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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-12-10

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, December 10, 1998

SECTIONS

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

  • NEWS HEADLINES

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] E WEATHER IN NORTHERN GREECE, TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO
  • [02] COMMERCIAL BANKS REDUCE INTEREST RATES
  • [03] US ENVOY FOR CYPRUS RICHARD HOLBROOKE IN ATHENS ON MONDAY
  • [04] ATHINA ONASSIS' FATHER SENTENCED FOR SLANDER BY GREEK COURT
  • [05] GREEK TAXI DRIVERS GO ON 24-HOUR STRIKE
  • [06] MACEDONIA AIRPORT REOPENS, FILIGHTS RESUME
  • [07] BALKAN SOCIALIST PARTIES TO MEET IN THESSALONIKI NEXT MONTH
  • [08] GREECE'S ALTERNATE FM ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
  • [09] STATE SPOKESMAN: THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE JUDGED BY ITS WORK
  • [10] RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY'S CC CHIEF MEETS WITH KKE OFFICIALS
  • [11] FREEZING TEMPERATURES IN NORTHERN GREECE
  • [12] STATEMENTS BY MR. DRIS ON TAXATION BASED ON THE PRICE INDEX
  • [13] MR. ATHANASAKIS COMMENTED ON THE EDUCATION REFORM
  • [14] ATHANASAKIS: TENDENCY FOR THE CREATION OF NEW POLITICAL PARTIES THAT WILL COME FROM NEW DEMOCRACY
  • [15] KAKLAMANIS-ZUGANOV MEETING
  • [16] A EUROPEAN MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY BRANCH WILL OPEN IN ATHENS
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [17] NATO INAUGURATES "EXTRACTION FORCE" IN KOSOVO TODAY
  • [18] UN: GREEKS AMONG WORLD'S BEST FED, SOMALIANS ARE HUNGRIEST
  • [19] ASIA'S CHIEF OLYMPIC OFFICIAL: PARIS DOESN'T DESERVE 2008 GAMES
  • [20] GREECE'S DEFENSE MINSTER COMMENTS ON ESP'S MANIFESTO
  • [21] PREMIER IN VIENNA FOR EUROPEAN UNION SUMMIT
  • [22] PARIS TO HOLD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RIGAS FEREOS
  • [23] THE POLITICAL DEADLOCK IN TURKEY CONTINUES
  • [24] DINI: ZIRINOFSKI WAS COVERING OCALAN IN RUSSIA

  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

    [01] E WEATHER IN NORTHERN GREECE, TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO

    Severe weather has brought on a score of transportation problems in northern Greece where the temperatures in many regions have fallen below the zero mark.

    Cars are required to be equipped with anti-ski chains, while a jeep with four passengers was rescued at the outskirts of Thessaloniki yesterday after having been immobilized overnight.

    Many villages remain inaccessible due to the heavy snow fall.

    [02] COMMERCIAL BANKS REDUCE INTEREST RATES

    After the Bank of Greece, the country's central bank, reduced its key interest rates by half a percentage point yesterday, commercial banks followed suit with greater reductions in their interest rates as well.

    National Bank, the largest commercial bank, weighed in almost immediately with a series of loan and deposit rate reductions. It slashed its working capital loan rate to 13.75 percent, its house loan interest rate to 13.75%, while its consumer loans of up to one million drachmas will bear a 16.75% interest rate. Eurobank and the Labor Bank have also reduced their rates.

    [03] US ENVOY FOR CYPRUS RICHARD HOLBROOKE IN ATHENS ON MONDAY

    The United States; special mediator for the Cyprus issue, Richard Holbrooke, is expected in Athens on Monday according to the government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas said yesterday. Mr. Holbrooke's visit to Athens is part of his tour of the region. and he is also expected to visit Ankara. and Nicosia. He will be received by Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos.

    Mr. Reppas stated that it was positive that the international community was showing an "active interest" in the resolution of the Cyprus issue.

    [04] ATHINA ONASSIS' FATHER SENTENCED FOR SLANDER BY GREEK COURT

    The father of 13-year-old Athina Onassis-Roussel, granddaughter of the legendary shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis and sole heir to a $600 million fortune, has been sentenced to five years in jail after a Greek court found him guilty of slander yesterday on charges brought by the trustees of his daughter's estate.

