Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-07-19
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, July 19, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THE BUYOUT OF THE UNITED BULGARIAN BANK BY THE NATIONAL BANK
OF GREECE WILL BE SIGNED TOMORROW
[02] THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING PASSENGERS OF A SMALL PRIVATE
PLANE CONTINUES
[03] THE BLACK SEA BANK GRANTED A 1.5 BILLION DRACHMAS LOAN TO THE
BANK OF GEORGIA
[04] LOSSES OF 1.42% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[05] A 4TH CENTURY BC TOMB WAS FOUND NEAR THESSALONIKI
[06] FIVE COMPANIES ENTERED THE SECOND ROUND OF THE TENDER FOR THE
ATHENS NATURAL GAS NETWORK
[07] THE GREEK LABOR MINISTER MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR
[08] CULTURE MINISTER EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE OVER THE 2004 OLYMPICS
[09] REPPAS COMMENTS ON ARTICLES ABOUT OLYMPICS
[10] SIMITIS AND ANGELOPOULOU MEET TO DISCUSS OLYMPICS
[11] REPPAS COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE OF GERMAN REPARATIONS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] THE GREEK NATIONAL THEATER COMPANY IS IN ITALY
[13] BIG PROTEST RALLY AGAINST DENKTASH AND ANKARA IN THE OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES IN CYPRUS
[14] THE EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS ON THE STATUS QUO VIOLATION IN
STROVILIA
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THE BUYOUT OF THE UNITED BULGARIAN BANK BY THE NATIONAL BANK
OF GREECE WILL BE SIGNED TOMORROW
The buyout of the United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) by the National
Bank of Greece will be finalized tomorrow.
The agreement, through which the National Bank of Greece will
have the control of 90% of the Bulgarian credit institution, will
be signed in Sofia on behalf of Greece by National Bank of Greece
governor Theodoros Karatzas.
According to well-informed sources, the overall transaction
is estimated at 240 million Euros.
The UBB shares were sold to the National Bank of Greece by
EBRD, the Bulgarian Bulbank and the companies CIBC Oppenheimer
Corporation and Jodrell Enterprises Ltd.
[02] THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING PASSENGERS OF A SMALL PRIVATE
PLANE CONTINUES
The all-night search conducted by the Coast Guard for the
location of the two missing passengers of a small one-engine
private plane that had to make an emergency touch-down on the sea,
12 nautical miles north of the island of Dia at Iraklion Bay in
Crete, was fruitless.
The TB-9 private plane that belonged to the Iraklion Aviation
Club had taken off from the island of Santorini with four friends
on board and the pilot reported a mechanical problem that forced
him to make an emergency touch-down on the sea a few miles before
reaching the airport.
Two of the passengers, a 30yearold woman and her 34yearold
fiancee, were rescued, while the search continues for the location
of the pilot and another young woman, who are still missing.
[03] THE BLACK SEA BANK GRANTED A 1.5 BILLION DRACHMAS LOAN TO THE
BANK OF GEORGIA
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank will grant a 1.5
billion drachmas loan to the Bank of Georgia to back the former
soviet republic's exports. An agreement on the loan has already
been signed in Tblisi by BSTDB governor Ersoy Volkan and Georgia
Bank governor Vladimir Pateishvili.
The loan will be used for short-term funding programs
concerning trade transactions of an added value. The specific
trade activities will back the exports of goods aimed at boosting
productivity and the inflow of foreign currency to the country.
The Bank of Georgia is a developing bank with many branches
across the country, while it cooperates with EBRD, the World Bank
and other important foreign banks active in the financing of
exports.
[04] LOSSES OF 1.42% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Losses of 1.42% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today and the general index was at 4.044, 13 points, while the
volume of transactions was small at 74.1 billion drachmas.
The course of the session was not satisfactory and of the
stocks trading only 30 recorded gains, 309 had losses and 26
remained stable.
[05] A 4TH CENTURY BC TOMB WAS FOUND NEAR THESSALONIKI
The ancient findings in the 4th century BC tomb that was
unearthed recently in the area where the ancient city of Kalindion
was located and the fossilized bones of hippopotamus, dears and
horses that lived 1 million years ago and were found in the region
of Zagliveri, near Thessaloniki will be presented to the public
for the first time in the village of Kalamoto on Sunday.
The two-floor, 6x3meters tomb is covered by 11 marble plates
and is decorated with sculptures and paintings. Based on the
findings in the tomb, it belonged to a local official.
[06] FIVE COMPANIES ENTERED THE SECOND ROUND OF THE TENDER FOR THE
ATHENS NATURAL GAS NETWORK
Five of the seven companies that had expressed interest in
bidding for the contract for the construction of the natural gas
network in Athens have entered its second phase.
The companies that did not make it to the second round are
the Greek-Russian joint venture Promitheas Gas and the Belgian
Tratebel. Those that entered the second phase are the Slovak SPP,
the Canadian BC Gas, the Irish Board Geis, the American Synergy
and the French Gaz de France.
These five companies will be called to present their economic
offers for the undertaking of the management and the buyout of 49%
of the Attiki Gas Supply Company.
[07] THE GREEK LABOR MINISTER MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR
Minister of labor Tasos Yiannitsis met with the
representatives of the Greek General Confederation of Labor.
After the meeting Mr. Yiannitsis stated to reporters that
they defined nine areas for discussion that include the macro-
economic policies, the structural policies, the 3rd Community
Framework of Support funds, institutional issues on the labor
force, issues concerning the upgrading of the tools used to
achieve those goals and a number of other issues.
Responding to the question on whether the 35hour week can be
implemented in Greece the labor minister stated that if the
General Confederation of Labor believes that it can be up for
discussion it could be one of the points that will be examined in
a dialogue.
