Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-07-07
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 29, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] TEMPORARY DROP IN TEMPERATURES
[02] TWO TURKISH SLAVE-TRADERS BROUGHT 25 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO
THE ISLAND OF KOS
[03] SKEPTICISM OVER THE CONFISCATION OF GERMAN PROPERTY
[04] US STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE
[05] LOSSES OF 1.38% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[06] FORMAL VISIT TO ATHENS BY AUSTRALIA'S VICTORIA STATE PRIME
MINISTER
[07] MR. REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN CYPRUS
[08] DOBBINS AIRS VIEWS ON CYPRUS ISSUE
[09] 140 FIRES ENGULF GREECE
[10] OTE-YAHOO APPROACH FINAL AGREEMENT
[11] INFLATION WAS AT 2.5% IN THE MONTH OF JUNE
[12] THE FIRE IN THE ISLAND OF SAMOS RAGES OUT OF CONTROL
[13] US-CANADIAN PAN HELLENIC CONFERENCE SUCCESSFUL
[14] SENATOR WANTS UK TO NEGOTIATE RETURN OF MARBLES
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] GREECE HAS A SAD LEAD IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
[16] THE GREEK MINISTER OF DEFENSE CONTINUES HIS VISIT TO RUSSIA
[17] THE CAPITAL INCREASE IN THE BANK OF PIRAEUS IN ROMANIA HAS
BEEN APPROVED
[18] TSOCHATZOPOULOS-PUTIN MEETING
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] TEMPORARY DROP IN TEMPERATURES
The north winds blowing in Greece since this morning dropped
the temperatures by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius throughout the country.
However, on Sunday temperature will rise again to 42 degrees and
on Monday it will be lower but starting on Tuesday until Friday
temperature will rise again to 42 and 43 degrees Celsius.
In Athens, temperature rose yesterday to 44.4 degrees Celsius
and due to the excessive heat 16 people were taken to hospitals
with heat exhaustion, 52 with heart problems, 37 with respiratory
problems, while 50 people fainted because of the high
temperatures.
The long heatwave and the continuous operation of the air
conditioners resulted to 4-hour interruptions in electricity
supply in spite of the efforts made by the state Electricity
Company to avoid them.
The Greek Fire Department announced yesterday that a total of
141 fires were in progress across the country fanned by the strong
winds and already they have destroyed thousands of hectars of
forest land.
[02] TWO TURKISH SLAVE-TRADERS BROUGHT 25 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO
THE ISLAND OF KOS
Two Turkish slave-traders were arrested in the region of
Psalidi in the south-eastern Aegean island of Kos. Coast Guard
officers arrested the two men when they spotted 25 illegal
immigrants on their boat. Two of the illegal immigrants were women
and the majority of them were Iranians and Palestinians.
All of them were taken to the Port Authority in Kos.
[03] SKEPTICISM OVER THE CONFISCATION OF GERMAN PROPERTY
Minister of justice Michalis Stathopoulos doubted yesterday
the legality of the property confiscation move and whether a
ministerial permit is needed in order to be implemented,
commenting on the court action launched by the relatives of the
Nazi atrocity victims in Distomo, central Greece during WWII,
given the fact that a court decision on the confiscation of Goethe
Institute property will be implemented today or on Monday at the
latest.
Mr. Stathopoulos stated that the courts will judge whether
the seizure was legal or not and whether a justice minister permit
was necessary.
From his side, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas
stated that the government is opposed to the confiscation and
stressed that there should be an agreement on a common stance
among all interested sides in the country taking under
consideration the national interest without by-passing the rights
of the people in favor of whom the court has ruled.
[04] US STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE
US assistant secretary of state James Dobins commented on the
Turkish move in the region of Strovilia, Cyprus near Famagusta
after the meeting he had with Greek foreign minister Giorgos
Papandreou in Athens.
The US official stated that the United Nations are in contact
with the two sides in an effort to solve the issue, adding that
the United States encourage a satisfactory solution.
On the Cyprus problem, he expressed the wish of the United
States to see the two sides move to concrete proposals for its
solution.
[05] LOSSES OF 1.38% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
The week ended today in the Athens Stock Exchange with
significant losses of 1.38%. The general index dropped to 3.914,03
points, while the volume of transactions was low at 68.57 billion
drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today 293 recorded losses and only 38
had gains.
