Browse through our Interesting Nodes on Internet Service Providers in Greece Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Friday, 29 March 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-06-04

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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


MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 4, 1998

SECTIONS

  • [A] NATIONAL NEWS
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • NEWS HEADLINES

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] MINISTER DEPARTS FOR YALTA'S BSEC CONFERENCE
  • [02] UNIONS AND MANAGEMENT MEET OVER IONIAN BANK'S SALE
  • [03] COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S ENVIRONMENT COM/TEE TO MEET IN GREECE TODAY
  • [04] LONDON'S MAYOR IN THESSALONIKI TODAY
  • [05] THESSALONIKI TO HOST TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE
  • [06] PRICE INDEX CLOSES AT 5.3% IN MAY
  • [07] EU TASK FORCE ON VISIT TO CYPRUS
  • [08] WHO GOES AND WHO STAYS IN GREEK SOCCER
  • [09] NO SCHEDULED MEETING BETWEEN SIMITIS AND DEMIREL
  • [10] MANTELIS: OLYMPIC AIRWAYS WILL NOT BE PRIVATIZED
  • [11] THE COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS REACHED A CONCLUSION ON THE CAUSES OF THE YAKOVLEV CRASH
  • [12] SIMEON B', AGA HAN AND ROMANOV WILL BE IN MOUNT ATHOS ON SATURDAY
  • [13] GIORGOS PAPANDREOU:MEDITERRANEAN IS A NUCLEAR-FREE ZONE
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [14] TENSION MOUNTS IN KOSSOVO, CONFLICT CONTINUES, PHONE LINES CUT OFF
  • [15] ALBANIA FLOODED WITH KOSSOVO REFUGEES, PM NANO CALLS FOR NATO'S AID
  • [16] SOLANA: GREECE AND TURKEY AGREED TO AVOID INCIDENTS IN THE AEGEAN AND THE INTERNATIONAL AIR SPACE
  • [17] THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES LEAVE KOSOVO
  • [18] EU OFFICIALS WILL BE IN CYPRUS FOR ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS
  • [19] TALKS OVER KOSOVO FAIL

  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

    [01] MINISTER DEPARTS FOR YALTA'S BSEC CONFERENCE

    Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to arrive in Yalta today where he will represent Greece at a conference of the heads of state and government of the 11 Black Sea Economic Cooperation Pact (BSEC) member-states.

    Tomorrow, the participants will sign the charter of a new international regional organization which will upgrade the BSEC.

    It is envisaged that the Black Sea Commerce and Development Bank, based in Thessaloniki, and the International Center for Black Sea Studies, based in Athens, will undertake an active role in the development of various activities, mainly economic.

    [02] UNIONS AND MANAGEMENT MEET OVER IONIAN BANK'S SALE

    The General confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and the Union of Bank employees are to meet today in order to discuss the sore matter of the government's decision to sell Ionian Bank. In an effort to appease the bank's protesting employees, who have been on strike since May 11, the government is now offering job security. As an added guarantee, the staff are now asking for a penalty clause that will provide high compensation sums in case of lay-offs.

    National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou is to outline the bank's sale process during a ministry meeting today.

    [03] COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S ENVIRONMENT COM/TEE TO MEET IN GREECE TODAY

    The Committee of Environment, City Planning and Local Administration of the Council of Europe's parliamentary Assembly is to convene today at the island of Lesbos, in order to examine environmental issues concerning the Mediterranean region.

    The three-day conference is to feature the participation of deputies from 40 countries and a number of studies will be presented on the Mediterranean basin, the Aegean, waste management and sea pollution.

    Among those to salute the conference are the Minister of the Aegean Elisabeth Papazoi, the undersecretary of Environment, City Planning and Public Works Th. Koliopanos and the vice-president of the Hellenic Parliament P. Sgourides.

    [04] LONDON'S MAYOR IN THESSALONIKI TODAY

    London's preparation for the arrival of the European Union's common currency, the Euro, is to be the topic of a speech to be delivered by the British capital's mayor Alderman Richard Nickols, during his visit to Thessaloniki.

    The British mayor is to visit Thessaloniki on the invitation of the Hellenic-British Chamber of Commerce whose office in northern Greece will host a dinner on his honor.

    The event will be held this evening.

    [05] THESSALONIKI TO HOST TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE

    The Conference of Multimodal Transport and Transit Trade in Southeast Europe is to be inaugurated in Thessaloniki today, a three-day event organized by HELEXPO, the organizer of the Thessaloniki International Fair, in cooperation with the Department of Communications Technology of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

    The event is to address legal and administrative issues pertaining to difficulties encountered in crossing borders, methods and practices associated with multimodal transport in light of new technology and the use of logistics, multimodal transport corridors and infrastructure (terminals and junctions), networks, services and international cooperation.

