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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-09-28

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

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

BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Thessaloniki, September 28, 1998


TITLES

  • [01] SCHROEDER OUSTS KOHL IN GERMAN ELECTIONS
  • [02] AUTOPSY ON SORIN MATEI’S BODY REVEALS CAUSES OF DEATH
  • [03] GREECE WILL PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN THE BALKANS
  • [04] FUEL TANKER TRUCK DRIVERS ON STRIKE IN NORTHERN GREECE
  • [05] ECOFIN COMMUNIQUE HAILS DRACHMA’S ACCESSION TO SECOND ERM
  • [06] ECOFIN COUNCIL WRAPS UP MEETING, EUROPEAN ECONOMY OASIS OF STABILITY
  • [07] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER: GOVERNMENT IS IN A STATE OF DISSOLUTION
  • [08] COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S POLITICAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE IN MEETS IN SANTORINI
  • [09] POLAND’S ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF ARRIVES IN GREECE TODAY
  • [10] DEPUTY FM INAUGURATES BLACK SEA STUDIES CENTER TODAY
  • [11] GREEK RUNNER WINS SPARTATHLON 98, JAPANESE SECOND, BRITON THIRD
  • [12] GREEK, BULGARIAN, ROMANIAN PREMIERS TO MEET IN DELPHI NEXT WEEK

  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [01] SCHROEDER OUSTS KOHL IN GERMAN ELECTIONS

    September 28 (MPA)

    Gerhard Schroeder and his Social Democratic Party (SPD) soundly defeated veteran Christian Democrat leader Helmut Kohl in what has been dubbed as the closest race since World War II. The SPD gathered 41.8% of the votes, while CDU 35%. The landmark vote brings to an end 16 years of Kohl's conservative-oriented government. A Christian Democratic Union (CDU) spokesman conceded defeat almost immediately following the first TV projections. Schroeder has announced that his government will give priority to combating unemployment, while Kohl said that he will not run again for the leadership of CDU.

    [02] AUTOPSY ON SORIN MATEI’S BODY REVEALS CAUSES OF DEATH

    Athens September 28 (MPA)

    An autopsy was carried out yesterday at an Athens morgue on the body of Sorin Matei, the 26-year-old escaped convict who held a family hostage last Wednesday and injured eight police officers and one of the hostages after his hand grenade detonated. According to the examinations performed by three coroners appointed by the Minster of Justice, as well as a fourth one, Marios Matsakis, a Cypriot coroner who has been hired by Matei’s mother, the cause of death was attributed to regurgitation of gastric juice in combination with the extended time period of sedation. Mr. Matsakis stated that had Matei not been under sedation and had remained in the hospital he would be alive today. Meanwhile, one of the hostages, Amalia Ginaki, 25 years old, underwent surgery yesterday but continues to remain in a critical condition.

    [03] GREECE WILL PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN THE BALKANS

    Skopje, September 28 (MPA)

    Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, speaking at Skopje during the S.E. European Defense Ministers Conference, stated that Greece will carry out a leading role in the developments in the Black Sea region and the Balkans. Common Greek-Turkish initiatives on security issues concerning Southeastern Europe will also be taken, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos announced after meeting his Turkish counterpart Ismet Sezgin. During their two-hour meeting, held on the sidelines of the two officials did not discuss the “unilateral Turkish claims” according to Mr. Tsochatzopoulos. In turn, Mr. Sezgin stressed that the two countries should not be limited to the past and should escape the past’s animosity and enter the future’s alliances.

    [04] FUEL TANKER TRUCK DRIVERS ON STRIKE IN NORTHERN GREECE

    Thessaloniki, September 28 (MPA)

    Drivers of fuel-carrying tanker trucks are to embark on a strike today in northern Greece, protesting planned government changes which would allow private companies to transport fuel. Oil companies have called on the northern capital’s public prosecutor to intervene and allow the use of private trucks during the strike. The state fuel truck drivers are to meet with transport ministry officials tomorrow.

    [05] ECOFIN COMMUNIQUE HAILS DRACHMA’S ACCESSION TO SECOND ERM

    Vienna, September 28 (MPA)

    The European Union Finance and Economy Ministers (ECOFIN) have issued a communique hailing the accession of the Greek national currency, the drachma, to the second Exchange Rate Mechanism, as a result of the positive development of the Greek economy. The communique hails the joining of the drachma to the second Exchange Rate Mechanism which, as stressed, was agreed by all and is based on the satisfactory functioning of the drachma in the framework of the existing mechanism, as well as on the major progress achieved in the Greek economy's convergence with those of EU member-states. It was added that the fluctuation margin remains 15 per cent. Referring to the communique, Greece’s National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said that it constituted a very positive formulation with regard to Greece. He added that the second Exchange Rate Mechanism constitutes a continuation of the existing one and of the existing fluctuation margins.

