Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-07-05
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 5, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] JUNE'S INFLATION WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY
[02] PROBLEMS FOR THE "BIG BROTHER" SHOW IN GREECE
[03] PASPALJE SUFFERED A NEW HEART ATTACK
[04] NIOTIS IS ON A VISIT TO ARMENIA
[05] A SPECIAL COMMITTEE WILL EXAMINE THE OFFERS FOR THE OA
[06] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ASE
[07] THE VOTING BOOKLET IS ABOLISHED IN GREECE
[08] 800 COURT EMPLOYEES WILL OFFER VOLUNTEER WORK IN THE ATHENS
OLYMPICS
[09] TECHNICAL COOPERATION FUND BY THE BLACK SEA BANK
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] THE GREEK DELEGATION IN NATO DISAGREES WITH THE ALLIANCE'S
ASSESSMENTS ON FYROM
[11] THE EURO-PARLIAMENT CALLS ON TURKEY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] JUNE'S INFLATION WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY
June's inflation is expected to be announced on Monday and
its size will be a decisive element concerning its course in 2001.
By the end of 2001, inflation will be limited to 2.9% given
that there will be no major increase in the summer, according to
national economy minister Yiannos Papantoniou.
For the record, the Bank of Greece predicts that inflation
will be over 3% by the end of 2001 and for this reason it tries to
limit consumer loans.
On the GDP growth rate, Mr. Papantoniou predicted that it
will be at 4.6%, pointing out that in the first trimester of 2001
it increased by 6.1%.
[02] PROBLEMS FOR THE "BIG BROTHER" SHOW IN GREECE
The Personal Data Protection Authority raises obstacles for
the "Big Brother" television show that was scheduled to be aired
by Antenna TV in Greece this fall.
The authority's decision in essence forbids the airing of the
show citing constitution principles, personal data protection and
morality issues.
Specifically, it bans the creation of a file with the
personal data of the candidate players even if they give they
consent to this. The Personal Data Protection Authority mentions
that the creation of such a file is illegal and it is opposed to
the general principles concerning the respect and protection of
the people's dignity, adding that the freedom of people is being
limited in a great degree.
Based on the fact that the players will be watched by
television cameras on a 24hour basis for 112 days isolated in a
special studio, private life disappears and people are humiliated
having as a sole goal to win a prize and achieve publicity.
For the record, in the application filed by the candidate
players they have to mention information concerning even their
relatives and friends and describe their personality.
[03] PASPALJE SUFFERED A NEW HEART ATTACK
Yugoslav former basketball player Zarko Paspalje suffered a
new heart attack today and was rushed to Asklipio Hospital in
Athens.
Paspalje had suffered another heart attack a few months ago.
He felt ill in his house in Glifada, Athens suffering from
chest pains. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the
hospital's cardiology clinic.
[04] NIOTIS IS ON A VISIT TO ARMENIA
Undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris Niotis arrived in
Armenia today for a two-day visit aimed at holding bilateral
contacts and meetings with representatives of the Greek community.
Mr. Niotis will meet with Armenian president Kotsarian, the
country's foreign minister and the Armenian Patriarch, while he
will have bilateral consultations with his Armenian counterpart.
Within the framework of his contacts with the Greek community
the undersecretary of foreign affairs will inaugurate a diagnostic
center where the Greeks in the region will be examined for free,
while he will visit a nursery school for Greek Armenian children.
[05] A SPECIAL COMMITTEE WILL EXAMINE THE OFFERS FOR THE OA
The creation of a special committee that will undertake to
hold the negotiations with the candidate buyers of the state-owned
Olympic Airways was unanimously decided today by the governmental
committee that met under prime minister Kostas Simitis.
According to transport minister Christos Verelis, the
committee will be made up of a representative of the state legal
council, representatives of the ministries of national economy and
transport and international advisers.
Mr. Verelis stated that there are four bids one of which
concerned only part of the OA package and therefore it was
rejected. For the first time, the adviser suggests as the top
offer the one that comes from the Axon group. The negotiations
will get underway with the specific group and will last for about
a month. At the same time, talks will be held with the other two
candidate buyers namely, Cyprus Airways and the Australian group.
The policy that will be followed by Axon if it is selected
among the rest Olympic Airways prospective buyers was presented by
the group's president Thomas Liakounakos. He announced that the
personnel size of the OA will be cut by half, the airline's fleet
will be renewed with 40-50 new airplanes, 16 destinations will be
abolished, there will be cooperation with other airline companies
in the sector of ground services, while the name and logo of the
company will be maintained. The group's offer for the buyout of
Olympic Airways is 35 billion drachmas.