    Among those participating in the conference will be senior officials and representatives of European Union directorates, the ministries of transport and communications, of environment, town planning and public works, of finance, of merchant marine, universities, cultural foundations of Austria, Bulgaria, Germany and other countries and transport organizations.

    [06] PRICE INDEX CLOSES AT 5.3% IN MAY

    The price index closed at 5.3% at the end of last month. This rate was along the same lines as last year's and experts are expecting that the downward rate of inflation will start as of July.

    The Ministry of National Economy believes that inflation will be at the 4.5% level by the end of the year, to fall to 2.5% in 1999, and even lower levels by the year 2000.

    [07] EU TASK FORCE ON VISIT TO CYPRUS

    European Union officials are to arrive in Cyprus today for talks on the island's preparations for European Union membership.

    The Director General of the European Commission's Task Force for the accession negotiations Nikolaus van der Pas and the Task Force's negotiator for Cyprus Leopold Maurer will be received by Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides, House President Spyros Kyprianou, Foreign Minister Yiannakis Kasoulides, Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou and Cyprus' chief negotiator for the accession talks George Vassiliou.

    Today the two EU officials will meet with the British High Commissioner David Madden.

    [08] WHO GOES AND WHO STAYS IN GREEK SOCCER

    All's well that ends well in the case of "Gireos" goalkeeper Karkamanis who's decided to stay on the team for another three years at 65 million drachmas.

    On the other side of the fence, efforts exerted by Thessaloniki's PAOK to snatch Panionios' Tasos Katsiabis have fallen on dead water, since the second team's demands were enormous.

    Meanwhile, the official presentation of AEK's new coach, Yugoslav Dragoslav Stepanovic is to be unveiled this afternoon. Stepanovic signed a two-year contract with AEK, amassing in the first year alone over 100 million drachmas.

    Panathinaikos' striker Nikos Lyberopoulos is also coveted by a number of European teams who have been impressed by his performance in the European Youth Championships.

    According to the "Daily Mail", Tottenham, Fiorentina and Parma would very much like to have him among their own.

    [09] NO SCHEDULED MEETING BETWEEN SIMITIS AND DEMIREL

    Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that no meeting has been scheduled to take place between Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis and Turkish president Suleiman Demirel on the sidelines of the Yalta Summit meeting.

    Mr. Reppas stated that no such proposal has been made and no meeting of the two men is included in the summit program.

    [10] MANTELIS: OLYMPIC AIRWAYS WILL NOT BE PRIVATIZED

    Minister of transport and communications Tasos Mantelis, stated when asked to comment on information that the Pilots' Union had contacts with parties interested in purchasing the state-run Olympic Airway, that there is not an issue of an Olympic Airways privatization.

    Undersecretary of labor Christos Protopapas stated that such actions are unacceptable and added that the only way for the airline to be saved is the implementation of the reform program. In support of the state-run character of Olympic Airways was placed and president of the Federation of Civil Aviation Employees Unions Michalis Perros.

    [11] THE COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS REACHED A CONCLUSION ON THE CAUSES OF THE YAKOVLEV CRASH

    The investigation conducted by a committee of experts on the causes of the Ukrainian passenger plane crash last Christmas was completed within the framework set.

    The committee findings on what caused the crash of the "Yakovlev" airplane last December will be delivered in the next few days to the governments of Russia and Ukraine in order to make their remarks on the text. The evaluation of the findings will be made afterwards by the Supreme Court of Inquiry on Airplane Accidents that is presided over by a judge of the Supreme Court.

    The above were announced today by minister of transport and communications Tasos Mantelis on the sidelines of the 2nd conference on intermodal transport and transit flows in south- eastern Europe that is being held in Thessaloniki.

    According to reliable sources, the content of the committee findings text can not be announced for the moment. However, sources close to the ministry of transport and communications point out that based on the findings the blame for the accident is put both on the crew of the Ukrainian plane and the "YAK-42" itself.

    [12] SIMEON B', AGA HAN AND ROMANOV WILL BE IN MOUNT ATHOS ON SATURDAY

    The exiled monarchs Simeon B' of Bulgaria , Aga Han and Romanov of Belorus will visit Mount Athos on Saturday. According to reliable sources, the three exiled kings will arrive in Thessaloniki on Saturday and immediately they will travel to the Monastic Community of Athos to visit the Monastery of Zografou.

    They will come from Spain, the permanent residence of Simeon B', who has a Spanish passport. The Bulgarian consulate in Thessaloniki stated that it has no information on the visit and that does not know when he will arrive, as Simeon B' has a Spanish nationality.

