|
|
|
Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-11-12
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, November 12, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] 1999 BUDGET TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
[02] LEONIDAS SABANIS WORLD CHAMPION IN WEIGHTLIFTING
[03] ALBANIAN PREMIER TO VISIT ATHENS TODAY
[04] SWEDISH FOREIGN AID MINISTER SCHORI IN ATHENS TODAY
[05] FOREIGN MINISTER ASKS GERMANY TO REIMBURSE GREECE FOR WWII
LOAN
[06] GREEK PARLIAMENT APPEALS FOR CHALKI THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL
[07] FIRST INTER SOUTHEAST EUROPE FORUM TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI
[08] SIMITIS-MAJKO MEETING
[09] THE 39TH FILM FESTIVAL OF THESSALONIKI OPENS TOMORROW
[10] THE 1ST INTER-BALKAN FORUM OF INFORMATICS' APPLICATION WILL
BE HELD IN THESSALONIKI
[11] REPPAS ON THE GERMAN WAR REPARATIONS
[12] HUNGER STRIKE OF CYPRIOT STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE TURKISH
CONSULATE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] US READIES FOR POSSIBLE ATTACK ON IRAQ
[14] US GROUP CALLS FOR USE OF GREEK AS OFFICIAL OLYMPIC GAMES
LANGUAGE
[15] US AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY VISITS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH
[16] BOMB ATTACK AGAINST CHIEF OF ALBANIA'S SUPREME COURT OF
APPEALS
[17] 1ST EXHIBITION OF GREEK-CYPRIOT VENTURES INAUGURATED IN
BUCHAREST
[18] FOUR GREEK WEIGHT LIFTERS IN THE BATTLE FOR THE GOLD MEDAL
[19] POSSIBLE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAQ
[20] 160 ALBANIANS WILL ATTEND VOCATIONAL TRAINING SEMINARS IN
GREECE
[21] CYPRUS PROTESTED AGAINST THE VIOLATIONS OF THE NICOSIA FIR BY
TURKISH FIGHTER JETS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] 1999 BUDGET TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
The National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou
tabled the 1999 budget in Parliament last night. The new budget
allows for slight wage and pension increases (2%) , fixed public
utilities rates as well as a freeze on new hires.
The new budget does not contain any new taxes. According to
reports, the increases are to amount to approximately two percent
and will be effective as of January 1, 1999. The new budget also
allows for additional revenue derived from the State
Telecommunications Organization's shares.
[02] LEONIDAS SABANIS WORLD CHAMPION IN WEIGHTLIFTING
Greece's Leonidas Sabanis earned three gold medals, and
broke a world record and three national ones at the 69th world
weightlifting championships, held in Finland. The Olympic gold
medalist lifted 147.5 kilos in the 62-kilo category, while he also
earned first in the 172.5 kilos category and first place in the
total with 320 kilos.
Greece's Valerios Leonides and George Gelilis are competing
today in the 69 kilos category.
[03] ALBANIAN PREMIER TO VISIT ATHENS TODAY
Albania's Prime Minster Panteli Majko is to be in Athens
today on an official visit. The Albanian Premier will be received
by his Greek counterpart Kostas Simitis with whom he will discuss
matters of mutual interest.
Moreover, Mr. Majko will hold talks with the leaders of
Greece's opposition parties and with leading businessmen..
[04] SWEDISH FOREIGN AID MINISTER SCHORI IN ATHENS TODAY
Swedish Foreign Aid Minister Pierre Schori is due to address
an event this evening at the Athens Concert Hall on the subject of
"Greece and Sweden in a United Europe".
Mr. Schori is best known in Greece for the solidarity he
showed to Greek democrats during the seven- year military
dictatorship (1967-74) and as a close friend and associate of late
Swedish premier Olaf Palme.
[05] FOREIGN MINISTER ASKS GERMANY TO REIMBURSE GREECE FOR WWII
LOAN
Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos has reiterated
the demand that Germany reimburse the Greek government for a
wartime loan forcibly extracted from the country's central bank
by Nazi occupation forces during World War II, estimated at $US 10
billion.
Bonn has refused to consider that Greece has any case in
claiming payment of the loan and has also refused to honor Greek
court decisions on paying reparations to Greeks who lost family
members during the occupation.
[06] GREEK PARLIAMENT APPEALS FOR CHALKI THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL
The Greek Parliament's Orthodoxy committee has issued an
appeal to the world's parliaments that they condemn the Turkish
government's decision to fire the board of trustees of the
Theological School at Chalki.