    Thierry Roussel, who immediately filed an appeal and was not detained, was sued by the four Greek trustees for slander, perjury and filing a false lawsuit after he lost a court case in which he accused them of financial mismanagement.

    [05] GREEK TAXI DRIVERS GO ON 24-HOUR STRIKE

    Greek taxi drivers are embarking on a 24-hour strike today, calling for tax reliefs in their sector.

    The cabbies are claiming that the finance ministry reneged on earlier agreements concerning taxation and are also asking for flag-falling raises. Presently, the flag-fall rate is 200 drachmas, possibly the cheapest in Europe.

    [06] MACEDONIA AIRPORT REOPENS, FILIGHTS RESUME

    Thessaloniki's "Macedonia" airport reopened yesterday, after having shut down due to a snow storm, and flights have resumed to normal.

    The airport's runaways were cleared of frost and ice which had prevented the aircraft from landing yesterday. The temperatures in the area remain low, dipping to minus eight degrees Celcius in western Macedonia.

    [07] BALKAN SOCIALIST PARTIES TO MEET IN THESSALONIKI NEXT MONTH

    Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who is also the European Socialist Party's vice-president, announced yesterday that a Conference of Socialist Parties from the Balkan region will be hosted in Thessaloniki on January 23-24, within the framework of preparing for the ESP Summit.

    Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that the conference will address Balkan security issues, as well as regional development.

    Referring to the basic Greek positions being promoted through the manifesto, the Defense Minster stated that they are the ruling PASOK party's basic policies that promote Europe's economic, developmental and society strengths.

    [08] GREECE'S ALTERNATE FM ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

    The best honor for the fiftieth anniversary since the Ecumenical Declaration of Human Rights, borne out of the ruins of WWII, is the daily battle for their protection, according to Greece's alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou who forwarded a message for the occasion.

    Mr. Papandreou also stated that Greece has illustrated, during its term as president of the Council of Europe as well as through its activities within the European Union that it is a warrior of human rights protection.

    "The Greek government considers the productive protection of human rights to a basic component of our foreign policy,' he stated.

    [09] STATE SPOKESMAN: THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE JUDGED BY ITS WORK

    In response to the latest poll that presented the main opposition party New Democracy (ND) as having a 6.5-per cent lead over the ruling PASOK party, the government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas stated that there is no policy shift in store.

    The government, he stated, is judged by its work, while the opposition is judged by its words, which can actually make them even likable.

    Mr. Reppas said that that the ruling party wants to complete its work and by judged by its deeds.

    "We await the judgment of the Greek people," he said.

    [10] RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY'S CC CHIEF MEETS WITH KKE OFFICIALS

    The president of Russian Communist Party's central committee, Gennady Zyuganov, arrived in Athens yesterday, at the invitation of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).

    Mr. Zyuganov met with KKE's secretary-general Aleka Paparega and honorary president Harilaos Florakis with whom he discussed the ongoing developments in the Balkan region and was briefed on the political developments in Greece, as well as the mobilizations in the country's education sector.

    During a press conference, Mr. Zyuganov expressed concern about the situation in Russia, maintaining that President Boris Yeltsin's "experiment" in establishing "mafia-like capitalism" had led to disaster.

    "Now, the new government is trying to tackle the problems," Mr. Zyuganov said, stressing that the Communist Party had restructured and was at the present time the best organized party in Russia.

    Mr. Zyuganov indicated that he was optimistic about the result of the presidential elections, regardless of when they were held. He stressed though that they must be honest, "which was not the case in 1996".

    For this reason, he added, his party was cooperating with the new government of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov.

    Mr. Zyuganov officially invited Ms. Paparega to visit Moscow. This was his first official visit to Greece.

    [11] FREEZING TEMPERATURES IN NORTHERN GREECE

    The freezing temperatures is the common weather characteristic in all the cities of northern Greece, as they have dropped several degrees below zero. In Nevrokopi the temperature is -13, in Florina -10, in Kozani -7, in Alexandroupolis and Kastoria -6 and in Kavala -3. The bitter cold continues in Thessaloniki with -4 degrees Celsius.

    Drivers using the national and provincial road network must be extra careful as the roads are slippery due to the icy conditions. In north-eastern Greece several villages are cut-off due to the heavy snow.

