Browse through our Interesting Nodes of the Cyprus Government 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, 98-04-21

From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, April 21, 1998


NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS


TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] KONSTANTINOS KARAMANLIS IS STILL IN A CRITICAL CONDITION

  • [02] US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE IN ATHENS TODAY

  • [03] GREEK PRESIDENT TO VISIT HUNGARY ON WEDNESDAY

  • [04] 13TH MEDICAL CONFERENCE ON NORTHERN GREECE IN THESSALONIKI NEXT MONTH

  • [05] NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE WILL MERGE WITH MORTGAGE BANK

  • [06] GREEK HOTELS TO BE CLASSIFIED BY STARS, NOT LETTERS

  • [07] ENORMOUS PRISON ESCAPE AT KORYDALLOS THWARTED BY POLICE

  • [08] KONSTANTINOS KARAMANLIS’ HEALTH CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE

  • [09] OECD AND IMF TO EXAMINE GREECE’S PRIVATIZATION COURSE

  • [10] GENERAL PRICE INDEX AT ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE RISES BY 7.28%

  • [11] TSOHATZOPOULOS-COHEN: DIVERGENCE OF VIEWS OVER THE S-300 MISSILES

  • [12] KONSTANTINOS KARAMANLIS’ HEALTH PRESENTS RAPID DETERIORATION


  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [13] US COORDINATOR FOR CYPRUS ARRIVES IN ANKARA TODAY

  • [14] OCTAVIO PAZ, NOBEL LAUREATE IN LITERATURE, DIES

  • [15] CONTACT GROUP FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA TO MEET ON APRIL 29

  • [16] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER SPENDS EASTER IN ALBANIA

  • [17] EU-CYPRUS JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS THURSDAY

  • [18] HANDZISKI-CEM MEETING IN ANKARA


  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

    [01] KONSTANTINOS KARAMANLIS IS STILL IN A CRITICAL CONDITION

    In a serious blow to hopes he would rapidly regain his health, former President Konstantinos Karamanlis continues to be listed in a critical condition, which worsened yesterday evening.

    Mr. Karamanlis, 91, was admitted to the Hygeia Hospital on April 7 with a respiratory infection. He was placed on breathing support on April 12 after his heart stopped during a mild heart attack.

    [02] US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE IN ATHENS TODAY

    The United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen is to arrive in Athens today where he will hold talks with his Greek counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos.

    Mr. Cohen’s four-hour visit to Athens is following his stop- over in Ankara. He is also expected to be received by the President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Kostas Simitis. He will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens.

    The American secretary will discuss NATO's structural changes and will reiterate his country’s support for confidence-building measures in the Aegean. The defense secretary will discuss with Greece the possible sale of U.S.-made F-15s and F-16s.

    [03] GREEK PRESIDENT TO VISIT HUNGARY ON WEDNESDAY

    The President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos will begin a three-day visit to Hungary on Wednesday at his Hungarian counterpart's invitation.

    The Greek president will hold private talks with Hungarian President Arpad Goncz and leadership, while he will also inaugurate a Greek-Hungarian business conference.

    President Stephanopoulos will also visit the ethnic Greek village of Beloyiannis and will address that country's Parliament.

    [04] 13TH MEDICAL CONFERENCE ON NORTHERN GREECE IN THESSALONIKI NEXT MONTH

    The 13th Medical Conference of Northern Greece will be held in Thessaloniki from May 15-17.

    Among the topics to be discussed will be Greece’s grim record in Europe for the number of road accidents and fatalities. According to the data to be presented, 20.5 deaths resulting from traffic accidents correspond per 100,000 inhabitants.

    [05] NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE WILL MERGE WITH MORTGAGE BANK

    The National Bank of Greece is to merge with its subsidiary Mortgage Bank, a move that will be officially endorsed on Thursday by the two financial institutions’ boards.

    According to press reports, the stock trade will be 1.9 shares in Mortgage Bank to one share in the parent company.

    The resulting consolidated data will present assets of 12.5 trillion drachmas, deposits of 10 trillion drachmas including 3.4 trillion in foreign currency, and loans of 3.3 trillion drachmas.

    Upon the merge, the two banks' network will come to 605 domestic branches and more than 100 abroad.

    [06] GREEK HOTELS TO BE CLASSIFIED BY STARS, NOT LETTERS

    In a move that will be completed by June 30, the height of the country’s tourist season, the Greek government will adopt the stars system, used internationally, for classifying hotels throughout the country.

    The General Secretary of the National Tourist Organization Nikos Skoulas stated that the system is expected to ensure compatibility of classification and will force hotels to raise their standards.

    Mr. Skoulas said he expects both the working group and the hotel representatives to present proposals on the classification by May 10.

    The hoteliers are expected to take measures and follow procedures similar to those enforced in Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy and Cyprus.

    [07] ENORMOUS PRISON ESCAPE AT KORYDALLOS THWARTED BY POLICE

    An escape attempt organized by foreign prisoners at the top security Korydallos prison near Piraeus was thwarted by police shortly before midnight yesterday.

    Prison guards were quick in detecting the prisoners’ movements and foiled their escape attempt. Police units were late last night on the alert around the prison.

    The Minister of Justice Evangelos Yiannopoulos said that this was an organized attempt and vowed that those responsible will be punished.