    [06] ECOFIN COUNCIL WRAPS UP MEETING, EUROPEAN ECONOMY OASIS OF STABILITY

    Vienna, September 28 (MPA)

    The meeting held by the European Union Finance and Economy Ministers (ECOFIN) concluded in Austria yesterday, on the optimistic note that Europe's economy has turned into an "oasis of stability and development" following the common currency’s introduction. Representing Greece a the three-day conference the National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou as well as the governor of the Bank of Greece, Lukas Papademos. Mr. Papantoniou said the result of this development is that over the next few years the prospect will be shaped for the continuation of the present recovery and of relatively high rates of economic development noted in most European Union member- states. Furthermore, Mr. Papantoniou added that Greece is certainly included in this respect, as its economy has an even higher development rate, reaching 3.5-3.7 per cent in 1999.

    [07] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER: GOVERNMENT IS IN A STATE OF DISSOLUTION

    Athens, September 28 (MPA)

    The leader of the main opposition party, New Democracy’s Kostas Karamanlis yesterday accused the government of incompetence, adding that the country currently projects an image of "sadness, disappointment, stagnation and decline." Addressing a rally at the held by the party’s youth group (ONNED), Mr. Karamanlis said that the government lacks boldness and, referring to the recent police fiasco where a family was taken hostage by an escaped convict and the police were unable to rescue them, he said that it was an “indescribable operation.”

    [08] COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S POLITICAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE IN MEETS IN SANTORINI

    Athens, September 28 (MPA)

    The Council of Europe's political affairs committee is to close its three-day session at the island of Santorini today, with talks focusing on the organization’s enlargement and the Kossovo crisis. Taking part in the three-day event are parliamentarians and permanent representatives from the C of E’s 40 member-states. Greece will be represented by deputies D. Vrettos and V. Maginas. The meeting, held at the initiative of the C of E’s Greek-held presidency, was opened by Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou who, referring to the Kossovo crisis, said that border checks should be increased in neighboring countries in order to isolate the region and prevent a spill of the tension. Asked to comment on the possibility of NATO intervention, Mr. Papandreou said that "the fear of an invasion may be useful in order for the Serbian side to sit at the negotiating table."

    [09] POLAND’S ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF ARRIVES IN GREECE TODAY

    Athens, September 28 (MPA)

    Polish Army General Staff Chief Lt.-General Zvignieu Zalewski is embarking on an official three-day visit to Greece today at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Lt.-Gen. Manousos Paragioudakis. During his stay, the Polish army's commander will visit Greece's military headquarters, a training center, the Third Army Corps, as well as archaeological sites in Athens and Thessaloniki.

    [10] DEPUTY FM INAUGURATES BLACK SEA STUDIES CENTER TODAY

    Thessaloniki, September 28 (MPA)

    Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis will inaugurate the Black Sea International Studies Center (DIKEMEP) today. The center will prepare research and conduct studies concerning the achievement of its parent organization, the Black Sea Cooperation Pact, primarily in the economic, industrial and technology sectors.

    [11] GREEK RUNNER WINS SPARTATHLON 98, JAPANESE SECOND, BRITON THIRD

    Athens, September 28 (MPA)

    A Greek runner, Kostas Reppos, won the 16th international ultra- distance race "Spartathlon '98" on Saturday, covering the 246- kilometer distance in 25 hours, 11 minutes, 41 seconds. He led the race from start to finish. Over 190 athletes representing 23 countries took part in the race, considered to be one of the most grueling races in the world. The athletes had 36 hours to run the distance to the city of Sparta, in southeastern Peloponnese. The Spartathlon was originated by John Foden, a British Royal Air Force wing commander who ran the course in 1982 with four RAF colleagues. The 1st International Spartathlon was organized in 1983 with the participation of 45 runners from 11 countries as well as Greece. A Japanese and a Briton took second and third place, respectively.

    [12] GREEK, BULGARIAN, ROMANIAN PREMIERS TO MEET IN DELPHI NEXT WEEK

    Athens, September 28 (MPA)

    Greece’s Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will meet with the Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov and the Romanian President Emil Constantinescu in Delphi on October 3-4, in order to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the three countries, as well as the situation in the Balkan region. According to Bulgarian government press releases, the tripartite meeting will contribute in balancing inter-state relations between the Balkan countries for the promotion of economic cooperation and for stability in the Balkans. Other issues to be discussed by the three leaders will be the combating of organized crime and plans for the enlargement of the European Union and NATO.

    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/


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