Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-11-23
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, November 23, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] WAVE OF ADVERSE WEATHER STRIKES ALL OF GREECE
[02] PRINCE CHARLES IN ATHENS, TO MEET WITH GREEK PRESIDENT TODAY
[03] CROATIAN PRESIDENT IN GREECE TODAY
[04] DELEGATION OF CHINESE JOURNALISTS TO VISIT THESSALONIKI TODAY
[05] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT CLERIDES TO VISIT ATHENS ON NOVEMBER 27
[06] GREEK FILM "ETERNITY AND A DAY" TO VIE FOR THE OSCAR
[07] JAPANESE FILM RECEIVES TOP BILLING IN THESSALONIKI'S 39TH
FILM FESTIVAL
[08] OIL TANKER ON FIRE AT THESSALONIKI'S PORT
[09] THUNDER STORMS BRING HAVOC TO THESSALONIKI
[10] GREEK RAILWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE TODAY
[11] ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER TRAVELS TO GERMANY NEXT MONTH
[12] EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS CAUSED SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN
THESSALONIKI
[13] TUDZMAN MET WITH STEPHANOPOULOS AND SIMITIS
[14] PRINCE CHARLES IS IN ATHENS
[15] GREEK INTEREST FOR CONTACTS WITH 13 CROAT BUSINESSMEN IN
THESSALONIKI
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] INTERBALKAN-BLACK SEA BUSINESS CENTER TO HOLD MISSION TO
BELGRADE
[17] ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND ALL OF GREECE CONTINUES VISIT TO
EGYPT
[18] TURKISH FIGHTER JETS VIOLATED THE CYPRIOT AIRSPACE
[19] FATOS NANO UNDERWENT A GALL-BLADDER OPERATION IN ATHENS
[20] THE ALBANIAN CONSTITUTION MEETS THE EUROPEAN REQUIREMENTS
[21] GREECE OFFERED ARMOURED CARS TO THE ALBANIAN POLICE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] WAVE OF ADVERSE WEATHER STRIKES ALL OF GREECE
Adverse weather has stricken all of Greece with snow fall and
gushing winds in many areas. A number of villages central Greece
have been isolated as the roads are inaccessible and most
transportation can be conducted with anti-skid chains.
Temperatures in northern Greece have reached the below-zero mark
in many areas.
The central ports have issued weather advisories and ships
remain docked due to high winds.
[02] PRINCE CHARLES IN ATHENS, TO MEET WITH GREEK PRESIDENT TODAY
Prince Charles arrived in Athens yesterday evening, on an
official visit to Greece where he will stay until Tuesday,
November 24.
The Prince of Wales attended a formal reception at the
Megaron Mousikis last night . Today he will lay a wreath at the
Unknown Soldier's monument and immediately thereafter he will be
received by the Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos who will
decorate him with the city medal.
In the afternoon, the Prince will be received by the
President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and will
visit the Acropolis later in the day.
Tomorrow, Prince Charles will travel to Heraklion, Crete
where he will visit Knossos, prior to returning to the United
Kingdom.
[03] CROATIAN PRESIDENT IN GREECE TODAY
Croatia's president Franjo Tudjman is embarking today on an
official, three-day visit to Greece from, at the invitation of
his Greek counterpart Kostis Stephanopoulos with whom he will meet
this afternoon.
Today he will also be received by the Prime Minster Kostas
Simitis, the Speaker of the House Apostolos Kaklamanis and
political party leaders. President Tudjman is accompanied by a
delegation of Croat businessmen. He will visit the Acropolis and
Sunio.
[04] DELEGATION OF CHINESE JOURNALISTS TO VISIT THESSALONIKI TODAY
A delegation of Chinese journalists, led by the secretary-
general of the Pan-Chinese Journalists' Association Liang Gujie,
is to visit Thessaloniki between November 23-25.
The delegates are to conduct a series of meetings, among them
with the Prefect of Thessaloniki Kostas Papadopoulos tomorrow,
November 24.
[05] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT CLERIDES TO VISIT ATHENS ON NOVEMBER 27
Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides is to be received by
Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Simitis on November 27, during his
visit to Athens where he will be accompanied by Cypriot Foreign
Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides and Defense Minister Yiannakis
Omirou.
The talks will be attended by Greece's Foreign and Defense
Ministers, Mgrs. Theodoros Pangalos and Akis Tsochatzopoulos,
respectively.
On the agenda for the meeting are Cyprus' EU accession
process and the issue of the S-300 missiles.