In the statement, the Greek parliament's committee writes
that "the Turkish aggression against Orthodoxy and Hellenism was
recently expressed through the abolishment of the supervisory
committee of the Theological School of Chalki, a school whose
operation the Turkish authorities has forbidden for the past
thirty years. "
The Committee has forwarded the appeal to parliamentary
bodies throughout the world and asks them to condemn Turkey's
decision and to demand its immediate recall and the respect of
the rights of Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
[07] FIRST INTER SOUTHEAST EUROPE FORUM TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI
The 1st Inter-Southeast Europe Forum is scheduled to begin in
Thessaloniki tomorrow, featuring the participation of government
officials and representatives of private companies from
Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania,
Turkey, Yugoslavia and Cyprus.
The participants will present the existing situation in
their countries and the prospects of inter-state alliances in
public sector informatics' application projects.
The Forum will close on Saturday.
[08] SIMITIS-MAJKO MEETING
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis met at noon today with
his Albanian counterpart Pandeli Majko, who is on a formal visit
to Athens.
The talks of the two prime ministers focused on issues of
bilateral relations and on security issues concerning the wider
region. Also, were examined ways in which assistance will be
offered to Albania for the economic reconstruction of the country.
Mr. Majko will also have meetings with opposition party leaders.
[09] THE 39TH FILM FESTIVAL OF THESSALONIKI OPENS TOMORROW
The 39th Film Festival of Thessaloniki opens tomorrow
November 13 with the screening of Goran Paskalijevic's film "The
powder-keg of the Balkans". In this year's festival which has a
budget of 460 million drachmas participate 12 films in the
international competition and 19 in the Greek competition, while a
large number of films will be screened within the framework of
special presentations.
The prizes "Golden Alexander" and "Silver Alexander" will be
awarded to the winners of the two first places in the
international competition and are accompanied by money prizes of
12.5 million drachmas and 7.5 million drachmas respectively.
In the international competition participate films from the
Czech Republic, Hungary, Iran, the United States, Germany, France,
Tadjikistan, South Korea and Canada.
The Film Festival will end on November 22 with the screening
of "Besieged", the last movie by Italian director Bernardo
Bertolucci, while 36 film productions representing the independent
American cinema will be screened within the framework of the
special presentations.
A special event will be held to honor British film director
Ken Lowds, while French cult film director Jean-Daniel Pollet will
be honored in cooperation with the Turin Film Festival.
[10] THE 1ST INTER-BALKAN FORUM OF INFORMATICS' APPLICATION WILL
BE HELD IN THESSALONIKI
The prospects of inter-state alliances in public sector
informatics' application projects will be examined in the 1st
Inter-Balkan Forum that will open in Thessaloniki tomorrow and
will last until Saturday with the participation of representatives
from Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania,
Turkey, Yugoslavia and Cyprus.
Government officials and representatives of private companies
from all the Balkan states and Cyprus will present the existing
situation in their countries both in the private and the public
sector. The goal of this event is the establishment of a permanent
informatics forum in Thessaloniki that will bring in contact
informatics companies based in the Balkans.
[11] REPPAS ON THE GERMAN WAR REPARATIONS
The issues of the World War II occupation loan and the war
reparations for the Nazi victims remain open for the Greek
government, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas
pointing out that the issue had been raised to former German
chancellor Helmut Kohl by Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis.
Mr. Reppas added that the position of the Greek government
remains the same, insinuating that the issue will be raised again
to new German chancellor Gerhard Schroder.
[12] HUNGER STRIKE OF CYPRIOT STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE TURKISH
CONSULATE
Cypriot students studying in Thessaloniki's Aristotle
University have started a 4-day hunger strike outside the Turkish
consulate building in Thessaloniki, condemning Ankara's decision,
made 15 years ago, to declare the Turkish occupied northern Cyprus
"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". The Turkish Cypriot pseudo-
state has not been recognized by any other country besides Turkey.
The protests are being held by the members of the National
Student Association of Cypriots in Thessaloniki, who declare that
they will continue their fight aimed at freeing the northern part
of Cyprus from the Turkish forces.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] US READIES FOR POSSIBLE ATTACK ON IRAQ
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session on Iraq
on Wednesday, and the secretary-general Kofi Annan called on Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein to immediately resume cooperation with U.N.
weapons inspectors.
