IN MADRID

Minister of Interior Affairs, Public Administration and Decentralization mr Akis Tsohadjopoulos, who is the first in order minister according to the law for the government will head the greek deligation in the European Summit due in Madrid in mid-December as announced today in Athens by the greek press and media minister mr Tilemahos Hitiris who added that countries in the European Union summit are represented at the level of heads of the executive authority

[03] 1995 BUDGET IN THE PARLIAMENT

1995 budget was deposited today in the parliament as it should according to the greek constitution. Speaking on the budget the Minister of Finance mr Alekos Papadopoulos stressed that this budget as it happened with those of the two previous years will be totally applied which did not usually take place in the past.

Press and media minister mr Tilemahos Hitiris characterised the full application of the new budget as neccessary for the development.

The main opposition party of New Democracy accused the government of having made a budget full of taxes for the low-income classes while he doubted whether it will lead to development.

Yesterday it was the president of the party mr Miltiades Evert who had said that the 1995 budget concerns greatly his party because it will be called to apply it.

The political parties in general were very critical of the budget which is usual as the vote for the budget is a vote of confidence for the government.

MP and ex-Minister mr Constantinos Simitis who is included in the prospective successors of mr Papandreou's in a statement he made underscored his conviction that the PASOK government will finish their mandate which ends in autumn 1997.

The vote on the budget will take place on December 21st following a three day debate in the parliament.

[04] MOBILITY IN THE GOVERNMENTAL PARTY

Mobility appears inside the governmnetal socialistic PASOK party despite official contradictions that no dicussion on the future of the party will take place while mr Papandreou in in hospital.

Main tendencies in the party seem to have been formed with ministers of Interior Affairs Public Administration and Decentralization mr Akis Tsohadjopoulos, and National Defense mr Yerassimos Arsenis ex Trade and Industry Minister mr Constantinos Simitis, Speaker of the Parliament mr Apostolos Kaklamanis and ex Vice President of the 1980s PASOK governments mr Yannis Haralambopoulos being discussed as prospective candidates for the leadership of the party.

In Athens it has been made known that mr Tsohadjopoulos met mr Arsenis but the press and media minister declined to make any comment on that and repeated that it is mr Papandreou who is still the Prime Minister.

A session of the executive bureau of PASOK started in Athens late in the afternoon to discuss all open issues of political interest as the Secretary of the Central Committee mr Constantinos Scandalidis said.

[05] FOUNDING CONFERENCE OF THE COUNCIL OF OVERSEAS HELLENISM OPENED

As a historic event marking a new course for the unity of Hellenism was characterized the first Organising Assembly of the Council of Overseas Hellenism which opened today in Thessaloniki with the participation of representatives from 3.000 organizations of greeks living abroad.

The meeting opened the Organising Committee President and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs responsible for issues concerning the greeks living abroad, mr.Grigoris Niotis and Secretary General for greeks living abroad, mr.Nikos Dimadis. The delegates were also greeted by Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Kostas Triaridis, Prefect of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Papadopoulos, the city's mayor mr.Kosmopoulos and representatives of political parties participating in the conference's all-party committee.

In his speech Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs mr.Niotis referred to the important role of the greeks living abroad as a bridge of friendship and cooperation with the host countries where they live and work. He also stressed the new prospects that are being opened for closer ties between Greece and the millions of greeks living in countries all over the world.

Mr.Dimadis said that through this new institution the representatives of the greeks living abroad will be able, in cooperation with the greek state, to actively and creatively participate in programming their future.

Minister of Macedonia-Thrace mr.Triaridis said that the Council of Overseas Hellenism is mainly interested in preserving the Nation, Orthodoxy, Language and Education. He also stressed that after the election of a presiding board the overseas hellenism will be able to determine by itself the operation of the Council of Overseas Hellenism and the issues that will be examined.

Many and diverse were the interventions made by representatives of the greek communities abroad in the opening day of the proceedings of the first Organising Assembly of the Council of Overseas Hellenism. The interventions made were interpreted as real participation of the greek communities' representatives in this important institution, which is being established for the first time with only objective to unite Hellenism.

Hellenic-American National Council Chairman mr.Spiropoulos expressed the position that the Hellenism is not dispersed but united. He said that he does not agree with the term "Diaspora" used for the greeks living outside Greece, stressing that those greeks are not dispersed but united and this unity will be demonstrated clearly in the Council of Overseas Hellenism.

Mr.Spiropoulos referred to the importance of being a greek living abroad and stressed that through the proceedings of the Organising Assembly must be determined the way and the means of communication between the greeks abroad and the greek state.

Mr.Stathakos, Chairman of the Greek Organizations in the wider New York region welcomed the effort made and stressed that is necessary to clarify all the operational and organizational details concerning the Council of Overseas Hellenism after its first presiding board is being elected.

The intervention made by mr.Ladopoulos, Secretary of the Federation of Greek Organizations in Germany electrified the atmosphere as he openly raised the issue of the participation of the cleric-secular organizations and the way through which the members of the Organising Assembly will be elected.

[06] FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE, BOSNIA AND IRAN IN SARAJEVO

Greek Foreign Minister mr Carolos Papoulias characterized as very important today's meeting in Sarajevo with his counterparts from Bosnia and Iran. The meeting is a follow up of the meetings that have already taken place in Athens and Teheran.

Mr.Papoulias stated before his departure that the topics of the discussions in Sarajevo will be substantive as they take place on the eve of the Conferences in Paris and London and the reconstruction of the region.

The greek Foreign Minister said that Greece has expressed its desire to actively participate in the region's reconstruction adding that during his last visit to Sofia he had agreed with his bulgarian counterpart mr.Pirinski that there will be a cooperation between Greece, Bulgaria and Romania for joint participation in the reconstruction of former Yugoslavia.

Mr.Papoulias is expected to return from Sarajevo late this afternoon.

[07] EARTHQUAKE OF 5,4 ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN SOUTH- EASTERN AEGEAN

The Geophysics Institute in Athens and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Geophysics Laboratory announced that their seismographs recorded a strong earthquake measuring 5,4 on the Richter scale at 13:49pm today. Its epicenter was located 350 kilometers south-east of Athens.

The epicenter was in the sea region east of the south-eastern Aegean Sea island of Nisiros.

[08] NEWS IN BRIEF