Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-08-10

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] THE SECOND GRAND REHEARSAL

[02] GREECE IS READY FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES

[03] NO FOREIGN ARMED GUARDS

[04] THE OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT OPENS IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW

[05] BALKAN MAYORS IN THESSALONIKI FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

[06] GIORGOS PAPANDREOU'S INTERVIEW WITH AL-JAZEERA

[07] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[08] SOPHIA SAKORAFA WILL NOT COMPETE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES

[09] GEORGE BUSH SENIOR ON A CRUISE IN THE AEGEAN

[10] PRECAUTIONARY ARRESTS

[01] THE SECOND GRAND REHEARSAL

The second and last rehearsal before the actual opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games on Friday, August 13 will take place this evening at the Olympic Stadium.

A total of 70,000 people will participate in the event. There will be volunteers, Athens 2004 personnel, representatives of sponsors and accredited journalists who will have the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular ceremony.

This evening's rehearsal will take place in real Olympic Games conditions. The spectators will receive a special participation kit with flashlights and small bells to be able to take part in the celebration.

[02] GREECE IS READY FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES

Greece is ready for successful games in high security conditions, stated Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis in his televised message to the Greek people yesterday on the occasion of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic and the Paralympic Games are a national affair and its success will affect Greece's image worldwide, stated the Prime Minister.

Mr. Karamanlis thanked everybody who participated in the efforts to organize successful games.

He said that after the games the Greek people will be more experienced and strong and more certain about themselves. Greece will enjoy greater promotion internationally will have better infrastructures and more knowledge. Greece will be a more optimistic country, added Mr. Karamanlis.

The time has come to enjoy what we have prepared through joint effort, the greatest celebration in the world, underlined Mr. Karamanlis and called on the Greeks to fill the stadiums.

[03] NO FOREIGN ARMED GUARDS

The Greek authorities have the absolute and exclusive responsibility to guard the Olympic facilities, stated an Athens 2004 representative today denying press reports on the London Times according to which, the Greek authorities have agreed that the US, British and Israeli security forces accompanying their countries' Olympic missions will be armed.

The newspaper also refers to the tight security measures adopted on the occasion of the Olympic Games and cites statements made by the British Minister of Sports who characterized Athens as probably the safest place on Earth.

[04] THE OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT OPENS IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW

Thessaloniki moves in Olympic Games pace in view of the Olympic football tournament that opens in Kaftatzoglio Stadium tomorrow.

Special security measures have been put in effect in the city's three Olympic hospitals.

Japanese and Korean tourists have arrived in the city to watch the tournament games.

The people of Thessaloniki, who will not be able to be in the stadium to watch the Olympic football tournament games will have the opportunity to watch them on two giant screens near the city landmark, the White Tower.

[05] BALKAN MAYORS IN THESSALONIKI FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Thessaloniki Mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos suggested that the Olympic Games should be held in Greece on a permanent basis in a press conference he gave today within the framework of the extraordinary meeting of the Balkan Cities Network, BALCINET, to take place in Thessaloniki on Thursday on the occasion of the opening of the Olympic Games.

The BALCINET extraordinary meeting takes place on the occasion of the Olympic Games that open in Thessaloniki tomorrow with the Olympic Football Tournament that gets underway with the game between the teams of Greece and Korea.

Nineteen mayors from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYROM, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro and Turkey arrive in Thessaloniki tomorrow to attend the ceremony for the inauguration of the BALCINET Executive Secretariat offices and watch the presentation of the Major Balkan Cities Network website.

Afterwards, the Balkan mayors will go to Kaftatzoglio Stadium to watch the football game between the Olympic football teams of Greece and Korea.

[06] GIORGOS PAPANDREOU'S INTERVIEW WITH AL-JAZEERA

Opposition party leader of PASOK Giorgos Papandreou referred to the historic ties between Greece and the Arab world and through the television network al-Jazeera invited the Arabs to watch the Olympic Games in Athens.

In an interview with al-Jazeera, Mr. Papandreou underlined the message of peace sent out by the Olympic Games, referred to the meaning of Olympic Truce and spoke about the Olympic Games' security issues. Mr. Papandreou also responded to questions concerning the Olympic Games preparations and the controversy between the governing party of New Democracy and PASOK.

[07] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.70% at 2281.13 points, while the volume of transactions was at 74.1 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 115 had gains and 138 had losses, while the value of 150 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] SOPHIA SAKORAFA WILL NOT COMPETE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Greek athlete Sophia Sakorafa, who had expressed the wish to compete in the Athens Olympic Games representing Palestine, was not allowed by the International Olympic Committee, IOC, to do so for procedural reasons.

The decision was announced after long negotiations between IOC representatives and the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

The 47-yearold athlete had announced her wish to compete in the Athens Olympic Games as a member of the Palestinian Olympic team for purely symbolic reasons.

[09] GEORGE BUSH SENIOR ON A CRUISE IN THE AEGEAN

Former US President George Bush Senior arrived at noon today in the northern Greek port city of Kavala.

Mr. Bush, the father of the current US President, visits Greece with his wife and two granddaughters (the daughters of the US President) on the occasion of the Olympic Games.

The private airplane carrying Mr. Bush and his company landed at Kavala's Alexander the Great Airport at Chrisoupolis and from there they went to the Nea Peramos port where they boarded a cruise ship that belongs to the Latsis family of shipowners.

The cruise ship left the port of Nea Peramos for a cruise in the Aegean islands. Mr. Bush will be in Athens on August 12 to watch the Olympic Games.

Celebrities of the international economic and business jet set among them, US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and Microsoft guru Bill Gates will be in Greece in the following days on the occasion of the Athens Olympic Games.

[10] PRECAUTIONARY ARRESTS

About 10 foreigners, regarded as suspects for contacts with extremist Islamic organizations, have been arrested for precautionary reasons and placed in precautionary isolation.

According to the Athens newspaper TA NEA, the Greek authorities aim at removing any likelihood of a terrorist attack during the Olympic Games and for this reason security measures have intensified.

The identity of the individuals under isolation has not been revealed. However, National Information Service sources mentioned that they come from countries dominated by Islamic fanatics.

Based on National Information Service and foreign secret agencies' information, there are no al-Qaeda cells in Greece. However, in order to remove any likely risk, the Greek authorities have come into contact with representatives of Islamic countries to cooperate with them in view of the Olympic Games.

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