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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-07-08Macedonian 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 THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, July 8, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] IONIAN BANK TO BE SOLD BY AUGUSTAthens, July 8 (MPA)The declaration for the sale of the state-owned Ionian Bank is to be ready by next week and will only grant potential buyers 30 days to submit their tenders.Officials from the Ministry of National Economy have stated that the sale process will most likely take place between August 20-30. The declaration is to make explicit references to the labor and insurance rights of the bank?s employees. [02] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH US COUNTERPARTWashington, July 8 (MPA)Greece?s National Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos is continuing his ten-day official visit to the United States and is to meet with his US counterpart William Cohen is Washington today.Yesterday, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that the delivery of the Russia-made S300 anti-aircraft missiles to Cyprus is to take place in November, not this summer, following a decision of Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides. This delay is enforced in order to reduce the tension and to not disrupt the US and United Nations initiatives for the Cyprus issue. [03] RUSSIAN S-300 MISSILES TO BE TEST FIRED IN MOSCOW TOMORROWMoscow, July 8 (MPA)The S-300 anti-aircraft missiles purchased by Cyprus from Moscow are to be test-fired tomorrow in Russia. Cypriot Defense Minister Yiannakis Omirou arrived in Moscow yesterday on a four-day visit and will attend the test-firing of the ground-to- air missiles which will take place at a firing range 1,200 km south of Moscow. The President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides is also due to visit Moscow from July 11-14.[04] NORTHERN GREECE?S RAILWAY WORKERS TO STRIKE TOMORROWThessaloniki, July 8 (MPA)Only three trains, serving social needs, are to run on the railway tracks of Macedonia and Thrace tomorrow, after the 24-hour strike declared by the sector?s workers in the region.In Athens and the Peloponnese the scheduled routes will proceed as scheduled, expect from those whose destination is in Macedonia and Thrace. For more information on the schedule changes, travelers can contact the local railway stations or their travel agencies. [05] US PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON COMMENTS ON GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER?S VISITWashington, July 8 (MPA)Commenting on the official visit conducted to the United States by Greek National Defense Minster Akis Tsochatzopoulos, US Pentagon spokesperson Kenneth Bacon stated that it marked the "second chapter" after "a very good" visit to Athens last April by US Defense Secretary William Cohen. "I think they have created a very good relationship and they are going to build on it", Mr. Bacon stated. Mr. Tsochatzopoulos is to meet with Mr. Cohen today and the two men will discuss issues related to Kossovo and NATO military options, confidence-building measures and de-escalation of tension in the Aegean as well as Cyprus.[06] GREEK WORKERS ARE THE LOWEST PAID IN EU, ACCORDING TO EUROSTATAthens, July 8 (MPA)Greeks employed in executive and specialized positions earn less than a Danish unskilled worker, according to Eurostat?s annual report on wage inequalities. The European Union's statistics agency said that wage inequalities in Greece are attributed to the excessive emphasis given to job seniority. As such, an unskilled worker in Greece, the lowest paid in the European Union, earns 231,00 drachmas, whereas his Italian counterpart earns 346,000. Luxembourg recorded the highest wages in the EU, three times more than those of their Greek counterparts, followed by Denmark and Germany. Wage inequalities were also major in Spain which ranks second from the bottom after Greece. The Netherlands and Sweden recorded the lowest discrepancies.[07] GREEK PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO ALGERIAAlgiers, July 8 (MPA)A delegation of the Hellenic Parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee arrived in Algiers yesterday at the invitation of Algeria?s national assembly president. The six-member delegation, headed by MP Elias Papadopoulos will meet with several Algerian officials. The visit is conducted within the framework of inter-Parliamentary exchanges and the strengthening of Greek-Algerian relations.