    [12] STATEMENTS BY MR. DRIS ON TAXATION BASED ON THE PRICE INDEX

    Undersecretary of finance Mr. Dris said that the discussion on the increase of the non-taxable income from 1.300.000 to 2.000.000 drachmas proposed by the Greek General Confederation of Labor and the adjustment of taxation on the price index will be included in the social dialogue promoted by the government for the reform of the taxation system which will take place in 1999.

    However, Mr. Dris stressed that if those two demands are met the state budget spending will be increased by 180 billion drachmas. He also stressed that 3.5 of the 9.5 trillion drachmas in tax revenues will be used to cover the public debt.

    [13] MR. ATHANASAKIS COMMENTED ON THE EDUCATION REFORM

    There is not such an issue as the change or the postponement of the education reform, stressed acting government spokesman Nikos Athanasakis responding to a question on whether prime minister Kostas Simitis left room for changes in his speech before parliament yesterday.

    Mr. Athanasakis said that the government wants a dialogue on education but this will concern only the measures that need to be taken for the implementation of the reform. At the same time, he accused the political parties of the opposition of not having any proposals and added that their criticism is not a constructive one.

    [14] ATHANASAKIS: TENDENCY FOR THE CREATION OF NEW POLITICAL PARTIES THAT WILL COME FROM NEW DEMOCRACY

    Acting Greek government spokesman Nikos Athanasakis stated that based on the results of the recent public opinion poll there is a tendency for the creation of new political parties that will come from the area of the right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy.

    Responding to the question if the government is concerned over the Avramopoulos phenomenon, based on the fact that the popularity of the Athens mayor is very high, he said jokingly that the government is concerned over this phenomenon in the same way it is concerned over weather and natural phenomena.

    [15] KAKLAMANIS-ZUGANOV MEETING

    The visiting Russian Communist party leader Genadi Zuganov met this morning in Athens with Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis. In the meeting that lasted about an hour and a half they discussed the whole spectrum of bilateral relations and confirmed the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation that exist between Greece and Russia.

    In the statements he made after the meeting, Mr. Kaklamanis referred to the policy of the Greek government pointing out that special attention should be given to social policy issues.

    [16] A EUROPEAN MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY BRANCH WILL OPEN IN ATHENS

    The founding declaration of the European Maintenance Management Academy, a branch of which will open in Greece, was signed recently in Athens by about 80 professors teaching in European university and polytechnic schools as well as by Greek scientists and representatives of Greek industries.

    The Academy which is scheduled to open in the autumn of 1999 with branches in most EU countries will offer post-graduate studies in the building of machines, the Maintenance Theory and the National and European Law of Maintenance in the sectors of safety, environment and quality.

    The initiative for the establishment of the Academy belongs to a Greek professor in Meinheim, Germany Mr. Nikolaos Meksis, who had chosen Athens to make his scientific announcement to the world on the use of a robot in the maintenance of machines.

    [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    [17] NATO INAUGURATES "EXTRACTION FORCE" IN KOSOVO TODAY

    With 1,700 troops from five participating countries, NATO's "extraction force" for Kosovo, based in FYROM, is to be officially inaugurated today.

    The force -- made up of French, British, German, Italian and Dutch troops -- is to enter Kosovo if any of the 2,000 unarmed peace monitors now present at Kosovo are endangered

    According to a NATO statement, the inaugural ceremony will be held in Kumanovo, a town near the Kosovo border where the 1,700- man force under French command will be based.

    French airlift of soldiers and supplies that began during the weekend is to wind up on Friday, according to French military officials who added that more French personnel are traveling by sea via Greece.

    [18] UN: GREEKS AMONG WORLD'S BEST FED, SOMALIANS ARE HUNGRIEST

    With Denmark at the top of the scale, Greece is one among the top five countries with the most food per person, while Somalia has the least, according to a new world "food map" released yesterday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

    The map illustrates the nutritional intake in 177 countries from 1994 to 1996. After Denmark, the countries with the most food are Portugal, Ireland, the United States and Greece, respectively. Eritrea, Afghanistan, Burundi and Mozambique are among the hungriest.

    The FAO said that more than 800 million people in developing countries are chronically undernourished and that two billion more suffer from deficiencies of vitamin A, iron and iodine.

    People in prosperous countries consume an average of 3,340 calories a day, compared with 2,060 in developing countries. Anything less than 2,100 poses a risk of malnutrition. In Somalia, people consume an average of 1,580 calories a day.