The United States and Britain have been threatening a
military strike since Iraq announced October 31 that it was
halting the activities of the U.N. Special Commission, known as
UNSCOM, which is responsible for eliminating Iraq's weapons of
mass destruction.
The US has dispatched 100 warplanes and 3,000 marines in the
Persian Gulf.
[14] US GROUP CALLS FOR USE OF GREEK AS OFFICIAL OLYMPIC GAMES
LANGUAGE
A New Jersey-based non-profit organization "Hellenic Action
Inc.", has called for the restoration of Greek as the official
language of the modern Olympic Games.
In a press release, the group says that "whereas the Olympic
Games originated in Hellas (Greece) over 2,700 years ago; and
whereas the modern Olympic Games were taken from the land of
Hellas and the Hellenic people by members of the European
aristocracy in the late 19th century and given an official
language other than Hellenic, therefore, be it resolved that
Hellenic Action Inc. (HAJ) places itself on record as demanding
that this historical wrong surrounding the Olympic Games be
corrected..."
[15] US AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY VISITS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH
The United States Ambassador to Turkey Mark Robert Parris
visited Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos in Istanbul in order to
be briefed on Ankara's firing of the Chalki Orthodox theological
school's board of trustees.
The US State Department has instructed Mr. Parris to lodge
an official demarche with Ankara over the matter.
Mr. Vartholomeos, who intends to meet with Turkish government
authorities in Ankara next week, has issued a condemnation of the
violations of the Greek Orthodox minority's rights
"Because we are Christians we cannot freely exercise our rights,"
Mr. Vartholomeos stated, adding that "we are not inserted,
transplanted or intruders. We are the native element of this land.
We were born here and we will die here."
[16] BOMB ATTACK AGAINST CHIEF OF ALBANIA'S SUPREME COURT OF
APPEALS
The chief of Albania's Supreme Court of Appeals, Fehmi
Abdiou, was the target of a bomb attack which occurred at his
residence yesterday evening. There were no victims from the
unidentified attempt.
According to unconfirmed deports, over six kilos of TNT were
used in the bomb.
Albanian Premier Pandeli Majko condemned the attack as a
"political assassination attempt" and stressed that the terrorists
want to weaken the country's institutions and the state of
justice.
[17] 1ST EXHIBITION OF GREEK-CYPRIOT VENTURES INAUGURATED IN
BUCHAREST
The First Exhibition of Greek and Cypriot businesses was
inaugurated in Bucharest yesterday, an event organized by
Thessaloniki's HELEXPO-International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki.
The exhibition, which will conclude on Saturday, features 13
Greek and 12 Cypriot ventures mainly from the sectors of food,
beverages, apparel, electrical appliances and financial services.
[18] FOUR GREEK WEIGHT LIFTERS IN THE BATTLE FOR THE GOLD MEDAL
Four Greek weight-lifters Valerios Leonidis, Giorgos
Tzelilis, Victoras Mitrou and Christos Spirou will enter the
battle for the gold medal in the Weight-lifting World Championship
in Lahti, Finland this afternoon.
Meanwhile, celebrations continue for the big success of
Olympic champion Leonidas Sambanis, who yesterday won three gold
medals and broke the world record in the 62-kilo category.
[19] POSSIBLE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAQ
The "drums of war" can be heard again in the Persian Gulf.
Already, the United Nations personnel has left Iraq as a
precautionary measure. The UN Security Council called on Baghdad
to reconsider its decision to end its cooperation with the UN in
the inspection of its weapons of mass destruction.
According to information from the United Nations
headquarters, the undertaking of military action against Iraq is
regarded as unavoidable.
[20] 160 ALBANIANS WILL ATTEND VOCATIONAL TRAINING SEMINARS IN
GREECE
One hundred and sixty Albanian citizens will attend
vocational training seminars in Greece and are expected to arrive
by the end of November.
Those attending the seminars will get a skilled worker
diploma, according to the Tirana newspaper "Koha Yone", which also
mentions that the applications for participation in the program
were over 600.
[21] CYPRUS PROTESTED AGAINST THE VIOLATIONS OF THE NICOSIA FIR BY
TURKISH FIGHTER JETS
Cyprus's permanent representative to the United Nations Sotos
Zakheos protested against the violations of the Nicosia FIR by
Turkish fighter jets made on November 5.
Mr. Zakheos mentioned in a written protest that such actions
violate the international air traffic regulations and at the same
time they increase the tension on the island and undermine the
efforts aimed at reaching a final settlement.
|
