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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-08-24
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, August 24, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] AHEPA RELEASES ITS CONGRESSIONAL REPORT CARD
[02] IOC DELEGATION ARRIVES IN GREECE TODAY
[03] PRESPES 2000 FESTIVAL OPENS TOMORROW IN FLORINA
[04] CHIEF OF NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE HEADS UBB BOARD
[05] PILOT PROGRAM IN EFFECT, 1-DAY CRUISES WITH NO VISA
[06] EDUCATION REFORMS TO BE FURTHER REFORMED
[07] GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS RELEASED, TRIAL IN NOVEMBER
[08] TRADE UNIONS EMBARK ON TALKS WITH STATE TODAY
[09] UNIONS, STATE, POSTPONE CONTINUANCE OF TALKS
[10] IOC PLEASED WITH ATHENS 2004 PROGRESS
[11] 65th INTERNATIONAL FAIR OF THESSALONIKI: TIMELINE
[12] PETRALIA: PASOK TO BLAME FOR OLYMPICS DELAY
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] ARCHBISHOP OF GREECE IN JERUSALEM TODAY
[14] STRONG QUAKE RATTLES NW TURKEY, 22 INJURED
[15] GREEK VET RECEIVES AWARD IN AUSTRALIA
[16] GREEK VOLLEYBALL TEAM ENJOYS VICTORY IN SPAIN
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] AHEPA RELEASES ITS CONGRESSIONAL REPORT CARD
The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
(AHEPA) this week released its Congressional Report Card where the
Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman is
rated as a strong supporter of Greek issues.
The report card is based on important legislative initiatives
and positions taken by elected representatives during the 106th
Congress only. Grades are based primarily on legislation initiated
or co-sponsored, voting record, position letters signed (or not
signed), floor action and/or participation in events important to
Greek Americans and Greek foreign policy.
According to the report card, based on a survey which was
conducted before Al Gore announced Mr. Lieberman as his running
mate for the presidency, the senator has co-sponsored and
introduced several pieces of legislation pertaining to Greek
foreign policy issues.
Mr. Lieberman co-sponsored legislative bill S.Con.Res.9,
which calls for a U.S. effort to end restrictions on the freedoms
and human rights of the enclaved people in the occupied area of
Cyprus, and which was introduced on February 11 last year by Sen.
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and was co-sponsored by 35 senators.
The Democratic candidate, rated by AHEPA with a grade A in
the top 10 list among the 100 U.S. senators, has also signed a
letter written by the Senate Armed Services Committee to Secretary
of Defense William Cohen, calling on Cohen to urge Turkish
officials to resolve the Cyprus stalemate. The letter also asked
the Pentagon to urge the Turkish military to bring about a "swift
and equitable resolution" to the illegal occupation in Cyprus.
Other actions taken by the senator in support of Greek issues
included co-sponsoring a piece of legislation expressing the sense
of Congress that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to
Greece before the 2004 Olympics.
The Congressional Report Card, which rates senators on a
grade scale of A+ to D, graded senators Spencer Abraham (R-MI),
Charles Robb (D-VA), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
with A+, with Sen. Snowe having the strongest record of
introducing legislation pertaining to Greek and Cypriot affairs.
[02] IOC DELEGATION ARRIVES IN GREECE TODAY
A delegation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
headed by Vice-President Jacques Rogge will be arriving in Athens
today in order to assess Greece's progress in preparations for the
2004 Olympics.
The IOC delegates will have successive meetings with the
leadership of the "Athens 2004" Olympics Organising Committee,
Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos and other members of
government, and will inspect sites of Olympic projects.
Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis has announced that the
five Games venues to be constructed under his ministry's
supervision will be ready by May 2004. Specifically, Mr Laliotis
stated earlier this week that the rowing center, the sailing
center, the beach volley installations, the multi-purpose venue
and the canoeing center will be constructed with a planned
deadline of May 2004 and will cost 120 billion drachmas.
Construction will begin in early 2002.
[03] PRESPES 2000 FESTIVAL OPENS TOMORROW IN FLORINA
The annual "Prespes" festival will open in Florina tomorrow,
featuring the attendance of Balkan leaders and several Greek
deputies and government officials.
Greece's Minister of the Interior, Public Administration and
Decentralization Minister Vasso Papandreou will meet with FYROM's
interior and public order minister and Albania's vice president
and labor minister on August 26, while National Economy Deputy
Minister Yiannis Zapheiropoulos will hold meetings with his FYROM
and Albanian counterparts.
