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Sunday, 24 November 2024
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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-11-05Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, November 5, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK PREMIER: INTER-BALKAN SUMMIT WAS A SUCCESSAthens, November 5 (MPA)The Inter-Balkan Summit Conference has been absolutely successful, as the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stated during a press conference held at Heraklion, following the session’s closure yesterday.This was the first time that the Balkan leaders gathered together in order to discover common ways to address the region’s problems, Mr. Simitis noted. US State Department spokesperson James Rubin stated that the meeting held between the Greek Premier and his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz was a constructive and beneficial one, but much work remains to be done in order to bear results. Greece’s main opposition party leader, New Democracy’s Kostas Karamanlis said that the Summit resulted in failure. A.F. [02] FINANCE, ECONOMICS MINISTRIES TO MEET OVER BUDGETAthens, November 5 (MPA)The Greek government is to draw the final touches on 1998’s budget, during a Finance and Economics Ministries conference to be chaired by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and attended by the governor of the Bank of Greece Lukas Papademos The Minister of National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou stated that the recent crisis in the stock market is to result in small changes in the budget’s sizes.According to reports, 1998’s budget will contain two new taxes, one being a monthly toll for mobile phones ranging from 1,000-2,000 drachmas and the other being a .4% state tax imposed on stock market transactions. Moreover, there will be a 10% tax increase on state bonds and treasuries, tax on living standards will be upped by 15%, while objective criteria of properties will be taxed up to 50% more. A.F. [03] MICHAIL GORBACHEV HOSPITALIZED IN VERN FOR UNKNOWN REASONSVern, November 5 (MPA)The then-Soviet Union’s last leader Michael Gorbachev has been admitted to a hospital in Vern, for unknown as-of-yet reasons, according to Swiss radio reports.According to the Swiss news agency SDA, Mr. Gorbachev will remain in the hospital at least until tomorrow, in order to undergo medical examinations, which has also been confirmed by the international ecological organization “Green Cross”, which is headed by the Russian former leader. A.F. [04] NEW SCANDAL ERUPTS IN TIRANA, STATE OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF FORGERYTirana, November 5 (MPA)Albania’s Interior Ministry is staffed by officials who have forged their diplomas, according to Albanian press reports which bring forth another scandal that rocks the country on the aftermath of the recent revelation that officials of the same ministry have been active in illicit trade activities and illegal immigration.According to Tirana’s daily “Koha Jon”, after a brief check performed by the Ministry, 20 high-ranking officials were discovered to have submitted forged diplomas and academic records. According to Hasan Hametia, a leading official of the Ministry, the matter is of grave importance, while”not only do they not have a university degree, but they haven’t even finished high school.” A.F. [05] COMMISSIONER HANS VAN DEN BROEK NOT WELCOMED BY TURKISH- CYPRIOTSNicosia, November 5 (MPA)The European Union’s Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Hans van den Broek is not welcomed in Cyprus’s occupied p[art, because of his stance towards the Cyprus issue, according to Turkish- Cypriots press reports.The President of the Turkish-Cypriots Chamber of Industry Eren Ertan is said to have stated that Mr. van den Broek’s statements of a Turkish “occupation army” were bothersome, and he advised the region’s residents to boycott all the events that are to be attended by the Commissioner. A.F. [06] TURKEY’S MILITARY EXERCISE “TAURUS” CURRENTLY UNDER WAYNicosia, November 5 (MPA)The Turkish military exercise “Taurus” is currently under way at Cyprus’s occupied part.The Turkish Army’s land units and Navy troops are to land at the shores of the occupied area Kormakites. Real ammunition is to be used in today’s exercises which will feature the participation of 20 F-16 aircraft, 12 F-4 and two transport planes. According to the Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin, the unified defense Doctrine between Greece and Cyprus threatens peace on Cyprus and is aimed against Turkey. The Turkish official reiterated that the establishment of the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles poses a serious threat for Turkey and the surrounding region. “We will not allow this,” he said. A.F. [07] BULGARIA’S DEFENSE INDUSTRIES TO BE PRIVATIZEDSofia, November 5 (MPA)Bulgarian Premier Ivan Kostov announced today that his government will proceed to privatize 22 defense industries in the production of automatic rifles, anti-aircraft and anti-tank outfitting and telecommunications machinery. Already, interest has been expressed by Greek, German, Israeli and American companies.A 1992 bill prevented the Bulgarian armament industry from going private, but the Parliament repealed the law in order to pave the way to the privatization of 22 defense industries. A.F. [08] GREEK COURT ORDERS GERMANY TO PAY REPARATIONS TO WWII NAZI VICTIMSBonn, November 5 (MPA)A Greek provincial court, in the city of Livadia near Athens, has ruled that Germany must pay $32 million in reparations to the families of those who were executed by Nazis during WWII.The court ruled in favor of a suit filed by about 100 people who are related to those slaughtered by Nazis. Germany has two months to file an appeal and, if it refuses to abide by the decision, then the matter will be remanded to the European Court of Human Rights. A.F. [09] TURKEY’S GENERAL STAFF CHIEF INVITES GREEK COUNTERPART TO ANKARAAnkara, November 5 (MPA)Turkey’s chief of General Staff, Ismael Chaki Karadayi has invited Greece’s Chief of General Army Staff Athanasios Tzoganis to visit Ankara.Meanwhile, according to the Turkish daily “Milliyet”, the second-in-command of the General Army Staff Cevik Bir referred to Greek-Turkish relations during a conference titled “Turkey and Europe” and stated that his country‘s military leaders want to reduce the existing tension between the two countries and have proceeded to take certain actions which have produced no result. A.F. [10] GREEK HOSPITAL DOCTORS STRIKE, TO MEET WITH HEALTH UNDERSECRETARYAthens, November 5 (MPA)The course of the protests and strikes conducted currently by Greek hospital doctors is to be determined after today’s meeting between their representatives and the Undersecretary of Finance Nikos Christodoulakis.Currently, only emergency cases are being attended to at the country’s hospitals. Meanwhile the Social Insurance Foundation’s doctors are continuing their strike for a second week, seeking more pay, payment of overtime work and the equation of their salaries with those received by state hospital doctors. A.F. 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/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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