[06] FORMAL VISIT TO ATHENS BY AUSTRALIA'S VICTORIA STATE PRIME
MINISTER
General secretary of the Greeks living abroad, Dimitris
Dollis will receive on behalf of the Greek government Australia's
Victoria state prime minister Steve Bracks, who will be on a
formal visit to Athens on July 9-11. The visit is regarded as
important for the promotion of bilateral relations which are very
strong due to the large Greek community in Melbourne which numbers
over 350.000 people.
Mr. Bracks was a former colleague of Mr. Dollis and the two
men share a close friendship since the start of Mr. Dollis' long
political career in Australia as the deputy leader of the Labor
Party and shadow minister before his repatriation to Greece last
year.
The prime minister of Victoria belongs to the renewal
movement within Australia's Labor Party, comes from Lebanon and is
a known philhellene.
[07] MR. REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN CYPRUS
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas attributed to a
misunderstanding the impressions created according to which, there
is a divergence of views between Athens and Nicosia after the new
provocative move by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in the
region of Strovilia in Cyprus.
When asked to comment on the statements made by Cypriot
minister of defense Mr. Hasikos, who spoke of a change in the
status quo and an action that constitutes a cause of war, the
Greek government spokesman stressed that you can not speak about a
cause of war when your government participates in the talks aimed
at finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. Mr. Reppas stated
that the priority is to back the Cypriot government and Cypriot
president Glafkos Clerides, who is defending the national
interests, adding that it would be best if all the rest were
avoided.
Mr. Reppas reiterated that the issue concerns the UN and
stressed that the specific move by the Turks exposes the
international organization to the point of humiliation. He
stressed that the Greek government has raised the issue and will
continue to do so reminding that foreign minister Giorgos
Papandreou will raise the issue at the EU general affairs council.
Mr. Reppas stated that all political and diplomatic means
must be used in order to deal with the problem and strengthen the
stance of the Cypriot government which handles a major national
issue.
In conclusion, Mr. Reppas stressed that the reliability of
the United Nations and the international community and their
ability to impose solutions in accordance with the international
law are being challenged by this Turkish move.
[08] DOBBINS AIRS VIEWS ON CYPRUS ISSUE
James Dobbins, US undersecretary of Foreign Affairs today
issued a statement shortly after his meeting with his Greek
counterpart George Papandreou during which the recent action taken
by Turkey in the region Strovilia was discussed.
The US official stated that his country is currently in
contact with both sides and is trying to find a solution to the
issue.
As far the issue of Cyprus is concerned, Dobbins expressed
the desire of the US to see both sides offering specific solutions
to the problem. Although there is bound to be a huge gap between
these potential solutions, the US undersecretary maintained that
it is only once possible solutions are offered that efforts can
then be made to bridge differences between the two.
[09] 140 FIRES ENGULF GREECE
There were 141 fully fledged fires in Greece last night
according to the country's fire brigade service, bringing the
total number of acres burnt during the month of July to 15,000.
This figure is three times higher than was measured during
the same period of time last year.
Over 500 acres of forest land and 3,000 olive trees have been
burnt to ashes in Messinia, where fires continue to rage for the
third day running, threatening the lives of inhabitants in nearby
villages.
[10] OTE-YAHOO APPROACH FINAL AGREEMENT
The agreement between the Greek Telecommunications
Organization (OTE) and the Internet search engine Yahoo seems to
be reaching its final stages.
A Yahoo delegation is expected to arrive in Athens next week
to discuss the concluding details of the agreement, which deals
with OTE's purchase of legal rights of a certain section within
the Yahoo network.
The OTE Internet department will start setting up its new
network field if both sides come to an agreement. Mr Manasis, the
company's president, pointed out that that "all telecommunications
organisations are progressing gradually, to incorporate Internet
technology."
[11] INFLATION WAS AT 2.5% IN THE MONTH OF JUNE
Inflation closed at 2.5% in the month of June with a drop of
0.4% compared to the previous month, as it was announced today by
the Greek government's economic staff.
Meanwhile, the economic and social committee met in Athens
this morning under minister of national economy Yiannos
Papantoniou to discuss the freeing of the telecommunications and
energy markets.
The telecommunications will be freed on January 1, 2001 and
Greek Telecommunications Organization, OTE, will lose the monopoly
in the telephone market.
The relevant draft bill was presented by minister of
transportation Christos Verelis and it is expected to be tabled in
parliament in August.
[12] THE FIRE IN THE ISLAND OF SAMOS RAGES OUT OF CONTROL
The big fire in the Aegean island of Samos rages out of
control since Thursday night destroying thousands of hectars of
forest land. Meanwhile, the fire in the region of Kalentzi in
Peloponnesos, south Greece is in progress and another fire that
broke out in the region of Tripes in the island of Chios is under
partial control. Five other fires that broke out in different
parts of the country have been put under control.
