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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-06-30
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 30, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] YOUTH PARLIAMENT CONVENES TODAY
[02] BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES (ABNA) MEET IN ATHENS
[03] GREEK FLOUR MILL COMPANY EXTENDS TO ROMANIA
[04] GREECE HIGH ON UN's HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
[05] PRESIDENT CLERIDES ARRIVES IN ATHENS MONDAY
[06] PRESIDENT TO MEET WIDOW OF BRIGADIER SAUNDERS
[07] ARCHBISHOP, EDUCATION MINISTER MEET AGAIN
[08] THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF SPEED-BOATS WILL BE HELD IN LEFKADA
[09] DIAMANTOPOULOU: THE EU FOCUSES ITS INTEREST ON THE SOCIAL
SECTOR
[10] THE DECODING OF THE GENOME IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP
[11] MARGINAL LOSSES OF 0.42% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[12] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS WILL VISIT IRELAND
[13] TWENTY YOUNG PEOPLE FROM FYROM VISITED THESSALONIKI'S CITY
HALL
[14] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS MET WITH THE WIDOW OF BRIGADIER
SAUNDERS
[15] CABINET MEETING ON NATIONAL AND FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES
[16] A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO THE DIABETICS FROM MISS AMERICA 1999
[17] THE GREEK FOREIGN POLICY WAS DISCUSSED IN THE CABINET MEETING
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] VICTORIA STATE PM TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS JULY 9
[19] BLACK SEA COUNTRIES TO FORM JOINT NAVAL FORCE
[20] GREEK, TURKISH TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS IN BODRUM
[21] GREEKS HOSTED BY FETHIYE MUNICIPALITY
[22] TURKISH MAYOR WOOS GREEK BRIDES WITH HOMES
[23] EUROPEAN SOCIALIST PARTIES TO MEET IN TIRANA
[24] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WANTS THE END OF OCALAN'S ISOLATION
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] YOUTH PARLIAMENT CONVENES TODAY
The fifth session of the Youth Parliament will convene in
Athens today, featuring the participation of a total of 350 young
"deputies", 239 of whom are girls.
The President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis
expressed the wish that this year's session "be a breath of fresh
air in this very hot summer."
He also added that the institution meets the real needs of
young people to ask questions and air criticism, as well as the
public's interest in hearing the voice of Greek youth.
[02] BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES (ABNA) MEET IN ATHENS
The Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA) will hold its
10th General Assembly in Athens tomorrow, at the Divani-Caravel
hotel.
The three-day event will be attended by the general directors
of the national news agencies of Albania (ATA), Bulgaria (BTA),
Yugoslavia (TANJUG), Greece (Macedonian Press Agency and Athens
News Agency), FYROM (MIA), Romania (ROMPRESS) and Turkey (AA),
while the Moldova news agency (MOLDPRESS) and the private IHA news
agency in Turkey will be sending observers.
During the meeting, the Balkan news agencies will discuss
joint actions to improve the flow of information to the mass media
in their countries, joint participation in European programs and
using new technologies to set up a regional data base.
The ABNA presidency is currently held by ANA and its
secretariat by MPA.
[03] GREEK FLOUR MILL COMPANY EXTENDS TO ROMANIA
Greek flour mills company Loulis Group has announced the
acquisition of two cement-built wheat storage silos in Romania for
an undisclosed sum, raising the group's total storage capacity to
300,000 tons in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.
The contracts were signed by the listed group's chairman,
Costas Loulis, in Bucharest yesterday.
The first storage facility unit, with a capacity of 70,000
tons built in 1980, is located 280 km southwest of Bucharest, near
the Danube river and the second, with a storage capacity of 50,000
tons, is located in central Romania, next to Transylvania flour
mills, owned by Loulis Group.
[04] GREECE HIGH ON UN's HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
Greece ranks 25th among 174 countries in the United Nations'
human development index for the year 2000, presented by the UN
office in Athens yesterday, moving up three notches from last
year's report.
