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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-08-19
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, August 19, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PM TO MEET WITH EDUCATION MINISTER TODAY
[02] RISING OIL PRICES WON'T REACH CONSUMERS, MINISTRY
ANNOUNCES
[03] TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO RISE AGAIN THROUGHOUT THE
STATE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[04] DEATH TOLL RISES IN TURKEY: OVER 4,000 KILLED BY
EARTHQUAKE
[05] MASSIVE ANTI-GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATION HELD IN BELGRADE
[06] BRITISH AND FRENCH PRESS SALUTE GREECE'S AID TO TURKEY
[07] TURKEY QUAKE DAMAGES 400 TIMES GREATER THAN HIROSHIMA
RUIN
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PM TO MEET WITH EDUCATION MINISTER TODAY
Prime Minister Costas Simitis continues his series of
contacts with party and government officials, while he is
expected to meet with Education Minister Gerasimos Arsenis
today.
Messrs. Simitis and Arsenis are to discuss matters
pertaining to the school sector and will examine ways to
prevent the hurdles and mobilizations that usually mark the
start of the new academic year.
In his meeting with the secretary of the ruling PASOK
party's central committee Costas Skandalides, it was decided
that the party's conference to celebrate PASOK's 25th
anniversary will be held on September 11.
On Friday, the Premier will chair a cabinet meeting in
light of his imminent visit to Albania, August 24.
[02] RISING OIL PRICES WON'T REACH CONSUMERS, MINISTRY
ANNOUNCES
Greece's Development Minister Evangelos Venizelos has
announced that a rise in world oil prices would not reach
domestic gasoline consumers after refineries agreed to
absorb the increase, thus aiding the government's drive to
lower inflation.
The cost to refineries of footing the price rise is
estimated at about 300 million drachmas from an estimated
rise of 1.3 drachmas per liter of super and unleaded
gasoline.
In a meeting held between Mr. Venizelos and
representatives of state-owned Hellenic Petroleum, petroleum
product distributors and gasoline station owners, it was
also agreed that an average ceiling of five drachmas above
the government's weekly indicative retail gasoline prices
will be imposed.
[03] TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO RISE AGAIN THROUGHOUT THE
STATE
The National Weather Service has forecast another
heatwave during the following four days, with temperatures
expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius.
According the meteorologists, this year's summer has
proven so far to be the hottest during the past 20 years.
Municipalities throughout the country are is a state of
readiness and all public areas that feature air conditioning
will remain open to the general public.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[04] DEATH TOLL RISES IN TURKEY: OVER 4,000 KILLED BY
EARTHQUAKE
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that
occurred during the early morning hours on Tuesday continues
to rise, having reached 4,000 so far, while rescue
operations, which have managed to access only three percent
of the ruins so far, assess that the final number of victims
could actually reach 10,000.
Meanwhile, Turkey's press condemns building contractors
for faulty construction while the state mechanism, accused
of inactivity, has not escaped the media's wrath.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismael Cem thanked Greece for
the assistance it readily offered, while Athens' rush to aid
has been commented positively in the international press.
[05] MASSIVE ANTI-GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATION HELD IN BELGRADE
The first massive anti-government demonstration since
the end of the NATO bombings, is being organized today by
the opposition in Belgrade which hopes that participants
will surpass the 100,000-mark.
The opposition's demand is the removal of Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic and the formation of an interim
government. On the other hand, the government accuses the
opposition of displaying a hostile attitude towards the
country.
[06] BRITISH AND FRENCH PRESS SALUTE GREECE'S AID TO TURKEY
In an article title "Greece buries differences to help
old enemy", the British daily "The Guardian" salutes
Athens's eagerness to provide aid to its neighbor devastated
by Tuesday's earthquake that killed more than 4,000 persons.
"Greece put aside its long-standing differences with Turkey
to offer the country as much help as it needed, for as long
as it needed," the article reported, adding that Greece's
Foreign minister George Papandreou said Greece has set up a
commission to coordinate the aid.
Three military cargo planes carrying medicines,
ambulances, mobile hospital units and thousands of tents
took off from an army air base outside Athens yesterday.
Greek rescue workers, trained dogs and experts experienced
in extracting people from disaster zones also flew to
Istanbul.
"In an unprecedented display of solidarity with the
Turks, Greek people began gathering food, clothes and
medical supplies for the victims, after an appeal by
Athens' mayor," the Guardian added.
France's "Le Monde" also referred to the aid provided
by Greece to Turkey and the talks held between the foreign
ministers of the two countries.
[07] TURKEY QUAKE DAMAGES 400 TIMES GREATER THAN HIROSHIMA
RUIN
The damages suffered by Turkey from Tuesday's major
earthquake are assessed at being 400 times greater than the
devastation sustained by Hiroshima from the atomic bomb,
according to U.S. experts.
Quoted by the Turkish daily "Sabah", the same experts
also stressed that the quake does not constitute a surprise
as Turkey, along with Greece and Iran, is located on a
seismic zone.
Meanwhile, the death toll is continually rising and,
according to "Sabah", latest estimates bring the number of
victims to 5,000, although concern abounds that once bodies
are pulled from the ruins the number will surpass the 10,000
mark.
At the city of Izmit, the quake's epicenter, the
hospital morgues are now filled to capacity, as the dead are
more than 2,000, and the city's ice-skating ring is now
being used as an outdoor mortuary.
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