    [08] KONSTANTINOS KARAMANLIS’ HEALTH CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE

    The medical bulletin issued this afternoon by the treating physicians characterizes the ailing former President Konstantinos Karamanlis’ state of health as deteriorating,

    The chief of staff at the intensive care unit of the Hygeia Hospital, where Mr. Karamanlis is being treated, stated that “in spite of the continued support of all the systems, the President’s state of health is deteriorating and is deemed as extremely critical.”

    [09] OECD AND IMF TO EXAMINE GREECE’S PRIVATIZATION COURSE

    Officials from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are top arrive in Athens tomorrow where they will examine the course of the country’s utility companies privatization process.

    Moreover, the OECD experts are to examine the labor practices and the subsidies policy enforced in the state-owned companies.

    Moreover, officials from the International Monetary Fund are to arrive in Athens on May 7 in order to review the course of the Greek economy.

    [10] GENERAL PRICE INDEX AT ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE RISES BY 7.28%

    The general price index at the Athens Stock Exchange presented an impressive increase of 7.28% today, boosting shares up to 2,626 units. The trade volume reached GRD85 billion.

    Meanwhile, a delegation of officials from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is to arrive in Athens in order to examine the state’s privatization course.

    [11] TSOHATZOPOULOS-COHEN: DIVERGENCE OF VIEWS OVER THE S-300 MISSILES

    The Greek-Turkish relations, the developments regarding the Cyprus issue, the confidence-building measures in the Aegean Sea, the installation of the S-300 Russian missiles in Cyprus as well as the situation in the Balkans were the main issues of the talks Greek minister of National Defence Akis Tsohatzopoulos held today with his US counterpart William Cohen.

    Mr Tsohatzopoulos underlined that it was an indefeasible right of each country to use all means for its defence whereas mr Cohen expressed the United States’ opposition to the delivery of the Russian missiles to Cyprus, describing such a move as a mistake.

    [12] KONSTANTINOS KARAMANLIS’ HEALTH PRESENTS RAPID DETERIORATION

    The health condition of former Greek President Konstantinos Karamanlis presented a rapid deterioration within the last few hours since neither the medical bulletin issued today or the information coming from his close relatives allow any latitude for improvement hopes.

    The attendant doctors stated that they did anything in their power and mr Karamanlis’ personal doctor Eftihios Voridis stressed that the president was in a “tragic situation”.


    [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    [13] US COORDINATOR FOR CYPRUS ARRIVES IN ANKARA TODAY

    The United States coordinator for the Cyprus issue Thomas Miller is currently in Ankara, after having met with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides and the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in Cyprus yesterday.

    Mr. Miller is paving the way for Richard Holbrooke’s visit to Cyprus, scheduled to take place in May.

    [14] OCTAVIO PAZ, NOBEL LAUREATE IN LITERATURE, DIES

    Octavio Paz, Mexico's foremost literary figure and the winner of a Nobel Prize for poetry and essays mapping the labyrinths of the Mexican mind, died Sunday. He was 84.

    "Mexico has lost its greatest thinker and poet. It is an irreparable loss for contemporary thought and culture, not only for Latin America but for the whole world," The President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo stated.

    Like most Mexican writers, Mr. Paz was preoccupied with his country's many paradoxes and contradictions, the contrasts, for example, between its ancient Indian past and a more recent Spanish heritage.

    Mr. Paz is best known for two of his early works: the book-length essay "The Labyrinth of Solitude" and the poem "Sun Stone." He received the Nobel prize for literature in 1990.

    [15] CONTACT GROUP FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA TO MEET ON APRIL 29

    The “Contact Group” for the former Yugoslavia is to meet in Rome on April 29 in order to review the situation in Kossovo.

    According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, diplomats from Britain, Germany, France, United States and Russia are to also discuss the efforts exerted to initiate a dialogue between the Serb authorities and Kossovo’s Albanian community.

    [16] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER SPENDS EASTER IN ALBANIA

    Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos met with the Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano in Tirana on Easter Sunday, accompanied by ministry officials.

    The two men discussed bilateral issues and matters concerning the wider region of southeast Europe, including Kossovo and the creation of a multinational peacekeeping force in the Balkans.

    Following the meeting, Mr. Nano stated that the discussion touched upon cooperation between Balkan nations and collective security in the region in the framework of NATO.

    "The two countries are an important factor for peace in the region", Mr. Nano said.

    In turn, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that they exchanged views on cooperation between the two countries and their positive stance on consolidating peace and cooperation in the Balkans.

    During his Easter Sunday visit to Albania, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos visited the Greek contingent of the multinational force stationed here, accompanied by Greek army chief Manousos Parayioudakis and ministry officials.

    [17] EU-CYPRUS JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS THURSDAY

    The Joint Parliamentary Committee of the European Union - Cyprus is to convene on Thursday in Nicosia.

    The two-day session will address the island’s accession bid as well as its relations with the EU. The Presidium of the EU will be represented by the British High commissioner in Cyprus David Madden.

    [18] HANDZISKI-CEM MEETING IN ANKARA

    Turkish Foreign minister Ismail Cem who received yesterday in Ankara his FYROM counterpart Blagoj Handziski described the membership of FYROM in NATO as essential so as to achieve stability in the Balkans.

    Mr Cem stressed that his country would fully support FYROM’s bids to participate in the North-Atlantic Treaty and noted that the cooperation between their countries, which was growing despite the chaotic situation in the Balkans, was very important.

    Mr Handziski expressed his satisfaction over the political and economic relations of the two countries.


    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/

    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
    mpa2html v3.04 run on Tuesday, 21 April 1998 - 15:06:52