[06] GREEK FILM "ETERNITY AND A DAY" TO VIE FOR THE OSCAR
Theo Angelopoulos' award-winning film ''Eternity and a Day''
is to represent Greece at this year's United States Motion Picture
Academy Awards, aka Oscar, nominated for the best foreign film
category.
"Eternity and a Day" received the top Palme d'Or award at
this year's Cannes Film Festival in May.
[07] JAPANESE FILM RECEIVES TOP BILLING IN THESSALONIKI'S 39TH
FILM FESTIVAL
The Japanese film 'Fish in August' by Yoichiro Takahashi won
the "Golden Alexander Award" for the best film at the 39th
Thessaloniki Film Festival's international section on Saturday
night.
The special award "Silver Alexander" was shared by the Korean-
Tajikistani film 'The flight of the Bee' from directors Jamshed
Ismanov and Byoung Hun Min, and 'The Unbuttoning' by Petr Zelenka
from the Czech Republic.
The best director award went to Greek director Konstantinos
Giannaris for his 'From the Edge of the City'. Petr Zelenka also
won the best script award for 'The Unbuttoning' Best Actress award
went to French actress Jeanne Balibar for her role in Bruno
Podalydes' "Only God Watches Me", while the best actor award went
to Mehmet Kurtulus for his performance in Fatih Akin's
'Fatal Strike' (Germany).
The best artistic achievement award was given to Korean
Kwangmo Lee's "My Homeland in Spring".
[08] OIL TANKER ON FIRE AT THESSALONIKI'S PORT
A fire inferno broke out this morning at Thessaloniki's port
where a tanker carrying 23,000 tons of fuel broke out in a blaze
whose causes remain unknown.
The fire department and port authorities rushed to the port
and managed to contain the inferno at approximately 10 a.m.
The "Crete Golden" had loaded the fuel at ECO's refinery.
None of the 18 men on crew were injured.
The Central Port Authority of Thessaloniki is
conducting an investigation.
[09] THUNDER STORMS BRING HAVOC TO THESSALONIKI
Lashing thunder storms and gale-force winds have brought
havoc to Thessaloniki, where trees were torn off the ground and
power and phone line outages succeeded one another.
While the strong winds are expected to abate later in the
day, the inclement weather proved disastrous for transportation as
most street lights didn't function during the morning hours and
the drenching rain that followed later has deluged many areas.
[10] GREEK RAILWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE TODAY
Between 80-90% is the participation rate of the strike
conducted today by Greece's railway workers, held concurrently
with other railway workers' strikes in the European Union's member-
states.
Only one train conducted the Athens-Thessaloniki route today.
The EU's railway workers are opposed to the Community's IV
Directive which calls for abolishing state monopolies in the
railway sector and giving the go-ahead to private investors.
The workers counter that this would threaten labor relations
and will downgrade the regional railway network.
[11] ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER TRAVELS TO GERMANY NEXT MONTH
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou will visit
Germany on December 1, where he will meet with the German Foreign
Minister Joschka Fischer.
According to reports, the meeting will be in preparation for
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis's visit to Germany where he will be
received by the new German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Mgrs. Simitis and Schroeder will hold talks in view of the EU
Vienna summit to be held on December 13, ahead of Germany taking
up the Union's presidency on January 1.
[12] EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS CAUSED SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN
THESSALONIKI
Extreme weather conditions hit Thessaloniki this morning.
Gale-force winds uprooted tens of trees, interrupted the
electricity supply and caused chaos at the center of the city.
Based on the latest information available, three of the four
seamen, who were missing since this morning after a fire on board
their tug-boat at Thessaloniki's port, were found burned to death.
The three were found inside their tug-boat that run ashore at the
coast of Kalochori, near Thessaloniki and efforts aimed at
locating the fourth crew member, who is still missing, continue.
The wave of bad weather has hit northern Greece with
snowfalls, heavy rains and problems in transportation. In many
regions the temperature has dropped below zero. Minister of
Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis Magriotis stated that all the state
agencies are in a state of preparedness while schools will remain
closed in the prefecture of Thessaloniki this afternoon.
[13] TUDZMAN MET WITH STEPHANOPOULOS AND SIMITIS
Croat president Franjo Tudzman, who is on a three-day formal
visit to Greece, had separate meetings today with Greek president
Kostis Stephanopoulos and prime minister Kostas Simitis.