Macedonia and Thrace Minister George Paschalidis will
officially open the events on the island of Agios Achileios on
August 27, where Environment, City Planning and Public Works
Minister Costas Laliotis recently inaugurated a pedestrian bridge
connecting the Koula checkpoint to the island of Agios Achilleios.
Culture Minister and Deputy Culture Minister Theodoros
Pangalos and Giorgos Floridis, respectively, will hold separate
meetings with their counterparts from Balkan states on August 27,
while, later in the day, Mr. Pangalos will inaugurate the "Prespa
Library" at Agios Germanos.
The "Prespes" festival will feature concerts by Socratis
Malamas, Dimitris Mitropanos, Maria Farantouri, Elli Paspalia,
Savina Giannatou, the Florina-born tenor Sotos Papoulkas and gypsy
Ferush Mustamov, and a Bulgarian poetry night held on August 28.
Within the framework of the festival, a labor-housing lottery
will be held on Friday, August 28, while the European Judo
Championship is scheduled to take place on September 8 and 9 at
Amynteo.
[04] CHIEF OF NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE HEADS UBB BOARD
The governor of the National Bank of Greece Theodoros
Karatzas has been appointed as president of the board of directors
of United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), the neighboring country's third
largest and first privatized banking institution.
Mr. Karatzas' appointment was decided during a UBB general
assembly held in Sofia for the selection of the board's nine
members.
The selection of UBB's board membership was conducted in
cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD), which holds a ten percent stake in UBB.
The National Bank of Greece, the country's largest
commercial bank, has purchased an 89.9 percent stake of UBB for
the sum of 207 million dollars. It also has branches in Albania
and Romania.
The deputy governor of the National Bank of Greece Apostolos
Tamvakakis was elected as the vice-president of the Board, which
now also comprises the National Bank's regional director for the
Balkans Christos Katsanis, as well as National Bank executives
Nikolaos Koutsos and Alexandros Tourkolias.
[05] PILOT PROGRAM IN EFFECT, 1-DAY CRUISES WITH NO VISA
Greece has recently begun allowing people from Turkey to
visit its islands without first obtaining a visa and is looking
for ways to establish this pilot program permanently, according to
government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.
Community leaders and professional associations on the
islands had called for the visa waiver in a bid to boost tourism.
Mr. Reppas stated the government is looking for ways to prevent
the new system from being abused, for example by illegal
immigrants.
[06] EDUCATION REFORMS TO BE FURTHER REFORMED
Education Minister Petros Efthymiou is to present his
proposals for reforms in the academic sector to the Cabinet today,
with most of the changes expected to concern the examinations
system.
If approved, the reforms, which will be funded by cash
transferred from other projects and alterations in European Union
programs, will apply to all secondary educational activities, from
libraries and computer-assisted education to the selection and
printing of textbooks.
Regarding the examinations system, Mr. Efthymiou has decided
to cut the number of lessons on the second year senior high school
syllabus to eight, and those for the third year senior high school
exams to nine. Religious education will not be included in the
exam syllabus.
[07] GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS RELEASED, TRIAL IN NOVEMBER
Twelve Greenpeace activists who were arrested for blocking
access to company trucks at a soya processing plant, have been
released from jail and ordered to appear for a court hearing on
November 13.
The activists, seven Greeks and five foreign nationals, had
remained chained to the gates of the "Soya Hellas" plant on the
island of Evoia, from Tuesday to Wednesday, in protest to the
import of genetically engineered products.
Soya Hellas filed an official complaint against them for
blocking its plant's gates.
[08] TRADE UNIONS EMBARK ON TALKS WITH STATE TODAY
Trade union leaders are to embark on negotiations with Labor
Minister Tasos Yiannitsis today, with whom they will discuss
planned reforms to the labor market.
Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou
will also attend the talks as the participants will also review
the management of the Third Community Support Framework funds for
employment.
Meanwhile, the president of the General Confederation of
Greek Labor (GSEE), Christos Polyzogopoulos warned yesterday that
his union would walk out of the discussions if the government
tried to "sneak in" reforms allowing the deregulation of mass lay-
offs, more flexible working-hour arrangements (which unions claim
will lead to abolishing the eight-hour day), and greater
flexibility in part-time employment, temporary work, insurance
etc.
[09] UNIONS, STATE, POSTPONE CONTINUANCE OF TALKS
Negotiations between trade union leaders and the state were
interrupted this afternoon, after the General Confederation of
Greek Labor (GSEE) requested a thorough outline of the government
position on the planned reforms to the labor market.
The state has agreed to abide by this request, while GSEE
president Christos Polyzogopoulos stated that he expects to have
the report by September 4. Another meeting is to be scheduled
then.
