Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-10-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW GOVERNMENT

[02] G. PAPANDREOU IN IRAN ON NOVEMBER 2-3

[03] 1 OUT OF 10 DRIVERS DUI

[04] THE 2004 PARALYMPICS WILL TAKE PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 17-28

[05] ONE YEAR SINCE PROF. PETRIDIS' DEATH

[06] PASOK PARTY ELECTIONS

[07] THREE LETTERS WITH WHITE POWDER WERE FOUND IN PATRAS

[08] SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN THE ASE

[09] SIMITIS: UNITY FOR VICTORY

[10] TENSION OUTSIDE THE MERCHANT MARINE MINISTRY IN PIRAEUS

[11] PAPANDREOU WILL VISIT HUNGARY, MOROCCO AND IRAN

[12] AVRAMOPOULOS COULD SEEK ANOTHER TERM AS ATHENS MAYOR

[13] A BRITISH NATIONAL WAS ARRESTED IN CRETE

[01] NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW GOVERNMENT

PASOK is electing its leadership today, while tomorrow, if all goes as planned, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will announce the structure of the new government.

At 1pm PASOK's Central Committee will convene for the first time after the 6th congress, and will elect the new secretary and the 11 members of the new executive office. The only candidate, so far, for the position is Minister of the Environment, Planning and Public Works Kostas Laliotis, who is expected to win with a great majority, since there is information that he will be supported from all sides.

After the election of the secretary and the members of the executive office, the path to the reshuffling of the government, which will probably take place tomorrow, will be open, a fact that will increase the suspense of ministers, deputy ministers, MPs and other staff members, since the Prime Minister has not divulged any information on the composition of the government.

[02] G. PAPANDREOU IN IRAN ON NOVEMBER 2-3

The visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou to Iran has been set for 2-3 November. Mr. Papandreou will have discussions with the leadership of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while his meeting with Iranian President Hatami has still not been confirmed.

The main topic of discussion of the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs will be developments after the September 11 attacks on the US, and the coordination and cooperation of the two countries on dealing with terrorism, while the relationship of Iran to the EU will also be discussed.

[03] 1 OUT OF 10 DRIVERS DUI

One out of every ten drivers was found to be driving drunk, according to the checks made by traffic police in Thessaloniki during the October 15-21 period. According to a traffic police announcement, of the 625 people checked, 95 were driving under the influence of alcohol.

Also, 201 violations of concerning not wearing helmets were noted.

[04] THE 2004 PARALYMPICS WILL TAKE PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 17-28

The Athens 2004 Olympic Games Organizing Committee Board of Directors announced today that the 2004 Paralympics will take place on September 17-28.

The goal set by the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee is to host the most successful ever Paralympics, 44 years after the first events were held in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

[05] ONE YEAR SINCE PROF. PETRIDIS' DEATH

On October 28, it will be a year since the death of Aristotle University professor Pavlos Petridis, who served as MPA's Board of Directors president in the period from 1993 until he passed away. Professor Petridis had contributed greatly to the consolidation of the Macedonian Press Agency.

Culture minister Evangelos Venizelos stated that the writings of professor Petridis are still present and alive and through the use of his archives and sources he continues to enchant the reader and especially, the young.

[06] PASOK PARTY ELECTIONS

Kostas Laliotis was elected governing socialist party of PASOK Central Committee secretary this afternoon after receiving 147 votes from the 181 Central Committee members. Also, were found 32 blank and 2 spoilt ballots.

In the party's 11-member Executive Bureau elections, Vaso Papandreou got the most votes (147) followed by Apostolos Kaklamanis (119), Evangelos Venizelos (110), Dimitris Reppas (99), Kostas Skandalidis (98), Michalis Neonakis (97), Giorgos Papandreou (95), Akis Tsochatzopoulos (82), Milena Apostolaki (73), Tonia Antoniou (58) and Christos Papoutsis (56).

Theodoros Pangalos and Irini Lambraki, who got 50 and 29 votes respectively, were not elected to the Executive Bureau.

