Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-10-10
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 10, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] MASSIVE STRIKES PARALYZE THE COUNTRY TODAY
[02] REGION'S PUBLIC ORDER MINISTERS MEET IN CORFU
[03] SHIPWRECK SURVIVOR FILES FIRST SUIT FOR DAMAGES
[04] GREEK PRESIDENT LAUDS KOSTUNICA ON ELECTION
[05] GREEK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH LATVIAN COUNTERPART
[06] SAMINA CAPTAIN:FIRST MATE WAS GROSSLY NEGLIGENT
[07] LOSSES OF 0.85% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[08] ANCIENT MACEDONIAN CITY DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS NEAR
THESSALONIKI
[09] THE GREEK INVESTMENT PRESENCE IN ARMENIA
[10] THE DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE FLOODS IN CHALKIDIKI ARE ESTIMATED
AT 1 BILLION DRACHMAS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] CYPRUS PROTESTED IN THE UN ON THE AIRSPACE VIOLATIONS BY
TURKEY
[12] GREEK-BULGARIAN CONFERENCE IN SOFIA WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
THE INTERREG PROGRAM
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] MASSIVE STRIKES PARALYZE THE COUNTRY TODAY
Massive strikes are expected to paralyze the country today,
as unions remain adamant to their decision not to accept
government proposals on social security and labor reforms.
Called by Greece's Greece's largest union umbrella, the
General confederation of Greek Laborers (GSSE) and the civil
servants' union ADEDY, the strike will be observed by most of the
country's labor force, including staff in hospitals, the phone and
public utilities companies, the banking sector (certainly by
employees at the state-owned banks) and the post office. Most
schools will also remain closed, while public transportation will
also come to a halt in Thessaloniki this afternoon.
Also, the national air carrier Olympic Airways will conduct one
flight per route, while the railroad organization (OTE) will
operate only six trains.
[02] REGION'S PUBLIC ORDER MINISTERS MEET IN CORFU
The Public Order Ministers of Greece, Albania and Italy are
to meet at the island of Corfu today, where they will sign a
memorandum of cooperation in the combat of regional organized
crime.
Greece's Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoides is to
also hold talks with his counterpart from FYROM in the near
future. Today's meeting is a continuance of Mr. Chrysochoides'
contacts in Tirana and Sofia.
[03] SHIPWRECK SURVIVOR FILES FIRST SUIT FOR DAMAGES
A claim for damages over 50 million drachmas, the first in a
series that are expected to ensue, has been filed against Minoan
Flying Dolphins by one of the survivors of September 26's
disastrous shipwreck where 80 people lost their lives.
The lawsuit, filed by 19-year-old Efstathios Livieratos, also
calls for the attachment of the shipping company's property, while
the court of the first instance has already proceeded to
temporarily restrain the title transfer of the "High Speed 4".
Another man, Emannuel Kalargyros, who lost both his parents
in the shipwreck, has filed a complaint with the Piraeus district
attorney against the ferry's crew, the Merchant Marine Ministry's
registry for inspections of merchant ships, et al.
The 34-year-old vessel "Samina" sank after hitting a large
patch of rocks in rough seas about two miles off the island.
According to survivor reports, the ship fell apart as it sank
and panicked passengers started jumped overboard when the ferry
boat listed and began sinking.
[04] GREEK PRESIDENT LAUDS KOSTUNICA ON ELECTION
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
has sent a congratulatory telegram to newly-elected Yugoslav
President Vojislav Kostunica, both personally and on behalf of the
Greek people, for his election victory and wished him success in
his "lofty mission", while also sending wishes for the "progress
and prosperity of the friendly Yugoslav people".
President Stephanopoulos, whose message was delivered to
President Kostunica by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou on
Saturday, expressed his certainty that traditionally good
relations and friendship and cooperation between the two countries
would be strengthened and developed in the interests of both
peoples during his period of office and at "this important and
historic conjuncture".
"Greece, together with the other democratic countries of the
world which are united by common values and virtues, will be very
happy to welcome Yugoslavia again, under the guidance of Mr.
Kostunica, in the family of European democratic countries where it
traditionally belongs," President Stephanopoulos said.
[05] GREEK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH LATVIAN COUNTERPART
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos,
presently on a visit to Latvia, met with his Latvian counterpart
Vike Freiberga in Riga yesterday, with whom he discussed bilateral
relations in the trade sector.
During the talks, President Stephanopoulos reiterated Athens'
support for Latvia's desire to join Euro-Atlantic alliances and
stated that Greece is interested in furthering the bilateral
relations in the economic, cultural and higher education sectors.
Furthermore, he briefed President Freiberga on Greek-Turkish
affairs and the Cyprus problem, as well as the situation in the
Balkans.
In turn, the Latvian President said that Mr. Stephanopoulos'
visit was a political confirmation of her country's right to
sovereignty and wish to join Euro-Atlantic alliances, adding that
her country wished for bilateral cooperation to also include the
defence sector.
Later in the day, President Stephanopoulos addressed a forum
of Greek and Latvian businessmen, noting that the success of his
visit would depend on their success in closing business
agreements.
The Greek President is accompanied by Deputy National Economy
Minister Yiannis Zapheiropoulos and Deputy Foreign Minister
Angeliki Laiou. His next stop will by Estonia.