The Greek General Confederation of Labor will not discuss a
settlement of the work time, the issue of group lay-offs and the
further flexibility of the job market, according to statements
made by its president Christos Polizogopoulos after his meeting
with the minister of labor.
Mr. Polizogopoulos said that the 35hour week is a basic
demand and it can be used to the benefit of both the workers and
the unemployed, adding that for years now the workers have been
proposing cuts in the overtime.
[08] CULTURE MINISTER EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE OVER THE 2004 OLYMPICS
The Greek minister of Culture, Theodoros Pangalos, is
confident that progress is being made in the preparations and
organisation of the Olympic Races and maintains that the problems
and malfunctioning elements pointed out by the International
Olympic Committee have either been solved or are in the process of
being solved.
Mr Pangalos also responded to criticisms recently made by the
opposition party, New Democracy, concerning the preparations and
the relations between those responsible for them.
As far as recent publications referring to the
responsibilities taken on by Ms Angelopoulou are concerned, the
minister of Culture made it clear that Ms Angelopoulou is
cooperating with the Greek government. Therefore, the question of
who is in charge is not an issue, as she is the president of an
independent organisation and not an employee.
[09] REPPAS COMMENTS ON ARTICLES ABOUT OLYMPICS
Government representative Dimitris Reppas referred to the
authors of certain articles on the 2004 Olympics as "political
prophets who are always proved wrong".
The articles questioned our country's ability to safely and
successfully organise this important event.
[10] SIMITIS AND ANGELOPOULOU MEET TO DISCUSS OLYMPICS
Yianna Angelopoulou, head of the five-member Administration
Committee for the Olympic Races, visited Greek Prime Minister
Costas Simitis at the Maximos Mansion.
The Committee is due to arrive in Lausanne tomorrow, where it will
meet with Juan Antonio Samarang and with other members of the
International Olympic Committee.
Ms Angelopoulou relayed her opinions and plans to the Prime
Minister, concerning the effective organisation of the Races,
resulting from her experience in the presidency of the
Administration Committee.
Furthermore, she stated that the situation to the present day
was reviewed during her meeting with Mr Simitis, before they
discussed her trip to Lausanne tomorrow and her collaboration with
Juan Antonio Samarang and Jacques Raug.
"We discussed all the issues that have preoccupied us recently,
with the ultimate aim of outlining our short-term plan, concerning
the arrival of the Coordination Committee, due to visit Greece
towards the end of August to discuss the major issues facing us",
said Ms Angelopoulou.
"We are pin-pointing all the difficulties decisively and are
hoping to solve all existing problems", stressed Ms Angelopoulou.
She went on to maintain that there will be loose ends for the
entire duration of the preparation period and that the success of
the Races should be judged when the event is over, before deciding
whether there were any loose ends or not.
[11] REPPAS COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE OF GERMAN REPARATIONS
Greek government representative Dimitris Reppas insisted that
"the Greek government has made its position quite clear. We will
not budge on this issue", during a statement made in relation to
issue of German war reparations.
Mr Reppas added that the German side has 15 days from the day
the seizures begin to proceed with a legal caveat against the
compensation seizures. "We will act accordingly following a German
reaction" he remarked. When asked if the seizures will end in the
case of the German government applying for a caveat, Mr Reppas
replied that "the court will deal with this caveat, bearing in
mind article 923 of the Civil Legal Procedure Code".
When asked to comment on the statement made by the Greek
minister of Justice, Michalis Stathopoulos, concerning Greek-
German relations, during an interview with the German magazine
"Der Spiegel", Mr Reppas claimed that "Mr Stathopoulos reiterated
what has already been said".
"He stressed that this is a major issue of great political
importance. Political moves must be made. It is in fact a
political issue and not one for the courts, precisely because it
concerns our country's relations with another country that we co-
exist with in the European Union", Mr Reppas maintained.
Finally, Mr Reppas reiterated the fact that it is a political
matter and should therefore be dealt with likewise, adding that
"all action concerning this issue must be completed to bring the
matter to a new level".
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] THE GREEK NATIONAL THEATER COMPANY IS IN ITALY
The opening of the ancient Greek tragedy "Oedipus" at Rome's
Colosseum tomorrow was front-page news in all the Italian
newspapers.
The tickets for the three performances of the Greek National
Theater Company have been sold out and the opening performance
will be watched by the Italian president, the prime minister and
the culture minister, while from Greece's side present will be
culture minister Theodoros Pangalos and Greek National Theater
managing director Nikos Kourkoulos.
The play is directed by Vasilis Papavasiliou and the leading
role is played by Grigoris Valtinos.
[13] BIG PROTEST RALLY AGAINST DENKTASH AND ANKARA IN THE OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES IN CYPRUS
An unprecedented protest rally against Turkish Cypriot leader
Rauf Denktash and the involvement of Ankara in the internal
affairs of the Turkish occupied territories in Cyprus was held in
the occupied part of Nicosia last night.
In the protest rally participated over 10.000 Turkish
Cypriots chanting slogans against Denktash and his intransigence
in the negotiations with the Greek Cypriot side calling for his
immediate resignation.
The protesters expressed their anger against Ankara because
of the tough economic measures proposed by the Turkish government
to be in effect in the occupied territories.
[14] THE EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS ON THE STATUS QUO VIOLATION IN
STROVILIA
The European Socialists regard as an extremely serious issue
the status quo violation in the region of Strovilia in Cyprus,
according to a reply letter by the Socialist Group president in
the European Parliament that was addressed to Social-democratic
Movement deputy president in Cyprus, Yiannakis Omirou.
The president of the Socialist Group in the European
Parliament assures the Cypriot Social-democrats that if there is
no change in the situation in Strovilia the European Socialists
will take further action with the opening of the European
Parliament's new session at the end of the summer.
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