    The political affairs agency of the ministry of Macedonia- Thrace also stated that for the moment no application has been filed requesting a permit for the three exiled monarchs to visit Mount Athos and according to ministry officials, an application is possible to be filed on Saturday.

    [13] GIORGOS PAPANDREOU:MEDITERRANEAN IS A NUCLEAR-FREE ZONE

    Greek Alternate Foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou, addressing the Euro-Mediterranean Conference, which takes place in Palermo, suggested that the Mediterranean Sea should be recognized as a nuclear-free zone.

    His 26 counterparts, participating in the conference, welcomed mr Papandreou's proposal while, by general estimate, Greek stances, concerning the cooperation in the cultural, economic and social sectors, were widely accepted.

    The Greek side particularly emphasized the need for further cooperation in the tourism sector, which "could bring the Mediterranean people closer".

    [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    [14] TENSION MOUNTS IN KOSSOVO, CONFLICT CONTINUES, PHONE LINES CUT OFF

    Tensions have flared once again in Kossovo between ethnic- Albanians and the Serbian police, which have cracked down to crush militant separatist sentiment in recent months.

    According to press reports, armed conflict continued yesterday between ethnic Albanians and Serb policemen. Kossovo's western region remains inaccessible, phone lines have been cut off and access is forbidden to journalists.

    Thousands of Albanians have reportedly fled their homes as a result of the attacks.

    [15] ALBANIA FLOODED WITH KOSSOVO REFUGEES, PM NANO CALLS FOR NATO'S AID

    Albania has asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to send troops to monitor its borders with Kossovo, in a letter sent yesterday to the Alliance by Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano.

    In his letter, Mr. Nano said that his country's resources were strained to the limit to care for the refugees pouring in from Kossovo. The Albanian government said 10,000 had arrived so far.

    ``In such conditions, I think there is every reason that NATO undertake humanitarian relief operations in the refugee areas to supply medicine, food and other necessities,'' Mr. Nano wrote.

    Tirana plans to write to the heads of state or governments of the Contact Group countries -- the United States, Russia, Britain, Germany,

    France and Italy -- today to ask them to intervene to stop the Kossovo conflict escalating further, Foreign Minister Paskal Milo told the Albanian parliament yesterday.

    ``We can no longer speak of an incipient conflict in Kossovo but of war,'' Mr. Milo said.

    ``The situation created in Kossovo requires urgent intervention to stop the genocide there which is now being expressed in all its force.

    ``If this conflict explodes like it is exploding, it will in the near future create scenes that would be worse and much more painful than Bosnia.''

    The Tirana mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose field officers monitor Albania's border with Kossovo, gave the number of refugees as 2,300.

    [16] SOLANA: GREECE AND TURKEY AGREED TO AVOID INCIDENTS IN THE AEGEAN AND THE INTERNATIONAL AIR SPACE

    According to a French News Agency, AFP, report from Brussels, NATO secretary-general Javier Solana has announced that Greece and Turkey have agreed to mutually respect the confidence-building- measures and avoid any incidents in the Aegean and the international air space.

    [17] THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES LEAVE KOSOVO

    Albania maintain that at least 11.000 refugees have crossed its borders with Kosovo after the bloody clashes of the recent days. Tirana repeated that villages are being destroyed and that the Serbs engage in ethnic cleansing.

    Prime minister of Albania Fatos Nano called for the immediate intervention of the international community and NATO.

    [18] EU OFFICIALS WILL BE IN CYPRUS FOR ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS

    European Union officials, expected to arrive in Cyprus today, will have talks with the Cypriot government on the country's EU accession course.

    During their four-day visit to Cyprus, the two EU officials will have an informative meeting with the ambassadors of the EU member-states and with the Cypriot ministers of foreign affairs and finance.

    [19] TALKS OVER KOSOVO FAIL

    The close associate of the Kosovo Alabanians' leader, Ibrahim Rugova, and member of the ethnic Albanian delegation, Fehmi Agani, stressed that the Kosovo Albanians will not attend the talks with Serbs, due to take place tomorrow, because of the deterioration in the situation on Kosovo.

    Mr Agani accused the Serbian authorities of being responsible for the new escalation of violence in Kosovo. Meanwhile, clashes in western Kosovo continued today.

    A military patrol along the border line between Yugoslavia and Albania managed to prevent armed Albanians from infiltrating into Kosovo from Albania whereas, in Pristina, strong police forces continued their operations in the city of Decani, which remains blocked and phone lines have been cut off.


    Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/


    Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    mpegr2html v1.01 run on Thursday, 4 June 1998 - 20:17:04 UTC