Two agreements, one aimed at battling organized crime and
drug trafficking and a second one aimed at improving the tourist
cooperation, were signed in the meeting of the two presidents. In
statements he made, the Croat president praised the role of Greece
in the solution of the Bosnian crisis, while he expressed the hope
that efforts will continue for the final solution of the problem
in Kosovo.
Mr. Stephanopoulos characterized the Greek-Croat relations as
excellent and added that the Tudzman visit offers the opportunity
for a further development of the bilateral economic cooperation.
The relations between the two countries dominated the Simitis-
Tudzman meeting. The Croat president later met with the political
party leaders of the opposition.
[14] PRINCE CHARLES IS IN ATHENS
Britain's Prince Charles, who arrived in Athens last night,
will be received by president Kostis Stephanopoulos today.
The heir to the British throne together with prime minister
Kostas Simitis attended a concert at the Megaron Concert Building
in Athens last evening, while Prince Charles also visited a
painting exhibition held in the premises. Prince Charles will
visit Knosos, Crete tomorrow and afterwards he will depart for
London.
[15] GREEK INTEREST FOR CONTACTS WITH 13 CROAT BUSINESSMEN IN
THESSALONIKI
Thirteen Croat businessmen will visit Thessaloniki next
Thursday within the framework of their formal visit to Greece
accompanying Croat president Franjo Tudzman.
Speaking to MPA, Organization for the Promotion of Exports
director Mr. Karakasis stated that the Greek side has expressed
strong interest in attending the bilateral contacts. It should be
noted that, this Croat delegation is the largest ever visiting
Greece and according to information, many of the Greek companies
will seek talks for immediate investments and not just for import-
export agreements.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] INTERBALKAN-BLACK SEA BUSINESS CENTER TO HOLD MISSION TO
BELGRADE
The Thessaloniki-based Inter-Balkan and Black Sea Business
Center (DIPEK) is to organize a business mission to Belgrade in an
effort to establish economic ventures between the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia and Greece.
The mission will depart from Thessaloniki on Thursday and
will remain in the Yugoslav capital until Sunday.
Various chambers of northern Greece are participating in the
delegation, along with various businessmen who are active or
interested in developing ventures in Yugoslavia.
[17] ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND ALL OF GREECE CONTINUES VISIT TO
EGYPT
The Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece Christodoulos is
continuing his visit to Egypt, where he is to visit the Pyramids
today and will also hold private talks with Coptic Patriarch
Senuda.
Yesterday evening, the Archbishop and the Patriarch Petros
inaugurated the monk's cell of Agios Nektarios at a special
ceremony in Cairo, where remains were brought from the island of
Aigina.
[18] TURKISH FIGHTER JETS VIOLATED THE CYPRIOT AIRSPACE
Turkish fighter jets violated the Cypriot airspace. Yesterday
morning, 24 fighter jets and 3 refuelling aircraft of the Turkish
Air Force took off from an air base in southern Turkey having as
their destination the state of Israel and flew over the region of
Apostle Andreas violating the Cypriot airspace.
The Turkish aircraft violated the Cypriot airspace again
during their return to Turkey later in the afternoon.
[19] FATOS NANO UNDERWENT A GALL-BLADDER OPERATION IN ATHENS
The Albanian newspaper "Gazetta Skiptare" shed light over the
"mystery" covering the disappearance of former Albanian prime
minister Fatos Nano from the political scene of the country.
According to the newspaper, Fatos Nano underwent a gall-
bladder operation in an Athens hospital and for this reason he was
unable to participate in the latest political developments that
took place in his country.
[20] THE ALBANIAN CONSTITUTION MEETS THE EUROPEAN REQUIREMENTS
Albania's draft Constitution meets the European requirements
according to Constitution specialist and Euro-deputy Dimitris
Tsatsos, who visited Tirana at the invitation of the Albanian
Parliament.
Professor Tsatsos went to Tirana to welcome the completion of
Albania's draft Constitution and discuss issues concerning the
further course of the Albanian legislation, according to a report
in the independent newspaper "Koha Yone".
[21] GREECE OFFERED ARMOURED CARS TO THE ALBANIAN POLICE
The armoured police cars that had been offered to Albania by
Greece were delivered in a ceremony that was held in the Izberish
camp in Albania in the presence of the Albanian public order
minister.
The ceremony that had an extensive coverage by all the mass
media in the country was attended by the Greek ambassador to
Tirana and the Greek military attache as well as, by many
government officials from the Albanian ministries of public order
and defense.
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