[08] UNICEF: ALMOST HALF OF GREEK MEN SMOKE, SEVENTH IN WORLD ORDERThessaloniki, July 8 (MPA)Almost half of adult Greek males smoke, ranking them seventh in the world, while over one-fourth of Greek women can?t do without cigarettes, giving them the tenth place respectively.According to a report published by UNICEF, 46% of Greek men and 28% of Greek women smoke cigarettes, with a 37% of the country?s adult population bring addicted to cigarettes. According to the same report, approximately 3.5 million persons lose their lives every year from cigarette-related causes. [09] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER: CUTS IN DEFENSE SPENDING WOULD BE A MISTAKEWashington, July 8 (MPA- ITAR TASS)Under the conditions of "indivisible European security", an international armed intervention in Kossovo is "unthinkable" without Russia's consent, stated the Greek National Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, now in the United States on a short working visit.Speaking in Washington at the Carnegie Foundation for promotion of universal peace, he pointed to the great importance of the recent meeting between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and emphasized: "Political efforts should be fully exhausted before NATO turns to any military measures". In the minister's opinion, such measures "should be a component part of more general political strategy, hammered out by international organizations: the European Union, the United Nations, the Contact Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the West European Union". "The main principle of the new NATO is cooperation with international organizations to which it renders assistance," the minister noted. "A military intervention without a mandate violates this principle." Asked about Greece's plans on purchasing weapons, the minister stated: "We are not a rich country, ... but we need modernization. Greece has been constantly slashing expenditures for weapons since 1987-1988. I believe it was a political mistake. If you lag behind in this sphere, it will be difficult to come abreast". "We now carry out a five-year program for modernization in cooperation with many countries," Tsochatzopoulos continued. "I was here already at Lockheed's and Boeing's. We need fighters with an early warning system as well as training and refueling planes. We shall announce a tender." In the minister's opinion, his country "has no choice" in the question on the need for rearmament. "Neighbors show a huge military buildup," he said. "Turkey spends annually four billion US dollars for weapons. The cost of our entire five-year program is 16 billion dollars". [10] OECD REPORTS ON MONEY LAUNDERING IN GREECEParis, July 8 (MPA)The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has reported on cases of money laundering in Greece, among other European countries, in a study issued by its Financial Action Task Force.The study, which focuses on legislative reforms needed to take place in order to face the phenomenon, reports that drug traffic and trade constitutes one of the most rapidly growing problems in the country. According to the study?s author, Patrick Mullet, the study was not limited to Greece but, instead, concerned the countries which participate in the Financial Action Task Force and was based on data gathered by the Task Force?s delegation. ?Due to its geographic position, Greece could be used by organized crime syndicates active in eastern and central Europe,? Mr. Mullet told the BBC. Stressing that the study?s basic aim is not to discover the countries active in money laundering, but, rather, countries whose legislation impedes such activity, Mr. Mullet added that Greece?s relevant legislation is far more efficient than it was four years ago. [11] CONTACT GROUP TO CONVENE IN BONN TODAYLondon, July 8 (MPA)The six-member ?Contact Group? is to convene in Bonn today in order to examine ways to reduce the tension in Kossovo and to review the results of the recent tour conducted in the region by the US envoy Richard Holbrooke. According to diplomatic reports, the ?six? are expected to ask the members of the Kossovo Liberation Army (KLA) to stop attacking the unarmed Serbs, since they deem that the Yugoslav forces have already done so.According to the same reports, the Contact Group is to review cease-fire proposals as well as a proposal that foresees the formation of a committee, which will comprise KLA representatives, which will be willing to embark on talks with Belgrade. [12] UNHCR REPORTS 13,000 REFUGEES FROM KOSSOVOGeneva, July 8 (MPA)"The situation in Western Kossovo continues to be very tense," Judith Kumin, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva yesterday. Ms. Kumin said that UNHCR had reports of artillery fire from the Kossovo side of the border on Monday morning. "There are only a few new arrivals of refugees in northern Albania, as the border seems nearly impossible for civilians to cross," she said. According to the refugees, villages in the western part of Kossovo continue to be shelled, mainly at night. Food there is reportedly becoming scarce, since people are afraid to go into towns to get fresh supplies. So far, UNHCR has registered over 10,000 refugees in the Tropoje district of northern Albania. The agency believes that an additional 3,000 refugees have left Tropoje for other parts of Albania, making a total of 13,000 refugees who have crossed the border into Albania since May. The authorities in Montenegro, meanwhile, report that over 15,000 internally displaced persons have arrived there from Kossovo, including ethnic Albanians and Serbs, according to UNHCR.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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