The report ranks countries based on a calculation that
combines factors such as income levels, health and education
levels and life expectancy. Canada tops the list for the seventh
consecutive year, with Norway and the US taking second and third
place respectively. Cyprus ranks 22nd and the last two places go
to Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
[05] PRESIDENT CLERIDES ARRIVES IN ATHENS MONDAY
The President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafcos Clerides is
to conduct a working visit to Athens on Monday, prior to traveling
to Geneva for the third round of proximity talks.
Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas stated there is
little room for optimism, given the other side's intransigent
stance, while he added that the proximity talks will reveal who is
responsible for the impasse.
[06] PRESIDENT TO MEET WIDOW OF BRIGADIER SAUNDERS
The President of the Hellenic Republic will Costis
Stephanopoulos will meet today with Heather Saunders, the widow of
the British military attache who was murdered by November 17
terrorists on June 8.
Mrs. Saunders will be accompanied by British Ambassador David
Madden.
According to a British Embassy statement, "the meeting is a
further example of the excellent and close cooperation of the
British and Greek governments in the fight against terrorism and
the efforts to bring the murderers of Stephen Saunders to
justice."
[07] ARCHBISHOP, EDUCATION MINISTER MEET AGAIN
Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos met
last night with the Minister of Education Petros Eftimiou at a
church inauguration ceremony in Athens, their first contact since
the church-state rift erupted over the identification cards.
Mr. Christodoulos gave a low-key speech last night, not
touching upon the sore point, and referred to the role carried
out by the Orthodox Church in building Europe's conscience.
Meanwhile, the President of the Hellenic Republic will Costis
Stephanopoulos assessed that the conflict over the identification
cards will soon end, stating that his point of view stems from his
trust to the patriotic sentiments of all sides involved.
[08] THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF SPEED-BOATS WILL BE HELD IN LEFKADA
The World Championship Formula-3 3rd Grant Prix of Speed-
boats will be held at the Ionian Sea island of Lefkada.
The event is organized by the local administration and will
be held under the auspices of the sports ministry. In the race
will participate 18 pilots from a number of countries.
Also in Lefkada, there will be an exhibition of Formula-2
speed-boats that will come from Britain.
[09] DIAMANTOPOULOU: THE EU FOCUSES ITS INTEREST ON THE SOCIAL
SECTOR
It is a very important fact that the European Union for the
first time adopts the view that its interest must turn to the
social sector. The above were stressed by European Commissioner
Anna Diamantopoulou, who was the main speaker in the conference on
Social Policy and Social Cohesion in an enlarged Europe organized
in Thessaloniki by the EU regions committee.
Based on statistical figures provided by the European Union,
18% of the EU population lives under the poverty level, while
there are 15 million unemployed who represent 10% of the EU work
force.
Ms. Diamantopoulou speaking to reporters stated that the EU
social agenda is very important because it presents a framework of
binding policies for the next years concerning employment, social
protection, equality, minimum income and the cooperation in social
issues with the enlargement states.
[10] THE DECODING OF THE GENOME IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP
The mapping of the genome is only the first step and work
must continue at the same pace, stressed in an interview with the
newspaper "Thessaloniki" Cambridge Sanger Center researcher Panos
Deloukas, who participates in the Human Genome Program.
Mr. Deloukas stated that it is a unique scientific
achievement unprecedented in human history and science. However,
he said that this is only the first step and the next one must be
to find the genes, how many they are and where they can be found
in each one of the de-coded pieces, adding that years of hard work
will be needed to determine the exact function of all those genes.
Mr. Deloukas also stated that it must be pointed out that the
information and potential offered to medicine, pharmacology,
microbiology and other similar sciences by this success are
obvious as new doors are being opened for the prediction and
treatment of diseases.
[11] MARGINAL LOSSES OF 0.42% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Losses of 0.42% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today and the general index was at 4.054,41 points, while the
volume of transactions was very small at 94,8 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, 139 had gains, 185 recorded
losses and 37 remained unchanged.