The fire front in Samos is 3 to 4 kilometers long and at one
point the flames came as close as 100 meters from the houses of
the village of Mavratzei.
According to statements made to the Athens radio station
"Flash" by parliament deputy Pithagoras Vardikos, who is elected
in the island of Samos, the fire is the work of arsonists as it
broke out simultaneously in three different areas and at a time
when the fire-fighting aircraft were unable to fly.
[13] US-CANADIAN PAN HELLENIC CONFERENCE SUCCESSFUL
The 54th Pan Macedonian Union conference is successfully
continuing in New York, bringing together representatives from all
over America and Canada.
Greek representatives currently attending the conference are
professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, attending on behalf of the
General Secretary of Hellenic Emigrants and Panayiotis
Skandalakis, New Democracy MP, attending on behalf of the Greek
parliament's Hellenic Emigrants Committee, of which he is vice-
president.
Dimitris Platis and Vasilis Filippou, General Consuls of
Greece and Cyprus respectively, both spoke at the event, as did
the president of the Pan Macedonian Union, Dr Serapheim
Papayiannis.
Messages were also sent to the conference by Bill Clinton, US
president, Apostolos Kaklamanis, president of the Greek
Parliament, Archibishop Dimitrios of America and Alexandros Filon,
Greek ambassador to the US, amongst others.
Also present at the formal dinner held at the start of the
gathering was Peter Valon, president of New York's Town Council.
[14] SENATOR WANTS UK TO NEGOTIATE RETURN OF MARBLES
Republican senator Peter Fitzgerald has invited Britain to
negotiate the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece before the
2004 Olympic Games are held, according to the amendment he
presented to the US Senate.
Included in the senator's amendments is the statement that
the Parthenon was adopted as a symbol of democracy by the founders
of America and represents the principles that these founders
wanted the functioning of their country to embody.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] GREECE HAS A SAD LEAD IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Greece and Portugal have a sad lead as they hold the first
place among the EU members-states regarding the number of traffic
accidents.
The number of deaths in traffic accidents in Greece in the
period of 1990-1998 showed an increase of 5% according to figures
provided by the European Statistics Agency, Eurostat, while
figures in the rest of the EU countries presented a notable
decline.
Based on the Eurostat, the traffic accident deaths in Greece
in 1998 were 212 per 1 million people compared to 202 in 1990.
At a European level, 42.600 people were killed in road
accidents in 1998 compared to 56.400 eight years ago.
According to Eurostat, the biggest decline in the number of
traffic accident deaths per 1 million people was recorded in
Austria, Finland, Britain and Spain with a 35% drop.
Based on the data provided, Sweden and Britain have the
safest road network, while in 1998 the most deaths in traffic
accidents were recorded in Portugal (243) and Greece (212).
[16] THE GREEK MINISTER OF DEFENSE CONTINUES HIS VISIT TO RUSSIA
Russian minister of defense Igor Sergeyev responding to a
question on the latest Turkish moves in Cyprus stated that Russia
and Greece share the same views on the respect and implementation
of international law.
Mr. Sergeyev met in Moscow with Greek minister of defense
Akis Tsochatzopoulos who is on a formal visit to Russia.
[17] THE CAPITAL INCREASE IN THE BANK OF PIRAEUS IN ROMANIA HAS
BEEN APPROVED
The capital increase in the Bank of Piraeus branch in Romania
from 100 billion to 400 billion lei was approved yesterday by its
shareholders' general assembly.
According to a statement issued by the bank, the increase of
its capital brings it at the top of the list of the Greek banks
that are active in the country.
The transfer of the money will take place by the end of July
with the approval of the National Bank of Romania, while it is
worth to be noted that 99.99% of the bank's shares belongs to
Piraeus Group.
[18] TSOCHATZOPOULOS-PUTIN MEETING
Russian president Vladimir Putin had a 40minute meeting today
with Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos who is on a
formal visit to Russia.
Mr. Putin stated that Greece is a unique example of
cooperation with Russia in spite of the fact that it is a member
of NATO, while Mr. Tsochatzopoulos referred to the condemnation of
terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism by Russia, regarded as very
important references at a period when the Russian leadership is
faced with the problem of Chechnya.
The issue of the improvement of the relations between Russia
and NATO was also stressed in the contacts Mr. Tsochatzopoulos had
with Russian officials.
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