    [19] ASIA'S CHIEF OLYMPIC OFFICIAL: PARIS DOESN'T DESERVE 2008 GAMES

    The President of Asia's Olympic Council has stated that Paris doesn't deserve the 2008 Olympics because Europe (Athens) already has the 2004 Summer Games.

    According to the Associated Press, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah said that "2008 is a time when the Olympics should return to Asia, especially with the success of Seoul in 1988 and Nagano."

    He further added that "there is a tradition in the Olympic family that when you have the games in Europe, the next games will be out of Europe. The next one (after Sydney, Australia in 2000) will be in Athens so then it will be the turn of the other continents."

    International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch said that there are no set rules under the IOC charter preventing consecutive Summer Games in Europe.

    Paris declared its plan to bid this week despite earlier reports that France would not bid if China was interested. Chinese officials say they are considering a bid, expected for Beijing.

    [20] GREECE'S DEFENSE MINSTER COMMENTS ON ESP'S MANIFESTO

    The European Socialist Party's (ESP) presidium and its manifesto preparation committee met in Brussels yesterday in order to discuss its manifesto's text in light of the 1999 Euro- elections.

    Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who is also the European Socialist Party's vice-president, attended yesterday's meeting, along with Yianos Kranidiotis, Greece's Deputy Foreign Minister.

    Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that the socialist manifesto was one the latest approaches to the ESP's electoral strategy.

    It is a text containing the socialists' positions on European affairs, employment, development, expansion, economic and monetary union (EMU) and the euro.

    He added that security issues were also covered in the socialist manifesto and announced that another meeting will be held early next year.

    Mr. Kranidiotis said that amendments to the socialist manifesto satisfied Greek positions as taken by PASOK on unemployment, economic development, taxation harmonization, EMU and the identity of European defense.

    [21] PREMIER IN VIENNA FOR EUROPEAN UNION SUMMIT

    Prime Minister Kostas Simitis has departed for Austria today in order to attend the European Union's Summit Conference which begins tomorrow in Vienna.

    Mr. Simitis is accompanied by Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and the National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou.

    The European Council will focus primarily on employment, the "Agenda 2000" reform program, and EU enlargement.

    With regard to "Agenda 2000", the EU's Austrian presidency is expected to table proposals on solutions to key issues.

    The proposals will constitute a working base for the EU's German presidency which will succeed the Austrian presidency in the first half of 1999.

    This evening the Greek Premier will attend a summit of leaders of the European Socialist Party (ESP), along with the other 10 socialist and social-democrat prime ministers of the EU.

    [22] PARIS TO HOLD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RIGAS FEREOS

    An international conference on Greece's historical figure Rigas Fereos (Velestinlis) is to be held in Paris, under the aegis of UNESCO and Greece's Ministry of Culture.

    The event is titled "Les Lumieres en Europe et dans le sud - est europeen: Rhigas Velestinlis (1757-1798) intellectuel et combattant de la liberte, precurseur de la liberation nationale des peuples balkaniques" ("Enlightment in Europe and the southeastern European area: Rigas Velestinlis {1757- 1798}intellectual and fighter of freedom, precursor of national liberation of the Balkan peoples).

    It will be held between December 12-13 and will feature historians and other experts from both Greece and France.

    [23] THE POLITICAL DEADLOCK IN TURKEY CONTINUES

    Bulent Ecevit's effort to form a new government in Turkey appears to be a failure after the negative responses he got from the big party leaders.

    His last chance is to form a minority government and to wait for the occasional support of the rest political parties in the Turkish parliament. Mr. Ecevit will meet today with Motherland Party leader Mesut Yilmaz.

    [24] DINI: ZIRINOFSKI WAS COVERING OCALAN IN RUSSIA

    Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported that Italian foreign minister Lamberto Dini stated in Rome that leader of the Kurdish PKK rebels Abdullah Ocalan has told Italian police officers that both his arrival and his stay in Russia had been organized by Russian ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zirinofski.

    Speaking to Italian parliament deputies Mr. Dini, who recently visited Moscow, reminded that Zirinifski's Liberal Democratic Party had requested from the Russian Duma to grant an asylum to Ocalan, while he added that as soon as the Russian government learned that the PKK leader was hiding in the country took measures for his deportation.

    It should be noted, that when Ocalan arrived in Rome with an AEROFLOT flight had admitted that he was hiding in Russia and in other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.


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