[06] SAMINA CAPTAIN:FIRST MATE WAS GROSSLY NEGLIGENT
In testimony provided today, the captain of the ferry boat
that sunk on September 26 accuses his first mate of having shown
"gross negligence" that led to the disaster which that cost the
lives of 80 people.
According to today's issue of the Athens daily "Ta Nea", the
Captain of the Samina Express ferry Vasilis Yiannakis openly
accuses first mate Anastasios Psychoyios during his testimony
before an appeals court judge, stating that "I can't accept his
excuses... None of his claims stand. There's no way a wave can
shift a ship..."
Both Yiannakis and Psychoyios have been remanded pending
trial on multiple counts of manslaughter "with possible intent"
and other lesser charges".
The first mate, who insists that the disaster was caused by
adverse weather, is also targeted in testimonies provided by two
other defendants, helmsman Panayiotis Kasdaglis and midshipman
George Patelas.
According to the investigation's findings so far, none of the
crew's four members who were assigned to the ship's bridge that
ill-fated night attribute the accident to mechanical malfunction -
something which Psychoyios himself vehemently rules out, even
though his attorneys are claiming otherwise.
Capt. Yiannakis accuses Psychoyios of having failed to summon
him quickly enough so that he could be at the ship's bridge, and
said that "I would never steer the vessel to the left or the
right, since there would a risk of lateral impact with deadly
results, which is what happened... I also believe that had he
(Psychoyios) turned the helm 25 degrees to the left, then the
impact would have taken place at the stern and we would have
suffered lesser damages."
The defendants are appearing before an appeals court judge,
an unusual measure taken when the crimes are so serious that they
need investigation by the most experienced judicial officials.
The council of appeals court judges on Syros - the
administrative center of the Cycladic islands -have elected their
colleague Nikos Karadimitriou to lead the investigation. Dimitris
Hondroyiannis will be his substitute.
[07] LOSSES OF 0.85% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Losses of 0.85% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today and the general index was at 3.897,05 points, while the
volume of transactions was disappointing at 58.9 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today 72 recorded gains and 279 had
losses, while 26 remained unchanged.
[08] ANCIENT MACEDONIAN CITY DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS NEAR
THESSALONIKI
A Macedonian city, smaller than ancient Pella, with walls,
cemeteries and ancient treasures was unearthed by archaeologists
in the region of Apollonia, near Thessaloniki. The city was found
in the same region where last August a farmer had discovered a
unique golden chaplet that was delivered to the responsible
authorities.
The city is smaller in size than ancient Pella and it was
built at a passage linking Macedonia with Thrace and Chalkidiki.
Based on the findings that were unearthed, the region was
continuously populated from the bronze era until the Byzantine
times.
[09] THE GREEK INVESTMENT PRESENCE IN ARMENIA
Greece ranks second among foreign investors who became active
in Armenia in the first three months of 2000 with direct
investments of US$12.5 million, according to figures provided by
the Armenian Statistics Agency ARMSTAT.
The first place is occupied by Russia with direct investments
of US$ 17.7 million, while the third and fourth place is occupied
by Canada and the United States with US$4.7 million and US$3.2
million respectively.
Meanwhile, the overall foreign investments in Armenia in the
specific period of time increased by 130% compared to the same
period last year, while the increase of direct foreign investments
was impressive reaching 120%.
[10] THE DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE FLOODS IN CHALKIDIKI ARE ESTIMATED
AT 1 BILLION DRACHMAS
The responsible authorities are assessing the damages in
Chalkidiki and the monastic community of Mount Athos, northern
Greece caused by the recent flash floods that were the result of
the strong rainfall recorded in the region last Saturday night.
According to draft calculations, the damages caused in the
region of Megali Panagia in Chalkidiki, where a 20yearold man was
drowned, are estimated to be over 1 billion drachmas without
taking into account the tens of cars that were destroyed.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] CYPRUS PROTESTED IN THE UN ON THE AIRSPACE VIOLATIONS BY
TURKEY
Cypriot government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou stated today
that Cyprus' permanent representative in the United Nations Sotos
Zakheos addressed a letter to UN secretary-general on October 4
accusing Turkey of repeated violations of Cyprus' airspace and the
Nicosia FIR.
The violations were made by Turkish fighter jets throughout
the months of August and September.
[12] GREEK-BULGARIAN CONFERENCE IN SOFIA WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
THE INTERREG PROGRAM
A Greek-Bulgarian one-day conference was held in Sofia
yesterday within the framework of the inter-border cooperation
program INTERREG.
Greek Alpha Bank executive Mr. Anastasios Stefis stated in
the conference that the basic reason for the fact that there is no
further improvement in the Greek-Bulgarian banking relations is
Bulgaria's underdeveloped banking system.
Sofia's newspaper "Standard" published statements by Greek
embassy commercial attache Dimosthenis Parnassos according to
which, Bulgaria has a clear European prospect and strategic
position that makes it attractive for the Greek investments.
He also stated that in the past two months Greek banks and
companies like the National Bank of Greece and ANTENNA TV have
invested over US$ 300 million in the Bulgarian economy.
Meanwhile, according to the Greek embassy commercial attache,
the Greek companies active in Bulgaria are estimated to be about
1.200.
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