[10] IOC PLEASED WITH ATHENS 2004 PROGRESS
Jacques Rogge, vice-President of the International Olympics
Committee expressed his satisfaction with the progress being made
in the five Olympic projects and in the infrastructure projects
being carried out in the Greek capital with the 2004 Olympics in
mind.
"We are very satisfied with the development of the 14 road
projects and the 5 Olympic projects, presented by Mr Laliotis",
said Mr Rogge, after the various meeting he held with the Olympics
Organising Committee in Athens, adding that "the results have been
encouraging so far. However, our greatest satisfaction is that
after the Olympics have finished, Greece will be left with an
improved infrastructure".
For his part, Civil Works minister Kostas Laliotis stated
that "we had a fruitful and productive meeting with Mr Rogge,
which will be followed by many more. We presented the analytical
time line of development for the preparations, which he was
pleased with. We proved that all our actions and projects will in
fact be realised".
[11] 65th INTERNATIONAL FAIR OF THESSALONIKI: TIMELINE
The countdown has begun for the start of the annual
International Fair of Thessaloniki, which is due to open its doors
on September 2nd until September 11th and Greek Prime Minister
Costas Simitis is preparing his speech for the fair's
inauguration.
The inauguration ceremony will begin at 8pm on Friday September
1st, in the I.Vellides conference centre.
Greek Finance minister, Yiannos Papantoniou, will inaugurate
the Information Systems General Secretariat kiosk at 11am and the
Greek Transport minister, Christos Verelis will inaugurate the
Civil Aviation Service kiosk at 12 noon.
Civil Works minister, Costas Laliotis will inaugurate his
ministry's kiosk at the same time. The Athens 2004 Olympics
Organising Committee will inaugurate its kiosk at 1pm. The
inauguration day will end at 9.30pm, when those present will
attend the dinner held by the International Fair of Thessaloniki
administration, in honour of the Prime Minister, in the I.Vellides
conference centre.
Mr Simitis will visit the Fair on Sunday September 3rd and
give a press interview later on that day.
[12] PETRALIA: PASOK TO BLAME FOR OLYMPICS DELAY
New Democracy Party MP, Fani Palli Petralia, today criticised
leading party PASOK for the delays in the development of Greek
Olympic projects, during an interview at Greek radio station
Planet.
Ms Petralia emphasised that three years were needed for the
large athletic programs to be submitted to the minister of Civil
Projects and that delays in taking charge of these projects were
caused by internal government problems and by the weakening
influence of Civil Projects minister Costas Laliotis. These delays
were all to the disadvantage of Greek citizens.
As far the arrival in Greece of the exiled King is concerned,
as a member of the International Olympics Committee, Ms Petralia
explained that this was accepted as soon as the responsibility for
holding the Olympic Games was awarded to Greece.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] ARCHBISHOP OF GREECE IN JERUSALEM TODAY
Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos is
heading a church delegation in an official visit to Jerusalem
today.
During his stay, Mr. Christodoulos will meet with the
Patriarch of Jerusalem Diodoros, the President of Israel Moshe
Katzav, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and with representatives
of various Christian denominations.
[14] STRONG QUAKE RATTLES NW TURKEY, 22 INJURED
Twenty-two persons were injured when an earthquake measuring
5.8 on the Richter scale shook northwest Turkey yesterday
afternoon.
According to press reports, the injuries occurred as the
panic-stricken locals ran to flee their buildings.
Yesterday's quake took place in the same region as last
year's catastrophic one that claimed 17,000 lives.
[15] GREEK VET RECEIVES AWARD IN AUSTRALIA
Researcher of bone cancer in dogs, Panayiotis Loukopoulos, a
Greek member of the Pathology-Anatomy veterinary science
department in Queensland, Australia, has received two awards for
his recent research projects.
The Greek scientist received the awards from the
International Conference of Veterinary Science for Small Animals,
which took place in Amsterdam. Over 3,000 representatives from all
over the world were present at the conference, where Mr
Loukopoulos won the only two awards.
The awards were for the best young researcher of bone tumours in
dogs and for the best team research in the development of the best
diagnosis methods in this field.
Research carried out by the Greek scientist could be used in
future studies of the same illness in humans, according to recent
statements.
[16] GREEK VOLLEYBALL TEAM ENJOYS VICTORY IN SPAIN
The Greek national volleyball youth team enjoyed its first
victory at the European championships, currently being held in
Italy. The young players beat their Czech counterparts 3 sets to
2, before going on to play against Yugoslavia.
Holland, Ukraine, Spain, France, Slovenia, Italy, Germany,
Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic are also taking part in this
sporting event.
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