[12] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS WILL VISIT IRELAND
President Kostis Stephanopoulos will be on a three-day visit
to Ireland on July 3 accompanied by a business delegation of the
ministry of national economy.
Mr. Stephanopoulos will meet with the president, prime
minister and foreign minister of Ireland and they will discuss
mainly European issues. He will also address an economic forum of
Greek and Irish businessmen.
[13] TWENTY YOUNG PEOPLE FROM FYROM VISITED THESSALONIKI'S CITY
HALL
Twenty young people from the town of Stromnica in FYROM
visited Thessaloniki's City Hall today and met with city council
president Sotiris Kapetanopoulos. The 20 youngsters are learning
the Greek language in their country in a project financed by the
Association of people who come from Stromnica and live in
Thessaloniki, with the economic assistance of the municipality of
Thessaloniki.
According to association president, Aristotle University
professor Mr. Chisafis, the effort will continue in the following
months as the young people from FYROM show a great interest in
learning the Greek language. At the moment, over 80 people from
Stromnica learn Greek in organized classes.
[14] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS MET WITH THE WIDOW OF BRIGADIER
SAUNDERS
The widow of British military attache in Athens Stephen
Saunders and her two daughters met with president Kostis
Stephanopoulos at noon today.
Mr. Stephanopoulos offered his condolences to the Saunders
family and the widow of the British brigadier, who was gunned down
on June 8 by members of the terrorist organization "17 November"
as he was driving to the British embassy in Kolonaki, Athens, in
statements she made expressed the belief that the terrorists will
be found and arrested by the Greek police.
[15] CABINET MEETING ON NATIONAL AND FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES
The Greek cabinet met today to discuss the developments in
issues of national interest and foreign policy.
In statements made after the meeting, government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas said that the discussion focused on the issue of
European integration and Greece's equal participation in the
procedures aimed at federalization.
Mr. Reppas stated that Greece will give special attention to
its participation in the united Europe and will try to exploit the
advantages stemming from it.
In today's cabinet meeting, were also discussed the situation
in the Balkans, the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue.
[16] A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO THE DIABETICS FROM MISS AMERICA 1999
Diabetes will become a world epidemic in the next 20-25 years
but the progress in technology observed in the past few years has
made its treatment less painful, while the information offered to
the diabetics promises to improve their living conditions. The
above were stated in a press conference by Miss America 1999
Nicole Johnson, who is herself a diabetic and has dedicated her
life to offering information to the diabetes sufferers.
The 26yearold Nicole Johnson, who is in Thessaloniki to
address a scientific meeting under the title "Diabetes-A way of
life", suffers from diabetes since the age of 19 and stressed that
she is trying to send a message of hope to those who suffer from
chronic diseases, like diabetes.
Nicole Johnson said that her life changed dramatically when
she was diagnosed with diabetes and she started worrying about her
diet, exercise and insulin, but as the time passed she became
stronger. She expressed the hope that the decoding of the DNA will
help in the treatment of diabetes, stressing that the information
campaign targeting the diabetics must continue.
Miss America 1999 has studied English literature has a
master's degree in journalism and works as a free lancer for the
American television.
She referred to the discrimination against her because of her
disease, saying that when she took part in the beauty pageant
certain people told her that she will not have any chance of
winning because she has diabetes, while others tried to discourage
her from being involved in journalism.
[17] THE GREEK FOREIGN POLICY WAS DISCUSSED IN THE CABINET MEETING
Greece draws up a concrete European and Balkan prospect, is
in the core of the important European developments, has increased
prestige, cooperates with all sides and promotes the prospect of a
unified European Union. A strong Europe can deal with all the
effects of globalization.
The above were stated by foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou
after the long cabinet meeting that lasted several hours and dealt
with foreign policy issues, focusing on the new European
developments and the strategy Greece must follow in view of the
Inter-Governmental Conference. Mr. Papandreou stated that
Turkey's course toward Europe will have its domestic dimensions,
while on the Cyprus problem he said that there is nothing new,
adding however, that there is a likelihood to have constructive
proposals from Turkey in the third round of talks.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] VICTORIA STATE PM TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS JULY 9
The premier of Australia's Victoria State, Steve Bracks, will
conduct a brief visit to Athens on July 9 where he will meet with
the ministers of transport and communications and culture.