The Executive Bureau members were elected by the 181 members of the Central Committee. The valid ballots were 179, while there were also one blank and one spoilt ballot.

[07] THREE LETTERS WITH WHITE POWDER WERE FOUND IN PATRAS

Three letters that included white powder were located at the city of Patras Central Post Office this morning.

The building was evacuated and the letters were removed by firefighters. The three postal employees, who handled the mail, were taken to a hospital for medical tests. The mysterious powder was sent to a special lab to be tested.

Meanwhile, a Dramas court sentenced two men to 20 days in prison with a three-year suspension. The two were found guilty of a hoax targeting a fellow-villager. They had sent him a letter with the word "Taliban" that included white powder. As it was proved later on the powder was just flour.

[08] SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN THE ASE

Significant gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +1.62% at 2.383,51 points, while the volume of transactions was at 90 million Euro or 30.6 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 330 recorded gains and 13 had losses, while the value of 34 remained unchanged.

[09] SIMITIS: UNITY FOR VICTORY

The unity within PASOK was the strong and clear message that was sent by the 6th PASOK Party Congress, stressed prime minister Kostas Simitis in his speech in the first meeting of the party's newly elected Central Committee.

Mr. Simitis spoke of a unity that will be based on the popular mandate, the goals and the expectations of the Greek people, the values and ideals of PASOK.

He said that the pact for a strong society has three clear targets namely, development, the creation of a new social state and the strengthening of Greece's international position.

Referring to the recent EU Summit meeting in Gent, Belgium and the international developments, he said that the developments confirm the national strategy adopted by the government of PASOK.

Speaking about the party's new Central Committee, Mr. Simitis underlined that PASOK wants a Central Committee that will be alive characterized by a fighting spirit necessary for the party to meet its goals.

The prime minister launched an attack on the opposition party of New Democracy accusing it of having no proposals and of putting at risk the European prospect and the interests of Greece and the Greek people.

[10] TENSION OUTSIDE THE MERCHANT MARINE MINISTRY IN PIRAEUS

Tension was recorded at noon today outside the merchant marine ministry building in Piraeus, where a rally was held organized by the workers in the Perama Ship-repair Zone. The demonstrators protested against the working conditions they experience, on the occasion of the tragic accident in Salamina, near Piraeus last Saturday that killed 5 ship-workers.

The protesters were confronted with a strong police force when they attempted to enter forcibly the ministry building. Later on, they left the area as they were not allowed to meet with merchant marine minister Christos Papoutsis, who was not in the building.

Earlier, the five individuals that were accused of being responsible for the tragic accident, which took place during repairs in an oil-tanker ship, were brought to the interrogator's office and they requested to be allowed to present their case on Thursday.

[11] PAPANDREOU WILL VISIT HUNGARY, MOROCCO AND IRAN

Foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou will be on a formal visit to Hungary on Wednesday, according to a statement made by government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.

On Thursday and Friday, Mr. Papandreou will participate in the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation meeting in Morocco to discuss issues concerning cultural and religious dialogue.

Next Monday, he will attend the general affairs council in Luxembourg, while on November 2-3 he is scheduled to visit Teheran.

[12] AVRAMOPOULOS COULD SEEK ANOTHER TERM AS ATHENS MAYOR

Athens mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos could seek another term to the post in case his proposal to create a metropolitan municipality is accepted.

The metropolitan structure of Athens is the only way out from the big problems faced by the city, stated Mr. Avramopoulos, adding that the Greek political forces, and above all the government, should consider this likelihood seriously.

[13] A BRITISH NATIONAL WAS ARRESTED IN CRETE

A 34-year-old British man will be brought to the prosecutor's office in the city of Chania, in the south Aegean island of Crete either today or tomorrow, as a British police arrest warrant is pending against him. The man is accused of murdering a young man in the region of London on September 27.

The British man was arrested in Chania on Saturday morning following a request by Interpol.

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