[06] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ASE
Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The
general index rose to +0.22% at 2.654,18 points, while the volume
of transactions was at 99.2 million Euro or 33.8 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, 159 recorded gains and 143 had
losses, while the value of 73 stocks remained stable.
[07] THE VOTING BOOKLET IS ABOLISHED IN GREECE
The interior ministry in Greece decided to abolish the voting
booklets that were used so far by the voters and replace them with
special voting cards. The decision will be put into effect in the
next municipal elections.
The card will bear a special election number made up of 13
digits put in a specific sequence to represent the municipality to
which the voter is registered, the date of birth, and his/her
registration number in the voting registers.
[08] 800 COURT EMPLOYEES WILL OFFER VOLUNTEER WORK IN THE ATHENS
OLYMPICS
About 800 court employees serving in Thessaloniki's
Courthouse and in other agencies signed up for volunteer work in
the 2004 Olympic Games after a meeting of their representatives
with a member of the "Messengers of Volunteerism" group, the
basketball player Dinos Angelidis.
According to statements made to MPA by the Greek Federation
of Court Employees vice-president, in the federation conference
that will be held in Nafpaktos on September 27, in the presence of
Olympic medallists and members of the "Messengers of Volunteerism"
group, every court employee in Greece will be urged to offer
volunteer work in the 2004 Olympic Games. Meanwhile, head
prosecutor in Thessaloniki's Courts of First Instance, Mr.
Zacharis stated that about 30 of his prosecutor colleagues will be
among the Olympic Games' volunteers, saying characteristically
that the prosecutors too are part of the Greek people and they
cannot be absent from such an event of national importance.
[09] TECHNICAL COOPERATION FUND BY THE BLACK SEA BANK
The Black Sea Bank reached an agreement with the Greek
government which will finance the creation of a Special Technical
Cooperation Fund with a budget of 800.000 Euro.
The agreement was signed by Black Sea Bank president Ersoi
Volkan and undersecretary of national economy Yiannis
Zafiropoulos. This will be the first Special Fund that will be
managed by the bank.
The fund will back the preparation of projects and will be
used by the Black Sea Bank for the appointment of advisers, who
will assist in the drawing up of expediency studies and
operational plans, and the improvement of the preparation of
projects in the Bank's member-states.
The fund is committed to use Greek advisers by 75%, while up
to 25% of the financing can be used for the appointment of
advisers coming from other Bank member-states or donor countries
offering similar technical cooperation resources to the Bank.
The Black Sea Commerce and Development Bank (Black Sea Bank)
is a Thessaloniki based international economic organization that
was founded in 1999 by Greece, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine,
Romania, Azerbaidjan, Albania, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldavia. It
has an approved capital of about US$1.3 billion and supports
economic development and regional cooperation through the
financing of public and private companies' projects and trade
transactions in the member-states.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] THE GREEK DELEGATION IN NATO DISAGREES WITH THE ALLIANCE'S
ASSESSMENTS ON FYROM
Serious disagreements on the assessment of the situation in
FYROM included in a NATO military committee report are expressed
in a text drawn up by the Greek delegation in the alliance's
military committee addressed to the political leadership.
The Greek delegation in NATO's military committee expresses
strong reservations concerning the expediency of the NATO
assessments and the omissions in the report.
The root of the crisis is not the claims for equal rights for
the Albanian-speaking population in the specific country but the
idea of the so-called Greater Albania. In the document with the
comments of the Greek delegation on the NATO report, it is
stressed that this is the real and objective goal hidden behind
the demands for more rights.
In another part of the text concerning the financing of the
Albanians, it is pointed out that only general references are
being made on the issue without a systematic approach namely,
there is no specific mentioning of the countries where the money
is being collected and the ways in which it reaches the rebels (a
reference is made to Swiss bank accounts). Also, no reference is
made on the general fund resources, while no assessment has been
made on the size of the contributions and the necessary credits.
[11] THE EURO-PARLIAMENT CALLS ON TURKEY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS
The Euro-parliament in a report it has adopted on human
rights in the world calls on Turkey to respect the European Court
for Human Rights decisions on Ankara's responsibilities in the
occupied northern Cyprus, lift the obstacles it has raised
concerning the Greek properties in Istanbul, and allow the
reopening of the Halki Theology School.
The report was drawn up by Finnish Euro-deputy with the party
of the Greens, Mati Guori and the references made on Turkey were
included for the first time in the report at the proposal of Greek
governing socialist party of PASOK Euro-deputy Yiannis Souladakis.
Mr. Souladakis pointed out that human rights is one of the
main issues on which Turkey's ability to approach the European
standards will be judged.
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