Among the topics to be discussed is the future of the Olympic
Airways flights to Melbourne, the Museum of Greek Antiquities in
Melbourne, and the prospect of a formal agreement with Greece on
exhibition exchanges.
Mr. Bracks will also discuss matters related to the teaching
of the Greek language in Victoria.
[19] BLACK SEA COUNTRIES TO FORM JOINT NAVAL FORCE
Black Sea nations plan to create a joint Black Sea naval
force named BLACK-SEAFOR, according to the Turkish news agency
Anadolu.
Representatives of Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia
and the Ukraine signed a joint communique in Ankara this week,
where they announced their intention to create BLACK-SEAFOR and to
speed up efforts for its deployment.
BLACK-SEAFOR's mandate will be to carry out search and rescue
missions, humanitarian aid missions, mine-clearing operations and
protection of the Black Sea environment.
[20] GREEK, TURKISH TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS IN BODRUM
The members of the Association of Turkish Tourism Investors
(TYD) and the Association of Greek Tourism Entrepreneurs (AGTE),
are to hold a meting in Bodrum tomorrow in order to seek means of
cooperation, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
The sides will discuss means of presenting the Aegean Sea as
a common destination to the international tourism market, and
means of cooperating with the European Union and the World Tourism
Organization to this end.
The participants will discuss issues such as resort and hotel
management, joint initiatives and investments in marinas and yacht
tourism in Turkey and Greece, while they will also consider staff
exchange programs to train hotel staff and executives on their
professional fields.
[21] GREEKS HOSTED BY FETHIYE MUNICIPALITY
An 80-member Greek group is presently visiting the city of
Fethiye in the Mugla province of Turkey, hosted by the Fethiye
Municipality and the private primary school Kislak.
According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, the group -
which includes the Mayor of Rhodes George Ioannopoulos, was warmly
greeted by Behcet Saatci, the Mayor of Fethiye.
Meanwhile, members of the Rhodes Lions Club will visit
members of the Marmaris Lions Club on Friday.
During the visit, a protocol will be signed announcement of
Marmaris and Rhodes Lions Club as twin clubs.
[22] TURKISH MAYOR WOOS GREEK BRIDES WITH HOMES
Greek women willing to marry Turks from the city of Urgiup
will be rewarded with a free house, an all-expenses-paid
honeymoon and, last but not least, the groom, according to the
town's mayor.
The mayor of Urgiup, which is in the Municipality of
Cappadocia, stated that this is an effort to entice Greek women to
opt for his town's males and is confident that such matrimonial
union will be successful.
[23] EUROPEAN SOCIALIST PARTIES TO MEET IN TIRANA
European Socialist Parties will convene in the Albanian
capital of Tirana tomorrow, to discuss democratic reforms in South-
eastern Europe and the parties' role in a civil society, the
Albanian Telegraph Agency reported. .
Greece will attend the conference, along with Sweden,
Germany, England, Hungary, and a delegation from Kosovo.
Deputy President of the European Socialist Party Jan Marinus
Wiersma, who chairs the conference as well, will address the
opening speech.
Albanian Premier Ilir Meta, SP chairman Fatos Nano and Social-
democrat Party chairman Skender Gjinushi will be among the
speakers.
[24] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WANTS THE END OF OCALAN'S ISOLATION
Amnesty International made an appeal to Turkey to put an end
to the isolation of jailed Kurdish leader Abdulah Ocalan
expressing concern over the state of his health.
In a statement Amnesty International mentions that it has
requested from Turkish prime minister Bulent Ecevit to stop the
isolation of the PKK leader.
The international organization expresses concern in its
statement because given the fact that Ocalan is the only prisoner
on the prison-island of Imrali, he could be treated badly. It also
points out that if an inmate is held in isolation conditions for a
long period of time can develop psychological problems.
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